Deb E. Howell's Blog

AI Continues to Waste Time

Just felt like sharing this. For writers who have been around the sun a few times, they’ve likely seen this in various forms over the years and know how to roll their eyes and hit “Bin it”. Newer writers may find it harder to dismiss. I’m a lot more jaded than I used to be. ...

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2025

t's another year, and Magician's Touch remains incomplete. Sigh. That's not the greatest way to start an update. I suppose I am meant to be all structured and have a nice intro, then an update, perhaps followed by a "what I've been reading" block, and then a sign off. Is that how these things are meant to go these days? Who knows? Who blogs anymore?

Audio

Yes, I am one of those authors who keeps a Google search alert saved for their books. And yes, most of the alerts tell me I’ve been pirated. No, I have not uploaded an audio version of my debut to SoundCloud, and if you pay someone who has used an AI to create one from ... Read more

WritingWonders March 2023

Hey team! Long time, no blog. I haven’t been very good at taking the time to type up an update. Part of that is because I remain a slow creator (and far too quick to say “Yes” to things that then have to take priority over writing), and part is because I’m working on the ... Read more

Healer's Touch: 1: The Dead Man

Llew didn’t break stride as she kicked the empty glass bottle aside, barely giving it a thought. Litter was the least of the hazards in Cheer’s streets at night. She walked with her head down, hands thrust deep in the pockets of her coarse brown trousers, blending in with the evening’s wildlife. With hair in ... Read more

My Way

So, I had a wee epiphany that, yes, while I hope to make something of a career out of my writing and a financial contribution to my family’s future through my stories, I’m sick of trying to strategise to win at whatever algorithm is in charge on whatever platform. And what I’d really like to ... Read more

Slow Going…

Hi. I thought I should pop something here because it has been a while, and I suppose it might look as if I’ve given up. I haven’t. I’m a slow writer, anyway, and then we add in the distractions of house and home and all that goes with being a working mother with a small ... Read more

Edge of the World 2021

The Edge of the World Expo straddles a line between blessed and cursed. In 2019, it was scheduled and held for the first time on the 16th & 17th of March. In light of the events of the 15th March in Christchurch, the event organizers got the message out that while we would still gather ... Read more

The Guardian–free read

First up, this story appears in the Dunedin, Aotearoa-produced anthology Beyond the City Limits and I’d encourage you to support my fellow local Speculative Fiction writers by purchasing a copy of the anthology. Second, this is me exploring a character that came to me when I was searching for short story ideas, but both Ekon…

A Peek Inside

Some writers sit down with a story idea and work a large chunk of the larger details out before diving into the more nitty gritty. One of those large details is Naming things and people. Some people go This character is going to represent this feeling/thing/theme and so I will call them and other writers