Mark Cantrell's Blog, page 46
October 11, 2014
BLOG: Author, Know Thyself
So what's with the writing, then? By Mark Cantrell
ONE of the things I'm struggling with at the moment is possibly a bit of an indulgence, even outside the norm of writers' angst, but I find myself in the grip of a peculiar existential conundrum.
Sure, I wrestle with all the usual concerns that bark and bare fangs at an author just trying to get along; there's time, ticking impatience; there's the demands of modern life, the angst of obscurity, the all-too-common concerns that I'm not ac...
September 28, 2014
MEDIA: Inspired Quill Signs Up To A 2015 Paperback Debut
Citizen Zero will rise again STOKE-ON-TRENT, 27 September 2014: AN exciting new edition of CITIZEN ZERO is on the way – including its paperback debut – following Inspired Quill's (IQ) decision to sign up the title. This will be the second of author Mark Cantrell's novels to join the IQ stable.
Towards the end of last year, the publisher released SILAS MORLOCK in both paperback and digital editions. It plans to release the new editions of CITIZEN ZERO late in 2015.
September 27, 2014
BLOG: English PEN Defends Thatcher 'Assassin' Mantel
A plot to assassinate a world leader has landed a British author in a spot of bother, prompting the organisation English PEN to speak up on her behalf.
For those who don't know, Hilary Mantel – the author of Wolf Hall (2009) and Bring Up The Bodies (2012) – has caused something of a controversy with her latest work, a short story, The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher – August 6th 1983. Perhaps predictably, this hasn't gone down so well...
September 6, 2014
FEATURE: An Arboreal Ark For Literary Art
These books will not be published until the 22nd Century
Some authors have been known to grouch about the length of time its takes conventional publishers to release their books. Well, the writers taking part in the Future Library project will be dead and gone before their works find an audience – that's the point. By Mark Cantrell
MANY writers worry about posthumous success, their works picked up for publication after they themselves have b...
August 30, 2014
BLOG: Technology Demands The Last Word
By Mark Cantrell
THE tools of your trade can facilitate your writing, or else they can cripple it.
Years ago, much of my writing was done on a handheld PC. The device slipped into a pocket, required no tedious waiting for it to boot up, and easily synced to my desktop PC. It proved a handy tool, and was great for furthering the coffee-fuelled exploits of the Bohemian café scribe.
Since then, the wheels of technology have turned....
August 22, 2014
POEM: Gaza Again, But Not Only Gaza, Strife Ripens Everywhere
By Mark Cantrell
Hate grows in the tended rows
Of coffins and body bags, all
Filled with corpulent fruit.
The crop is sown
In the furrowed brows
Of grieving faces,
Watered by the saline tears
Of broken hearts, and ruined hopes,
To flourish
In despair’s thorny garden.
So sprout the tangled vines
Of petty prejudice,
The foetid weeds of suspicion,
Amidst the foliage of brutalised trauma.
Foul rancour chokes,
Until the stench of bitter enmity
Reeks rank the air of sanity.
So we reap
The murd...
August 15, 2014
NEWS: Inspired Quill @ Loncon3
Down with the crew from Inspired Quill
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Sadly, I wasn't able to attend this year's LonCon3 event currently being held at the ExCel exhibition centre in East London, but fortunately Silas Morlock was able to attend in my stead. He's down there as part of the Inspired Quill contingent, sharing the love of sci-fi and fantasy fiction. The above photograph was tweeted by Matthew Munson and used here with permission.
Meanwhile, here's a small selection of tweets fr...
July 18, 2014
ARTICLE: Speaking Up For Social Housing
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By Mark Cantrell
From Housing magazine, April-May 2014
[image error]A long time ago, at the Peckover Street conference in Bradford, a rallying cry was heard that heralded the birth of the Independe...
July 14, 2014
REVIEW: This Boy by Alan Johnson
Written without a trace of ego Alan Johnson does that rare thing for a politician, he steps back from limelight to present an affectionate tribute to the two women who raised him -- his mother and his older sister. The result is an endearing trip down memory lane that never once descends into misery-lit despite the grit and grime of childhood poverty. For all that, the former Labour Home Secretary's memoir serves up a compelling reminder of the grim conditons austerity may yet resurrect, writ...
July 7, 2014
ABOUT ME: Interviewed On A Drip Of Truth
Behind the cover Mark lurks Back in May 2014, R G Dole of the blog, A Drip of Truth, featured an interview with yours truly. Here's a tiny snippet of what I had to say, coupled with a link to the full article...
"There’s only one word to describe me – a ‘pantster’. The truth is I am an ill-disciplined writer. I tend to dive in head first with the writing and then plan and outline as I go along. Often as not, the outlines become drafts in themselves as situations take sh...
