Mark Cantrell's Blog, page 49

BLOG: The Makings Of A Debutante

First time for everything, if you can find where it starts
In this age of blogs and digital self-publishing, Mark Cantrell is curious to know what exactly constitutes an author's debut these days... 

Lately, I've seen a few mentions of 'debut' authors in the so-called quality press and I have to say it got me wondering what actually constitutes a literary debut these days?

 

Presumably, it refers to an author who has got a 'traditional' publishing deal with a third-party publisher. T...

BLOG: Taking Stock

Join me for a ride over the horizon

IN many respects I think 2014 is going to be the make or break year for me, although I concede we can all say pretty much the same of any year, really, so there's no particular reason to make this one any more 'ominous' than the next.

 

It's one of those things about the human narrative compulsion that we often come to focus ourselves on the peculiarities of one set timeframe and tell ourselves 'this is it'.

 

Even so, this is the year I enter new te...

CITIZEN ZERO: A Taste Of The Living Prequel

Into the world of Citizen Zero
Snapshots of a dystopian novel's real life 'prequel'

Today's age of austerity has all the hallmarks of the backstory I had in my head when writing CITIZEN ZERO way back when in the late 1990s. For sure, I'm demonstrating an element of 'poetic license' but even so, it's as if current affairs is writing the prequel as we live and breathe today.

 

That's why over the last year or two, I've taken the liberty of posting links to news stories, comment blogs, and f...

NEWS: Uncovering Fiction

Prize funding opens the door for 'selfies'
Here's a little something the authors among you may or may not have heard already, writes Mark Cantrell, but a competition aimed at British fiction writers has opened the doors to those who have self-published their books

A competition dubbed the 'Mercury Prize' for British fiction writers has secured funding for the next two years so it can continue to develop wider audiences for "emerging and deserving" authors.

 

Fiction Uncovered has secured N...

BLOG: Reflections On Silas

The darkest dreams are made for real
Nightmares are the stuff of fiction. Mark Cantrell ponders the realisation of the dark vision that is his novel SILAS MORLOCK

Time flies. It doesn't seem that long ago that I was taking part in a roundtable discussion organised by a Manchester hosting company called UK Fast; me and a disparate group of journalists, writers, publishers, and editors, all gathered to discuss the future of books as the digital revolution gathers pace.

 

At the time, around...

MEDIA: Drive Off With Some Bloodthirsty Vampire Fiction

RELEASE NOTES
ONE FOR THE ROADWhen Death comes along for the ride, be ready to find out exactly what you are…

 A digital short by Mark Cantrell

Available from Amazon, Smashwords, and other leading online retailers

 

STOKE-ON-TRENT, 22 December 2013: Think of it as a road movie, but played out on the digital page, and you get an idea of the vampire story, One For The Road, the latest in Mark Cantrell's series of digital shorts.

 

A vampire tale with a chilling twist, the atmosphe...

MEDIA: Get The Goods On Silas

RELEASE NOTES SILAS MORLOCK
You'll never look at a book in quite the same way again…

 

Out in paperback and digital editions from Inspired Quill

 

STOKE-ON-TRENT, 8 December 2013: Mark Cantrell's novel, SILAS MORLOCK, is a dark dystopian fantasy, presenting a story of atonement and sacrifice set within an age-old struggle of good against evil.

 

In the macabre world it portrays, the redemptive power of literature represents the enduring strength of the human spirit – i...

MEDIA: Silas Morlock Has Arrived

PRESS RELEASE
Hartshill author's horror debut casts a chilling shadow over Christmas
Silas Morlock

STOKE-ON-TRENT, 8 December 2013: Local author Mark Cantrell has made his paperback debut with the publication of his novel, Silas Morlock, released over the weekend by the publisher Inspired Quill.

 

The novel, a dark dystopian fantasy, presents a story of atonement and sacrifice within an age-old struggle of good against evil, where the redemptive power of literature represents the enduring...

BLOG: Aim To Misbehave

It's my brand and I'll distract if I want to…

The other day, I read a little piece on the HuffPost that suggests authors shouldn't be writing 'off topic' because in doing so they are distracting from their author 'brand'.

 

I think what it means, in essence, is don't say anything that a potential reader of your books might disagree with – it'll put them off. On the face of it, that sounds reasonable, and it no doubt works for a lot of authors. But. Yes, there's a but – I...

POEM: Embers Of Empathy

Embers Of EmpathyBy Mark Cantrell

Embers of empathy

Darken,

Cooling to clinkers

In the heart’s hearth.

Shrouds of shaded smoke

Billow thick

From the suffocated fires

Of spirit’s furnace.

Ice clads the chilling soul,

Hardening to a bitter shell as heat of

Passion fades.

Mind numbed, heart deadened,

In shuddered cold,

All feeling itself numbs solid,

Until life deep

Freezes

Beyond any hope

Or even desire of a thawed

Redemption.

Mark Cantrell,

Stoke-on-Trent,

28 August 2009

Copyright © August 2009. A...