The word ‘editing’ often strikes fear into the heart of a writer – we just want to get the words down, we don’t want to start rearranging them afterwards. Unfortunately you won’t get far in the writing world if you never edit your work. With publishing houses overstretched, there is less money available to sink […]
book review
[Book Review] Flashman and the Redskins
Fellow writer Danny Hogan recommended that I read Flashman & The Redskins, and being on a real Old West kick at the moment, I decided that I would. Written in 1982 by George MacDonald Fraser, the novel comes as part of the Flashman papers, a fictional set of accounts that purport to be the memoris […]
Book Review – Blood Meridian
Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West was first published in 1985. As Cormac McCarthy’s fifth book, it comes well before his more famous works, No Country for Old Men and The Road (both adapted for the screen in recent years). The book is a fictional account based upon both true events and […]
Bluebeard’s Egg – Margaret Atwood
As it is with so many others, it was The Handmaid’s Tale that got me. A friend bought it for me for one Christmas, and I was hooked. Margaret Atwood has the kind of easy, loose style that I would sell body parts to be able to write myself, and when I found Bluebeard’s Egg […]
Pride & Prejudice & Zombies
I’ve written about literary remixes, or mash ups, before (here) but I’ve only just managed to finish Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, credited to Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith. I tried to start it as long ago as last August, convinced that I would love it. Truth is, I didn’t. I kept putting it aside in […]
Iron Council; Or how I learned to love China Mieville
I’m quite pleased with myself today – I finally finished China Mieville’s Iron Council this morning, meaning that I have started on the right path towards completing one of my New Year goals. That is, I wanted to read at least one novel every month for the whole year. Now, I’ll be honest with you. […]
