"Twas Christmas Eve in the workhouse, and the rain was snowing fast. The barefooted boy with clogs on, stood sitting on the grass." David Banks grinned as he watched his two children's faces. Emily was a mixture of disdain and boredom. Jack looked confused.
"What are clogs?" the nine year old asked.
"Wooden shoes," Emily muttered. "Dad recites that every Christmas Eve. Don't you remember last year?"
Jack shook his head. "And what's a workhouse?"
"A place poor people were sent to in Victorian...
There is a moment in every indie author’s life when you realise that writing the book was the easy part. You think the hard work is chapters, characters, plots and deadlines. You believe finishing the final draft is the end of the journey.
Then you publish your first book.
And from that moment on you become, whether you like it or not, a full time, unpaid marketing department.
For ten years now I have written stories, novels and trilogies, all of which I am proud of. I have created worlds,...
When I first started writing The Midnight Series, I had no idea quite how strongly Jessie Fordham would take hold of my imagination. I knew she would be clever, determined and quietly rebellious, but I did not expect her to grow into one of the most fascinating characters I have ever written. Looking back, it seems only right that her story begins long before she ever steps into the world of espionage.
Walking Away from Midnight is where we first meet...
Or why I sometimes miss pencils with rubbers on the end
There was a time when writing meant one thing: grabbing a pencil, licking the end of it for luck (everyone did it, nobody admits it), and getting on with it. Your entire creative arsenal consisted of:
That was it. No menus. No updates. No blue...
From beads on sticks to boxes that silently judge our passwords
Humanity has always had two great fears:
To avoid the latter, civilisations have spent thousands of years inventing gadgets to do the thinking for us. Here is their story, or at least the version any half-awake historian would produce after an extended pub lunch.
The Abacus:
The original pocket calculator, but without pockets.
Invented so long ago...
Could We Really Have a Zombie Apocalypse?
Short Answer: Yes.
Long Answer: Oh, for heaven’s sake, imagine the queues.
Let’s be honest. For decades we’ve been warned about zombies staggering out of graveyards, supermarkets and the occasional discount DIY store, all snarling for brains. But what if the reality is far less dramatic and infinitely more annoying?
Before we get to that, let’s look at how likely a zombie apocalypse actually is. You might be surprised.
1. Science Absolutely Has the Range...
There is a curious absence in my novels.
People drown. Nations fall. Spies double-cross each other on cold Parisian rooftops. Time itself bends just to make things difficult for everyone. Empires rise and then, quite rudely, collapse before I’ve finished the chapter.
But dogs?
No. Not really. Not often. And when they do appear, they tend to trot in, look endearingly loyal, and trot back out again before anyone notices.
This is odd because in real life I am absolutely a dog person. Completely....
A personal reflection on health, fragility, and why we can’t take even a cold for granted.
I may be a cancer survivor, but my immune system has been compromised. Now, a bad cold has triggered something unexpected, fainting after sneezing. Here’s what I’ve learned about this overlooked and potentially serious condition called cough syncope.
Since finishing cancer treatment, my immune system has been living on borrowed strength. Immunotherapy has kept me stable, and for that I’m grateful, but it’...
"I regret to inform you that we can't repair it, nor can we replace it. It's company policy on signed for goods."
"But it was the last upgrade. As soon as it finished downloading the robot collapsed."
"Upgrades are made at the owner's discretion. We at Hanei's Universal Robots cannot be held responsible for an erroneous download."
"But..." There was a click and the line went dead.
"Waste of time," I muttered.
My broken robot, sat at the other side of the sofa, slumped and inert.
I stood up,...
She moved it with her mind.
That was the last entry in the victim’s diary, a shaky scrawl written as he was nearing the end of his life. I searched the pages for a clue as to who had shot dead the scientist. His lab was in perfect shape. No sign of a fight. The victim was slumped across his workbench, finger touching a desk toy, one of those gizmos of swinging metal ball-bearings.
“What was he working on?” I asked the head of research.
“Artificial Intelligence. His robot, she was his pride and...
“What just blew up?”
“Don’t know,” I said, sleepily, “but whatever it was it made a helluva a bang. I’ll go take a look.”
I slipped on my slippers and hoisted my robe round my shoulders and shuffled across the cold, tiled, floor to the front door. The dogs sat there, waiting to go out for a pee.
“You heard it too, huh?”
Duke and Daisy’s tails wagged in unison and they hopped from leg to leg in anticipation as I opened the door. I caught hold of them just in time, pulling them back into the...
Ray Colter didn’t look like trouble, but that was his game. At forty-two, with a wiry build and a face that could melt into any crowd, he was the kind of mugger who didn’t scare you until it was too late.
Tonight, his mark was an easy one, a stooped, solitary old man shuffling along a deserted side street, his overcoat flapping in the cold wind.
Ray slipped out of the shadows.
“Evening, grandpa. Hand over the wallet.” His tone was friendly enough, but the knife in his hand made the words matter....
There are few experiences in life more infuriating than a housefly making repeated kamikaze dives at your face. You can be sitting there in peaceful contemplation, a cup of tea in hand, and suddenly find yourself conducting an impromptu martial arts demonstration in your lounge. The dog looks concerned, the neighbours think you’ve lost your mind, and still the little bugger keeps coming back for more.
But contrary to popular belief, the housefly isn’t acting out of malice or a secret vendetta....
Throughout history, rulers have learned a simple, brutal truth: fear keeps people quiet. From the guillotine squares of revolutionary France to modern streets patrolled by militarised police, terror has often been the preferred tool of governments seeking obedience rather than consent. When authority can make people afraid, not just for their safety, but for their rights and dignity, it gains a power far stronger than law: submission through dread.
This article looks at how terror has been...
It’s not every day you discover that the world’s most famous peace prize was founded by the man who gave humanity dynamite.
Yes, you read that right. Alfred Nobel, the patron saint of pacifism, the man whose name is whispered in tones of reverence every time a medal is draped over a laureate’s neck… was once better known for blowing things up.
A Blast from the Past
In 1867, Alfred Nobel patented his latest invention, a “safer” explosive.
Before then, the goto explosive was the highly unstable...
Why Every Writer Needs an Online Presence
In the competitive world of self-publishing, having a strong online presence is not optional, it’s essential. For indie authors, an author website is more than just a digital business card; it’s the foundation of your brand, marketing, and reader relationships. Whether you write romance, fantasy, non-fiction, or poetry, your website can help you sell more books, grow your fanbase, and stand out in a crowded marketplace.
1. Your Author Website is Your...
The smallest thing set him off.
“Nahn, Nek-Nak! Rhink!”
He said it with such emotion I assumed I had annoyed him. Did I say him? Well, he had a deep voice indicating a male. Apart from that, he was blue with shaggy fur all over. He arrived at my house late one evening last week in a blaze of light. His confusion was evident immediately.
“Nek-Nak, behm!” He shouted so loud I expected the neighbours to call the police.
Next day another blaze of light heralded the appearance of a small device....
"How do you write a novel?"
It's a question I've been asked a few times, and not just by people who want to write a novel. Several indie authors have asked me the same question. Well, there isn't a 'set of rules' you must adhere to, that I am aware of. Most writers of fiction stories, novellas and novels usually class themselves as either a plotter or a panster.
A plotter speaks for itself. This is where the writer plots out the story, characters, chapters, scenes and pretty much the...
Or, How I Learned That “Free Interview” Often Means “Give me $400 first”
Just lately I, like so many indie authors, have been inundated with emails and Social Media DMs trying to get me to hand cash over for an interview about my books, or an exclusive insight into advertising to book clubs or... well, need I go on. You get the picture.
I’ve always believed there are two kinds of con artists, the ones hiding in shadows, and the ones propping up a legit-looking email address that ends in “.tv”...
On Russia’s far-flung Kolyuchin Island, where the Arctic winds bite and the sea ice groans, a group of squatters has moved in. Not the human kind. These new tenants are furry, white, and decidedly less worried about paying rent.
Drone footage captured by travel blogger Vadim Makhorov shows polar bears strolling through the ruins of an abandoned Soviet weather station, peering out of shattered windows as though they were sizing up the neighbourhood. One particularly adventurous bear even...
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