I am a delegate at the Writing Industries Conference at Loughborough University on Saturday 9th February, 2008. The event, which covers Science Fiction and Fantasy, Poetry and spoken word, fiction and general non-fiction, as well as Commercial and literary fiction is now sold out.
Taking a selection of headlines cut from newspapers and magazines I was immediately drawn to the two words that inspired this: VOODOO MAN I met him at the crossroads. It was dark, almost as black as his own tattered skin. The rain had just finished, exhausted in its efforts to fall and leaving a dry
photo credit: YoHandy The weather was my last Connection to you; Blown inside-out, I’m lost, Wet-through In the torrents Of watered-down passion Pulled to the starry heights of everything-will-be-all right clouds I gather up my thoughts, Wrapping them tight inside like an approaching storm-front Unable To subside, Unable To ride out the weather. The weather
New Year, new deadlines! Plenty of catching up on the writing schedule! The Photograph For thirty years I’ve carried the image in a magnetically clamped locket. Originally there were two photographs, but the second of the pair had an allure that would not leave me. Her face within that brass oval was not harsh or
The ESTRONOMICON 2007 Christmas Special features my short story “Christmas Angels”. This is a fragment from a new novel regarding the adventures of members of The Cabal, a shadowy group of investigators set in a London of the near-future. The Angels in question are the infamous Enochian entites that visited John Dee in 16th Centrury
Following on from last week’s warping of the Blake classic “The Tiger”, I had the opportunity to set the theme this time myself, as Jerusalem. I knew it would be troublesome for people to get to grips with. It’s very easy as a writer to only write about subjects you enjoy yourself or not know
photo credit: Copleys This week’s exercise was a little more unusual that most. The brief was to take a favourite poem and then rewrite it, replacing nouns with diffferent nouns, verbs with different verbs etc. Everyone seemed to share the consensus that it is a very difficult task which consumes time rapidly. Of course this
No set subject this week so I return once again to the space opera Death Codex. This is a scene from earlier in the novel. Let me lead you gently into events with a quick flashback to Chapter 2: At the jetty one of the two-seater surface skimmers blasted by, its bow barely missing the
photo credit: ianmcburnie The theme for this week is “tango” – quite limited it would seem. Searching for background information on the word I was happy to see that there was a Japanese reference. I was then able to draw upon my experiences of travelling across Japan to write the poem. The critique it received
Since becoming involved with a local writers’ group I’ve noticed my poetic sense re-awaken and the tendency to see things in poetic vision increase. I had forgotten that sensation of concentration that seeks through word and rhythm to take you to another place. Its seems to enhance everyday experience to the point where you’re able
