Robert Craven's blog

Firstly, I'd like to wish everyine a very happy Christmas - & let's all keep writing in 2019! Here's an interview link with a fellow writer Christal Rice Cooper, it gives a little insight into the novel, its links and a little bit about the process. https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/12/009-inside-emotion-of-ficti...

Now available on Amazon too. (& it has charted after 24hrs since going 'Live') https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JCTPM34?pf_rd_p=1581d9f4-062f-453c-... I plan to roll this out quietly, slow burn it through December and do a social media 'Blitz' in January 2019. In some ways, TROATT its a bit of a gamble; if you look through my other drafts (The Andaman affair, & its early incarnation of a 009 adventure - 'Ghost of a chance' on my page...

This started as a 'Project' while waiting for edits of my next Eva installment (Eagles Hunt Wolves). I had an idea from reading Ian Fleming's 'From Russia with Love' where Bond suggests a different kind of spy join the 00 ranks. I had some 'shaving's' from Eagles Hunt Wolves, chapters that never quite worked or wound up in the bin, taking two deleted scenes, like a starter for bread, I took out Eva, created Sebastion Holt and re-worked the...

'I like three things," announces Pietro, a bear of a man with two metal lower lip piercings framed by a lush black beard, "snow, dogs and building things." We are at a husky camp 60 degrees latitude within the arctic circle, on a bitterly cold St. Valentines day. The camp is a cacophony of yelps, barks and howls, "When you enter, don't run, just let them come up and introduce themselves," says Pietro. He's hard to hear over the din. He opens the...

I was shocked and saddened to receive the news of the passing of my friend, author and designer, Shannon Ware. It came through in the same manner as we met - on Facebook. One of her close friends and fellow writers contacted me to tell me Shannon had passed suddenly; some complications from the flu. She was 54. I once asked her for her address, to send a thank you for all the work she’d done, but Simi would only tell me that she lived near the...

2018; a new year, new beginnings. This is always the hardest part of the year to write; cold mornings, going to work and coming home in the dark. Inspiration levels are turned all the way to 11 on cyrogenic and distractions abound - I find it easy not to draft anything; only thumbnail sketches - pencil smears in my notebook. Every year, we start out with good intentions, only to watch them fall like nine-pins by the middle of the month. Sins are...

There is a certain tranquillity to a place that is almost totally off-grid. Away from the continual digital bombardment of the modern 24/7 culture, The Hotel El Geco Verde offers this: https://www.responsiblevacation.com/vacation/7984/writers-retreat-in-andalucia-spain Situated in the beautiful region of Andalucía, high up in the region of the Sierra de Castril mountains, you could not find a more serene place. “I love your library”, I said “...

I have a friend who’s an accomplished musician. He’s passionate, talented, but hasn’t uploaded any piece, or performed his songs live. His music is sitting in a folder on his computer, gathering binary dust. Which led me to my own novel, Hollow Point , sitting in a folder on my desk top. January 20 th is the date when all the new year resolutions fall by the wayside and, eschewing diets, gym membership, smoking, drinking resolutions, mine was...

Book links: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hollow-Point-wartime-adventures-Molenaar-ebook/... https://www.amazon.com/Hollow-Point-wartime-adventures-Molenaar-ebook/dp... HOLLOW POINT - Robert Craven I think some books are too long. That the writer's voice is somehow lost in the padding. I have just released HOLLOW POINT ; the fourth WW2 novel featuring my character, Eva. It is a short novel, just above the size of a novella, that has allowed me to...

I’ve been published for 6 years now through various small presses with varying degrees of success but this year when my current publisher decided enough was enough and pulled the plug; AmazonKDP and Kobo platforms were the logical step. I think there is still a stigma about e-books and self-publishing in general; Kobo and Amazon regarded as last-saloon options, the rung above the vanity press, but what swayed me was the KDP event held in Dublin...