https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000s7hd/darren-mcgarveys-class-wars-series-1-1-identity-crisis Darren McGarvey from Pollock admits he’s lucky, incredibly lucky. And he’s right to do so. He’s on a roll after Poverty Safari . The go-to man when the BBC, or any other media organisation, wants to signal that they’re doing the right thing. Giving the working class a voice. The equivalent of a black woman in the moron moron’s cabinet of his 45...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000s083/circling-a-fox Matthew Zajac is an actor. Acting is a precarious profession. The same old faces crop up with regularity. Trying to make a living from acting is akin to trying to make a living from writing. I’ve did a few shifts as an extra. I’ve no interest in being the next what-ever-you-call him/her. Writing, well, that’s a different story. Writing is my game. I don’t expect to make a living from...

Bronze Medal Award winner of the 2020 Cerasus Poetry Olympics

Writers create little worlds of wonder but where do these stories come from? I know it is different for each writer for we have our own rhythm and flow…require different stimuli…and know what effectively works for us may not work for everyone. For me, when I write, it is visual…the words flow from what I see, or I should say what I imagine. I walk through the scenes in my mind’s eye almost in a trance, imagining and typing the descriptive words...

When it needs a review. During the month of January this year, Kobo promoted two of my novels; Eagles Hunt Wolves ; and, The Road of a Thousand Tigers for free download on their platform. I put them up for this primarily as something readers could enjoy during the bleakest month in the grips of a pandemic. Two fast-paced page-turners always help take your mind off things. And, on a more mercenary level, I hoped to get some reviews on the back of...

A story that sprang from a fragment of dialogue that was going around in my head (and simply demanded to be written down) has now, to my surprise, generated seven episodes, to date, and looks likely to provide quite a few more, before I'm done! Therefore, in an effort to try and tidy things up, I've collected all of the stories about Aefelthrith and Gwladys together in a 'collection' and sequentially numbered the various episodes. If you haven't...

My Photographs and Memories plan got a wee bit derailed and it has been superceded by other ventures. I did, however, pull together a small book of work related to the influence of a friend/muse of mine. I've been yoyo-ing between home and hospital since May 2017. It was supposed to be a simple operation but a number of mistakes were made.and as a result, among other stays, I had two visits to Intensive Care totalling around 10 weeks. The final...

There's been a great variety of things posted on ABC Tales this week, and my two Picks couldn't be more different from each other. Story of the Week goes to Simon Barget's 'A Day In The Life'. It's very difficult to get it right with a story 'told' by an animal, but this one captures Essence of Cat and is also very, very funny. You don't need to be a cat lover to appreciate it. In fact, if you don't like cats, this will confirm all your...

So went a conversation I had with Kenneth (not their real name) during the course of pitching my novel through 2020. In the unforgiving world of commercial publishing, this question is often asked - who is saying what to whom, and is their internal world caught up in the jump cuts of talking heads ? A roving POV can lead to confusion which begs the question most authors face - are you making a movie, or telling a story? I suspect that any author...

Some may have seen me mention Tales from the Shadow Booth in the past. These were anthologies of speculative fiction (very good ones too), but are no longer taking submissions and haven't been for a while. However, Dan Coxon was the man behind them and, as he says over on twitter, he has had an idea for a new anthology. I suggest any spec fic types on here keep an eye out for what he comes up with.