Information taken from Amazon, just now!

Barren Worlds
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #59,895 in Books
Publication Date: July 1, 2008

Ruins Metropolis
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #59,393 in Books
Publication Date: May 19, 2008


Ooow, that is goooood! Congratulations to the publisher (Hadley Rille Books) and my fellow contributors to these two anthologies.

At Riverside Writers’ last meeting, the subject of constructive criticism was raised. Some of the members felt that they would like more feedback from the group after readings of work.

Previously, Tim and I had backed away from giving too much crit as we’re only too aware that while people say they want criticism, most just want to hear “good” things. So we’ve tended to praise the good bits and stay silent over the not-so-good. Silence can say a lot. However, this can also lead to feedback being of little productive use.

Before the group had its current resurgence of membership, some ex-members had been more critical – but while their comments were often pertinent and constructive, a small number of people had got upset. We suspect some even left the group altogether – but maybe they would have left anyway.

Now we’ve got a whole new batch of enthusiastic writers – some published, some absolutely new to writing, some aiming for a career, others writing just for fun. So, we’re all at very different levels. Therefore, those members who are aiming for publication – and therefore are pushing for as high a standard of work as they’re currently able to produce – have to be careful not to alienate those who are simply pursuing an interest.

So, how do we go about drawing up guidelines for constructive criticism?

If you’re in a writing group of any kind, how does your group go about it? Or have you come across any guidelines published on the web which have seemed spot on?

Barren Worlds is now available from all good bookshops or via on-line outlets. This anthology of Fantasy and Sci-Fi features my story, Project, which is a strange one... Partly drawn from Sumerian folklore, the androgynous cast may be from the distant past or of the future. I'll let you decide.

It is edited by Eric T Reynolds and is published by Hadley Rille Books.

A Squirrel Otherkin Trilogy?!! *chuckles*

The article makes it sound like I'm the sole author of Ruins Terra, Ruins Metropolis and Barren Worlds, rather than being merely a contributor to each. Oh dear.... Not my doing.

So, yes, yesterday saw me back at Golborne High School by invitation of Sylvia Taylor, gelertandbess, actor, playwright and filmmaker, who also works to promote and develop the arts within the school. We’ve known each other since we were aged eleven, and used to sit next to each other in English and Computer classes at Golborne High – or Golborne Comprehensive School, as it was then named.

Certainly it was interesting to see my old school again. Some things haven’t changed at all, while some are entirely new to me – such as the digital photography suite and the banks of computers in the school library. Back in our day, there was one computer for the entire school! And even that wasn’t a PC as we think of them now, but a monitor and keyboard which had to be linked by telephone with a real computer at another location. This was back when most computer information was stored on punch-cards, and when 7” floppy discs (in a thin card covering) were state-of-the-art technology. Eeeek, this makes me sound prehistoric!! It’s an indicator of how fast computer technology has moved on, really.

I met a few of my old teachers, too, such as the long-suffering Mr Kennedy who did his best to try and teach me maths and computer programming. He deserves a medal for perseverance. Let’s just say they weren’t exactly my best subjects, hmm? He recognised me immediately. Funny, that.

Soooo, I read Seagull Inn from Ruins Terra to two separate groups of pupils. They seemed to enjoy it. One little boy, with his finger firmly rummaging around his nostril, stared at the book in my hands and asked if I’d made it all by myself. Both groups were then prompted to ask about writing, and Sylvia tried to encourage them to consider the possibility of a career in the arts. Part of her job at the school is to show the pupils that a creative career is a viable possibility.

After lunch in the new school canteen (the quiche was lovely!), Sylvia drove me back to Newton-le-Willows train station. It was great to see her again, definitely. She’s hoping to come here for Easter, which will be fun. She wants to visit Hilbre Island for herself now!

That same evening, I was at this month’s meeting of Riverside Writers. I was able to discuss the details of Words from Wordsmiths with the head librarian, and was then able to tell Riverside Writers members that they’ll be reading their work before an audience on April 7th. This was the first they’d heard of it, for the most part! *chuckles*

February’s writing project was set on the theme of “The Group”, and various members read aloud their creative efforts for that. I read Project, which I had been meaning to put before the group for a while but had not had time during previous meetings. The story will be published in Barren Worlds fairly soon, but I wanted to see how the group reacted to it, as it’s a divergence from my usual style, being more Sci-Fi than Dark Fantasy.

Before I go….
Volunteers Wanted! If you fancy writing a review of Quiet Lives and then posting it on Amazon, let me know please!