Save the date - 23rd March!
Save the date - 23rd March!
I have a new book coming out and I want everyone to read it...
Writing news
I am excited to announce that After the Burning: Dystopian Stories will be released for Kindle (including Kindle Unlimited) on 23rd March.
“Things did not vanish. They were cleansed away.”
Five spine-chillingly plausible tales for our times. In a society without books, a labourer makes a shocking discovery. An artist starts an underground club for art made by humans instead of artificial intelligence. Parents who refuse to have their baby implanted with a communications chip must fight for their rights. A child goes on a school trip to the extinct natural world. Just before a general election, everyone becomes addicted to a new superfood.
A must-read collection of dystopian stories. They are works of fiction but, unless we act now, will soon be a reality.
Blog news
Daily visits to the blog are increasing and there are regularly over 100 per day. My most viewed post, ‘The 5 themes of Roald Dahl’, is getting even more views than usual… probably due to the controversial ‘re-writes’ of new editions which have been in the news this week, so more people are searching for articles about him. Another much-viewed post is ‘Outdated cultural depictions’, which is nearly 3 years old but more relevant than ever.
Recent posts
Fiction review: Swing Time by Zadie Smith
Non-fiction review: Devon, Its Moorland, Streams and Coasts by Rosalind Northcote
Non-fiction review: Paper World - Human Body illustrated by Gail Armstrong
Discussion: Do you read romance?
Coming soon
Fiction review: The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
Non-fiction review: Us and Them by Mark Blake
Film of the book: A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
Opinion: The best and worst publishing trends
The archive
Back in 2021, I wrote a dystopian short story called The Strange Feeling. I didn’t post it on the blog until later on in the year. I was reacting to current events, in which human rights and medical ethics were at stake.
#currentlyreading
A Tomb With a View by Peter Ross, a literary, respectful, and surprising book about graves and cemeteries. I bought it from Waterstones a couple of years ago.
#currentlywatching
I haven’t seen any TV recently but I just watched the film Bohemian Rhapsody for the second time. I think it’s beautifully made and the actors are fantastic.
#currentlylistening
Violator, Depeche Mode’s most perfect album. It featured in my ‘favourite albums’ series and is now 33 years old! I have listened to it countless times.
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading - see you next time!