Good News, Bad News, Better News

October 10, 2015
Today I've got good news and bad news. First, the bad news. The excellent Writing Short Fiction site, which is full of news and tips, may soon be no more due to the ill-health of the man behind it, Bruce Harris, who has decided he needs to save his energy for his own work. Unless someone offers to take it over in the next week or two, it will go. Find out more at http://www.writingshortfiction.org.
    The better news is that Plasma Frequency Magazine is probably going to be resurrected. The magazine, which published speculative fiction, had its account hacked earlier this year, leading to its closure. I was privileged to have my story, 'Job Satisfaction', in issue three. The people behind PFM are now hoping to start publishing again and are running a Kickstarter campaign to get it off the ground. Find the details at http://www.plasmafrequencymag.com.
    The good news, no, the excellent news is that my one-act play, Antarctica, has been highly commended in the Walter Swan Trust Award. This is the inaugural competition of the trust, which was set up in memory of playwright Walter Swan to promote the creation of new drama. There are two categories, for under-18s and adults. The winning and highly commended entries will receive a rehearsed reading at Ilkley Playhouse on Friday 4th December and a full performance at West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds on Monday 7th December. I'm thrilled that Antarctica is included. It will be directed by Yvette Huddleston, so it's in good hands.You can find out more about the trust at http://www.walterswantrust.org.uk. As soon as I know more about the production I'll pass the news on.
 

I Could Tell You, But...

October 2, 2015
This is a difficult blog to write, because I can't say what I want to. For the time being I have to keep Mum and zip it. It's a shame as I'm bursting to tell you the news. I won't even be able to drop hints just in case–you readers are a clever lot and might be able to guess if I give you a clue.
    I suppose I could tell you what hasn't happened. I haven't won the Booker Prize or suddenly shot to the top of the best-seller lists. No one's begged to buy the film rights to Discord's Child ye...
Continue reading...
 

Singing Again

September 11, 2015
It's okay, you can put your earplugs away, it isn't me who's singing but the Iyessi. I'm happy to say that I've now completed a new series of Iyessi songs to go with Discord's Apprentice. As with the lyrics for Discord's Child, there's one for the prologue and each chapter. Some are happy, some are serious, some you could dance to and others are gentle. Not that Ro would experience them that way. Hopefully, readers will enjoy them.
    Of course, the songs are an optional extra, which is why ...
Continue reading...
 

You Are Important

August 31, 2015
I had already written a blog for this week when I came across Neil Gaiman's lecture for The Reading Agency on 14th October 2013 and decided it could wait. I don't know how I missed the lecture before, but if I did, others who might benefit from Neil Gaiman's words have probably missed it too, so it's worth mentioning here.
    The lecture gives reasons why literacy and universal access to libraries are so important. Not least of these is how reading fiction stimulates children's imaginations. ...
Continue reading...
 

Good Company

August 25, 2015
I can think of 10 good reasons to read issue eight of Fantasy Scroll Magazine–make that 11.
    The magazine contains 10 speculative short stories, including my own offering 'Haze' about how first contact with mankind could be the beginning of the end for a planet's inhabitants. The other stories vary from futuristic tech-based SF to dark fantasy. The one thing they have in common is being irresistible. Once you start reading, you can't stop. You'll find believable characters struggling with...
Continue reading...
 

What Do You Read Again?

August 17, 2015
Apparently, Christopher Lee used to read The Lord of the Rings once a year. This was a habit he began decades before playing Saruman. He isn't alone. Many people have a favourite book that they read over and over, without it ever becoming stale. If you ask me, the definition of being a successful author is writing something that people not only remember, but enjoy re-reading. Strange as it may seem, not every novel on the bestseller lists has that quality. What is it that keeps readers coming...
Continue reading...
 

I Confess

August 10, 2015
I was going to sit down and write this blog last Sunday–that's not yesterday, but the Sunday before–but I made the mistake of sitting down to read a chapter or two of a novel. It was Ross Poldark, the first of Winston Graham's bestselling series set in Cornwall that's now all the rage again thanks to Aidan Turner. After the first two chapters, I thought I'd just read the next one, then the next and before I knew it, it was time to draw the curtains and put the lights on. The following day...
Continue reading...
 

That Sinking Feeling

July 27, 2015
I'm depressed. It isn't the fault of the weather, although a weekend of continuous rain is enough to make even my normally bouncy, happy-go-lucky bichons huddle on the settee and hide their heads under the cushions. No, what's made me feel like burying my head is listening to Open Book on Radio 4 yesterday.
    Mariella Frostrup asked someone from one of the big publishers what her favourite crime novel is. She was one of those young women who speak like an uncertain Australian. You know the ...
Continue reading...
 

Free to a Good Home

July 21, 2015
You may have read in a previous post that Discord's Child is currently available free in Smashwords' summer promotion, which runs until 31st July. I have mixed feelings about providing work for nothing.
    Generally, I feel that it's letting the side down. Most authors struggle to get work published and make a living from it. As enjoyable and rewarding as writing is, it is work. No one would suggest that nurses, teachers or accountants should work for nothing, simply because they get satisfa...
Continue reading...
 

Feeling Rejected?

July 16, 2015
Nobody likes being rejected, but believe me, there's hardly a writer on the planet who hasn't had to cope with rejection from time to time, so if you want to be an author you'd better learn how to deal with it.
     There are usually three stages to coping with having the work that you've sweated and fretted over unceremoniously rejected. The first is distress or depression. You feel that your work, and therefore you, are useless, worthless, unlikable, talentless... the list of negatives you ...
Continue reading...
 

About Me


My writing career began as a freelance feature writer for the local press, businesses and organisations. Now a prize-winning playwright and short story writer, my work has appeared in numerous publications on both sides of the Atlantic. I write as K. S. Dearsley because it saves having to keep repeating my forename, and specialise in fantasy and other speculative genres.

Blog Archive

Make a free website with Yola