If Only...

February 17, 2013
I don't usually do this, but this week's blog doesn't have much to do with writing.  Correction, it has everything to do with putting off getting on with it, but sometimes real life doesn't want to let go of your thoughts and you can't get the imagination started to travel to the far-off land where you left your characters.  For this piece of procrastination I can thank my brother-in-law who posted this link www.youtube.com/JustJesse197 on Facebook.  
People who don't like dogs probably won't be entertained.  Jesse obviously enjoys himself and he's certainly one smart canine!  Our bichons are clever too–so clever, in fact, that they manage to get the treats out of us without doing the tricks!  Harry's also very good at having a wrestling match with himself and knocking the fight out of his bed-cover.  His sister's skills include telling the time.  She makes sure we always know when it's time to get up, have breakfast, go for a walk, get lunch (she points at the cupboard door if we don't get the message), go for another walk, have dinner, play, go to bed etc.  If only I could train them to write a few articles as well.
Anyway, the video of Jesse certainly put a smile on my face.  Enjoy!
 

Heavy Air, Light Reading

February 10, 2013
Otherwhere and Elsewhen, featuring my science fiction story, 'Heavy Air', is now available from Bridge House Publishing.  You can either find it on their website or at Amazon, priced £3.80 plus VAT.  Edited by Gill James, the anthology is a collection of 12 stories with a loose theme of another 'time and another space, light years from here'.  As well as 'Heavy Air', you'll find stories by Philip T. Brewster, Julie-Ann Corrigan, Phil Hodgkiss, Dawn Knox, Jeff Laurents, Shirley Percy, A. J. S...
Continue reading...
 

Be Critical

February 3, 2013
Last week, I wrote about the joys or otherwise of being asked to critique someone else's work as a favour, and offered some suggestions as to how to survive the process with all your friendships intact.  This week, I want to share some of the pluses that linger after feeling flattered has worn off.
Editing or proofing someone else's work makes you more aware of how you write yourself and of any bad habits you might have drifted into.  It teaches you to take an objective look at what you do, a...
Continue reading...
 

Handle with Care

January 28, 2013
Sooner or later it's bound to happen. Someone discovers that you're a writer and presents you with your manuscript asking for your opinion. It would be easy to see this as an imposition. After all, you have your own work to get on with and someone else's project is yet another reason to procrastinate. Instead, take it as the compliment it is.
How you tackle the task you've been given depends on how experienced the writer is, how long or complicated the manuscript is and how well you know the ...
Continue reading...
 

Thank You

January 20, 2013
It's wonderful hearing from people who like what you do. I've been fortunate to have received positive feedback and kind words from people who call themselves my fans this week (imagine that–me having fans!). They aren't family members or people whose opinion I've solicited, but readers who took the trouble to let me know that they appreciate my work.
Before I put everyone else off by blowing my own trumpet, the main point I wanted to make is that a little praise goes a long way. Everyone l...
Continue reading...
 

Yes!

January 13, 2013
You can wait ages for work to get from acceptance to publication then, like buses, several come out at once.  This week I received the latest wonderful edition of The Binnacle Ultra-Short.  Included are the winning prose, poetry and humorous entries in the annual competition along with a host of pieces receiving honourable mentions, including one of mine, 'Plucked from Obscurity'.  The edition is in paperback form, plus a box with each work on a separate business-sized card, which you can mix...
Continue reading...
 

A Level Playing Field?

January 8, 2013
A friend recently complained that when he did a search on Amazon for Discord's Child, my novel wasn't listed.  I couldn't understand this as a Google search for the title finds it straight away on both the Amazon.com and .co.uk sites.  I tried the Amazon site myself and discovered that if I used the title alone, or my author name (K. S. Dearsley) Discord's Child was top of the list.  However, if I prefixed the title with 'book' or 'novel', as my friend had done, it didn't appear at all.  Inst...
Continue reading...
 

The Feelgood Factor

January 3, 2013
It's no good having a fragile ego if you're a writer.  It isn't like being a mathematician or a scientist, there are no absolute right or wrong answers or ways to do things.  All the rules can be broken as long as you know that you're breaking them and have a reason for doing it.  The problem is that writing is subjective.
Some readers will happily ignore the occasional grammatical error or typo if there's a cracking plot, or will forgive a slow pace or digression if the language is beautiful...
Continue reading...
 

Out Soon

December 24, 2012
It looks as if 2013 is going to get off to a good start.  I've heard from Daily SF that my story, Salvage, will be available to subscribers from Christmas and that everyone will be able to read it free at www.dailysciencefiction.com from around the beginning of January.
If you've never read Daily SF, I recommend it.  There's an impressive range of genres and styles, with a new story every day, and you can rate the ones you read.  I really loved the one they featured a couple of days ago, So F...
Continue reading...
 

Bowled Over at Tate Britain

December 16, 2012
I've always been a fan of the Pre-Raphaelites. They aren't everyone's cup of tea, but I've always loved the stories/poems that inspired them and the inspiration the paintings provide, their stained glass colours and the way they capture the moment. For me, the exhibition Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Avant-Garde at Tate Britain was unmissable.
Even though I had seen many of the paintings before at exhibitions, on television or in books, I found the exhibition dazzling. Reproductions certainly do...
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