The predominant genres I write are sci-fi and fantasy. Sci-fi styles range from speculative to high-concept and I like to get my details right where I can (but do not profess to write hard sci-fi). Fantasy is high-concept, and sometimes blends the world of today with otherworldly places and creatures. I have also written some gothic horror.
I write short stories and poetry and am now working on longer pieces as well as screenplays. The latter is something that has always attracted me since my university days and I have done some work as an extra also (more about that on Star Now).
My story writing began in my days as a game master in the school role playing club and has included fantasy, horror, supernatural, cyberpunk, superheroes, sci-fi and historic. I ran my own Live-Action Role-Playing (LARP) and Table-Top role-playing for about 10 years and ran a number of high-concept murder mystery events. I have also been the artistic director for English Heritage’s Hallowe’en Horrors productions at Fort Amherst in Kent and managed numerous events from fully themed to corporate to education. You can read more about this here.
I have also delivered copious amounts of copywriting since 2000 for numerous web projects. I ran my own web business for about 12 years and built many websites for SMEs and crafted copy for them to deliver their key messages and boost their search engine visibility.
You’ll find a selection of my fiction writing on this site from flash fiction to poetry. There is also a growing archive of research and scrapbook entries on topics such as Gilgamesh, Witchcraft, Pagan Festivals, Fox Spirits, and more, as well as a handful of writing-related posts such as book reviews.
I also run three other non-fiction blogs.
One is called Hologram, which is my journey of discovery to become a better person. It features self-help book reviews, personal epiphanies and discusses topics such as mindfulness and other techniques we can use to find ourselves.
The second is my Restaurant Blue Book which is all about the restaurant business (since I have run restaurants for the last 13 years).
The third is hosted on Medium, called Pan’s Worldview and has a number of pieces on climate change, politics, ideology, etc, which don’t fit neatly into this site or my other blogs. I list the articles I have published on Medium on this site for reference.
Another superb listen. In this continuation of the saga we have two more interlinked stories which continue the timeline. The first is the war between the Foundation and the Empire. The second concerns The Mule, an unpredicted mutant. As usual, Asimov concerns himself with the more psychological and broader events of the developments of the galaxy as the Empire crumbles and the Foundation grows...
Checking in for the 7th time now and still not much progress on the main ‘work in progress’ so I thought I would change the format of the post. I’ll still check in every couple of weeks and post what I’ve been working on, but might go a little deeper into other aspects also. It’s a moving feast! New Posts Foundation by Isaac Asimov [Book Review]A Question of Values...
Superb. Foundation is essentially a chronology of interlinked shorter stories which span a period of time from the birth of the Foundation through to its third key crisis (about 200 years). Each story links with the previous, and the narration of this audiobook is excellent. The writing is tight and interesting with political machinations, intrigue and layers within layers. The science of the...
Writing Non Fiction Book Reviews: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King,The Three Questions: How to Discover & Master the Power Within You Restaurant Articles: Build your own NHS Track & Trace App in an Hour Reading I finished the Lord of the Rings trilogy and, despite the archaic language, I found it an excellent listen. Definitely recommended reading for any fantasy buff to see where...
Although the language is archaic in places (‘lo’ and ‘quail’ feature), often prosaic and there are songs a-plenty, this final book in the trilogy closes the saga beautifully. From huge-scale battles to intimate meetings and the conclusion of Saruman and Golem’s stories, this book has it all. I found myself moved with Merry and Théoden’s parting and also at the...
Writing Non Fiction Book Reviews: The Etymologicon, Man’s Search for Meaning, The Code of the Extraordinary Mind,The Buddha & The Badass, The Daily Stoic, The Three Questions,High-Performance Habits Restaurant Articles: Guide to re-opening restaurants from 4th July,Flexible Furlough Scheme – Guidance for Employers July to October. Personal Development Articles How to Become...
Writing My Main WIP – The Gift No progress this fortnight. Again. In Other Stories It would be fiction if I wrote something here 🙂 Non Fiction Book reviews: The Miracle Morning, WTF (Willing to Fail) and The Five Attachments. Course Reviews: The 10 Human Drives, Meditation with Mei-lan Maurits, and Transformation Week. A post on the flexible furlough scheme for restaurants. Reading Three...
Writing My Main WIP – The Gift No progress this fortnight. In Other Stories Nothing to see here. It’s been one of those dry periods, though I am exploring an idea that was suggested in one of the “What Readers Want to Read” YouTube videos. Writing is not always about words on the page, though this idea has morphed into a possible trilogy! Non Fiction I wrote the comparison...
Continuing the saga began in The Fellowship of the Ring, this book sets into the serious business of the story. There are very few songs in this book which made it much easier to listen to the audio. The songs do set the tone and laid out the histories (as tales were remembered of old) but I did find them annoying in the first book. None of that here. Instead, we get an incredible journey which...
Writing My Main WIP – The Gift It’s alive! As I continue to learn more about story structure, good plotting, character depth, show-not-tell and more (as every writer should – never stop learning), the story has evolved. The short-story that began it all has become the lead-in to what is developing into a ‘Dude with a Problem’ story (based on the Save the Cat genres)...
Many (many) years ago, I discovered role-playing and Dungeons and Dragons in one of the after school clubs. It revealed a universe that allowed me to flex my storytelling muscles and enjoy a mixture of fantasy and sci-fi and feed the escapist dreamer inside.
Over time, I played (and story-led - marked with *) many systems including Call of Cthulhu*, Shadowrun, Dungeons & Dragons*, Middle Earth, In Nomine*, Bushido, Chivalry & Sorcery, Chill, Warhammer, Warhammer 40k, Gammaworld, Hawkmoon, Stormbringer, Immortals*, Marvel Super Heroes, Paranoia, RuneQuest, Vampire: The Masquerade*, and a couple of systems my own devising (Medieval* and Parody*).
I explored live-action role-playing – eventually running my own club and developing my own LARP systems (Fools Gold and Dream Conquest) – and usually found myself in script-writing or game-master duty, writing over 500 individual live adventures over the period (usually weekly), many linked into the world events of the fantasy land we created. I also volunteered for Curious Pastimes and Lorien Trust at their main LARP events (special effects at the Ritual Circle), and did a little script work, cameos and improv for Curious Pastimes. I was also the South East's Editor (UK) for the LARP magazine The Adventurer.
I was also the artistic director for English Heritage for their live Halloween Horrors events at Fort Amherst in Kent from 1998-1999.
The rest, as they say, is history.