by Kev the Vampire: Why am I writing this? Why are you reading it? Where do blogs come from and where are they going to? ‘In the beginning was the Word’, we are told in John 1.1, but the Bible makes no mention whatsoever of the phenomenon of blogging,  even though there are now 156 million [...]

by Richard Jay Parker: I’ve noticed that a large percentage of online pieces about books and technology frequently use the phrase ‘Death Of The Book.’  It was probably quite attention-grabbing a couple of years ago but now it seems to have lost its impact and doesn’t guarantee as many hits.  It doesn’t stop people using it though, particularly [...]

by Drew Keaton: This is a rant! Be forewarned… I’m an avid reader and I adore the classics. As an English major, I’ve everything from Spencer to Byron. Kafka, Blake, Shelley, and Burrows sit on my shelf. I’ve recently dipped my toe into the world of indie publishing. I’ve always supported the DIY musicians… this is [...]

by Richard Jay Parker: Was chatting with another writer this week about a storyline she formulated which outlined the perfect murder. She then became concerned that putting it out there might inspire somebody to copy the method. Is it likely that readers will be tempted to adopt the techniques of a fictional murderer? It’s highly [...]

by Dr. Kimberly Rackley: If you ask ten different people what a ghost is, chances are you will be told ten different definitions or opinions. I believe that you can not correctly define a ghost or any essence until its matter or cause has been named and proven through the scientific process. What we have [...]

By Dr. Alex Scully: The darkness has an allure. Taken at face value, this is just a phrase scrolling across your average gothic board. Reach beneath the surface, however, and you will find something lurking there. Scholarship, academia, and intellectualism seem anything but dark. Reach beneath the surface, however, and you will find something lurking [...]

Written by Lacey Reah When I say “past life” I mean, it was many phases ago.  I’ve been many things, lived many lives in this one lifetime. When I was very young and living in another country, my older brother bought a deck of tarot cards.  He was fascinated with the mystery of them.  He tried [...]

Written by Richard Jay Parker Title of this week’s blog sounds like a strapline for a movie about body snatching pod people but I’m actually curious about other writers and how they road test their material. Nobody immerses themself in a project if it hasn’t fired them up in the first place. But once you’ve completed [...]

Written by Benjamin Jones Let me start by saying…. AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! Sorry, just had to scream and get that out. Now that that’s out of the way, for us unsigned/independent authors, especially those like myself who have spouses and children to support, trying to do everything that you want to do with your book isn’t always feasible [...]

Written by staticsan Amongst the works of Science Fiction, there is a significant subset called Hard Science Fiction. You may have heard the term. Works in that sub-genre usually have science that works, or is at least plausible, and little if any hand-waving. The hardest of hard will do away with things known to be “probably” [...]

Written by ElshaHawk I don’t often write dark fiction, but when I read stories (especially on a website that I collaborate and write on), I want a twist, a villainous discovery, or a nasty end to a character. Sometimes the twist is funny or ironic, but what really gets the blood pumping is a shock. Thrill [...]

By  Lacey Reah I had been writing plays for so long, but after having a family and moving away from NY, I lost interest in workshopping plays and spending hours working with actors and creating something for an audience.  I had written a play that might have been too big for a non musical stage [...]