mastodon 4.7.3UK author mainly writing urban fantasy. One new book recently published, and six more waiting in the wings.
#ScribesAndMakers 4/17. What's something you've learned in recent research?
I’ve learnt a remarkable amount of information from the research I’ve carried out into magic whilst trying to ensure the veracity of my work. I like to look for little known facts I can weave into my writing.
For instance, potions referring to things such as “Eye of newt" and "toe of frog" as per Macbeth, were synonyms for plants, not actual animal parts.
#WritersCoffeeClub 22 Apr
What's a writing skill you wish you were better at?
Managing to hit the correct key as I type. It’d save me a heck of a lot of time if I wasn’t continually having to pause to fix those pesky typos!
#WritersCoffeeClub April 25: Share your current biggest creative frustration.
I find myself to be completely bemused when, for no apparent reason, the Editor in Word starts to throw up random spelling suggestions indicating it’s no longer spell checking UK English but some foreign language.
A close second is Kindle telling me my eBook doesn’t have a table of contents yet, when I publish and order a copy, lo and behold, it does.
Angela Carter was born on this date back in 1940.
She was known for revitalising fairytales and infusing them with eroticism, making their passive heroines sexier, smarter and stronger.
Carter initially emboldened other literary authors to tackle supernatural themes afresh.
There’s a longer version of this post @https://indieauthors.social/
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#ScribesAndMakers 4/3. Do you think there is a creative element to eating?
I’m not sure about creative, whenever my characters are stumped during an investigation they tend to spend an inordinate amount of time eating cake and drinking coffee. So much time that one of them’d made a point of mentioning it.
One of my characters has the reputation of being a wonderful cook and my two main characters have a taste for fine dining.
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#ScribesAndMakers 28 Does your day job (past or present) influence your creativity?
Had a busy day yesterday, so I’m playing catch up today.
When I retired from being an aquarium writer I wrote a book called Aquatical Latin which explored the etymology behind the scientific names of reef fishes. This was something I revisited in my urban fantasy series, where I attempted to apply the same idea by creating a taxonomy of supernatural creatures.
#WritersCoffeeClub 31/3: What are we celebrating regarding your writing this month?
Finished the book formerly known as Book 6! The latest in my ongoing urban fantasy series is now, Being Shadowed by an Angel. Delayed ’cos I took a month off to write How to Succeed as a Supervillain by Following the Evil Overlord List for the Novel November challenge. Day 3 of re-reading and editing, OK so far. On page 93 hunting down and killing those pesky typos.
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#PennedPossibilities 1002: Tell us a random fact about your WIP.
I’m reworking a story which has been metaphorically sitting in a draw since 2017 (OK, it’s been lurkng in an unopened file). I fancied self-publishing another title as a companion piece to #How to Succeed… The Secret Life of Books seemed ideal as it’s story within a story covers some of the same ground, Evil Criminal Mastermind, Mad Scientist, Henchmen, etc.
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Recently my thoughts turned to river cruises, and I found myself pleasantly surprised to discover they’re not restricted to the larger rivers of Europe but are also available here in the UK. To that end we’ve booked a week’s cruise on the River Severn in a few weeks’ time. Naturally, as a writer, this set me musing on plot ideas and what sort of characters might make up one’s fellow passengers. As far as titles go, how about Death On the Severn?
#WordWeavers 29 Apr: Can you describe your current WIP in three words?
Real-life fictional characters
#ScribesAndMakers 3/30: "Do birds ever feature in your work? Give an example."
Location frequented by my deuteragonist is under surveillance by ravens. A duo of ravens, referred to as huginn and muninn, were spotted first, then a third larger bird, a male, was noticed to be relieving them. This one ends up being named Quoth. Each time there’s a caller they fly off to report back to some unknown party and the other bird or birds replaces them.
The recent prompts referring to etymology reminded me of an old joke:
“What's the difference between an entomologist and an etymologist? An etymologist knows the difference.”
I’ll get my coat…
#ScribesAndMakers 20, Self-promotion day. Shame optional.
At last! Now I can unashamedly plug my recent novel, How to Succeed as a Supervillain by Following the Evil Overlord List. Based on the Evil Overlord List it was written for the Novel November challenge with the aim of writing a 50,000-word story in 30 days. It’s received a review on Amazon reading: 4.0 out of 5 stars Great for nerds, Bond lovers and those who enjoy an entertaining read
#WritersCoffeeClub 11: What's your most effective method for connecting with readers?
I lookout for little known facts I can weave into my writing. Leading me to spend time clicking on Wikipedia’s Random article link in search of interesting things which neither I nor my readers are likely to be aware of.
See one of my earlier posts about something called Hufu touted as "the healthy human flesh alternative" for "cannibals who want to quit."
#ScribesAndMakers 1. How many creative projects do you have going right now?
Still reviewing my latest work whilst trying not to get distracted by my next project. Unfortunately, over lunch, I was persuaded it'd be a good idea to release a Kindle version of How to Succeed as a Supervillain by Following the Evil Overlord List. Not tried this yet. The book’s self-published on Amazon; how easy it is to reformat it as an e-book?
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#WritersCoffeeClub 13: What do you borrow from other fiction (or nonfiction!) genres?
Anything that takes my fancy, I then rework it, so it fits the universe where my story is set. I watched an episode of Murdoch Mysteries involving a tense cat and mouse chase then rewrote it, so it featured my protagonist being chased through a mansion by a man intent on killing him for some, as yet, unknown reason.
#WordWeavers Apr 12 Your MC has 2 1/2 days of spare time, time to...
Nathan and Vicky are their own bosses and free to take time off whenever they want.
If they’re involved in an investigation on behalf of the Hounds (law enforcement) or the Council (the body overseeing the magical demi-monde) things can be a little different. They take advantage of the situation whilst on assignment by making a point of eating well and charging it to expenses.
#PennedPossibilities 998 — Tell us about any attributes your SC has.
Vicky, my deuteragonist, is fiercely protective of Nathan, her guy.
When I say, “her guy,” what I mean by that is she’s extremely possessive, to such an extent that anyone she sees as being a threat is in danger of being immolated.
As a combat witch she describes herself as being, “hot stuff,” due to her habit of hurling fire-balls around when she’s displeased.
#WordWeavers 26/4: How ‘high maintenance’ is your MC?
My protagonist is pretty easy going. However, one of my newly introduced characters who he's looking out for, Cassie, a Gothic Belly dancer (apparently it's a real thing, look it up), has an extremely high metabolism.
Despite being of a petite stature she packs away the calories at a prolific rate to fuel her dancing.
#WritersCoffeeClub 4/7. Do you combine poetic fragments and prose paragraphs in your work?
1/2
It’s kinda inevitable when your world features magic. After Nostradamus:
Once strong in the arm falls, his mate shall lead:
At a time, unbelieving in magic, none shall heed,
Knowing that the woman, unageing, will be heard,
It is the fate of all, to fear she, who must be obeyed.
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#WordWeavers 4/6 Can you create a character/place/storyhook/device on the spot, if you need to? If so, share an example.
I reckon attending the monthly meetings of the Birthplace Museum writing group helps keep me on my toes. It’s even better when you don’t know the prompt in advance.
So, my answer is yes. It’s also useful when the story you’re writing takes an unexpected turn.
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In addition to it being World Book Day the 23rd of April is, in the UK, Saint George’s Day. As a writer though, I feel obliged to remind people it’s also William Shakespeare’s birthday.
Incidentally, this date makes for a great reminder of why new isn’t always better as on this day in 1985 Coca-Cola changed its formula and released New Coke to an overwhelmingly negative response.
28th Apr 2026. Do you use flowers at all in your story?
Any story involving witches will inevitably involve flowers and plants, they’re essential in the preparation of potions.
Hence, “Eye of newt," and "toe of frog," and so on.
Check out my 17th of April post about witch's ingredients and it’s follow up on the 18th
Wouldn’t you know it, I posted earlier about wishing my typing was better could so I could avoid typos. Just finished reformatting the second edition of How to Succeed as a Supervillain by Following the Evil Overlord List ready for the new Amazon eBook version and guess what, I’ve found around a dozen more of those pesky typos…
Now I’ve gotta revisit the other 3 versions of the book to correct them, too.
Apart from the previously mentioned Death on the Severn and The Scourges of the Severn Sea (inspired by @BackFromTheDud and his mention of pirates) incidentally, the Bristol Channel–Severn Estuary system was once known as the Severn Sea.
Here’re a few more River Severn related titles:
Severn Brides for seven brothers.
Cruising the Magnificent Severn.
The Magnificent Severn Cruise Again.
Severn… What ever you do, don’t look in the box
Characters one might meet on a River Severn cruise:
That mysterious, suave man who always wears a sharp suit is going to turn out to be Double-oh-Severn.
It seems inevitable that one of the passengers you’re going to end up seated with at mealtimes is going to turn out to be the Severn bore.
A large group of elderly women who turn out to be related, the Severn Sisters.
A group of vertically challenged passengers, the Severn Dwarfs.
8th Apr 2026. 8. Do any of your characters tell jokes? If so let them tell us a joke, please.
My protagonist can rarely resist making a lame joke much to the chagrin of his partner. Here she has a go at him by saying: ‘You know the way you’re so fond of misquoting Apple’s slogan and saying, There’s Some Crap for That. Well in this case it’s Find My, I’ve already added both of the kids phones to my list of people I’m stalking.'
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#WritersCoffeClub 17. What’s frustrating you, writing-wise?
Just finished correcting the typos in my latest novel, I’m now left with the task of making sense of half a dozen sentences which seem odd, to say the least.
I get the impression I must have had two different ways of phrasing a sentence in mind and ended up combining them in an incoherent way, leaving me to puzzle over my original intentions. So it goes…
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Hi All, I'm just trying out indieauthors.social as I’m finding the 500 character limit on Bookstodon just that, limiting. You can find me there under Tim Hayes @TimHayes@indieauthors.social
What happened on 420day? I think I must’ve blinked and missed it as I don’t recall seeing any posts.
Maybe everyone was too stoned to post... Just a thought.
Do you combine poetic fragments and prose paragraphs in your work?
2/2
Here's the 2nd quatrain in the style of Nostradamus which featured in the first book of my urban fantasy series:
He, who hears with his head, not his ears, will search:
On finding the waters of life will bestow them anew,
The woman receiving them will change all but the few,
She, who must be obeyed, will rule over all who are left.
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Breaking news! How to Succeed as a Supervillain by Following the Evil Overlord List is now available as a Kindle eBook for those of you heathens who eschew the hallowed printed page.
See: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DTKSV7RZ
and: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DTKSV7RZ Enjoy…
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991. Tell us about your WIP. What is the genre or genres?
Currently re-visiting an old story of mine. I recently realised it would make a great companion piece to How to Succeed as a Supervillain by Following the Evil Overlord List as it covers some of the same ground.
The Secret Life of Books features a story within a story telling the tale of trying to bring a criminal mastermind to justice. I just need to rework it so it’s of similar length.
