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  • wildone

    Featured Story: What Happened To The Baxter Boys by Mancunian

    By wildone

    It seems like October is nearly over but today is still the second Monday of the month. That means that @W_L did a great review on a story that definitely has my interest!   What Happened To The Baxter Boys by Mancunian   Reviewer: W_L Status: Complete Word Count: 80,270   This reads like a British balm for a weary gay soul—comforting, warm, and restorative. If you’re trudging through a bad day, numbed by apathy, or worn down by the headlines, this story offer
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Book review

Book Review: Injury Time by Beryl Bainbridge

It’s 1970s North London. Middle class and conservative accountant Edward is married to Helen, but he is also having an affair with Binny. But single mother Binny is tired of being the other woman and wants a social life with Edward, a part of one anyway, more than just occasional meals in restaurants were Edward is sure no one will recognise him. To this end Binny wants to host a dinner party for Edward and his friends George and Muriel Simpson. The two couples duly sit down for their dinner par
Drew Payne

Drew Payne in Book review

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Review

'The Murderbot Diaries' by Martha Wells

Martha Wells The Murderbot Diaries My rating for the series: 4.5 (out of 5 stars); individual stories vary from 3 to 5 stars I went through a phase of reading sci-fi in my teens but very little since. When one of my Goodread's acquaintances posted a rave review of the latest instalment of The Murderbot Diaries, I read the review, shrugged, and passed on. Then someone else did the same. This time, I both read the review and wandered off to see what all the fuss was about.  Martha W
northie

northie in Review

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Book review

Book Review: The Use of Reason by Colm Tóibín

A small time Dublin thief (we’re never told his name) suddenly finds himself out of his depth. Used to stealing cash and jewels, which he can easily fence and sell on, he now finds that the paintings he stole, from a country house, are a Rembrandt, a Gainborough and two Guardis. How does he sell them, for a good profit, without alerting the police? And the police are becoming more and more interested in him because his alcoholic mother has been loose-lipped around her new friend. This story
Drew Payne

Drew Payne in Book review

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writing tips

Tell, don't recount

Most of you will probably be familiar with the rule/advice "show, don't tell". (Actually, this advice is a little flawed in itself, as outlined in "Bad Character Intros vs Good Character Intros (Writing Advice)" by the YouTube channel "Writer Brandon McNulty", but that would be a whole over topic for another day ). What we are focussing on today, will be the telling aspect. Because, even though, there can be good "tell", when "show" wouldn't work, and then, there's bad "tell", which I
Zuri

Zuri in writing tips

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Book review

Book Review: The People V. O.J. Simpson by Jeffrey Toobin

At the time it was called “The Trial of the Century,” though many people have forgotten it now, and others question that title.  There have been higher-profile trials since then, but Simpson’s trial did deliver shocks and forced questions about the American justice system. On 12 June 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson, Simpson’s ex-wife, and her friend, Ron Goldman, were brutally stabbed to death on the doorstep of her home. A mountain of evidence pointed to Simpson as their killer but, over
Drew Payne

Drew Payne in Book review

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John Henry's Blogs

Beyond Thicker Than Water....

I know I started this blog as a means to give greater context into Thicker Than Water and my writing process, which hasn't been well received (oh well), so I thought I'd turn this more into a discussion forum instead.  The first thing I'd like to discuss is to quote a Chicago song, "Where do we go from here?" I'm not yet done with Thicker Than Water, as I know how the story will end but not quite there yet.  I will be continuing the adventures of the characters in the story over on Nifty in
My Story

When Denial Was My Only Option

(This is part of a continuing series about how I tried to come out as gay in an Evangelical Christian environment. If you haven’t read my other essays in this series, please find them here, they will put this essay into context)   Spring 1985 “I don’t believe you’re homosexual,” he said. “I believe you’re bisexual, mostly heterosexual, and this is a phase you are going through.” I just nodded my agreement, what else could I do? We were sat together in the tiny study of h
Drew Payne

Drew Payne in My Story

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Book review

Book Review: Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood

It is 1930s Berlin and “Christopher Isherwood” is enjoying the notorious nightlife and culture of the city. Isherwood is an upper-class Englishman, surviving by teaching English to different citizens of the city, as he explores a life very different to his previous one, that opens him up to a diverse cast of characters. This book has become a modern classic, the basis of the musical and film Cabaret, but don’t expect a novelization of Cabaret here. The musical was inspired by this novel but
Drew Payne

Drew Payne in Book review

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Esaay

I Forgot My Mother’s Birthday

Last month I forgot my mother’s birthday. I was writing on my computer, glanced down at the bottom right corner of the screen, and saw the date. It was my mother’s birthday, or it would have been. My mother died twenty-three years ago. At first, after her death, I used the date of her birthday as a time to remember her. Using the date of her death for this was too much, too morbid and too negative. Her birthday was in January, in the cold winter after Christmas, and was always celebrat
Drew Payne

Drew Payne in Esaay

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Life and Writing

Look, it's a blog post. Crazy.

Writing: New rule: don’t start posting a new book in the fall right before the busiest season for retail. Just don’t. There will be tears. Mine, specifically.  New rule #2: Listen to your heart when it tells you that a story you’ve written is best read in a single go. Or, at least, that it should be available in its entirety from day one for those to wish to absorb it that way.  Keeper of the Rituals was never meant to be posted a chapter at a time. I think I mentioned that at the
Libby Drew

Libby Drew in Life and Writing

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Book review

Book Review: Taken at the Flood by Agatha Christie

At the height of the Second World War, millionaire Gordon Cloade marries the beautiful young widow Rosaleen Underhay. Two days after they arrive in London, Gordon Cloade’s home is bombed, killing all the inhabitants except for Rosaleen Cloade and her brother David. In 1946, Rosaleen Cloade has settled in the village of Warmsley Vale, where her late husband’s home is and she is surrounded by his relatives who all lost out on their inheritances when Gordon married her. Then a man turns up in
Drew Payne

Drew Payne in Book review

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blog post

Not Any Human Heart, My Human Heart

Last week I saw my own heart beating. I have seen a human heart beating before, but not my own. Many years ago I did a post-registration nursing course and part of that involved watching certain operations performed. I was watching a spinal operation. The surgeons accessed the patient’s spine via their ribs and deflating their lung. I looked over one of the surgeons’ shoulder and down into the patient’s open chest. There I saw that person’s heart actually beating, its rhythmic, synchro
Drew Payne

Drew Payne in blog post

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writing

Cinematic

I could’ve titled this entry “Doubt” again like the previous one. As the stakes of my story get higher, and the threads I’m weaving are only just beginning to come together, I have doubts again. More than ever before. Is it getting ridiculous? Is it still believable? Even a fantasy story has to be believable. I love these characters so much, and they’ve grown in me for such a long time, that it would end me if anyone hated them. I sound ridiculous. So to give my characters and story de
drown

drown in writing

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Review

'Sparrow' by James Hynes

James Hynes Sparrow My rating: 4 out 5 stars For a nearly eighteen hour long book, this was peculiarly riveting. Even more so when you realise there are hours of the story during which nothing much happens. And yet, those hours draw you in with their vivid descriptions of life at the tavern / brothel which forms the central locale of the novel. They make you care about the various characters, especially the young boy who narrates from old age what it's like to be a nameless slave livin
northie

northie in Review

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Book review

Book Review: Johnny Come Home by Jake Arnott

Against the backdrop of 1972 London, four lost souls collide. Pearson has just lost his lover, O'Connell committed suicide. The activist Nina feels her ideals slipping away from her as she also watches the trial of the Angry Brigade, the anarchist group accused of a spate of bombings. Sweet Thing, a streetwise rent boy, can make anyone desire him, but who or what does he desire? Johnny Chrome is on the verge of his big breakthrough as the next big thing in glam rock, a breakthrough he has been w
Drew Payne

Drew Payne in Book review

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writing

Doubt

Writing about not writing is, in fact, writing. So now I have a blog! Having the perfect writing setup for over a decade isn't actually enough to produce good writing. Duh. Of course, it isn't. I pride myself on being a good judge of quality, and nothing I had written passed the test. Judging it by my standards was enough for me to decide, "Nope." But: To get better at writing, you need outside feedback. Even mediocre writing will be improved with furious editing.
drown

drown in writing

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Review

'In Memoriam' by Alice Winn

Alice Winn In Memoriam My rating: 5 out of 5 stars Enthralling. Poignant. The horrors of war and a tender love story. You might think there are already too many stories about young Englishmen from privileged backgrounds who find themselves amidst the unspeakable events of World War 1. I half thought so too when I finally started this book after having it for several months. The opening chapters are a volley of names, characters, and their interactions at a 'public' school whi
northie

northie in Review

4
John Henry's Blogs

In The Mourning Day (Thicker Than Water Chapter 9)

When I first envisioned Jefferson as a town, the fictional city of Charming, CA from Sons of Anarchy came to mind, but certainly smaller.  Thoughts of a rustic, desert town, with pine trees and scrub brush lining the streets instead of lush foliage and bushy oaks.  The town could fit anywhere along Highway 97 from Central Washington to Central California.  The motel they stayed in based on an experience a friend of mine had at some crap, roadside place. Unless the situation calls for it, I
John Henry

John Henry in John Henry's Blogs

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blog post

And the Truth About Political Promises.

My government has let me down, again. Am I of any value to them? They certainly don’t seem concerned about me. They made me a promise, told me to wait and wait, but never kept it and now… In July 2018 prime minister Theresa May promised to ban conversion therapy. In 2019, Boris Johnson repeated the pledge during that year’s general election campaign. Yet here we are, November 2023, and again there is no sign of the promised ban. This month’s King’s Speech, were the government outlines the l
Drew Payne

Drew Payne in blog post

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Christmas

It's That Time Of The Year

Yep, it's that time of the year. What time? I hear you ask. It is the time when we are either thinking about or trying not to think about Christmas. It's also the time when many charitable organisations get the begging bowl out. I've already had my begging bowl out, been around the usual local companies and a few more. I've been lucky and received donations and promises of help from all that I have approached, and I am grateful for everything that has been received and promised. Now I've got the
Mancunian

Mancunian in Christmas

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John Henry's Blogs

Tears, Coffee and Foreshadowing (Thicker Than Water Chapter 8)

So, here we are in Chapter 8.  It's another transitional scene that I wanted to show more of the bonds that hold the Padilla family together. Of course we start with the aftermath of Bryan and Kenny's conflict.  Bryan is showing a rare moment of vulnerability, where his attachment issues get triggered.  I find that it's key to keep bringing this up, because everyone's motivations and activities are dictated by how they handle trauma.  Bryan doesn't grow close to most people because of the f
John Henry

John Henry in John Henry's Blogs

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Book review

Book Review: Sex in Cyberspace (Men Who Pay For Sex) by Sarah Earle and Keith Sharp

They say prostitution is the oldest profession, therefore those men who visit prostitutes must be the oldest Customer Demographic, but what do we know about them? The majority of research done has focused on prostitutes, very little on the men who use their services. Sarah Earle and Keith Sharp make these men the focus of their research and raise some fascinating points. This book is written from a sociological study, looking specifically at men who use the internet to find sex workers. Ear
Drew Payne

Drew Payne in Book review

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Book review

Book Review: Showtime 2020: The Collected Works of Newham Writers

This anthology is a collection from a writers workshop in East London. As such is has been designed to showcase the writing coming out of this workshop, and so is a very mixed anthology. This isn’t just a collection of short stories only, or just poetry or only essays. This collection contains many different styles of writing. There are short stories here, but also poetry, essays and even drabbles (100 word stories). The strength here is this collection’s variety. If you don’t want to read
Drew Payne

Drew Payne in Book review

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