Fantasy and Science Fiction Author

04/11/2025

So, as you probably know, I have a new book coming out soon, called The Last Dragonrider. It's a prequel to my other two Dragonrider books. Here's a reading of the first chapter. Thanks to Breda Quirke for filming.

03/11/2025

https://writersinthestormblog.com/2025/11/tips-for-overcoming-writerly-self-doubt/

With every book I write, I go through a long period of thinking it's the worst thing I've ever done - or if not the worst, not as good as the last couple. But I know that's only because I spend so much time close to it. When I re-read a book to prepare for a sequel or prequel, I usually think, "Actually, this is much better than I thought when I was writing it." Unfortunately, I don't think there's a way to skip over the "worst ever" phase and go straight to the "pretty good" phase.

Self-doubt can stifle the creative process and block the ability to express oneself, causing real problems when writing a story. Read on for help.

02/11/2025

A bit later than planned - what I did in October.

The short story that I mentioned last time has grown to 10,500 words. My protagonist has most of the clues that he'll need to solve the mystery, but do...

20/10/2025

Why I like writing plot-driven stories - two of the beta readers for The Last Dragonrider pointed out seemingly unrelated plot holes. I think I've just figured out a way to fix both of them in the same scene. Hurrah!

30/09/2025

What I did this month -

One of the beta readers for The Last Dragonrider has come back with comments - nothing that breaks the plot, fortunately. I'm waiting for the others. I t...

02/09/2025

A bit late, but never mind - what I did last month.

I finally sent The Last Dragonrider off to my beta readers. While I'm waiting for their comments, I started on the cover design. I'd like to think it's m...

24/08/2025

My performance at the St Annes Festival today. It starts with the first half of chapter 1 of The Accidental Dragonrider. Blame the Cat is at about 6 minutes, then The Last Story is at about 9 minutes. Thanks to Breda Quirke for filming.

24/08/2025

Thanks to everyone who came to support me at the St Annes Festival (and all the other artists!). Video of my performance coming soon-ish.

24/08/2025

I redid the calligraphy. I *think* that's centered... (I wrote it all on one line, so I had to do some cutting and pasting to put it on two lines.)

24/08/2025

Getting ready for my slot at the St Annes Festival. It's today (24th August) in the square, from about 1pm.

22/08/2025

Just over 36 hours until my appearance at the St Annes festival. (Sunday, 1pm-ish.) I can now reveal my "set list" -

The Accidental Dragonrider (first half of chapter 1)
Blame the Cat (from Racing the Storm and Other Stories)
The Last Story

Here's hoping the weather stays dry and calm!

20/08/2025

The calligraphy for the cover of The Last Dragonrider. I'm a bit out of practice. I might end up redoing it. Or cheating and reusing the words "the" and "dragonrider" from the previous book.