Hartmouth Horrors

Couple of great reviews here for The Devil in Mia , my second Hartmouth Horrors novella, courtesy of Josh (Already Overbooked) and Arron Hook. Both of these guys are excellent supporters of indie writers and have some pretty great YouTube content, so p lease check out their channels. Common to both reviews are compliments on the relationship dynamics between the two main characters, as well as the intensity and psychological nature of the horror, and I ’ m really pleased I was able to hit the spot with two perceptive readers. Fingers crossed I can raise the bar even further next time and really make them squirm. Josh ’ s Review (8:55 to 11:05) Arron ’ s Review

This Monday morning, my mind is on some iffy behaviour from book reviewers in the indie writing space. If you’re looking for something light and uplifting,  I suggest you read no further, but  if you also have some gripes with reviewers, please be my guest. (Let it be known, by the way, that most reviewers seem to be doing great things. Pretty sure I speak for other indies when I say we appreciate you and are thankful for the love and attention you bring to our work.) Okay, so with that said… Gripe one, why announce you’re reading a book (or planning to) if you’re going to go quiet about it afterwards? It only makes writers wonder what the hell is wrong with their work, and they’ll probably end up thinking a whole lot less of you. And yes, we’ve all made the mistake of speaking too soon then finding the story or prose or whatever isn’t to our liking. But doing this on the regular? Come on. Gripe two, why seek favours, or even some form of compliance, from writers by dangling a...

Well, my horrible harties, here we go: a cheeky little promo video. Fill yer stocking with something shocking this year. Two grisly novellas, full of fun and nastiness, with another two slated for 2026. Click here for the series sales page.

This Monday morning, my mind is on Drudge, my current WIP. Or to be more precise, on the fact I’ve just deleted 90 per cent of yesterday’s words. Bummer, you may think, but it’s hardly the end of the world. Truth be told, it’s pretty much the opposite. First, I don’t really mind cutting words. Some folk like to file them away for a rainy day, but for me, there’s something symbolic in sacrificing a few hours’ work now and then. Call it expiation if you will, an offering to the writing gods. Second, and perhaps more important, is the value of staying attuned to the inner voice that says these words aren’t right. Yesterday’s work was decent—I convinced myself to keep it several times—but in the end, I knew I had to hit delete. So there we go. I start today’s session no better off in terms of word count but with a clearer image of what I’m aiming for. And with any luck, I’ll have made decent headway by this time next week. Until then, happy writing to you all.