Cancer and Edema

There comes a time, a day, a morning when you wake up and you feel well. You might have been recovering from flu, or covid, or something else, body or soul. For me it has been edema, and today was … Continue reading

Go With the Flow

I love Queens of the Stone Age. Their music is straightforward but intricate, always promising to take you somewhere good, then taking you somewhere better, an alternative journey to a familiar place, so when you arrive you see things a … Continue reading

The Blackhart Blades – Inspiration Forgotten, Advice Remembered

It was a lovely as ever to receive my author copies of The Blackhart Blades from Newcon Press. For some reason this set me thinking about the original inspiration for this story and I realised I had absolutely no memory … Continue reading

Cancer, and the Power of Positive Thinking

Trigger warning: This article contains the use of the F-word. Not so copiously as to be considered an ingredient, more of a condiment. Because why the fuck not? Here we go: Catching up yesterday with Phil, an old friend of … Continue reading

A Tale from the Kalevala

Issue 7 of ParSec, the SF short story magazine from PS Publishing is now out. It includes my short story, ‘The Naismith and the Wild Boy’. Some stories from legend are adventures, others are fantastical explanations for natural events and … Continue reading

Milford SF 2023 Bursaries Announced!

Milford SF Writers are delighted to announce the 2023 bursary results. As a committee member it’s been a real privilege to be part of the bursary selection process, a serious and important process. This year we had more applicants than … Continue reading

A Mysterious Box Found in the Attic

Among all the ephemera from four generations of the my extended family that seems to have ended up in my attic have been some truly interesting, personal, and moving objects. Memories have been recalled, and feelings too. Sometimes I’ve sat … Continue reading

Mystery Tech from the Attic

This little instrument (about 7cm long) was an interesting attic find. It took me a while to work out what it is actually for. Look through the lens beside the numbered wheel and you see a double-image of whatever you … Continue reading

Chemo, Food, and Taste

One of the tiresome things about chemo is what it does to flavours and aromas. For me almost every taste is really dialed down, and many things are flavourless. Texture is a big part of enjoying food, but when that’s … Continue reading

Eat My Speculative Shorts!

7pm GMT this Wednesday (1st March) I’ll be taking part in one of the free Glasgow 2024 WorldCon online fringe events. “Eat my Speculative Shorts” is a panel discussion on that wonderful story form – the short story. Speculative short … Continue reading