Space exploration. Space settlement. Space empires. What’s the fascination? It's in our bones, or rather our genes. Our ancestors and their precursors were not satisfied with the place they grew up in. Sub-Saharan dwellers spread out to occupy every habitable place in Africa. Their cousins headed north into Arabia, then Europe (where the Atlantic Ocean …
Author: Andy McKell
A guy who writes speculative fiction, between doing a bit of acting
Ch-ch-changes
Hi again! 2020 Hindsight I love sitting on my garden patio in the sunshine tapping away at my laptop, letting my subconscious pour my characters' surprising adventures onto the screen. (Yes, I'm a "discovery writer", or "pantser".) But no more sunshine. After a long, dry, blazing summer in Luxembourg, the autumn equinox arrived. Within days, …
Empires Fall
Last time, I ended with, "But that's another story, for next time." And here we are, so... I was always fascinated by the way empires fall. Gibbons' tale of the Roman Empire and Asimov's Foundation series (inspired by Rome's collapse) sparked my interest. In older days, the empires of Rome, China, Persia, Egypt, Huns, Mongols, …
About a Story, Maybe
Let me tell you a story... about a story. Or maybe it's about a writer. Seven years ago I started to write a story. It grew like topsy. I was squeezing an epic series spanning thousands of years into a single novel. So I found break-points and spread the tale over three, then four, books with yet …
Culling Again
Independent writers are reporting in FaceBook groups a new culling of their 5-star reviews is underway on Amazon. Other reviews are blocked before they even appear on the book's page. Yes, that's indie authors' 5-stars again. I guess if it happened to J.K. Rowling, there'd be a batch of 5-star corporate lawyers knocking on Amazon's …
Waking Up?
Well, that's been a weird few weeks. Groundhog Day all over again every morning. "What day is it, today? Is it yesterday or tomorrow?" The writing community seems to have fallen into two camps. Some were fired up, churning out thousands of words a minute, mainly about fictional global virus infections, it seems. (Good luck with sales.) …
March On
So here we are, heading for the Ides of March and the world is in the grip of Corvid-19, the rebranded Coronavirus. First off: my sympathies go to all those affected and their families. A flowery writer could spout about fear-filled streets, but I'll avoid that. My personal and very selfish focus is on the …
A Winter’s Tale
February I look out the window at the storm-wracked forest beyond the rainsoaked fields and long for Spring. My personal "writing place" is my garden patio in the sunshine with rock music on my headphones and coffee within reach. Sitting in my attic office with artificial lighting to compensate for the all-day, gray-sky dullness outside …
Almost February?
Wow, time flies! I am SO glad I renamed this an "occasional blog" a while ago. Luckily, the world ducked Father Time's scythe as December slipped into January, despite Middle East issues, although China's upcoming New Year of the Rat (starts January 25, 2020) is plagued with spreading Coronavirus problems and Australia is still beset …
Heading for Year-End
First off, belated HAPPY THANKSGIVING from snowy Luxembourg! No, there wasn't this much snow, yet, but it's a lovely photo of the town in midwinter. NovaCon Sci-Fi Convention in Nottingham, UK Was this a convention to remember! I got serious food poisoning on the way there and my (newish) car broke down on the way …
Andy McKell, Speculative Fiction Author 
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