I made it. Sixty-six years old! Sixty-six! And counting. So how does it feel? I asked myself that last year. The answer's pretty much the same as then... It feels like when I was younger. You know -- 65, 64...? But a year ago, I hadn't published any novels and here I am, finalizing …
Category: Musings
The Price of Fame
Over the past couple of weeks, I've been running an Instafreebie promotion (where science fiction readers sign up to my newsletter and receive a free copy of my novel, "FACES OF JANUS"). Then Google Alerts notified me that the novel was available on a few pirate sites. I checked and found that one site claimed not …
The Economics of AI: Example
I recently had a great time at the 68th British National Science Fiction Annual Convention: meeting old friends; making new ones; attending some fascinating panels... The panels prompted my restless mind to explore tangential threads, as they should. Example... During the Artifical Intelligence (AI) panel, someone mentioned that when driverless trucks take over, some 3.5 million USA …
What’s With Wattpad?
I heard a few good things about Wattpad during 2014. Wikipedia (December 20, 2016) says... "Wattpad is an online storytelling community where users post written works such as articles, stories, fan fiction, and poems, either through the website or the mobile app... As of April 2014: [Yes, 2014] 85% of its traffic and usage comes from …
A Beginner’s Tale #3
It has been a long journey, but here I stand on the verge of publishing my first novel. I always wanted to write, but my first High School English teacher convinced me I was barely literate. I think he resented me being taller than him, as a later (taller) teacher promoted me from bottom of the class to …
So this is what 65 feels like?
I hit 65 last month. Let's try interviewing me. How does it feel? Well, pretty much the same as when I was younger. You know, 64, 63... It happened to me while I was in the UK, so I could celebrate my birthday with my mother for the first time in too many years. She …
Plot Sketch #4635
So Many Ideas, So Little Time... (I have too short a lifespan to produce a full story from every idea I get, so will occasionally throw up out a plot sketch so you can see what you are missing...) Plot Sketch #4635 Earth is the only planet in the galaxy where chocolate and coffee grow, due …
So Many Whys
I recently re-watched "Prometheus", the movie. It was a "non-prequel" to the hit "Alien" movie franchise. Like many, (humourously here with adult language) I was left with more questions than answers. Sadly, some of those questions appear to concern plot-holes, or at least plot-weaknesses. However, I will suspend judgement until I see the sequel to the non-prequel and …
Time Passages
I don’t post every week. You might have noticed. So it was with some surprise that I noted my post counter showed my previous one was the 64th. Sixty-four? Being of a certain age, echoes of an old Beatles' song always sound when I hear that number. ("When I’m Sixty-Four"). I also remember that sixty-four is …
Writing in Groups
I kept reading about them in the blogosphere. Everyone recommends them: Writers' Groups! So how do you find one? Especially if you live in the small, non-English-speaking country of Luxembourg. So I filed it away as yet more writerly advice I couldn't take, like nationwide bookshop signings, getting into libraries... Perhaps I could find a critique …
Andy McKell, Speculative Fiction Author 
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