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 …
Getting Hissed
Can you hear that? No, you probably can’t. But I can. Tinnitus: ringing or buzzing in the ears. That definition just does not do it justice in my case. A concentration-shattering, perpetual whistling, more like. A shrill, hissing, sibilant, headache-inducing screeching that eases off to a whispering susurration at times. Or maybe you can hear …
Rocking Space!
Welcome, dear reader, to the latest in the hugely successful "BEYOND THE STARS" anthology series: Rocking Space. And one of the short stories is mine! I'm proud to be a member of this elite group of sci-fi authors:- * One Last Gig (Cain V. Hopwood) * Camp Kids (Patrice Fitzgerald) * First Contract (Julia …
Onward and Upward
It's a sunny day here in Luxembourg. The heatwave has eased, the rain has stopped, and it's perfect weather for sitting out on the patio and pouring thoughts and words into my laptop. I started looking through my Scrivener folder of "Unfinished Works". More accurately, it should be called, "Started and Stalled". Some authors struggle …
Mid-Year Thoughts
Here we go again, sliding past the year's halfway point - the longest day (or the shortest day if you're Down Under). The Earth just clocked-up another 470 million km (282 million miles) - a half orbit of the sun - since a cold and snowy December 31st. And what's changed? Well... the UK is …
April & May
BSFA Ytterbium Chocaholics and parents might have noticed it was Easter again last month. To me, that meant eating chocolate at the British Science Fiction Association's Annual Convention! Code-named Ytterbium, it was held this year at London Heathrow's Park Inn. As always, I rolled up ready to meet old friends, make new ones, and …
Mothers, Conspiracy, Frustration
Conspiracy To Steal Time From Mothers? The handover from March to April 2019 didn't go too well in the UK. The clocks went forward the night before UK Mothers' Day. A nationful of mothers had an hour trimmed off their special day! Some conspiracy theorists think this was planned by a man! The theory is …
Twenty Percent
Greetings from Luxembourg, where the early morning snow has melted away (just like 2019 is doing). (The photo is of the city looking beautiful in deep winter: we only had a scattering of snowflakes this morning and this looks much prettier.) Wake up call! Almost twenty percent of the year is already lost in the …
Back in the Saddle
Belated Happy New Year! It's been a while since I blogged. No, it wasn't the longest coffee break ever. To be honest, I've had enough medical, legal, and dentistry distractions to set me back more than a few months, but I'm bouncing back! Anyway, I had to put my writing and publication on hold, …
Andy McKell, Speculative Fiction Author 
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