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 …
Tag: writing
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 …
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 …
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 …
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, …
Winter Is Coming
No, not another "Game of Thrones" review. It's snowing in Luxembourg, Halloween is here and there's only 55 days left to Christmas at time of writing. (To keep track of how time's running out for your gift shopping, click here.) And it's been another month of ups and downs in a writer's life... A Short Story Published "Your …
The Writing Game
This writing game is a bit of a strange adventure. Telling Lies A fiction writer tells lies in a vacuum. S/he tells lies about things that didn't happen to people who don't exist. And there might be no one listening... (Hello? Anyone there? I'll carry on and you can catch up later.) Writers write - …
Guilty As Charged
In my previous post, I dangled some "click bait" about how I was over-committed, then offered only a cliffhanger. My bad. Seriously, I found myself in a time bind over the last few months... My next novel is a 1950's L.A. noir, "Private Vices". I was working hard on the final revision while looking …
Andy McKell, Speculative Fiction Author 
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