Articles Written By: StephenOliver

Transcript of my Interview

As I mentioned recently, I was interviewed on local radio. On Monday, I received the audio file, which I posted. Since then, I’ve used some online software to transcribe the interview. It did an OK-ish job, but I’ve just spent most of the day correcting its grammatical errors, and compensating for the fact that it’s not so hot at detecting various English accents…! So, if you’d prefer to read it than to listen to it, here it is. Fenland Radio Interview with Stephen Oliver and Rob Windal Rob Windal: And it’s time for…Read more

My Interview

You may remember that I mentioned being interviewed last month on Fenland Youth Radio. Their remit is encouraging commitment, determination, hard work, and, most importantly, having fun. Bringing the youth of today and the experienced together to work to provide a smooth and clear radio station for all the community to enjoy (quoting from their website). Well, I got the interview audio file this morning, so I'm posting it here for all to hear. BTW, I've removed the songs because of copyright.Read more

Are Science Fiction & Fantasy Escapism?

Yesterday, I was a panellist at the local Whittlesey Literature Festival (WhitLit 2). We are all local writers, although our genres vary widely: memoirs, romance, non-fiction, anthologies, etc. I got to meet writers I'd never met before while renewing acquaintances with the rest. (By the way, I'm just putting down my coffee mug; writers are caffeine-powered, after all!) Although my little speech introducing my newest books went down well and produced a few chuckles among the audience, no one was interested in buying them. This got me wondering: What is it about science…Read more

I Got Interviewed!

I was interviewed on Fenland Youth Radio this morning about my writing and books. We talked about my three books: Unleash Your Dreams, Paranormal City, and Shuttlers (all available on the books page), as well as what it's like to be an author. All the music tracks were connected to writing, including Sam Smith's "The Writing's on the Wall"! The whole interview went great, although we overran by about 10 minutes. But, they weren't fazed and loved it. It will be going out again next Monday and Wednesday evenings. BTW, I may be…Read more

Three Sheets to the Wind

The Whittlesey Wordsmiths have been at it again! We’ve produced our third general anthology, our fifth book if you include our two Christmas specials last year. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BCSVV7S5/ Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1916892647/ Enjoy!Read more

Shuttlers Paperback

For those who haven’t seen it yet, “Shuttlers” is now available as a paperback. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B8RJ5Y22/ If you live close enough to me, I’ll even sign it for you!Read more

Writer’s Retreat

Two weeks ago, I arrived at a five-day writer’s retreat in Devon, England. My writing coach Annalisa Parent of The Writing Gym and Date With the Muse, organised everything. Eight of us took part in total: Annalisa, her assistant, and six writers, including me. I won’t go into too many details, but we were looked after by the owners of Knapp House, where we stayed, being fed and looked after in a way that made writing so much easier. We spent the mornings in exercises designed to improve our creativity and teach us…Read more

Updated Bio

I’ve just updated my bio to include a humorous version: Stephen was utterly sane until he was born to totally normal parents. Having been precipitated into this insane world without his permission, he decided that the only logical response was to become crazy. He hid the craziness successfully while at school. However, when he started working, he came to believe he could speak to machines. The only possible solution was to train to be a software developer. After more than three decades of this, he completely lost his mind and decided to become…Read more

Paranormal City Paperback is available!

Paranormal City For those who haven’t heard yet, Paranormal City is now available as a paperback: US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1951768426/ UK:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1951768426/ Be sure to use the correct link because the publisher charges for sending it abroad if you’re ordering from abroad. And it doesn’t matter if you’re on Unlimited or not.Read more