General

Book Signing

Yesterday, the local library hosted a book signing event where local writers could show and sell their books. The Whittlesey Wordsmiths took part, and I was also there as a member. Coincidentally, my place was in front of the science fiction, fantasy and horror section. Or was it planned...? Asking someone what they want me to write in the book. PS, I've had to develop an entirely new signature because nobody can read my normal one.Read more

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

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

Creativity

Some years ago, I watched a program on daytime TV called The Wright Stuff (Channel 5, UK), which aired between 9:15 and 11:10, Monday to Friday. It was a discussion program with Matthew Wright, the host, and a panel of three guests who talked about what was in the news. It’s since been replaced by Jeremy Vine. One of the topics that morning was whether toys like Lego, selling kits to make specific models, were stifling creativity. I didn’t have much Lego when I was young, but I did own several Meccano kits.…Read more
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