Reviews, Blog, and the occasional Rant
Is self-publishing the new slush pile? Are publishers going out of business? Writers will be all too aware of the rapidly evolving world of getting a book published. I have … Read More
Nearly identical to her sister ship, the Titanic, the Olympic survived numerous collisions and even sunk a U-boat in WW1 The RMS Olympic was the first of the White Star … Read More
If you are writing a book, set a target like authors do One factor that distinguishes professional authors from aspiring ones is consistency. Most professionals write daily, regardless of the … Read More
The Olympics have had some really odd events like Plunge For Distance and some distasteful ones, like live pigeon shooting. Here are some highlights… The Olympic Games regularly update their … Read More
I recently started reading Agatha Christie again and had forgotten how much I love her brilliant mysteries. I’d previously read around ten of her more famous books. Some at school … Read More
And was almost shot as a spy… Nicholas Stephen Alkemade was born in Norfolk, in the United Kingdom, in 1922. When World War Two began, he enlisted as a rear … Read More
The ‘King of Fruits’ is pungent, healthy, and potentially deadly. The legendary durian fruit hails from Southeast Asia and is famous for a couple of things – but most notably, … Read More
Hemingway was actually against it… The aphorism ‘Write drunk, edit sober’ is often incorrectly attributed to Ernest Hemingway. After all, he was famous for writing and drinking, so it makes … Read More
As the world is a grim place, I thought I would share some good/interesting news about the loudest man, a duck that got famous in Mexico (and is cute), and … Read More
The small settlement of Villa Las Estrellas is one of the few settlements in Antarctica where people live for more than a couple of months. However, to live there long-term, … Read More
Medium and Substack are great in their own ways, but after months of earning almost nothing on Medium while my ‘weird history’ Substack grew, I changed my posting routine and … Read More
Raccoons are undeniably cute, with a reputation for rascal-like behaviour. And it was precisely these qualities that led to their huge popularity in Japan, prompted by a 1970s TV show. … Read More
Fewer cats resulted in more plague-bearing rats, or so the story goes People have different attitudes toward cats. Some people love them while others – not so much. But historically, … Read More
The true story of a robot vacuum hack that was more successful than planned Controlling a robot vacuum cleaner with a PlayStation 5 controller sounds like the sort of thing … Read More
The mountain range stretched across the continent and was on maps for over a century. The Scottish explorer Mungo Park first mentioned the magnificently named ‘Mountains of Kong’ in his … Read More
It is not about flash photography In 1512, Pope Julius II held a special vespers service. It was an evening event that was held to inaugurate the Sistine Chapel after … Read More
Maple syrup is worth a lot of money – and Canada has a lot of it The aptly named Great Maple Syrup Heist was the greatest theft in Canada’s history. … Read More
Apparently, interviews with an AI recruiter are becoming more common. I just had one, and the experience was a bit weird, but actually more normal than I would have thought. … Read More
It is April Fool’s Day, so I thought it apt to share one of the greatest April Fool’s pranks ever. This is from my Intriguing Times Substack. It really happened. … Read More
The forgotten true story of Alfonso Graña, the outsider who entered one of the most dangerous regions on Earth and emerged as a ruler In the early twentieth century, a … Read More
