Writing books is a serious business – trust me, I’m in the middle of redrafting one right now – and when it comes to the best apps for writing books, there are so many options out there it can be hard to know where to start. Some of these apps can be a great alternative to using a standard writing software, like Google Docs or Word, and some of them are designed specifically to make sure you don’t end up […]

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So, you’ve successfully managed to avoid your social commitments to sit down and write something. After combing through it to check the grammar and that there isn’t a trail of letters from when you fell asleep on your keyboard, what’s the next step? You need to find somewhere to submit your writing online. The online writing community is bigger and better than ever before; one Google search later and you could find your new literary home. However, it might be […]

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Fantasy has always been a part of our collective imagination. Whether it be stories from ancient cultures trying to understand the world around them or within the tomes of contemporary fiction, it is undeniably a genre that has dominated the world of literature. We’re all familiar with the likes of Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter series, which are wonderful stories of good versus evil. However, there are other stories out there which focus on the more chilling […]

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From the moment he was born, Tutankhamun’s life was overshadowed by the choices of others. The son to Pharaoh Akhenaten, the most powerful man in Egypt, he was destined for greatness. Many of the rulers before him lived to keep life as stable as possible for their subjects. However, Akhenaten had upset this delicate balance of power, introducing new religious ways that threw the kingdom into turmoil. But Akhenaten’s love for his son was unquestionable. The great king shared his […]

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The humid weather was kicking up a foul stench from the rotten forest floor. It was no longer that refreshing earthy scent that you would enjoy breathing in; instead it was the choking stink of decay as the fallen foliage on the floor had turned to soup in the recent heavy rainfall that now baked in the heat. There was once a time when walking in the woods, if you heard a rustle in the bushes you would look with […]

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On really bad days, she tried to remind herself at least her head didn’t hurt. The doctors said it could’ve only hurt for a second, that she must have passed out quickly enough to escape most of the pain. But she thought when her skull smashed open and pushed into her brain she was allowed to be over-dramatic. So, when ‘remade’ is written across was locker in lipstick, she reminded herself that at least her head didn’t hurt, and at […]

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“Another nightmare?” “What gave it away?” I gasp, from the floor, where I’d landed as I tumbled out of bed. “Oh, you know. The flailing. Groaning. The fact you’re down there. I can read the signs.” Rafe’s face pops over the edge of the bed, his hair stuck up like dandelion fluff where he’s been sleeping on it. It’s dark but he’s so blonde that he basically shines, even in the middle of the night. Like an angel or something. […]

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One of the most important parts of being a writer is being able to research your craft. Writing a fantasy series? Time to dust off the Tolkien. Looking to write some trippy sci fi short stories? Flick through some Philip K. Dick. However, sometimes learning what you can about writing can be more nuanced than this. How do you workshop a scene? Does your story have too many tropes? Don’t worry, there are YouTube channels which can help cover this […]

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This story contains warnings for body horror. It was 3.17 am, and he couldn’t stand it anymore. The sheets were rumpled round him in tangled, sweating snakes. He’d laid in bed for four hours and twenty-nine minutes, and nothing he had tried had made him sleep. The podcast had stopped ages ago, the soothing woman’s voice had abandoned him. He chose a different podcast every night, and by extension, a different woman. This was the kind of man he wanted […]

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Bernard Cornwell is the best-selling British author of a large number of historical novels such as the Sharpe series, and a non-fiction history of the Battle of Waterloo. His latest book, Sword of Kings, is the twelfth in the The Saxon Stories (aka the Last Kingdom series; you may recognise that name from the TV show that so far has three seasons to its name, with Netflix recently renewing it for a fourth). Sword of Kings picks up the story […]

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“I don’t run, unless I’m being chased.” She used to say it when her colleagues discussed their marathon training and fitness classes. They would laugh, and she would see it as tacit compliance for her sedentary lifestyle. She didn’t like exercise, almost as much as she didn’t like being unfit and overweight. She knew that the laughs were only in part at the copycat wit that she had parroted from someone else’s Twitter account. She knew that they judged her, […]

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Daniel Ligotti was turning into a quiet avenue when a blur of pink flew across his windscreen with a dull thud, swiftly followed by a high-pitched squeak. Instinctively, Ligotti swerved, touched the brake and came to a surprisingly gentle stop just in time to see, in the rear-view mirror, a fluorescent pink ball roll across the bitumen before settling in a bloodied heap in the grass behind him. “Shit.” The car radio continued its hour of love song dedications. The […]

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Tyler Dupree’s boss Mr. DiCenzo tells him to keep his life to himself. No one wants sad stories, he says. He is there to serve the depressed, not to be depressed. Tyler works the bar at Crazy Charles’, a pizza joint by campus, with asylum-like white walls, but a fine array of pizzas (Thai Peanut is Tyler’s favourite) and beers. Fat Tire. 90 Shilling. Even good sours like New Belgium’s La Folie. He is twenty-nine and has worked here for […]

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The end of the world began on the 8th October. First came the rain, which was hardly unusual. Despite the heavy, thunderous music that battered every home and the desperate fingerprints spread across every available surface, nobody cared. This was Britain. It rained. * A week earlier, Erasmus Keep woke to find his girlfriend storming through his flat, throwing her possessions into an old plastic bag. She stopped only long enough to remind him that as of last night she […]

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You wouldn’t believe the width of her smile. See it at her brother’s creepy wedding. Dyed hair. Green dress, black sleeves. Pendant. Her head tilting to the side as we stand outside the church smoking. And that smile. Expansive, like it’s about to break past her face and live a life of its own. Neither of us want to be there. The groom met the bride when she was sixteen and he, well into his twenties, dated her in secret […]

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