Trusted by 500+ fans to find the fun in the funereal, the absurd in the macabre, and delight in the darkness. Join fiction author Morgan Delaney three times a week for genre-bending stories of cozy horror, dark fantasy and a brain with mind of its own...
(Almost) Nothing Has Changed
 You know those Bic four-colour pens? A blue and white pen with four clicky buttons to choose black, blue, green, or red ink? They’re still around, and Bic is still selling millions. Back in the day, they were a minor status symbol in school. Either you were one of the cool kids with a Bic 4 Colour, or you were a lug. Unable to attend parties and other social occasions because you were too busy hauling four separate pens around. I want one. I still want one. I hadn’t thought about them in years before internet research dangled one under my nose, and I’m only slightly exaggerating when I say I can’t think about anything else. You remember them, right? That strange click when the chosen colour clicked into place. Do you remember that the top of the pen was a ball? They added that for dialling rotary telephones, and it’s the only bit of the pen that’s changed in all these years. They replaced the ball with a hole for a lanyard. Here’s something you already know: Those pens would never win style awards. But when you’ve got a Bic 4 colour, people are aware. Those pens have character. What writers call “voice.” For me, that’s the most important part of a story. If I don’t like the “voice” – the way the writer writes – then I can’t read the book. And if I love the book, I don’t care what it’s about. I just want to hear the story. And I like to think my writing has a pretty unique voice. You might not like my books.* You might say they’re badly written.** But you won’t mix them up with anybody else’s books. Even though mix-ups are a huge part of the reason Professor de Glube and Mrs Sniffacre find it so difficult to get together in The Squared Circle, available here now! Chat soon, Morgan P.S. More Morgan? Get 2 of my books free here: morgandelaney.info/newsletter *Help me out. Buy them anyway. **They’re not. Even the mistakes are deliberate, probably. |
Dark, Strange and Fantastic Fiction
Trusted by 500+ fans to find the fun in the funereal, the absurd in the macabre, and delight in the darkness. Join fiction author Morgan Delaney three times a week for genre-bending stories of cozy horror, dark fantasy and a brain with mind of its own...
We’re in what used to be East Berlin. Tip: If there are trams, you’re probably in East Berlin. East Berlin had trams. West Berlin ripped them up for being old-fashioned and stupid. They’re regretting it now and want more, but trams still mostly don’t go further west than Hauptbahnhof (Main Station). So if you’re on a tram, you’re probably in old East Berlin. Seeing the most incredible things… Taking the tram yesterday, we passed a big vet (animal doctor, not war hero), and the surgery windows...
George Orwell had blue spots or circles tattooed on each of his knuckles. Probably done while he lived in Burma before becoming a writer. Possibly the tattoos are the reason he became a writer. “Writing can hardly be more painful than getting my knucks tatted,” he thought. “Let’s have at it!” The poor fool. Here’s the thing: What makes tattoos difficult is that you get only one chance to do it right. What makes writing difficult is that you get as many chances as you like. Unless you’re under...
My two favourite things are music and books. But I recently watched mclusky on KEXP and was blown away that some people can play music and sing at the same time. I don’t have the concentration to listen to the music and the lyrics at the same time. When I listen to music, I’m only listening to the music. Of course, I like a lot of growly metal, where the vocals sound like the Cookie Monster trying to eat his way out of a quarry. Good luck with those lyrics, but still. I’ve never been...