William Blake's Urizen featured in many of his paintings and poetic works

William Blake: Artist and Revolutionary.

William Blake  (28 Nov 1757 – 12 Aug 1827), artist, poet and philosopher, is perhaps easier to admire than understand. The breadth of his vision, the tortured eloquence of his craftsmanship and the bloody-mindedness of his daily life all speak of an intellect wrestling with fantastic worlds that boil and fester within. Artistically he was influenced by Raphael, Michelangelo and …

Total Recall. Trailer and Philip K. Dick

The new movie version of Total Recall is coming soon and is further attempt to turn the fantastic ideas of Philip K. Dick (1928-1982) into celluloid. This one started as short story in April 1966’s ‘Science Fiction and Fantasy’ magazine, “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale”, but was transformed into the mega success of Schwarzenegger’s original and entertaining move, …

Harry Harrison: A Fantastic Author. R.I.P.

Harry Harrison passed away in the last day or so. He lived long (born 1925) but will be much missed. His official website has been overwhelmed with tributes. I came to him quite late, with Skyworld in 1981, the third book after Homeworld and Wheelworld both of which I immediately ran out and bought from Forbidden Planet in, I think, …

Advice for Writers

I love creating worlds, fantastic or otherwise. But it can be a lonely and frustrating business. That’s where Twitter comes in, Facebook and Google+ too of course. Since I started taking social media seriously I’ve been surprised by the incredible supportive community of writers, all aching to succeed but willing to share their experiences. In the last three years I’ve …