Recent content by Mad Swede

I've put my thoughts on success in another thread so I won't repeat that here. The Dark One is right in his advice, and the only thing I'd add to that is that if you can you should write the sorts of stories you enjoy reading. Write because you love it, because you feel compelled to do it. Don't...

No, they're a person with some real mental health issues. I came across a few like it on the various UN missions I served on, although in those cases it was often the conflict that had led to their breakdown. If you're not a mental health professional there isn't much you can do apart from be...

I don't have a website, or any form of social media presence as an author. I just don't have time. My publisher does explain when the next book is due, but there's always a few who won't accept that.

Thank you for all the supportive comments. I mean that. I think what I'm having trouble coming to terms with is the expectations that readers and indeed society seem to have of authors they regard as a success. It isn't something I've seen openly discussed, certainly not here in Sweden. I'd...

At this point I'm going to suggest that you read Lady Chatterley's Lover by DH Lawrence. That book disproves your point in many ways.

As I wrote earlier in the thread, this is partly why I use a fade to black. It's the events around which develop the characters and their relationships, not the act itself. Besides, the readers can picture the act for themselves, usually in way and with a level of detail that I could never put...

I wish it were that simple. I hadn't quite appreciated that I'd develop a sense of loyalty to my readers, by which I mean that the relationship would become two way. They buy my books because they like them and in return they expect - and I feel obliged to write - more books. In some ways it's...

I wish it was that simple, but it isn't. I can't not write. I'm compelled to write. So it isn't a question of walking away. I guess what I'm finding hard to come to terms with is this sense of compulsion (and, it has to be said, fun) to write relative to this feeling that I can't stop writing.

No, that is not what I wrote. I write for deeply personal reasons, which isn't the same thing. Inevitably I, like most authors (or so I'm told), find myself putting events and personalities from my life and even bits of myself into the various characters and plots. This leads to a situation...

Now I know that seems like an odd question, but bear with me through this post and maybe you'll understand why I'm asking myself that question. I got the latest sales figures from my publisher today, the ones that cover the period leading up to the end of 2025. Total sales for all four of my...

Read a lot, especially local news and politics. You'd be surprised at how many personal conflicts and vendettas there are in local communities, and how seemingly small incidents and disagreements can quickly grow into something much larger. You might also want to read Dashiell Hammett's short...

Might I suggest that you should study them a bit more? If you want story and plot material for your fanatsy world then the run up to WW1, especially the politics, the associated intrigues and personal relationships (both between nations and within nations) are a gold mine. GRR Martin used the...

Being dyslexcic I do not read one book a week. But I do read as many as I can. I've never counted how many books I've read, but I have read widely: all the great Greek and Roman writers, the major Russian writers, all the major British and American writers, most of the major French writers and...

The answer to your question depends on which country you are talking about. The US allows a broader interpretation of parody than is the case in say the UK and Sweden. In countries which recognise moral rights in written works (which the US does not) parody is en exception to copyright law, not...

No it's not about cultural differences. As I wrote proofreaders do check spelling and grammar but they do this within the context of the work itself and in particular within the context of the style and nuances in the text. A good proof reader will check grammar but what they should not be doing...