Mark Brandon
@markbrandon.bsky.social
Fantasy, science fiction and horror author living in the UK.
COLOSSUS OF THE THAMES (2021)
INKERMAN (2022)
https://www.typhon-creative.com
COLOSSUS OF THE THAMES (2021)
INKERMAN (2022)
https://www.typhon-creative.com
Pinned
Mark Brandon
@markbrandon.bsky.social
· Nov 17
Steampunk me (2016)
Mostly scratch-built, back in my crafting days.
Mostly scratch-built, back in my crafting days.
My favourite book-related podcast, with some spooky tales for the Witching Season, including a morsel from yours truly! 👻 🎃 😈
October is here, so get your goth on and join us for a collection of tales of terror from previous episodes! Featuring the work of @najpullen.bsky.social, @markbrandon.bsky.social, @rjbarker.bsky.social, and the terrible twosome Ben and Nico. Listen here:
pod.link/1524142040/e...
#Spooky #Horror
pod.link/1524142040/e...
#Spooky #Horror
October 6, 2025 at 10:13 AM
My favourite book-related podcast, with some spooky tales for the Witching Season, including a morsel from yours truly! 👻 🎃 😈
For those in the know, the final round of a truly insane mono white attrition… major respect to my valiant opponent (many GGs…)
#magicthegathering #mtgarena
#magicthegathering #mtgarena
August 19, 2025 at 10:22 PM
For those in the know, the final round of a truly insane mono white attrition… major respect to my valiant opponent (many GGs…)
#magicthegathering #mtgarena
#magicthegathering #mtgarena
Reposted by Mark Brandon
Unsolicited writing advice no. 13:
No artist needs artificial intelligence if they have the real thing.
No artist needs artificial intelligence if they have the real thing.
April 15, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Unsolicited writing advice no. 13:
No artist needs artificial intelligence if they have the real thing.
No artist needs artificial intelligence if they have the real thing.
Reposted by Mark Brandon
Unsolicited writing advice, no. 940000:
The senses are a way of connecting with your readership. Use them all. Don't forget scent, touch and taste as well as just sight and sound. Describing something ordinary via an unexpected sense can suddenly make it fresher and more interesting.
The senses are a way of connecting with your readership. Use them all. Don't forget scent, touch and taste as well as just sight and sound. Describing something ordinary via an unexpected sense can suddenly make it fresher and more interesting.
March 29, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Unsolicited writing advice, no. 940000:
The senses are a way of connecting with your readership. Use them all. Don't forget scent, touch and taste as well as just sight and sound. Describing something ordinary via an unexpected sense can suddenly make it fresher and more interesting.
The senses are a way of connecting with your readership. Use them all. Don't forget scent, touch and taste as well as just sight and sound. Describing something ordinary via an unexpected sense can suddenly make it fresher and more interesting.
Reposted by Mark Brandon
I know this was the cover format back in the day but I’m imagining a modern reader seeing this and thinking ‘Do not remember the scene with the penguins in 1984.’
March 28, 2025 at 8:09 PM
I know this was the cover format back in the day but I’m imagining a modern reader seeing this and thinking ‘Do not remember the scene with the penguins in 1984.’
A balcony, wrapped around one corner of a red brick former warehouse built when dreadnoughts ruled the waves. Metal railings, walled with decaying raffia. Pretty pots of dead plants. Worn decking, black with lichen, slick to the touch. A door, the pane above the handle broken.
March 29, 2025 at 10:01 AM
A balcony, wrapped around one corner of a red brick former warehouse built when dreadnoughts ruled the waves. Metal railings, walled with decaying raffia. Pretty pots of dead plants. Worn decking, black with lichen, slick to the touch. A door, the pane above the handle broken.
Reposted by Mark Brandon
I am delighted to have an article in this issue of Pulse.
Pulse Magazine's Issue 3 has LAUNCHED 🚀✨ Read it here ➡️ bit.ly/WEMPULSE
Featuring @rodduncan.bsky.social, @helenmort.bsky.social, @amirdarwish.bsky.social, @holocaustmuseumuk.bsky.social and more!
Can words have the power to change the world? 🌍 Find out in Issue 3: Writing as Activism!
Featuring @rodduncan.bsky.social, @helenmort.bsky.social, @amirdarwish.bsky.social, @holocaustmuseumuk.bsky.social and more!
Can words have the power to change the world? 🌍 Find out in Issue 3: Writing as Activism!
March 27, 2025 at 1:17 PM
I am delighted to have an article in this issue of Pulse.
An old factory on the shoreline, slowly rusting into the lake. Two chimneys reach defiantly into a lead white sky. Chill air laced with a chemical tang. A patched road leads to a loading dock. A badge on a faded blue lanyard. Name blurred. Face still recognisable.
March 28, 2025 at 10:42 AM
An old factory on the shoreline, slowly rusting into the lake. Two chimneys reach defiantly into a lead white sky. Chill air laced with a chemical tang. A patched road leads to a loading dock. A badge on a faded blue lanyard. Name blurred. Face still recognisable.
The palace stood at the very centre of the frozen lake. Walls of ice so old, so compressed they were blue. Ramparts like broken teeth. A single entrance, just a crack, pulled apart by time and weight. A dark blue nub the size of a child’s hand: a bell. But to summon whom? Or what?
March 27, 2025 at 6:36 AM
The palace stood at the very centre of the frozen lake. Walls of ice so old, so compressed they were blue. Ramparts like broken teeth. A single entrance, just a crack, pulled apart by time and weight. A dark blue nub the size of a child’s hand: a bell. But to summon whom? Or what?
Reposted by Mark Brandon
I finished five novels before BLACKBIRDS was ever published — none good and all necessary to write. That doesn’t include the many more novels I began and never finished. I still think of myself as a failed novelist — my failures outweigh my successes and I am glad for that. Failure teaches.
I wrote seven novels before Someone You Can Build A Nest In. I didn't just throw away drafts. There are some eras of my life and spirit that will go unpublished.
And that's okay, because they helped me become the writer I am. They weren't failure. They were education.
And that's okay, because they helped me become the writer I am. They weren't failure. They were education.
I have heard so many newer writers—including extremely good ones!—bemoan that they think they're a failure because they might have to throw out a half-finished draft and start over.
Throwing out a draft is
a) very very normal and
b) progress, not failure.
Throwing out a draft is
a) very very normal and
b) progress, not failure.
March 26, 2025 at 8:32 PM
I finished five novels before BLACKBIRDS was ever published — none good and all necessary to write. That doesn’t include the many more novels I began and never finished. I still think of myself as a failed novelist — my failures outweigh my successes and I am glad for that. Failure teaches.
Currently in exactly this mode.
Stop worrying about word length, Mark, just write everything down!
Stop worrying about word length, Mark, just write everything down!
March 26, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Currently in exactly this mode.
Stop worrying about word length, Mark, just write everything down!
Stop worrying about word length, Mark, just write everything down!
Heartily agree with this advice! Reading aloud is one of the essentials in my writing process.
Unsolicited writing advice, no: 291:
Read your work aloud. Not only does it help refine your dialogue, avoid difficult to pronounce words and eliminate repetitiveness, but it also means that your future audiobook readers will have an easier job making your work sound as good as it can possibly be...
Read your work aloud. Not only does it help refine your dialogue, avoid difficult to pronounce words and eliminate repetitiveness, but it also means that your future audiobook readers will have an easier job making your work sound as good as it can possibly be...
March 26, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Heartily agree with this advice! Reading aloud is one of the essentials in my writing process.
The cottage had once been part of a castle. Stonework dusty with pale green lichen. Three deep-silled windows, dark as eyes. The smell of earth and rotting wood. A glint by the doorstep, a half-buried brooch, revealed by rain.
March 25, 2025 at 11:21 PM
The cottage had once been part of a castle. Stonework dusty with pale green lichen. Three deep-silled windows, dark as eyes. The smell of earth and rotting wood. A glint by the doorstep, a half-buried brooch, revealed by rain.
Reposted by Mark Brandon
New Review - a really interesting quest tale with a band of very different characters awaits in the great Clockwork Boys by T Kingfisher - many thanks to @titanbooks.bsky.social www.runalongtheshelves.net/blog/2025/3/...
Clockwork Boys by T Kingfisher — Runalong The Shelves
I would like to thank Titan for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review Publisher – Titan Published – Out Now Price – £17.99 hardback £9.99 eBook In the fir...
www.runalongtheshelves.net
March 24, 2025 at 8:03 AM
New Review - a really interesting quest tale with a band of very different characters awaits in the great Clockwork Boys by T Kingfisher - many thanks to @titanbooks.bsky.social www.runalongtheshelves.net/blog/2025/3/...
Reposted by Mark Brandon
current news vibes:
- White House introduces new "if you don't buy a Tesla you go to a Tesla Reeducation Camp in El Salvador" initiative
- Trump threatens to scour the Shire
- SEVERANCE season 3 canceled by DOGE
- Democrats institute new plan of "wait for it all to be over"
- the gyre widens
- White House introduces new "if you don't buy a Tesla you go to a Tesla Reeducation Camp in El Salvador" initiative
- Trump threatens to scour the Shire
- SEVERANCE season 3 canceled by DOGE
- Democrats institute new plan of "wait for it all to be over"
- the gyre widens
March 24, 2025 at 12:10 PM
current news vibes:
- White House introduces new "if you don't buy a Tesla you go to a Tesla Reeducation Camp in El Salvador" initiative
- Trump threatens to scour the Shire
- SEVERANCE season 3 canceled by DOGE
- Democrats institute new plan of "wait for it all to be over"
- the gyre widens
- White House introduces new "if you don't buy a Tesla you go to a Tesla Reeducation Camp in El Salvador" initiative
- Trump threatens to scour the Shire
- SEVERANCE season 3 canceled by DOGE
- Democrats institute new plan of "wait for it all to be over"
- the gyre widens
My partner described lo-fi jazz (which I listen to sometimes) as “like being on an elevator to Hell”.
I retaliated, calling BBC Radio6 Music (his fave) as “like being on a rollercoaster made out of custard and razor blades”.
He called me a “typical Aquarian”.
Music War continues!
I retaliated, calling BBC Radio6 Music (his fave) as “like being on a rollercoaster made out of custard and razor blades”.
He called me a “typical Aquarian”.
Music War continues!
March 24, 2025 at 10:22 AM
My partner described lo-fi jazz (which I listen to sometimes) as “like being on an elevator to Hell”.
I retaliated, calling BBC Radio6 Music (his fave) as “like being on a rollercoaster made out of custard and razor blades”.
He called me a “typical Aquarian”.
Music War continues!
I retaliated, calling BBC Radio6 Music (his fave) as “like being on a rollercoaster made out of custard and razor blades”.
He called me a “typical Aquarian”.
Music War continues!
Reposted by Mark Brandon
10/10 from @stewarthotston.com for the #Severance finale - read his review and season overview here
scifibulletin.com/us-tv/severa...
scifibulletin.com/us-tv/severa...
Severance: Review: Season 2 Episode 10: Cold Harbor
Mark has a choice… There’s a scene in the Severance finale where a slave and the one who enslaved them are talking. The slave maker is asking the slave for help, to save someone’s life. On the surf…
scifibulletin.com
March 24, 2025 at 9:00 AM
10/10 from @stewarthotston.com for the #Severance finale - read his review and season overview here
scifibulletin.com/us-tv/severa...
scifibulletin.com/us-tv/severa...
Reposted by Mark Brandon
A goblin adventuring party
March 23, 2025 at 6:50 PM
A goblin adventuring party
We were both working until the idea of crumpets and a movie occurred, and now it seems work is done…
March 23, 2025 at 4:04 PM
We were both working until the idea of crumpets and a movie occurred, and now it seems work is done…
Reposted by Mark Brandon
Who are some of the writers who made you?
Iain M Banks
Robert Silverberg
H P Lovecraft
Philip K Dick
Richard Morgan
William Gibson
Tolkien
Julian May
Bruce Sterling
Jane Austen
Anthony Doerr
Iain M Banks
Robert Silverberg
H P Lovecraft
Philip K Dick
Richard Morgan
William Gibson
Tolkien
Julian May
Bruce Sterling
Jane Austen
Anthony Doerr
Who are some of the writers that made you?
C.J. Cherryh
Clive Barker
Richard Adams
James Lee Burke
C.S. Forester
Robert Crais
Iain M Banks
Agatha Christie
John Wyndham
C.J. Cherryh
Clive Barker
Richard Adams
James Lee Burke
C.S. Forester
Robert Crais
Iain M Banks
Agatha Christie
John Wyndham
Who are some of the writers that made you?
Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
Tolkien
David Gemmell
Terry Brooks
David Eddings
Ursula le Guin
Tad Williams
James Barclay
Stephen King
Dean Koontz
HP Lovecraft
Robin Hobb
Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
Tolkien
David Gemmell
Terry Brooks
David Eddings
Ursula le Guin
Tad Williams
James Barclay
Stephen King
Dean Koontz
HP Lovecraft
Robin Hobb
March 23, 2025 at 7:40 AM
Who are some of the writers who made you?
Iain M Banks
Robert Silverberg
H P Lovecraft
Philip K Dick
Richard Morgan
William Gibson
Tolkien
Julian May
Bruce Sterling
Jane Austen
Anthony Doerr
Iain M Banks
Robert Silverberg
H P Lovecraft
Philip K Dick
Richard Morgan
William Gibson
Tolkien
Julian May
Bruce Sterling
Jane Austen
Anthony Doerr
Reposted by Mark Brandon
Looking forward to seeing people at States of Independence tomorrow at DMU. It's a free festival. So if you are near Leicester, do come along and enjoy the many events, stalls and lovely people.
March 21, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Looking forward to seeing people at States of Independence tomorrow at DMU. It's a free festival. So if you are near Leicester, do come along and enjoy the many events, stalls and lovely people.
Awesome book haul this morning - three Haynes manuals courtesy of fantastic sale at the Tank Museum - love those guys!
March 21, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Awesome book haul this morning - three Haynes manuals courtesy of fantastic sale at the Tank Museum - love those guys!
Reposted by Mark Brandon
Unsolicited writing advice, no. #16140:
Don't assume that your desk is where all your writing happens. 90% of the process of creation happens elsewhere. Use whatever time you have. Thinking time; dreaming time; observing time; analyzing time. All this time can be part of your work. Don't waste it.
Don't assume that your desk is where all your writing happens. 90% of the process of creation happens elsewhere. Use whatever time you have. Thinking time; dreaming time; observing time; analyzing time. All this time can be part of your work. Don't waste it.
March 19, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Unsolicited writing advice, no. #16140:
Don't assume that your desk is where all your writing happens. 90% of the process of creation happens elsewhere. Use whatever time you have. Thinking time; dreaming time; observing time; analyzing time. All this time can be part of your work. Don't waste it.
Don't assume that your desk is where all your writing happens. 90% of the process of creation happens elsewhere. Use whatever time you have. Thinking time; dreaming time; observing time; analyzing time. All this time can be part of your work. Don't waste it.