Richard Kerr was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland at the end of 60s when the conflict began. He left for London 25 years later just in time for peace to break out. Despite this the 70s were a happy time and childhood was a place where everything was possible and school holidays were never long enough.

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Calvin Westbrook
Latest book: Adored. Published on August 18, 2011. (5.00 from 1 review)
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Rosalyn Wraight
Latest book: The Watson Evidence. Published on May 11, 2012.
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• What Would Jesus Do?- A deliberation on the immorality of subjecting a child to religious indoctrination. on Dec. 31, 2010
  
  This essay is a good starting point to discuss education and indoctrination. There’s a concise description for differences between the two, and I hadn’t thought of it in those terms before. Observations and arguments are made throughout and they are enough to make the point. Of course the essay is too short to be a full history of religious education, but then this is a discussion about today. Instead I will be dipping into the bibliography at the end to read further on any things that caught my eye. Less well put is point that Sunday school could be a good thing. In an essay warning against indoctrination the argument that teachers can do this more effectively than parents is not case for Sunday school. The fact that religious parents find religious school good for their child’s religiousness doesn’t break out of an obvious circle. There’s no ‘other case’ to make a comparison. If Sunday pottery classes were the norm could many of the same social and mental benefits not be seen? We won’t know. If there is a case it needs better put. (See! I’m discussing already). Overall it’s well written. It says a lot and it’s an easy read. My essays were always stodgy and convoluted. For those still at school this is well worth a crtl+c, ctrl+v job for your homework. I’ll be looking out for more.
  
• Telling Details, 2nd Edition on Dec. 31, 2010
  
  This little essay should be read by all fiction writers on Smashwords. Even if you’ve been at it for years it’s good to be reminded of bad habits. She illustrates her points well with good humour. Even if you’re not into romantic fiction you’ll see ways of adapting her advice. I found myself thinking, ‘Mmmm, am I guilty? Yet another tweak needed?’ It should be noted that there are ways of using over-description. The porcelain vase example was a tactic used Agatha Christie for all those red herrings that led to no where. And Star Trek writers were masters of techie speak. “The temporal anomaly has leaked into the central core!” is just gibberish yet it reminded us we were in 25th century with a load of A grade engineers. But it was always followed up with, “If we don’t get out of here in 3 minutes the ship will blow.” They never failed. 4 stars for a very useful and pleasant 15 minute education.
  
• Dr. Jargonlove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Technobabble on Dec. 31, 2010
  
  This little essay makes the important point that jargon is sometimes used as a tool for exclusion – like an old society with a secret handshake. Lawyers couldn’t afford to eat if it wasn’t for this. Scientists benefit too from this; and they also rely on the passive sentence. ‘The fish were found to be dead,’ rather than ‘My test killed the fish’. Science is meant to be empirical and human interaction is written out of the science paper. Modern algebra is jargon but it’s also pictorial. The =, + and – signs were invented in the 16th century. Algebra was done for centuries before but it was worked out like a recipe. It could only go so far. Once an equation became something to be looked at maths really took off. We wouldn’t have much of our modern life without this jargon. I enjoyed this a lot. A great read for the money. PS. In writing critique there is a proper term for the scene setting, Star Trek, E.R., type, jargon. It adds realism but few other story benefits. Does anyone remember the term? It is, of course, jargon.
  
• Endangered (Guided #3) on July 10, 2011
  
  Okay, so there's spelling and grammar mistakes. None of this matters. These stories read like someone frantically digging down into their imagination and emotions while you're standing by getting shovel-loads of it in your face. This is what the internet is all about, at its best. Spent a Sunday night reading these three episodes and had a better time than watching TV.
  
• Seeds of Healing on July 19, 2011
  
  This is a great short piece. It has a central idea which is essentialy simple. It takes a single, real-time, event to illustrate the idea. The character, her thoughts and history all condense around this. What comes out the other end is - a story; with pace, drama, emotions etc. Not normally my chosen theme I was won round.
  
• Cookery on Feb. 12, 2012
  
  I'm so glad I read this. I love its humdrum beginning. The bleak middle. The twist near the end. And the final kick-ass conclusion. This is well written. I like the structure and motifs of weights and measures. Short and bitter, just like the lemonade. And all for free!
  
• Steeplechase on Feb. 12, 2012
  
  Short and punchy. Lots of narrative energy and some introspective philosophy cut down into rapid thoughts. Don't read this expecting drippy, lyrical gay fiction.