Back when I was a kid I read an awful lot of science fiction – mostly Clarke, Asimov and Heinlein with a fair amount of Niven, Pournelle and others stirred into the mix. All of them portrayed futures in which the engineering problems that still confront us today had been largely solved. Space travel was … More We are living in Arthur C Clarke’s future
I miss old Mars. The Mars of imagination, the world with deep blue skies and red deserts filled with whatever magical societies and cities our whims desired. Real Mars is interesting too, and it’s there, and it’s what we’re going to have to deal with if we ever leave this planet. That Mars too can … More The wonder of old Mars and its sands
I’ve been writing for a US magazine website for a few years now. The other day, one of my articles from it was stolen. I discovered the theft while on the train, idly scrolling the Facebook app on my phone. Somebody who runs a page focused on a suburb of my home town Napier – … More How I dealt with the theft of my intellectual property
I am somewhat bemused by the way ‘literature’ is so often assumed to be a superior form of writing, above any form of genre fiction and, particularly, science fiction (‘ptooey’). Authors known for ‘literature’ are, apparently, more talented, competent and intelligent than ‘sci fi’ authors, who by definition are hacks, talentless and ignorant of basic … More Literature versus science fiction
One of the hardest things about writing is figuring out exactly how whatever you say will be received. It’s true of fiction and non-fiction alike. The issue works on several levels. You, as author, know what you mean, and when you’re checking the material for sense that’s what you read into it. Sometimes, basic word … More One of the hardest things about writing
One of the big things authors need to think about these days is branding. And no, I don’t mean having some red-hot piece of metal searing the initials of the latest pop sensation de jour into your backside. I mean public image that sells books. What are you known for? Brand’s different from the way … More Why all authors need branding
Long-time readers of this blog know I’m a huge enthusiast for explaining science and a cheerleader for everybody on the same gig. Today I’m interviewing author and science writer Thea Beckman, who’s just released her first book – Why? Because Science! Her blog of the same name is a wonderful blend of cool science and … More ‘Why? Because Science!’ – an interview with science author Thea Beckman
The thing about book launches is that they don’t happen very often – not for me. I had my first one yesterday in about 15 years. It all went off very well. The people who turned up were a great bunch, nice to talk to, and everything went very well indeed. It was a wonderful … More Launching my latest book
My main website matthewwright.net has had a major makeover. Out went the old fixed-size site with steam age HTML coding – some of which dated back to 2001 when the site was first set up. It used to look like this: In came a modern CMS with a fully responsive layout – which means it’ll … More My website’s had a mondo makeover
Here’s a quick reminder to check out and ‘like’ my official Facebook author page. https://www.facebook.com/MatthewWrightNZ/ It’s got all sorts of stuff including fun quotes by writers, various things by and about me – what I’m doing – and more. Check it out. Copyright © Matthew Wright 2016
Matthew Wright 
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