About Karin

Karin is the writer and editor of four speculative SFF manuscripts and two WIPs. Although longlisted and shortlisted for, and winner of various awards, she is still slushing through the querying trenches. Science fiction, in whatever shape or form, is regrettably – for readers as well as for writers – a stagnant market at the moment. Despite offers-of-representation-yet-to-materialise, Karin remains an avid writer who enjoys developing her penmanship.
Reading is big part of developing as a writer, and on the ‘Haszit Reviews’ page, she shares some of the reviews of the books she’s read. On the ‘A bit of fun’ page, you’ll find slivers of her writing; mostly free-writing exercises, which are a brilliant way to unleash creativity and explore new form of writing. Writing is a craft – that much she has learned over the years – and on the ‘On Writing’ page, she shares tips, pitfalls and resources.

Crows on Womans Shoulders, Between Scylla and Charybdis - 2

Reviews

My reviews are organised by the genres below. I am a fan of science fiction – Soft, apocalyptic, speculative –, so this genre makes up the bulk of the reviews. Fantasy can be found in a separate section. I wish bookshops made this distinction; it’d make book-hunting so much easier.
You will find a number of reviews for NetGalley reviews. These are ARCs (Advance Readers Copies), supplied by the publisher in advance of publication in exchange for an honest review. Some of these novels will not have been published yet.



  • ND


  • SF


  • Fantasy


  • Crime


  • Literary


  • Other

ND
Here you’ll find novels with neurodivergent protagonists written by neurodivergent authors, for all age groups.

SF
This section contains reviews on (speculative) science fiction, my favourite genre.

Fantasy
Fantasy, not romantasy. My favourite right now is Havock by Dan Forrester.

Crime
I do like a good crime novel. Something that keeps me guessing to the final page. My favourite in this genre is by a relative newcomer, Daniel Aubrey.

Literary
My teacher once asked me, 'What is the difference between literary and general/commercial fiction'. I told him general was fast-paced and exiting, literary slow and boring – best not to say that during your exam, like I did. I still don't like verbose novels, but there is now some literary fiction that I do like.

Other
This section contains reviews that don't fit in any of the other categories. Novels varying from atmospheric historical to cosy septuagenarians with a cause, to a love letter to Britain’s favourite bird: the robin.


Because writing is fun

Haszit Logo, pen only, no letters

Writing is hard work but it should also be fun. And it is, I can vouch for that. It becomes even more enjoyable when you join a writing group, where you’ll find support and encouragement and opportunities for peer reviews (give and take) from new writer friends. There may also be challenges that lift you out of your comfort zone, like writing to prompts or in a different genre. On the Haszit Fun page, you’ll find jottings which are the result of such challenges. Shorter pieces of fiction (keep writing until you’ve got a novel, is my default setting) and different forms (poetry is terrifying if you haven’t tried it for ... a very long time).

On Writing

Writing, whether prose or poetry, fiction or non-fiction, is a learning process – that much I have learned over the years. On the ‘On Writing’ page, I share tips, pitfalls and resources.

Haszit Logo, pen only, no letters