Teel James Glenn and the Wonderful Balderdash

Teel James Glenn is one of those folks who has done about everything creative. I mean, the dude has all the following in his CV: Author, Actor, Stuntman, Stunt Choreography. So, take a like like that, dump into out of his brain and into a word processor, and what you get is some of the finest fiction out today. So, it was only right that he got his time in the hot seat here at the blog. 

Tell us a bit about your latest work.

The Chronicles of the Skullmask is out in May from Bold Venture Press.

It is a collection of tales about an occult item— the Skullmask— that shows up when a person has suffered some horrible loss or injustice. The Skullmask gives them the opportunity for ‘Just Vengeance’ then disappears… So the Skullmask is really many people —passing from victim to victim to allow them to be the hero in their own story.

The stories are written in the tradition of the shudder pulps but span the gamut from western to military, to gangster to voodoo stories all with a horror/adventure tint.

What happened in your life that prompted you to become a writer?

I was a sickly child, however, and books and old films were the things that allowed me to escape and gave me hope and that fueled my imagination to daydream. I just never stopped.

I have always been a storyteller in every profession I’ve had from actor to teacher, stuntman, haunted house barker to illustrator so it has always been with me. 

What inspires you to write?

Honestly, I could not tell you exactly —I just know that when I create characters I have a desire to experience their adventures vicariously—I often think I am just writing down their lives even more than telling a story.

What are the themes and subjects you tend to revisit in your work?

Honor, friendship. Many of my characters are struggling with personal issues but comrades always help. I also tend to write characters doing the right thing because it is the right thing—no for the ‘anti-hero’ self-help reasons of so much modern fiction.

What would be your dream project?

That is so hard to answer— there are so many of the literary icons that inspired me that I once dreamed of writing—Conan, Tarzan, John Carter, The Phantom, Zorro, Doc Savage—but they are now being written by others. Somehow that makes them less of a dream (but yes—I would still jump at the chance—lol).

My fantasy series The Chronicles of Altiva is finally coming into print again after a long hiatus and in many ways, they have been where my heart lies…

What writers have influenced your style and technique?

The ’trinity is Edgar Rice Burroughs, Lester Dent (Doc Savage), Robert E. Howard. But close on them are Peter O’Donnell, Mickey Spillane, Dashiel Hammett, Richard Matheson, and Poe were all there for me and stay with me still…

If you have any former project to do over to make it better, which one would it be, and what would you do?

There are a couple of books I am still fighting to get right back from zombie companies that I’d like to breathe new life into but I always think my next story will be the better one— 

Where would you rank writing on the "Is it an art or it is a science continuum?" Why?

Edgar Rice Burroughs described what he did as “Wonderful balderdash” and I aspire to that— I want it to be exciting and fun, with maybe a smidge of positive message in it. I think if you carry your message too heavily it kills the joy (even the scary stuff). Stories can change people, inspire them, motivate them—give them comfort. I hope to do all that because the stories I read in my youth did that for me.

What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?

Deciding which project to do next— because I write in so many genres I keep it fresh by switching up stories it sometimes takes a day or two of sort of staring at the screen for my inner storyteller to get movement in the right direction.

How do your writer friends help you become a better writer? Or do they not?

I have a prime beta reader who herself is a very good writer and editor and a weekly writing group I attend online. Between these members of my ‘tribe/writing family’, they have improved me and allowed me to grow as a writer enormously. Their feedback and insights allow me to improve exponentially as a writer. 

What is wonderful is that they ‘get me’ and don’t try to change what I do— they help it become more my voice—more cleanly worded and deeply realized. I can not say enough about Carol, Nancy, Lee, Jamie, and Wayne enough. Any success I ever have going forward I will always owe some of it to them.

What does literary success look like to you?

Knowing I can keep writing and that what I write reaches people and matters to them. Oodles of money would not hurt, but really just knowing my stories have homes— preferably before I even write them (as in selling them to a publisher on an outline or synopsis)— would make me feel pretty special.

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug?

The first book in my Jon Shadows series Killing Shadows just came out from Airship27 Productions. It is a thriller series about a modern-day adventurer in the mold of The Saint but with a martial arts twist. A second will be out by the end of the year and I hope there will be more to come.

And the sequel to A Cowboy in Carpathia from Pro Se Production (which just won the Pulp Factory Best Novel award) is on the way also later this year. 

For more information, visit:

My website is TheUrbanSwashbuckler.com and my books are on Amazon and elsewhere.