The Writer Will Take Your Questions Now #322 -- Reflections on the Author as a Young Man

What were you like at school? Were you good at English?

I guess, yeah, I was pretty strong at English and writing during school, but even then, I wasn't interested in writing. Or in thinking onto paper much, for that matter.

Grammar and structure, on the other hand, have always been important to me. I was one of those kids who went around correcting people's grammar and reciting ad naseum sayings my mom had told me (such as "you and I, don't put yourself first" -- which caused no end of confusion regarding "I" and "me").

My storytelling grew out of not my proficiency in English and grammar though, but instead from my ability to play with my action figures all wrong. Han Solo was never Han Solo, nor was the giant Mazinga Shogun Warrior robot a metallic hero. Nope. Han became an evil wizard and the robot his obedient golem, and the Jawa and his Fisher Price sidekicks were the heroes who had to save Leia and Luke from bad guys.

I told all kinds of stories. I just didn't do it on paper.

When did I make the move to stories on paper? Let's save that one for another day, shall we?

The Writer Will Take Your Questions Now #304 -- Why I Write (Revised and Made Honest)

What's the real reason you write?

The real reason I write is perhaps more existential than esoteric, I suppose. It has more in common with Hemingway's hero of mere endurance than with a romantic notion of being a conduit for fictional tales.

I write because I am vain enough to believe that not only do my words and my stories have meaning and importance and value now, but also will have meaning and importance and value to future generations. Writing is not just an act of creative indulgence but an act of profound pride. I own up to that.

Enough of that esoteric "I write because I have to, because these stories need an outlet and won't tell themselves" crap. I write because I plan to leave something of myself in a real, physical sense when I am gone from this world. I write because I believe that I mattered, and that I will continue to matter after I'm dead.

I write to prove to the world I was, am, and will continue to be here.

Nugget #9 -- Legacy

I may never know who and I may never know how, 

but the work was there, and the work was read, and 

someone had a reaction to it -- good or bad. 

The Writer Will Take Your Questions Now #277 -- There Can Only Be One

If you could be remembered for only ONE of your short stories, 

novellas, or comic books, which one would it be and why?

There can only be one? Well, that really sucks.

Ouch. This one is going to hurt. A lot.

Hmmm...

Just one. Wow. This is tough.

I'm proudest of my work on Gene Simmons Dominatrix because I love that I was able to take what could have been a laughable idea and turn it into a compelling and critically acclaimed tale.

I most enjoy my work with the award-winning Rick Ruby (The Ruby Files) because Rick is such a fun character to write.

But if I could only choose one work, I'd have to go with (drum roll please) "Once Upon a Time." The story originally appeared in Cyber Age Adventures magazine and was also included in my Show Me A Hero short story collection.

Why?

Because the idea of that story still resonates with me. The idea that with all her powers, Starlight can't stop the onset of leukemia in her oldest son unless she makes a deal with one of her deadliest foes, still holds water for me. But what still gets me the most is the way the hero of the tale is Tad, her son, not the Starlight the super-powered heroine.

And it still makes me cry. Pretty much every time I read it.