Motivational Mondays -- What Does Writing Teach Us?

 

PULP FACTORY AWARDS - WINNERS FOR WORKS OF 2020

The 3 Member Awards committee counted over 200 ballots and these are the results:

BEST NOVEL
A Cowboy in Carpathia – Teel James Glenn – Pro Se Press 

BEST SHORT STORY
Zorro: Death of a Grandee – John L French – Zorro: The Daring Escapades – Bold Venture Press 

BEST ANTHOLOGY
Pulp Reality, Vol 1 – Rose Shababy, Ed. – Stormgate Press 

BEST INTERIOR ILLUSTRATIONS
Ed Catto – Ravenwood: Stepson of Mystery, Vol 4 – Airship 27 Productions 

BEST COVER ART
Damian Aviles – Pulp Reality, Vol 1 – Stormgate Press

Congratulations to all this year’s winners. 

Finally our thanks to all you participated and voted and especially to Van, Gordon Dymowski and Fred Adams Jr.

[Link] Penguin Random House Will Distribute Marvel Comics to Comics Stores

by John Maher

In a move that will likely transform the distribution of comics periodicals in North America, Penguin Random House Publisher Services has reached an agreement with Marvel to distribute its periodical comics and graphic novels to the comics shop market, also known as the direct market.

The two companies have signed an exclusive, worldwide multi-year sales and distribution agreement for Marvel’s comics—including individual issues, trade collections, and graphic novels both newly published and backlist—to the direct market. PRHPS officially begins its distribution to direct market retailers for Marvel titles on October 1. The move marks a major change in the U.S. comics distribution market, which Diamond Comic Distributors has long dominated.

PRHPS will offer Marvel comics to retailers on nonreturnable wholesale terms. The comics shop market is a network of about 2,000 independent retailers around the country that traditionally bought their inventory from Diamond Comics Distributors, the largest distributor of periodical comics in North America. Direct market retailers generally buy most of their stock nonreturnable at wholesale prices. Comics shops sell a mix of periodical comics, graphic novels, prose books and pop culture merchandise.

Marvel’s new agreement with PRHPS follows the unexpected departure of DC from Diamond in 2020. The new distribution agreement means that the Big Two of American superhero comics—Marvel and DC—which are also Diamond’s two biggest accounts as well as pillars of the direct market, have left Diamond Comics Distributors. It is unclear how this will impact Diamond and the comics shop market going  forward but it does mark the end of Diamond's dominance of periodical comics distribution.

Read the full article: https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/85890-prhps-will-distribute-marvel-comics-to-comics-stores.html

Airship 27 Productions Presents Jon Shadow in KILLING SHADOWS

Airship 27 Productions is proud to announce the start of a brand new action adventure series from writer Teel James Glenn.

Jon Shadows is a freelance bodyguard and investigator. When his ex-lover, Maria, tells him her billionaire husband, William Carter, is trying to kill her, he can’t help but come to her aid. Shadows’ plan is to attend an annual corporate employee meeting on Carter’s private island and do some digging.

He soon discovers the eccentric computer mogul has ominous ties to the Japanese crime syndicate known as the Yukaza and is already being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. But before Shadows can make sense of the data, a close friend is brutally murdered and it looks like he is slated to be the killer’s next target. 

In Jon Shadows, award winning writer, Teel James Glenn, has created a terrific new hero with echoes of the classic ala the Saint and James Bond. In the end, Jon’s enemies soon learn Killing Shadows is no easy matter.

Airship 27 Art Director Rob Davis and artist Tedd Lehman the nine interior illustrations. 

AIRSHIP 27 PRODUCTIONS – PULP FICTION FOR A NEW GENERATION! 

Now available from Amazon in paperback and on Kindle.

The Mysterious Worlds of Mark Allen Vann

Mark Allen Vann is a writer I recently discovered. I figured in the spirit of "share and share alike" I should introduce him to you as well.

Tell us a bit about your latest work.

Currently I am in the process of finishing up the editing process for the sequel to my first Anthology, Eight Against The Darkness. This book is entitled The Fateful Eight and I hope to have it ready for release by late April or early May. Like my first book it will be made available through my own Xepico Press publishing label.

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

As far back as I can recall I was told that I had an over-active imagination and was told that I should write. I have dabbled in writing for many years, it just took this long to finally take it seriously enough to listen.

What inspires you to write?

It is a mixture of everything I read or watch on television naturally, but also just wanting to share the strangeness that comes out of my head as well. More than one of my stories started out as a dream I had. Even some daily life circumstances have inspired or influenced my writing.

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

Perseverence and standing up for what you believe in are most prominent. The title of the first book, Eight Against The Darkness fairly well sums up what it’s all about. There are other themes in the mix, such as overcoming inner demons and past mistakes and the like as well.

What would be your dream project?

Now that is a tough one. I would love to have free range for a classic Pulp team-up with carte blanche on characters I could use. Obviously with copyright laws that is impossible to do, but you did say dream project. In the more realistic avenue, doing a collaborative shared universe with some of my writing peers would be a fun project as well.

What writers have influenced your style and technique?

I guess I always refer to my Mount Rushmore of authors. HP Lovecraft, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E Howard, Michael Moorcock and Jules Verne. More recently I would throw Agatha Christie in the mix as well. Of course, most of them come from a different era of writing and my style is really a bit more straight forward and while they are an inspiration to what I write, I don’t copy some of their dated philosophical way of thinking.

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

Well, I do not have a lot of work out yet, so I guess I would say that I would clean up a bit of the editing in Eight Against The Darkness. There are a few edits that I missed the first time around. I have tweaked my editing process a bit so hopefully there won’t be as many going forward. It’s a learning process.

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

While there is definitely a bit of science to writing, the stuff that was always drilled into you in writing classes, proper grammar and all that, I write fiction and therefore, feel that the story is the crucial part. I feel that what you have to say is more important than how you say it, so art is definitely king here. If you tell an enthralling story, people won’t care as much that you missed a comma here or there. Science makes me think of formulas and if your story is to formulaic, then you may as well read a textbook.

What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?

I have spent the last couple of months working on the editing of this book. It is a bit of a grind. Next book I will edit the stories as I go. I give editing zero stars. Not a fan.

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

They do help inspire me greatly. Seeing the progress some of my writer friends are doing helps me try to do better. Seeing their Facebook posts makes me want to write. They keep me on the path.

What does literary success look like to you?

If you would have asked me that a year ago, I would say that getting that first book out would be literary success. Now a year later, I would say getting that second book out would be success. I am not in this for the fame and riches, heck I am pretty realistic. I think if I never have a book in Barnes & Noble for example, I would be okay with that. That said, I would love to make enough money to quit my day job, but that would be the icing on the cake.

Now for future literary goals, it would be pretty cool to see a few of my characters in a graphic novel someday.

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug?

I am also working on a book entitled Saturn’s Child And Other Tales which I am hoping will be out by year end. Though it features different characters than the first two, it is tied into the same universe as my other stories. I am also working on writing stories for a couple of other publishers including Stormgate Press and Airship 27, so hopefully you will be seeing my name around a bit more often.

For more information, visit:

If you want to reach out to me, or see what is coming out through Xepico Press, you can send us a message at the Xepico Press Facebook page.

Movie Reviews for Writers: The Adventures of Anais Nin

After watching this docu-drama, I regret not having a deeper bench of Nin's work rattling around in my brain. She seems like a very experiential writer who saw with world with the sense of wonder that C.S. Lewis called Sehnsucht, with almost a sort of magical realism-tinted glasses, although her experience was far more sensual than Lewis's spiritual. 

While this film covers Nin's sexual life in detail, it also has a remarkable depth in exploring her writing life. Of course, for Nin, those two were intertwined, almost symbiotic, though I'm willing to bet that's not the case for most of us. 

But we're here for what the movie says about the writing life and the act of writing. 

My favorite line from the film is this one taken from Nin's diaries: "Few know how many women there are in me. When ordinary life shackles me, I escape one way or another." 

To me, this sums up the writer's psyche perfectly. Others have phrased it as there are worlds within me. Other, less spiritually tinged writers simply say that they are filled with stories. But I really love the way Nin calls these other women out as, well, other women. Of course she would; it ties in perfectly with her more experiential approach as a writer. 

One of the experts interviewed in the film sums it up like this: She needed the writing to make sense of the experience, but also she was having the experience to do the writing. Nin herself explains in her diaries that she often feels she is become another women inside her, that one is mild and calm and pure and a dutiful wife, and that the other is wild and free, a demoness. 

I wouldn't go that far in my own writing, but I do feel there are parts of me than can only escape through my work. I will never be a hard-hitting hero like Rick Ruby. I could never explore the wonderings of what my life might have been as a women like Fishnet Angel. Nor could I ever commit the vengeful atrocities some characters have in my horror stories -- but I don't need to. I have my stories to let me experience those things. 

Nin writes that "writers make love to what they need," and for me that act of love is a metaphorical one, but still valid nonetheless. I need the adventure, I need the magic and even the science that might as well be magic, and I need unfettered heroism, but I also need to function in the real world as a father, husband, granddaddy, hire-able adult, etc. 

But, and this is the most amazing part I think, when the realities start to ground us as writers too much, we always have the escape into our work. Or, as the thoroughly liberated Anais Nin said, once she is rooted down to the ground again, she feels her hair pulled up to the stars again. 

Romancing the Genre (With Apologies to the Stone)

This week, we're going to look at working romance into your other genres. What is the appeal of having romantic subplots in stories that are more typically focused on action, adventure, or even horror? We turned to the jury to get their verdict. 

Have you found a romantic subplot in your action and adventure (whatever genre you're actioning in) stories to be a helpful extra layer or not? Why?

Corrina Lawson: To be specific on questions, my own work straddles the line between romance and other genres. It's a terrific layer because it should (ideally) key into the growth of the character. A character has to undergo a sort of transformation to their best self in the story--and sometimes it's only the romantic interest who can see through the chaff to that best self. (Witness, say, Romancing the Stone, where Kathleen Turner basically forces Michael Douglas to take a hard look at who he wants to be.) 

Selah Janel: I haven’t written a lot of romance, but I’ve done a few things and a lot of what I write has romantic subplots. For me, I really like exploring relationships and interactions between characters. I really like playing with circumstance and tension, and getting under the surface to explore how characters relate and grow together. 

HC Playa: I write adventures with sex and love because I cannot for the life of me write actual romance.

Lucy Blue: Why do I write romance? Because I think human connection is the most interesting, most valuable reward any protagonist can achieve. It’s what we fight for. It’s what we survive for. And we can portray that by putting in a generic hot chick or dude to fridge and forget while we get on with the kung fu fighting. Or we can be brave and let that relationship be real. In movies, that works all the time. But in books, a real relationship equals romance, and romance equals Hallmark. And yeah, that makes me tired.

Emily Leverett: I've got a romantic subplot in my Eisteddfod Chronicles. The two MC have an affair. It's as much about the political implications as the personal, and both will continue to matter as the story comes to a close. Sometimes (all the time?) it's not possible to separate the personal and political. 

Sean Taylor: I almost always have a romantic element in my stories. I think it makes a fantastic B-plot or even C-plot depending on the length of the work, and it allows me to showcase more characteristics of my characters rather than just their ability to punch or exorcise horrors. 

David Wright: I tend to let the characters decide.

Mike Hintze: I go with the flow. The story tells me what happens

What is the appeal to readers to find a romantic story squirreled away inside other genres?

Lucy Blue: I have never written about rose petals in my life. I write action-packed, gory, hard-edged horror and fantasy stories with real conflict and peril that just happen to have a romantic relationship at their center. But as soon as I say I write romance, other horror and fantasy writers think rose petals and emotional melodrama. (This is me not talking about it.

Sean Taylor: As a reader myself, I always love to find them, as long as they don't overpower the A-plot. But they can get as close as they want to without bothering me. I look to the greats like Rebecca or even Haunting at Hill House. Without the romantic subplots, even those stories (one to a great degree obviously) would have been far more "one note" stories.

Emily Leverett: A romance can make a good backdrop for those explorations, because little is more personal than who you're having sex with.

Selah Janel: I think people tend to simplify what romance is and why people read it. I think it’s another way of seeking catharsis and when a person sees themselves or their personality reflected in a character, it gives hope that things can work out for them and they’re worthy of love, too. There’s a whole gamut of situations and emotions to explore - is a feeling required, unrequited, is there loss involved or baggage that might be an obstacle, how they see themselves and others - just all sorts of things that factor into how people relate to each other. It makes that moment when two characters do connect or reconnect that much more interesting and sweeter.

Corrina Lawson: The appeal to readers is more insight into characters, I would guess. Less so than in novels, but in movies, the romance part often seems tackled on because the love interest is only there to be rescued or in peril. *Even today.* I think romance gets a bad rep because of those types of movies. Most of the time, the movies would be better without them because they're not central to the character's story.

Or do you feel that romantic subplots just get in the way of your main plots?

Mark Holmes: I love a good romantic subplot! The problem is in 8 to 10 pages of a comic script I usually don't have any space to tell one other than a quick smooch at the end of the story.

Nik Stanosheck: The romance can be a way to get to know the characters and to help them grow and develop more.

Corrina Lawson: Romance is a type of relationship. I find authors who write relationships well tend to also write romance well, and it adds character and depth to a story. I should clarify, that in the genres I write, characters try to find their best selves. Obviously not true of other genres where tragic endings are fine. But romances there can also underscore character faults and bad choices.

Sean Taylor: At least the way I try to write them, they add to the main story rather than getting in the way, at least I sure hope so. That's the plan when I start to write anyway. 

Motivational Mondays -- Those Who Teach Can Do More Than You Think!

You know that saying, “Those who can, do, and those who can’t, teach”? Well, don’t believe it. Some folks specialize. Some folks can do both. But I feel like most of the people who actually say that probably can’t do either.

And shut up. I love to write fiction – AND tutorials.

Very little makes me happier than entertaining readers and/or helping beginning writers.

NEW ANTHOLOGY FROM FLINCH BOOKS EXPLORES THE AFTERMATH OF WORLD WAR II

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OCCUPIED PULP marches headlong into mystery and adventure in post-war Europe and Japan

Flinch Books announces the upcoming release of OCCUPIED PULP, six tales of action, adventure, and mystery set in the aftermath of World War II.

When the war that defined the 20th century came to an end in 1945, the undercurrent of geopolitical tension continued for months afterward as Europe and Japan under Allied occupation became a hotbed of nefarious schemes. Mystery lurked around every corner, and danger waited down every dark alley. OCCUPIED PULP surveys that precarious post-war landscape with stories from six high-profile pulp writers: Will Murray (DOC SAVAGE), William Patrick Maynard (FU MANCHU), Patricia Gilliam (HANNARIA), Bobby Nash (SNOW), Justin Bell (STORM’S FURY) and John C. Bruening (THE MIDNIGHT GUARDIAN).

On sale in print and Kindle formats in April 2021, this collection of harrowing tales delivers all the two-fisted, slam-bang action and adventure that are hallmarks of the pulp tradition. Along the way, you’ll encounter fascinating heroes and villains who wage a mighty struggle to either protect the fragile peace or set the wheels of conflict and destruction back in motion.

“We’ve assembled an amazing lineup of writers for this project,” says Flinch Books Co-Founder and Editor John C. Bruening. “I knew from the outset that I would have to be on my A game if I was going to be among the contributors. Individually and collectively, these stories capture the dangerous state of affairs in the months immediately following World War II, when new lines were being drawn, new alliances were being forged and the global balance of power was still up for grabs.”

Flinch Books Co-Founder and Editor Jim Beard concurs. “We’re always looking for a project that not only launches from a solid, traditional pulp base, but also stretches to be something unique among other fiction anthologies. With OCCUPIED PULP, I think we’ve done our jobs.”

So suit up, soldiers! Grab your weapons and step into the hot zone, because there are plenty of skirmishes yet to be fought and won.

The war is over, but the action continues!

Art by Adam Shaw.

[Link] Douglas Adams' note to self reveals author found writing torture

One of Douglas Adams’ notebooks that will feature in 42, a book based on unseen letters, scripts, jokes, poems, ideas, ID cards and to-do notes in the archive left by author. 

He was one of the most wildly imaginative writers of any generation but even for Douglas Adams writing could be a torturous process, requiring a “general note to myself” that he would finally get pleasure from it.

“Writing isn’t so bad really when you get through the worry. Forget about the worry, just press on. Don’t be embarrassed about the bad bits. Don’t strain at them,” The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy author wrote to himself. “Writing can be good. You attack it, don’t let it attack you. You can get pleasure out of it. You can certainly do very well for yourself with it!”

The fascinating note will be in a book based on the abundant trove of unseen letters, scripts, jokes, poems, ideas, ID cards and to-do notes in the archive left by Adams after his death in 2001, aged 49.

The crowdfunded book shines light on his best-known work, including Hitchhiker’s and Dirk Gently, as well as unrealised projects such as a dark theme park ride at Chessington World of Adventures.

A number of documents reveal how horrible the writing process could be for Adams, not least the “general note to myself” with which he reminded himself that he would get there in time.

“I love it, but I just wish he’d read it to himself more often,” his sister Jane Thrift said. “I think it [writing] was a tortuous process for him, not all the time, but when it was difficult for him it was really difficult.”

On another page of typed notes, Adams wrote: “Today I am monumentally fed up with the idea of writing. I haven’t actually written anything for two days, and that makes me fed up as well.’

He goes on to reference the legacy of Hitchhiker’s. “Arthur Dent is a burk. He does not interest me. Ford Prefect is a burk. He does not interest me. Zaphod Beeblebrox is a burk. He does not interest me. Marvin is a burk. He does not interest me. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a burk. It does not interest me.”

Typically for Adams, his complaining quickly morphs into an imagined conversation with a dragon called Lionel.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/mar/22/douglas-adams-note-to-self-reveals-author-found-writing-torture

Airship 27 Production Presents The Masked Rider: Tales of the Wild West Vol 3

Airship 27 Production saddles up for more rip-roaring western action adventure with “The Masked Rider – Tales of the Wild West Vol 3.”

The Wild West has always had its share of larger then life heroes; both fictional such as pulpdom’s own Masked Rider and historical ala Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday. In this new collection, we offer up a trio of tale showcasing each.

Western writer Thomas McNulty delivers a south of the border yarn with Earp and his Holiday on the hunt for a dangerous desperado. This is followed by Paul Findley’s story of the fabled Masked Rider and his Yaqui partner Blue Hawk on the trail of murderous cattle rustlers.

Finally, in a full length novella, Gordon Dymowski has the mysterious Masked Rider attempting to solve the murder of a Army Cavalry officer in “A Town Called Malice.”

Artist Jason Wren provides the interior illustrations with Shane Evans the colorful cover, all assembled by Art Director Rob Davis. Here is action and adventure set against a frontier stage true to a time and place that forever left its legacy on a nation; the American Wild West.

AIRSHIP 27 PRODUCTIONS – PULP FICTION FOR A NEW GENERATION!

Now available at Amazon in paperback and soon on Kindle.

Tamara Lowery and the Waves of Darkness

I can't remember which convention I was attending when I met Tamary Lowery, but I can tell you it wasn't the last we'd attend together. She's such a stalwart on the convention scene that no doubt most of my blog readers have probably already met her themselves. Still, for those of you who need to re-ignite your acquaintanceship with her or meet her for the first time, this one's for you. 

Tell us about your latest work. 

There are 2, currently. I recently finished the first draft of Hunting the Dragon, book 8 in the Waves of Darkness series and first book in the second story arc for the series. The first 7 books comprised the Sisters of Power arc. While they have been out of publication since I broke with my publisher, Gypsy Shadow Publishing, the rights were immediately reverted to me. I'm in the process of revising and reformatting them for self publication. 

As for book 8: it picks up with the final events of book 7,  Maelstrom of Fate, and starts the Daughters of the Dragon arc, which will also take place over 7 books. 

The other recent work is artistic in nature. I was commissioned to do the face card portraits for a 5 suit Dragon Poker game. This is a companion game for an authorized Dragonriders of Pern LARP available from Antiquarian Boardgames. 

What happened in your life to prompt you to become a writer?

It was a natural offshoot of my need to be creative. I love to read, and, like so many others, loved to create my own fanfic in my head  ...decades before the internet existed. While my original career choice was to become a journalist, I eventually decided to become an honest liar instead and write fiction. The tools and access afforded by the internet led me to finally go for it. 

What inspires you to write?

I find story ideas and inspiration in various places. Sometimes it's a news article. Sometimes a stray odd bit in magazines like National Geographic or Smithsonian find their way into my writing. Sometimes TV shows trigger an idea. Often my husband tosses out an idea. Mostly though, it's because I'm that special kind of not-right-in-the-head person who HAS to write. I truly enjoy writing. Luckily, having to wear a face mask at work keeps my coworkers from being disturbed by my evil grin when a particularly wicked story idea occurs to me. 

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

Adventure, horror, sex and sexuality, and the fact that all sorts of side issues keep cropping up and interrupting my main characters' efforts to complete their Important Task or to find out what it even is. 

What would be your dream project? 

I haven't got a clue. Wait  ...yes I do. I would love to get a story accepted for an anthology I've been invited to and have it actually see publication IN MY LIFETIME. So far, something has halted publication of every anthology I've submitted to. 

What writers have influenced your style and technique?

Anne McCaffrey, definitely. I wish I could be even half as good at world building and characterization as she was. Several authors I've encountered over the past decade or so at conventions have provided guidance and advice, either directly or on writing track panels. I also have tried to make my own unique voice in my writing, and I've noticed the development changes over the course of my book series. 

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

Well, I'm already revamping the first 7 books of Waves of Darkness for re-release; revising to fix a few stylistic issues I've become aware of during my growth as awriter, reformatting for a different print size, and commissioning new cover art. I would like to redo season 1 of The Adventures of Pigg & Woolfe with new, art and professional covers. I also plan to up my marketing game on all my projects. 2020 kind of did a number on my creativity and energy levels. 

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

I think it depends on what type of writing. Both really apply to fiction, because you not only need a flair for good storytelling, but you need to research what your readers want, and you definitely need a good grasp of grammar and vocabulary. One of the few stories I DNF'd had good bones, but the author was too busy showing off his vocabulary of obscure, rarely used words. You don't want to dumb down your writing, but you don't want your readers having to go through several Google searches per paragraph just to understand WHAT they're reading. 

What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?

Keeping track of story ideas when I come up with them at work, when I don't have access to scrap paper or my phone and have to stay conscious of my surroundings and the task at hand for safety purposes. 

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

I'm fortunate and privileged to know or follow a wide variety of writers, both in person and online. Granted, conventions are about the only times I get to interact in person, since my work schedule pretty much rules out attending local writing group meetings. Still, I get good advice at cons, and I learn quite a lot from news letters, blogs, and videos put out by other writers sharing their journey. I pick up various tips about style, current tropes, publishing processes (both traditional and indie), and what pitfalls and mistakes to avoid. I see what does and doesn't work for them, and I figure out my own methods from these. I never ever allow myself to be so arrogant as to think I have learned everything useful I can. 

What does literary success look like to you?

Hitting a best seller list would be nice, but it is not my definition of success. THAT is getting confirmation that people enjoy reading what I write as much as I enjoy writing it. I hit that mark when I encountered a fan online through a mutual friend during a Fandom discussion of Girl Genius. I made a mention in the thread about the book I was working on at the time, and she started fangirling on my series. She's up in Oregon, the opposite corner of the country from me, and had been introduced to my books by a friend of hers. I recently made her my alpha reader. 

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug?

I really want to get my Waves of Darkness books into audio books. I've had interest expressed to me about this for a few years now. I still have some research to do on my options (besides ACX and Audible). But, I eventually WILL get this done. 

For more information, visit:

https://talowery.wordpress.com for my blog, character profiles, book list, excerpts and deleted scenes, and a pretty nifty virtual convention dealers' room under the Pirates Cove & Hucksters Haven heading. 

https://facebook.com/Waves.of.Darkness

https://plurk.com/Viksbelle 

Movie Reviews for Writers: Playhouse

Be warned. Playhouse is a slow-burn haunted castle story. In fact, I'd say it's a very slow burn. Luckily, that's right in my wheel house, so I loved it. It's eerily similar in tone and theme to the far superior film by Kubrick, The Shining, based on King's novel. But, in spite of any shortcomings in the film itself (which I thought were minimal though plenty of folks felt differently, as you can check on the Rotten Tomatoes site) it had a particular exchange at the beginning of Act II I think has a lot to say about the writing process, at least in the way I embrace that process. 

The plot, for context -- Jack and his daughter Bee have bought a Scottish castle (it's beautiful) and Jack is determined to write an interactive play based on the castle's supernatural legend that will take guests through the castle and bring him bags and bags of cash. Just down the road lives Jenny, the granddaughter of the women who actually was a part of the story that became legend. She wants Jack to abandon his idea for the sake of her family's rest and memories. 

Jack invites Jenny and her husband Callum to dinner, where they have an exchange in which Callum compares people's lives to a wheelie bin (rubbish bin). We just want to put that stuff away and get it out of our minds, but that's where Callum thinks we're all doing it wrong.

He says, "We need to look closely at what's in the rubbish, go through it and find what's in there that might be..." 

"Rubbish," Jenny replies. 

"No. Useful." 

A few seconds later, Callum continues: "Take Jack. Jack's got his own troubles, his own rubbish. You're a writer, I imagine you use it to write. Can't write without reflection, some self examination, can you?" 

"Oh, you can," Jack responds, clearly in love with his own wit and delivery.

"Well, you can," Callum counters, "but it wouldn't be any good, would it? All you have to do is you have to go back to your life, examine your rubbish and turn it into fuel."

As a writer, I love this exchange. It's why even though Callum isn't much of writer (though he fancies himself a playwright later in the film), it shows that he understands the truth of what a writer pulls from better than the previously published -- notoriously so -- and best-selling Jack does. 

All that so-call rubbish, all that discarded psyche waste, that's where some of our best ideas come from. Maybe not even as stories, though sometimes they do, but particularly as drive, nuggets, little kernels that will pop their way into plots and characters if we go back to those wheelie bins every once in a while and face our true selves. 

But fiction is supposed to be an escape, I hear all the time, and that's often true. But only for the reader. The reader has the freedom to use our work as escape. We writers don't get that luxury. We go deep and figure out who we are as we work. 

I hear other writers tell me that they never approached writing themes and tones and undercurrents consciously or intentionally, but as they look back, they see them there, all over the work like fingerprints anyway. 

There's no hiding it. 

That stuff we may not willingly face makes itself known in our stories whether we welcome it or not. Characters act in certain ways. Plots lean toward darkness or light or melancholy or joy. Themes like sacrifice and heroism and even failed redemption beat their way to the surface and make us face them. 

It's the DNA of writing. And Callum had the guts to face it. Jack didn't, and, well, watch the movie and see what happened because of that failure on his part. 

Public Domain Characters: A User's Guide -- THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY

by Frank Schildiner

One of the best Western films ever was “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”, a true classic in every sense of the word. It also exists as a wonderful metaphor in many areas. Today we will take that concept into the world of public domain characters, specifically starting with some fantastic characters who are ripe for continued tales.

“The Good…”

Many of these characters have received stories in recent years, but that should not hold anyone back. Every writer adds their own view to a concept.

1. Sherlock Holmes – Holmes has been and probably always will be the World’s Greatest Detective. In recent years we’ve seen him elderly (the film Mr. Holmes), modern and sociopathic (Benedict Cumberbatch), scruffy and strange (Robert Downey Jr.), but always a genius with a cast of characters over a century old. We’ve even read him as the villain in a Lovecraftian world where the rulers of the world are Elder Gods and Professor Moriarty is a protagonist (Neil Gaiman’s A Study in Emerald). If you keep to the basic formula, you can add your own spin to this legendary figure in literature. 

2. The Black Bat – Created virtually at the same time as his far more famous counterpart, DC’s Batman, the Black Bat is a concept ripe for a writer seeking an action-adventure hero. Blinded by a gangster who threw acid in his eyes, District Attorney Tony Quinn received a secret operation that restored his eyesight and made him capable of seeing in the dark. Disguising himself in black, he became the Black Bat, a hero secretly who fought evil while feigning blindness publicly. Sadly, the original writers of this great concept never gave the Bat a worthwhile menace. Instead he fought ordinary gangsters while Batman’s rogue’s gallery enticed readers of all ages. Giving the Black Bat some worthwhile foes would certainly enhance his standing and could lead to some fun adventures.

3. The Black Terror – Defunct comic company Nedor Comics had only a few concepts worth reading. By far the best, at least in my opinion, was the Black Terror aka Bob Benton. Dressed in a black costume with the skull and crossbones on his chest, the Black Terror has appeared in stories written by comic legend Alan Moore! There’s plenty of room for great tales using this hero in his original setting or even modern day.

4. Doctor Omega – Created in 1906 by French writer Arnould Galopin, Dr. Omega is an elderly, tough, brilliant, irascible genius who builds a spaceship that takes him, his neighbor, and his assistant Fred, to Mars. Resembling the First Doctor from the Doctor Who television series (William Hartnell for those of you whose knowledge of Who begins in recent days), Omega could grant a writer their best chance of creating a universe traveling sci-fi hero. Obviously, you should avoid using Daleks, Weeping Angels, and Cybermen, but this is a great chance to indulge yourself with few restrictions. Reprints of the originals are available on Kindle and Nook, so research should be easy enough.

5. Frank Reade Jr. – Steampunk enthralls many readers these days and there’s even a huge fashion movement with this as its basis. Frank Reade and later his son Frank Reade Junior were the embodiment of this concept long before it was a style. Written between 1892-1893, Frank Reade Jr. lives in a world of steam powered robots, airships, and early submersibles written in the United States in the Victorian era. If you dream of writing a steampunk adventure, Frank Reade or Frank Reade Jr. are a good starting point for any writer.

6. Jim Anthony – The massive success of Doc Savage inspired many imitators in that period, one of the best being Jim Anthony, Super Detective. Half Native American and half Irish, Anthony was a doctor, expert in dozens of areas of science, and a multimillionaire who devoted himself to tracking down criminals. Unlike Doc Savage, he liked the ladies and his stories were known as “spicy”; meaning a greater degree of sex and violence occurred in the pages. You definitely can’t go wrong with a hero who has the mind of Steven Hawking and the physique of Steve Reeves.

7. Fantômas – Want to write the bad guy in the main role in your story? Look no further than this character, the first true supervillain. Originally written between 1915-1963, Fantômas is a fiendish master of disguise with a love for sadistic methods of murder. Victims of this infamous super criminal died due to rooms that fill with sand, plague infested rats, and other evil plots. Chased by Inspector Juve, this character is the subject of films, plays, comics, and over forty novels. 

8. Carnacki, the Ghost-Finder – Interested in an occult hero? Want to indulge your need for fighting the supernatural? Then you should read up on Carnacki the Ghost-Finder by legendary weird fiction master William Hope Hodgson. Carnacki is a London based detective whose work often results in a paranormal cause for the crime or problem at hand. Utilizing scientific methods as well as old folklore-based wisdom in his cases, the tales vary from real occult danger to human fakery. The original stories are still a genuine delight and several writers have written new cases for this mostly forgotten hero.

As always, beware that you do not utilize new elements added by modern writers; their material is legally protected. Taking such concepts and ideas from current authors could result in legal issues best avoided at all cost. 

Despite that warning, there are many great characters beyond those I listed above. Take the time and look around. Just make sure they’re in the public domain first!  

“The Bad…”

Do remember that these are my opinion only. If your viewpoint is different, that is fine. I will state my reason for each and leave you to each of your own opinions. If you prove me wrong, I will be the first to hail you as doing so; though I would be very surprised too. I have experimented with more than one of these concepts and learned a great deal.

1. The Phantom Detective – The third longest running pulp hero character, the Phantom Detective was always a pretty poor attempt at a hero at best. He embodies the clichés of the period and was wildly uneven. Even his name is a misnomer; while the series is called “The Phantom Detective”, he is only called “The Phantom” in his series. The character is a rich guy who, after World War One, decides he will use his skills at fighting crime. He becomes an expert in disguise (as one does), as well as a criminologist and becomes accepted by law enforcement agencies worldwide. Oh, the police summon him through a red beacon at the top of a roof when they need his aid. If that sounds like Batman’s Bat Signal, you have now learned the inspiration. Otherwise, the Phantom Detective was simply a blah, boring, fairly routine series with rare moments of middle grade writing. The concept of a rich guy who solves crime is, by this point and time, a complete cliché to readers. Having read a bunch of Phantom Detective novels, I can assure you they were dreary. This one is best left to history.

2. Alarune – Oh boy, this one is a truly painful concept. Created by the repulsive Nazi sympathizer Hanns Heinz Ewers, the concept is one that demonstrate true misogyny. Professor Ten Bricken artificially inseminates a woman with Mandrake root which apparently emerges when a hanged man ejaculates as he dies. The result was Alarune, a woman who lacks a soul, is sexually voracious, and indulges in perverse affairs throughout her life. Made into seven movies, the character is truly repugnant. I tried using Ten Bricken and Alarune once in a story and I basically stripped the characters down to name only. This was the only way I could use him as a mad biologist helping the main villain. Had I used the true version of Alarune, I doubt any publisher would employ me again. Let this one die, folks. We are better than the mad concepts of a Nazi writer who tried mitigating their racial theories by considering himself still a decent human being. Alarune comes off as backward and horrific in modern days. 

3. Crimson Mask/Purple Scar – I include two as one because they are copies of better concepts without the skill or interesting writing. Also, they are so interchangeable, they almost bore me considering them as concepts. The Crimson Mask is a pharmacist whose police officer dad died at the hands of criminals. The Purple Scar is a man whose police officer brother died at the hands of criminals. Each took on masks based on the dead faces of their killed family member and became experts in fighting, criminology, and so on and on. These characters were bad imitations of the Shadow and Spider with villains so remarkably colorless I doubt even their writers remembered their names. If a writer decides they must recreate a famous concept, that’s fine. However, they should endeavor to do so with some finesse and cleverness. The Crimson Mask and the Purple Scar are such clear examples of bland writing that some consider the true representation of pulp. Maybe someone can add some flair to the pair, but I find the duo painful.

4. Kwa of the Jungle – Jungle hero pulp was a common concept because Tarzan was a legend that crossed well beyond his literary roots. Many popped up over the years, but Kwa was one of the silliest and least enjoyable. An orphan surviving a plane crash, young Nathaniel Rahan is adopted and raised in the jungle by a hidden race of chimpanzees. Yes, talking chimps. They name him, “Kwa the Golden One” and he protects the jungles from spider men and other odd creatures. The character was a poor rewrite of Tarzan, Mowgli, and even the less skilled Ki-Gor pulps. Don’t get me wrong, I love jungle/Wildman pulps, but Kwa was just a pale concept that did not even deserve his six stories. For those wanting to write a wild man hero, consider Polaris of the Snows or Ki-Gor. Kwa is best left in the dustbin of history.

5. Lovecraftian rewrites – I happen to adore cosmic horror and there are many writers, such as Peter Rawlik and Robert M. Price, whose work are genuine pleasures. What I am referring to is the habit some writers have of attempting a recreation of the style of H.P. Lovecraft. The result is often turgid, painful, purple prose that is in no way readable. Writers who must write in Lovecraft’s universe, do so with joy, but in a style and voice that is theirs, not an imitation of the concept’s creator. There was only one H.P. Lovecraft and the universe will not accept a second. Become the first “you” and take his concepts your own direction. 

“And the Ugly…”

Do remember that this is my opinion only. If your viewpoint is different, that is fine. I will state my reason for each and leave it up to each reader in formulating their own opinions. However, the “Ugly” is a more conceptual basis, a piece of advice for writers regarding some of the areas of pulps and comics best left buried in the past.

1. Bulldog Drummond aka the Reformed Racist - H. C. McNeile under the penname “Sapper” created a square-jawed tough hero who fought for all that was good and strong in the minds of the British. He was also virulently racist, an anti-Semite, anti-anyone non-English, and so conservative his values were probably formed by William the Conqueror. The main character in numerous books, films, radio shows, and even plays over the years, Bulldog’s disgusting tendencies toward repulsive behavior received cleansing from many writers. To some readers, Bulldog Drummond is a typical strong hero…until you read his original stories. There you find a hideous approximation of a heroic figure by someone who looked down on most of the world. I give major credit to Alan Moore and Kim Newman, two magnificent writers who used this character and did not wash away the truth in their pages. Readers let this guy, and any other similar race-baiting protagonists, be otherwise forgotten. These values were wrong then and worse now.

2. Wu Fang/Yellow Peril villains – Want to feel really uncomfortable? Try reading some of the Yellow Peril pulps like The Mysterious Wu Fang or Dr. Yen Sin. Yellow peril pulps are a product of pure xenophobia and are completely horrific attacks on a race of people. These tales usually involve an evil mandarin who plans on destroying white people using evil assassins with mysterious poison darts, creepy insects, and advanced scientific devices that could make them trillionaires should they create a company marketing them worldwide. Often a woman is in peril and has her clothing torn off so that “barbaric” “alien” men can gaze upon the perfect flesh…ugh, just writing that crud makes me feel the need for a shower. These stories are purely grotesque and are best left as history. Now, I am not saying Asian people cannot be villains. Madame Atomos, a villainess from French pulps, was a great series and made for exciting tales. However, that one is a rarity and there are very few others worthy of such respect.

3. “The One Good Nazi” – There are few areas of literature that so disgust me as this trope, one that was overused massively by many writers in the 1960s through the early 1990s. This character is often a cynical Army officer who received wounds in the war and despises the SS and Gestapo. He is often a soldier and German first and never really a Nazi. I could go on at length, but you get the point. This concept is utter trash and an insult to the millions of men, women, and children who died at the hands of the Third Reich. By continuing the cliché, you are ignoring the death camps, bombings of cities and literally thousands of horrors of the Nazi regime. Please, please, please, stop it. Nazis are useful as villains but stop normalizing them in fiction. Millions died in World War Two and that must never be forgotten.

4. The Savior – In the worlds of fantasy and science fiction, this idea appeared quite often in the past. A hero or heroine is born with a birthmark, on a specific day, cursed by an evil witch…or one of hundreds of variations in this setup. The protagonist is reputed as the only person capable of defeating the evil and bringing happiness and light back into the world…sorry, threw up in my mouth a little. When you write this as the basis of your story, you are effectively pre-plotting the ending. It is rare, such as in the case of Harry Potter, that differences emerge, and an effective tale emerges. Often, this is lazy writing and your hero/heroine is now basically unkillable. Also, why is this the only answer in solving the many problems of your world? In our world there are billions of people. Are you really telling me a second person with your comet shaped birthmark or whatever never appeared? It just doesn’t fly anymore, and the readers deserve better.

5. Poor pastiches – I get it, you are dying for a chance to write Doc Savage, the Shadow, Batman, Millie the Model, or whoever, but you cannot afford the licensing fees. Therefore, you create your own and call her Mollie the Model and her sidekick Doc Ravage…are you beginning to see my point? Pastiches can be a true joy for the reader, a unique direction for a character. I have written a Doc Savage version, a pulp hero called Thunder Jim Wade, for example. The trick is in creating something different. If I want Doc Savage, I will pick up a Lester Dent or Will Murray novel from my collection. I don’t need a near clone called “Doc Metal, the Man of Gold” or whatever. Give the reader something different and unique. Use your imagination and expand the concept to something enjoyable we have not seen a thousand times in the past. The reader will appreciate your efforts and you will get a sense of accomplishment that a “Molly the Model” cannot grant you in this life.

And that, gentle readers, is ‘The Ugly’…

=====================

Frank Schildiner is a martial arts instructor at Amorosi’s Mixed Martial Arts in New Jersey. He is the writer of the novels, THE QUEST OF FRANKENSTEIN, THE TRIUMPH OF FRANKENSTEIN, NAPOLEON’S VAMPIRE HUNTERS, THE DEVIL PLAGUE OF NAPLES, THE KLAUS PROTOCOL, and IRMA VEP AND THE GREAT BRAIN OF MARS.  Frank is a regular contributor to the fictional series TALES OF THE SHADOWMEN and has been published in FROM BAYOU TO ABYSS: EXAMINING JOHN CONSTANTINE, HELLBLAZER, THE JOY OF JOE, THE NEW ADVENTURES OF THUNDER JIM WADE, SECRET AGENT X Volumes 3, 4, 5, 6, THE LONE RANGER AND TONTO: FRONTIER JUSTICE, and THE AVENGER: THE JUSTICE FILES. He resides in New Jersey with his wife Gail who is his top supporter and two cats who are indifferent on the subject.

NOTE: This article was originally posted at Bibliorati. It is reprinted here by permission. 

Motivational Monday: 10 Tips from Jordan Peele

 Note: I know this says specifically "screenwriting" tips, but a story is just a story, and I think this applies quite well to novels and short stories as well. 

Great Poetry and Bob Dylan

There is no great religious poetry that does not raise – as
crucial to its enterprise – the question of whether it is open
to the charge of blasphemy, even as there is no great
erotic art that does not raise the question of whether
it is open to the charge of pornography.

– Christopher Ricks, Bob Dylan’s Vision of Sin

[Link] Books and Those Who Read Them Are the Real Endangered Species

By Jeff Minick

In the February 2021 issue of Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture, Professor Mark Brennan declares, “My students look at me in amazement when I tell them I read 8 to 10 hours per day. I look at them in amazement when they tell me they play video games 16 hours straight.” Brennan then went on to wonder if his book reading habits qualify him for “endangered species” status.

Two weeks after I read these words, my sister, her husband, and my friend John came to celebrate my birthday with me. All of us are over 60 years old.

During the several days that they were here, I offered them a DVD player and some movies I own for their amusement, but they rebuffed me each time, saying they preferred to read the books they’d brought with them or something from my personal library. For three to five hours every day of their visit, they sat with a book in hand, absorbed and whisked away by the story. When I passed through the room while they were reading, I realized once again that few sights move me more deeply than a human being engrossed in a book.

But are readers like these becoming “an endangered species?”

Maybe not endangered, but the American Academy of Arts and Sciences has reported our reading habits are waning.

Read the full article: https://www.intellectualtakeout.org/books-and-those-who-read-them-are-the-real-endangered-species-/

KIMBERLY RICHARDSON’S GOTHIC SUPERHEROES RETURN -- ‘ORDER OF THE BLACK SILK TWO: THE COMING OF WAR’ NOW AVAILABLE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Return to the City of Ashes . . . and prepare for War! Pro Se Productions proudly announces author Kimberly Richardson’s next chapter in her groundbreaking trilogy.  ORDER OF THE BLACK SILK TWO: THE COMING OF WAR is now available in print and digital formats from the author’s imprint KIMBERLY RICHARDSON’S PULP GOTHIC!

“It’s not often,” says Tommy Hancock, Pro Se Productions Editor in Chief, “that a Publisher gets the chance to handle the introduction of a new subgenre to readers. Pro Se was privileged to do that when we released Kimberly’s first book in this trilogy, ORDER OF THE BLACK SILK. Her blending of horror, gothic tropes, fantasy, and straight up super heroics makes this series one of the most innovative tales out there. And she doesn’t hold back on taking to a whole other level in THE COMING OF WAR, not even a little!”

Now that sisters Famine and Pestilence are prisoners of their elder brother, Death, their brother War has decided to wreak havoc upon Cinis. The Order of the Black Silk, the five former generals of Pestilence, prepare themselves for what will be an ordeal unlike any they have ever encountered!

Hidden truths shall be revealed, an old romance blossoms once more, and a man becomes a hero of the Dead!

Order of the Black Silk II: The Coming of War is the second book in the Black Silk Trilogy by Kimberly B. Richardson. From Pro Se Productions.

Featuring a haunting cover from Jason Wren and cover design and print formatting by Antonino lo Iacono and Marzia Marina, ORDER OF THE BLACK SILK TWO: THE COMING OF WAR is available in print at tinyurl.com/vdhrkbz6 for $7.99.

The second book in this amazing trilogy is also available on Kindle formatted by Iacono and Marina for $2.99 at tinyurl.com/1b0bfwvt. 

For more information on this title, interviews with the author, or digital copies for review, email editorinchief@prose-press.com.

To learn more about Pro Se Productions, go to www.prose-press.com. Like Pro Se on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ProSeProductions. 

Mike Bullock: Writing the Thousand Words (and more)

My first encounter with Mike Bullock was his wonderful fantasy comic book Lions, Tigers, and Bears. But it's time to discover what he's been up to lately. 

Tell us a bit about your latest work.

My first full-length sword & sorcery novel, Runemaster: Shield Maiden's Blade just dropped from Airship 27. It's been a long time coming and was so much fun to complete, it's almost surreal to have copies on my desk finally. Ron Fortier approached me about doing a book for Airship back in 2010 and soon after I started and wrote the first 10,000 words for the book. Well, life got in the way and I wasn't able to write the final 50k words until last Fall. 

The story follows Skarl Kirwall, born during the Last Great War, he was destined to lead his clan as the next Runemaster. Betrayed by a clansman, Skarl is banished from his village, only to learn of its destruction at the hands of their bitter enemies, the Ysling clan. Mourning his father’s death, he discovers his beloved Lacina is still alive, but taken by the bloodthirsty Yslings as a sacrifice to their god, Ysfang, the world serpent. Now, Skarl must pursue his lost love across the frozen wastes of Njordica and save her from the slathering jaws of the serpent god and in the process, take his rightful place as the next Runemaster.

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

As a kid, I was raised with my brother and two cousins until I hit elementary school. The three of them all got into drawing when I was four years old, but try as I might I could not draw a recognizable stick figure. One morning, I complained to my aunt that they were all drawing and I couldn't and she told me "Well, they say a picture's worth a thousand words, so if you can't draw the picture you better learn to write the thousand words." I took that at face value and went back in the other room and wrote my first story, with exactly one thousand words. (haha) The rest is history. 

What inspires you to write?

Anything imaginative. I think imagination is its own fuel, so when I see something creative, it sparks a fire in me. Going back to my childhood, as I grew older through the elementary and high school years, I spent a lot of time alone. Left to my own devices, back in the days when kids didn't have a million options for entertainment like they do now, I was forced to dream up ways to entertain myself. From creating games, to imagining far off worlds, conjuring new characters, places and conflicts just became something I did, spurred on by an intense fear of boredom. 

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

Personal loss and broken families seem to come up a lot...

What would be your dream project?

Honestly, while I love a lot of IPs created by others (John Carter, Conan, Batman, Moon Knight, Silver Surfer, ROM, Micronauts, Star Wars, etc...) my dream revolves around having my own version of something like Pixar, where I could create all sorts of things and bring them to life with unlimited resources. Taking my Lions, Tigers and Bears graphic novel series to the big and small screens, seeing Runemaster done as a video game, just having the ability to tell fantastical stories in a wide variety of mediums. 

What writers have influenced your style and technique?

Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard had the biggest impact on my pulp writing, while the old Rankin/Bass stop motion movies of the 60s and 70s inspired my all-ages writing. There are also particular books that hooked me and stuck with me over the years, such as The Phantom Tollbooth and the Flash Gordon book series from ACE in the 70s. 

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

I took a shot at re-imagining the Black Bat over at Moonstone Books years ago and the existing fan base didn't much care for it. In hindsight, I think we should have established the original character in the Moonstone pulp universe first, then brought the re-imagined version in later on. Sort of eased folks into it instead of driving it right out of the gate. 

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

While there's certainly a scientific craft to it, but I think it's more art, for sure. You can hit all the scientific marks of great storytelling and not invoke feelings in the reader. Conversely, a total hot mess of structure/theory can still trigger an emotional response. This is why you hear the word "lifeless" used to describe stories occasionally in reviews. A story is worthless if it doesn't make the reader feel something. 

What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?

Landing the plane. I'll often psyche myself out with the ending of a tale, thinking it has to be a mind-blowing, paradigm-shifting, life-altering revelation. In reality, it just has to be a satisfying conclusion to the tensions created in the story. 

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

A big part of it is inspiration. Guys like Joe Gentile, Bobby Nash, Barry Reese, Ron Marz, JM DeMatteis and others have all inspired me to no end with their work, but also poured wisdom, knowledge and encouragement into me over the years to help make my work better. I wouldn't be the writer I am without those guys and their inspiration and advice. 

What does literary success look like to you?

Having the work enjoyed by the audience. To clarify, I don't create to please anyone but myself - I write stories (and songs) I want to read (and hear). However, when I do that and others enjoy it too, then it feels like I did my job well. 

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug?

I'm working on a handful of things for Moonstone at the moment, including a dream gig with a well established property. Just wrapped up the first story yesterday, as a matter of fact. Along with that, I completed a tale featuring Gladiator, Golden Amazon and my own character, Death Angel at the end of 2020. Coming up we're introducing a few more of my original characters, The Red Widow, Lady Judex and others as well. 

For more information, visit:

runemasterpress.com