I really didn’t know what pulp magazines were until around 1970 when I was introduced to the Lancer collections of Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian. Somewhere along the way, as my comic book habit had bled into reading the fanzines of the day, I got to learn about the Shadow, Doc Savage, G-8, and […]
I report back to St. Vincent Pallotti High School this morning, beginning my sixth year as a teacher there. Somehow, the ten-week summer break has evaporated and the 2022-23 academic year is poised to begin on the 29th. So, what did I do on my summer vacation? The big project was writing the second Above […]
I attempted to fund my homage to the golden age of pulp magazines, Thrilling Adventure Yarns in 2019, estimating I needed $4500 to pay the authors somewhat below market rates, a cover painting, and book designer. I was shocked to do 200+% better with 400 backers. Encouraged, I tried again with TAY 2021, which asked […]
I was pulling the old tear sheets (pages pulled from a publication) from my files for a possible project and realized they weren’t in much of an order. I sifted through them and realized that my first freelance assignment was forty years ago this summer. As you may recall, I was briefly summer help at […]
The freelance life is beginning to take shape as projects are finally getting announced. As mentioned earlier, coming in March is The Phenomenons, the new super-hero prose universe masterminded by Michael Jan Friedman. Kickstarter backers have started receiving their copies and the response has been positive. Also now announced, is the Peter and Kathleen David-edited […]
It has to have been a year or so back when Mike Friedman reached out to me and Paul Kupperberg. “Guys,” he said, “I’m thinking of creating a prose superhero universe.” When we couldn’t talk him out of it, we provided feedback on his premise, ensuring it didn’t resemble the plethora of existing shared superhero […]
Regular readers know how much I love Shore Leave, the largest fan-run con, now up to 41.6. Yeah, they’d playing with the numbers since this year is a virtual con. The good news for those not in the Maryland area is that you can now attend and see what you’ve been missing. All the details […]
I never expected 400 backers and reaching 248% of the goal when I launched the Kickstarter campaign for Thrilling Adventure Yarns in 2019. I just knew I loved the old pulp magazines and wanted to have fun with them, pay tribute to their influence on me as a reader. When the book debuted that summer, […]
So, in theory, we should all be gathering at the Hunt Valley Inn for Shore Leave, but you know, things happened. There’s a virtual version that will have some panels this weekend and throughout the next few weeks. However, Crazy 8 Press won’t be slowed down. As promised months ago, we are debuting our latest […]
I think I first met Marty Pasko as the ubiquitous letter hack, nicknamed Pesky Pasko by editor Julie Schwartz. He was a familiar name to me for some time and then suddenly, he was compiling Julie’s letter pages. I still recall his tender editorial reply to the sister of one reader, James T. McCoy, who […]
Mike Friedman doesn’t think small. He has envisioned worldafter world and one of his most ambitious projects was an alternate history. Some years back, he wondered how mankind would have evolvedhad Pangaea, the super-continent, neve shattered into the seven continents weknow today. He did some research, did some wishful thinking, then invited hisfriends to come […]
At Farpoint in 2017, we were enjoying our usual Crazy 8 Press panel, when somehow the event ended with the team agreeing to write an anthology where every author would find some gruesome way to kill our member Glenn Hauman.You have to understand, we love Glenn. But, he can’t get out of his own way […]
I was at the first few Terrificion’s when it was a newbie and my how it has grown. After hearing how cool last year’s show was, I angled to get invited to this year’s shindig. It’s this weekend at Mohegan Sun Casino in the wilds of Connecticut.What makes this year special is that it has […]
Between January and July, I have five different projects coming out, which makes me sound busier than I feel.We had Planet of the Apes: Tales from the Forbidden Zone kick off the year to much acclaim and (hopefully) good sales.In March, Sequart’s long awaited Bright Eyes, Ape City: Examining the Planet of the Apes Mythos.Then, […]
Today is the book birthday for Planet of the Apes: Tales from the Forbidden Zone. I’m incredibly pleased with how well my story turned out and feel I am in some most excellent company.As it says over at Amazon:The 1968 Planet of the Apes film has inspired generations of authors. Now a who’s who of […]
I enjoy worldbuilding. It probably has to do with growing up with the words “to seek new life forms and new civilizations…:” rattling in my head with great regularity.I loved playing with the DC Universe characters, helping reshape the universe in the wake of Crisis on Infinite Earths. I adored collaborating to craft new worlds […]