2024 was packed and, therefore, exhausting. That sums it up, so you can stop here if you’re not interested. For whatever reason, circumstances conspired to make this a very busy year, gaining momentum by the month and then the week. It all ground to a halt on Christmas Day, and we welcomed a day to […]
The world Peter David leaves behind is a webbed one. Like Spider-Man, whom he wrote for several years, Peter spun a web trapping unsuspecting people, until we all found how connected we were to one another. Social media is filled, since news broke of his dying in his sleep Saturday night, with stories and anecdotes, […]
Ah, summer break. Normally, I have all manner of writing to do, short and long works, which have been stockpiled for this ten-week stretch. This summer, that is not the case. Instead, I have drafted my Sword & Sorcery story for the next Thrilling Adventure Yarns and it is off to Aaron Rosenberg for editing. […]
After missing Shore Leave, my favorite con, last year, I am eager to check out their new location in Lancaster, PA. As usual, I will be emceeing on the main stage, sitting at the Crazy 8 Press table, and appear on quite a few panels over the three days. One of the fun things about […]
Once again, after slogging through related and unrelated matters, I was able to spend some of last week actually working on the novel outline. I reread the first six chapters, adding details and adjusting certain aspects, and then drafted two more chapters. I also paused to do some further worldbuilding, as I discovered things I […]
It’s been a very busy July and it’s hard to believe we’re already rushing towards it conclusion. The crush has been fun and educational and tiring. As regular readers know, I attended Shore Leave 45 mid-month. I had a wonderful time, as always. At Friday night’s Meet the Pros party, I actually sold more books […]
With each passing year, I struggle to find something new to say about losing Robbie. Yet, I can’t stop myself. Maybe when we get to the 20th, but I can’t let the 17th anniversary of his passing go unremarked. I watch as those named in his honor grow and thrive. At Shore Leave, the con […]
In 1981, I was invited by my pal Howard Weinstein to join him at a Maryland-based show called Shore Leave. I drove down to the Hunt Valley Inn in Cockeysville, and it was so wonderful I have been coming back steadily ever since. Today, the hotel, part of the Marriott chain, closes. I have no […]
I find it impressive that this will be Shore Leave 43, a con I have been attending with two breaks since SL 3. It’s my favorite con and that’s an opinion shared by many proferssionals, actors and authors alike, along with the fans who attend with gusto. For me, I love it as much for […]
So, what kind of year has it been? Looking back, as I do at this point of the year, I see 2022 as an okay year. Good things happened; few bad things happened. And all mostly went according to plan. I didn’t write as much as usual, although I did manage to complete the second […]
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 […]
Finally, I am getting to once again walk the halls of the Hunt Valley Inn as I attend Shore Leave 42. Accompanying me will be a legion of authors, many of whom I have not seen in years. Me and the Crazy 8 Press gang will have a table and I look forward to chatting […]
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 […]
As 2019 ends, and the final year of the decade begins (at least that’s how I count it), it’s time to take stock and judge the year as a whole. Deb and I had a relatively quiet, relatively good year. We saw plenty of television, a handful of plays and a bunch of movies, did […]
Shore Leave 41 was a great experience but I was left withregrets which is not how things usually shake out. First of all, the con was fun and despite more than a few ofthe regulars being absent for one reason or another, it was good to be there. As I discussed last week, we moved […]
I first came up with the idea for what has become Thrilling Adventure Yarns in late 2017. It was generated in short order when there was concern among some of the Crazy 8 Press team that one of our other books might not make the schedule. While that crisis was averted, the notion of a […]
My love for Shore Leave has no bounds as it enters its fifth decade of existence. It has grown and prospered, evolving to meet the ever-changing needs and desires of the fans. I love how it has earned and maintained a reputation for being a fun, fan-run show where the media guests are comfortable. This […]
It hasn’t been a bad year overall. Deb and I remained relativelyhealthy as we both hit 60, celebrating with our big trip to Scotland andIceland. We saw movies and plays, visited museums and libraries, and traveled to see family and friends. Throughout the year, we’ve upgraded portions of the townhouse, notably the Master Bathroom, but […]
My school year was done at the beginning of June and the students report tomorrow morning for the first classes of the new school year. I’ve been back in the building since last Wednesday and will admit that I was lesson planning in bits and pieces throughout the summer.But it was also a time to […]
Shore Leave 40 has come and gone. So much has been happening that my normal after action report got waylaid.The show was tremendous fun with plenty of nice touches to make it memorable. The Friday night Meet the Pros party went better than usual and all weekend long I received nice compliments on the Oral […]
In 1981, I was working at Starlog Press and I received a call from my pal Howard Weinstein. He’d just been invited to be a guest at a new show called Shore Leave. It was their third outing and he thought I’d make a good (and cheap) guest, coming down to talk about SF movies […]
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’m tired, plain and simple.We were away in Italy for a pilgrimage, returning on July 4 and then on the 7th, it was the Shore Leave marathon. As a result, the late nights required by the con and a special event Sunday has left me worn out.But the con was good.Shore Leave remains a fun […]
It’s hard to believe it’s time for Shore Leave 39 already. I’ve been coming steadily since SL 3 back in the early 1980s and I delight at how it has grown but retained its intimate, fan-centric experience.I’ve got a rather packed schedule along with playing emcee most of the weekend. For those attending, here’s where […]
I have fallen out of the blogging habit, something I mean to correct starting here.Shore Leave 38 is now a fond memory and as usual, I had a wonderful, albeit tiring, time. The show remains a fixture in the Hunt Valley Inn and it has become a gathering spot for my fellow author, many of […]
Shore Leave 38 kicks off on Friday and it will feel, once more, like a family reunion as I reconnect with my far-flung writing peers and see old friends. The schedule is chock full of panels I want to be on or sit in on, far more than time allows.Barring last minute changes, here’s my […]
The summer used to be filled with lots of convention appearances, as I represented DC or Marvel and I truly enjoyed being at the booth or out with freelancers. Many, many great memories were created during those years.These days, I make fewer appearances and tend to stay relatively local unless I’m brought out somewhere different […]
I have been exceedingly quiet here on the blog but that does not mean I have been in stasis. There has actually been a lot going on but for a variety of reasons, I have put off writing anything for public consumption.The last few weeks has been filled with a lot of planning, both my […]