Ask the Author: Eric Alan Westfall
Answered Questions (10)
Eric Alan Westfall
Alas! Alack! Oh, woe! I have no mysteries.
My life is an open book...with a few chapters tucked away behind lock and key.
But certain things (perhaps from those "tucked" chapters) I've done, or watched, or started out watching and then joined in, might possibly, maybe, perchance formed the basis of certain scenes in certain books I've written.
*snicker*
My life is an open book...with a few chapters tucked away behind lock and key.
But certain things (perhaps from those "tucked" chapters) I've done, or watched, or started out watching and then joined in, might possibly, maybe, perchance formed the basis of certain scenes in certain books I've written.
*snicker*
Eric Alan Westfall
I know a lot of GR folks have TBR lists, but don't know whether they divide them into seasonal subsets. I just don't have the inclination to go to all that effort for making the list. I read at least a book a day, have a thousand or so books I own but either haven't read or enjoy re-reading on my Fire, so on any given day I read whatever happens to strike my fancy. Like currently (that being October of 2021) I'm rereading Brust's Vlad Taltos series, as well as two Christopher Stasheff series (Warlock/Wizard in Rhyme).
In case anyone is interested, since this is a "bot-based" question.
*rueful smile*
In case anyone is interested, since this is a "bot-based" question.
*rueful smile*
Eric Alan Westfall
Pern. And I'd try to persuade a dragon rider to persuade a dragon to give me a ride.
Eric Alan Westfall
M'rella, first, please accept my abject apologies for not answering sooner. The last question prior to yours was 4 years earlier, and my excuse for not checking is the rarity of questions.
Looking back, the Tsar known as "Ivan the Terrible" has always fascinated me. Not that I know any real historical details about him, just the name and his reputation. I've also had a fascination for intricate Russian artwork, particularly about the firebird. And I'd also downloaded, back in 2017, the online versions of a variety of fairy tales, including the firebird one.
So suddenly there was an idea for telling the firebird tale, but with the idea being the hero was "Ivan the Not Terribly Bright" instead. The "not bright" aspect didn't last very long, I borrowed "A. Wolfe" from the wolfe who appears in the version of The Tinderbox I hope to get finished by early 2022, tossed in some cruel brothers...and I was off and running.
I'm proud of the final result, and hope you enjoyed it.
Again, my apologies for taking so long.
Eric-the-ever-embarrassed
Looking back, the Tsar known as "Ivan the Terrible" has always fascinated me. Not that I know any real historical details about him, just the name and his reputation. I've also had a fascination for intricate Russian artwork, particularly about the firebird. And I'd also downloaded, back in 2017, the online versions of a variety of fairy tales, including the firebird one.
So suddenly there was an idea for telling the firebird tale, but with the idea being the hero was "Ivan the Not Terribly Bright" instead. The "not bright" aspect didn't last very long, I borrowed "A. Wolfe" from the wolfe who appears in the version of The Tinderbox I hope to get finished by early 2022, tossed in some cruel brothers...and I was off and running.
I'm proud of the final result, and hope you enjoyed it.
Again, my apologies for taking so long.
Eric-the-ever-embarrassed
Eric Alan Westfall
Sure. But it isn't mine. Isaac Asimov? From The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction many decades ago. It was called at the time, "the shortest horror story ever written": The last man on earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door.
And then there's "the horror story shorter by one letter than the shortest horror story ever written": The last man on earth sat alone in a room. There was a lock on the door.
*s*
And then there's "the horror story shorter by one letter than the shortest horror story ever written": The last man on earth sat alone in a room. There was a lock on the door.
*s*
Eric Alan Westfall
Arjani, with all due respect, I think there's been a mistake. I haven't posted anything anywhere asking for a critique partner. I do recall seeing a post like that in the beta-reader thread, but don't recall who it was. Sorry.
Eric Alan Westfall
Thanks for the question, Eric, though I'm not sure I have a satisfactory answer. I've never really thought about this.
Sometimes it's a prompt, like the books that came out of the Don't Read in the Closet events of years past. "Of Princes False and True" (in progress) is a retelling of a 1908 fairy tale from The Lilac Fairy Book. Sometimes a scene just pops into my head (like the cruisy park trail in "Tattooed Wolf, Painted Dragon" currently awaiting a cover) and the guys are just there. Sometimes the first line of the book appears in my mind (like "no way out"...an in-progress Regency) and the characters seem to flow from that. Except for "Of Princes"...and a possible retelling of Ivan and the Firebird...I don't usually have inspirations from an existing source, or from real people or real events. So maybe...inspiration just comes from my kind of odd mind?
I hope this answered your question, and again, thanks for asking.
Eric
Sometimes it's a prompt, like the books that came out of the Don't Read in the Closet events of years past. "Of Princes False and True" (in progress) is a retelling of a 1908 fairy tale from The Lilac Fairy Book. Sometimes a scene just pops into my head (like the cruisy park trail in "Tattooed Wolf, Painted Dragon" currently awaiting a cover) and the guys are just there. Sometimes the first line of the book appears in my mind (like "no way out"...an in-progress Regency) and the characters seem to flow from that. Except for "Of Princes"...and a possible retelling of Ivan and the Firebird...I don't usually have inspirations from an existing source, or from real people or real events. So maybe...inspiration just comes from my kind of odd mind?
I hope this answered your question, and again, thanks for asking.
Eric
Eric Alan Westfall
Nope. And I won't. Two reasons: (1) you're using this Q&A to promote yourself, not ask any reasonable question, and (2) you misspelled my name.
Eric Alan Westfall
Sort of, kind of. I started off with the book series, and I have all the ones so far published. If the books are ever done, at that point I'll read them all. But the TV show? Not a chance. From all I've heard, it's superb. But while I can handle blood and gore in a book, I don't deal well with it on the big or small screens. Oh, and there's that whole thing about not having an HBO subscription, too. *s* Sorry about that.
Eric Alan Westfall
The great and wonderful Oz, er, GR, notified me of this a half hour ago, roughly 14 hours after you wrote it. But we've emailed already, as you know. >g<
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