Steven M. Moore's Blog, page 76
November 20, 2018
Ruts in the road…
I admire J. Michael Straczynski for his screenwriting associated with Babylon Five, the TV series. He considered the five years of episodes just chapters in a novel, but I considered them five novels forming a series of books (yeah, some would have cliffhangers, something I eshew). In any case, he set out with a finite constraint in mind. That’s wonderful restraint that Hollywood rarely exhibits with TV series or franchise films like Mission Impossible or Star Wars, as they try to extend a go...
November 16, 2018
Mini-Reviews of Books #37…
Red Rising. Pierce Brown, author. (Del Rey/Random House, 2014.) I don’t buy Big Five ebooks much anymore; they often cost as much as the print versions! I fell into a trap on this one, though. The publisher has learned to set the trap of offering the first book in a series at a very low price. Sometimes that works, and readers buy more books in the series, so the trap is good for the publisher, author, and readers. In this case, that trap didn’t work. Let me explain why.
The book is a mixed b...
November 15, 2018
ABC Shorts: Timmy and Me…
Timmy and Me
Copyright 2018, A. B. Carolan
“James, you seem in a foul mood tonight,” said Sam MacAllister.
Bradford had taken a pub stool next to Mac and ordered a pint. After a lengthy sip, he said, “How can you tell?”
“Not a wink at the barmaid, me lad, even though she’s flirting with you. She never flirts with me.”
“You’re married. And leave me alone, Sam. You’d not understand.”
“Try me. Girlfriend problems?”
“No. I just talked to Beatrice on my mobile. She’s still at the office.”
“You ar...
November 14, 2018
Interviewing author Carole Price…
Steve: Today I’m honored to interview mystery and thriller author Carole Price. Why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself to start out.
Carole: I’m a Buckeye born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, and I attended The Ohio State University. I worked for a national laboratory in northern California before turning to writing mysteries.
Steve: Tell us about your novels.
Carole: I write the “Shakespeare in the Vineyard Series.” I fell in love with the Bard after attending plays at the Oregon Shakespea...
November 13, 2018
The best mystery & thriller novels…
Most mystery and thriller readers have their own list of novels they remember with fondness. While yours might be different, I want to offer you mine. For younger readers, there are probably some oldies in my list you might have missed and could enjoy. Maybe you’ve heard old geezers like me mention them fondly. In any case, many are classics now. Without further ado, here’s my list in alphabetical order according to author:
Isaac Asimov, The Naked Sun
David Baldacci, Absolute Power
John le Ca...
November 9, 2018
The Martian v. First Man…
[Note from Steve: Not exactly a movie review…or is it a review of two?]
While I reviewed Andy Weir’s book (Oct. 16, 2015), I don’t think I reviewed the movie with Matt Damon, which I saw (readers can confirm that by perusing the movie review archive—I couldn’t find one). I’m sure I won’t see First Man. Ryan Gosling can’t compare to everyman Matt Damon, but that’s not the main point of this article. My intention is to compare the focus of these two movies.
Although The Martian is clearly ficti...
November 8, 2018
Steve’s shorts…
[Note from Steve: I haven’t written a Dr. Carlos story for a while. You’ll find plenty in Pasodobles in a Quantum Stringscape and Fantastic Encores!, but here’s another one. It tidies up some things in my sci-fi novels too.]
Old Planet
Copyright 2018, Steven M. Moore
“What’s your take on this, Obregon?”
Carlos Obregon, Chief Medical Officer in the crew of the survey ship Brendan, looked up from his tablet where he’d been watching a demo of a new surgical technique for the ETs called Rangers....
November 7, 2018
Interviewing author Laura Elvebak…
Steve: I have the honor and privilege of interviewing author Laura Elvebak today. She writes mystery, thrillers, suspense, and noir. Among her published books, the reader of this blog will find: Less Dead, Lost Witness, A Matter of Revenge, The Flawed Dance, and The Past Never Dies. She has just submitted to Black Opal Books She Said No. This talented writer is also a screenwriter and has optioned two screenplays. Without further ado, let’s hear from Laura.
Some personal background about Laur...
November 6, 2018
Completed novel projects…
I’ve just finished three novel-writing marathons. One has the length of most of my novels; the other two are really longer. All three required a lot of digging for background material (research), more so than usual—something like running up “Heartbreak Hill” in Boston (the NYC Marathon run last weekend is flat in comparison).
Let me describe the novels and some of their background material.
The Last Humans. While my Survivors of the Chaos (#1 in The Chaos Chronicles Trilogy Collection) is dys...
November 2, 2018
Book events…
I love them. Being at them, participating in them. Sounds weird, doesn’t it? Like many authors, I’m an introverted and shy guy who sits down at his laptop a lot to pound the keys and do my storytelling. (I couldn’t finish all those novel-writing marathons any other way.) But I also enjoy discussing reading, writing, and the book business with readers who honor me by attending these events. Sometimes I’m alone; other times not, and then I can also have those same discussions with other authors...
