John R. Fultz's Blog, page 46

SALUTE TO A MASTER: The Best of Schweitzer

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“Mysteries of the Faceless King” — THE BEST SHORT FICTION OF DARRELL SCHWEITZER, Volume 1 of 2. (April 2020)

Every young aspiring author needs a mentor. Some of us are lucky enough to get a good writing teacher in school, some of us find our mentors by pure luck, while others pursue a mentor because we’re drawn to them by the exceptional quality of their work. So what’s the difference between an “apprentice” writer and a fan? The apprentice writer WRITES, and keeps writing, and keeps taking advice from the mentor in the ongoing crusade to improve the work. As the old song goes “Everybody needs somebody…”

[image error]Back when I was a starry-eyed college student at the University of Kentucky (circa ’88 – ’91), I took a couple of creative writing classes that really unlocked my passion and set me on a path to becoming a storyteller. About that time I discovered Marvin Kaye’s WEIRD TALES: The Magazine That Never Dies anthology—which led me directly to the Terminus/Owlswick run of WEIRD TALES magazine edited by Darrell Schweitzer and George Scithers. This dynamic due had revived the mag in 1988, and they kept it going strong (despite the odd hiatus now and then) until 2007. Along they way they won a World Fantasy Award as an editorial team. The Terminus/Owlswick run remains a high point in WT history, which stretches all the way back to 1923.

[image error]I wrote story after story in my Creative Writing classes at UK, and I sent most of them to WEIRD TALES hoping to get published. It was my favorite magazine, and if I could get published there that would really mean something. I didn’t really know what I was doing yet, but I was determined. What kept me going was the advice editor Darrell Schweitzer gave me with every rejection. He pointed out to me where I was making rookie mistakes, where I needed to focus my efforts, and he even turned me onto Lord Dunsany, whose elegant and lyrical prose I began to study with a vengeance.

[image error]I was already a huge fan of Schweitzer’s fiction–his story “Mysteries of the Faceless King” in the above-mentioned Kaye anthology had set me on a path to finding more of his stories–which I found not only in the pages of WT, but also in mags like ADVENTURES OF SWORD-AND-SORCERY, SPACE & TIME, and INTERZONE. If I hadn’t been such a fan of Darrell’s fiction, he wouldn’t have been such a powerful mentor for me. Likewise, if Darrell had blown me off with “standard” rejections, I wouldn’t have gotten any good advice to make my work better.

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I kept sending in stories–every few years I’d send a new one—and every time I’d get back a polite rejection that included a hand-written critique and advice. From Darrell. Always from Darrell. That’s what a mentor does—he gives good advice. Boy, did I listen. And I applied those lessons every time I wrote something new.

[image error]I found out later that George Scithers (WT co-editor) had been a mentor to the young Darrell. So maybe DS was “paying it forward” by fostering a young no-name talent like myself. Whatever the case, this gifted author whom I’d never met in person became my writing mentor—my literary sensei—and I kept producing new efforts off-and-on for the next 15 years. I should note here that DS didn’t just publish me out of pity—he was ruthless in his critiques of my work—but he was also enlightening. Inspiring. I turned my raw frustration into a passion for improvement. Storytelling is a discipline like any other, and the only way to get better is to keep telling stories.

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Weird Tales #340

Cut to 2004: After a decade-and-a-half of trying, I finally produced a story that impressed Darrell enough to buy it for WEIRD TALES. That tale was “The Persecution of Artifice the Quill,” which I wrote after an epiphany that came from reading one of Fritz Leiber’s FAFHRD & THE GREY MOUSER books. “Artifice the Quill” ran in WEIRD TALES #340 in 2006, and –voila!– I was now a published writer. It had taken me 15 years, but I had finally learned how to write a good story.

I sold Darrell two more tales set in the “Artifice” universe, but the magazine changed editoral hands in 2007 before either of those stories were published. They ended up going to BLACK GATE magazine and are now collected with all of the Artifice-related tales in THE REVELATIONS OF ZANG. But selling that first story—to the mentor who had been supporting my evolution for so long—was a major turning point.

[image error][image error]Along the way I discovered tons more great Schweitzer stories—in his various collections mainly—and in the magazines that were lucky enough to publish his work. After moving to Chicago in ’96, I read his phenomenal third novel MASK OF THE SORCERER, which I consider to be one of the best fantasy novels ever written. As a master of the short story form, Darrell didn’t write novels very often. There was also THE WHITE ISLE, his first novel, and THE SHATTERED GODDESS, his second. I love all three of these books, but MASK is the jewel in Darrell’s literary crown. I recommend it to pretty much every fantasy reader I meet.

[image error][image error]Darrell’s first love is the short story, and he’s written over 400 published tales since the early 70s, when his work started appearing in every issue of Paul Ganley’s original WEIRDBOOK run. He’s been producing new short stories almost nonstop his entire career, collecting them every few years in brilliant anthologies such as REFUGEES FROM AN IMAGINARY COUNTRY, TOM O’BEDLAM’S NIGHT OUT, NECROMANCIES AND NETHERWORLDS, NIGHTSCAPES, WE ARE ALL LEGENDS, THE GREAT WORLD AND THE SMALL, and EMPEROR OF THE ANCIENT WORD (et. al.). Ask anyone who knows what they’re talking about, and they will tell you that Darrell Schweitzer is an acknowledged master of the short-story form. His stories are spells cast from the hand of a literary sorcerer. A veritable word wizard, if you will.

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“The Last Heretic” — THE BEST SHORT FICTION OF DARRELL SCHWEITZER, Volume 2 of 2. (April 2020)

So it’s about time someone published a retrospective looking back across Darrell’s long and distinguished career. England’s PS Publishing is making it happen. Next month they’re releasing a two-volume hardcover collection of Schweitzer’s best work. The stories included were chosen by Darrell himself, and each volume includes a brand-new story as well. Cover art is by the talented Jason Van Hollander, a frequent Schweitzer collaborator. And yes, that’s Darrell’s severed head floating in the iron cage or jar, hanging above two different urban weirdscapes.

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Jason Van Hollander’s eerie cover for WT #313 (1998).

I’m used to seeing Darrell’s face wear a charming smile—he’s one of the world’s biggest Three Stooges fans—but having your head removed and stuck in a jar would put a grimace on anybody’s mug. At second glance I notice that the disembodied head has sprouted a couple of tiny clawed legs. A prime example of Van Hollander’s phantasmagorical style, which is more than a match for Darrell’s weird prose.

“Mysteries of the Faceless King” is the first volume (incidentally named after the tale that made me an instant Schweitzer fan), and “The Last Heretic” is the second volume. PS is taking pre-orders right now at the above links. This will be a limited print run, so get yours while the getting is good.

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Two master storytellers: Schweitzer and Poe. Pic taken at the 2009 World Fantasy Con in San Jose, celebrating Poe’s 200th birthday with red velvet cake and a spot of absinthe. Good times!

I’m proud to say that my longtime mentor has, over the years, also become my friend. After corresponding for over a decade, I was able to meet Darrell in person for the first time back at the 2006 Worldcon, and I’ve spent time with him at every one of the World Fantasy Conventions that I’ve been lucky enough to attend. He’s a font of historical and literary wisdom, especially concerning the history of fantasy and sci-fi fandom; he seems to know everybody who’s anybody, and they all know him. His quick sense of humor is a defining quality, something you might never guess from reading his darkest works. Now and then he channels that sense of humor into his fiction, most notably in stories such as his Tom O’Bedlam tales, which read like Terry Gilliam directing the Three Stooges on acid—surreal and metaphysical takes about the link between magic and madness.

[image error]Darrell is, in one respect, the fantasy world’s best kept secret. While not yet a household name, the quality and originality of his work towers far above the man himself, and fantasy enthusiasts know it. He is a humble and dedicated servant of the written word, an ever-present stalwart of fandom, and an inexhaustible bookseller. (He even wears a button that reads “May I shamelessly try to sell you a book?” And he will.)

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Darrell at a recent convention panel.

For me he will always be—first-and-foremost—one of my favorite authors to ever walk this planet. But he’s also a buddy I’m lucky to have, one who encouraged me when nobody else did. One who believed in my talent and continues to do so, even when the world tells me I don’t matter. Darrell’s work continues to be a massive inspiration to me and to countless others.

Salute to PS Publishing for recognizing Darrell Schweitzer’s greatness while he’s still around to see it. His hardcore fans will snap up these BEST OF hardcovers immediately, and I hope a whole new legion of fans will discover in these volumes something they didn’t even know they were missing. Something wonderful and strange, born screaming and clawing from one of the world’s greatest imaginations.

Master fantasists don’t come along every day, so we need to celebrate them while we can.

Let the celebration begin.

PERSISTENCE: A WFC Post-Con Report

[image error]In these increasingly divided times it’s always great when you can get together with a group of like-minded people and have intelligent discussions about literature, art, history, philosophy, and other “thinky” topics. It’s also great to share a laugh and break some bread with those you might not see as often as you’d like. In fact, it’s always great just to “get away” for awhile and focus on things that matter to you, while in the process relaxing and having a chance to enjoy yourself.

All of these reasons–and more–are why I love attending the World Fantasy Convention. This year marks my 10-year anniversary as a fan/member of WFC–although I’ve only been to five conventions in those ten years. Finances didn’t always permit it–especially when the con moved out of the country, or all the way on the other side of it. Last year I missed it because of a last-minute illness, but this year I didn’t even have to take an airplane. Driving down to Los Angeles from the Bay Area is always a pleasure–you spend most of your time on the I-5, and you pass through some truly beautiful country.

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Art by Tim White

Cruising through the Angeles National Forest before you descend into the L.A. basin is a mystical experience. Tons of vegetation in those hills, but hardly any trees. Pyramid Lake sparkles like Tinseltown dreams, a promise of bounty waiting just over the horizon. Coming in from the north, you pass right out of those mystical hills and discover the Mulholland Drive exit. That is the moment you know you’ve reached the City of Angels, or more specifically the Hollywood Hills. I didn’t have time to take a drive up Mulholland like I’ve always wanted to do–I was already late for the convention–but the next time it’s definitely on my “to-do” list.

The high point of this year’s WFC, as always, were the great discussion panels. One of particular note was the “Long Time Writing” panel, which my pal Darrell Schweitzer lovingly called the “Old-Timers Panel” (which he’s allowed to do because he’s one of those old-timers, having attended every WFC since the first one in 1975). Anyway, this was a great panel of writers who have been creating popular fiction for decades: Robert Silverberg, Joe Haldeman, Bruce McAllister, Kevin Murphy, Howard Hendrix, and Gwynne Garfinkle. I found this panel pretty inspiring because of where I’m at right now. I turned 50 a few weeks ago, and I’ve been trying to figure out where my writing career is going next. Hence my recent decision to quit writing short stories and focus exclusively on novels.

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Art by Bruce Pennington

These writers have kept their careers going through all the obstacles life has placed in their path, and they never gave up. Silverberg retired once in ’75 and came back around ’80, and now he’s enjoying his second retirement. And yet his body of work is still being published, optioned, and adapted. The Rolling Stones don’t NEED to write any new albums to be superstars, and Bob Silverberg doesn’t need to write another word to secure his place as a Grandmaster of the field. Joe Haldeman told a great story about being shot–shot!–while riding a bike. He actually survived a random drive-by shooting–how many people can say that? Bruce McAllister talked about a health scare that left him on medication that kept him alive, but prevented him from writing for years. And yet he came back and wrote again. And he’s still writing.

Another hard-to-forget panel was “When Hollywood Comes Calling,” wherein Silverberg and McAllister joined Eldon Thompson, Curtis Chen, and John Skipp to discuss the wacky process of selling your ideas to Hollywood producers. All of them had crazy stories about the process that reminded me of every movie I’ve ever seen about the inner workings of the entertainment industry. “It’s all who you know” is the one incessant rule that seems to run Hollywood. When personnel changes, projects get killed. So many great stories of Hollyweird were shared that I can’t remember them all. It made me glad that I write novels instead of scripts.

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Art by Bruce Pennington

One thing I’ll never forget is Silverberg’s story about getting paid $10,000 to write a STAR TREK episode treatment–an offer that came out of the blue, especially since he had never seen a single episode of the show! Nevertheless, he wrote the treatment, got the check, and spent an evening with Gene Roddenberry playing Pong. The treatment never became an actual episode. One of the panel’s most important takeaways: If your book/story gets optioned, take the money but don’t expect it to actually get made. Only 1 in 1000 optioned stories actually get developed into movies/shows. Dealing with publishing companies may be hard sometimes, but it’s a picnic compared to dealing with Hollywood’s bizarre twists-and-turns as projects are lost in development hell and life-changing decisions often turn on a boardroom whim. Silverberg’s advice? “Just cash the checks, and forget about it.”

The late Harlan Ellison was there in spirit. I’m so grateful that I got to meet Harlan (and hear him speak) at Worldcon 2006. Silverberg told a few great stories about his old friend, as he usually does. Those two were the Dynamic Duo of Golden Age sci-fi–many of their exploits, feuds, and adventures are well documented. But I didn’t know that at one point Harlan spent a small fortune on stone gargoyles for his house. Gargoyles! That’s just the kind of guy Ellison was–a guy who wanted some damn gargoyles–so he got ’em. Who knows? Maybe Harlan was inspired by Clark Ashton Smith’s classic story “The Maker of Gargoyles”–he was one of Smith’s biggest fans after all.

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Art by Enrich Torres

The “Heroine’s Journey” panel was a great examination of how female heroes/protagonists differ from male heroes/protagonists. Many great points were made, but my takeaway was this: Female heroes will usually be more nurturing and social than male heroes, so this tends to reshape their heroic journey in significant ways. All of which is a fancy way of saying Men and Women are different. I asked if Bilbo would have taken better care of the Dwarves in THE HOBBIT if he were a female hobbit. My question drew a laugh, but then someone pointed out that Sam Gamgee’s journey is more of a “Heroine’s Journey” because he basically takes care of Mr. Frodo the whole time–Sam the Nurturer becomes Sam the Warrior when Shelob tries to devour Frodo. Writers must always keep in mind that every human being has both male and female qualities, and everyone has their own mixture of these qualities, regardless of biology or sex. This was a pretty deep panel!

I really dug the “Black Fantasy and Horror” panel featuring Sheree Renee Thomas, Tananarive Due, Steven Barnes, and Andrea D. Hairston. There was much discussion of how movies like BLACK PANTHER and Jordan Peele’s US have opened doors for black voices, not only in films and TV, but also in the book industry. Afro-Futurism is science fiction, fantasy, and horror created by and/or featuring the children of the African Diaspora. This is a field with a global reach, since there are black voices being heard now from all over the world. Barnes told a fascinating story of the time a publisher turned his novel’s black protagonist into a white guy on the cover, yet everyone at the company blamed someone else for the decision. Really makes you think. Awesome panel.

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Art by Stephen Fabian

I served on a Saturday panel called “A Culture Not My Own” with C.H. Hung (terrific moderator!), S.B. Divya, Catherine Cooke Montrose, Brenda Carre, and Sheila Finch. It was a spirited discussion about using other cultures to build a fantasy world and/or telling stories sat in existing cultures that are not the writer’s own. My perspective as a fantasy writer is that I create imaginary worlds, and in order to do that you have to study the REAL world, i.e. you take elements from various historical cultures and mix them with your own imagination. That’s how you do it. There were a lot of great questions about how to do it right, and how to make sure you’re being sensitive to existing cultures. Having a good intent is important, but it’s not enough: You also have to do your research. Divya suggested using “sensitivity readers” (a specific type of “beta readers”) who belong to the culture you are writing about. Such a great idea–especially if you’re writing about a culture that currently exists. I had a lot of fun on this panel, and made some new friends too.

Overall, I came away energized and inspired–not only by the discussions and the encouragement, but also by the stories from writers who made NEVER GIVE UP their personal motto. You kinda have to do that if you want any kind of longevity in the writing business.

My takeaway: Keep on keepin’ on. Persistence is the name of the game.

Kinda makes me feel a bit better about moving so slowly on this new novel. As usual, I’ll pick up speed this summer when my teaching duties aren’t demanding most of my time. I plan to finish writing IMMACULATE SCOUNDRELS by the end of Summer 2020. Then it will be up to my agent to work his magic, while I move on to planning the next one.

PERSISTENCE: A World Fantasy post-con report

[image error]In these increasingly divided times it’s always great when you can get together with a group of like-minded people and have intelligent discussions about literature, art, history, philosophy, and other “thinky” topics. It’s also great to share a laugh and break some bread with those you might not see as often as you’d like. In fact, it’s always great just to “get away” for awhile and focus on things that matter to you, while in the process relaxing and having a chance to enjoy yourself.

All of these reasons–and more–are why I love attending the World Fantasy Convention. This year marks my 10-year anniversary as a fan/member of WFC–although I’ve only been to five conventions in those ten years. Finances didn’t always permit it–especially when the con moved out of the country, or all the way on the other side of it. Last year I missed it because of a last-minute illness, but this year I didn’t even have to take an airplane. Driving down to Los Angeles from the Bay Area is always a pleasure–you spend most of your time on the I-5, and you pass through some truly beautiful country.

[image error]

Art by Tim White

Cruising through the Angeles National Forest before you descend into the L.A. basin is a mystical experience. Tons of vegetation in those hills, but hardly any trees. Pyramid Lake sparkles like Tinseltown dreams, a promise of bounty waiting just over the horizon. Coming in from the north, you pass right out of those mystical hills and discover the Mulholland Drive exit. That is the moment you know you’ve reached the City of Angels, or more specifically the Hollywood Hills. I didn’t have time to take a drive up Mulholland like I’ve always wanted to do–I was already late for the convention–but the next time it’s definitely on my “to-do” list.

The high point of this year’s WFC, as always, were the great discussion panels. One of particular note was the “Long Time Writing” panel, which my pal Darrell Schweitzer lovingly called the “Old-Timers Panel” (which he’s allowed to do because he’s one of those old-timers, having attended every WFC since the first one in 1975). Anyway, this was a great panel of writers who have been creating popular fiction for decades: Robert Silverberg, Joe Haldeman, Bruce McAllister, Kevin Murphy, Howard Hendrix, and Gwynne Garfinkle. I found this panel pretty inspiring because of where I’m at right now. I turned 50 a few weeks ago, and I’ve been trying to figure out where my writing career is going next. Hence my recent decision to quit writing short stories and focus exclusively on novels.

[image error]

Art by Bruce Pennington

These writers have kept their careers going through all the obstacles life has placed in their path, and they never gave up. Silverberg retired once in ’75 and came back around ’80, and now he’s enjoying his second retirement. And yet his body of work is still being published, optioned, and adapted. The Rolling Stones don’t NEED to write any new albums to be superstars, and Bob Silverberg doesn’t need to write another word to secure his place as a Grandmaster of the field. Joe Haldeman told a great story about being shot–shot!–while riding a bike. He actually survived a random drive-by shooting–how many people can say that? Bruce McAllister talked about a health scare that left him on medication that kept him alive, but prevented him from writing for years. And yet he came back and wrote again. And he’s still writing.

Another hard-to-forget panel was “When Hollywood Comes Calling,” wherein Silverberg and McAllister joined Eldon Thompson, Curtis Chen, and John Skipp to discuss the wacky process of selling your ideas to Hollywood producers. All of them had crazy stories about the process that reminded me of every movie I’ve ever seen about the inner workings of the entertainment industry. “It’s all who you know” is the one incessant rule that seems to run Hollywood. When personnel changes, projects get killed. So many great stories of Hollyweird were shared that I can’t remember them all. It made me glad that I write novels instead of scripts.

[image error]

Art by Bruce Pennington

One thing I’ll never forget is Silverberg’s story about getting paid $10,000 to write a STAR TREK episode treatment–an offer that came out of the blue, especially since he had never seen a single episode of the show! Nevertheless, he wrote the treatment, got the check, and spent an evening with Gene Roddenberry playing Pong. The treatment never became an actual episode. One of the panel’s most important takeaways: If your book/story gets optioned, take the money but don’t expect it to actually get made. Only 1 in 1000 optioned stories actually get developed into movies/shows. Dealing with publishing companies may be hard sometimes, but it’s a picnic compared to dealing with Hollywood’s bizarre twists-and-turns as projects are lost in development hell and life-changing decisions often turn on a boardroom whim. Silverberg’s advice? “Just cash the checks, and forget about it.”

The late Harlan Ellison was there in spirit. I’m so grateful that I got to meet Harlan (and hear him speak) at Worldcon 2006. Silverberg told a few great stories about his old friend, as he usually does. Those two were the Dynamic Duo of Golden Age sci-fi–many of their exploits, feuds, and adventures are well documented. But I didn’t know that at one point Harlan spent a small fortune on stone gargoyles for his house. Gargoyles! That’s just the kind of guy Ellison was–a guy who wanted some damn gargoyles–so he got ’em. Who knows? Maybe Harlan was inspired by Clark Ashton Smith’s classic story “The Maker of Gargoyles”–he was one of Smith’s biggest fans after all.

[image error]

Art by Enrich Torres

The “Heroine’s Journey” panel was a great examination of how female heroes/protagonists differ from male heroes/protagonists. Many great points were made, but my takeaway was this: Female heroes will usually be more nurturing and social than male heroes, so this tends to reshape their heroic journey in significant ways. All of which is a fancy way of saying Men and Women are different. I asked if Bilbo would have taken better care of the Dwarves in THE HOBBIT if he were a female hobbit. My question drew a laugh, but then someone pointed out that Sam Gamgee’s journey is more of a “Heroine’s Journey” because he basically takes care of Mr. Frodo the whole time–Sam the Nurturer becomes Sam the Warrior when Shelob tries to devour Frodo. Writers must always keep in mind that every human being has both male and female qualities, and everyone has their own mixture of these qualities, regardless of biology or sex. This was a pretty deep panel!

I really dug the “Black Fantasy and Horror” panel featuring Sheree Renee Thomas, Tananarive Due, Steven Barnes, and Andrea D. Hairston. There was much discussion of how movies like BLACK PANTHER and Jordan Peele’s US have opened doors for black voices, not only in films and TV, but also in the book industry. Afro-Futurism is science fiction, fantasy, and horror created by and/or featuring the children of the African Diaspora. This is a field with a global reach, since there are black voices being heard now from all over the world. Barnes told a fascinating story of the time a publisher turned his novel’s black protagonist into a white guy on the cover, yet everyone at the company blamed someone else for the decision. Really makes you think. Awesome panel.

[image error]

Art by Stephen Fabian

I served on a Saturday panel called “A Culture Not My Own” with C.H. Hung (terrific moderator!), S.B. Divya, Catherine Cooke Montrose, Brenda Carre, and Sheila Finch. It was a spirited discussion about using other cultures to build a fantasy world and/or telling stories sat in existing cultures that are not the writer’s own. My perspective as a fantasy writer is that I create imaginary worlds, and in order to do that you have to study the REAL world, i.e. you take elements from various historical cultures and mix them with your own imagination. That’s how you do it. There were a lot of great questions about how to do it right, and how to make sure you’re being sensitive to existing cultures. Having a good intent is important, but it’s not enough: You also have to do your research. Divya suggested using “sensitivity readers” (a specific type of “beta readers”) who belong to the culture you are writing about. Such a great idea–especially if you’re writing about a culture that currently exists. I had a lot of fun on this panel, and made some new friends too.

Overall, I came away energized and inspired–not only by the discussions and the encouragement, but also by the stories from writers who made NEVER GIVE UP their personal motto. You kinda have to do that if you want any kind of longevity in the writing business.

My takeaway: Keep on keepin’ on. Persistence is the name of the game.

Kinda makes me feel a bit better about moving so slowly on this new novel. As usual, I’ll pick up speed this summer when my teaching duties aren’t demanding most of my time. I plan to finish writing IMMACULATE SCOUNDRELS by the end of Summer 2020. Then it will be up to my agent to work his magic, while I move on to planning the next one.

WORLD FANTASY 2019: City of Angels

[image error]Looking forward to the World Fantasy Convention this year because it’s back in California–which means I don’t have to fly! So I’ll be driving down to Los Angeles from my home in the Bay Area. The theme this year is “Fantasy Noir,” which is ironic because I’ve been working on a new novel that could be easily described by that term. Purely coincidental, if you believe in coincidences. If not, it must be fate.

I’ll be on a discussion panel called “A Culture Not My Own” about using real-world cultures as inspiration for fantasy worlds. In the Shaper Trilogy I blended many historical influences to create a diverse continent for the story. From the Viking-esque culture of the Giantlands to the Hellenic-flavored desert metropolis of Uurz, to the pseudo-African kingdom of Mumbaza, the Shaper’s world was a melange of cultures inspired by a blend of historical civilizations.

[image error]In THE TESTAMENT OF TALL EAGLE, I decided to narrow the focus so I could deepen the experience. There are two major cultures in the TALL EAGLE duology: Tall Eagle’s people are very similar to the pre-Comanche migrating tribes of North America, while the gray-skinned Myktu are a mystical race of quasi-Elvish nature. Total immersion into the tribal culture of Tall Eagle’s folk was my goal for the initial chapters of TESTAMENT, before the collision with Myktu culture that drives the plot. In the sequel, SON OF TALL EAGLE, I wanted to explore the evolving culture of the transplanted tribe as it adapts to a new world full of supernatural forces and strange creatures.

The “Culture” panel description reads: How can one best write fiction set in a culture or religion/mythology the author wasn’t raised in? How can one avoid cultural appropriation? Should non-Asians avoid Asia-set stories? Non-Norwegians not write about the Norse gods? And what about crossing cultures, combining elements from more than one?

[image error]Those are several great questions and the topic deserves some serious consideration. ALL fantasy cultures are based in some way on real-world cultures–influences are inescapable.  Many fantasy cultures are developed as “What if?” experiments with an alternate history timeline, while others are designed to be analogs of specific historical civilizations.

A fantasy writer’s primary job–when writing about a “secondary world”–is to make that world believable and consistent within its own frame of logic (or non-logic). The best way to make your fantasy world believable is to model it after the real world, which is a blend of complex and unique cultures.

ALL fiction writers study culture and observe the humanity around them, and they make statements based on those observations when they write–both consciously and subconsciously. Fantasy and Science-Fiction writers often have an even bigger responsibility: To INVENT a wholly new culture of the fantastic that feels close enough to reality to support the narrative. We draw from the deep wells of history and anthropology to water the roots of our creations.

A panel on using actual cultures to create fantasy cultures makes total sense. Should be a good one. My books will be available for sale at the Book Universe booth.

 

No More Short Stories

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Art by Les Edwards

To quote Gordon Ramsay: “I’ve had enough!”

It’s official: I have decided to stop writing short stories altogether to focus exclusively on novels. Short stories can be fun, but there are a number of reasons why they simply don’t work for me anymore:

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Art by Frazetta

1)  Publishers by and large are not interested in my short stories. For various reasons, it’s damn near impossible for me to break into new markets with my short fiction. Always has been. I don’t really know why–except that I write to please myself and maybe what pleases me simply does not please the general public or the editors who serve them. I’m not about to start catering to tastes or writing for trends, so…who needs it? The most obvious answer is that I’m simply not very good at writing short stories. Or at least the kind that sell.

2) Short stories don’t pay well. Sometimes they don’t pay at all. There are some high-paying markets, but my experience there has been a series of closed doors, blank walls, and a denial of my basic existence as a writer. In other words: Why am I trying so hard to sell stories that nobody wants to publish? Forget about it.

3) Even when you get a short story accepted, you have to wait months or years to see it in print. Again, it’s not worth it. I’d rather slave over a novel for a few years, then get it out to thousands of people, than to keep writing short stories for an ever-shrinking audience of magazines that don’t want my writing anyway. [Case in point: WEIRDBOOK has six of my stories lined up for six consecutive issues. However, the magazine has gone on hiatus again, and there is no publication date for ANY of those issues. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they get published eventually–but it’s entirely out of my hands.]

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Art by Josh Kirby

4) Life is too short. I’m much better at writing novels (got five of those published–three of them internationally via Orbit/Hachette). I’ve written six novels altogether, and only one of those proved unpublishable. So my success rate at novels is 5/6, or 83%. Not bad! (I always was a “B” student.) However, my success rate at short stories is too low to even slap a number on (see above). At this point in life I’d rather focus my creative drive on something I know I’m good at.

Life is a never-ending process of learning about yourself and your world. What I’ve learned since “going professional” is that my novels are much better received than any of my short fiction. So I’m going to stop wasting my time trying to write “a perfect short story” over and over again–and focus instead on something I’ve had decent success at doing, i.e. writing and selling novels.

If my next novel doesn’t sell, then the world will be sending me a different message at that point, and in that case I may decide to stop writing altogether. But that’s another bridge, and I’ll cross it when I get to it. Hopefully, I’ll finish this current novel by the end of next summer, my agent will dig it, and one of the Big Publishers will publish it. That’s the goal. However, I don’t plan to spend the rest of my life tilting at windmills (Don Quixote reference–literature!).

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Art by John Bierley

All of this comes as I’m about to turn 50. Naturally, it’s a time when you start to re-examine your life and re-set some priorities. My priority is to write novels. I’m giving myself one more “shot” to keep that goal alive. But if it doesn’t work out, it won’t be the end of my life. I’ll move on to something else.

So consider me a “novel guy” who used to write short stories. Some of them even got published.

As for the novel I’m writing now, it’s a “fantasy noir” epic that I’ve tentatively titled IMMACULATE SCOUNDRELS. I’m approaching it differently than all of my other novels, writing it in a different way, taking more time to really think through things before I commit them to paper. So hopefully this will pay off by resulting in a book that mainstream publishers can’t wait to get their hands on. Or…it could be my swan song. I simply don’t know for sure, and there’s only one way to find out: WRITE THE BOOK.

So, unlike Elvis Costello, I may not be writing the book “every day” (obscure 80s reference!), but I am writing it–slowly but surely. I’m in no hurry. And the world is in no hurry to get a new novel from me. Everything is going to turn out exactly as it is supposed to turn out, no matter what happens.

Short stories? Been there, done that.

Time to move on.

 

 

 

Mountains of Madness Revealed Hardcover

[image error]The fine folks at PS Publishing have released their latest hardcover anthology of all-new Lovecraftian Mythos fiction: MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS REVEALED, edited by Darrell Schweitzer. This volume features tales that follow up on HPL’s classic novella AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS. For more information see my previous post about this book—it’s a must-read for any serious Lovecraft fan.

This is the third Lovecraftian anthology I’ve been involved with–first there was CTHULHU’S REIGN (2010) , then THAT IS NOT DEAD (2015), both edited by the indomitable Mr. Schweitzer. It’s always fun to play in Lovecraft’s creepy old sandbox full of monsters, madness, and mayhem. PS does gorgeous hardcover editions in limited print runs, so get your claws on this one before they’re all gone.

 

 

 

Summer 2019

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Art by D’Achille

Well, summertime rolls again…

Since I teach school during the rest of the year, every summer I have to decide what my summer Writing Project will be : A new novel or a new batch of short stories. Last year I cranked out a whole new cycle of short stories called The Magtone Saga–six standalone stories that build to a single climax. Altogether the Magtone Saga is about 50,000 words (about 10K short of being as long as a novel). Two of those stories appeared in WEIRDBOOK (issues #37 and #39), and the remaining four were scheduled for the next four consecutive issues. However, the magazine went on hiatus for awhile and the last four Magtone Tales have yet to see publication.

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Art by John Bierley

Latest news from WB indicates that the delayed Magtone stories will appear in WEIRDBOOK #43-46. However, there is no publication date set for any of those issues, so it’s anyone’s guess when they will be released. WB #40 was finally released about a month ago, and there’s no word on when #42 will be published (or any issues beyond that). So, assuming WEIRDBOOK doesn’t go out of business and quit publishing altogether, the rest of the Magtone Saga should eventually see publication. WB was releasing four issues a year, but that seems to have reduced to one or two at this point. Fingers are crossed that the mag will return to quarterly status–but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

This summer I’m back to writing novels. Working on something entirely new and fresh, an epic fantasy with a crime-noir flavor. I’m four chapters into it so far, and it’s slow going. As I approach the tender age of 50, I’m starting to realize that I don’t/can’t write novels as fast as I used to. In the past I’d start slow and build an incredible momentum. That’s how it worked with the Shaper Trilogy and the Tall Eagle series.

This new book is coming to me in a slower and hopefully deeper fashion.  It’s impossible for an author to objectively rate his own creations, but once again I feel like I’m doing the best work of my career. Yet that’s how I usually feel when I’m working on a new novel project. That feeling drives me as a creator to finish my creation–yet it has no effect at all on the success of the novel commercially. Sometimes what you think is your best work others find lacking. Sometimes the reverse is true. Publishing is a strange game, and you have to take “time” out of the equation.

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Art by Stephen Fabian

My approach with this new novel is “This will take as long as it takes–and I will not rush it.” It’s the same guideline I used with my first novel (SEVEN PRINCES), but I haven’t approached novels like that since. There’s no deadline looming over my head, there’s no schedule I have to keep, there’s only my vision and my ongoing attempt to bring it to life on the page. This novel will take as long as it takes to finish–and that’s perfectly fine by me. Publishing has always moved at a glacial pace, and that’s not about to change anytime soon.

Deadlines are good for keeping your nose to grindstone. But writing without deadlines means you can sit back and develop ideas at their own pace–at and away from the keyboard. Thinking is the first step to writing, and without deadlines you can put in more thought to every aspect of your story. Taking time out of the equation is a blessing. The trick is to just keep moving, chapter by chapter. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, but you have to keep taking steps or you go nowhere. So I’m taking one careful step after another, knowing that I’ll reach the end of this fictional journey in my own good time.

[image error][image error]Also I started reading the great Frank Herbert’s fifth book, HERETICS OF DUNE. It’s the sequel to GOD EMPEROR OF DUNE, which totally blew my mind when I read it a few years ago. I need long breaks between Herbert novels–they are usually immersive and mind-boggling experiences in the best way. Not sure if HERETICS will rise to the same level of brilliance as GOD EMPEROR, but I look forward to finding out. I think it might be time for a massive re-watch of the 2000 DUNE adaptation starring Alec Newman and William Hurt. It’s the best adaptation of Herbert’s creation so far (all due respect to the great David Lynch, who wasn’t allowed to fulfill his creative vision on the problematic 1984 DUNE film).

So that’s where I’m at this summer. Trying to enjoy my vacation, write my new novel, and retain my sanity. Life in the American Dark Age continues….

 

 

 

 

 

PREVIEW: The Mountains of Madness Revealed

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Cover art by J.K. Potter

Later this year PS Publishing releases a new anthology of Lovecraft-inspired fiction edited by the indomitable Darrell Schweitzer. THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS REVEALED features stories (and poetry) that expand on concepts created by H.P. Lovecraft in his classic novella “At the Mountains of Madness.” One of his most popular stories, it first appeared in the pages of Astounding Stories in 1936, where it was serialized over three issues.

Above is a peek at the cover design by J.K. Potter, and thanks to PS Publishing’s Newsletter we also have their official description and a complete list of contributors:

[image error]“In his celebrated novella ‘At the Mountains of Madness,’ H.P. Lovecraft told of the discovery of a vast, alien city buried under the ice in Antarctica: millions of years old, filled with shocking secrets about the history of life on Earth, and not entirely uninhabited. But after the Miskatonic University expedition of 1930 came to a disastrous end and further exploration was either discouraged or suppressed, the city of the Elder Things slept once more, and the world seemed safe from whatever the Mountains of Madness still harbored. Danforth, the last survivor to look back, saw something he never could describe, that made him lose his mind…

“Now, decades later, ice caps are melting and glaciers are retreating. Global warming is an observable fact. That which was once hidden is hidden no longer. So what happens when that horror-filled city of Elder Things and shoggoths is in plain sight, its existence impossible to deny? How will mankind deal with the realization that we are not the only intelligent species on the planet, and that we are masters of the Earth only by sheer chance? Now that something is stirring, that mastery may be coming to an end.

“What happens next? Denial? Exploitation? The rise of strange cults? Maybe even an ill-advised attempt at tourism? Or will the cosmic forces now awakened engulf the entire planet? Here are some of the answers…”

Stories by:

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ASTOUNDING STORIES – Feb, 1936

Adrian Cole

Gordon Linzner

James Chambers

Melinda LaFevers

John R. Fultz

Harry Turtledove

James Van Pelt

Robert M. Price

Don Webb

John Shirley

Paul Di Filippo

Frederic S. Durbin

John Linwood Grant

Geoffrey Hart

Amdi Silvestri

Géza A.G. Reilly

Darrell Schweitzer

Verse by:

Ann K. Schwader

Adam Bolivar

My contribution is a chilling tale of the not-too-distant future entitled “The Embrace of Elder Things.” A remnant of mankind has survived climate collapse and global floods by migrating to a high-tech moon colony, while horrors from the ancient past have risen to reclaim the waterlogged earth. Psychic powers and eldritch terrors abound…

There is no specific release date for the book yet, but it will almost certainly be released by the time of this year’s NecronomiCon (i.e. August). I’ll post a fresh update as soon as THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS REVEALED is available.

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Art by by Eclectixx

The Mountains of Madness Revealed

[image error]

Cover art by J.K. Potter

Later this year PS Publishing will release a new anthology of Lovecraft-inspired fiction edited by Darrell Schweitzer. THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS REVEALED features stories (and poetry) that expand on concepts created by H.P. Lovecraft in his classic novella “At the Mountains of Madness.” One of his most popular stories, it first appeared in the pages of Astounding Stories in 1936, where it was serialized over three issues.

Above is a peek at the cover design by J.K. Potter, and thanks to PS Publishing’s Newsletter we also have their official description and a complete list of contributors:

[image error]

ASTOUNDING STORIES – Feb, 1936

“In his celebrated novella ‘At the Mountains of Madness,’ H.P. Lovecraft told of the discovery of a vast, alien city buried under the ice in Antarctica: millions of years old, filled with shocking secrets about the history of life on Earth, and not entirely uninhabited. But after the Miskatonic University expedition of 1930 came to a disastrous end and further exploration was either discouraged or suppressed, the city of the Elder Things slept once more, and the world seemed safe from whatever the Mountains of Madness still harbored. Danforth, the last survivor to look back, saw something he never could describe, that made him lose his mind…

“Now, decades later, ice caps are melting and glaciers are retreating. Global warming is an observable fact. That which was once hidden is hidden no longer. So what happens when that horror-filled city of Elder Things and shoggoths is in plain sight, its existence impossible to deny? How will mankind deal with the realization that we are not the only intelligent species on the planet, and that we are masters of the Earth only by sheer chance? Now that something is stirring, that mastery may be coming to an end.

“What happens next? Denial? Exploitation? The rise of strange cults? Maybe even an ill-advised attempt at tourism? Or will the cosmic forces now awakened engulf the entire planet? Here are some of the answers: Stories by Adrian Cole, Gordon Linzner, James Chambers, Melinda LaFevers, John R. Fultz, Harry Turtledove, James Van Pelt, Robert M. Price, Don Webb, John Shirley, Paul Di Filippo, Frederic S. Durbin, John Linwood Grant, Geoffrey Hart, Amdi Silvestri, Géza A.G. Reilly, and Darrell Schweitzer. Verse by Ann K. Schwader and Adam Bolivar.“

My own contribution is a chilling tale of the not-too-distant future entitled “The Embrace of Elder Things.” A remnant of mankind has survived climate collapse and global floods by migrating to a high-tech moon colony, but horrors from the ancient past have risen to reclaim the waterlogged earth. Psychic powers and eldritch terrors abound.

There is no specific release date for the book yet, but it will almost certainly be released by the time of this year’s NecronomiCon (i.e. August). I’ll post a fresh update as soon as AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS REVEALED is available.

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Art by by Eclectixx

Creation vs. Depression

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Art by Jim Steranko

Working on a new novel and the beginning of a new phase for my writing career. I have to be insane to write another novel. After all, they say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and hoping for a different result. I guess you could argue that I’m not really doing the SAME thing over and over because I’m writing very different books. But it kinda FEELS the same–like you keep rowing but never really get anywhere. But that is an illusion–and a classic symptom of depression.

So I’m battling depression fueled by a sense of existential futility. I’m supposed to be on vacation–but luckily I’m too poor to take an actual vacation (as usual), so that kinda forces me to stay at home and work on a book. What else am I gonna do?

The problem is that my depression keeps saying “Why bother? You’re wasting your time! Writing is a fool’s game.” Then the other voice in the back of my head says “That’s self-defeating bullshit. Get off your ass and write!” But the bottom line is that I can’t write unless I feel like writing. I have to keep reminding myself that every novel is like this: I start out slow–a chapter per week if that–and I gradually build up speed as the novel progresses. Sometimes I even get up to one-chapter-per-day by the time it’s over.

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Art by Bruce Pennington

I think the real secret is just to KEEP GOING. Put your head down, follow your muse, and crank out that novel line by line, scene by scene, chapter by chapter.

Why?

Why does a man climb a mountain?

Because it’s there.

Why does a man write a novel?

Because he’s a fool.

Depression is a bitch. Most writers I know have been affected by it at some point. Some of us have battled depression our entire lives–starting many years before we even heard the word “depression.” I remember as a kid the first time I discovered that people weren’t supposed to be sad and anxious all the time. I was surprised. Doesn’t everybody feel like I feel? And the truth is that everybody gets depressed sometimes–it’s perfectly normal–but it’s those extended bouts of depression that can really make existence difficult.

Depression is antithetical to creativity. Or, to put it another way, creativity kills depression. It’s a great feeling to plant the seed of a creative endeavor (such as a novel) and watch it bloom to fruition under your constant care and hard work. Maybe that’s why my depression doesn’t want me to write–because writing will destroy it. At least for a while…

The problem is that it’s so much easier NOT to write. It’s so much easier to do the wrong than the right thing. The easiest thing in the world to do is fail. Failure requires absolutely no effort, no sacrifice, and no work whatsoever. I guess you could say failure is the “default setting” for humans. We spend our lives battling against failure–or we give into it and watch our lives fade to nothing–first metaphorically, then literally.

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Art by Enrich Torres

So the whole point of living seems to be STRUGGLE. Not that we all have an equal struggle–and some struggles go completely unseen by others–but everyone’s got their own cross to bear.

For me, the best defense against depression is creation.

It doesn’t want me to create.

It wants me to give up and die.

I say fuck that.

I choose to live, and I choose to write.

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For more info on dealing with depression visit verywellmind.com