John R. Fultz's Blog, page 74
February 2, 2012
"Grasping for the Wind" (interview)
The great Darrell Sweet illustrates a scene from Tolkien's SILMARILLION in a painting called "Glaurung."
SFFWRTCHT: What's the best writing advice you have to offer new writers who ask?
John R. Fultz: Just keep writing. If you're really a writer, there's nothing else you can do. Write what you believe in…conquer your own mountains…write the best stories you can and get them out there where people can dig your mojo. Build a suit of armor from your accumulated rejection slips and wear it into battle. Kill that dragon.
Full-length interview at: http://www.graspingforthewind.com/2012/02/02/sffwrtcht-a-chat-with-author-john-r-fultz/
January 30, 2012
"The Gnomes of Carrick County"
My short story "The Gnomes of Carrick County" will be appearing in SPACE & TIME #116, which goes on sale in February.
S&T is a terrific magazine with a long history of presenting quality fantastic fiction. This will be my second appearance in the mag, and this story holds a special place in my heart. It takes place in the late 1700s Kentucky territory, following a family of Irish immigrants coming to the New World to settle on the western side of the Cumberland Gap.
All my Kentucky peeps will surely smile to see the appearance of the great Daniel Boone himself in the story, although he is not the main character. Oh, and did I mention there are GNOMES? Eldritch magic meets colonial adventure in this tale of weird history.
Visit the SPACE & TIME site here to subscribe and get more info:
http://spaceandtimemagazine.com/wp/
January 28, 2012
Let's Shake It
Hold everything–for the most awesome groove of the 20th Century. Turn this up. Hit it!
January 26, 2012
Latest SEVEN PRINCES review/interview
"Here is a fantasy novel that manages to be as dark and gritty as an Abercrombie or Martin creation yet also sits comfortably within the realm of fairy tale, folklore, and myth, with its emotional verisimilitude never threatening to rob the series of magic or heroism, and its classic fantasy tropes never undermining its emotional complexity and heft."
–Robert William Berg on SEVEN PRINCES
Full review: http://www.robwillreview.com/?p=8903
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My latest interview was done on Twitter until the traffic blew up the site.
Here's the transcript–some great questions were asked:
http://bryanthomasschmidt.net/sffwrtcht/2012/01/26/transcript-sffwrtcht-12512-with-john-r-fultz/
A big thanks to Bryan Thomas Schmidt for conducting the inquisition in dynamic fashion.
PEACE
January 25, 2012
Interview @ CivReader
Brand new interview with me at Civilian Reader:
http://civilian-reader.blogspot.com/2012/01/introducing-john-r-fultz.html
January 22, 2012
BLOODY BRILLIANCE: Why I Love Robert E. Howard
A couple of years ago I posted a piece at Black Gate for
Robert E. Howard's birthday—and that fabled day is once again upon us. I wanted to run that piece again right here as a memorial to REH, the creator of CONAN, KULL, SOLOMON KANE, and so much more. One of WEIRD TALES's greatest discoveries, Howard was a thunderous poetic voice unleashed to rattle the foundations of pulp fiction.
So here's to the great Bob Howard– Happy Birthday!
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BLOODY BRILLIANCE
Why do I love the works of Robert E. Howard?
Emerald jungles filled with scalp-hungry picts. The primordial perfection of axe and spear. The clang of steel on steel beneath tattered banners, and the dying howls of winged terrors. Lost temples and fantastic jewels, mounds of gold steeped in the glow of eldritch flames…
The thunderous cadence of tribal drums and clouds rushing grey as death. Ruby-eyed witches and bloody claws trailing torn flesh. The primal rush of muscle and bone…battle cries like phantom bats above the field of honor. The stench of Stygian darkness where serpents gleam and glide, as terrible gods demand red sacrifices…
The sorcerer who peers beyond and calls up fiends from Hell…the clash of iron and the defiance of tyranny. The triumph of the noble savage against the cruelty of opulent empires. Colossal spiders and spitting vipers. The turn of a supple leg, the heaving of breasts and swirling of gossamer veils. The crushing embrace of bronze arms, the blazing passion of life against the black gloom of death…
The galloping hosts of antique nations, the cry of a night-beast wailing at the moon. The precarious dance of flesh and metal, the arcs of flying crimson. Spilling viscera. The brutal grace of prehistoric combat, the strength of arm and gnashing of teeth. The sparkling visions of a misted age, the mysteries of old worlds heavy as dreams…
The Cimmerian snow and glaciers, the breath of northern myth…the sweltering desert where vultures stalk parched prey…the rise of Slave to King…the simplicity of might making right in a world tossed on seas of blood. The damsels in distress and the avenging hero…the lantern jaws and sapphire eyes. The glittering towers collapsing in shards…
The ancient world transmogrified, embroidered with the brilliants of legend, steeped in the wine of epic storms. The blood and thunder. The broad-shouldered lug and the skull-faced horror…the sting of a whisper in darkness. The dripping dagger and the broken blade…
Crumbling continents and rushing seas, the cataclysm of evolution…Atlantis and the descendents of Valusia. Tiger totems. Solemn kings brooding on golden thrones…the serpents that walk on two legs…the wizards haunting graveyards and the bones that rattle and walk in moonlight…the Valley of the Worm.
The mystic spell of language…the well-turned phrase and the phantasm of imagery. The tales of obsession, the obsession with tales. The poetry of doom and the marching specters…the man, the legend, the visionary…
The spectacular stories, the gripping yarns, the wonderfully weird tales…
Immortality wrought in ink and parchment.
All this and more…that's why I love REH.
All the images used in this post are paintings from the great Frank Frazetta. Nobody brought Howard's most famous creation, Conan of Cimmeria, to life quite like Frazetta. His covers sold millions of Conan books in the 1960s, popularizing the character like nothing that had come before them.
January 20, 2012
Let's Get Epic…
"When I was a kid, I read fantasy novels because the men were heroes, the villains were the most vile, despicable creatures possible, and the battles were epic. The stories were magical to my young mind, and I couldn't wait to immerse myself in the realms of dragons and wizards each day after school. Thanks to John R. Fultz's debut novel, SEVEN PRINCES, that magic is back in a big way."
–James W. Powell
The Debut Review
Full review here:
http://www.thedebutreview.com/2012/01/14/review-seven-princes-by-john-r-fultz/
January 19, 2012
PRIMORDIA at Comixology
PRIMORDIA, written by me and illustrated by the great
Roel Wielinga, is now available on Comixology—the entire
3-issue series.
It's a 96-page graphic novel, a stone age faerie tale epic adventure…a sword-n-sorcery romance…mythic storytelling about a land that never was and always is.
An "ultimate hardcover" edition is now on the way. But read the story online if you just can't wait….
http://www.comixology.com/Primordia/comics-series/7021
BONUS: Here's an interview I did about the comic back in 2007 for Comic Book Resources:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=12199
January 18, 2012
The SEVEN PRINCES Podcast!
The great Patrick Hester did a podcast interview with me
about SEVEN PRINCES and The Books of the Shaper.
I get to say whatever I want. You have been warned…
Oh-Oh, It's Magic
"Here magic is the force than binds every single element and every single character. Without magic this book cannot exist. This is what draws you in, for in this world there are no limits, and, honestly, Fultz just runs with this amazing display of imagination in every single page."
–Cristian Caroli on SEVEN PRINCES
