Nathan Marchand's Blog, page 24

September 3, 2014

My Influences for ‘Pandora’s Box’

In the latest episode of the “Derailed Trains of Thought” podcast hosted by my friends Nick Hayden and Tim Deal (which if you aren’t following, you should), they spoke about the lesser-known stories that have influenced them. Nick mentioned that he could easily name most of the influences in the first 50 pages of his first novel, Trouble on the Horizon (one of which is “Pokemon”!?).


This made me think about the literary influences that came together and—by their powers combined!—became my first novel, Pandora’s Box. So, just for fun, I decided I list them and explain what they contributed. You may be surprised by what I include and how they affected my writing of that book.


(NOTE: I’m excluding the personal experiences and experiences of others that contributed to its creation. I’m also excluding [most of] the research I conducted and the “soundtrack” I compiled as I wrote it. As I said, this is focused on literary influences. I make little references to other literary works, but I’m not including those because their influence is minimal).


In no particular order…


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Works and Days by Hesiod


This is an obvious but obscure influence. It’s a lesser-known epic poem by the ancient Greek poet Hesiod. Why is it here? It details the best-known version of the Pandora’s box myth (to my knowledge there are two). Honestly, it’s a terribly boring read other than that story. Not to mention misogynistic. Hesiod, from what I remember, blames most the world’s misery on women, and uses the story of Pandora as one of his bits of evidence. When’s he’s not bashing the fairer sex, he’s giving instructions on farming. Seriously. He’s no Homer.


starshiptroopers


Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein


I was writing a military science fiction novel, so I had to read the all-time great of the subgenre. A friend in college highly recommended book, saying the popular but awful movie was a slap in the face. I loved every page of the book. Heinlein’s futuristic military, in particular its unmerciful training methods, influenced how I created the Vanguard. Its influence is strongest during the bootcamp chapters of Pandora’s Box. True confession time: My sexist drill instructor, Sgt. Barak, is modeled after that novel’s drill sergeant, Sgt. Zim (my favorite character). Just read the boot camp chapters of both books and you’ll see the similarities. This was by the most influential on the writing.


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Friday by Robert Heinlein


Another Heinlein book had a more indirect influence. I read it because it seemed similar to what I was endeavoring to write: a science fiction adventure story with a female lead written in first-person by a male author. However, I quickly learned that Heinlein’s titular character had little in common with mine. Friday’s morals are looser; she has a mellower personality; and she spends most of her time thinking she isn’t a real person. Also, there wasn’t as much action/adventure as I expected. It’s not a bad book, though.


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Halo


I wrote Pandora’s Box as the Halo video game series made it meteoric rise. I didn’t own an Xbox, but I played them often with my friends and brothers. I include it because I modeled the Vanguard’s cyber-armor somewhat on Master Chief’s armor. Some of the Vanguard’s other weapons and gear were inspired by items in the games. My book’s action sequences also have a bit of a Halo flavor, particularly the shoot-outs. If I was going to cosplay as a character from the book (which I’ve considered), I would use designs for a Master Chief costume as my starting point.


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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan


It’s my favorite movie, so how could it not play a part? When I listened to director Nicolas Meyer’s commentary, he said he told the late great Richardo Montalban that he was to play Khan like he was King Lear. “Madmen are scarier when they’re under control,” he said. The audience never knows when such characters will snap or what will set them off. Despite being a megalomaniac, Khan is a man who cares deeply for his followers (a side Benedict Cumberbach displayed when he played Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness). He’s a three-dimensional villain. Hearing all that inspired my characterization of Erebus the Overlord. I presented as a cold, calculating dictator who, it seemed, was trying to liberate his oppressed people. I enjoy complex villains.


28 days


28 Days Later


I hesitate to include this film because I felt like the movie stole my idea when I watched it (I’ve since learned it wasn’t the first. Heck, I just watched an episode of the original Star Trek that had an element similar to this). Regardless, at the time I thought this was a unique take on zombies. These weren’t reanimated corpses with an appetite for flesh. They were victims of a disease that acted like a nasty strain of rabies. Despite feeling like my idea was stolen, the film influenced how I presented the Morlocks. What the film didn’t steal was the moral dilemma I injected: are they monsters or simply ill people? That was an angle I never saw any zombie story. That was the part I was glad wasn’t “stolen.”


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Into the Crucible: Making Marines for the 21st Century by James B. Woulfe


This is a nonfiction book I read as part of my research for the novel. It describes the 54-hour exercise trainees must endure to become Marines. It inspired not only many of the bootcamp exercises, but it also gave me my heroine’s name. It briefly recounted the legend of Lucy Brewer, who disguised herself as a man to serve during the War of 1812. I took her surname for Pandora. The Vanguard has its equivalent of the Crucible, the Highway to Hell, which is mentioned once. Perhaps I’ll write a short story about that. (Hmm…that’d be a nice addition to next year’s edition of Missing Pieces).


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Aliens


James Cameron Aliens is an epic military sci-fi tale with incredibly good pacing. My own writing has often been complimented for great pacing and suspense. More importantly, the film features a strong heroine. Ripley has much in common with Pandora: she’s a woman in a male-dominated field; she’s tough yet compassionate; and she can carry her own against the boys. I have a feeling Ripley and Pandora would be best friends if they met.


Honorable Mentions:


-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990): I always thought Shredder had an awesome entrance, so I used a similar one for Erebus when Pandora finally meets him.


-The Last Letter of Sullivan Ballou: A letter written by a Civil War soldier to his wife on the eve of the Battle of Bull Run, where he died. The man’s sentiments inspired the characterization of Dante, Pandora’s boyfriend.


-Alien: Nick Hayden was my beta reader for the horrible first draft of the book. One thing he said that stuck with me was that I made excellent use of silence during the action sequences to create tension and atmosphere like Ridley Scott did in Alien.


What are some of your literary influences?

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Published on September 03, 2014 08:56

August 28, 2014

My Top 5 Favorite Robin Williams Movies

With the recent death of comedian/actor Robin Williams, a treasure has been lost. There never was a talent like his before, and I doubt there ever will be again. Television and the Internet have been full of many great tributes to the man, so I won’t bore you on details of his life and legacy. I’ll simply mention how he affected my own life while the topic is still fresh.


Mr. Williams was one of my family’s favorite actors. Generally speaking, we were quick to watch a Robin Williams film, even the bad ones. He always made us laugh. Or cry. Or both. What follows are my five favorite Robin Williams films.


5. Good Will Hunting


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This was one of the first films that showed Robin was a more-than-capable dramatic actor. In fact, he won an Oscar for his performance in this film. He plays a tough yet sensitive college professor who mentors Will Hunting (Matt Damon), a brilliant but troubled young genius. There are several powerful scenes where he drags Will’s horrendous past out of him, all the while telling him, “It’s not your fault!” The best scene is the one where he tells the story of meeting his wife by skipping out on a world series game, to explain that he doesn’t regret his marriage.


4. Hook


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Admittedly, it’s been a while since I’ve watched this one, and it’s considered to be one of Steven Spielberg’s weaker films (unfairly so, I think), but I have fond memories of it. Robin plays a typical over-working father who neglects his family (it was such an overused trope in the 1990s). The twist: he’s actually a grown-up Peter Pan who left Neverland, and now his archnemesis Captain Hook (Dustin Hoffman) is seeking revenge. I argue this marked the first time Peter Pan was played by a man, er, boy on screen (not counting the classic Disney version). Robin is perfect for it since he’s always seemed like a boy trapped in a man’s body.


3. Mrs. Doubtfire


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Gender-bending films had been made before, but this one had a potent story. Robin plays a recently divorced, impractical actor who can’t stand not being able to see his three kids. So, he concocts an elaborate plan where he masquerades as an old British nanny in order to see them. What makes it work are the uncanny make-up and Robin’s incredible performance. It’s easy to forget the titular “character” is actually a man in disguise. It also avoids stereotypes like having the parents get back together at the end. Yes, I would’ve wanted that, but it acknowledges that such reconciliation is difficult and often doesn’t happen in real-life. Yet it still has a happy ending.


2. Aladdin


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I couldn’t leave this one out. It was my favorite Disney movie as a kid. Robin technically isn’t the star of this film, but I doubt it would’ve become a classic without him. He plays the hilarious shape-shifting Genie who grants three wishes to the titular character. We see all the things that made Robin such an incredible talent: he ab-libs, he sings, he tickles your funny bone, and he tugs at your heartstrings. This film was more or less my introduction to Robin (although I vaguely remember seeing an episode of Mork and Mindy late at night, thinking he was a superhero), so he’s one of many reasons this one holds a special place in my heart.


1. Dead Poets Society


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You were expecting Death to Smoochy? :P


I’m a writer. This is a writer’s movie. Robin plays an inspirational English teacher, and teaching is something that interests me. It’s a movie that celebrates literature and writing poetry. Let’s not forget Robin’s catchphrase in that film, one so good it was included in AFI’s 100 greatest movie lines: “Carpe Diem” (“Seize the day.”) That is infinitely cooler than YOLO.


Robin plays the kind of teacher I would love to be. He inspires his students not only to write well but to live life to the fullest. They love him so much that they go to the wall for him. When the school board fires him for false accusations, his students boldly stand atop their desks reciting, “O Captain, My Captain!” by Walt Whitman. Such a powerful scene.


One last thing. I watched Doug Walker’s tribute to Mr. Williams, and he mentioned a stand-up routine where Robin played himself forty years in the future. Robin spoke of a “spark of madness.” In other words, a way of thinking that was different than anyone else. Why? Because why would you want to think like everyone else? Be unique.



I plan to live like that.


Thank you, Robin Williams. Rest in peace.

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Published on August 28, 2014 05:00

August 27, 2014

Dwarven Tavern interviews me at Gen-Con

The video podcast Dwarven Tavern interviewed me during Gen-Con. Here’s that interview:



It’s actually a follow-up interview from the one they did of me last year. Sadly, I never found it until during recently. Here’s that one:


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Published on August 27, 2014 11:50

August 23, 2014

The Obligatory Gen-Con 2014 Blog

It’s been a week since Gen-Con 2014 ended, and as usual, I miss it. Not only does Gen-Con have a great Authors’ Avenue where I can sell books and a great Writers’ Symposium where I can attend seminars, it’s one of the few places I can be an unbridled nerd and nobody judges me.


If you follow me on Facebook (and if you don’t, you should), you saw my almost up-to-the-minute updates while my brother Jarod and I were at the four-day convention. There’s a lot I could write about, but for now I’ll focus on a few highlights not mentioned in those posts. UPDATE: More photos from Gen-Con have been posted on my Facebook page!


Want to see photographs from the convention? I recommend checking out my Facebook page. Until I figure out how the new photo gallery plug-in I downloaded works, that’s where I’ll be posting photos from signings and such. Sorry.


First, here are the fans/readers I met while I was at the con, both new and old.


My first sale of the con! A gentleman named Scott Blankenship purchased

My first sale of the con! A gentleman named Scott Blankenship purchased “Destroyer” and “The Day After.”


Here I am with fellow kaiju fan Tom Tancredi after he purchased

Here I am with fellow kaiju fan Tom Tancredi after he purchased “Destroyer.”


My first

My first “Children of the Wells” buyer! His name is Sean Steele (which sounds like the name of a hero in a book).


I convinced my buddy Darrin Ball to buy Five Year Mission show Saturday night. I wasn’t able to play any board games, though.

Overall, I don’t think it was quite as good of an experience as last year’s convention, but I still want to return next year. That, sadly, is uncertain since the organizers didn’t allow writers and artists an early sign up at the end of the convention like they usually do. I have no idea when tables will be available. On the bright side, I could have as many as three new titles to sell at next year’s convention if all goes as planned (more on that later).


See you next year, Gen-Con!

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Published on August 23, 2014 09:37

August 14, 2014

But I Digress…, Episode 25: Our Review of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’


“But I Digress…” Hosted by Nathan Marchand


After narrowly escaping the Comic-Corps at my local comic shop, my brother Jarod joins me to review Marvel’s latest film, “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Is this quirky space opera as awesome as “The Avengers” or as awful as “Iron Man 3″? Watch to find out!


Please comment, subscribe, and share!


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Published on August 14, 2014 20:53

August 11, 2014

Teatime with Elopus (a GISHWHES story)

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Author’s note: If you’d been following my Facebook page (and if you haven’t, why not?), you’ll remember I was commissioned to write a 140-word short story for a friend participating in GISHWHES. Well, now that the contest is over, here’s the story! The requirement, besides the word limit, was that it had to involve Misha Collins, the Queen of England, and the Elopus (the mascot for GISHWHES). Enjoy!


Teatime with the Elopus


By Nathan Marchand


Misha Collins kicked open the door to the Queen of England’s chamber, cocking his shiny magic shotgun. The elderly Queen dropped her teacup in shock, as did the half-elephant, half-octopus creature sitting across from her.


“Never fear, Your Majesty! I’m here to kill that unholy abomination!” Misha said, aiming his shotgun at the creature.


“But you’re just an actor!” replied the Queen.


“I’m a real-life monster hunter. Where do you think the Supernatural writers get their ideas?”


“Enough! You’ll do no such thing! The Elopus is my friend!”


Misha stopped. “That…spawn of Cthulhu…is your friend?!”


“How dare you call him that!”


“My apologies, Majesty.”


“Not all strange creatures are soul-eating monsters. Such prejudice!”


The Elopus huffed in agreement.


“Now go before I feed you to him!”


“But you said—”


“Be gone!”


“Yes, Majesty!” Misha said, stumbling out the door.

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Published on August 11, 2014 05:00