Alex Bledsoe's Blog, page 43
March 14, 2010
Giants of West Tennessee: the brown recluse
Okay, it isn't a person. It hasn't done anything historic, although it has made the news on occasion. But for me, the brown recluse spider (in Latin loxosceles reclusa) is one of the most influential residents of West Tennessee.
Except for one in the bug exhibit at the Nashville Zoo, I've never seen one alive. As the name implies, they're shy and nonaggressive. They're also tiny, as the picture below shows. They have a mark on their thorax in the shape of a violin, hence their other name:...
Except for one in the bug exhibit at the Nashville Zoo, I've never seen one alive. As the name implies, they're shy and nonaggressive. They're also tiny, as the picture below shows. They have a mark on their thorax in the shape of a violin, hence their other name:...
March 9, 2010
Review: Albert Pyun's Bulletface
One of the first interviews I did for this blog was with cult director Albert Pyun about his upcoming film Road to Hell (you can read it here).
Now he's released Bulletface, part of the grand tradition of films created in a ridiculously short period of time, in this case five and a half days. Written by Randall Fontana, it's a revenge tale of a corrupt DEA agent (Victoria Maurette) furloughed from a hellish Mexican prison to take down her old crew before they unleash a new, lethal street drug...
March 7, 2010
The soul of rock and roll: Eddie & the Cruisers, the novel
There haven't been very many good novels about popular music. It could be due to the inherent contradictory nature of writing in concrete terms about something so ephemeral, even when the writers are also musicians. Music is such an individual experience that it can be daunting to find the absolutes in it. I know, because I've tried: my novel The Hum and the Shiver, coming from Tor in 2011, is about music, among other things.
(An example of how to do it badly is Mark Childress' 1990 novel, ...
February 28, 2010
Interview with Liane Merciel, author of The River Kings' Road
The River Kings' Road, the first novel by Liane Merciel, introduces her world of Ithelas. It's the tale of a knight caught between conflicting desires, a poor woman struggling to save a child, and the fate of kingdoms hanging in the balance. Liane was kind enough to answer some questions about the creation of her world and her writing process.
What came to you first: your characters, their world or their dilemma?
Yesss, starting with the easy ones. Thanks. ;)
The world came first. I've been w...
February 21, 2010
Darkness on the Edge of Fabletown
I just finished Peter and Max by Bill Willingham, an extremely well-written tale set in Vertigo Comics' "Fables" universe where fairy-tale characters exist in a sort of vast commune called "Fabletown." Moving, intense and gripping, I'd love to recommend it without reservation, but I can't. You see, it's dark: the kind of trendy Dark Knight-dark that everyone wants now. And truthfully, as a reader, a writer and a parent, I'm worried about, and wearied by, this trend. I mean, if everything ...
February 14, 2010
Giants of West Tennessee: Jesse Hill Ford, part 2
NOTE: This is an occasional series about notable figures from my home region. These are personal reminiscences and opinions; where available, I'll include links so interested readers can find out more.
Part 1 of this entry can be found here.
Even as a child I wanted to be a writer. Unfortunately, I lived in a town where literacy was viewed with the same cross-eyed suspicion as Communism and homosexuality. When I got beaten up in fifth grade for reading a science fiction novel, the community ...
February 11, 2010
My 2010 convention schedule (so far)
This year I'll be attending four conventions for certain. No word yet on panels, signings, and/or readings, but I'll post my schedules closer to the dates.
The conventions are:
Odyssey Con, aka OddCon, April 16-18, 2010 in Madison, WI.
WisCon, May 27-31, 2010 in Madison, WI.
MadCon, September 24-26, 2010 in Madison, WI.
World Fantasy, October 28-31, 2010 in Columbus, OH.
The conventions are:
Odyssey Con, aka OddCon, April 16-18, 2010 in Madison, WI.
WisCon, May 27-31, 2010 in Madison, WI.
MadCon, September 24-26, 2010 in Madison, WI.
World Fantasy, October 28-31, 2010 in Columbus, OH.
February 10, 2010
Hear samples of The Sword-Edged Blonde on audio
February 8, 2010
"Shady Grove" and the tradition of living songs
Jean Ritchie (with Pete Seeger watching) performing her version of "Shady Grove":
We think of songs, in the current popular sense, as fixed points: once the lyrics are written and the music composed, that's it. Our vast music industry supports this notion, because that's how they make their living (organizations such as ASCAP exist entirely to enforce the idea that "this is the song.") But historically, before songs could be fixed in either documents or recordings, this wasn't the case. Son...
We think of songs, in the current popular sense, as fixed points: once the lyrics are written and the music composed, that's it. Our vast music industry supports this notion, because that's how they make their living (organizations such as ASCAP exist entirely to enforce the idea that "this is the song.") But historically, before songs could be fixed in either documents or recordings, this wasn't the case. Son...
