Daniel Sherrier's Blog
December 9, 2022
And the Quest for Pop Culture
I've been continuing posting at Substack, where I examine what works and doesn't work in movies, TV, books, and comics, primarily from the writing standpoint.
Here's a sampling of recent posts:
Wednesday Addams vs. Thanksgiving
Marvel's Top Ten Stories: 1971-75
Blaming Beckett
Superman in Prose, Part 2
Thanks to all who take a look, and please consider subscribing!
Here's a sampling of recent posts:
Wednesday Addams vs. Thanksgiving
Marvel's Top Ten Stories: 1971-75
Blaming Beckett
Superman in Prose, Part 2
Thanks to all who take a look, and please consider subscribing!
October 5, 2022
A Stack of Posts
Hello! I've been posting regularly over at Substack. Here are just a few examples of what I've been up to:
The Unadaptable Sandman?
The Problem with Writer's Block
Explore, Don't Preach
Superman in Prose
If these sorts of posts interest you, please consider subscribing. Thanks for reading!
The Unadaptable Sandman?
The Problem with Writer's Block
Explore, Don't Preach
Superman in Prose
If these sorts of posts interest you, please consider subscribing. Thanks for reading!
August 20, 2022
Join me on Substack!
I've started a Substack: https://danielsherrier.substack.com
Titled "And the Quest for Pop Culture," it’s part blog and part email newsletter. I’ll email only once a week unless there’s some pressing update, like a new release. And I’m not charging anything for it at this point (maybe later if it’s doing well, but that would be a while off).
I’ll write about books, comics, TV, movies, writing, and occasionally my own work.
Just a few posts so far, but more to come. Thanks for reading, and please consider subscribing!
Titled "And the Quest for Pop Culture," it’s part blog and part email newsletter. I’ll email only once a week unless there’s some pressing update, like a new release. And I’m not charging anything for it at this point (maybe later if it’s doing well, but that would be a while off).
I’ll write about books, comics, TV, movies, writing, and occasionally my own work.
Just a few posts so far, but more to come. Thanks for reading, and please consider subscribing!
April 7, 2022
Two great reviews!
The Silver Stranger received two great reviews this week!
“A relatable protagonist, a believable journey of self-discovery, and a wild SF world.” — Kirkus Reviews
You can read the full review here: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...
“Sherrier manages to capture that fine line between being a super hero and just being super human.” — Reedsy Discovery
That review can be found here: https://reedsy.com/discovery/book/the...
Also, if you've enjoyed the book yourself, Reedsy also allows you to upvote it. And please also consider leaving a rating or review here on Goodreads. Thank you for reading!
“A relatable protagonist, a believable journey of self-discovery, and a wild SF world.” — Kirkus Reviews
You can read the full review here: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...
“Sherrier manages to capture that fine line between being a super hero and just being super human.” — Reedsy Discovery
That review can be found here: https://reedsy.com/discovery/book/the...
Also, if you've enjoyed the book yourself, Reedsy also allows you to upvote it. And please also consider leaving a rating or review here on Goodreads. Thank you for reading!
April 6, 2022
The Silver Stranger takes second!
The BookFest has announced its award winners for their spring 2022 contest, and The Silver Stranger won second place in the Superheroes category!
The contest has quite a few categories, so quite a few books were recognized. Browse the various winners, and you might discover an interesting new book or several.
The contest has quite a few categories, so quite a few books were recognized. Browse the various winners, and you might discover an interesting new book or several.
February 8, 2022
No Natural Hero
Spider-Man’s first appearance in 1962 was cutting-edge at the time, and while surface-level elements might seem dated now, the core of the story remains strong as ever.
The way Peter Parker is written really sets the book apart from many other ’60s comics. Nothing about him suggests he’ll inevitably become a superhero. At times, he even sounds more like a villain in the making. The radioactive spider bite is merely the inciting incident; it’s hardly the whole story.
Countless comics influenced both The Flying Woman and The Silver Stranger. But for the latter especially, this was one I paid extra attention to as I figured out how to approach the main character. Alyssa is a very different person from young Peter overall, but she’s not inevitably a hero, nor is she inevitably not a villain.
(Image from Amazing Fantasy #15, 1962, by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.)
The way Peter Parker is written really sets the book apart from many other ’60s comics. Nothing about him suggests he’ll inevitably become a superhero. At times, he even sounds more like a villain in the making. The radioactive spider bite is merely the inciting incident; it’s hardly the whole story.
Countless comics influenced both The Flying Woman and The Silver Stranger. But for the latter especially, this was one I paid extra attention to as I figured out how to approach the main character. Alyssa is a very different person from young Peter overall, but she’s not inevitably a hero, nor is she inevitably not a villain.
(Image from Amazing Fantasy #15, 1962, by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.)
February 7, 2022
New release! The Silver Stranger strikes!
It’s taken longer than I had initially wanted, but at long last, The Silver Stranger is available on Amazon.
The main lesson here is that writing a sequel is harder than writing the first in a series (and that already has plenty of its own challenges). Just think of all the superhero movie sequels that were kind of a letdown after a great first installment. I have a lot more sympathy for those situations now.
I went back and forth between two entirely different approaches to The Flying Woman‘s sequel. In the road not taken, I was focusing more on Miranda’s training to become the best superhero she could be, and this involved plunging her into a totally different fantasy world. This concept resulted in some scenes I really liked, but ultimately, it felt like too much of a bait-and-switch with the genre, and I struggled with deciding how much world-building to give this one-off fantasy world.
Ultimately, I decided to return to my original idea, The Silver Stranger, the core concept of which takes me all the way back to college.
When I was at William & Mary, I wrote a full-length play called Super! in which a young woman named Alyssa moves to a city full of superhumans. After acquiring telepathic powers, she discovers that three people close to her are prominent superheroes who work together as the Terrific Trio. Alyssa infiltrates the group in an effort to convince them to stop acting like cartoon characters and to just be people.
The play was a mix of comedy and drama. The scenes of the characters’ secret identities would take a more grounded tone while the superheroes would act like they belonged in a Superfriends cartoon.
Of course, what works on the stage doesn’t necessarily work in prose, and vice versa. A whole lot has changed from that original story I developed when I was only 20. Part of it is just that I’m quite a bit beyond 20 now, but making a superhero novel work has a different set of considerations than a superhero play does.
I could probably slip right back into college mode and write an essay comparing Super! to The Silver Stranger. But suffice it to say, the latter is not an adaptation of the former; it’s more like a descendant of the former — and one I spent a lot of time writing and rewriting to make sure I got it right.
And here’s the story that it developed into:
Alyssa Henson hates that super-powers have become real.
She had once dreamed of exploring outer space but kept her feet on the ground and settled for a more conventional life. And now, people are soaring overhead, outracing sound, transforming into photons, and so much more.
It’s unnatural. It’s weird. It’s dangerous. And it needs to stop.
The villainous Doctor Hades agrees. When Alyssa acquires power of her own, she joins forces with the Terrific Trio’s archenemy to erase all superhuman abilities—even those of her heroic best friend—in order to save the world.
In this exciting sequel to The Flying Woman, a new vigilante emerges as The Silver Stranger, a mysterious mind-reader who would rather spy on the thoughts of others than examine her own.
***
Check it out on Amazon!
The main lesson here is that writing a sequel is harder than writing the first in a series (and that already has plenty of its own challenges). Just think of all the superhero movie sequels that were kind of a letdown after a great first installment. I have a lot more sympathy for those situations now.
I went back and forth between two entirely different approaches to The Flying Woman‘s sequel. In the road not taken, I was focusing more on Miranda’s training to become the best superhero she could be, and this involved plunging her into a totally different fantasy world. This concept resulted in some scenes I really liked, but ultimately, it felt like too much of a bait-and-switch with the genre, and I struggled with deciding how much world-building to give this one-off fantasy world.
Ultimately, I decided to return to my original idea, The Silver Stranger, the core concept of which takes me all the way back to college.
When I was at William & Mary, I wrote a full-length play called Super! in which a young woman named Alyssa moves to a city full of superhumans. After acquiring telepathic powers, she discovers that three people close to her are prominent superheroes who work together as the Terrific Trio. Alyssa infiltrates the group in an effort to convince them to stop acting like cartoon characters and to just be people.
The play was a mix of comedy and drama. The scenes of the characters’ secret identities would take a more grounded tone while the superheroes would act like they belonged in a Superfriends cartoon.
Of course, what works on the stage doesn’t necessarily work in prose, and vice versa. A whole lot has changed from that original story I developed when I was only 20. Part of it is just that I’m quite a bit beyond 20 now, but making a superhero novel work has a different set of considerations than a superhero play does.
I could probably slip right back into college mode and write an essay comparing Super! to The Silver Stranger. But suffice it to say, the latter is not an adaptation of the former; it’s more like a descendant of the former — and one I spent a lot of time writing and rewriting to make sure I got it right.
And here’s the story that it developed into:
Alyssa Henson hates that super-powers have become real.
She had once dreamed of exploring outer space but kept her feet on the ground and settled for a more conventional life. And now, people are soaring overhead, outracing sound, transforming into photons, and so much more.
It’s unnatural. It’s weird. It’s dangerous. And it needs to stop.
The villainous Doctor Hades agrees. When Alyssa acquires power of her own, she joins forces with the Terrific Trio’s archenemy to erase all superhuman abilities—even those of her heroic best friend—in order to save the world.
In this exciting sequel to The Flying Woman, a new vigilante emerges as The Silver Stranger, a mysterious mind-reader who would rather spy on the thoughts of others than examine her own.
***
Check it out on Amazon!
January 13, 2022
Coming next month...
Alyssa Henson hates that super-powers have become real.
She had once dreamed of exploring outer space but kept her feet on the ground and settled for a more conventional life. And now, people are soaring overhead, outracing sound, transforming into photons, and so much more.
It’s unnatural. It’s weird. It’s dangerous. And it needs to stop.
The villainous Doctor Hades agrees. When Alyssa acquires power of her own, she joins forces with the Terrific Trio’s archenemy to erase all superhuman abilities—even those of her heroic best friend—in order to save the world.
In this exciting sequel to The Flying Woman, a new vigilante emerges as THE SILVER STRANGER, a mysterious mind-reader who would rather spy on the thoughts of others than examine her own.
She had once dreamed of exploring outer space but kept her feet on the ground and settled for a more conventional life. And now, people are soaring overhead, outracing sound, transforming into photons, and so much more.
It’s unnatural. It’s weird. It’s dangerous. And it needs to stop.
The villainous Doctor Hades agrees. When Alyssa acquires power of her own, she joins forces with the Terrific Trio’s archenemy to erase all superhuman abilities—even those of her heroic best friend—in order to save the world.
In this exciting sequel to The Flying Woman, a new vigilante emerges as THE SILVER STRANGER, a mysterious mind-reader who would rather spy on the thoughts of others than examine her own.
June 30, 2021
Exploring history through books
I pretended it's 2005 and started a blog.
Please give a warm welcome to "Don't Be Doomed" at https://dontbedoomed.com.
The "About" page and "Welcome" message lay out the scope, rationale, and disclaimers. But basically, I've been reading a lot of history nonfiction over the past several years, and I realized I needed to improve my retention. So I set this up to share and think about what I'm learning and steer people toward good history books.
I'll aim for about one post a week, and there are just a few posts so far.
So if, for example, you've ever found yourself wondering "What was the deal with Chester Arthur?" (and who hasn't?), I can help you out with that.
Please give a warm welcome to "Don't Be Doomed" at https://dontbedoomed.com.
The "About" page and "Welcome" message lay out the scope, rationale, and disclaimers. But basically, I've been reading a lot of history nonfiction over the past several years, and I realized I needed to improve my retention. So I set this up to share and think about what I'm learning and steer people toward good history books.
I'll aim for about one post a week, and there are just a few posts so far.
So if, for example, you've ever found yourself wondering "What was the deal with Chester Arthur?" (and who hasn't?), I can help you out with that.
March 16, 2021
A writer’s warning system
Writer’s block is often just our instincts warning us thatwe’re headed down the wrong path.
When I get stuck on a particular scene, I can usually backtrack a little bit and find something that needs fixing. It might be that the entire scene is misguided and needs to be scrapped in favor of an alternative approach, or maybe some details need to be added earlier to solidify the scene and give it life.
But one way or another, I’m struggling with the scenebecause I’m realizing something isn’t quite right. Once I figure that out,everything starts flowing again.
