Tyler Miller's Blog: The Black Cat Moan, page 2

Why Jorge Luis Borges’ ‘Ficciones’ is the Defining Sci-Fi Work of the 20th Century

 

Science fiction is any idea that occurs in the head and doesn’t exist yet, but soon will, and will change everything for everybody, and nothing will ever be the same again.
—  Ray Bradbury

In any discussion of the great science fiction writers of the 20th Century, Jorge Luis Borges’ name is not likely to come up. Ray Bradbury, Stanislaw Lem, JG Ballard, Arthur C. Clarke, Philip K. Dick…many names, but Borges, an Argentine composer of heady short stories better associated with magical realis...

The Many Covers of Elmore Leonard

In the world of book covers, crime writers have all the fun.

The nature of the genre, filled to the brim as it is with guns and busty women and murder and intrigue, provides ample material for gripping artwork and design. It doesn’t hurt that crime novels (and movies) have a long and distinguished history with the noir movement, adding many darker shades to the palettes of cover designers over the years.

Elmore Leonard has been no exception. His work draws from various streams of American cri...

2016 Year in Reading: 5 Books to Blow Your Damn Mind

At the end of every year I read a lot of book lists: what’s great, what sucked, what should have been better. Sometimes I get the sneaking suspicion that everyone got together and voted on the year’s best books before anyone wrote anything, given that certain titles seem to pop up over and over and over again.

Not being a professional book critic, I don’t confine myself to primarily new books. This list, then, will contain mostly older books that I read for the first time in 2016. As well, it...

The Art of Writing Great F#$@%#& Titles

 

“Title’s the first thing’s got to go…I mean, even this writer’s name, Murray Saffrin, is better than Lovejoy.”

—Chili Palmer in Get Shorty

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Selecting the right title for your work is one of the most challenging aspects of writing. It ought to be easy, given that even the longest title is only half a dozen or so words long. But much is riding on the title, and you, as the writer, know it. It will be the first thing a reader sees at the bookstore, and it will be the first thing anyone hears w...

Writing Great Titles for the Page and Screen

“Title’s the first thing’s got to go…I mean, even this writer’s name, Murray Saffrin, is better than Lovejoy.”

—Chili Palmer in Get Shorty

Selecting the right title for your work is one of the most challenging aspects of writing. It ought to be easy, given that even the longest title is only half a dozen or so words long. But much is riding on the title, and you, as the writer, know it. It will be the first thing a reader sees at the bookstore, and it will be the first thing anyone hears wh...

Our Work Come Back to Haunt Us: Westworld and the Shadow of Michael Crichton

“No cause for alarm, Bernard. Simply our old work come back to haunt us.”
–Dr. Ford

By now it’s become cliché to note the remarkable number of reboots and re-imaginings Hollywood has doled out—to varying levels of success—in recent years. Riding the nostalgic remix wave, HBO has served up the visually stunning and thought-provoking Westworld, a reworking of Michael Crichton’s 1973 techno-thriller.

Nostalgic reboots make up a booming market, if not one marked by much artistic creativity. 2015...

How Ray Bradbury’s “The Martian Chronicles” Changed Science Fiction (and Literature)

What has this man from Illinois done, I ask myself when closing the pages of his book, that episodes from the conquest of another planet fill me with horror and loneliness?
~ Argentinean author Jorge Luis Borges
in the introduction to the Spanish-language translation of The Martian Chronicles.

In 1950, precisely halfway through a century dominated by scientific endeavor and discovery, Ray Bradbury – the man from Illinois – released this slender volume filled with rocket ships, Martian cities,...

Stranger Things: 4 Lessons for Screenwriters

The excitement surrounding the release and immediate success of Netflix’ paranormal stunner Stranger Things is well-deserved. Few shows (or movies) in recent years have executed such a fine balance between wonder, horror, humor, and nostalgia.

In the wake of the show’s release a veritable flood of reviews, blogs, lists and videos flowed across the internet. Most of these focused upon the cornucopia of 80s film references the Duffer Brothers wove throughout Stranger Things. This kind of Easter...

Christopher Pike: Master of 90’s Horror

There’s an odd juxtaposition between the world of YA literature pre-JK Rowling and everything that has come after.Harry Potter truly broke down the gates, allowing novels for teens to expand both in length and subject matter. Topics that were once taboo suddenly became commonplace, and themes once deemed too adult were now on the page for every reader who wanted to explore them.

And yet…

Recently I yanked down a number of old battered paperbacks by an old favorite of mine: Christopher Pike. H...

Smashwords FREE SUMMER BOOK SALE!

For the month of July, you can head on over to Smashwords for their outstanding Summer Book Sale. Thousands of books can be found at drastically reduced prices, and some, like my ownStranger Calls andThe Other Side of the Door, can be downloaded for FREE.

Once you reach the order screen, enter promo code SFREE and you can download the books without charge.

Smashwords Summer Book Sale What Have Readers Been Saying About Tyler Miller?

“I loved The Other Side of The Door…Aside from being a brill...