Steven E. Wedel's Blog, page 29

Weird dream

I had a really weird dreams last night. I was trying to get to my childhood home, but there was a gorilla from Planet of the Apes at the corner and he wouldn’t let me pass. So I went a block north to the next street and started going that way, figuring I’d cut through yards when I got even with my old house. There was no wind or anything, but about halfway there I was bent forward fighting against something pushing me back, struggling to walk. Then I woke up.

I’m sure that means something. Pro...

Dead Teachers Society

Before Christmas break I had my English 3 class reading and writing poetry. It was going like everything else. They hated the reading and their writing was all about how thug they are, how they be smokin’ Mary Jane and gettin’ it all the time, yo. Their subject matter was garbage for the most part, but they liked the writing.

So, when we reconvened, with seven school days before I have a student teacher joining us, I thought we’d continue with some poetry before starting something new, focusin...

Books read in 2012

I set a goal at Goodreads.com to read 25 books in 2012. I hit that goal pretty early on, so I bumped it up to 35 and finished the year with 37 books read. Or, as I prefer to think of it, 10,451 pages. That’s 3,325 more pages than I read with 17 books in 2011. Some of this year’s books earned 5-star reviews. I didn’t read anything I hated so much I only gave it 1 star, though there were a few 2-star ratings. Here are some of the highlights of what I read.

This year will be remembered as the yea...

Review: A Clash of Kings

A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Back in 2005 I was on a panel with George R.R. Martin at Conestoga 9 in Tulsa, Okla. I had never read the man’s work. If I had, well … there would have been a very embarrassing fanboy thing happening right there.

I just finished A Clash of Kings. My first thought was, “Dammit man, there are other books I want to read, too!” But no, I will be diving into the next book of this series later this evening. You’d think after 964 pages t...

Asking for Boycott

It is with great sadness that I bring this to you. However, after many attempts to resolve my problems with Nathan Barker and his Scrybe Press, I am asking that you boycott his other businesses and spread the word to your friends about his corrupt business practices.

For years I have tried to get Nathan to pay me the advances and royalties he owes me for publication of five of my books. On November 23, 2012, I sent the following to the Upstate New York Better Business Bureau:

Nathan Barker, doi...

Review: The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Great Gatsby is one of those keystone novels I use in my senior level AP Literature and Composition class. It is an excellent novel to use in a discussion of symbolism, historical context, point of view, the tragic hero, etc. And, more often that not, this is one of the assigned books the kids often like. I’ve had students return several years later to tell me Gatsby is still their favorite book of all time.

For myself, I did...

Review: How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Audible.com is giving away the Walter Matthau-read audiobook for a limited time. (http://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B00ALYCA9O) Naturally I grabbed it and had to listen to one of my all-time favorite Christmas stories. Dr. Seuss was a genius and this is one of his masterpieces, a story that never gets old.

I hated the Jim Carey movie, but I really need to go out and buy the Boris Karloff-narrated cartoon version so I don’t have...

Collaboration deal with Tor

I can finally make this announcement! Carrie Jones and I have sold our second collaboration to Tor Teen. I’m very excited about his. Here’s the official announcement that appeared in Publisher’s Weekly today:

Melissa Frain at Tor Teen has acquired two teen SF thrillers byCarrie Jones, as well as a YA horror novel that she will co-author with Steven E. Wedel. In the as-yet-untitled collaboration, told from alternating perspectives, Chrystal is no stranger to the unexplainable, and when she move...

Review: The Fellowship of the Ring

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This isn’t a review. Re-reading the book for the first time in about 17 years takes me back to the days when I was a teenager, before I could drive and I either walked or rode a bicycle everywhere. It was simpler then, and I looked up into the night sky and imagined I was seeing the same stars Frodo and Aragorn and Gandalf and company would see, just in a different age. It’s one of the best books ever written and I still lo...

Book announcement coming this week

If you’re a reader of Publisher’s Weekly, be sure to watch for an announcement this week concerning a new collaboration between me and Carrie Jones, plus even more books from Carrie. I can’t say anything more now, but once the announcement hits I’ll come back and provide some details.