by mike | Jun 7, 2012 | Books, California, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Writing |
For many years now, Ray Bradbury was often referred to as “the world’s greatest living science fiction writer.” Not many people would dispute that statement. Sadly, this giant of science fiction and fantasy passed away earlier in the week at the age of ninety-one. But...
by mike | May 30, 2012 | Adventure fantasy, Books, California, Fantasy, Movies, Science Fiction, Sword & Sorcery, Writing |
In my last post I noted that Edgar Rice Burroughs was the single greatest source of inspiration for both my love of reading and my own writing career. With the recent re-release of the first book I ever wrote, The Master of Boranga—which had the Burroughs stamp all...
by mike | May 14, 2012 | Books, California, Horror, Native Americans, Research, Writing |
Of my four horror novels, three are steeped in Native American culture and mythology. More specifically, the Native Americans that I chose to write about are among California’s indigenous people. Why? First, there has been a book or two (or a gazillion) written about...
by mike | May 4, 2012 | Books, California, Horror, Nightmares, Science Fiction, Writing |
As a writer I don’t often use the old cliché, “Love at first sight.” But that’s what happened the first time I saw Barney. This runty German shepherd, about two months old at the time, sat by himself in a large cage inside an Indianapolis pet shop. There were other...
by mike | Mar 17, 2012 | Books, California, Fantasy, Romance, Sword & Sorcery, Writing |
Okay, art is supposed to imitate life. From our life experiences we create paintings, prose, sculptures, you name it. But on rare—and awesome—occasions, art can create life. Back in the early nineties I landed a contract with The Berkley Publishing Group for a...
by mike | Mar 7, 2012 | Books, California, Horror, Research, Writing |
In a January post I wrote about my trip to Downieville, in California’s Sierra Nevada foothills, to do some background research for my recently released ghost story, The Burning Ground. Some weird things occurred during my time there, and I mentioned that this wasn’t...
