by mike | Jul 20, 2026 | Books, Bookstores, Death, Editing, Films About Books, Films About Writers, Horror, Horror Movies, Movies, Nightmares, Publishing, Uncategorized, Writing |
Through the decades I’ve enjoyed pretty much all of the films in which Sam Neill performed. Learning of his sudden death last week at the age of 78 saddened me. As an homage I watched three of my favorite films: Jurassic Park, Event Horizon, and In the Mouth of...
by mike | Nov 20, 2023 | Adventure fantasy, Editing, Humor, Publishing, Science Fiction, Sword & Planet, Sword & Sorcery, Uncategorized, Writing |
Back in the day—the “day” being the 1970s and ’80s—I emulated my two muses, Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard, with a spate of novels in genres such as Lost Worlds, Sword & Sorcery, and—of course—Sword & Planet. My five-book Reglathium series—which has...
by mike | Jun 13, 2022 | Books, Horror, Horror Movies, Movies, Publishing, Science Fiction, Uncategorized, Writing |
A magazine called Astounding Science Fiction, later renamed Analog Science Fact and Fiction, was highly influential in bringing the sci-fi genre into the mainstream many decades past. One of its editors, John W. Campbell, also wrote for the magazine, and in 1938 he...
by mike | May 9, 2022 | Books, Editing, Publishing, Uncategorized, Writers' Conferences, Writing |
I had a “gimmick”—for want of a better word—that I used when facilitating novel-writing workshops and classes at writers’ conferences and other venues. While discussing the fear of having their work rejected by publishers—something many wannabe authors deal with—I...
by mike | Feb 7, 2022 | Books, Fantasy, Humor, Publishing, Research, Science Fiction, Sword & Planet, Uncategorized, Writing |
When the pandemic drove us indoors in early 2020 (and wiped out the NCAA basketball tournament; I’m still not over that one…), I found a number of ways to keep busy. At that point I hadn’t written a new book in years, but circumstances being what they were, I decided...
by mike | Nov 8, 2021 | Aging, Books, Editing, Publishing, Read & Critique, Uncategorized, Writers' Conferences, Writers' Retreat, Writing |
To be honest, I had planned on working into my seventies—where I am now. As a writing coach, editor, and teacher I totally enjoyed what I did, especially when I saw so many of my students and clients find success as published authors. So what changed? I’ll get to...
