What is the horror genre known for? Tropes like: Good guys don’t always win. In fact they rarely do more than survive. Survival/Escape is enough. Someone dies, or goes mad. The monster is still out there. A truth discovered is too dark/horrible to accept. In fictional terms, what are all…
I felt the need to talk about something uplifting. Fortunately for all of us, I don’t have to pick up a heavy object and then make an ‘uplifting’ joke. Some months back, I took part in “The Menagerie” in Alameda. It’s what’s called an “Oddities Market” – an event where…
I think a lot about words. What word fits here? Is this word better than that one? Hmm, what’s a new way to describe bodily dismemberment… We have so many wonderful words in English. Many other languages do too (Latin, French, German, Japanese, and so on). Tolkien believed language itself…
While reviewing my current work – “The Renaissance Compact,” Book 2 in the Stymph Sequence – I came to one of those famous “Author’s Dilemmas.” See, I had a character in the story. Let’s call him Frank. Frank’s a tertiary character. He has lines and does things that help the…
You’re here because you’re a reader. Yet it’s often hard to find time for reading, isn’t it? Worse, even if we have time, we might find ourselves too tired/distracted/morose to pick up a book. Let me help with that! I’ve come across several ways to ‘trigger the reading mood.’ Some…
It’s time for a few thoughts on Krampus. You probably heard the name in December, if not before. Krampus is what I’d call an ‘evolved deity’ – a combination of several folk legends, melded into one stronger, more cohesive whole. An amalgam of ideas given immortal flesh. In case you…
You can’t have a “Stymph Sequence” without Stymphs! The name’s short for Stymphalians in the stories. That name itself comes from a Greek legend – the Stymphalian Birds. Carnivorous birds with metal feathers, nesting in one area of ancient Greece & tormenting its countryside. They even devoured humans. A plague…
Something I’m certain you didn’t know…characters take work to develop. Obviously you want to develop the MAIN character, and the villain/villains. Readers want depth, lifelike depiction, conflict you can sink your teeth into! (Sorry, Stymph joke. Wait, not sorry.) When you’re dealing with dozens of characters per book though? All…
Stay in a hospital long enough and you’ll see it. Death. The Grim Reaper. Stalking the hallways. Inexorably advancing toward its next victim. Long wicked scythe poised overhead, ready to claim another soul. But enough about my cosplay excursions every other Sunday. I have an important question to ask: why…
My first meta-fictional character has arrived! What is that? I’ll explain. Have a look at this cover: This is “The Richest Man in Babylon.” One of, if not THE greatest work on finance ever written. Its central character is a man named Arkad, the eponymous ‘Richest Man’ in ancient Babylon.…
