"Who?" I hear everyone asking. "Never heard of him." No, you never did, almost certainly, unless you read a post I made on my LiveJournal about five years ago. Much of this Under the Influence post is taken from that tribute post. Steve was my friend -- one of my first "older" friends, someone significantly older than I was who treated me as a full equal (he was about 10 years older than me). From a social point of view, Steve would never impress anyone. He was very intelligent, but never ended up in a job or [ Continue reading... ]
Phoenix Rising: Chapter 2
June 13, 2012 By 3 Comments
Time to meet our second protagonist.... Chapter 2. "The least of her sons presents his compliments to the ageless and wise Lord of Waters, and asks if she would hear him at this time." The black-haired youth knelt before the woman whose white hair had a very few strands of similar midnight still visible. There was a gentle laugh. "May the Spring of the Court flow ever for you, my son. The Lord of Waters is pleased that her son would seek out such an aged and infirm woman whose final years are doubtless close upon [ Continue reading... ]
Phoenix Rising: Prologue and Chapter 1
June 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Sometime relatively soon, the E-ARC (electronic advance reader's copy) of Phoenix Rising will become available. Thus, I am now beginning my "snippeting" of the novel; I expect the snippets to cover roughly half the book. So let's begin! Prologue. Warm light spilled from the windows of the estate, windows that were set in solid stone, warded with spell and steel; comfort with protection. He gripped the hilt of his sword and swallowed; his mouth was dry, as though filled with sand. "I… I don't want [ Continue reading... ]
Under the Influence: Roleplaying Games (RPGs)
June 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment
1977 was the most transformational year ever in my life, with the possible exception of 1995 (the year I married Kathleen). 1977 saw the release of Star Wars, of the first Shannara book and the first Thomas Covenant novel. In 1977, I first began going by the name of "Sea Wasp" online. And in 1977, I first encountered a game called "Dungeons and Dragons". In a very real sense, I had been doing roleplaying games long before that, just as had children from the dawn of time: making up characters and [ Continue reading... ]
Sorry about the silence…
June 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment
... my computer chose to die JUST before I was sent away on a business trip (that ended on Wednesday). This meant that I had to leave it in the shop all that time, which meant I couldn't even do any writing of any sort while gone, or post anything even if I had it. Now I must catch up! [ Continue reading... ]
Under The Influence: E. E. “DOC” Smith
June 1, 2012 By 15 Comments
I deliberately waited for a while before posting this one. This essay is very similar to the one posted on my original website for Grand Central Arena, and I wanted to have time for other influences to be posted before returning to Doc Smith. I first encountered the work of E.E. "Doc" Smith in sixth grade, in Shaker Junior High School. My homeroom and English teacher, Mr. Dickinson, knew I was a reader of science fiction, and was responsible for introducing me to two great SF writers of the old days. The first happened [ Continue reading... ]
Under The Influence: The Chronicles of Amber
May 30, 2012 By 4 Comments
Roger Zelazny was one of the true masters of fantasy writing. At least one of his works is included in most people's lists of "best ever fantasy" -- and sometimes, people argue, science fiction, as he did very much like to bend the definitions and skewer them. Zelazny produced a number of top-notch books and short stories, but two of them consistently outpace the others in mentions: Lord of Light, and the Chronicles of Amber (especially the original five-book Amber sequence). While Lord of Light is indeed an excellent [ Continue reading... ]
Under The Influence: A.E. Van Vogt
May 28, 2012 By 5 Comments
Alfred Elton Van Vogt is much less well known today than he was in my youth, let alone in his heyday in the 40s-50s. However, he had an immense influence on my writing, or at least my writing design process, because he knew, perhaps better than anyone, how to create a sense of wonder and build it into an adventure – perhaps with only the most tenuous logic holding it together. Van Vogt was the quintessential writer of, for lack of a better word, spectacle-based adventures. His characters were often fairly narrow in [ Continue reading... ]
Under The Influence: L. Frank Baum
May 25, 2012 By 10 Comments
Under the Influence: L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum was a man of weaknesses and brilliance in equal mixture, like many men. He bankrupted himself frequently, especially through his love of theater and lack of business acumen. He had prejudices which occasionally showed in print – or in a few instance were deliberately displayed, as they were part and parcel of the times. But he was also the Wizard of Oz. L. Frank Baum published The Wonderful Wizard of Oz exactly at the turn of the century, in 1900. Subsequently he [ Continue reading... ]
Under The Influence: D’Aulaires’ Mythology
May 23, 2012 By 4 Comments
Those who read my stories know that I have a fondness for aspects of my ancestral Norse heritage, especially in the mythology of the Aesir, of wise and manipulative Odin, mighty Thor, fair Balder, and devious and ultimately treacherous Loki. I also have a similar fondness for the great stories of Greek Myth – the Labors of Heracles, Perseus and his defeat of Medusa, crippled yet indispensable Hephaestus, wise Athena, wandering-eyed Zeus, and the rest of the Olympians. The love of these two ancient mythologies began with two [ Continue reading... ]
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