One of the first interviews I did for this blog was with cult director Albert Pyun about his upcoming film Road to Hell (you can read it here). Now he’s released Bulletface, part of the grand tradition of films created in a ridiculously short period of time, in this case five and a half days (twice as long as Corman’s … Read More
The soul of rock and roll: Eddie & the Cruisers, the novel
There haven’t been very many good novels about popular music. It could be due to the inherent contradictory nature of writing in concrete terms about something so ephemeral, even when the writers are also musicians. Music is such an individual experience that it can be daunting to find the absolutes in it. I know, because I’ve tried: my novel The … Read More
Interview with Liane Merciel, author of The River Kings’ Road
The River Kings’ Road, the first novel by Liane Merciel, introduces her world of Ithelas. It’s the tale of a knight caught between conflicting desires, a poor woman struggling to save a child, and the fate of kingdoms hanging in the balance. Liane was kind enough to answer some questions about the creation of her world and her writing process. … Read More
Darkness on the Edge of Fabletown
I just finished Peter and Max by Bill Willingham, an extremely well-written tale set in Vertigo Comics’ “Fables” universe where fairy-tale characters exist in a sort of vast commune called “Fabletown.” Moving, intense and gripping, I’d love to recommend it without reservation, but I can’t. You see, it’s dark: the kind of trendy Dark Knight-dark that everyone wants now. And … Read More
Giants of West Tennessee: Jesse Hill Ford, part 2
NOTE: This is an occasional series about notable figures from my home region. These are personal reminiscences and opinions; where available, I’ll include links so interested readers can find out more. Part 1 of this entry can be found here. Even as a child I wanted to be a writer. Unfortunately, I lived in a town where literacy was viewed … Read More
My 2010 convention schedule (so far)
This year I’ll be attending four conventions for certain. No word yet on panels, signings, and/or readings, but I’ll post my schedules closer to the dates. The conventions are: Odyssey Con, aka OddCon, April 16-18, 2010 in Madison, WI. WisCon, May 27-31, 2010 in Madison, WI. MadCon, September 24-26, 2010 in Madison, WI. World Fantasy, October 28-31, 2010 in Columbus, … Read More
Hear samples of The Sword-Edged Blonde on audio
Listen to snippets of the great Stefan Rundicki reading The Sword-Edged Blonde in this podcast review by Susan Dunman.
"Shady Grove" and the tradition of living songs
Jean Ritchie (with Pete Seeger watching) performing her version of “Shady Grove”: We think of songs, in the current popular sense, as fixed points: once the lyrics are written and the music composed, that’s it. Our vast music industry supports this notion, because that’s how they make their living (organizations such as ASCAP exist entirely to enforce the idea that … Read More
New Poem, "Haze," at the Poetry Juice Bar
My poem “Haze” is now online at L.K. Thayer’s Poetry Juice Bar. You can read it here.
"What’s the weirdest book you ever read?"
The Mad Hatter Review asked me (and a bunch of other authors) “What’s the weirdest book you ever read?” See the answers here.