To general readers (i.e., those who don’t read one genre exclusively), “fantasy” means warriors, sorcerers, castles and dragons. The omnipresence of Joseph Campbell, in the wake of George Lucas, has added the core story idea of the naive young hero, sword raised as a beacon of everything that’s just and right, preparing to go into battle. You can see the … Read More
The real pirate of the Bloody Angel
When I began thinking about the next Eddie LaCrosse novel, sometime during the final stages of Dark Jenny, I knew I needed a simple hook for it. The previous books had them: The Sword-Edged Blonde came from the song, “Rhiannon,” Burn Me Deadly came from a mash-up of Kiss Me Deadly and the idea of dragons as nuclear weapons, and … Read More
The Music of the Firefly Witch
Back when I first wrote the stories that comprise volume one of The Firefly Witch tales, I also discovered the use of music to set the mood for writing. I know from talking to other writers that it’s a common thing now, and probably was back then–Stephen King blasted AC/DC when he was working, for example. But with no internet … Read More
Interview: Filmmaker Sterlin Harjo
Sterlin Harjo is an Oklahoma filmmaker with two extraordinary feature films under his belt. His first, Four Sheets to the Wind, is about a young man struggling to connect to the world after the loss of his father; Barking Water tells of two elderly lovers on a last road trip. Both are set against the background of Oklahoma Native Americans (Harjo … Read More
The Curse of the Overwritten
I’ve been teaching a class for teen writers at the local library, and like any teaching job, the teacher gets as much out of it as the students. These kids are all there because they want to be, and they’ve proven through our first revision pass (my notes on their stories) that they can take editorial comments without freaking out. … Read More
The Return of the Firefly Witch
I sold my first short story in 1996. It appeared in a defunct horror zine called Gaslight: Tales of the Unsane. It introduced Tanita “Tanna” Tully, a character I subsequently wrote about for nearly ten years. She was: a) blind, but could see in the presence of fireflies, b) a parapsychologist, and c) a Wiccan high priestess known as Lady … Read More
The sources and settings for Wake of the Bloody Angel
Okay, so the fourth adventure of sword jockey Eddie LaCrosse, Wake of the Bloody Angel, hits shelves and reading devices this summer. What’s it about, you ask? Pirates. Oh, sure, there’s other things: the weight of the past, the nature of truth, the limits of friendship, sea monsters. But the selling point for me, the reason I wanted to write … Read More
The Pultizer Fiction Kerfluffle
For the first time since 1977, the Pulitzer Prize committee chose not to give an award for fiction this year. The responses have been vociferous and bifurcated (those are high literary terms for loud and split). It’s been denounced alternately as a flaw in literature itself, or in the committees doing the nominating and selecting, respectively. The nominating committee–Michael Cunningham, … Read More
Guest Blog: Wonder Woman Redux
A few weeks ago, my friend Elizabeth Keathley wrote a guest blog here about the new run of the Wonder Woman comic. Recent issues have caused her to re-evaluate her original comments. ***** Last month, I wrote a piece for this blog recommending the new run of Wonder Woman, based on the first four issues of the digital release. It is with … Read More
Interview: Jefferson Brassfield, screenwriter of Westender
I took a chance on the 2003 movie Westender, based on the DVD cover image to the left. I love fantasy films, and this one seemed unusually somber and even (dare I hope?) thoughtful, instead of the usually mayhem and scantily-clad girls (not that there’s anything wrong with that). It turned out to be just that: a meditation on redemption, shot in … Read More