Strangeness exists in every sidewalk crack, the corner of every eye. Look to authors such as H.P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, Thomas Ligotti, Robert E. Howard and Ambrose Bierce to get your dose of vintage strange. Or dive into China Mieville or Jeff VanderMeer for something a bit more contemporary. After reading this, you may …
Have you ever made an effort to give up something with the idea that you would be better off? A couple/few weeks ago I thought it would be a good idea to dial back my reading in order to make serious headway on my manuscript. I usually read at night for an hour or two …
Just love this. A Georg Büchner story as told by Mr. Tom Waits. Coffee at 11:30 PM will do this to you. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYVlHqCC4Qo] There’s your story.
[tweetmeme source=”jjdanz” only_single=false service=ht.ly] Some writers have sacrificed their families and marriages, discarding them along with their empty rattling Wendy’s cups in a ditch on the road to publication. Others have defaced their bodily temples with amphetamines , cocaine and hallucinogenic drugs by the handfuls. Still others have forsook the entire human race to pour …
I’d like to blame the heat for my malaise, but I know that’s not really it. After approaching the halfway mark, I stalled out. I hadn’t expected it since I have a pretty good idea where everything is going, but there it was. I was having a hard time pressing forward. Some of it could …
[tweetmeme source=”jjdanz” only_single=false service=ht.ly] Responding to a comment here on the blog this morning (Thanks to Sarah Wedgbrow over at Folding Fields for jogging my memory), I was reminded of John Connolly‘s novel The Black Angel, the novel I was reading when I decided to write in earnest. Connolly’s story was dark and contained supernatural …
Coffee Break No. 11 – John Connolly and The Seed of a Story Read More »
[tweetmeme source=”jjdanz” only_single=false service=ht.ly] I have not read much urban fantasy. In fact, my experience with the genre is limited to Neverwhere and American Gods (probably not truly urban fantasy, but I’ll take what I can get), both by Neil Gaiman. I don’t know if it’s the covers of many of the recent UF offerings, …
[tweetmeme source=”jjdanz” only_single=false service=ht.ly] Back in August of last year, I went to my first Gen Con in Indianapolis. I was but four months into writing full time and excited to check out the pageantry, the games, and the writers. Upon visiting Author’s Alley, what I found were authors sitting at tables with their books …
Maps is a different thing altogether. Published by Trinity University Press, I had this book on my wish list based on a recommendation from VanderMeer (not personal, mind you, but from his book, Booklife). I’m excited about this one.
A couple of weekends ago we had a yard sale. My Mom hauled her stuff to our house to join in the fun. In clearing out some of her stuff, she came across a book called The Short Story and Its Writer edited by Ann Charters and published by St. Martin’s Press and asked if …