It’s hard to find time in December to get anything done, and with a busy work week, it’s been near impossible. That said, I found a few minutes to post a link to this amusing interview of Smaug by Stephen Colbert (you can see it here). I’m off this week for the holidays, but…
After rediscovering vintage fantasy fiction by Robert E. Howard last month, it got me thinking about some of the other classics I’ve read over the years. Among these is Three Hears and Three Lions by Poul Anderson, first published as a novella in 1953. This may not be one of the most well-known works of vintage…
I have been travelling all week, but before the week’s end I wanted to offer a few thoughts on the new teaser for the upcoming Star Wars film: The Force Awakens. Having grown up in the 70s and 80s, it’s hard to measure just how much influence the original Star Wars trilogy had on my…
In the wake of Black Monday, the Kindle version of Enoch’s Device will be on sale starting today, through Cyber Monday, and lasting the entire week! You can purchase it here. Nearly a thousand years after the birth of Christ, when all Europe fears that the world will soon end, an Irish monk, Brother Ciarán, discovers…
I wrote this two years ago, but I’m reposting it every Thanksgiving for tradition’s sake. I’ve also included my menu for this year’s Thanksgiving at the end of this article. Growing up, I never paid much attention to the origin of Thanksgiving. Other than what I may have learned in elementary school, all I ever recall knowing was that…
I missed this when it came out last month, but Starz has started promoting the new season of Black Sails, the amazingly well-crafted “prequel” to Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. Last season was intense (and far superior to NBC’s Crossbones in my view), with Captain Flint and Long John Silver barely surviving an attack by a…
I’ve had very little time to write or blog this week, but I thought I’d share some brief thoughts on Christopher Nolan’s new film Interstellar. While I’ve avoided talking about any of the plot twists, there are some minor spoilers, so venture on at your own risk. To begin, I wish I had time…
The other day, I happened across a gorgeous compilation of tales by H.P. Lovecraft in my local Barnes & Noble. The book, whose cover features Cthulhu’s writhing tentacles in all their texturized glory, is titled The New Annotated H.P. Lovecraft, edited by Leslie S. Klinger, with an introduction by a famous comic book author Alan…
Last week, io9 ran an article titled “No, Bram Stoker Did Not Model Dracula On Vlad The Impaler,” which debunks the belief that Stoker’s legendary vampire was based on the notorious Wallachian prince. In fact, in early drafts of the novel, Stoker’s antagonist was apparently named “Count Wampyr.” You can’t make this up. The historical…
Today I’m guest blogging at Heroines of Fantasy, a site devoted to fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, and especially women in genre fiction. As part of their month-long “Fright Fest,” I’ve written a work of flash fiction (i.e., a story under 1,000 words) titled “The Devil’s Bridge.” It’s based on an old Welsh legend about…
I’m off to my annual fishing trip, and though I doubt I’ll catch the Midgard Serpent this year, I leave with fond memories of last night’s TV experience with my nine-year-old. I’ve endeavored to find good TV shows we can watch as a family. In years’ past, it’s been Once Upon A Time, and while…