I apologise for the delay in posting. My car had been in the
garage/shop for a full two weeks and I just got it back Friday. I was going
back and forth to the shop to find out what was wrong and then I had to wait
around for the tow truck to have it towed to a different garage. So that pushed
me back in many of my projects including my short stories I’m working on for The Hidden and the cover illustration
I’m making for it. Oh, yeah
and after all that fuss I was told nothing was wrong with my car to begin with!
Maybe it’s playing tricks on me because it’s jealous and doesn’t want me to
succeed in my writing career and so has a mind of its own like Christine or
that ‘70s horror flick The Car. Then Saturday I was at a holiday charity drive held at Empire ComicsVault in Sacramento. They were collecting for Toys for Tots and artists were
there doing work on commission for a children’s home. So I haven’t really had time to get together a topic for an
article this weekend and so decided to give you a list of some Far Out
Fantastic Finds in sci fi and fantasy news.
This is an interview with the above mentioned author who talks
about his novel which I wouldn’t mind checking out. I just don’t know if I dig
the “novel-writing apps” he says he used to write his story. But he doesn’t say
exactly how he used them, so how can we really know?
Very few female authors in the 1950s were known for writing
science fiction, but here’s one who wrote some good ones and then, later in the
late ‘70s, contributed to the script for Star
Wars: The Empire Strikes Back! Speaking of which, the next find is . . .
“Thing” number six gives a little detail of an early draft
that Brackett wrote. So there’s two little-known Star Wars facts you can take with you when you see Episode 7: The
Force Awakens which opens Thursday! But now here’s another one, one that really
struck me: “Thing” number nine: “Stanley Kubrick nearly killed the set.”
Kubrick happened to be making The Shining,
a favourite of yours truly, in the same studio space as Lucas’s Empire. No wonder why the setting for
the former resembled the planet Hoth so much!
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| Photo Credit: Patrice Audet/Pixabay.com |
This is probably the most far out fantastic of the finds!
You may have heard about the new annual science fiction/fantasy anthology that
came out not too long ago: The Best
American Science Fiction and Fantasy. Inspired by the long-time running
annual The Best American Short Stories,
it’s an example of how science fiction and fantasy have become not only more
mainstream but also more accepted as literature rather than simply escapist
entertainment. This article talks about that major turning point in the genre and
the people behind the anthology, including horror author Joe Hill who acted as
guest editor. This would make a great holiday gift for science fiction/fantasy
readers.
That’s it for now. Until next time . . .
Maybe science fiction books won't be considered so fringe now. Ironic the written word has that reputation when in the movie industry, most of the top twenty highest grossing movies in the world are science fiction.
ReplyDeleteHope your car behaves itself.
Have a great Christmas!
Thanks for responding, Alex.
ReplyDeleteYes that is ironic about science fiction's reputation in literature when some of the highest grossing films fall within that genre. Maybe the factor is a difference in mediums, especially here in the U.S. since society here is so much more visually oriented as far as moving pictures go than word oriented. But hopefully that will change some with turning points such as the above mentioned anthology. Not to downgrade movies, because I'm a big viewer of movies myself and film is a super medium, but more people should see the benefits of reading.
So far, my car's been doing okay. Thanks for showing concern. : )
I hope you've been having a great Christmas yourself and that you'll have a Happy New Year!