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| Credit: Pixabay |
I've been behind on putting together my book of short fiction, "Bad Apps", but am seriously trying to make progress with it so I can release a collection of tales that everyone will enjoy. I've been trying to get it all done by this month and so in time for Halloween, but it’s requiring more work than I anticipated. I'm still revising one of the short stories that’s been my toughest ever and so I’ve been working on it for the last couple months. This story is in the latest stages of the revision process and so I’m almost done editing it. However, just yesterday, I changed the surname to one of my characters in honor of the late editor, Forrest J. Ackerman.
Forrest “Forry” J. Ackerman
So, who was Forrest J. Ackerman? Also known as “Forry” Ackerman, he was the editor of "Famous Monsters of Filmland" magazine, a publication that ran from the 1950s, when he started it, to the 1980s (and it would be revived by other editors after that a few times and I believe it's still going today). It was a science fiction and horror news magazine that contained articles and interviews related to both past and current science fiction, fantasy and horror cinema.
Long before he founded “Famous Monsters”, Forry was said to have written for the first science fiction fanzine, “The Time Traveler”, and then in 1954 to have coined the shortened term of “science fiction”--“sci-fi”. He was also a literary agent for world-famous science fiction authors such as Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov. According to film publishing company The Criterion Collection, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Guillermo del Toro claim to have been influenced by “Famous Monsters of Filmland”.
I consider Forry Ackerman having been an influence on me as a writer. I used to read my uncle’s copies of "Famous Monsters" when I was a kid. Then when I got into my teens, after the magazine stopped printing, I bought a few back-issues. Today, as an adult, I read current issues of the magazine (that don't publish as frequently like they used to) whenever I can get out to one of the comic book stores in my area that sells them. And so I consider Forry’s magazine having influenced my interest in sci fi and horror which drove me to go into writing stories in and about the genres . If it wasn't for “Famous Monsters of Filmland” I may not even be writing this blog today.
Why I Changed My Character’s Name to Honor Forry
So, why did I change my character's name to honor Forry Ackerman? As you may have guessed, I had, unknowingly, gave Forry’s last name to my character, only it was a version that omits the “c” and so was spelled “Akerman”. The character, the antagonist of the story, is a villainous bigot and so I didn't want him to be associated with the science fiction/fantasy magazine editor I’ve looked up to regardless of what other people may say about him. Regardless of that, this may be a story of Ackerman's kind: it involves monstrous-looking aliens. So, I changed the character’s surname from “Akerman” to “Wright”. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out the pun on that one, especially if you put a word like "far" or “alt” in front of it.
Author Silvia Morena-Garcia and Shapeshifters
October is the month of Halloween, of course, and so I will have some relevant topics in upcoming posts. However, it's also the month that Hispanic Heritage Month partly falls within (it begins September 15th and ends October 15th). Because of that, I thought I'd share the below link to a Tor.com article by author Silvia Moreno-Garcia about Mexican shapeshifters which she, to an extent, compares to European witches. I found it really fascinating.
“Under the Skin: Shape-Changing in Mexican Folklore”
For more updates on my current writing projects, such as my upcoming short story collection, "Bad Apps", sign up for my free newsletter, "Night Creature's Call". It normally comes out at the beginning of the month, but this month it may be a little late. I want to make it one of the best editions of the year and so put a little more time and effort into making it a groovy Halloween issue!
Join me here this Wednesday evening for another Insecure Writer's Support Group blog hop. Do you have an editor or agent of a famous author who influenced your writing or love of reading?
Until next time . . .
Read Famous Monsters all the time when I was younger. I don't think I have any of the magazines anymore, but I do have several t-shirts featuring the awesome covers.
ReplyDeleteI had one t-shirt like that when I was a kid. I don't remember a lot about it but of what I do it had an ogre-looking monster on it that I think was surrounded by bats.
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