Monthly Archives: March 2026

Tennessee Williams

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Just a short post today, which is March 26. It’s the birthday of Tennessee Williams (1911-1983). The playwright’s first story was “The Vengeance of Nitocris” in the August 1926 issue of  Weird Tales.

It has been reprinted many times. The Internet Speculative Fiction Database lists over two dozen appearances since ti first appeared in The Unique Magazine, although some of those are different editions of the same volume, such as book club editions.

I’ve been buried under lawn work and grading exams today, so I haven’t had a chance to reread it. I read it years ago, and I don’t recall enough about the story to talk about it.

The August 1928 issue of Weird Tales had a number of well-known authors in its Table of Contents. In addition to the Solomon Kane story by Robert E. Howard featured on the cover, the issue also included stories by Frank Belknap Long, Everil Worrell, Edmund Hamilton, Donald Wandrei, and Robert W. Chambers.

Not bad company for your first published short story.

History as Inspiration

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Today, March 23, is the birthday of H. Beam Piper (1904-1964).  Piper was one of the first writers to try to write a future history.

And he drew on real hsitory to do it.

Heinlein’s, Asimov’s, Niven’s, and Anderson’s future histories are better known these days. But I would argue that Piper’s work can h old its own when compared to theirs.

Piper has the unfortunate distinction of being one of the few prominent writers of science fiction and fantasy to commit suicide. Others include Robert E. Howard and James Tiptree, Jr. (Alice Sheldon).

But let’s not dwell on that. I want to focus briefly on how Piper used history as an inspriation. Continue reading →

What Series Were Popular When You Were Young That Are Forgotten Now?

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Maybe it’s middle-aged nostalgia, but over the last few months, I’ve been thinking in general about series that  were poppular when I was in junior high, high school, and college. I’m talking about ones that everyone was reading or that were ubiquitous. You found them everywhere, they seemed to stay in print, and the authors and the series were well-known. Continue reading →

RIP, Lee Martindale

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Lee Martindale (1949-2026) passed away on March 10 after a brief illness.

I have known Lee for something like a quarter of a century, although I hadn’t seen her in over a decade. We used to get together at conventions in Texas and Oklahoma. Lee was always entertaining and educational to talk to. I have missed our conversations and hate that we won’t have any more.

Lee wrote short fiction and edited the anthologies Such a Pretty Face and The Ladies of Trade Town. I interviewed Lee here,

Lee is sruvived by her husband George, to whom I wish to express my condlences for his loss.

Harry Harrison

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Today is March 12, the birthday of Harry Harrison (1925-2012). Harrison was once a big name in the field, but he has like so many faded into obscurity.

Harrison is best remembered for his Stainless Steel Rat series, but he wrote much more than that. Many of his works were satires of popular tropes, often tropes of space opera.

But Harrison also wrote series stories at both short and novel lengths. “The Streets of Ashkelon” is probably his best known sderious story, although it’s not really to my taste.

His novel Make Room! Make Room!, about overpopulation, was the inspiration of the film Soylent Green.

It’s been years since I read much Harrison. I read the first two volumes of his To the Stars trilogy last year, but I’ve not worked the third volume into my schedule yet.

Harrison wrote solid science fiction, and it would be nice if someone woul d bring his works back into print.

William F. Nolan and the Short Story

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Today is March 6, and it is the birthday of William F. Nolan (1928 – 2021). Nolan is probably best remembered by most readers as the coauthor (with George Clayton Johnnson) of Logan’s Run and several sequels.

Those are books worth rediscovering.

But Nolan did most of his work at short lengths. He was a mamber of what became known as the California School (among other names), a loose and informal group of fantasy writers who included (at various times) Ray Bradbury, Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, Jerry Sohl, Rod Serling, George Clayton Johnson, Charles E. Fritch, Ray Russell, Harlan Ellison, Robert Bloch, and Chad Oliver. (Chad was doing gradfuate work in California, but he soon moved to Texas but stayed in contact with the group.) Continue reading →