Category Archives: birthday

Happy Birthday, James Stoddard

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James Stoddard, photo swiped from his web site.

James Stoddard was born on this day, August 13. What year? I don’t know.

So how do I know it’s his birthday? Because we are in the same writer’s group, and he wasn’t at today’s meeting. When I asked at lunch if anyone knew where he was, someone (waves at Dan) said that James had told him that he (James) wouldn’t be there because it was his birthday.

So Happy Birthday, James!

James is the author of five novels and ten short stories. If you are a fan of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series, you need to read his Evenmere series, which was inspired by them. Start with The High House. It’s been a while since I read them, so a reread is probably due on my part.

Anyway, Happy Birthday, again, James.

Happy Birthday Farnsworth

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Farnsworth Wright (1888-1940) was born on this date, July 29. Farnsworth, as I’m sure you all know, was editor of Weird Tales during its glory years.

I wanted to give a quick shout-out to him today since I haven’t posted much lately.I’ll post an update soon. The summer hasn’t been dull.

Next year (2023) is the centennial of Weird Tales. I’m in the planning stage for a series of posts that will run next year.

In the meantime, keep your eye out for guest posts by John Bullard and Will Oliver over the next week.

Kardios Slaughters the Gods

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Today, May 21, is the birthday of Manly Wade Wellman (1903-1986). Although best known for his tales of Jon the Balladeer, Wellman also wrote a number of stories in a variety of subgenres, including sword and sorcery. These stories aren’t as well-known as his Appalachian tales. They are still worth reading.

One of the sword and sorcery characters he wrote about was a chap named Kardios, the sole survivor of Atlantis. The reason Atlantis sunk is that Kardios did something he shouldn’t have. By kissing the queen, he institutes the curse that causes the island to sink. Now he wanders the world having adventures. Continue reading →

Kuttner’s “Line to Tomorrow”

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One of the things Henry Kuttner excelled at was the dark, sardonic twist at the end of many of his stories. Another thing he excelled at was time travel stories. Often in the same story. We’ll look at one of these today that he wrote in collaboration with his wife C. L. Moore that was published under their pen name Lewis Padgett.

Speaking of today, it’s Kuttner’s birthday, April 7, as this post goes live. I wasn’t able to read something for the birthday of Kuttner’s friend Robert Bloch. I wasn’t going to make that mistake for Kuttner.

“Line to Tomorrow” begins with Jerry Fletcher answering the phone way too early in the morning. He can only hear one voice. It seems to be a call between two people, but much of what they’re talking about doesn’t make sense. Continue reading →

I Didn’t Forget Bloch’s Birthday…

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…not exactly. I’ve been swamped with other things.

Robert Bloch, one of the best short fiction writers of the weird and fantastic was born today, April 5, 1917. Hey, it’s still the 5th where and when I’m writing this.

I’ve not read any of his work in observance of his birthday yet, but I’ll try to fit something in over the next few days. Sadly, much of his work is currently out of print. There are a few things  up on Amazon, but they look sketchy.

What short story of Bloch’s would  you suggest I read (or reread)?

Another Brief Shoutout, Howard This Time

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January 22 is the birthday of one of the greatest writers of the 20th Century, Robert E. Howard. Not only did he pen some of the best horror and fantasy stories of all time, he excelled in other genres as well, such as boxing, adventure and both humorous and serious westerns. And let’s not forget two literary categories, poetry and corresponding with H. P. Lovecraft.

I’m still trying to get a piece of fiction finished before a deadline, so I haven’t had a chance to read anything of Howard’s. I’d hoped to, but then one of our for-legged family members died suddenly. That’s thrown everything off.

But one thing that’s been at the back of my mind about Bob while I’ve been writing is what I mentioned in the first paragraph. He was a versatile writer. And he was not afraid to stretch himself and grow, to take chances. This can be seen in the works of a number of writers.  That’s the example I’m trying to follow.

A Brief Shoutout to Abraham Merritt

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Abraham Merritt (1884-1943) was born on this date, January 20. This is just going to be a brief post. I’m working on a tight deadline for an anthology submission, so I’ve not had a chance to read anything by him (or anyone else, for that matter.)

He was once one of the most revered names in fantasy. His influence was such that he was, to the best of my knowledge, the first genre writer to have a fiction magazine named after him. There’s an example of one of the issues on the right. I’d like to get my hands on a copy. That cover looks great.

Hopefully we’ll see a resurgence of interest in the man and his work. He could spin a yarn. I want to reread Dwellers in the Mirage later this year.

I’ve missed a couple of birthday’s lately, such as Brackett and Clark Ashton Smith. Once my writing commitments lighten up, I’ll post something about them.

 

“Free Dirt” from Beaumont and Bradbury

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Today, January 2, is the birthday of Charles Beaumont (1929-1967). Beaumont was one of the writers of the original Twilight Zone. The reason Rod Serling asked Beaumont to write for him can be easily seen in Beaumont’s work.

One of Beaumont’s mentors was Ray Bradbury. Bradbury wrote in the introduction to Best of Beaumont (1982) that he and Beaumont lived in the same part of Los Angeles and used to pass a cemetery that had a sign advertising FREE DIRT. Continue reading →

Leigh Brackett Birthday Post Placeholder

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Today, December 7, is the birthday of Leigh Brackett  (1915-1978). I’ve read a couple of her stories, but I’m not up for a post tonight. I’ve spent the evening finishing grading final exams and responding to student inquiries as to why their lab grade isn’t an A. (“You have multiple zeroes. Try attending all the labs next time. “)

I’ll post something of substance sometime in the next few days. But I didn’t want this day to pass without mentioning it.

I’m Thankful for Poul Anderson

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Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. One of the things I’m thankful for today is Poul Anderson (1926-2001). It being his birthday (November 25), and all.

For today’s post, a few days ago I had decided to review Anderson’s “Son of the Sword”. It’s a straight historical adventure set in Egypt. Anderson did from time to time write historical adventure without any fantastic elements. This is one of those stories.

I didn’t do my due diligence on this one. “Son of the Sword” was originally published in 1951 in Adventure Magazine. The only reprinting was in A Light in the Void, back in 1991. It was this book where I read it. The copyright page in the book didn’t give any further detail than what I stated above, and the ISFDB on lists A Light in the Void under the story’s publication history.  If I had realized that, I would have found a different story to feature today. Continue reading →