I’m up to my armpits in other projects today, so I probably won’t get around to reading anything by today’s featured authors, but I did want to give a shout-out to two of the greatest and one artist who deserves better recognition. So in order of their birth, here are…

M. R. James (1862-1936) Montague Rhodes James was arguably the greatest writer of traditional English ghost stories. It’s his name that is usually invoked when other ghost story writers are compared to someone favorably. The restless spirits in James’s stories are almost always malevolent. Some of my favorite James stories are “The Ash-Tree”, The Mezzotint”, and “Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad”.

Our next birthday feature isn’t a writer but an artist. Edd Cartier (1914-2008). Cartier illustrated a number of Street & Smith pulps such as The Shadow, Astounding, and Unknown. He had a distinctive style that often depicted exaggerated facial features and lent itself to humor, although he could certainly depict a serious scene. I’ve provided an example on the right. I think he isn’t as well remembered these days as he should be. He’s always been one of my favorites.

David Gemmell (1948-2006) should be no stranger to fans of heroic fantasy. A prolific author, Gemmell had, and still has, a legion of fans both in the US and in England. I haven’t read nearly as much Gemmell as I should. A project for this fall, perhaps. I got to meet him at the 2000 World Fantasy Convention in Corpus Christi, Texas. He and Jane Lindskold were telling each other how much they enjoyed the writing of Louis L’Amour. Will Oliver’s recent post reminded me of that conversation.

So, two outstanding writers and one outstanding artist. If I get a chance, I’ll read something by either James or Gemmell later this evening. I encourage you to do the same.