Today, July 24, marks the birth of three writers and one artist who have not only been major figures in the fields of fantasy and science fiction but also personal favorites of mine. In order of the years of their births, they are Continue reading
“A Child is Crying”
Originally published in Thrilling Wonder Stories, December 1948
Even though he’s best remember as a writer of crime novels and the Travis McGee series of thrillers, John D. MacDonald was also an accomplished author of science fiction. He only wrote three sf novels (The Girl, the Gold Watch, and Everything; Ballroom of the Skies; Wine of the Dreamers), but the ISFDB lists 70 short stories if I’ve counted correctly. Not all of those are necessarily science fiction, but that’s more than enough for a retrospective collection or two. (Stephen Haffner, are you paying attention?) Some of his science fiction was collected in Other Times, Other Worlds. That little paperback is long out of print, although copies can still be found. I bought one at a secondhand bookstore in Colorado a few weeks ago.
MacDonald was born on this date, July 24, in 1916, and passed away during surgery in 1986. In observance of his birth, I managed to read one of his tales. “A Child is Crying” is one of his best-known sf short stories, and it’s easy to see why. Continue reading
There are a number of writers and artists who share a birthday today, July 24. I’m going to focus on four of them, although there are others such as Alexandre Dumas, Barry Malzberg, Gordon Eklund, or Travis S. Taylor, whose work has either been significant to the field or work that I enjoy (or both).
I want to focus on these four because they’ve had a major impact on my reading and writing habits and/or have had lasting influence. I”ll discuss them in the order of their births. Continue reading
Think of this post as what’s been falling out of the holes in my head lately. I’m working on a story with a deadline. Late last week I figured out why it had stalled and how to fix it; I’ve gotten a few thousand words done over the last couple of days. I figure I’m about half done unless the thing goes in an unexpected direction (again).
But that means I’m not getting as much reading done as I usually do. Lately my habit has been to read one novel in print form (usually a review copy) while reading something else on the phone’s ereader app (usually when I have time on my hands and am not at home), plus assorted nonfiction as I can fit it in. I’m not making much progress on the current paper novel.
I’m enjoying it quite a bit, but it’s rather thick. So I’ve been thinking a lot lately, in odd moments here and there, about how things have changed since I was a kid. (It’s a requirement for me to earn my Geezer Merit Badge.) As a teenager, there were paperback books all over the place, for sale in a variety of venues. Most of them were around 200 pages in length, if not slightly less. I could finish one of them in a day or two. They had bright, eye-catching covers and (although I hadn’t yet encountered the term) were full of all kinds of pulpy goodness. (I’m looking at you, DAW books.) Swords, monsters, NSGs.
And it wasn’t just science fiction and fantasy, either. There were plenty of mystery and thriller titles around (Fawcett Gold Key, anyone?), although I really didn’t get into those until I was an adult fully grown. Continue reading