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Showing posts from August, 2014

Writing Again (and I'm done with themed anthologies)

Following a minor bout of cancer (featuring surgeries and 6 months of chemotherapy), I'm writing again! Having spent some time reviewing my writing career to date, I note with a degree of dismay that while I've had some material published, I'm not super happy with all of it. In the past I've pandered to the whims of the industry in order to get stories out. Well, I'm done with that. Now I'm writing what I want to write. No more < 5,000 word stories about "blue aliens on exoplanets", simply because a publisher somewhere decided that's what they wanted for their next anthology. I know it may seem a little hypocritical, given that I helped come up with the theme of A Hand of Knaves (and I stand by it), but I'm allowed to be hypocritical if the mood takes me. And the mood does take me.  From now on I'm writing whatever the hell I want. It might not get published, but it'll be mine and I think I'll be a lot happier with that.  Let...

Blasters V Revolvers

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Harrison Ford doesn't mind shoving a gun in your face and there's no doubt he's been the toter of some of the coolest guns in movie history - but which is the best? I compare two in Aurealis #74: Han Solo's DL-44 Blaster, and Indiana's 1917M revolver, with surprising results. Ford's "G" face has changed a lot over the years, from the languid intensity of Han Solo, to the glaring hatred of Deckard and Indiana, all the way through to the weary, war-torn Jack Ryan in Patriot Games. Then there's this: Gotta love the guy's enthusiasm. Can't wait for Solo MkII in Star Wars VII. Yeeeharrr!