Stephen King came to my house and kicked my ass. Yeah, you probably think I mean this in some sort of metaphorical way ... as in, his books are so much better than mine they put me to shame. But nope. Let me backtrack a little. My nights, as you may know, are filled with... Continue Reading →
If only Ukraine had giant robots
So far so good, thank the gods, my friend Alexey is OK! And, believe it or not, he is STILL working, still producing art, some of which is clearly inspired by the awful situation in his country. I have been continuing my correspondence with him over at his DeviantArt page, but he has also started a Patreon. If you want to support this great Ukrainian artist with a little more than comments, please check it out!
https://www.patreon.com/lipatov/posts
The last thing I want is for this post to come off as exploitative. Right now, my thoughts are for the people of Ukraine only. What’s happening there is not just tragic, but the kind of thing that makes you question whether we’re living in a storybook. It’s like Trump and the January 6th insurrection. You keep asking yourself, “Is this really happening?”
Let’s break it down, shall we? President Vladimir Putin isn’t some misunderstood villain, he isn’t a complex, 3-dimensional character—he’s a cliche, every generic bad guy from every book/movie/show you’ve ever seen. He’s Cobra Commander, he’s Darth Vader, he’s Sauron. If this were a Tom Clancy novel, the publisher would say Putin is too unoriginal. He wants Ukraine. That’s it. And he’ll murder every man, woman, and child to get what he wants. On the flip side of this unreal coin, we have Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, playing…
View original post 810 more words
Heather and I discuss Stephen King's quasi-historical time travel story, 11/22/63! We also dip a little bit into Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time: The Eye of the World. What more do you need to know? Please give it a listen. https://open.spotify.com/episode/7EFlnqeGqT1O6SrlgBWpAJ?si=uDgGClyTSjuTu4dPDBa0Dg
Three times this week, I've had the same dumb conversation about becoming a writer. One person queried me through my author site, asking simply, "how can I get published?" A second person told me he didn't actually have any experience, but had a good idea for a book and wanted me to write it for... Continue Reading →
Hey, Aenya fans! Boy, do I have some great stuff to share with you today. So let's get straight to it, shall we? The Princess of Aenya: Acclaim, New Cover, New Art A beautiful new cover is on its way for The Princess of Aenya! While I was completely happy with the old pic, I... Continue Reading →
If you've ever wondered, "Who's this Nick guy, anyway?" Well, this episode is for you! Learn all my dirty secrets as I reminisce about my long, winding, and sometimes harrowing literary journey, from my childhood days writing on the backs of pink pizza tickets to kind-of inventing Power Rangers to dragging my dad to NYC... Continue Reading →
No discussion of Stephen King's It would be complete without tackling that scene---a scene not surprisingly omitted from every film adaptation---and if you don't know what I'm talking about, just read the book! Hint: sex + children. Historically, taboo subjects in fiction challenge readers to examine social norms, and forces us to consider whether anything... Continue Reading →
Stephen King once said in an interview, and I paraphrase here, "literature is a superior artform." This was in regards to his books being turned into movies. He wasn't all too concerned about the accuracy of on screen adaptations to his works, because, for him at least, a film could never be as good. I... Continue Reading →
I've been putting this off for many years now. I never wanted to write another "woe is me" post, not since some troll suggested I give up writing. Another troll (or maybe it was the same one) went so far as to e-mail screen grabs of my sales rank, just to rub my failures in... Continue Reading →
In this episode of the Story Matters podcast, I sit down with my 11-year-old daughter, Sophia, to discuss Christina Soontornvat's A Wish in the Dark. While this book was required reading for her middle-school English class, we definitely didn't regret it! A Wish in the Dark is set in an alternate-history, Asian-inspired world, with only... Continue Reading →
The Art of Storytelling 
You must be logged in to post a comment.