Disclaimer: This is a love story and an adventure, a modern take on The Odyssey, set in a mythological past where all of the world's pantheons coexist. It is my first full-length novel, which I wrote in high school circa 1993. The Nomad represents a much younger and less experienced Nick Alimonos, but also, a writer who was more passionate, confident, and brash. If you can get past all of... Continue Reading →
I have a love/hate relationship with Disney. Whenever I visit the Magic Kingdom, or see their castle logo pop up before a movie, I am torn about how to feel. On the one hand, I simply adore the man, Walt himself, whom I consider a visionary genius. Never mind whether or not he could draw Mickey... Continue Reading →
Do two great tastes taste great together? Is William Shakespeare mixed with Star Wars the literary equivalent of a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup? That is the question I put before myself when I picked up William Shakespeare's Star Wars by Ian Doescher. What immediately comes to mind for most people is who? Or more grammatically, whom?... Continue Reading →
I've been wanting to make this list for a long time, a greatest of, but strictly for fantasy novels. So this list excludes a lot of great books, like the Sci-Fi masterpiece that is Frank Herbert's Dune. I also left out things that could be construed as fantasy, but also fall into other genres, like Marry... Continue Reading →
Let me tell you how I killed her—how I killed the only woman I ever loved. I am a wretched thing, truly, and have little else to offer but this story. Hear me out, if you are wanting for a tragedy, but I give you fair warning: this is no tale for children or the... Continue Reading →
In the 2004 film, Troy, Achilles kills Hector after a climactic battle, and Andromache, beset by grief for the death of her husband, basically does . . . nothing. The actress gives a performance of subdued shock, blinking heavily before slacking against the parapet wall. This is in stark contrast to the way Homer describes the... Continue Reading →
For two decades, my family and friends have struggled to understand my need to tell stories, and to have those stories be recognized. They sometimes see it as just a need for approval, or praise, or fame. While praise does motivate me, what really drives me to write is much simpler: we who suffer from... Continue Reading →
Internet Land is rife with a very angry bunch of people who have nothing better to do than decry certain individuals for being, for lack of a better word, "sellouts". George Lucas is most famous for this, with message board posts going something like this: "Once, George cared about art! But now, he's just a... Continue Reading →
Ask any ten people if they know Frankenstein and you will undoubtedly get a YES. Such is the power of the mythos created by Marry Shelley, an early female novelist who, in 1818 (200+ years ago!) at the remarkable age of 18, hid the fact of her sex to get her book published. It is... Continue Reading →
It seems today that fantasy has been hijacked by "world builders"---writers so enamored by Tolkien, that their No. #1 priority is to build a convincing world. While I am all for convincing worlds, I am not all for it if it hinders the telling of a story, or takes the place of one. I won't mention names,... Continue Reading →
The Art of Storytelling 
You must be logged in to post a comment.