Welcome to the Amazing Stories BLOG HORDE INTERVIEWS!
The ASM Blog Horde is a diverse and wonderful species. I have the privilege of talking with all of them, and I get to share those chats with you. In this long-running series, you will have the opportunity to peek inside the minds of the ASM bloggers to to see just what makes them tick.
I hope you enjoy the series as much as I have enjoyed preparing it for you. Please feel free to ask questions, or just let the Horde know you've stopped by for a visit.
Bloggers live for comments, so keep 'em alive!
Tonight's featured ASM Blogger:
left the Midwest in 1990, after joining the USAF. After serving two years in Germany and then two more in California, he returned to Indiana, settled down, got married and is now the proud father of two girls.
Toiling by day as a civil servant, C.E. enjoys the classic pulp novels and B Movies in his spare time.
When not writing, C.E. can be found lurking around the Internet, as
or even on Xbox Live—when his kids let him have the TV.
FF: So, Chuck, please tell us how you became interested in blogging for Amazing Stories Magazine.
CEM: I've been blogging for about six years now, and in 2012 started up in the Indie Author biz and saw a post at a writer's forum asking for bloggers.
FF: As you know, Amazing Stories Magazine has a huge variety of blogging categories. In what categories can we find your blogs at ASM, and what is your special interest in those topics?
CEM: Well, I try and write about SF/F from a family, fatherly angle. It seems like a lot of SF/F has gotten very mature in the 21st Century. A lot of great stuff my kids cant see until they're older. Much older. But, because they're kids, they've missed out on a lot of classic stuff from before their time. I hope to share my education of my kids in Classic SF/F with other parents out there.
FF: Can you tell us a little bit about your previous work in the publishing or genre industry?
CEM: I'm an Indie Author- I have three novels out now on Kindle, Nook, etc. I'm planning about five more this year. Hopefully, they'll come out of the shadows and into the spotlight and I'll be able to consider myself a professional writer.
My first professional writing gig was in 2007- I landed a freelance bit with a local newspaper doing opinion pieces. Alas, they went under shortly thereafter (totally not my fault) and I only made enough money to buy my kids an Xbox. I then was recruited by the paper's former editor to do opinion pieces for a regional blog, mythoughtworld.com, which had a decidedly political bent. I also blogged for myself, under the pseudonym, Troglodad. But like Sasquatch, my work there remains elusive to the Internet at large.
I was big into amateur filmmaking in the 1980s. If back then we had YouTube and all the fancy editing and HD stuff the kids have now, I'd be as famous as Freddie Wong or Zack Finfrock of Wayside Creations. Instead, my work often remained unfinished or in the form of cool VHS doorstops.
FF: Chuck, how might you categorize the type of blog you enjoy writing?
CEM: Well, I enjoyed my sarcastic, right-leaning political digs as Troglodad, but it (politics) started getting a little too nasty and personal a few years ago. Today I enjoy talking about what's good in SF/F for kids. If I had my dream blogging gig it would be reviewing movies with an honest everyman's approach. As long as I got free tickets to them, that is. And popcorn. Gotta have popcorn.
FF: One of the things I love about Amazing Stories Magazine is that they’re focusing on multiple genres—Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror. Do you have a favorite?
CEM: Tough question. I prefer reading Science Fiction. I prefer watching schlocky "horror" B Movies. Fantasy can be okay—I'm a big fan of Piers Anthony's
Xanth
series. I guess over all, I like them all equally.
I actually enjoy Monsters more than all around horror. I like the cheesy ones and the well done ones. I think it's because I prefer to see non-humans get killed in movies. I feel zero guilt cheering when Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward trick a graboid into diving off a cliff. Watching people kill people, even bastards that deserve it...well, that just isn't cool.
I greatly enjoy the sciency aspects of Science Fiction, but I find that as I get older, my nitpicking skills have increased and I find most SF/F to be implausible and that kind of ruins it for me.
FF: My husband says the same thing. I guess that’s one of the dangers of getting older. It’s harder to forgive those messy details. How about your favorite authors? Who do you read and what keeps you coming back to their work?
CEM: My all time favorite author would have to Warren Murphy. Lester Dent, ERB, and Robert E Howard would all tie for second place. I say this based on the enjoyment factor—how much I enjoyed reading all of their works. Warren Murphy, and his late writing partner, Richard Sapir, wrote the best series ever,
The Destroyer
, and it never disappointed. (Well, there was the one time, but that was a ghostwriter). The series also had some closely supervised ghost writers that were fantastic, like Jim Mullaney and Will Murray. But what really sets the books apart from others is the combination of humor, tension and just all around fantastic ass-whoopery.
The latest Destroyer novel, #150,
, is out and is just like reading the series in the 80s. Incredible.
There's a new Destroyer spin off series, Legacy, written by Warren Murphy and Gerald Welch. It is SO good. First book is
. Five Stars, people. Read it!
FF: Great recommendations, Chuck. You had me at “fantastic ass-whoopery.” How about new authors? Have you read any new or lesser-known authors you’d like to bring to our attention? ...
If you've enjoyed reading CE Martin's interview, please go to my blog at Amazing Stories to read the second half:
Thank you so much for reading, folks! Please come back next week for another featured Amazing Stories Blog Horde Interview.
We'll keep the light on for you!
Wickedly Yours,