What's New
Website
Writing
Novel
My current work in progress is Ladysmith,
a prehistoric novel set in Europe around 3000 BC,
the time of the "Man in the Ice" whose body was found
thawed out of a glacier a while back. The novel actually
begins with him... and goes on with the assumption "what
if he wasn't alone?" There have been a lot archeological
discoveries dealing with that time period in recent years, and
a lot of speculation to go with them...and a lot of arguments among
archeologists. There is still so little hard data about the cultures
of the time, however, that I have plenty of room for educated-guesswork.
I get to combine my long-time interest in anthropogy with my science
fiction worldbuilding in this novel; I've wanted to write this book
for a long time. (And it's been taking a long time, thanks to
the chaos of my realtime life in the mundane world....) Ladysmith
should appeal to readers who like worldbuilding/cultures-in-collision
science fiction; and also fantasy readers, since magic was a very
real part of life for the people of this time. I hope this book
will reach a wider readership as well, of course, and increase my
general readership, since I'm not getting any younger.
Novelization
I took a hiatus from Ladysmith to write the novelization
for the new movie Lost in Space, which is based on the old
tv series from the sixties. I really had a good time writing the
book; the story line is more like the original vision of the
series--an adventure with some good wisecracks--than like the campy
comedy the series swiftly became. The book is coming out in
hardcover first, like the Independence Day novelization did,
I gather.
The female characters have been updated , in the sense that they
get to do more than look worried and make coffee: Maureen has a
PhD in Life Sciences, and Judy is a doctor; Penny is clearly destined
to become a science fiction writer...!
The movie stills I've seen look terrific ($70 million budget, and
massive quantities of special effects being done for it). It's
either coming out April 3 (anniversary of the show's first episode),
or else on the high-karma date of Memorial Day Weekend--I've heard
both reported.
(By the way, for those who grumble when writers "lower our sights"
or "get lazy" by writing novelizations--yes, many people do ask
why we do them--I'll tell you why: We need the money. Having said
that, however, I must add that most of my novelizations have been
a lot of fun, and in writing them I've learned things about pacing
and building a scene that have made my own writing stronger. Even
in the worst cases, I do the best job I can...sometimes the challenge
is simply to make, if not a silk purse, at least a leather one out
of a sow's ear. But like Tom Lehrer once said: Life is like a
sewer--you get out of it what you put into it. It's all grist for
the mill.)
Comics
I've begun working on a comic-book adaptation of Catspaw,
with the encouragement and guidance of a friend, comics writer Mike
Baron. It's a lot like writing a screenplay, which I've always
wanted to try doing--and probably has a better chance of actually
being produced! I've always enjoyed books with illustrations, as
well as movies, and have read comics off and on all my life. After
quite a long hiatus my son got me started on them again a few years
ago, and I've become addicted: During the past couple of decades
the level of writing has grown much more sophisticated (not unlike
in the SF field,) and so has the art--add computerized coloring
and the final effect can be stunning. (I also like Japanese anime
and manga.) I hope I can join those ranks, at least as an
adapter....
Dolls
Life, the Universe and Everything