Author Archives: John Walters

Snapping Out of It

We’re going to conduct a literary experiment, you and I.  Well, in fact you’re going to play the role of observer and I’m going to conduct it.  We’re going to see if I can snap myself out of the post-surgery … Continue reading

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Book Review: The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers: Third Edition by Christopher Vogler

You may have heard of a book called The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell.  You may have even heard that George Lucas drew heavily on Campbell’s theories when he was creating the story lines for Star Wars.  … Continue reading

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A Ray of Hope

When I am unable to write, I begin to become discouraged and then to despair.  I have to write.  It’s my talent, my calling.  If I do not write regularly, I feel I am not fulfilling my life’s function.  And … Continue reading

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Book Review: The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2016 Edited by Karen Joy Fowler and John Joseph Adams

In contemplating the merits of this new volume of the best speculative fiction of the year 2016, I am inevitably drawn to a comparison to Gardner Dozois’s The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Thirty-Third Annual Collection, which I read a few … Continue reading

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Book Review: The View From the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman is somewhat of an anomaly in literature in that he has attempted and excelled in so many genres and media with overwhelming success.  He has won numerous awards, including the Nebula Award, Hugo Award, World Fantasy Award, Bram … Continue reading

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Book Review: In Calabria by Peter Beagle

Allow me to indulge in a few relevant personal reminiscences, and then I will talk about the book and the story.  This novella has great personal appeal to me, and I want to lead up to it properly. A young … Continue reading

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Book Review: Time Travel: A History by James Gleick

Time Travel: A History is an attempt by a popular science writer to provide an overview of humankind’s concepts of time and literary attempts to fictionalize the phenomenon of travel through time.  The book is interesting, but either my expectations … Continue reading

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Book Review: Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Hakuri Murakami

I have had Murakami on my radar for some time.  I was hesitant, however, about tackling his recent book 1Q84 due to its length – almost 1200 pages in paperback.  After reading a fascinating interview with him in The Paris … Continue reading

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Feeding My Reading Addiction

I am an addict.  Yes, it’s true.  If I don’t have something to read I get tense, anxious, irritable.  I pace the floors; I search the shelves; I wrack my brains for ideas on what I should start next.  The … Continue reading

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An Assessment of 2016

The freelancer’s life is not for the faint of heart, especially if you happen to be a single parent at the same time.  Ask J.K. Rowling before Harry Potter took off.  You struggle day by day to bring in enough … Continue reading

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