Author Archives: John Walters

Book Review: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

I would not have thought that a historical novel could work in first person, but Mantel pulls it off.  This book is beautifully written.  Apart from the compelling story, it is wonderful to discover passage after passage, on nearly every … Continue reading

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Book Review: A Moveable Feast: The Restored Edition by Ernest Hemingway

I must have read this book decades ago as a young writer.  Certain parts have the ring of familiarity, especially Hemingway’s descriptions of writing in cafes with a notebook and pencil. It’s a sparse book: a collection of vignettes about … Continue reading

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Book Review: The Best American Short Stories 2016 Edited by Junot Diaz

In these days of economic austerity I often peruse the new book shelves of the local library rather than book stores for reading material.  On one of those forays I came across this volume.  It’s a hardcover; I didn’t know … Continue reading

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Book Review: Wolf: The Lives of Jack London by James L. Haley

Reading about the life of Jack London had an enormous effect on me when I was a young writer.  Inevitably when I read a new biography of London I compare it with the book that introduced me to him, Jack … Continue reading

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When the Threat of Violence Rears Its Ugly Head

Perhaps I have become too complacent.  We live in a fairly safe area.  It’s normally fine to walk the streets either during the day or at night; there are rarely questionable characters lurking about.  Walking is important to me.  I … Continue reading

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What Star Trek Means to Me

I recently started re-watching the original Star Trek series on Netflix.  You know, the one with Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock and Bones the doctor, not to mention Scottie, Uhura, Sulu, and the rest of the crew. It’s been decades … Continue reading

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Book Review: The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Thirty-Third Annual Collection Edited by Gardner Dozois

This is a huge doorstopper of a book: almost 700 pages, more than 300,000 words of the editor’s selections of the best short science fiction published in 2015.  Unlike other best of the year editors, Dozois sticks strictly to science … Continue reading

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Book Review: How to Write Like Tolstoy: A Journey Into the Minds of Our Greatest Writers by Richard Cohen

The title of this book, although catchy, is misleading.  Personally, I wouldn’t want to write like Tolstoy anyway.  I am perfectly content to write like John Walters.  Anyway, the author makes no attempt to teach writing or techniques of writing.  … Continue reading

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Writing as a Metaphysical Experience

My new book, Writing as a Metaphysical Experience, is now available as an e-book at multiple outlets, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple iBooks, and others.  It’s also available as a print edition here. It’s part memoir, part journal, … Continue reading

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The One Thousand Series

Bedlam Battle: An Omnibus of the One Thousand Series Four science fiction thrillers in one volume The four novellas of the One Thousand series are now available in  one all-inclusive volume.  See below for links to distributors. This omnibus includes: … Continue reading

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