Author Archives: John Walters

Self-consciousness in Greek Society

Today I experienced one of the great tragedies in a writer’s life:  I irretrievably lost a piece of work.  In the midst of a busy morning I sat down to write a blog post – this same post, in fact … Continue reading

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Book Review: The Seventies: The Great Shift in American Culture, Society, and Politics by Bruce J. Schulman; Part Two:The Book Itself

In the first post about this book I recounted what the seventies mean to me personally.  Heady times they were, to be sure, and integral to my development as a writer.  Now I will go into an analysis of the … Continue reading

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Book Review: The Seventies: The Great Shift in American Culture, Society, and Politics by Bruce J. Schulman; Part 1: What the Seventies Mean To Me

I graduated high school in the class of 1970, having just turned 17 years old.  After a few months of drinking and carousing I was off to university in California.  At the time I hadn’t a clue about what anything … Continue reading

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Dark Mirrors: Dystopian Tales – Now Available!

My new story collection, “Dark Mirrors: Dystopian Tales” is now available in an electronic edition in the Amazon Kindle Store, and will soon be available in a print edition.  Here is an excerpt from the Afterword: We don’t ever seem … Continue reading

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Book Review: The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume Five Edited by Jonathan Strahan

Last year I reviewed a volume of best science fiction of the year edited by Gardner Dozois.  There were good stories and mediocre stories, but overall it was a good read.  This volume, however, was even more enjoyable.  I think … Continue reading

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Short Story Author Highlight: Cordwainer Smith

Cordwainer Smith was the pseudonym of Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger, a military officer who specialized in East Asia and psychological warfare.  He wrote non-fiction and spy thrillers, but he is best known for the science fiction he produced in the … Continue reading

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Who I Am

I am a writer.  That’s what defines me.  I never seriously wanted to be anything else.  Oh sure, when I was young I thought of doing this and that.  When very young I had a Classics Illustrated comic version of … Continue reading

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Adventures

I am reminded of when I stood at the freeway entrance, my thumb out, ready to hitchhike off into the unknown, at the start of my first great journey.  I wrote about this experience in my memoir, “World Without Pain: … Continue reading

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Book Review: Think Like a Publisher by Dean Wesley Smith

I stumbled upon Dean Wesley Smith’s blog about a year and a half ago, and it changed my life as a writer.  At the time he was writing the series “Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing”, which is still available … Continue reading

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Book Review: 11/22/63 by Stephen King

This is an awesome book.  No superlatives can do it justice.  It’s one of the best novels I have read in years. I haven’t read many of Stephen King’s books – in fact, only one other:  “On Writing”, which I … Continue reading

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