"...On Behalf Of One's Obsessions"

‎"The refusal to rest content, the willingness to risk excess on behalf of one's obsessions, is what distinguishes artists from entertainers, and what makes some artists adventurers on behalf of us all." --John Updike

Wishing you all a very Merry Little Christmas!

Yours Most Sincerely,

Fran Friel

In Times of Disaster

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” To this day, especially in times of “disaster,” I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world.” - Mr. Rogers

Wild Life in Santa Cruz

Photo by Fran Friel

With so much of the country struggling with flooding, snow and frigid temps, I thought I'd just offer a simple little glimpse of beauty.  This gorgeous orchid is just one of many I had the pleasure of viewing this past weekend at the Santa Cruz Orchid Society show.

I was dazzled and inspired. To me, she looks like an exotic beast ready to come alive and fly around the room, swooping and diving.  Hide your children!

 I hope you've enjoyed this solitary beauty as much as I have.

Wickedly Yours,

Fran Friel

An Amazing Stories Interview with C.E. Martin

Blog Horde Interview Logo

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!  

--Fran Friel

Tonight's featured ASM Blogger:

C.E. MARTIN

 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 

@Troglodad

 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.

Martin Interview Xanth pic

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, 

The End of the World

, 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 

Forgotten Son

. 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? ... 

http://wp.me/p2T3WE-2YM

If you've enjoyed reading CE Martin's interview, please go to my blog at Amazing Stories to read the second half:

http://wp.me/p2T3WE-2YM

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,

Fran Friel

The Haunted Mansion Project Interview

Angel and Fran Survive the Skeery


WE SURVIVED

Have a peek at my interview with the marvelous and talented, Loren Rhoads.

We survived The Haunted Mansion Retreat together, along with a bunch of other intrepid writers and artists. Loren digs deep and makes me share the skeery.

Visit Morbid Is As Morbid Does for the Interview:



Enjoy!

Wickedly Yours,
Fran Friel



Your Brain on Storytelling: BOOM!



wikipedia.org Edmund Dulac The Mermaid The Prince.
Story Horder
As a child, I was a story horder. I couldn't get enough of them. I was very fortunate to have parents who read to me, and looking back, they were saints in this regard. I was voracious. I always wanted more, and I wanted my favorites again and again.

 The original story of The Little Mermaid and its illustrations enthralled me. I can still feel the excitement and the magic of reading that story. I'd get lost in it. What a gift my parents gave me by reading to me, but I must have driven them mad.

 I was the same with music. I became obsessed with songs. I needed to hear them over and over again, so that I could memorize them--somehow making them a part of me. "How Much Is That Doggie In the Window?" was one of my early obsessions. We would sing the song inserting the names of every family member I could think of in place of "that doggie." It was no doubt a bedtime stalling technique, but it was also delightful. I recall a lot of giggling, thinking of my family members in the pet store window.

 I suspect my parents were relieved when I finally learned to read and learn my own songs, but it was short lived. They then had to endure my reading and singing to them endlessly.
Wired for Stories
It turns out that my parents gave me a bigger gift than I thought. According to the article, "What Listening to Stories Does to Our Brains," we are actually wired for stories. Telling them and and listening to them lights up our brains in powerful ways.


Researchers in Spain say that, "Not only are the language processing parts in our brain activated, but any other area in our brain, that we would use when experiencing the events of the story are too." In addition, the brain of the person listening and the brain of the person sharing a story can become synchronized in the process of storytelling. You can imagine the ramifications of these brain responses, and likely one of the reasons we fall in love with comics, musicians, actors and writers--they're storytellers lighting up our brains and helping us feel what they are describing far more deeply than we realize.

 In Practice
There are real world applications for this knowledge, and the article suggests a few:

 --To bring others on board with your idea, tell them a story (Writers - Think synopsis and project pitiches!).
"According to Uri Hasson from Princeton, a story is the only way to activate parts in the brain so that a listener turns the story into their own idea and experience.
The next time you struggle with getting people on board with your projects and ideas, simply tell them a story, where the outcome is that doing what you had in mind, is the best thing to do. According to Princeton researcher Hasson, storytelling is the only way to plant ideas into other people’s minds."

 --Create greater impact and credibility (Bloggers!).
"...ask for quotes from the top folks in the industry or simply find great passages they [have] written online. It’s a great way to add credibility and at the same time, tell a story."

 --Simple is better.
"Using simple language as well as a low complexity is the best way to activate the brain regions that make us truly relate to the situation and happenings in the story."
Some good advice, don't you think? When I consider these suggestions, it makes me think why the phenomenon of LOL Cats and the like on the Internet are so successful. These little vignettes are engaging our brains with a visual story, using simple words to invite us into a common experience with which we can identify. Add a little humor and we're hooked!

 It may also be why story podcasts like Lightspeed, and radio shows like This American Life and Snap Judgement are more popular as they become so easy to access online. They're the modern day version of sitting around the old RCA radio listening to The Lone Ranger and The Shadow. Mostly what I come away with in this article, is to be engaging as a storyteller--to unabashedly share my enthusiasm of the story with my readers. I want for them, the excitement and joy that a great story brought to me as a child and still brings to me to this day.

 Happy Stories to you, my friends!

 Yours Always,
Fran Friel


Note: Thank you to Ginger Hamilton Caudill for the link to the original article; The Shadow cover borrowed from: booksteveslibrary.blogspot.com