Feb 17th, 12
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Mondo Cult #3
As we’ve announced before, MONDO CULT issue #3 is out. John has no less than three articles in this issue on subjects ranging from the late Forry Ackerman to the classic film FIRST MEN IN THE MOON. But even more amazing: this issue contains a COMIC written by none other than RAY BRADBURY!!
This cover is exactly as depicted here. No title. The title, we are told, is on the spine. It is a huge issue, 160 pages, SLICK PAPER, chock full of movie, CD, DVD, and book reviews. Look high and low for this one, people. If you like sci-fi and the latest in pop culture, you’ll love MONDO CULT. On sale at your local book store or news stand. Or…click on the cover. The cover price is a little stiff ($13) but there’s more wordage in it than two average paperbacks. So it is a bargain in leisure reading. Read John’s articles first!
Nov 29th, 11
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John was Writer Guest of Honor at Loscon 38, held at the LAX Marriot, Nov. 25-27. He was a speaker and was interviewed by the net-radio show “Hour 25.” He also signed autographs and generally mixed with and partied with fans, fellow professionals, and friends. When asked if he had a good time, John said, “The best weekend-long party I ever went to!” Over 1000 people attended the convention, many of them fans of John’s work.
Nov 17th, 11
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John recently shipped more of his papers to be stored in the Eaton Collection at the University of California at Riverside. The shipment contained original manuscripts and galley proofs of published books. He also donated two manuscripts by famous writers. John acquired them when he edited an original anthology of fantasy short stories for DAW Books. One story is by Roger Zelazny, the other by “William Tenn,” aka Philip Klass. The papers were shipped to Dr. Melissa Conway, the curator of the Eaton Collection, and Julia D. Ree, Subject Specialist.
Rivera Library Housing Eaton Collection
Oct 30th, 11
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John contributed an article to this new anthology on writing popular fiction. Click here for more info.
Oct 30th, 11
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Yet another on-line interview, this one conducted by Heidi Ruby Miller, writer and co-editor of MANY GENRES, ONE CRAFT, an anthology to which John contributed an article. The title of the article is “I Write Genre Fiction but Want to be a Real Writer Someday.” Click here for interview.
Oct 23rd, 11
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John isn’t a professional artist but he does paint. These are some of his personal favorites. He wants to do more canvasses but his schedule doesn’t permit him to indulge his artistic impulses. He hopes to find the time at some point.
Oct 10th, 11
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John Clute’s SF Encyclopedia is most authoritative and definitive reference work on SF/fantasy, full of valuable information on writers and related subjects. It is a massive work which has now become an on-line database. Here is what Clute and his collaborators have to say about John DeChancie.
Click here to go to SF Encylopedia
Oct 1st, 11
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John DeChancie and Lydia van Vogt
On September 29, 2011, John paid a visit to the home of Lydia van Vogt, widow of famed SF writer A. E. van Vogt. High in the Hollywood Hills, the spacious Van Vogt house is full of mementos of the writer’s career, including the inlaid desk where “Van” wrote Slan, “Black Destroyer,” and other science fiction classics. Lydia is a wonderfully friendly woman with an amazing life story. During World War II she lived next door to Hitler’s mistress Eva Braun; after the war she was a translator for General Dwight D. Eisenhower. It was the famous Allied military chief who made it possible for Lydia to emigrate to the US, where she eventually met and married A. E. van Vogt.
John and two other writers, Brad Linaweaver and Kent Hastings, had an enjoyable tea with Lydia, stuffing themselves with hors-d’oevres and feasting on Lydia’s stories of Van and Lydia’s own amazing life. A. E. van Vogt seeded the SF field with ideas still being mined by Hollywood today. Many of the ideas in media “sci-fi,” including the Alien movies and TV’s Star Trek, derive from van Vogt’s body of work. Lydia is still receiving revenue from Van’s literary estate. Paramount just renewed its option on The Voyage of the Space Beagle, the classic novel of space exploration that served as a template for many science fiction adventure stories coming after.
Sep 30th, 11
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John has begun and is steadily, if slowly, working on a NINTH Castle Perilous novel. The tentative title is THE PIRATES OF PERILOUS, in which you will meet the scurvyest pack of cutthroats from here to Far Tortuga.
Sep 30th, 11
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John will have no less than three articles on Sf/fantasy films in the latest issue of MONDO CULT magazine, due out at the end of 2011. These articles are highly informative and entertaining for anyone with an interest in the cinema of the fantastic.
