It's time for another guest blogger. Today I have the honor o
f introducing Joe Vadalma. Joe is a self professed sci-fi/fantasy genre lover who has taken that love and turned it into some great stories of his own. I found this bio about Joe on SFFworld.com...I am a technical writer retired from a major computer company and am a voracious reader of all kinds of books, but especially science fiction and fantasy. I was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, but have been living in a small town in upstate New York for many years. I am married with four children, ten grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. My hobbies, other than writing, are computer games and do-it-yourself projects. I have had many short stories published in internet E-zines such as The Fifth Dimension, SFF, Dark Moon Rising, Swords Edge, Aphelion, Writer's Hood, Martian Wave, and Planet Magazine.
As one who also writes in the sci-fi/fantasy genre, my love of this type of book is solidly rooted in my childhood, just like Joe's was. Give a listen to how he puts it. I'll bet it makes you smile and remember, too!
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I loved these genres since I was very young. My parents were great readers and so I became one too. I loved to go to the local library and browse through all the wonderful books. I liked books about pirates and the usual fairy tales.
When I was seven, something wonderful happened to me. It was the movie "The Wizard of Oz." Back then, it was shown in theaters. On the big screen, it was wonder of wonders. After that I began to buy Oz books, of which there were many, not only by Frank L. Baum, the creator of Oz, but by his successors, Ruth Plumly Thompson and John R. Neil (who by the way was the illustrator for all three authors).
The next good thing happened when I was in the third grade. I came across a book about an imaginary trip to the moon and the planets. That hooked me on science fiction. I read everything I could find about space travel, time travel and so forth, mainly the comic books, Superman, Captain Marvel, Planet Comics and so forth.
When I was twelve, I discovered the pulps, eight and half by eleven magazines with garish covers and printed on thick cheap paper. These contained stories by such greats as Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Robert Silverberg and so many more.
About that time I also saw the movie "House of Frankenstein" with a great cast, Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr., John Carridine and Glen Strange. It's still one of my favorite movies. Although billed as a horror flick, it's really science fantasy.
Speaking of movies, a few years later one of my favorite movie of all time came out, "2001, A Space Odyssey," which I saw on the wide screen. Believe me, it is stunning in the theater. Since then, there has been "Alien" and its sequels, all the Star Wars movies, Star Trek and its spin-offs, Jurassic Park and its sequels, etc., etc. We're living in my idea of paradise as far as movies go.
And then there are the books. I have so many favorite fantasy and SF authors that I could fill this page with their names.
From a love of these genres I decided to try my hand at writing genre fiction. The results you can buy at Renaissance Page Turner Editions, Fictionwise.com and other online book sellers. My web site, which gives information about my novels, contains a free short and serial, and a blog can be found at http://papajoesfantasticworld.com
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Thanks, Joe for giving us that look at how you went from being a sci-fi/fantasy reader to being a writer. For a lot of us, those movies, books and magazines were the fodder for a great many dreams! Did he make you remember a few of your favorite movies or books? Tell him so in the comments below!
Stay tuned for my next blog. It will give you an update on where I should be this week, visiting the World Heritage Site, Angkor Wat Temple in Cambodia and traveling on the Mekong Delta in Vietnam.
Take care and hugs to all,
I loved these genres since I was very young. My parents were great readers and so I became one too. I loved to go to the local library and browse through all the wonderful books. I liked books about pirates and the usual fairy tales.
When I was seven, something wonderful happened to me. It was the movie "The Wizard of Oz." Back then, it was shown in theaters. On the big screen, it was wonder of wonders. After that I began to buy Oz books, of which there were many, not only by Frank L. Baum, the creator of Oz, but by his successors, Ruth Plumly Thompson and John R. Neil (who by the way was the illustrator for all three authors).
The next good thing happened when I was in the third grade. I came across a book about an imaginary trip to the moon and the planets. That hooked me on science fiction. I read everything I could find about space travel, time travel and so forth, mainly the comic books, Superman, Captain Marvel, Planet Comics and so forth.
When I was twelve, I discovered the pulps, eight and half by eleven magazines with garish covers and printed on thick cheap paper. These contained stories by such greats as Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Robert Silverberg and so many more.
About that time I also saw the movie "House of Frankenstein" with a great cast, Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr., John Carridine and Glen Strange. It's still one of my favorite movies. Although billed as a horror flick, it's really science fantasy.
Speaking of movies, a few years later one of my favorite movie of all time came out, "2001, A Space Odyssey," which I saw on the wide screen. Believe me, it is stunning in the theater. Since then, there has been "Alien" and its sequels, all the Star Wars movies, Star Trek and its spin-offs, Jurassic Park and its sequels, etc., etc. We're living in my idea of paradise as far as movies go.
And then there are the books. I have so many favorite fantasy and SF authors that I could fill this page with their names.
From a love of these genres I decided to try my hand at writing genre fiction. The results you can buy at Renaissance Page Turner Editions, Fictionwise.com and other online book sellers. My web site, which gives information about my novels, contains a free short and serial, and a blog can be found at http://papajoesfantasticworld.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks, Joe for giving us that look at how you went from being a sci-fi/fantasy reader to being a writer. For a lot of us, those movies, books and magazines were the fodder for a great many dreams! Did he make you remember a few of your favorite movies or books? Tell him so in the comments below!
Stay tuned for my next blog. It will give you an update on where I should be this week, visiting the World Heritage Site, Angkor Wat Temple in Cambodia and traveling on the Mekong Delta in Vietnam.
Take care and hugs to all,
CJ England
Follow Your Dreams
1 comment:
My dad took us to see 2001 A Space Oddessy. It was his love of books and Science Fiction that had me reading. The Tarzan books, alot of the authors you mentioned. What great memories you brought up. Thanks Joe!
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