I never got to have dinner with Harlan, but I met him at a number of book signings at Dangerous Visions Bookstore in Sherman Oaks,California. I found him to be friendly, affable and often hilarious. I also met Susan, who was utterly charming and gracious. I miss them both deeply. Harlan was a great influence on my own writing as well. My two big idols are Harlan and Michael Moorcock, and thanks to DV, I was lucky enough to meet them both, and a lot more, including: Michael Resnick; Alan Dean Foster; Spider Robinson; Kim Stanley Robinson; Somtow Sucharitkul; Larry Niven; Jerry Pournelle; J. Michael Straczynski; Gregory Branford; Greg Bear; Gene Wolfe; Esther Friesner; Connie Willis and the (then) breathtakingly lovely Kristine Kathryn Rusch. I can concur with what this guy felt at that special dinner, because, much to my surprise and amazement, Michael Moorcock liked my “steampunk dragon adventure,” “The Dragon Groom’s Tale.” I still haven’t found a publisher or an agent, but I am still trying. After all, if an SFWA Grand Master liked it, my work cannot be total crap!😂
-Thank you, Eric! Thanks for sharing your personal story and your time regarding your meeting Harlan Ellison. I am glad for you that you now have happy memories to treasure.
Bradbury and Harlan were my idols too. I was lucky to meet Harlan in the early 80s at a intimate sci-fi con in NZ NASF he was hysterical and the advice he gave on writing I recorded on cassette and kept for years. He gave worse than he got and said never compete with somebody with a microphone. It was the best con I ever went to
Well, Eric, it seems I have another writer I can draw inspiration from. Thank you for the video and the wonderful insight. It will give me the courage to persevere.
Just found out!? Oh, you are in for a treat. Check out my reviews of his books. His work is incredibly diverse. I highly suggest getting a book of his short stories. I see you favorited some of his videos. As wonderful an orator as Harlan may be, his written work is even better.
My only brush with celebrity was cooking a t-bone "rare-rare" for James Whitmore when he was in town for the filming of "Shawshank Redemption" and was staying at the Holiday Inn a block from our diner. He had come in alone. Gentle man, rest his soul.
I enjoyed watching this very much. Harlan is my favorite writer as well. I got to have dinner with him as well, some years ago at a literary festival in New Orleans-well, me and five other people. George Alec Effinger was another writer that was there as well. One of my most treasured memories.
Very cool. Like I said in the video, I learned later that Harlan has done that sort of thing with many people. Wonderful when people are so generous with their time and hospitality. Harlan is a mensch.
Wow,what a tale,Eric-and elegantly told.I think a transcript of this video would make a great story in itself,it is very,very good. Harlan's work had a huge effect on me,too...I love Science Fiction,...and HE's work is Fiction on steroids,and then some....anyone who writes stories that make me have to start re-reading them straight away out of amazement when I finish them....is an author to behold.
I love harlan ellison if not for his personality then his vast array of stories that send your mind on an adventure like no other very orginal and from what I've read and watched of harlan I've been inspired to write short stories and novels and it's a breath of fresh air to here stories like the one in this video
I was very captivated by your experience. Meaning your story. It`s always good to hear a good Harlan story, but now I found a new storyteller I´m interested for. Cheers, have a good one.
I envy you your experience with Harlan. It took all my nerve to call him and ask if I could interview him. For his part, he was very nice and said, "Kiddo, I'd love to, but I've got all these people coming for tonight" (this was the day before the Dreams With Sharp Teeth premiere) "and I just don't have time." He asked if I was planning to attend the premiere. I said, "Absolutely," He said he hoped I would have a good time. That was that.
Well, look at the bright side. At least you had that much interaction with him. A majority of his fans and admirers never got to speak to him. At least you had something!
I know that I'll never meet Harlan, but to be honest, the thought of it makes me shiver like a whipped dog. I'm certain that I'd embarrass myself ( and I'm suffering from Asperger's Syndrome, so fear of meeting people goes with the territory.). HE is one of my gods, like Spider Robinson, Rod Serling, Charles Addams, Ray Bradbury, Robert Anton Wilson, and several others. It might be better to just read his work. I'm arrogant and misanthropic, but I'm not a fool; HE would unplug my brain and make me trip over my frontal lobe like a blithering idiot.
Harlan has a wonderful video where he talks about mispronouncing the word "minutiae" on a radio show. Simply knowing that he did such a thing made me realize that Harlan does sometimes have to face his own human failings, just like the rest of us.
I saw it some time ago. " Minoo-aye-eh-aye-eh " isn't a pronouncement of that word I would have thought of. Leave it to Harlan to do everything just a tick off of center.
I saw Harlan speaking in 1979 at MTSU, and a group went out with him for Pizza Hut afterward. I was only 15 yo, and back then sketching constantly, so naturally he had a look . . . and made slightly cruel fun of the cartoons. A printed insult (referencing that night's conversation) appeared in 'Shatterday', wherein he called me (not by name) a "slovenly reader". Later still at age 22 He insulted me again (subtly) in the hallway of the Atlanta Worldcon 1986. The next morning I had (a group) breakfast with Bob Silverberg and after hearing of the encounter he explained the gist of it, I had been compared to Hank Stine, a transgendered magazine editor/publisher famous for not paying his writers. So I can say: Harlan insulted me 3 times over the years. I did end up doing art for a successful living and his words encouraged me to care less about what others who did not know me thought, and to work harder to please myself. And somehow, I still love his books although loving him as a person is impossible. Because a bully is just that, no matter how smart they are or think they are.
Cool story and I too love Harlan, I knew about him from all his tv, film and book credits . I love his acerbic wit, knowledge and wisdom on all things literary and otherwise. By the way, have you seen his comic book, magazine and book collection? An absolute treasure trove!
6:54 my favorite consistent story about Ellison is that he NEVER answered the phone by saying "Hello" or "This is Harlan Ellison speaking" I hear again and again that he answered the phone simply by saying "Yeah?" or "...yeah?" or "Yeah whaddya want?"
He was one heck of a character, that's for sure. I miss the guy. I'm so grateful I got to meet him a few times, but I'm sad I didn't get to do so more often.
I've got a cool Harlan story myself - it's too long to explain here though. But in short, I worked for Disney as well and encountered him, then wrote him a letter and he gave me a call, and he invited me to his house coffee. Like you, I doubt it's ever going to happen. But it was pretty cool to chat with him, and that he enjoyed my letter that much. His editor recently sent me an email and said that Harlan had actually mentioned our encounter in on of his recent essays, which was REALLY cool.
Like I said, it's really awesome to hear that Harlan seems to do these kind gestures to a lot of people. I find it so odd that he has such an "angry curmudgeon" reputation when the man is a sweetheart who treats his fans with great respect. Congratulations on having him mention you in an essay! No small feat, considering the thousands of people he interacts with. You must have made an impression.
Well, Eric, you got another subscriber. I too am a child of Harlan. I met him, Ray, and Dr. Asimov at a dinner celebrating the International Space Station. Harlan and Ray inspired me. I considered both my mentors. I've experienced Harlan's rage, but also his incredible heart. Amusingly, we both got invited to his house....Not. One thing I've taken from Harlan is that I too have helped aspiring authors and screenwriters. I've broken bread with them and I hope I have given them they type of experience that Harlan, Ray, and Dr. Asimov gave me all those years ago....
Wow. You had dinner with Bradbury and Asimov too? That's pretty awesome. I can't lay claim to that. I never met Asimov. My meeting with Bradbury was only a brief hello. Thanks for watching and sharing your experiences.
Well, me and twelve other teenagers who were sponsored to be there each by a chosen author. Mine was Robert A Heinlein. Frank Herbert and Gene Roddenberry was there as well as well as a number of other authors and people I don't remember. It was amusing to watch Harlan and Asimov go at it. Ray just sat back and enjoyed the spectacle. They were an amusing threesome, but you knew there was mutual respect and love there. It was a night I've cherished over the years.
Funny how different Bradbury and Ellison were. Ray was such a sweet and gentle poet of a man. Harlan was a fireball of contention. Yet they were both such masterful writers, even though each man's demeanor was at opposite ends of the spectrum.
Harlan Ellison's "Watching" series is on UA-cam, and in an episode he mentioned his preference for fountain pens over ball points, gels and such. So, I left a comment, "Save a peacock, use a fountain pen." I left it for the reader to pin the "ass" into the blurb.
Hey you schmucks..yea you! Find Harlan reading Prince Myschein from 'Dreams with sharp teeth '..its brilliant ( your sweet Russian grandmothers will thank you) Greetings Eric, how envious I am of you having dinner with uncle Harlan. Now..my encounter ( heh heh) It was in Houston, and the store was ' Future Visions' and Harlan was there to sign copies of ' I Robot the screenplay". Now,waiting in line ( so far no problems..lol) when Harlan breezes in ( wearing a Dennys button on his coat) and sits down to sign our books. When: Standing in front of me was a young woman who hands Harlan a book to sign ( no problem right?) She starts a idle conversation as Harlan is signing, and mentions that she is from Virginia ( Harlan grunts approval) when she drops the line : " Oh it doesn't matter, Virginia and West Virginia are the same state.." I will never forget what went down then...: Harlan signing ( head down, arm draped over the book) replies: " No it Isn't.." Her reply? "Yes it is.." That..boys and girls is when the gauntlit dropped Over the course of five minutes those two locked horns with neither side not backing down, It was a sight to behold..Harlan ended it by sliding the book toward her. And then it was my turn, I wanted to tell him how much he rocked my world with 'A boy and his dog' (that summer of magic before starting High School)... But, no...the moment was lost after the battle between those two, lol. But his fury was a force of nature, and I gotta hand it to her...she didn't back down...Lol! I commented on another video that Harlan can eviscerate you and then break your heart with his humanity. Peace...from Texas
Thank you for sharing that story. I can easily see that happening. Harlan is an incredible person. I recently stumbled across a great audio recording of Harlan and Robin Williams having a conversation on Audible from Blue Wolf Productions. Check it out if you can find it. The thing is an hour long and a genuine treat.
InkShard - a vlog from author Eric Muss-Barnes + Thank you for replying, well sadly there was so much that I wanted to tell him, but alas or more on point: So it goes ( from another literary hero my mine) Oh yea two points : the video that you've mentioned with Robin and Harlan is the one where Harlan talks about L.Ron Hubbard and the creation of Scientology ! And this: Harlan saying "you've earned it" and you having that moment sharing it on your video says this : the coach pulling you out of the dugout and saying - " Here's your moment kid, you earned it.." Damn straight Eric..damn straight indeed.
After my central vision became too fuzzy to let me read, I turned to audiobooks and those radio dramas. Brin's "Uplift Wars" is quite a romp. Its premise would have driven Charles Manson and his devotees mad! And Heinlein of course has had not a small hand in shaping today's libertines. Liberals? Lefties? Whatever it is they call themselves these days. They seem to take Heinlein's fantasies to heart, trying to make them their reality....
Lucky you. I live in Russia and knew about Harlan recently, but it was too late. He doesn't show up on public now, so I wrote him a letter, but no answer. He doesn't contact with fans even through his site, maybe he tired of all this fame and want quiet late years. So it seems like you're one of the last fans who met with him.
Sadly, I think you are right. Harlan made two public appearances after the book signing, that I know of. He was at a book convention in Glendale and he showed up as a guest at a meeting of the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society. I attended both and spoke to him at both of those events. But that was it. He was very active on his website, but he hasn't been for a couple of years. I hope he's doing well. But, you're right. He has kind of vanished.
Having dinner with Harlan Ellison once is like banging a Playboy Playmate once. You get to brag about it... but you spend the rest of your life wishing you got to do it a few more times.
I maybe jealous. But I also happy that you got that chance to meet Harlan Ellison. I also saw your review on the crow and thought you did really great job on that, plus I am going to buy a copy of your book "The Gothic Rainbow"
Very cool. Thank you so much, Anthony. Hope you enjoy the book. Considering I wrote it 20 years ago, I feel I'm a vastly improved writer, but _The Gothic Rainbow_ does contain a few things I'm still proud of.
You know what? You're right! I knew there was something I never quite liked about this, but I could never put my finger on it. That's exactly it. Pacing. Funny thing is, I'm VERY cognizant of pacing in my fiction. I pay attention to it. I do my best to refine it. But in essays? In my essay work, I never really think about it. Duh. Why not? It's JUST as important to have good pacing in non-fiction work! Thanks for your comment and thanks for watching.
What a wonderful story! I've been a Harlan fan ever since a guy on whom I had a huge crush during my senior year of high school (and we won't go into how long ago THAT was) thrust a very worn copy of "Stalking The Nightmare" into my hands during drama club rehearsal and said, "Here....read THIS". Given that one typically does anything one's crush asks, I dove into it. I've been in love ever since. (I think about that guy every now and again and silently thank him for thrusting said book into my hands). I fancy myself an intelligent, well spoken individual, the English language being one of my great loves. (The tagline on my work email reads "I'm just a Roget's Thesaurus in a See & Say world") But, like a previous post mentioned, I would probably be reduced to an insensate puddle of goo if ever faced with actually speaking to the man. Harlan may not have much use for technology/computers/the internet, but when it lets me commune with other fans, aka sentient humans, it's well worth the tiny piece of my soul that's being consumed by the Information Gods through the modern day glass teat. Well done, sir! I wish you much success!
I never got to have dinner with Harlan, but I met him at a number of book signings at Dangerous Visions Bookstore in Sherman Oaks,California. I found him to be friendly, affable and often hilarious. I also met Susan, who was utterly charming and gracious. I miss them both deeply. Harlan was a great influence on my own writing as well. My two big idols are Harlan and Michael Moorcock, and thanks to
DV, I was lucky enough to meet them both, and a lot more, including: Michael Resnick; Alan Dean Foster; Spider Robinson; Kim Stanley Robinson; Somtow Sucharitkul; Larry Niven; Jerry Pournelle; J. Michael Straczynski; Gregory Branford; Greg Bear; Gene Wolfe; Esther Friesner; Connie Willis and the (then) breathtakingly lovely Kristine Kathryn Rusch. I can concur with what this guy felt at that special dinner, because, much to my surprise and amazement, Michael Moorcock liked my “steampunk dragon adventure,” “The Dragon Groom’s Tale.” I still haven’t found a publisher or an agent, but I am still trying. After all, if an SFWA Grand Master liked it, my work cannot be total crap!😂
RIP Harlan. You'll be missed by those wise enough to realise what the universe has lost.
You got that right.
-Thank you, Eric! Thanks for sharing your personal story and your time regarding your meeting Harlan Ellison. I am glad for you that you now have happy memories to treasure.
Bradbury and Harlan were my idols too. I was lucky to meet Harlan in the early 80s at a intimate sci-fi con in NZ NASF he was hysterical and the advice he gave on writing I recorded on cassette and kept for years. He gave worse than he got and said never compete with somebody with a microphone. It was the best con I ever went to
Cool. Thanks for regaling that. Now that he's gone, tales from those who knew him are all the more valuable.
Two years since this video. RIP Harlan Ellison.
Yep. I knew this day would come. I'm very lucky I got to meet him, even if it was only a few times.
Wow, You lucky soul.. You met The Man !!!!! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 Thank you for sharing !!!!
Big Harlan fan here. I had dinner while watching this...enjoyed the story. I could listen to Harlan talk all day.
I'm glad you liked it. I have always enjoyed reading "I met Harlan..." stories from others, and I'm just grateful I can add a thread to that tapestry.
Well, Eric, it seems I have another writer I can draw inspiration from. Thank you for the video and the wonderful insight. It will give me the courage to persevere.
Perseverance is all we've got. The old cliche is true - you can't succeed if you quit.
just found out about harlan Ellison today.. I don't even read his genre of books but when he said he never LIES I resonated with it deeply.
Just found out!? Oh, you are in for a treat. Check out my reviews of his books. His work is incredibly diverse. I highly suggest getting a book of his short stories. I see you favorited some of his videos. As wonderful an orator as Harlan may be, his written work is even better.
My only brush with celebrity was cooking a t-bone "rare-rare" for James Whitmore when he was in town for the filming of "Shawshank Redemption" and was staying at the Holiday Inn a block from our diner. He had come in alone. Gentle man, rest his soul.
That's a great story. Always liked that guy.
I enjoyed watching this very much. Harlan is my favorite writer as well. I got to have dinner with him as well, some years ago at a literary festival in New Orleans-well, me and five other people. George Alec Effinger was another writer that was there as well. One of my most treasured memories.
Very cool. Like I said in the video, I learned later that Harlan has done that sort of thing with many people. Wonderful when people are so generous with their time and hospitality. Harlan is a mensch.
Enjoyable and fascinating vlog, thanks for sharing your story.
Thank you for watching and commenting. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Wow,what a tale,Eric-and elegantly told.I think a transcript of this video would make a great story in itself,it is very,very good.
Harlan's work had a huge effect on me,too...I love Science Fiction,...and HE's work is Fiction on steroids,and then some....anyone who writes stories that make me have to start re-reading them straight away out of amazement when I finish them....is an author to behold.
Thank you for the compliments and thank you for watching. Harlan is truly a treasure.
I love harlan ellison if not for his personality then his vast array of stories that send your mind on an adventure like no other very orginal and from what I've read and watched of harlan I've been inspired to write short stories and novels and it's a breath of fresh air to here stories like the one in this video
I was very captivated by your experience. Meaning your story. It`s always good to hear a good Harlan story, but now I found a new storyteller I´m interested for. Cheers, have a good one.
Thank you. It was quite an incredible day and I'm glad you enjoyed the telling of my tale.
I envy you your experience with Harlan. It took all my nerve to call him and ask if I could interview him. For his part, he was very nice and said, "Kiddo, I'd love to, but I've got all these people coming for tonight" (this was the day before the Dreams With Sharp Teeth premiere) "and I just don't have time." He asked if I was planning to attend the premiere. I said, "Absolutely," He said he hoped I would have a good time. That was that.
Well, look at the bright side.
At least you had that much interaction with him.
A majority of his fans and admirers never got to speak to him. At least you had something!
I know that I'll never meet Harlan, but to be honest, the thought of it makes me shiver like a whipped dog. I'm certain that I'd embarrass myself ( and I'm suffering from Asperger's Syndrome, so fear of meeting people goes with the territory.). HE is one of my gods, like Spider Robinson, Rod Serling, Charles Addams, Ray Bradbury, Robert Anton Wilson, and several others. It might be better to just read his work. I'm arrogant and misanthropic, but I'm not a fool; HE would unplug my brain and make me trip over my frontal lobe like a blithering idiot.
Harlan has a wonderful video where he talks about mispronouncing the word "minutiae" on a radio show. Simply knowing that he did such a thing made me realize that Harlan does sometimes have to face his own human failings, just like the rest of us.
I saw it some time ago. " Minoo-aye-eh-aye-eh " isn't a pronouncement of that word I would have thought of. Leave it to Harlan to do everything just a tick off of center.
I saw Harlan speaking in 1979 at MTSU, and a group went out with him for Pizza Hut afterward. I was only 15 yo, and back then sketching constantly, so naturally he had a look . . . and made slightly cruel fun of the cartoons.
A printed insult (referencing that night's conversation) appeared in 'Shatterday', wherein he called me (not by name) a "slovenly reader".
Later still at age 22 He insulted me again (subtly) in the hallway of the Atlanta Worldcon 1986. The next morning I had (a group) breakfast with Bob Silverberg and after hearing of the encounter he explained the gist of it, I had been compared to Hank Stine, a transgendered magazine editor/publisher famous for not paying his writers.
So I can say: Harlan insulted me 3 times over the years.
I did end up doing art for a successful living and his words encouraged me to care less about what others who did not know me thought, and to work harder to please myself. And somehow, I still love his books although loving him as a person is impossible. Because a bully is just that, no matter how smart they are or think they are.
Being insulted in a story written by a famous author is a darned good conversational piece.
Cool story and I too love Harlan, I knew about him from all his tv, film and book credits . I love his acerbic wit, knowledge and wisdom on all things literary and otherwise. By the way, have you seen his comic book, magazine and book collection? An absolute treasure trove!
Here's a link to an older video of his collection from the 90s....ua-cam.com/video/ajv592IboH4/v-deo.html
Yes, I'm quite familiar the Aztec Temple of Mars.
6:54 my favorite consistent story about Ellison is that he NEVER answered the phone by saying "Hello" or "This is Harlan Ellison speaking" I hear again and again that he answered the phone simply by saying "Yeah?" or "...yeah?" or "Yeah whaddya want?"
He was one heck of a character, that's for sure. I miss the guy. I'm so grateful I got to meet him a few times, but I'm sad I didn't get to do so more often.
@@EricMussBarnes If you read Santa Claus vs SPIDER, Santa does the same thing when he answers the phone. It was a tic of Ellison's for sure.
Harlan also admired Fritz Leiber. I idolize Harlan.
I've got a cool Harlan story myself - it's too long to explain here though. But in short, I worked for Disney as well and encountered him, then wrote him a letter and he gave me a call, and he invited me to his house coffee. Like you, I doubt it's ever going to happen. But it was pretty cool to chat with him, and that he enjoyed my letter that much. His editor recently sent me an email and said that Harlan had actually mentioned our encounter in on of his recent essays, which was REALLY cool.
Like I said, it's really awesome to hear that Harlan seems to do these kind gestures to a lot of people. I find it so odd that he has such an "angry curmudgeon" reputation when the man is a sweetheart who treats his fans with great respect. Congratulations on having him mention you in an essay! No small feat, considering the thousands of people he interacts with. You must have made an impression.
Well, Eric, you got another subscriber. I too am a child of Harlan. I met him, Ray, and Dr. Asimov at a dinner celebrating the International Space Station. Harlan and Ray inspired me. I considered both my mentors. I've experienced Harlan's rage, but also his incredible heart. Amusingly, we both got invited to his house....Not. One thing I've taken from Harlan is that I too have helped aspiring authors and screenwriters. I've broken bread with them and I hope I have given them they type of experience that Harlan, Ray, and Dr. Asimov gave me all those years ago....
Wow. You had dinner with Bradbury and Asimov too? That's pretty awesome. I can't lay claim to that. I never met Asimov. My meeting with Bradbury was only a brief hello.
Thanks for watching and sharing your experiences.
Well, me and twelve other teenagers who were sponsored to be there each by a chosen author. Mine was Robert A Heinlein. Frank Herbert and Gene Roddenberry was there as well as well as a number of other authors and people I don't remember. It was amusing to watch Harlan and Asimov go at it. Ray just sat back and enjoyed the spectacle. They were an amusing threesome, but you knew there was mutual respect and love there. It was a night I've cherished over the years.
Funny how different Bradbury and Ellison were. Ray was such a sweet and gentle poet of a man. Harlan was a fireball of contention. Yet they were both such masterful writers, even though each man's demeanor was at opposite ends of the spectrum.
Harlan Ellison's "Watching" series is on UA-cam, and in an episode he mentioned his preference for fountain pens over ball points, gels and such. So, I left a comment, "Save a peacock, use a fountain pen." I left it for the reader to pin the "ass" into the blurb.
Yes, I'm glad Harlan posted all of those "Watching" videos. They are really fantastic.
Hey you schmucks..yea you!
Find Harlan reading Prince Myschein from 'Dreams with sharp teeth '..its brilliant ( your sweet Russian grandmothers will thank you)
Greetings Eric, how envious I am of you having dinner with uncle Harlan.
Now..my encounter ( heh heh)
It was in Houston, and the store was ' Future Visions' and Harlan was there to sign copies of
' I Robot the screenplay".
Now,waiting in line ( so far no
problems..lol) when Harlan breezes in ( wearing a Dennys button on his coat) and sits down to sign our books.
When:
Standing in front of me was a young woman who hands Harlan a book to sign ( no problem right?)
She starts a idle conversation as Harlan is signing, and mentions that she is from Virginia ( Harlan grunts approval) when she drops the line : " Oh it doesn't matter, Virginia and West Virginia are the same state.."
I will never forget what went down then...:
Harlan signing ( head down, arm draped over the book) replies:
" No it Isn't.."
Her reply? "Yes it is.."
That..boys and girls is when the gauntlit dropped
Over the course of five minutes those two locked horns with neither side not backing down, It was a sight to behold..Harlan ended it by sliding the book toward her.
And then it was my turn, I wanted to tell him how much he rocked my world with 'A boy and his dog'
(that summer of magic before starting High School)...
But, no...the moment was lost after the battle between those two, lol.
But his fury was a force of nature, and I gotta hand it to her...she didn't back down...Lol!
I commented on another video that Harlan can eviscerate you and then break your heart with his humanity.
Peace...from Texas
Thank you for sharing that story. I can easily see that happening. Harlan is an incredible person. I recently stumbled across a great audio recording of Harlan and Robin Williams having a conversation on Audible from Blue Wolf Productions. Check it out if you can find it. The thing is an hour long and a genuine treat.
InkShard - a vlog from author Eric Muss-Barnes +
Thank you for replying, well sadly there was so much that I wanted to tell him, but alas or more on point: So it goes ( from another literary hero my mine)
Oh yea two points : the video that you've mentioned with Robin and Harlan is the one where Harlan talks about L.Ron Hubbard and the creation of Scientology !
And this: Harlan saying "you've earned it" and you having that moment sharing it on your video says this : the coach pulling you out of the dugout and saying -
" Here's your moment kid, you earned it.."
Damn straight Eric..damn straight indeed.
Where can I find that review ?
13:52
Thought of you. RIP Ellison.
Yeah, sad to see him go. But at least he was here.
My favorite writers are David Brin and Rob't Heinlein. Favorite radio dramas are "Host" and "The Neuromancer.
Always good to find authors you enjoy. I'm familiar with Heinlein, but not Brin or the radio dramas. I should check them out.
After my central vision became too fuzzy to let me read, I turned to audiobooks and those radio dramas. Brin's "Uplift Wars" is quite a romp. Its premise would have driven Charles Manson and his devotees mad! And Heinlein of course has had not a small hand in shaping today's libertines. Liberals? Lefties? Whatever it is they call themselves these days. They seem to take Heinlein's fantasies to heart, trying to make them their reality....
They call themselves "liberals" and "progressives"... but we know they are just "regressive" and "Marxists".
With the death of Harlan, are you now free to tell some of those tales told at dinner?
I'm afraid there was no mention of life or death. As far as I'm concerned, I still need to keep silent.
Lucky you. I live in Russia and knew about Harlan recently, but it was too late. He doesn't show up on public now, so I wrote him a letter, but no answer. He doesn't contact with fans even through his site, maybe he tired of all this fame and want quiet late years. So it seems like you're one of the last fans who met with him.
Sadly, I think you are right. Harlan made two public appearances after the book signing, that I know of. He was at a book convention in Glendale and he showed up as a guest at a meeting of the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society. I attended both and spoke to him at both of those events. But that was it. He was very active on his website, but he hasn't been for a couple of years. I hope he's doing well. But, you're right. He has kind of vanished.
I am jealous of you.
Having dinner with Harlan Ellison once is like banging a Playboy Playmate once.
You get to brag about it... but you spend the rest of your life wishing you got to do it a few more times.
I maybe jealous. But I also happy that you got that chance to meet Harlan Ellison. I also saw your review on the crow and thought you did really great job on that, plus I am going to buy a copy of your book "The Gothic Rainbow"
Very cool. Thank you so much, Anthony. Hope you enjoy the book. Considering I wrote it 20 years ago, I feel I'm a vastly improved writer, but _The Gothic Rainbow_ does contain a few things I'm still proud of.
As writer i am always seeking to learn, as reader i am always looking for something good to read. Plus i love vampires.
2:06 Throw your friends out in the trash and get new friends.
Don't worry. I live in Southern California. No one has friends here. Only varying-levels of acquaintances.
Good story, dude. But like Harlan could've told you, in storytelling, pacing is everything. You need to pick it up a bit.
You know what? You're right! I knew there was something I never quite liked about this, but I could never put my finger on it. That's exactly it. Pacing.
Funny thing is, I'm VERY cognizant of pacing in my fiction. I pay attention to it. I do my best to refine it.
But in essays?
In my essay work, I never really think about it.
Duh.
Why not? It's JUST as important to have good pacing in non-fiction work!
Thanks for your comment and thanks for watching.
What a wonderful story! I've been a Harlan fan ever since a guy on whom I had a huge crush during my senior year of high school (and we won't go into how long ago THAT was) thrust a very worn copy of "Stalking The Nightmare" into my hands during drama club rehearsal and said, "Here....read THIS". Given that one typically does anything one's crush asks, I dove into it. I've been in love ever since. (I think about that guy every now and again and silently thank him for thrusting said book into my hands). I fancy myself an intelligent, well spoken individual, the English language being one of my great loves. (The tagline on my work email reads "I'm just a Roget's Thesaurus in a See & Say world") But, like a previous post mentioned, I would probably be reduced to an insensate puddle of goo if ever faced with actually speaking to the man. Harlan may not have much use for technology/computers/the internet, but when it lets me commune with other fans, aka sentient humans, it's well worth the tiny piece of my soul that's being consumed by the Information Gods through the modern day glass teat. Well done, sir! I wish you much success!
Thank you for your kind words and for sharing your story. Always fun to hear about how people discovered beloved writers and books.