VarleyLog
We Bought a Tesla!
Here’s what happened. Lee came across what looked like a tiny, yellowing IOU at the bottom of some ancient records. It was from the Tooth Fairy, and she said she was a little short of cash and would pay me a dime the next night. It was dated May 8, 1954. I was seven! She’s still in business, you know, the Tooth Fairy, so Lee tracked her down and demanded payment. The old biddy was not ...
More details »Looking Back
Disneyland and California Adventure
Though everyone was smiling and having a great time … I saw a lot of people who weren’t clapping after the big musical numbers. I don’t think it was that they were rude, or unappreciative, believe it or not, I think they just don’t go to Disneyland with the mind-set for clapping. Think about it. In 95% of the attractions, you see the famous audio-animatronic robots. Why clap for them? They’re just mannequins, controlled by computers. I even wonder if some of the people there weren’t sure if these were real people up on the stage. Weird, huh?
More details »Novels
Rolling Thunder
Lieutenant Patricia Kelly Elizabeth Podkayne Strickland-Garcia-Redmond – otherwise known as Podkayne – is third-generation Martian with a planet-sized chip on her shoulder. Her grandfather Manny was one of the first men to set foot on Mars. So Poddy has some equally planet-sized shoes to fill…
That’s why she’s joined the Music, Arts, and Drama Division ...
More details »Movie Reviews
Frankenweenie
I never saw the original 30-minute live action short Tim Burton made before he was well-known. He must have had a lot of affection for it, because he made this version, three times as long. Both films concern a boy who brings his pet dog back to life. There are a lot of visual sight gags involving his tail falling off, and so forth. The story is not bad, but I might have wished for a ...
More details »Collections
Blue Champagne
A collection of eight stories, four of which are award winning.
The cover art and illustrations are by Todd Cameron Hamilton.
More details »Short Fiction
Air Raid
Needed: People for repopulating a future humanity. Whom do you get?
This short story was the basis for the novel (and screenplay and movie) Millennium.
More details »Titan: An Overview
A Short Overview of Titan
Here's a very short but quite impressive video made by Jean-Paul Verne, a fly-through of Gaea from my trilogy. M. Verne wants to be involved if a movie ever gets made. Over the years many, many people have written to me wishing these books would be made into a movie. Naturally, I'd like that, too. Let's hope this is not as close as we'll ever get.
More details »Accidental Hippies
Accidental Hippies
Sometime not long after my high school graduation I was studying at Michigan State University when my long-time girlfriend dumped me. I entered such a state of depression that I could not continue in college. So I dropped out and decided to hit the road with Chris Kingsley, my best friend in the world. Chris had much more experience of life on the road than I did, had actually hitched to ...
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