Image copyright © by Marcus Trahan

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 ...

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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?

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Novels

Wizard

Wizard is the second book in the Gaean Trilogy.

Gaea is world and goddess, a dazzling pageant of wild mythology and chimerical creatures in a gargantuan, strange and beautiful world. Cirocco is now the Wizard of Gaea, powerful but troubled. And ready to lead the revolt against Gaea’s mad, capricious tyranny.

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Movie Reviews

The Shawshank Redemption

I don’t think anyone really knows why this movie pretty much tanked when it was released … and then worked its way up to the #1 spot on the IMDb Top 250 list. I mean, the very top, edging out The Godfather. Some say the title didn’t mean anything to anyone outside of Maine, so they didn’t go. Maybe they should have stuck with Stephen King’s original title: 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.

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Short Fiction

Retrograde Summer

In the varied landscapes of Mercury, the truths about family might be more fluid than mercury.

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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.

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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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