A phrase stitched together one of the more mind-altering critiques I ever got on a story. Half of it was a common phrase, and an often maligned one. Maligned by those of us of the “you must have a thick-skinned” school of thought around stories. Because you do need a thick skin to be a…
Author: Oliver Blakemore
Oliver Blakemore‘s writing career is the result of sidestepping two or three other careers. At twelve, he started writing when directing movies proved to involve too many hurdles—like talking and wearing dopey hats. At seventeen, he forgot to learn how to play guitar and start a metal band, because he had a short story due. And at twenty-one, he was kicked out of seminary. That probably impacts some of the themes he tackles. The result: music, movies, and a sense of grounded oddity inform all his writing, for better or worse.
Oliver has mainly written fantasy and science fiction. He’s self-published a collection of short stories, Ragged Museum, and an urban fantasy novel, City Song.
Fighting Words – Creative Legacy and Maurice Sendak
I have always been in a fight with my potential. I work at a tangled set of crossroads. “Commercial success!” insisted peers and mentors. “Big L Literature!” they preached from academia. Meanwhile the ghosts who haunt us from the books that build writer mythos model invention. Over it all the, by all accounts, timid tenor of of Charles Baudelaire, sneering at any hint of pandering.
New Blog Contributor: Oliver Blakemore
I figure I ought to introduce myself, which I don’t want to do, because that’s boring. So instead I figure I’ll tell you some of the stuff I nerd out about. I’ll keep it writing-related. I can respect a theme.