Robert E. Howard, the fantasy world marked his 105th Birthday

Robert Ervin Howard (January 23, 1906 - June 11, 1936).

Happy birthday, REH. And while some may deem it strange to wish birthday tidings to a man long dead, his works live on and, as he wrote in a Conan story, we "drink to his shade."

Having read no one's works who could surpass the action writing of Robert E. Howard, to me he is the best sword and sorcery writer to ever live. Karl Edward Wagner runs at second place, and Edgar Rice Burroughs at third, but no one takes Howard for clean, bold imagery and action in the span of a short story, a novella or two, and one novel.

Hardcore REH fans often point to his boxing or western stories as the best of the best, forgoing the more popular stories of the king of all barbarians, Conan. Not for me. Kull and Solomon Kane and his horror stories are very cool, but don't rise to the level of his Conan stories. I wish he'd typed up more novels, but that's a long medium and back in the day he was shooting stories to more than just Weird Tales for his living. If I recall my readings correctly, Weird Tales didn't pay REH his due for a Conan story, so he abandoned the character. Not cool, Weird Tales. You essentially killed Conan.

"Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet."
— Robert E. Howard, The Phoenix on the Sword, 1932.

The folks at Black Gate have a cool post of favorite Howard writings.

As I commented there, all the while I read REH in my younger days, I always pictured him a wizened old timer, perhaps an ex-soldier or historian, and here he only made it to 30 years old.

Genius writing. The power …!

Absolutely.

Below is Howard's photo. It's probably his most popular picture, but he rarely dressed that way out in West Texas. Also below, a favorite clip from the movie, Whole Wide World, about Howard and his love interest, Novalyne Price.

Gauguin's tribute to Van Gogh auctioning big

Eleven years after Vincent van Gogh's death, the fellow artist who basically drove Vincent over the edge painted sunflowers on Vincent's behalf, supposedly. Maybe he honestly missed him, more likely he wanted to capture some of Vincent's intensity and drive, at least that's my admittedly limited impression of the man.

I don't care much for Gauguin, and even less of his art. To me he was a villain who took advantage of Theo's money and Vincent's naivete and desire for artistic fellowship. And no good man does that.

Anita Singh has an article in The Telegraph on Gauguin's Sunflowers, and the pretty penny they'll be fetching at auction.

Singh states that Vincent's drinking and instability led to the end of their friendship. Surely they were factors ... ones that Gauguin took advantage of. To boot, Gauguin had sizeable mental issues of his own after he left for the tropics. Difficult to believe they hadn't manifested earlier.


Below is Gauguin's painting, which is flat and lifeless compared to Vincent's, imo. See link and example below.

Van Gogh masterpieces in chocolate, or, The Edible Van Gogh

The UK Daily Mail UK has a story about a confectioner, Jean Zaun, who creates chocolate versions of masterpieces, including Vincent Van Gogh's portrait and sunflowers.

The edible Van Gogh.

But her larger reproductions are more for display, as it turns out.

According to Mrs Zaun, each picture can last for up to nine years if properly stored at a temperature of 68 degrees or less.

She added: 'They must also not be exposed to sunlight, heat, hungry dogs or humans.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1342779/Vincent-Van-Choc-Confectioner-creates-chocolate-versions-art-masterpieces.html#ixzz19thSg46P

Grace Krispy of MotherLode, Book Reviews and Original Photography, reviews Van Gogh, Encore

Grace Krispy of MotherLode, Book Reviews and Original Photography has kindly posted a review of Van Gogh, Encore

Excerpts from Grace Krispy's review of Van Gogh, Encore:

What if... what if Vincent Van Gogh were alive today, in modern times? What if his life took a different turn, if he met someone he could love? What might be in store for him? Van Gogh is famous for his powerful works of art, and infamous for his mental health issues and resulting bizarre behavior. How would that play out in the context of today?

In this work of speculative fiction, John A. Karr portrays the last 18 months of Van Gogh's life in the United States, and presents possibilities of a different future for the troubled, but gifted, artist. Given a different setting and nationality (Van Gogh is Canadian in this book), and a blossoming love with a vivacious woman, Van Gogh gets another chance at life.

...

At nearly twice the size of the average ebook, this was a page-turner. Descriptive and eloquent, this book really allows you to feel what it might be like to be Van Gogh, to live inside his tormented mind as he attempts to make sense of contradictory stimuli. The author uses carefully selected words and phrasing to portray Van Gogh's thoughts in a way that really highlights his inner turmoil, as well as his artistic passion. The characters were nicely drawn, but the star of this story is really Vincent, whose character is well-established.

NASA JPL's Blue Sunset on Mars, and did Rhone see it?

Incredible footage from NASA's JPL of the Mars rover tracking a blue sunset on Mars.

Did my character Rhone observe such sunsets? Perhaps only when trekking through Purgatory would the landscape have been so featureless in Rhone's time. Up until his final explosive battle with a god (in an upcoming volume of The Marsii Saga), the landscape had generally been populated with forest and grassy plains and jungle, with a true atmosphere capable of supporting life. In essence, a brother-planet to Earth.

Great to have Van Gogh, Encore as the Kindleboards KB Book of the day.

The irony was inescapable. My favorite artist labored daily for ten years without commercial or personal success -- yet now the images he created sell for millions and are found worldwide.

There's even a Kindle cover of his Starry Night:http://www.amazon.com/GelaSkins-Kindle-2-Starry-Night/dp/B002A1RU5K

When I was considering writing a novel about Vincent van Gogh, my first inclination was to make it a purely Historical Fiction piece, where settings and characters would pay strict attention to history. But the overwhelming counter kept cropping up; so many people know at least a few things about Vincent, why not make him more accessible by having him occupy modern time and space?

So I did it.

And took another, far more speculative step by putting Vincent's historical fate into question. If he gained that which he desired for so long (in addition to some commercial success with his art) ... namely, a family ... would he be able to overcome mental challenges and the ultimate lure of self-destruction?

Modern Vincent is French-Canadian. Rides his Harley Davidson motorcycle -- it's economical and appeals to his sense of freedom -- to the North Carolina coast where he encounters a divorcee with a young son. Theo is an art dealer in Atlanta, Georgia. The rest is unveiled in the book.

Van Gogh, Encore

XERIA -- a space opera short story

XERIA

Ebook Description:

Xeria's home planet of Iegaké had nearly been purged of life by demons with greater technology and firepower. Their spaceships hold hostage not only the paltry number of survivors -- including her father -- but the entire solar system. If Xeria does not return from a neighboring planet with the Drayden Dust that allows demons to dream, Mizk will destroy the entire planet, and prey upon the next.

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/XERIA-short-story-ebook/dp/B004FV5BOU/
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/33017

Cool banner created by author/artist Daphne Coleridge