Author Archives: David McGillem

In 1977 I, as an eleven year old, stood in line to see Star Wars. I wasn’t alone as the que wrapped around the Eastwood theater. That year I shared a common experience with my friends as we repeatedly went to see this movie. I came to a point where I could recite the scriptContinue reading “May The 4th Be With You”

My thoughts on a topic that most people seem to want to avoid, Hell, you know, fire and brimstone, red skinned devils with pitchforks flaying the poor souls that have defied a vengeful god.  There are several words used in the Bible that have been translated to “Hell”. Hades is the god of the GreekContinue reading “Oh Hell”

I generally need a private space to write. I pop on some Skillet, The Letter Black, or Red and just start leaving the real world behind to let the characters in my head tell the story. People around me distract as I will invariably listen to the conversations and let their words overpower what IContinue reading “Somewhere To Write”

I’ve got flaws, God knows, and I am sure that many things I do irritate the polite people around me. I am a world class procrastinator, I can admit it. I do have some things that set me on edge; using decimation to mean destroy instead of take out just ten percent, thinking that aContinue reading “Godzilla Is SciFi”

I write Space Opera It’s nothing for me to be ashamed of, it is just my style. In such fiction there is some leeway as to how things work. If you prefer grounded science I can suggest several excellent Hard Science writers. Now, in my preferred genre there is a lack of solid science needed,Continue reading “The Most Powerful Element In Fiction”

So I sit here, in late April, knowing full well that the Editor that’s looking at my manuscript probably hasn’t even received the copy yet. Still I agonize over what, for me is unfinished work. I know that it will never be finished I will just stop working on it and see if it canContinue reading “Editing Is Not My Game”

The Twilight Zone scene with Burgess Meredith sitting amongst the ruins of a city surrounded by a pile of books would probably be me. I was introduced to reading at an early age and really have never stopped. I once had a copy of Princess of Mars taken from me during a math class, probablyContinue reading “All The Time In The World”

We all know them, the black cloak wearing, mustache twirling antagonists plaguing the hero’s journey. They are the evil doers that do evil just because they are evil…until the hero comes along and tells them “Cut out all that evil!” and wins the day and the damsel’s heart. My take on villains may be aContinue reading “From A Certain Point Of View”

I am no theologian. I don’t even pretend to be one, so if I am wrong here, please forgive me in my ignorance. I am just speaking from my heart. I want to talk about the human trait of self interest. Let us consider the man Saul of Tarsus http://www.gotquestions.org/Saul-of-Tarsus.html. At the beginning of hisContinue reading “What Gains A Man”

Lucky for me I don’t consider myself a web designer, or I would demand my money back for this site. It’s not gonna win any awards, but it will be something I can tinker with when the words of my story don’t move along. Which I am good at I tell you. Finding distractions isContinue reading “And So It Begins”