If you recognize my name, it might be because you’re a reader of my recent historical novels—MOLOKA'I, HONOLULU, PALISADES PARK, and DAUGHTER OF MOLOKA'I. Or you could be a viewer familiar with my thirty-year career in television, writing for series as diverse as The Twilight Zone, China Beach, and L.A. Law. Or you might be a fan of my Batman and other stories for DC and Marvel Comics—most of them collected as TALES OF THE BATMAN: ALAN BRENNERT. Or you might even be a fan of my short stories, the best known of which, “Ma Qui,” won a Nebula Award in 1992.

As you can see, my career has been all over the map, covering a variety of media and genres. I’ve written lots of different things because I’ve always been interested in lots of different things, from television and film to stage plays (I co-wrote the libretto for the musical Weird Romance, with Alan Menken and David Spencer). 

I have eclectic, and possibly eccentric, tastes in literature: I’m pretty sure I was the only kid in my sixth-grade English class who loved George Eliot’s SILAS MARNER, but I was equally impressed (and flat-out terrified) by Jerome Bixby’s “It’s a Good Life” and Philip K. Dick’s “The Father-Thing,” which was our class read in Isaac Asimov’s anthology TOMORROW'S CHILDREN. This would set the pattern for my future reading: my literary influences growing up ranged from Ray Bradbury, Daniel Keyes (FLOWERS OF ALGERNON) and Barry N. Malzberg (BEYOND APOLLO) to Nathanael West (DAY OF THE LOCUST), playwright Robert Anderson (SILENT NIGHT LONELY NIGHT), and novelist Edward Lewis Wallant (THE PAWNBROKER).

But it was in science fiction that I got my start . . .

. . . selling my first short story, “Nostalgia Tripping” (a Malzberg pastiche) to editor Robert Hoskins for his original anthology INFINITY FIVE—and it was published in 1973, when I was nineteen years old.

The 1970s were an exciting time to be an aspiring science fiction writer: the “New Wave” crested, arguably, with the publication of Harlan Ellison’s AGAIN, DANGEROUS VISIONS, which I devoured, as I did his brilliant short story collection THE BEAST THAT SHOUTED LOVE AT THE HEART OF THE WORLD. Ursula K. Le Guin was writing groundbreaking books like THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS and THE LATHE OF HEAVEN. Thomas M. Disch’s 334 blew me away, as did Michael Moorcock’s brilliant, heretical “Behold the Man.” Robert Silverberg was publishing major novels—DYING INSIDE, TOWER OF GLASS, THE BOOK OF SKULLS—at a rate of what seemed like one every other month. New writers like Vonda McIntyre, Alice Sheldon/James Tiptree Jr., Octavia E. Butler, and Michael Bishop were rewriting the boundaries of science fiction. 

There were still a fair number of sf magazines being published, but the 1970s were also the heyday of the original anthology series like ORBIT, NEW DIMENSIONS, UNIVERSE, QUARK, and INFINITY—plus dozens of “theme” anthologies—springing up like oases for thirsty writers. I was one of those thirsty writers. And while the fiction I produced back then did not come anywhere close to what Butler or Bishop or Tiptree were publishing, those stories were my apprenticeship, and I got better. 

"Her Pilgrim Soul" The Twilight Zone (1985)

In 1978—after three quarters of graduate work at UCLA Film School—I sold my first television script.

The primary reason I’d moved to California from New Jersey was to pursue a career in television, and I spent the next eight years writing almost exclusively for that medium. I wrote for some good shows (Simon & Simon, Darkroom) and some not-as-good shows (Fantasy Island). But I lucked into my dream job when I was hired as a writer/story consultant on the 1980s reboot of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone, one of my favorite TV series when I was growing up. I wrote original stories (two of which, “Her Pilgrim Soul” and “Healer,” are printed in the collection) and got to adapt short stories I’d always loved, like William M. Lee’s “A Message from Charity” and Tom Godwin’s “The Cold Equations.” The Twilight Zone was my most creatively satisfying experience in television, and it also reignited my interest in writing short fiction.

When I came back to short stories, I did so with a set of sharpened tools in my writing kit. In television, I had learned about structure and tight plotting, about characterization, pacing, and concision. And the fiction I began writing again in 1986 reflected that growth.

THE MAN WHO LOVED THE SEA . . .

. . . collects thirteen stories representative of the variety of genres and themes I’ve explored in the past fifty years. More than half of them have never been collected before.

“Puowaina” is set in, and reflects my lifelong love for, Hawai'i. My interest in history also shows up in “Sea Change,” “Healer,” “Ma Qui,” and “Skin Deep,” which are partially or entirely set, respectively, in ancient Greece, pre-Aztec Mexico, the Vietnam War, and 1940s-1960s Los Angeles. Most of my stories are contemporary fantasy and science fiction, but not all.

“Ma Qui” is a horror story, as are “Cradle,” “Fantasies,” and “The White City.” Horror is a genre I occasionally enjoy writing in when I have an irresistible idea that doesn’t lend itself to a happy ending, or when I find a new twist to an old trope. I go wherever the story takes me, even if it’s a dark, disturbing place; fair warning to those of you more familiar with my gentler fantasies!

Most recently, I wrote “Skin Deep” for George R.R. Martin’s WILD CARDS series. To say too much about it would spoil the surprises, but I had a lot of fun re-imagining the WILD CARDS “origin” from a different vantage point—the West Coast rather than the East—and with what I hope is a compelling protagonist, a sixteen-year-old girl from Santa Monica whose whole world falls apart on September 15, 1946. (And you do not need to have read any previous WILD CARDS stories to understand this one.)

If there is one common aspect that unites all these stories, it’s this: for all their varied backgrounds and time periods, they are all character-driven stories. This can be said of all my novels as well, both fantasy and historical, and even the occasional TV show when my script wasn’t “improved” by notes from the network.

No matter which of my works—in novels, television, comics, or short fiction—might lead you to pick up THE MAN WHO LOVED THE SEA, I hope you enjoy reading these stories and meeting these characters culled from my fifty-plus years of writing short fiction.

NEW WRITINGS IN HORROR & THE SUPERNATURAL (Trade Hardcover)

You can imagine the conversations that ensued as the PS minions cowered in the corridors, contemplating how to placate editor Stephen Jones, who was sunning himself in Spain at the time the page went live. Perhaps the sun, sea and sangria had a mellowing effect on our favourite 'Master of Horror' as, rather than drawing lots to see who would fall on their sword, a compromise solution was proposed.

The signed slipcased edition of NEW WRITINGS IN HORROR & THE SUPERNATURAL Volume 3 will soon be sold out (grab a copy whilst you still can), so it makes sense to have an unsigned trade hardcover edition available alongside the deluxe edition—If only we'd followed Steve's instructions to the letter almost a year ago! 

And there you have it. The unsigned trade hardcover edition is now available to order, priced at £20, and for the dozen or so folks who jumped in whilst the order page was live, we are going to upgrade your trade paperback edition to the hardcover at no extra cost.

ORDER YOUR COPY HERE: https://pspublishing.co.uk/new...

As we announced recently, the books for the deluxe signed hardcover edition of NEW WRITINGS IN HORROR & THE SUPERNATURAL have already been printed  (they are sitting in Unit 2) and all of the contributors have signed the limitation sheets, so we don't have to wait for those to do the rounds. The slipcase manufacturer has been sent a sample book so that they can set about producing the slipcases.

We are almost ready to start sending out orders!

The first batch of slipcases have been delivered to our warehouse, and we have now instructed the printers to deliver the books. As soon as they arrive, we will begin the long and arduous process of assembling and numbering copies before they are dispatched.

We will give updates on the progress we make sending out orders through this weekly newsletter.