Ray Bradbury and Writers in general.

What can I say, ever since I was 13 years old and fell in love with Ray Bradbury and the worlds he created my life and my world has been molded by writers. As a teenager I would sit atop the porch roof reading his books during the summer, shrouded by the tree that my mother planted while pregnant with me. I don't know how many times I read Dandelion Wine surrounded by the sounds and smells of those branches and leaves, but that book was my personal initiation of summer. It was not summer without this book and to this day I still pick it up and have a read at a few pages at least to kick off the season. With every word I savor the smells and sounds of the summers on that porch roof. Ah Ray...

I sprouted into a young woman that wanted to become a writer. I wanted to do creative photography and creative writing. NOT photojournalism, mind you. I spent a couple of years at Columbia College here in Chicago pursuing my dream until I realized that I didn't have the competitive edge that I would need to do anything with the degrees. What I didn't realize then was that a BA in just about anything meant that you would be floundering to find a spot in the workplace once you graduated. But, alas, I walked away with a BA in Anthropology from Northeastern Illinois University. And after a few weeks of following leads at the local zoos and museums and coming up empty handed, I answered an ad for a top 10 law firm hiring what they called "legal aides." My fate was sealed. But I was lucky and was able to make a career move 10 years ago and jumped ship from paralegal work to Information Technology and stay at the Law School I grew to know and love.

I personally gave up writing after college. I was in a relationship with a man that didn't nurture my creative side and thought that my time was better spent doing other things. Ray Bradbury was hidden from the eyes of guests and visitors. Our bookcases were filled with Encyclopedia Brittanica, the Great Books, books on literature, philosophy, science, physics and mathematics, screaming out to people the "scholarly intellectualism" of our household. My passion was buried. As was I in that relationship. But with every breath of each summer's air, my soul refreshed, and got stronger, until I emerged whole again.

I was then lucky enough to meet a writer. A young man who was a well known local playwright, editor, and writer of horror, mystery and dark humor. He opened up a whole world of books to me that I never imagined myself reading. I should have known that with my passion for Ray Bradbury's work that I would naturally fall in love with mystery and horror. Two genres that I never imagined reading, let alone liking. I have re-discovered the passion that Ray Bradbury brought into my life 30 years ago sitting on that porch roof on Arthur Avenue. Now, did I start writing again? No, but I still have the name of my book plastered into my brain occasionally gnawing away at me, perhaps one day the words will start bursting out. In the meantime, I will just say thank you John for everything but especially for helping heal my spirit and expanding my world.

	John reading at Twilight Tales a group based in Chicago for local authors, professionals and aspiring, to get out there and read their work. Once you read at Twilight Tales you can then submit your work to one of their annual anthologies. Twilight Tales focuses on horror, fantasy and mystery genres, but on the first Monday of the month it's open mic night and basically anything goes!
			From Left to Right: John Weagly, Tina Jens, John and Geri Everson at a group signing at the World Horror Convention in 2003.
	John reading some of his children's stories to a group of wee ones at The Book Cellar in Lincoln Square

A general word and recommendation for those who enjoy reading.

I recommend watching your local talent if you have local reading series or groups. Alot of good talent is out there in the form of small publications and chapbooks. And writers, despite what you may think, don't make a lot of money, even the more popular ones you can pick up at Barnes & Noble. Whatever drives them is not the money. It's the love of the art, or love of the written word, or love of creating a story, or some other nagging drive. Besides John Weagly and Ray Bradbury, two musts to check out, please check out some of my other favorite authors in the mystery and horror genres.

Carl Hiaasen - Absolutely great mystery writer. His book Sick Puppy has some of the best scenes described from the vantage point of a dog. The first book of his that I read was Stormy Weather, and I'm glad I started with this book. It really hooked me on his writing style and is a good book from all angles.

Harlan Coben - Another fantastic mystery writer. He hits a very personal cord with me because many of his books I have read seem to deal with missing people or people that are thought to be dead and are not. Having lost an older brother 30 years ago, I can tell you, I STILL have dreams where he is alive but for whatever reason could not let us know. And, trust me, it's not necessarily a good dream to have. I actually think this is quite common with loss, but Coben's work gives me an extra chill because of it.

Richard Laymon - NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH! Or the prudent in nature. Big time, horror. The first Laymon book I read was the Traveling Vampire Show. This was the last book he had published before he died and won the Stoker Award for it posthumously that year. Surprisingly, that book started me on a long dark journey through his work, which until recently much of it was hard to find in this country, but his books had been published overseas for years. I am glad to say that since the publication and popularity of the Traveling Vampire Show, his books are finally being published in this country at a rate of 2 or 3 per year. If you find him as addicting as I did, worry not, I have at least 30 of his books in my collection, a little over half of his published work. You'll be enjoying him for years and years to come.

Jeffrey Thomas - Thomas is one of my absolute favorites. He is a science fiction/science fantasy/horror writer. And has created unforgettable characters and worlds in his Punktown work. If you like Ray Bradbury, you'll like Thomas. If you like the movie Blade Runner (haven't read the book by Philip K. Dick) you'll like Thomas. If you want to read someone refreshingly unique, read Thomas. I think I am attracted most to the descriptive nature of his writing and the darkness of his worlds.

Joe R. Lansdale - Again, some of his work is not for the squeamish. But all of his work is very good and very chilling. He is both horror and mystery, and I would say both are exclusive from each other. Lansdale recently made somewhat of a name for himself when his short story Bubbha Ho-tep was made into a movie. He nosed his way a little bit into mainstream because it turned out to have more mass appeal than a lot of us thought it would. Don Coscarelli did a fantastic job on the screen play and directing.

Worth an honorable mention:

More to come...