I thought I was all better and would be making my reading today, but in the early afternoon, I took another serious downturn and had to cancel.
Which I hated.
My humblest apologies to anyone who went to see me.
Tag Archives: Doc Wilde
UPDATE! 12/19 Decatur, GA Event NOT Canceled! Sneak Peek of Doc Wilde 2!
The reading/signing at Eagle Eye Books is back on!
Here are the details:
The Saturday before Christmas (December 19, 2009, from 3-5 pm), I’m going to be at Eagle Eye Bookshop in Decatur, GA for a reading/discussion and book signing. Eagle Eye is a fantastic indie bookstore, well known for its author events.
It being the Yule, I figured I’d do something special. So instead of just doing the usual reading from Doc Wilde and The Frogs of Doom, the first book in the series, I’ll be reading the opening chapters of the second book, Doc Wilde and The Mad Skull, which will see print a while down the line.
This will be a rare opportunity to get a peek at a book that’s still being written, prior to any editorial input. First draft pulp, straight from my swashbuckling brain pulp.
Afterward, there’ll be a casual discussion about the book(s) and I’ll be signing Frogs of Doom. Which is not only a fun pulp adventure tale for kids and adults, but a FANTASTIC holiday gift. 
Curling Up With Doc Wilde (Review)
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A review of Doc Wilde and The Frogs of Doom over at Curled Up With a Good Kid’s Book:
A true tale of adventure, this book takes off at break-neck speed and never slows down. Doc Wilde is a golden hero, of the type we haven’t seen since Flash Gordon (in the Buster Crabbe version) faced off with Ming the Merciless. Brian and Wren, young though they are, use their wits and their innate sense of justice to stand beside their father all the way. They’re the kind of sidekicks that comic book superheroes can only dream of finding, and they are certainly a credit to the Wilde family with its history of outlandish exploits and fair-minded pursuits.
The rest is here.
Author Event (& Doc Wilde 2 Sneak Peek) Saturday, 12/19/09, Decatur, GA
Buy Now!
The Saturday before Christmas (December 19, 2009, from 3-5 pm), I’m going to be at Eagle Eye Bookshop in Decatur, GA for a reading/discussion and book signing. Eagle Eye is a fantastic indie bookstore, well known for its author events.
It being the Yule, I figured I’d do something special. So instead of just doing the usual reading from Doc Wilde and The Frogs of Doom, the first book in the series, I’ll be reading the opening chapters of the second book, Doc Wilde and The Mad Skull, which will see print a while down the line.
This will be a rare opportunity to get a peek at a book that’s still being written, prior to any editorial input. First draft pulp, straight from my swashbuckling brain pulp.
Afterward, there’ll be a casual discussion about the book(s) and I’ll be signing Frogs of Doom. Which is not only a fun pulp adventure tale for kids and adults, but a FANTASTIC holiday gift. ;)
Join The Doc Wilde Discussion At Goodreads
Over at Goodreads, the Pulp Magazine Authors and Literature Fans group is discussing my book, Doc Wilde and The Frogs of Doom (it was the official common read for November, but the discussion is only really just beginning).
I’d like to invite any and all of you to join in, or at least hop by and take a peek:
Pulp Magazine Authors & Literature Fans Home Page
“Common Reads” Discussion Board
If you’re a reader and you’re not taking advantage of Goodreads, you should be. It’s a great site for sharing and discovering books, and there’s a lot of dialogue between not only readers and other readers, but readers and writers.
Doc Wilde Kicks Jonny Quest’s Dad’s Butt In Latest Review!
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The latest review of Doc Wilde and The Frogs of Doom is from author Kevin Gerard at fantasyfan.org:
I became a kid again after reading three pages of this story. When we were young, all of us watched the biggest cartoon show on television – Johnny Quest. Johnny traveled the world with his father, Dr. Benton Quest, a guy who knew everything, could make anything, and never settled for failure.
Dr. Spartacus Wilde makes Dr. Quest look like the kid with the dunce cap in the corner of the classroom.
The full review is here.
FEAR CAY: Doc Savage On The Radio
The September 1934 issue of Doc Savage Magazine offered an action-packed tale called Fear Cay, which in addition to being a solid pulp adventure also featured the second appearance of Doc’s gorgeous and daring young cousin, Patricia. (I recently reread the tale as I got into the right mood to write the next Doc Wilde novel for Putnam).
In 1985, NPR produced serialized radio plays based on two of the Doc Savage novels, The Thousand-Headed Man and Fear Cay (which they renamed Fear Key, assuming, I guess, that people these days are too stupid to figure out what a “cay” is). These radio plays were very well done and a lot of fun, and are really tough to get hold of these days.
The web radio show Earth-2.net’s most recent podcast features the first two chapters of Fear Key. If you’re a fan of the Man of Bronze, or curious about him and his adventures, it’s worth a listen. Hopefully they’ll be running the remaining five chapters, but if they don’t, I think I have them on some hard drive somewhere and I’ll post them if anyone wants.
Hear the adventure here.
UPDATE: They have now posted the rest of the chapters of the show. The link above is to chapters 1-2, this link is to chapters 3-4, and this link is to chapters 5-7.]
A Doc Savage Movie On The Way!!!
Art by Ruben Procopio
It’s no secret that Doc Savage, Lester Dent’s pulp hero from the 1930s and 40s, is a huge inspiration for my own character, Dr. Spartacus Wilde (who saves the Earth from Lovecraftian batrachia in Doc Wilde and The Frogs of Doom). I grew up on paperback reprints of the Doc Savage novels and they, along with other pulp sources I’ve written about, are strong strands of my literary DNA.
In fact, Grandpa Wilde (Spartacus’s father), the original Doc Wilde who was famous in the thirties and forties, is my intertextual acknowledgment that the original hero is parent to the current hero, but also speaks to the fact that the younger Wilde is his own man. As similar as he is to Savage, he is also very different in ways, not least of which is that he is a warm, emotionally accessible family man, unlike the stern and remote man of bronze.
Unlike The Shadow, the only character more popular during the pulp era, Doc Savage isn’t very well known these days, though his influence on characters ranging from Batman to James Bond is widespread. But there are still quite a few fans, many having grown up on the same books I did. One of them is Shane Black. Continue reading
Doc Wilde “a fast mad dash through a landscape littered with mines [of] geek-love”
I just came across the latest review of my book, Doc Wilde and The Frogs of Doom, and it’s from someone who knows ’em some pulp.
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Back in March, I blogged about some oddly inspiring material I found in a new roleplaying game I’d bought (Optimism, Action, and How To Be The Neighborhood Pulp Hero). The text in question “caused a synaptic hiccup and made me think about my life.” Pretty darn cool for a game manual.
The game, Spirit of the Century, is not only the best-by-far pulp game I’ve ever found (and I know most of them, all the way back to the first, 1982’s Daredevils from Fantasy Games Unlimited), it’s quite possibly the greatest face-to-face rpg. I’m reserving final judgment till after I actually have time to play the game, at which time it’ll get a full review here.
My copy of SotC had some issues, alas, but Fred Hicks, one of the game’s co-authors, exhibited some first class customer service and sent me a new copy. These are truly good guys in an industry with an often razor-thin profit margin. I was greatly appreciative at this, so I sent him a signed copy of my book.
Well, apparently Fred read the book, because on October 20th, he gave it a quick review on his blog.
While set in the modern day, this book LOVES pulp (and Lovecraft, for that matter) and makes a bunch of oblique and not so oblique references to it throughout. It’s a breezy, very fast read for an adult, but an adult will be entertained precisely because of those references. It’s like a fast mad dash through a landscape littered with mines that explode with geek-love every now and again.
To summarize the plot would be to tell the story of the whole book, so I’m going to leave that out of this. It’s a fun family romp, has good life lessons for kids, and features a boy child and a girl child who both compete with each other and value each other…And if you’re looking to get your kids primed with some excitement about high-pulp adventure…I think Doc Wilde would be a handy tool for giving that to ’em…
There’s a bit more, which can be found here.
The War of Art
In my advice to writers, there are two books I always recommend. One is On Writing by Stephen King, the other is The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. Immediately after I first read the latter, I plopped down and wrote my first novel, Doc Wilde and The Frogs of Doom, and I re-read it regularly (easy to do, as it’s a short book).
Pressfield’s deal is getting us to overcome the resistances within ourselves and just getting down to the friggin’ work. His book is a self-help book that’s really helpful and not full of homilies and crap like “You are the captain of your own ship.”
(Which a therapist once told me in what was, inevitably, our one and only session because I damn near laughed in her face).
I recently became aware of Pressfield’s blog for writers, Writing Wednesdays, and it should be required reading for anyone wanting to make it in the arts.
Here’s one gem I found there:
The Muse, if she’ll forgive me, is kind of like a mailman. She makes her rounds every day, cruising past our offices and studios and peeking in the window. Are we there at our easels? The Muse likes that. She likes to see us taking care of business. And if we’re there with our hearts breaking or tears streaming down our cheeks, all the better. The Muse says to herself, “This poor bastard is true to me; I’m gonna give him something in return for his loyalty.”
And into our heads pops the solution to Act Two, the bridge to that song we couldn’t lick, the breakthrough concept for our new philanthropic venture.
The lesson is, if you’re not at the place you do the work, at least trying to do the work, the work won’t happen. And if you are there, and getting down to business, you will discover wondrous things, gifts from the Muse, that will surprise you and enrich both you and the work itself.
But you’ve gotta be working for it to work.
The Future of Doc Wilde
I conceived of the adventures of Doc, Wren, and Brian Wilde as a series, starting with Doc Wilde and The Frogs of Doom. That was the plan. As a writer, I decided, I am in the Doc Wilde business.
Putnam also saw the Wildes as a potential series, but largely avoided talking about that. They are, after all, a business. Profits must be made, books must be balanced. So they understandably played it close to the vest, waiting to see how Frogs of Doom did, both critically and commercially.
I kept with my plan, continuing to work on Wilde stuff, figuring that even if Putnam ultimately didn’t opt to publish more, I’d find some way to get these adventures out there.
As anyone who’s been following the reviews of the book knows, the Wildes have been extremely well received by the critics. I literally had one sort of negative review, and even it largely praised the book, though it wasn’t the writer’s cup of tea. Even Kirkus Reviews, which is notoriously tough, had only good things to say (Novelist Kimberly Derting commented “I’m awed, you’ve cracked the Kirkus code!”)
(Feel free to visit the Reviews page at the Doc Wilde website.)
As for sales… Continue reading
Doc Wilde Review: “Everything I thought it would be, and more…”
As promised earlier in the week, here is the second Amazon reader’s review of my novel Doc Wilde and The Frogs of Doom I really wanted to share with you.
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 It was everything I thought it would be, and more…………, June 7, 2009
I bought the book for two reasons: to support a local author, and to give my child something fun to read. I had no preconceived idea of the book, or its plot or style. Imagine my surprise when I read it AND LOVED IT !! I grew up reading fantasy books like THE DARK IS RISING series by Susan Cooper. I wanted my 10 year old daughter to have the same sort of experience. To be completely immersed in the story, and carried along by it. She read it all in one day, and only put it down to participate in required activities. I, on the other hand, read it very slowly, to enjoy it, and to understand the nuances. It stood up very well to both tests!! I am an avid reader but often find myself reading books and criticizing either a plot turn as predictable, or character development as being lacking, or worse yet sometimes the language usage or vocabulary is repetitive. My only complaint is that I wanted to find out what happens next in the series… and that’s what Doc prescribed, right? keep ’em wanting MORE!! |
Doc Wilde Review: “a story of unconditional love, empowering optimism, & the value of learning”
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Since there may be new visitors popping by who only just found out about me or my book, Doc Wilde and The Frogs of Doom, I figured I’d share a review that I hadn’t posted yet, and also let them know they can find out a great deal at the www.DocWilde.com site. Among its features are a page of many other reviews so you can see how the critical consensus on my book has shaken out, and a gallery of great art depicting my characters by Australian comic book maestro Gary Chaloner.
I also encourage you to sign up for the newsletter using the form on the site. Once I start sending it out, it will update you on any pertinent events or Doc Wilde-related projects. Each newsletter will also include “Doc Wilde’s Cliffhanger Survival Tips,” which could very well save your life.
In addition to all the professional reviews referenced on the Doc Wilde site, there are a couple of reviews from actual readers on Amazon that I’d like to share, both because they’re very positive, but also because they’re thoughtful and well-written. I’ll post one today, the other later in the week.
DOC WILDE: A smart book for kids of all ages, May 24, 2009The book jacket for Georgia author Tim Byrd proclaims that he is interested in everything. Damn straight. How else to explain his judicious use of quotes from such diverse sources as H. P. Lovecraft, Henry David Thoreau, and (my personal favorite), Dr. Seuss? How else to explain references to classic automobiles, dark matter universes, amphibian biology, Japanese meditation techniques, and South American topography? Not only are all these elements, and countless others, interwoven into this novel, they work together in such a seamless manner that the reader is left both breathless and awed.
This roller-coaster ride of a story is one to be enjoyed by all. Byrd’s family of adventurers, the Wildes, are a fascinating group who endeavor to save the world from mutant frog-men while at the same time remaining steadfastly loyal to one another. The characters are as exciting as their adventures, yet they never lose sight of the love and learning that binds them to one another more strongly than the sticky goo on the underbellies of the spy-frogs. Yes, it is a swashbuckling great read. But it is also a story of unconditional love, empowering optimism, and the value of learning.
The gross frogs and insane gadgets are pretty cool, too.
The Long Weekend, Overstimulation, & Frogs With Pointy Teeth
I’m awake, and I’ve been lax of late with the blog, so I figured I’d type at you a bit.
As the last couple of entries indicate, this has been the weekend of both my big convention and my book festival debuts, at DragonCon (largest SF con in the world, I’m told) and the Decatur Book Festival (largest book fest in the US, right here walking distance from my front door).
It has been fun and exciting and stressful and exhausting, and I’ll revisit it in another post once it’s truly over (I still have a DragonCon panel at 4 pm tomorrow…uh, today. Monday.), hopefully with pictures from at least one of my appearances.
I’m not sure if it’s just the over-stimulation of it all, the public speaking, the meeting of cool new people, the armies of amazingly hot women in cool costumes, or lingering full moon energy, but I got maybe two hours of sleep so far tonight. And I have an earworm of Felicia Day’s lovely voice singing “Do you want to date my avatar?” over and over in my head.
Scanning the news as I sat here in my drawers, wishing I was a-slumber, I came across this headline from The Guardian: “Lost World of Fanged Frogs and Giant Rats Discovered in Papua New Guinea.”
Fanged frogs!
I already wrote about the discovery in the Andes of the world’s tiniest frogs a while back, indication that perhaps the evil Frogs of Doom were up to new tricks after their defeat by Spartacus Wilde and his kids (as chronicled in my novel Doc Wilde and The Frogs of Doom). And now this.
Fanged frogs. In a lost world.
They also discovered a species of rat as big as a cat, kangaroos that live in trees, and a fish that grunts. Among many other new critters.
See? There really is pulp in our world.
UPDATE: For another report on the lost world and its denizens, with several pictures, check out The Daily Mail here.
Reminder: Tim’s Atlanta Activities This Weekend (and where to find me and get a signed copy of my book)
Just a reminder to folks in the Atlanta area that I’m at DragonCon and the Decatur Book Festival this weekend.
In a couple of hours (4:30-5:00 pm Saturday, 9/5/09), I’ll be on stage alongside author David Lubar. After that, I believe for an hour or so, we’ll be having a book signing and I’ll be signing stacks of Doc Wilde and The Frogs of Doom. So if you’re at the festival, or in the area, this is a good chance to get your autographed copy.
If you can’t make it, Little Shop of Stories on Decatur Square will have some signed copies the rest of the weekend, assuming they don’t sell out.
My son and I have been enjoying DragonCon, and are already fairly worn out (so if I’m less than sparkly at the festival appearance, that’s why. That and the very bad case of insomnia I had most of last night).
At the con, I’m carrying a few copies of the book with me in case I run into someone who wants one. You can catch me on Sunday and Monday for sure at the panels I’m scheduled to appear at (details below). Also, The Missing Volume, a very nice book vendor with a table in the Marquis Ballroom (slots 614 & 615) has agreed to stock a few signed copies so if you want one you can get it there, assuming they’re not sold out.
My appearances at DragonCon are:
Writing for the Ya and Childrens’ Market
Sunday, 11:30 am
Location: Hyatt Regency Embassy Level, Manila/Singapore/Hong Kong
The Future of Fantastic Fiction
Monday, 4:00 pm
Location: Hyatt Regency Embassy Level, Manila/Singapore/Hong Kong
As I said, I should have some spare copies if you show up and want one inscribed.
Otherwise, I’ll be just wandering the con at various times. I’m the 6′ guy, with blue eyes and a square jaw, with my name tag on.
Atlanta: Tim Byrd @ DragonCon & Decatur Book Fest
For those in (or coming to) Atlanta, I’ll be making appearances at two big events on Labor Day weekend (Sep. 4-7).
I’ll be hopping back and forth between DragonCon in downtown Atlanta and the Decatur Book Festival in (you guessed it) Decatur all weekend.
At DragonCon, I’ll be on these panels:
Writing for the YA and Children’s Market
Time: Sun 11:30 am Location: Manila / Singapore / Hong Kong – Hyatt (Length: 1)
Description: How to write for an audience that’s half your age–or less. Tapping into the minds of today’s young people–what DO they want to read?The Future of Fantastic Fiction
Time: Mon 04:00 pm Location: Manila / Singapore / Hong Kong – Hyatt (Length: 1)
Description: What lies ahead for the S/F, Fantasy and Horror genres? Can we forecast trends or should we just jump on the bandwagon?
At the Decatur Book Festival, I’ll be appearing along with author David Lubar at 4:30 pm Saturday on the Target Children’s Stage. Signed copies of the book will also be available the whole weekend at Little Shop of Stories on Decatur Square.
And I’ll be wandering both events with no real planning all weekend.
Books will be available at the DBF for signing after the appearance, and I’m going to try to have some on hand for random buyers at DragonCon. I hope to see as many current and potential Doc Wilde fans at both events as I can.
Get A Signed Copy Of Doc Wilde (or a signature for a copy you already have)
After promising various folks I’d do so, I have finally gotten around to figuring out how to handle personal inscriptions for folks unable to see me at a public appearance.
If you already own a copy of my book, for $1 US I’ll mail you a signed adhesive book plate to put in your copy, inscribed to whom and however you wish it to be inscribed (within reason).
If you don’t already own the book, or wish to obtain more copies, for cover price ($15.99) you can order a personally inscribed copy directly from me. Shipping is free (unless you’re outside the US, then I’ll have to check on rates). Again, I’ll sign it to whomever you wish.
A note to collectors: the first printing has sold through about 2/3 of the way since the book came out in May. So if you’d like your copy to be a first edition, you may want to get your order in sooner rather than later.
Payment can be made by credit or debit card via PayPal (there will be an additional .50-75 charge to cover PayPal fees) or by money order (no checks). I can assume no responsibility for postal failures; if you’d like to insure the delivery, it’s an additional $1.75.
To order, contact me through the Contact form on the Doc Wilde site. And, as always, please be patient if I take a few days replying, as I’m doing all this on my own.
School Library Journal Reviews Doc Wilde!
As promised earlier, here is the review School Library Journal gave my book, Doc Wilde and The Frogs of Doom, in their August 1st issue. I edited out a line I thought was a bit too much a spoiler about the plot.
This genial parody owes much to Kenneth Robeson’s iconic “Doc Savage” novels (Bantam) and the eldritch tales of H. P. Lovecraft. Like the original Man of Bronze, Doc Spartacus Wilde is an international adventurer–he’s a master of martial arts, chemistry, disguise, and pretty much every other skill a true champion needs. Moreover, he has trained his children, Wren and Brian, to follow in his outsized footsteps. Every pulp hero needs a colorful sidekick or two, and the Wilde family has brawny Irishman Declan and dapper English attorney Bartlett–fast friends who bicker and spar constantly. When Grandpa Wilde is kidnapped by froglike beings, Wren and Brian accompany their dad’s team deep into the Amazon rainforest to the hidden country of Hidalgo…[Spoilage removed]
The action bounces breathlessly from crisis to crisis, with the Wilde family’s scientific gadgetry and arcane skills in constant demand. The mock heroic dialogue is sometimes a bit exaggerated, but for the most part, everything is played with a straight face. Kids won’t be familiar with the adult-oriented sources, but the book’s small format, breakneck pacing, and broad humor will appeal to middle-grade adventure fans.
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Booklist Reviews Doc Wilde!
There are certain reviews that are very important for a book. Publishers’ Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, School Library Journal, and Booklist are biggies because bookstores, libraries, and schools use them to make their decisions about what books to buy for their shelves.
Unfortunately, a lot of books are published every year, and those publications can’t cover all of them. I’ve been fortunate not only in the fact that most of them have now reviewed my book Doc Wilde and The Frogs of Doom, but have reviewed it very positively.
Back in March, I posted Kirkus‘s review, in which they said:
Written in fast-paced, intelligent prose laced with humor and literary allusions ranging from Dante to Dr. Seuss, the story has all of the fun of old-fashioned pulp adventures.
Good stuff.
More recently, the August 1st issues of both Booklist and School Library Journal had reviews of the book. I’ll post SLJ‘s later; today’s treat is the review from Booklist:
Daring adventure! Dastardly villains! Climactic cliffhangers! Readers seeking these attributes in a book, look no further. Byrd updates the old movie serials genre, populates his story with an adventure-seeking family that brings to mind superhero versions of Steve Irwin and his children, and dusts the whole thing with Indiana Jones–style searches for magical artifacts. Oh, and he adds frogs, lots and lots of frogs. Brian and Wren Wilde are being raised by their widower father, who is not only an adventurer extraordinaire but also designs high-tech gadgets, speaks many languages, understands the nuances of other cultures, and performs martial arts with equal skill. Brian and Wren are pretty good in those areas too. So when their grandfather is captured in the South American jungle by those who worship a frog king intent on swallowing the universe, thus turning it into a black hole, well, something must be done. The premise can get awfully silly even for a book that’s more like a cartoon. But the action never stops and the quick pace will appeal to reluctant readers.
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Tim’s Goin’ On The Radio Again…
This Sunday (August 16) I’ll be interviewed on the monthly science fiction show on WREK radio. We’ll be talking about Doc Wilde, and perhaps about saving the world, we’ll see.
Here’s the blurb from WREK:
The Science Fiction Laboratory on WREK Atlanta (91.1 FM) airs the third Sunday of every month from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. This Sunday, August 16, 2009 we will broadcast, among other things, an interview with author Tim Byrd and a discussion of our favorite pieces of the quickly developing vampire mythology. For listeners not in the Greater Atlanta Metropolitan Area, we stream online at http://www.wrek.org; just click the play button in the upper right. We also stream the show for two weeks after the broadcast. You can access the archive by clicking “Listen to our 14-day archive!” on the left side of the WREK homepage and finding the correct date and time of the show.
Under An Outlaw Moon 