Tag Archives: Fiction Writing

A Postmortem on Dan Brown's "Inferno," and What's That Aron Ralston Dude Up to Now?

Posted on December 10, 2013 by williamjcobb

So apparently Aron Ralston—the solo rock climber who cut his own arm off when trapped by a boulder, as portrayed in James Franco’s 127 Hours (2010)—has run afoul of the law, to the tune of “domestic violence,” which hopefully did … Continue reading →

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On Jim Harrison's "Brown Dog" & Park Chan-wook's film "Stoker"

Posted on December 8, 2013 by williamjcobb

So I feel sorry for my poor blog, to which I don’t give enough attention—like the ignored dog that’s always whimpering to be taken for a walk or the proverbial red-headed stepchild (with apologies to all red heads and stepchildren … Continue reading →

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How Is Dan Brown's "Inferno" Like "Doomsday Preppers"? Hint: Fun Factor

Posted on November 9, 2013 by williamjcobb

So I’m juggling the reading of about six different books right now, for various reasons, including Stephen D. (I think the “D.” is important here) King’s When the Money Runs Out: The End of Western Affluence (which I should really … Continue reading →

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Cormac McCarthy/Ridley Scott's "The Counselor": No Country for Old Men II, or No Country For Anyone in Love With Penelope Cruz, Either

Posted on October 28, 2013 by williamjcobb

So on its first weekend in my neck of the woods, I caught Ridley Scott’s new film The Counselor, with the screenplay being by none other than the great Cormac McCarthy, finest novelist of our times: It was a, um, … Continue reading →

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"The Lousy Adult" Coming Soon to a Bookstore Near You (If There's One Left: "Online Shopping, Anyone?")

Posted on October 4, 2013 by williamjcobb

So I’ve been neglecting this blog of late, working to finish a first draft of a new novel, one that involves a woman holding a teenage boy hostage, some experimental sex-drug studies, and other various mischief, but advance copies of … Continue reading →

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Review of Bob Shacochis's "The Woman Who Lost Her Soul"

Posted on September 17, 2013 by williamjcobb

So my book review of Bob Shacochis’s The Woman Who Lost Her Soul appeared in the Dallas Morning News last Sunday, and can be found here. One thing remarkable about the book is that it’s quite long (720 pages), and … Continue reading →

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On Being in the Center of Everything, With a Nod to the Master, Vladimir Nabokov

Posted on August 22, 2013 by williamjcobb

So I’ve just returned to my home in State College, Pennsylvania, a name that must rank high on a list of Least Imaginative Monikers, but it does have an odd distinction: It’s (more or less) exactly in the center of … Continue reading →

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Encounter With a Lawman in Kent Haruf's Fiction Country: Hats Off to Sheriff Ken Putnam

Posted on August 16, 2013 by williamjcobb

So I’ve just driven 900+ miles to reach the (shopping mall) mecca that is St. Louis, Missouri, and leaving Colorado I was tooling along at the wheel of my ultracool Subaru Forester (well, let’s say it’s nicely functional, which isn’t … Continue reading →

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On Morris Collins's Knockout Debut Novel, "Horse Latitudes," and the Anxiety of Influence, Part 2

Posted on June 26, 2013 by williamjcobb

So in my review/comments about Kent Wascom’s debut novel The Blood of Heaven I mentioned how the press release hyped it as being similar to Cormac McCarthy, which it is, stylistically, but how I don’t think his feet should be … Continue reading →

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Guest Blog Post on Dan Bloom's "CliFi" Blog

Posted on June 26, 2013 by williamjcobb

So I have a guest blog post/interview on Dan Bloom’s “CliFi” blog today, here. As I mention in the post, I’m working on a novel set during a catastrophic wildfire, and there’s one going on right now west of where … Continue reading →

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