Finn’s Wake
An Update of all things Finnish
by Mark Finn

In the Middle of a God-Awful Summer
Heat! Tornados! Ridiculous gas prices! How’s your summer been? We’ve
been coping as best as we can; after all, this year’s crop of Summer
movies have been pretty faboo, and despite the lackluster turnout
(nationwide, not just with us), we remain optimistic.

I’ve been busy, setting up my office in the Plaza, along with my
library, and also my private work space. Moving all of my books into the
new library has been an easy chore, because every time I open a box up,
it’s Christmas all over again. I’m still trying to get the office set
up, which will allow me to transfer ALL of the Plaza Business over to
the theater, and will frankly empty my personal office. I’m
de-cluttering, re-organizing, and not surprisingly, my writing has
picked up.

I’ve done some Robert E. Howard-based writing (book intros, prep work on
two different articles), and I’ve done some fiction writing! I’ve got a
couple of short stories based on a character that I really love. They
are fast and fun for me to write, and they really crack me up. They
shouldn’t, I know, but there you have it. I’m the funniest person I
know. I’m still waiting for news about a reprint of Blood & Thunder from
Del Rey. And, because I still have time left over for sleep and food,
I’m co-editing a fiction book with a buddy of mine from REHupa, a
benefit book that will raise money for Project Pride, the organization
that takes care of the Robert E. Howard house in Cross Plains, Texas.

If I saw you at this year’s Robert E. Howard Days, thank you for
attending during the year that I was the Guest of Honor (the youngest
ever, in fact). That was a fun gig, and I really enjoyed reading and
performing and in general hobnobbing with everyone at length.

In the Upcoming Appearances Department, you can find me in Austin this
August 15-17 at ArmadilloCon 30. Count on me for some general tomfoolery
there. Unfortunately, unless some sort of fuel-related miracle happens,
I will not be attending World Fantasy this year. Flying to Canada is
just too darned expensive, as much as I’d like to go.

And for those of you who can’t get enough of my rambling screeds, I was
recently interviewed by the gang at Major Spoilers for their regular
podcast. You can find it here
(http://www.majorspoilers.com/archives/4503.htm/), and my bit starts
about 30 minutes into the show.

As Wowio collapses under the weight of its new owners and me and the
Clockwork Storybook gang have pulled our old material off of the site, I
am considering some self-publishing of my own. A variety of projects
suggest themselves, from the second, long-overdue Sam Bowen volume to a
script book for the Sailor Steve Costigan Radio Plays and all points in
between. I am really not a fan of Lulu.com, but I may not have much of a
choice. I’d rather make ten dollars on the books than nothing, but I
really liked Wowio’s business model. We’ll see what else comes up, and
I’ll let you know what I’ve decided. Any requests, as long as I’m
contemplating this stuff?

That’s the news, in brief. I’ve got more to say, but I think instead
of writing a small piece within a larger email, I’ll blog a larger piece
separately. Stay tuned, and thanks for your interest.

___________________________________________________________________
Mark Finn is the creative director for the Violet Crown Radio Players
and an award-winning Robert E. Howard scholar. His latest book, Blood &
Thunder: The Life and Art of Robert E. Howard, is available at
bookstores everywhere. To get the latest info, rants, and missives from
Finn, visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/finnswake
Finn is Blogging now: http://www.livejournal.com/users/finnswake/
Finn Also Blogs REH-related stuff at the Cimmerian:
http://www.thecimmerian.com
Finally, you can go and check out the Vernon Plaza website:
http://www.vernonplaza.com