What I did with my degree in Geophysics
A fun interview about WHY I write WHAT I write. A chat with my friend and superfan Pam Stack of Authors on the Air.
Listen NowNews Flash! (and cool stuff)
Thrill Ride Kickstarter ends tomorrow!
Thrill Ride – the Magazine
- Quarterly Magazine dedicated to action-adventure and thrillers
- Year One: 45 stories by 30 authors from 5 countries
- Travel from Victorian London to Ancient Israel. Race through the present and the near future.
- Relish Honor, enjoy Unlikely Partners, revel where No Western White Males dare go, and survive Betrayal.
Grab these great Kickstarter bonuses before they go away!
- Get every issue 2 weeks early
- Be a named villain!
- Get beautiful hardbacks, a free bonus volume of 10 more great stories previously written by our authors.
- Add-on a Great Bundle of 13 series openers and story collections for an alarming low price.
It all goes away: Tuesday, 8pm EST. Act now!
https://ks.thrillridemag.com
Thrill Ride Magazine Is Coming!
And now’s your chance to get in early!
- A dedicated Thriller and Action-adventure quarterly magazine
- Year One: 45+stories, 30 authors from 5 countries
- A Thrill on every page.
Stories like:
- “Windfall” by E. Chris Ambrose: Special Operations weathermen & ancient treasure. Bring on the storm!
- “The Asset” by David Bruns: When the cost to protect an intel asset escalates sky high.
- “Three Makes a Crowd” by M. L. Buchman: Three women who were never supposed to meet. (Emily, Kate & Miranda!)
- “Three Ways to Die” by Rachell Amphlett: Is killing the government’s top crime investigator—three times—enough?
- “Too Many Idiots, Too Few Boats” by David H. Hendrickson: A jester, a boat, and a hurricane walk into a bar…
- “Rules of Retreat” by Brendan DuBois: A logical, predictable, utterly terrifying future.
- …and over 40 more!
Subscribe now by supporting the Year One Kickstarter!
Click here to hit the Kickstarter on your Thrill Ride!
Let’s Talk Big Arcs
I seem to be on a reading jag of what I’m calling Big Cultural Arcs, and I’d love suggestions of what else to read. My base criteria is that they had a significant impact upon our culture/society, enough to become part of our cultural narrative. I’m mostly not looking for stand-alone titles. I’m reading Big Series that make me think about ourselves and our world. I’m aware this is a very Western list, and would love to see some non-Western suggestions as well.
I’m also aware that below I’ve left out a lot of amazing series, but I’m not looking for merely great stories: Reacher, Nora, Stephanie Plum, Sherlock, Bond, Outlander, etc. I’m looking for those big, impactful arcs.
The list I have so far seems to fall into 3 main categories.
FAMILY SAGAS
There have been some very impactful ones of these. Even though they’re mostly single book, I felt I needed to include them, though most are epically long, which counts, I suppose.
Roots, Lonesome Dove, The Thorn Birds, Clan of the Cave Bear, (please never mention Follet’s Pillars of Earth in my presence, just a cautionary warning)
FANTASY
Narnia, Hobbit/Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Twilight
Not as impactful, but too significant to ignore?
Planet Trilogy (CS Lewis), Dark Materials, Dark Tower, Wheel of Time, Earthsea Trilogy
SF
Hunger Games, Divergent, Maze Runner, Dune, McCaffrey’s dragons, Ender series (maybe)
MODERN
(could only think of one…which I hated almost as much as Pillars of Earth)
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, etc.
OTHER MEDIA
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention at least a few in other media, but this isn’t the focus of what I’m after:
Star Wars, Star Trek, Downton Abbey, Upstairs/Downstairs, Firefly, The Expanse(?), MCU (Marvel), Jane Austen, Avatar the Last Airbender (doubt this one? just ask your kids), Friends & Big Bang,…
I’d love to hear your suggestions in the Comments below of what favorite Big Cultural Arc I should be reading next and why you loved it! Also feel free to message me directly if you prefer to not share publicly.
Thanks so much for playing along.
Note: 100% of comments on my website are moderated (they won’t post until I approve them). This makes sure that: a) I see everything, and b) no spammers or trolls get through. So, I probably got your comment and just haven’t seen it to release it yet. Thanks.