A Get-Together Celebrating Peter H. Brothers' Book

A Get-Together Celebrating Peter H. Brothers' Book

by Armand Vaquer

Above, author Peter H. Brothers with his new "baby" in his back yard.

Getting together with friends is a good thing. Celebrating a friend's new book made it even better.

Peter H. Brothers has a new book out. It's called Mushroom Clouds and Mushroom Men: The Fantastic Cinema of Ishiro Honda. It is a biography/filmography of the most celebrated director of Japanese science-fiction and fantasy films, Ishiro Honda.

Today, several of us gathered at Peter's home in Agoura Hills, California for a little celebration of his book's "going live" (i.e., offered on the market) through his publisher, AuthorHouse and through Amazon.com (see photos).

We discussed the trials and tribulations (and joys) of getting a book out into print. Originally, Peter's book was accepted by a publisher, but their schedule was too lackadaisical for Peter's taste (he discusses all this at-length in an upcoming G-FAN interview). Rather than let things languish, he elected to go the self-publishing route.

Above, Peter is joined by friends Gordon (left) and Ray.

To be honest, although he would have preferred to have gone through a conventional publisher, he is pleased at the end result. The book does look good and, it is being offered at Amazon.com. The arrangement offered him more control over the resulting product. So, as far as he's concerned, he's satisfied that his years of work is seeing the light of day.

Above, I was impressed with the job AuthorHouse did on Peter's book.

While there, I showed the group the initial layouts and cover of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan and they were complimentary.

Peter and I may join forces at next year's Monsterpalooza in Burbank and have a table set up to sell our publications.

Now the task of promoting it begins!

Michael Crichton Looses His Battle With Cancer

Source: WENN

I'm sad to report that beloved author and director, Michael Crichton, has lost his battle with cancer. Crichton, is probably best remembered for his sci fi classics, Jurassic Park, Westworld, and the The Andromeda Strain. Truly we have lost one of the genre's greatest authors.

Here is the story from WENN:

Bestselling Jurassic Park author and filmmaker Michael Crichton has lost his battle with cancer in Los Angeles. He was 66.

Crichton, who also wrote sex thriller Disclosure and co-created hit TV series ER, was 66.

In a statement, the author's representative says, "While the world knew him as a great story teller that challenged our preconceived notions about the world around us, and entertained us all while doing so, Michael Crichton was a devoted husband, loving father and generous friend who inspired each of us to strive to see the wonders of our world through new eyes.

"He did this with a wry sense of humour that those who were privileged to know him personally will never forget."

A family insider tells website MomLogic.com, "Michael's family respectfully asks for privacy during this difficult time."

Crichton was born in Chicago, Illinois but grew up in Roslyn, New York, the son of a journalist who encouraged his writing passion.

He quit studying English at Harvard University to travel through Europe and then returned to Massachusetts to study medicine at Harvard Medical School.

His early novels were written under the pseudonym Jeffery Hudson.

Crichton gave up medicine in the early 1970s and moved to California, where he began directing movies based on his books.

His big break came with 1973 cult movie Westworld.

He almost became an actor in the mid-1970s when director Nicolas Roeg called on him to play the alien David Bowie eventually portrayed in The Man Who Fell to Earth. To date, his only acting role came in 1971's The Andromeda Strain, in which he played an uncredited surgeon.

The author/director starred in his own real-life drama in 2002 when he was tied up and robbed at gunpoint by masked men in his Santa Monica, California home.

Married five times, Crichton leaves behind one child, Taylor.

His bestselling novels and hit screenplays also include Twister, Congo, The First Great Train Robbery and all the Jurassic Park sequels.

As a filmmaker, he directed the movies The 13th Warrior, Physical Evidence, Runaway and The First Great Train Robbery, among others.

Anyone who has ever picked up one of Crichton's novels knows that they were always compelling and thought provoking. Jurassic Park was an amazing book, I couldn't put it down. In fact I read it through twice.

Our prayers go out to the Crichton family in this time of loss....