Guardians Of The Galaxy Pages: Annual #4

In 1994, I was a freelance artist working mostly for Marvel Comics.  Craig Anderson hired me to draw six pages in the Guardians of The Galaxy Annual that year. To be honest, until the movie came out this summer, I had completely forgotten I had drawn for Guardians of The Galaxy. When the trailer started appearing in theaters earlier this spring, I kept thinking, "Gee, that title sounds awfully familiar."

Fortunately, I kept all my artwork from that era. I still have three of the six original pages (we split them with the inkers; in this case my friend Rodney Ramos). More importantly, I found xeroxes of my breakdowns.

I'll always be grateful to Craig Anderson and Lynaire Brust for thinking of me whenever there was work to be assigned as well as many other great editors (like Terry Kavanaugh, Don Daley, Renee Witterstaeter, and Mike Lackey) who I still consider friends to this day. The pages are presented in chronological order below with the breakdowns to the right of the published versions.

High Praise for Awakenings and The Lost Prince

Most of the great quotes and good reviews for my books won't fit in a twitter feed, so I put them here.

The Date

Playboy College Fiction Contest Winner 1999

The Date

Edward Lazellari

In 1999, I was a senior majoring in English literature at Rutgers University, with a concentration in creative writing. The Date was my second submission to Playboy; I had tried the previous year with a story about a NASA shuttle mission and astronauts getting it on in zero gravity. (It was not as good.) Somehow, under the onslaught of plodding through melancholy emo stories of student life generated by my classmates, I managed to find my way to this dark comedy. The inspiration was a Dateline NBC story about conjoined 10-year-old twins living in the Midwest, and thriving despite their condition. I was a big fan of the girls, cheering them on for making lemonade out of life's lemons. I remember being grateful that my problems did not come that big and that I should be more of a doer and less of a complainer.  I also remember thinking, "things would get a lot harder once those girls hit puberty, though." Duh! And of course, it clicked. I hit the computer like a force of nature for the next three days--and here we are.

(For a Pdf version of this story available for download, click here.)

Why It Takes So F#%&!^g Long To Write a Novel

A fan at my BEA book signing said she had been waiting a long while to get The Lost Prince, the sequel to Awakenings. She's right. And though I've written about the real-life challenges of trying to write novels while holding a day job and promoting one's book, the other part of that delay is the work (i.e. minutia) involved with writing a coherent, well-thought out story. Many literary writers (my favorite being Jonathan Franzen) go years between books, but we seem to expect a faster turnaround from genre writers. The delays go beyond plot, narrative, character arcs, and story development, although those too are time consuming. What I'm trying to bring to light are small moments that pull a writer aside from the bigger picture. A lot of you can read a paragraph in less than 30 seconds, but are not aware of how many hours it took the writer to make those four or five sentences ring as true as can be.

Two New Interviews

I've recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by two very smart ladies dabbling in the worlds of fantasy, paranormal, and horror fiction. The first is "Ten Questions For Awakenings Author Edward Lazellari," by Lauren Zurchin at Lytherus.com. 




The second is the "All Kinds Of Writing" interview by Lorna Suzuki at Imago Books Fantasy Realm.


These are intelligent conversations about writing process, the business, and my book AWAKENINGS.

ENJOY.

Local Boy Does Good With First Novel: Bronx Times Article

Everyone likes to see the hometown kid succeed in the world at large -- and the Bronx is no different. Yeah, there's two million people living there, making the borough larger than most states by population, but really, it's just a big small town. We've all sprawled at Orchard Beach, eaten at City Island, rooted for the Yankees, bought the best Italian food at Arthur Avenue, and are proud to be the home of the country's best botanical garden and city zoo. Though I currently live in NJ, my roots are still in Da Bronx.  Bronx Times, does a bang up job of promoting our home town, and this month, I was fortunate enough to have a piece written on my novel Awakenings, which takes place partly in the Bronx.
I am blessed to share an origin with many of America's most creative people. Stanley Kubrick grew up in  the Bronx, as did Al Pacino, Alan Alda, Mary Higgins Clark, Jennifer Lopez, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and many others. (Scarlett Johansson's mother hailed from the Bronx, which is why Scarlett turned out so talented and beautiful.)
The article, written by Patrick Roccio,  is titled, "Co-op City Native Features Borough In Novel."

No Good Deed…

(This short story was originally published in August 2011 for the Fantastic Fables book giveaway contest at DarkFaerieTales.com.)  
©2011 Edward Lazellari

Lelani did not think the street looked right. The houses were too small and the blue sky looked like a matt painting used in stage plays; everything felt claustrophobic. She consulted her teacher’s notes and things were just off -- really off. There was no mention of any yellow brick road in his texts.

“Lost?” asked a woman’s voice behind her.

Lelani spun around and laid eyes on the strangest women she’d ever seen. She looked as though she stepped out of a children's storybook, plump with a greenish hue -- too tall for any of the houses in this town -- in a black and blue robe. She wore white socks with black circular stripes and ruby-colored shoes, a red cone-shaped hat with a large brim, and held a long gnarled walking stick. Her eyes were a deep black. Lelani sensed great power in this woman.

“Actually, yes,” said Lelani, cautiously. "How can you tell?"

“You are too tall and swarthy to be from this village,” said the woman. “And far too beautiful. Nineteen?” the woman guessed.

My 2011 New York Comic Con Experience

Signing books at the Tor booth.

I and many fellow comic book and sci-fi/fantasy fans, made our yearly pilgrimage to the Javitz Center on October 14th to partake in New York Comic Con’s 2011 opening. What made this year different for me is that this year I was there as a published author promoting my first fantasy novel Awakenings.

Booksdevoured.com Says Awakenings Is Meaty, Delicious, And Wonderful

 "Interesting start to a new series, I can’t wait to read more!" --Shannon

Awakenings has received a "4-Steak and Potatoes" rating from Books Devoured; This is one of my favorite reviews because of the following observation:

"It has been a while since I have read a fantasy book and it may be the first time I have read one that is set up in the way this one is. We learn about the fantasy elements but we are not really taken there.  Everything we learn is told in memories and stories.  The action of the book takes place on Earth in the current time.  I actually liked this because it kept so many elements relatable.  At the same time, I feel like I understand enough about the other world to be able to follow the story."

Yes! (Huzzah!)

Every author hopes readers will "get" the nuances of his or her story. With Awakenings, I purposely set out to write a fantasy novel that would also appeal to popular fiction readers while staying true enough to the tenants of fantasy for long-time sci-fi/fantasy fans to enjoy. My choice of words in this story was very exact -- I was aiming for almost neutral description of fantastic ideas.  I also wanted readers of mystery, adventure, young adult, and romance to feel that they had some skin in this game.

When I was in art school, one of my favorite teachers, Ben, would discuss art, politics, business, and everything else under the sun while we took life drawing. One day, he brought up the classic movie "The Fly" because there had been a recent remake, and the consensus was that it was not as good as the original. The question of the day was "why?" Using classic Socratic method, Ben would press us for our opinion about why the classic was the superior movie, and of course, a bunch of 20-something know-it-all art students were getting it all wrong. The answer, according to Ben, was that the original movie was not about the scientist who had turned into the Fly. It was about a wife dealing with a misfortune that had befallen her husband, and her efforts to save the man she loved. Though this was marketed as a horror movie, and had wonderful elements of horror in it, it was the romantic connection in the movie that gave it its humanity. Yes, the special effect in David Cronenberg's remake was better, but the story lacked that human elements that amplified the horror. Ultimately, the classic was a story of the wife's and best friend's loss, even as Vincent Price smashes a rock on the last vestiges of his mutilated friend's head in the last scene. This was one of the most important lessons I'd ever learned about story telling-- that any story in any genre needs to pull elements from other genres to give it dimension. 

Every once in a while, a reviewer will pick up on the things I like about my own story. And that puts a smile on my face. And this review from Books Devoured gave me a very pleasant start to my Monday.

DEMONIC HOTSPOTS, INFERNAL PIT STOPS AND THE BADLANDS: THE GREAT AMERICAN ROAD TRIP TO HELL

New York Comic Con panel "DEMONIC HOTSPOTS, INFERNAL PIT STOPS AND THE BADLANDS: THE GREAT AMERICAN ROAD TRIP TO HELL"
Friday October 14, 2011, 8:45-9:45 p.m., Room #1A15

I'm sharing a panel with best selling authors Patricia Briggs, Kim Harrison, Anton Strout, Rachel Caine, Christina Henry, Duane Swierczynski, and Richard Kadrey. 

In this, the tenth anniversary year of Neil Gaiman’s AMERICAN GODS, the ultimate urban fantasy road trip, we’ve seen a rash of infernal plagues infect some of America’s greatest cities. Witchcraft and demonic activity infect Kim Harrison’s Cincinnati, while Patricia Briggs’ novels wreak havoc on the shapeshifter, vampire and demonic tribes of the Tri Cities region of Washington State.  Anton Strout and Edward Lazellari see New York as the ultimate urban fantasy battleground. Rachel Caine has created an apocalyptic outpost in the Lone Star State vampire-controlled city of Morganville, terror has taken a bite out of Christina Henry’s Chicagoland, and Duane Swierczynski’s newest novels take us straight to Hell. These authors will argue that there truly is a continental divide between the forces of East and West; North and South; Good and Evil.  Grab a bag of Cheetos, a six pack of Red Bull, and some holy water and join us as we explore the road to perdition….

Moderator: Diana Gill, Harper Voyager

Fictional Frontiers Interview Is Up

A few weeks ago, I had the honor of doing my first-ever interview, with Sohaib Awan of Fictional Frontiers, regarding my new book AWAKENINGS. This discussion series is one of the more innovative and thought-provoking of its kind on the InterWeb, and after you listen to my conversation with Sohaib, I encourage you to mine the archives for other fascinating dialogues with the most interesting creators of our time.


Hope you enjoy it.
 Ed

P.S. God bless Maria Sharapova. (Inside joke.)

My Bookish Ways Gives Awakenings A Glowing Review

Kristin at My Bookish Ways says, "Adventure, exciting fight scenes, and heroes to root for make Awakenings a refreshing, entertaining read!"

SUVUDU Guest Blog Is Up

My guest blog, titled, Why Being The Anti-Harry Potter Is a Good Thing In Adult Fiction is live on the SUVUDU website as of Oct. 2.

"Awakenings Is A Terrific Debut"-- Fantasy Book Critic

I'm thrilled by this review by Mihir Wanchoo at Fantasy Book Critic. 
I'm curious as to why people have been calling this series "Warriors of Aandor." We didn't put a series name on the book. If we did, my preference would have been "Guardians of Aandor, " followed by "Heroes of Aandor."

Read An Excerpt From Tor's Awakenings At MTV Geek

Read An Excerpt From Tor's Awakenings at MTV Geek.

Marriage Of Urban With Quest-Driven Epic Fantasy Comes Off Beautifully In Awakenings--Preternatura

"I love a good mishmash of genres, and this one was such an unexpected delight (not to mention a can’t-put-it-down read)" -- Suzanne Johnson,

read more at: Preternatura

Examiner.com Says "Awakenings" Is Worth Your Attention

"There's a lot of good things going for Awakenings. Cool cover art. Fun magic (and by fun, I mean the sort that involves supernatural violence, majorly destructive energies being flung about, and lots of people running for their lives). It's also got intriguing characterization, both of the major and minor players" -- Josh Vogt, examiner.com

Read more at examiner.com.

"Fantasy Lovers And Mystery Lovers Both Will Enjoy Awakenings" -- Blogcritcs.org

"Fantasy lovers and mystery lovers both will enjoy Awakenings. It is a great first novel and I will be looking for the other books to come out so I can see what these guys are up to!" -- Blogcritics.org

Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/blogcritics/article/Book-Review-Awakenings-by-Edward-Lazellari-2154948.php#ixzz1XODH4qJc

The Qwillery Gives Awakenings 4.5 Out Of 5 Qwills

"Awakenings is a thrilling debut with great pacing, characters you care about, and a riveting story. I found it hard to put down. I've become a fan of this series and can't wait to read the next book."                                                                         -- The Qwillery                 Also The Qwillery interviews Edward Lazellari.

My Fantastic Fables Short Story, "No Good Deed" Is Up (DarkFaerieTales)

My short story for DarkFaerieTales' Fantastic Fables series is up.
Win a chance at a free copy of my book.