Writers Tricks of the Trade Issue 2 Volume 9 | Page 6

M ORGAN ’ S C ORNER
M ORGAN S T . J AMES , E DITOR
There are lots of new things going on in this issue, so rather than doing a length subhead,
we will get right to it. From new books to a new series for the magazine to earthquakes and so
much more. Fasten your seatbelt. Here we go!
O
ur SPOTLIGHT this month features
a man who may even be busier
than I am. He wears multiple hats,
and by the way, I think I’ve only seen him
actually not wearing a hat once or twice. It
is his trademark in my mind.
S POTLIGHT O N M ICHAEL M ALLORY
Michael Mallory and I became ac-
quainted when I was a member of Sisters in
Crime in Los Angeles.
We appeared on some panels together
and got to talking. As you might have seen
from the cover, Michael is a writer, journal-
ist, editor and actor among some of the
other things he does to fill 24 hours. Like
me, he probably has 2 or 3 minutes left
over every day. Most of his books and sto-
ries are mysteries, but he also writes non-
fiction. As if that isn’t enough, he is an en-
tertainment journalist, too.
Through his books and experience, he
is acknowledged-as an authority on the
subjects of film, animation and 20th centu-
ry pop-culture.
So, I was excited to be able to bring this
interview to my readers.
You also may recognize Michael from
parts he has had as an actor. Such is Holly-
wood. Some years ago I knew character ac-
tors Ben Frank and Frank Marth. They
S UMMER 2019
seemed to be on TV constantly, but the
names were not household names so you
might not have associated the names with
their faces. Both generally played a detec-
tive or in some cases military. However, if
you met them, there was instant recogni-
tion, even if you thought you had seen them
in the supermarket.
T HE N EW S HORT S TORY S ERIES -
W HEN P IGS F LY
Starting with this issue we welcome
Rob Corbin, a writer with multiple awards
and the short story series “When Pigs Fly.”
Many of you know I collect pig artifacts,
over 200 of them and you can see many on
my personal website www.morganstjames-
author.com. So how could I resist a series
with that name.
If you are thinking pigs of the “oinking”
persuasion, you are wrong. Ron is a former
police helicopter pilot.
According to Wikipedia, "When pigs fly"
is an adynaton, a way of saying that some-
thing will never happen. The phrase is of-
ten used for humorous effect, to scoff at
over-ambition. There are numerous varia-
tions on the theme; when an individual
with a reputation for failure finally suc-
ceeds, onlookers may sarcastically claim to
P AGE 1
W RITERS ’ T RICKS OF THE T RADE