The Ghosts of Lakehurst Hangar No. 1: A real life ghost story

The Ghosts of Lakehurst Hangar No. 1: A real life ghost story

Posted inWorks by Eric, Writing
Halloween is almost here, so I figured I'd pull this out of the archives. The following is a real life ghost story plucked from my book, Lakehurst: Barrens, Blimps & Barons. It was initially written for Weird Tales magazine and was penned alongside an essay on sleep paralysis called "Whispers of the Old Hag," which one reviewer said was about "a real life condition that can be as terrifying as any horror story." (For some reason, "Whispers" is no longer online at Weird Tales, so I've posted it in full right here.) "Ghosts" didn't make the cut, but that was okay. I…
The 5 Most Powerful Geeks of All Time

The 5 Most Powerful Geeks of All Time

Posted inGeek Stuff, Random Musings
Let's jump back a few years. Shortly after the release of Geek Wisdom, a book I was honored to contribute to, I was contacted by Men's Health magazine to write a piece about the most powerful geeks of all time. It sounded like a fun assignment. I wrote the piece. It was supposedly filled with "awesome stuff" and "everyone at the office [loved]" it, according to the editor who contacted me. But they never used it, and I never heard from that editor again. Rather than let it languish on a memory stick, I figured I'd yank it from the…
So I have to be an accountant, too?

So I have to be an accountant, too?

Posted inRants, Writing
When you daydream of being a Writer, sitting at home doing Important Work and actually getting paid for it, you most certainly DON'T daydream of filing tax documents, managing bank accounts, chasing people for money, and other such nonsense. Yet you're sure as hell going to end up doing it, and plenty of it, too. They never tell you this. (Never mind who "they" is.) No one explains that if you plan to make a go of supporting yourself as a freelance writer, your days will be just as filled with "business" stuff as they will with writing. They never…
Having an appointment with writing (also, cats at keyboards)

Having an appointment with writing (also, cats at keyboards)

Posted inWriting
I like deadlines. No, scratch that. I need deadlines. I thrive on them. I require them. Without them, I'm left to rely on discipline and good habits to keep myself focused on doing what I should be doing. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a shortage of both. That's why, whenever possible, I prefer for my writing projects to have a deadline attached. When it comes to professional work, that's usually a given. Your client is going to want their content by a certain time, after all. As I write this post, for instance, I'm also tossing around…
Here is the self-indulgent writer’s life post (yay!)

Here is the self-indulgent writer’s life post (yay!)

Posted inRandom Musings, Writing
I started this blog however many years ago* for admittedly cynical reasons. I wanted to be more established as a Writer rather than a writer, and by all accounts having a blog through which you connect with people was an absolutely integral part of the equation. Supposedly, blogging is just what writers do. Since that time, I've had some books published, five of them by traditional publishers and three via my own sweat and blood. I s'pose that's not bad. Can't say this blog has had much to do with any of that or that it has helped in any…