Tag: Clint Eastwood

Gosh, I thought s/he was already dead!

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn Old Age2 Comments

When the links to news stories about the deaths of elderly famous people appear on Facebook, a fair number of people say, “Gosh, I thought s/he was already dead.” Apparently, once an old celebrity is no longer in the public eye, people tend to assume they are “dead, dead, and gone” as the phrase in the 1969 Blood, Sweat & Tears song says.

Most people didn’t say that when Kirk Douglas and Olivia de Haviland died in 2020 because both of them had been around for so long that the media mentioned their birthdays every year. So, once you’re over a hundred, people keep checking and saying, “Yep, still here.” We assume Clint Eastwood isn’t dead since, at 90, he’s still making movies and chalking up Oscar nominations.

One of my aunts lived about 104 years as well, was happy to get a letter from the President when she reached a hundred, and I think got a news story in the local paper.

Sometime between 70 and 100, we lose track of well-known people if they’ve retired. When Sophia Loren starred in “The Life Ahead” last year, people had to reassess, deciding that (a) she’s not dead, (b) “out of it,” and (c) “still has it.”  Good for her, people were saying.

For every actor or author who performs or writes when they are old and gets a “good for him” or “good for her” response from the fans, there are hundreds who are still working. The actors are, perhaps appearing in so-called character-actor roles, and the authors are turning out books and stories the critics like but that don’t make the bestseller lists (which means most prospective readers never hear about them). Day to day, these productive people who were once well known still see the life ahead and plan to make good use of it.

It would be nice, I think if more people noticed their ongoing work and watched it or read it and talked about it so that these folks don’t become isolated and unknown in their later years. Sure, if they make it to one hundred, we’ll take notice of them again as though they weren’t doing anything during their 80s and 90s. Sadly, if they make a BIG FILM or write a BIG BOOK during those two decades, we’ll say, “Gosh, I thought s/he was already dead.”

If you’re not dead, hearing that has got to be a real downer.

–Malcolm

Malcolm R. Campbell

Publisher: Thomas-Jacob Publishing

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The Next Big Thing: a novel in progress

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn Fantasy, fiction14 Comments

“The Aeon is the symbol for the Rise of Phoenix, it stands for a time of insight, the true understanding of the circle of life, of growing and fading.” – Raven’s Tarot Site

When author T. K. Thorne (“Noah’s Wife”) invited me to participate in a “blog chain” that focuses on the working title of our next book, I faced the same problem she did when she sat down to write her post. Which book do I want to talk about? Should I talk about the collection of short stories or my next Glacier Park Fantasy novel in the series that includes “The Sun Singer” and “Sarabande”?

I’ve decided to talk about the novel.

  1. What is your working title of your book?  “Aeon”
  2. Glacier Park’s Chief Mountain – M. R. Campbell photo

    Where did the idea come from for the book? When I wrote “The Sun Singer,” I knew the book’s Grandfather Elliott character would eventually return to a mirror-image universe (set in another time period) hidden within the mountains of Glacier Park Montana. “The Sun Singer” was his grandson Robert Adams’ story. Now it’s time to tell Tom Elliott’s story.

  3. What genre does your book fall under? Contemporary fantasy.
  4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? I’ve been waiting for Clint Eastwood to call and say he wants to play Billy, an Indian medicine man, in a movie version of “Sarabande.” So far, nothing. Maybe he’s been waiting for the Tom Elliott role to be ready.  There’s a role for Mila Kunis and another for Angelica Huston.
  5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? An aging avatar returns to the land of Pyrrha to fulfill the ancient prophecy, overthrow the evil king and neutralize the traitorous sorcerer, and prepare the land for the arrival of the goddess.
  6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? Neither. I will submit the novel to the publisher directly.
  7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? I am still working on it.
  8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? Although I write contemporary fantasy and Stephen R. Donaldson writes epic fantasy, Tom Elliott’s quest has some similarities to that of Thomas Covenant in Donaldson’s “Chronicles” cycle. Needless to say, “Aeon” can best be compared to “The Sun Singer” and “Sarabande.”
  9. Who or what inspired you to write this book? I wrote “The Sun Singer” based, in part, on my own psychic experiences and my love of magic and Glacier National Park. “Aeon” is the logical next step in the cycle. As the title suggests, I also like the meaning behind the trump #20 in the Tarot deck.
  10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? The story is going to be a wild ride that begins on a Harley Davidson FXE Superglide Shovelhead. After that, what’s the worst that could possibly happen? Among other things, that means the production company for a movie version will have to spend a truck load of money on special effects.

I’ll keep you posted. By that I mean, don’t call me (unless you’re Clint, Mila, or Angelica), I’ll call you.

Now, for the next installment of THE NEXT BIG THING blog chain during the week of November 26th, check out the blogs of authors Melinda Clayton, L. E. Harvey and Pat Bertram.

—Malcolm

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