Look... when William Patrick Maynard, the renowned authorized continuation author of the Fu Manchu novels, has this to say... all I can say in response is that I am deeply honored and humbled. Thank you, Bill.
"She-Devil of Paris" by Win Scott Eckert brought me to this collection. It pains me to give Mr. Eckert a poor review on Amazon, but there are two glaring flaws that I cannot look past: 1.) The story is far too short. This needs to be a novel. 2.) Time and again, the quality of Mr. Eckert's prose sets the bar far too high for other continuation authors to reasonably compete. In all sincerity, this story has given me tremendous pleasure. I have read it several times over the last few days. This is a wonderful tribute to Louis Feuillade, Sax Rohmer, Pierre Benoit, and H. Rider Haggard. There may be more references, of course. As one has come to expect from the finest Wold Newtonian fiction, the easter eggs are many and the rewards for the knowledgeable reader are plentiful. Well done and thank you, many times, for capturing the feel of the source material so well.
Today I chat with author and friend Win Scott Eckert, as a part of my ongoing series featuring creative folks who will be appearing at Pulpfest 2025. Win is the editor of Myths For the Modern Age and three volumes of short stories featuring The Green Hornet, co-author with Philip Jose Farmer of The Evil in Pemberley House and The Monster on Hold, and author of Crossovers: A Secret History of the World, The Scarlet Jaguar, and the authorized Edgar Rice Universe canonical novels Tarzan: Battle for Pellucidar, and Korak At The Earth’s Core. He has also written short stories featuring classic characters like The Green Hornet, the Lone Ranger, the Avenger, the Phantom, Sherlock Holmes, the Domino Lady, Honey West, T.H.E. Cat, and Irma Vep. Win is a member of the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers, holds a B.A. in anthropology and a Juris Doctor.
Hi,
Win! Thanks for taking some time to chat. I know you’re busy working on
the second book in your Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe trilogy, the Dead
Moon Super-Arc.
WSE: Hi, Anthony! Yes, Pellucidar: Land of Awful Shadow.
We’ll
talk about the new book shortly, but my first question is more general.
You’ve had a wonderful career writing in the worlds of Edgar Rice
Burroughs, Philip José Farmer, the Green Hornet, The Avenger, Honey
West, the Lone Ranger, and others. Talk to me a bit about your earliest
memories of wanting to write these characters/in these worlds.
To
be honest, I didn’t consider writing fiction until after I started my
metafictional Wold Newton Universe site in 1997. My first forays were
non-fiction (or rather, metafiction) essays which were writing about
characters’ chronologies and family trees, rather than traditional
fiction stories. It was only when Jean-Marc Lofficier suggested that I
try my hand at straight fiction for his annual Tales of the Shadowmen anthologies that I considered it. This was in 2004.
What
is your current writing process like? That is, are you a plotter, a
“pantser,” etc.? Do you set daily wordcount goals? And has that process
changed at all throughout your career?
I
am not a “pantser.” I definitely outline, but at a high level. I know
the beginning, middle, and most importantly, the end. Part of this is
because it is generally required when writing for licensed properties
(although requirements for licensed properties are on the spectrum of
detail from “almost no detail, just a pitch” to a strict
chapter-by-chapter outline). Even with a strict chapter outline, there
is a lot of room for creativity as I actually write the chapters, as
additional inspiration inevitably hits while I am writing. And sometimes
the chapters end up getting moved around as I write, and so forth. So,
the outline is not a strict contract, but rather a demonstration that I
know where I’m going in the end, even if the path of getting there
deviates from the outline. As for your other questions, when I am deep
in a writing project, I do set wordcount goals. My process has not
changed much in the last twenty years, with the exception that within
the last five years or so I occasionally dictate some portions of a
novel; it speeds up my writing, but I’ve also noticed that more errors
are introduced which I sometimes fail to catch despite intense proofing,
so I am a bit gun shy right now about dictating too much.
You’re on your third novel for the Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe (the first being Tarzan: Battle for Pellucidar in the “Swords of Eternity Super-Arc” that launched the Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe (ERBU), and the second being Korak at Earth’s Core,
the first book in your “Dead Moon Super-Arc”). I’d love to hear a bit
about how you came to write for ERB Inc., and how you crafted your pitch
for the “Dead Moon Super-Arc.”
Shortly
before Christopher Paul Carey joined ERB, Inc. as Director (now VP) of
Publishing, I pitched a Korak novel to CEO Jim Sullos, which was
accepted. Once Chris joined, and outlined his plans for the ERBU, to be
kicked off with the “Swords of Eternity Super-Arc,” it was a no-brainer
that a Tarzan novel was needed for that launch. I reworked my Korak
pitch into a Tarzan pitch which became Tarzan: Battle for Pellucidar.
After that, Chris and I still really wanted to do a Korak novel. I
explained my idea to him in person at PulpFest, to which he burst out
laughing, and said, “Let’s do it!”
Philip José Farmer wrote an article originally published in ERB-dom No. 57, April 1972. His ideas were worked into his mock biography, Tarzan Alive. The article has also been republished in my collection Myths for the Modern Age: Philip José Farmer’s Wold Newton Universe (MonkeyBrain Books), Pearls from Peoria (Subterranean Press), and The Man Who Met Tarzan
(Meteor House). The article is entitled “The Great Korak-Time
Discrepancy” and deals with how Korak, the son of Tarzan, impossibly
ages about eight-ten years between the ERB books The Beasts of Tarzan and The Son of Tarzan.
Farmer proposes an explanation, and there is another branch of fandom
that proposes a different explanation. You can read the article online here. The “Dead Moon Super-Arc” will present a third, in-universe explanation.
We
also wanted to explore as-yet untouched (or relatively untouched parts)
of Pellucidar, the hollow world at the Earth’s core, and decided that
the Dead World and the Land of Awful Shadow would be great settings for
this trilogy.
What
challenges have you encountered in moving Burroughs’ classic characters
forward in time and in expanding the ERBU while still remaining true to
his spirit and Burroughs’ original timeline and characters?
Honestly
. . . not many. The biggest challenge is ensuring that all the writers’
stories remain consistent with each other, with no contradictions. That
is one of the big selling points of the ERBU: the novels, stories, and
comics are consistent both in continuity and in character with what ERB
wrote, but they are all also consistent with each other. It’s
not difficult to portray these characters as honorable and heroic.
Perfect? No, of course not. I had a good time portraying Korak as less
than perfect, and yet still heroic.
Without spoilers, what can you tell us about the upcoming second “Dead Moon Super-Arc” novel, Pellucidar: Land of Awful Shadow?
Yes! It takes place mostly concurrently with Korak at the Earth’s Core (this was a technique Burroughs used; for examples, see the Pellucidar novels Tarzan at the Earth’s Core and Back to the Stone Age),
in which it is mentioned that Rahnak and Kyrianji have set off into the
Land of Awful Shadow in search of Rahnak’s mother, Suzanne Clayton. So,
Pellucidar: Land of Awful Shadow is the tale of their
adventure. Rahnak the Daring is the grandson of Korak, and thus the
great-grandson of Tarzan! Kyrianji is a great Waziri warrior princess.
Along the way, they have many adventures in this weird Land of Awful Shadow as they struggle to get back to their friends and allies, including David Innes, with some important information. We’ll also get some insight into what happened to Suzanne (Tarzan’s granddaughter), who was mentioned in Korak at the Earth’s Core (her disappearance set off the events of that book).
It's
a lot of fun because the book is probably eighty or more percent
focused on characters I was privileged to create: Rahnak, Kyrianji, and
Suzanne.
All the plotlines will come crashing together in the third book, Tarzan Unleashed. (You see … there’s really no way to “pants” this. 😊)
You also had a short story in the anthology Thrilling Adventure Yarns 2025, edited by Robert Greenberger. Tell us a little bit about that story and what inspired it.
It
was an honor to be invited to contribute to that anthology, with such
an awesome lineup of authors, and it was great to flex my short story
muscles. My entry was a weird menace tale, bordering on occult, called
“She-Devil of Paris.” It was very much a Sax Rohmer homage, and featured
Irma Vep, the anti-heroine of a 1915–16 French serial in ten chapters
called Les Vampires. (The Vampires are a criminal gang who
terrorize Paris, not actual vampires.) But, as with most Rohmer stories,
the main character isn’t really the one who appears more “on camera,”
Irma Vep, but rather her antagonist, who in 1923 Paris is calling
herself Astarte.
Finally, do you have anything else upcoming that you’re able to tell us about?
I do! After Tarzan Unleashed, I plan to write the fifth and final Secrets of the Nine novel, as yet untitled. You may recall that the fourth book, The Monster on Hold
(cowritten with Philip José Farmer from his outline and including large
sections of his prose), most of Doc Caliban’s plotlines were wrapped
up. Caliban was the POV character, and Phil’s outline and plot did not
include anything regarding Lord Grandrith. Therefore, we still have
dangling plotlines regarding Grandrith going all the way back to A Feast Unknown, Lord of the Trees, and The Mad Goblin.
Phil’s estate and agent have granted me permission to write a Lord
Grandrith-centric novel (I’m sure Caliban will also make an appearance,
but its Grandrith’s book) resolving all the plotlines. I want to be
clear that we do not have anything in Phil’s files (“The Magic Filing
Cabinet”) regarding a fifth book, so this will be solely by me. Believe
me, I wish we did have notes or hints. The book will be published by
Meteor House, with consistent trade dress, art, and design as seen on
the other Secrets of the Nine books.
I also plan to finally return to Patrica Wildman and write more novella-length follow-ups to The Evil in Pemberley House and The Scarlet Jaguar.
I’d like to write more Sherlock Holmes short stories, following up on
“The Adventure of the Fallen Stone.” And I want to do a series of novels
featuring Astarte in different time periods, from the Victorian era, to
the 1930s, and perhaps even into the 1960s and ’70s.
Finally, Anthony, I want to thank you for the interview. It’s been quite a while since we’ve done this (2017!), and I appreciate it. I’m looking forward to seeing you at PulpFest 2025 / FarmerCon XX in August 2025!
It
was my pleasure, Win! Always fun discussing writing and Phil and
Burroughs and Star Trek and The Man From U.N.C.L.E and everything else
we have in common. See you in a few weeks!
Readers, it is not too late to register for and attend Pulpfest 2025 (THE pulp magazine-focused convention in the Northeast) and the other three conventions it hosts: FarmerCon (dedicated to the works of Philip Jose Farmer), ERBFest (dedicated to the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs) and DocCon (dedicated to all things Doc Savage related). Check out the Pulpfest website.com/ for registration and hotel information!
Pleased to announce that I'll be an attending author at Read Between the Stars (a sci-fi/fantasy book fair) on Saturday, October 4 at the Stanley Marketplace in Aurora, CO!
.png)
