Inglorious Treksperts interviews John L. Flynn— WE SHALL ALWAYS REMEMBER YOU, ANGELIQUE PETTYJOHN w/ JOHN L. FLYNN – Chartable The Treksperts, MARK A. ALTMAN (writer/producer, Pandora, The Librarians, Castle) and DAREN DOCHERMAN (visual effects supervisor, Star Trek: The Motion Picture – Director’s Edition) are joined by author JOHN L. FLYNN to discuss the life and tragic death of the legendary Angelique Pettyjohn (Shahna from “Gamesters of Triskelion”). John talks about his long friendship with the actress, meeting Elvis, her classic 60’s TV show appearances, 70’s convention appearances and his new biography of the iconic actress.

Jack Martin passed away in February 2024 leaving us a legacy of literature. Tracing his Californian ancestry all the way back to the 1830s, Jack Martin developed a passion for American history and the mystery genre. With encouragement and support from his wife, he began writing The Alphonso Clay Mysteries. He is now with his beloved Sonia who passed away on Christmas Eve, 2009. He promised her he would finish the books and become a published author. He did. The Alphonso Clay series includes John Brown’s Body, Battle Cry of Freedom, Marching Through Georgia, The Battle Hymn of the Republic, and Hail, Columbia! Martin is also the author of the Harry Bierce Mysteries. He will be greatly missed by all but mostly by his son Justin, daughter-in-law Caitlin, and grandson “The Mighty Connor.”

A story of luck and Devine protection in a most unusual form…

An ancient king of Vietnam commanded his subjects to cover their arms and thighs with dragon tattoos. The accepted belief of the time was that the Dragon Spirit protected farmers against evil spirits in their rice paddies.

In 1971, Private Ed Lansky seeks protection from a different form of evil, ‘Something’ to guide him through his year in country. Each time the war tries to kill him or burden him with guilt, the dragon appears, guarding and guiding him. A weight lifts from his soul as he discovers the power of the Dragon Spirit…his Warrior Shield.

Although this is a work of fiction, much of what happens comes directly from Goswitz’s accounts, making it ever so real in the mind’s eye of the reader. Commendable writing of a turbulent time in American and Vietnam history.

Robert Goswitz was born and raised in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, graduated from Milton College, and holds an MA in Education from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He was drafted into the US Army in March of 1971 and served in Vietnam from September of 1971 to August of 1972, receiving the Combat Infantry Badge and the Bronze Star for his service. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE! After the military, Robert was a special education teacher from 1974 until his retirement in 2007. Goswitz is a Wisconsin writer whose novel excerpts have been published in O Dark Thirty Literary Magazine and The Military Writers Anthology for 2015. Another excerpt received Honorable Mention from the Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction/ Essay Contest sponsored by Winning Writers “One of the Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers” www.winningwriters.com. The Dragon Soldier’s Good Fortune is his first novel. The prequel, The Earth Shall Claim Your Bones, is available for acquisition. Robert Goswitz   Facebook Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency

John Flynn to Speak at DragonCon 2024!

John L. Flynn, Ph.D., author and long-time science fiction fan, has been invited by DragonCon to be an attending professional for its 2024 convention over Labor Day in Atlanta, Georgia. This will be Flynn’s 41^st as a writer-guest since the convention was founded in 1987. He enjoys every aspect of its thousands of hours of programming focusing on science fiction, fantasy, comic books, and other elements of fan culture, such as cosplay, the annual Saturday parade on Peachtree Street, new writer’s workshops, celebrity VIPs, art show, vendors, gaming, and the charity auction, which last year raised thousands of dollars to fight childhood cancer.

While at the convention, Flynn enjoys reading excerpts from his twenty or so assorted books and Hugo-nominated stories, participating in discussions about horror and science fiction movies and television shows, answering trivia about James Bond on the Brit-track, helping new writers as part of the Writer-track, and shopping for unique items to add to his memorabilia collection.  DragonCon is his favorite convention of the year.

He sold his first book, Future Threads in 1985, and has subsequently had over twenty other books published, including Cinematic Vampires: The Living Dead on Film, The Films of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dissecting Aliens, Visions in Light and Shadow, War of the Worlds: From Wells to Spielberg, 75 Years of Universal Monsters, 50 Years of Hammer Horror, 101 Superheroes of the Silver Screen, 2001: Beyond the Infinite, The Jovian Dilemma, Phantoms of the Opera: Behind the Mask, the Introduction to Signet’s new edition of Gaston Leroux’s Phantom of the Opera, and the Afterword to Signet’s new printing of The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells. Everything I Know About Life I Learned from James Bond (published by Open Road Media) and Future Prime: Top Ten Science Fiction Films were co-authored with Bob Blackwood.

To learn more about John L. Flynn www.johnlflynn.com

DragonCon is the largest multi-media, pop culture convention in the world. It draws more than 81,000 fans from all over the known universe, who occupy five hotels in the Peachtree Center neighborhood, as well as the Merchandize Mart, and it takes a 1500+-member volunteer staff to keep things running. For all information pertaining to the convention: www.dragoncon.org

Open Road releases Jeanne Charters’ third novel in the Daughters of Ireland trilogy, Silk Stocking!

Three generations of Irish American women strive to succeed in a time of great bias, prejudice, and social stigmata in this historical trilogy of perseverance: Shanty Gold, Lace Curtain, and the finale, Silk Stocking.

Mary Boland suffered aboard a coffin ship headed for Boston to escape the Irish famine of 1849. Her daughter, Nellie, against all odds, graduates from college when few women could. Then a fate-filled visit to Dublin changes the wind in Nellie’s sails… and those of her daughter.

Love undaunted. Evil incarnate.

“People sometimes wonder where a character comes from, asking, ‘When did you think up Mary Boland anyway?’ For me, Mary Boland was a magical name I heard throughout my childhood from my mother and aunts. She was my great-great-grandmother. There were no pictures of her and no records of her accomplishments, but she came to me in dreams…a young girl with curly red hair, riding her horse along the Irish seacoast.

“‘Tell my story,’ she whispered.

“In her first iteration, she was the star of a manuscript called Daughters of Ireland. Mary was the first in three generations of women. Writing class instructors and published authors alike told me, ‘Each of these women deserves her own book.’ They were right. So, I started over and told Mary’s story in Shanty Gold. Next came Nellie Kelly’s story, Mary Boland’s daughter, in Lace Curtain. Silk Stocking brings three generations together when Nellie gives birth to Kathleen. These women are family to me and I am thrilled to see their stories in print. Enjoy!”

Jeanne Charters is also the author of a humorous memoir, Funny, isn’t it? and Yellow, a scathing indictment of television and politics torn from Jeanne’s years as a broadcast executive.

Published by Open Road Publishing

Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency

Loiacono Literary Agency takes on Jason Dew’s novel Up on the Hill!

Charlie Allen is an aging man who sweeps floors and cleans bathrooms at Cougar’s Crossing Elementary School. After work, he visits his wife, Chick, who lives in a nursing home due to the fact that she cannot be trusted. At sixty-seven, he knows the sun is beginning to set on his life, yet one morning, like any other, the green tennis ball appears at the foot of his kitchen table; a ball he has not held in over fifty years. In another time, Charlie Allen would have thrown it and his beloved dog, Molly, would have brought it back.

So begins a story that oscillates between one man’s traumatic past and a present he shares with a fifth-grade teacher who is in the midst of her own personal battle. Charlie Allen did the unthinkable when he was a boy, and the weight of that memory has been a tremendous burden on his soul. On top of all that, there is now a killer on the loose in the rustic Pennsylvania county they call home; a killer who also did the unthinkable. Only the bearded janitor with the missing tooth can initiate the events that will lead to unfortold events. Will Charlie Allen disregard the green tennis ball? Call it an odd occurrence? Dismiss it with old man fatigue? Or, will he throw it into the dark, dark night to see what happens?

Jason Michael Dew was born and raised in Northwestern Pennsylvania, a region he often explores in his writing. He earned his BA from Lock Haven University, an MS from Georgia State University, and an MA and PhD from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of Gadly Plain and All the Bad Things, and is currently on the faculty at Georgia State University in Atlanta, where he makes his home with his wife and three daughters.

Jason Dew is represented by Jeanie Loiacono, Loiacono Literary Agency. [email protected]

Dr. John L. Flynn Dragon Con 2023 Schedule

Dragon Con 2023 welcomes Dr. John L. Flynn!

For those who are planning on attending Dragon Con, please sign up for ALL of Dr. John L. Flynn’s sessions! Flynn is an expert in SciFi and Horror films, and all they entail—from James Bond’s gadgets to the very first horror films and what it took to create them, and how far the industry has come. https://johnlflynn.com/aboutauthor.htm https://loiaconoliteraryagency.com/authors/john-l-flynn/  https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2188894/bio/

Title: “Bond. James Bond.” “I’m Sorry…Who?”
Description: James Bond has to be the least successful “secret” agent, since at one time the mere mention of his name caused the bad guys to preemptively attack. We’ll try to figure out how he manages to keep his job despite apparently taking out an ad in “Spies Monthly” magazine.
Panelists: Caro McCully(M), Van Allen Plexico, J M Tuffley, Dr. John L Flynn, Bill Hussar
Time: Thu 08:30 pm
Location: Galleria 5 Hilton (Length: 1 Hour)

Title: The Beauty of the Beast: Romance and Tragedy in Horror Movie Classics
Description: Our panelists delve into the captivating interplay of love, desire, and doom within iconic horror films. Uncover the haunting allure of these tales as experts explore the delicate balance between beauty and horror, weaving unforgettable narratives within the genre.
Panelists: Dr. John L Flynn, Kelly Robinson, Mark Muncy, Hansi Oppenheimer, Clay Gilbert, Bill Bridges
Time: Fri 01:00 pm
Location: Peachtree 1-2 Westin (Length: 1 Hour)

Title: Breaking the Taboo: A Discussion on Classic Horror Movie Censorship
Description: Delve into the dark past of classic horror movie censorship. Join us as we uncover the chilling tales of banned scenes, controversial cuts, and the battle between artistic expression and societal norms. A spine-tingling exploration of horror’s censored history.
Panelists: Bill Mulligan, Daniel Griffith, Kelly Robinson, Dr. John L Flynn, Bill Bridges, Thomas Mariani
Time: Sat 08:30 pm
Location: Peachtree 1-2 Westin (Length: 1 Hour)

Title: Burned To Light: Vampires in Classic Cinema
Description: Explore the allure of vampires in classic cinema as this panel dives into the captivating world of blood-sucking creatures, examining their evolution, cultural impact, and enduring fascination. Sink your teeth into this mesmerizing discussion!
Panelists: Bill Mulligan, Dr. John L Flynn, Kelly Robinson, Bill Bridges, Thomas Mariani
Time: Sun 07:00 pm
Location: Peachtree 1-2 Westin (Length: 1 Hour)

Now available from Open Road Publishing—The Hidden Congregation, The CareTakers and Patients in Purgatory by William T. Delamar! 

“Trash Compactor” Josh Bernhard Interview – John L. Flynn, Ph.D. and Star Wars Episode 3: Fall of the Republic

John Flynn in costume for Dragon Con

Josh Bernhard, a huge Star Wars fan who operates the Podcast “Trash Compactor” for other Star Wars fans, invited John L. Flynn to participate in an hour-long interview to discuss his script/story treatment for Star Wars Episode 3: Fall of the Republic. In 1982, when Flynn was a budding author/writer, being published regularly with the various sci-fi magazines, like Starlog, Cinefantastique, and Fangoria (to name a few), he wrote a script/story treatment for one of the future Star Wars movies as Christmas gifts to a number of his sci-fi fan friends. “I was too poor to purchase a traditional holiday gift at the time.” One of the people who received his “gift” was a wheeler-dealer vendor at one of the sci-fi conventions who thought his story was good enough to print, and arranged to print hundreds (perhaps even thousands) of copies of Flynn’s story for sale at the conventions. At his vendor table, he told everyone that he had obtained a copy of the script for the next Star Wars movie and sold innumerable copies. Other vendors, not wanting to be left out of the potential sales, bought a copy themselves, and they reproduced hundreds of more. Like most urban legends, his story sprouted legs, and it was suddenly available in every venue where there were Star Wars fans anxious to get a sneak peek at the next Star Wars movie. His script/story treatment for Star Wars Episode 3: Fall of the Republic went the equivalent of “viral” in those days, with fan groups discussing, debating, and spreading the word. Nearly everyone who encountered Flynn’s story thought it was a terrific, well-written with great characters and set pieces, and that it was the “real” basis for one of the next Star Wars films. Yet, Flynn never made a dime on the story. Having produced it for his friends, he had no way to know what would eventually happen. Therefore, John L. Flynn was a household name with Star Wars fans for a very long time.

Flynn eventually started publishing his own stories, apart from Star Wars, and made a career for himself as an author of science fiction and mystery stories. He has written over 20 books and has been nominated for 3 Hugo Awards. Josh Bernhard used his investigative skills as a journalist, tracking Flynn down several months ago, and invited him to record a podcast with him. In the hour-long podcast, they talked about how his script/story treatment for Star Wars Episode 3: Fall of the Republic took Star Wars fandom by storm—deeper into the origins of the story—and how many fans, even to this day, feel his story was far superior to the one George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, produced on his own. Lucas’ Episode 3 was criticized when it finally came out on the big screen, whereas Star Wars fans wished that Lucas had used Flynn’s. The interview had Josh and Flynn comparing versions, talking about the various sequels and prequels, and then came back around to Flynn’s current works as a professional writer.