“As a literary figure, Philip K. Dick is popularly perceived as a crazed, drug-addled mystic with a sinister Third Eye. Nothing could be further from the truth – the Phil I knew was a warm, humane, very funny man. Maer Wilson understands these truths far better than I, and The Other Side of Philip K. Dick casts a welcome shaft of daylight upon the real PKD, as opposed to the dark, distorted caricature Dick has become.” Paul M. Sammon, Author of Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner
What is the truth behind the legend of Science Fiction great, Philip K. Dick?
In spring, 1972, Phil Dick moved to Fullerton, CA, where he met Theatre student Mary (Maer) Wilson. Amid marriage proposals, marathon talk-fests and a love for music and films, they forged a strong friendship that would last the rest of his life.
Wilson’s quirky, yet unflinchingly honest, memoir reveals a funny, compassionate and generous man. She captures an inside view of one of our literary greats – a brilliant writer who gave the world some of its most revered Science Fiction.
“I found this book engrossing and authentic – a truthful and serious account of the last part of Phil Dick’s life by someone who was a fundamental part of it and who has the skill to write about it. There is evident love and friendship in this book, but also honesty. This was the Phil Dick I knew.” James P. Blaylock, World Fantasy Award-Winning Author
The memoir I have been working on for over two years will be released later this summer. It tells the story of my ten year friendship with Science Fiction author, Philip K. Dick. His work has been used in Hollywood for decades: Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report, and more recently The Man in the High Castle on Amazon, as well as many others. He has quite the reputation personally, which causes some amusement and head-shaking from his friends, particularly Tim Powers, James P. Blaylock, Merry Lou Staylor and me. We know the truth. And I’m finally going to share a far different view of our friend from the crazy, drug-addicted visionary others have portrayed.
I’m very grateful to Tim and Jim for their support and willingness to contribute to this book. Tim does the Foreword and there is also a note from Jim about my book and Phil.
Pre-order information will be coming in the near future.
The Other Side of Philip K. Dick
“As a literary figure, Philip K. Dick is popularly perceived as a crazed, drug-addled mystic with a sinister Third Eye. Nothing could be further from the truth – the Phil I knew was a warm, humane, very funny man. Maer Wilson understands these truths far better than I, and The Other Side of Philip K. Dick casts a welcome shaft of daylight upon the real PKD, as opposed to the dark, distorted caricature Dick has become.” Paul M. Sammon, Author of Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner
What is the truth behind the legend of Science Fiction great, Philip K. Dick?
In spring, 1972, Phil Dick moved to Fullerton, CA, where he met Theatre student Mary (Maer) Wilson. Amid marriage proposals, marathon talk-fests and a love for music and films, they forged a strong friendship that would last the rest of his life.
Wilson’s quirky, yet unflinchingly honest, memoir reveals a funny, compassionate and generous man. She captures an inside view of one of our literary greats – a brilliant writer who gave the world some of its most revered Science Fiction.
“I found this book engrossing and authentic — a truthful and serious account of the last part of Phil Dick’s life by someone who was a fundamental part of it and who has the skill to write about it. There is evident love and friendship in this book, but also honesty. This was the Phil Dick I knew.” James P. Blaylock, World Fantasy Award-Winning Author
Excerpt
From the Introduction
“But first let’s set the scene.
It’s April, 1972 in Fullerton, California around 7:00 PM. The sun has set and the night is cool, balanced between full spring and hints of summer. Can you feel the slight breeze?
The street is Quartz Lane. Some of the many apartment buildings in the area line the short road. We’re going to go to the first complex on the right, just past the church. There’s a small courtyard and the residents all have their curtains drawn. Most are translucent and clearly show the light from the apartments. But there. That first apartment on our right? The one upstairs. Yes, that one with the light shining through a gap in the curtains.
And the one across from it. The light isn’t as bright, but we need to note that one, too.
We can almost hear the giggles of two girls as we make our way up the stairs and fade through their door. Shhh… We’ll be as quiet as the ghosts from the future that we are.
The scene is set. The actors and orchestra are in their places as the curtain rises.
The stage lights come up.
The conductor taps his baton on the music stand.
The music begins.
Chapter 1 – At First
It happened back when I was still immortal.”
Early Reviews
“I found this book engrossing and authentic – a truthful and serious account of the last part of Phil Dick’s life by someone who was a fundamental part of it and who has the skill to write about it. There is evident love and friendship in this book, but also honesty. This was the Phil Dick I knew.” James P. Blaylock, World Fantasy Award-winning Author
“As a literary figure, Philip K. Dick is popularly perceived as a crazed, drug-addled mystic with a sinister Third Eye. Nothing could be further from the truth – the Phil I knew was a warm, humane, very funny man. Maer Wilson understands these truths far better than I, and The Other Side of Philip K. Dick casts a welcome shaft of daylight upon the real PKD, as opposed to the dark, distorted caricature Dick has become.” Paul M. Sammon, Author of Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner
“The strongest piece of writing I’ve read in years. Wilson’s pacing is perfection. The Other Side of Philip K. Dick is filled with laughter and the kind of love only true friends can share. Even if, for some reason, you’ve never heard of Philip K. Dick, you will fall in love with him and Wilson. The ending had me crying, like “end of the Notebook” crying. Utter perfection.” M. Joseph Murphy, Author of the Activation series
“There are many tales of epic friendships, but there is one huge difference here: The Other Side of Philip K. Dick is real. Wilson’s prose gives us an inside view into two minds, a genius and a young girl. Through her eyes I am left with one thought — this is a man I wish I had known.” –Danielle DeVor, author of the Marker Chronicles.
“Frank and revealing. One part faithful memoir, one part a wonderful evocation of Phil’s final 10 years. Writing with crisp clarity, Maer’s humorous anecdotes wonderfully evoke both the times and the man. Her conversational prose sparkles with truth and winning story-telling. Best of all, this warm tribute replaces the oft-told myths about Phil with unique insights into his caring, compassionate and generous nature.” Daniel Gilbertson, Friend of PKD
“As a fan of Dick’s fiction, I was engrossed by these amusing, insightful, and poignant reminiscences of the last ten years of his life. Wilson evokes a human portrait of a warm, funny, unassuming man who was a good friend to a young student. This memoir is well-written and heart-felt. It illustrates not only the private world of a great writer but what it was like to be young in the seventies in California.” Carol Holland March, Author of The Dreamwalkers of Larreta
The Other Side of Philip K. Dick will be available at your favorite retailer Summer, 2016
“We’re Muses. Not vampires, not fairies, not werewolves. We’re Muses.”
With the sudden death of her father, sixteen-year-old Sophie is devastated. Add a physical transformation, a move to a Grecian island filled with mythological creatures and a boy who happens to be a demi-god – and the overload becomes too much.
Sophie soon realizes modern day Muses are powerful guardians protecting humanity from the threat of Olympus. A job which Sophie must now train for under the auspices of her domineering grandmother.
But all is not peaceful in her new world, and old hatreds simmer beneath the surface.
Desperate to see her dead father again, Sophie makes a deal that results in a war the young Muse could never have predicted.
One that could end in the ruin of more than one world as both Earth and Olympus are threatened by her actions.
Muse Unexpected is coming soon! Check your favorite retailer or check the Ellysian Press website.
VC Birlidis
For Vasilios Constantine Birlidis, the road to getting published has been a long one. The inspiration for his novel, Muse Unexpected, was ignited when he was a child, due to his father reading to him from a worn paperback about the Greek Myths. The myths were certainly not the sort of bedtime story to read to a nine year old with an overactive imagination, and although he often begged his father to read another one, Vasilios experienced many sleepless and anxiety filled nights during his childhood.
Vasilion grew up in Miami, Florida, but now calls Columbus, Ohio and its many seasons home. He earned degrees at Capital University and North Central State College. When he’s not dabbling in the world of Muses, he works for the award-winning agency, SBC Advertising, as the Director of Marketing. This is his first novel. Visit him on the web at: www.vcbirlidis.com or on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/vcbirlidis.
Throughout her life, Daisy Cade was a free spirit who tried to fit in, but her struggle to conform was futile. And it was suffocating her. Desperate for air, she would pack up and run, often leaving chaos in her wake. At the age of thirty, weary of being labeled a “wild child.”she descended into a loveless relationship with a man who targeted her with his insidious mental cruelty – a psychological abuse so overwhelming, it threatened her sanity.
On her thirty-fifth birthday, she fled that life, too.
She returned home to Chicago, safe in the refuge of her famous brother’s house, but reeling from the fallout of her latest breakup. What she didn’t expect was for her life to collide with Stuart Adkins, whose piercing blue eyes could see right through her and understand more than she wanted him to know.
An enigmatic woman on the edge. A devoted, but meddling family. An angry ex, hell-bent on payback, and a handsome Irish singer with a troubled past. Only one thing is certain: Daisy Cade’s future is arriving like a train that’s jumped the tracks.
First published in literary magazines at the age of twelve, Melodie Ramone is a lifelong writer from the city of Chicago, Illinois.
“Words, words. Pens. Ink. It’s always been this way with me. Sometimes my fingertips get sore and sometimes I go blind, but I’m never happier than when I’m writing or have my nose shoved in a book. I get cranky when I don’t have something to create or feed to my brain.”
A lifelong lover of music, she worked in the public relations sector of the music industry from the age of sixteen to twenty-four.
“I’m definitely punk rock in the core of my soul. It bleeds through in my writing. Edgy. Everybody says I’m edgy.” She shrugs. “I get it all the time and I’m sure my background in the music business has a lot to do with it. I grew up in the mosh pits, on sidewalks beside tour buses hanging out with guys in leather jackets and motorcycle boots. I learned about life there. I watched brilliant people create magic. I learned to understand the fine line of honesty and lies that blends into fiction and becomes something greater than reality, and I learned it from some very big personalities. All of my books are influenced in some way by that period of my life. Some more than others, obviously, but the feeling is always there. That attitude is either part of you or it isn’t. Some people can fake it, but when it’s genuine you never lose it.”
Melodie’s life has quieted since then. She is now settled into a four bedroom house on a shady street in Central Illinois and spends her time as a full time novelist, Certified Kitchen Witch, mother, public speaker, event organizer, stray cat rescue advocate, and community activist.
“I wear many hats.” She grins. “I’m always busy, but if you ask me I’ll tell you my official title is ‘International Dudette of Leisure.’ Why? Because everything I do, I do with joy or I don’t do it.”
You can communicate with Melodie through the following:
Now let’s shine the spotlight on this wonderful author and find out more about her!
Maer: Thanks for joining us to tell us about your new book. What is the funniest or oddest thing that has happened to you as an author?
Melodie: I think this is the hardest question I’ve ever been asked. I don’t know. I think everything about being an author is odd, to be honest. I spend hundreds of hours watching film reels inside my head, freezing scenes inside my mind’s eye so I can describe them, and hundreds more hours listening to the disembodied voices of my characters so I can write down what they’re telling me. And then the whole thing goes to print and I get to hear from people who visited that world and became part of the experience. But the weirdest thing is when people treat me like I’m a celebrity. It’s just like… I’m a regular person, you know, with a touch of creative schizophrenia that compels me to create worlds inside of worlds. It’s all pretty bizarre, really.
Maer: That was a great answer! Do you use beta readers and, if so, what qualities do you look for in a beta?
Melodie: The only solid requirement I have for a beta reader is that they enjoy my kind of writing. I do that not because I expect a positive response, but because I don’t see the point in giving a manuscript to someone who will hate it. I can’t rewrite the whole thing to suit somebody who doesn’t enjoy reading what I write, so I look for people in my target audience – and then I let them tell me what they liked and didn’t, consider it all, and polish the story.
Maer: Is this a stand-alone or part of a series?
Melodie: It’s actually a little of both. It’s not a sequel, but as “sister” book to my second novel, BURNING DOWN ROME. Either could be read independently without much lost, but if you were to read them together both stories become much richer.
Maer: Which character, other than your MC, is one of your favorites to write and why?
Melodie: I have more than one main character in Lights of Polaris, and many side characters. There are a few that I adore. All the Cade sisters are wonderful, but if I have to choose just one side character to love, I have to go with Cooper Thomson. Cooper’s just good people. He’s loyal, hard-working, smart and he’s always looking out for those he cares about. Plus he’s funny. But more than that, he’s all heart. If you pay attention to him, everything he says and does is passionate. He doesn’t pull punches, but he’s also very kind. I think Cooper’s great.
Maer: If you had to pick a color to describe D.J. what would that be and why?
Melodie: One color to describe D.J. Cade? Wow. She’s a rainbow. So… indigo? All colors combined, I guess. One thing’s for certain, though. She’d be bright enough that you’d have to shield your eyes.
Maer: I think this is my first rainbow answer. 🙂 Love it! Who are your favorite authors to read?
Melodie: My favorite books are the really old, dry ones that most people find desperately boring. I love Dickens. Oliver Twist absolutely changed my life. It was the first book I ever read where I physically felt the emotions of a character, stopped and said, “Wow. I want to do this.” I was about nine when I read it the first time, so I didn’t understand the depth of the story, but, man, I felt its power.
Now, on a more modern scale, I really enjoy a variety of authors. I’m a huge fan of Clive Barker’s work. He makes me jealous because of his ability to paint a portrait with words. And I love an author from the 80’s named Christina Freeman. As for indie and small press authors, Maer, you’re pretty amazing. I also like Danielle DeVor. And Jenna Brooks has done some incredible work, as has Killarney Traynor and a slew of other indies. There’s a lot of quality work out there if you look. I’m pretty eclectic. I’ll read just about anything that captures my interest, genres be damned.
Maer: Can you share a bit about the project you’re working on now?
Melodie:I really don’t like to talk about works in progress. I don’t know why. I feel like when I do they lose energy. I know that’s probably superstitious or silly, but if I feel that strongly about it, I figure I better stick to my guns. But I will say that I’ll be working on a series, and it’s completely unlike anything I’ve ever written in the past. And that I’m really excited about it.
Maer: What do you do when you’re not writing?
Melodie: Pretty much all I do is write, but when I’m not I’m involved in all sorts of things, including community projects and some activism. I also rescue and adopt stray and unwanted animals, mostly cats and ferrets. I’ve been doing that for about twenty years with great success. I try to rehabilitate them, and get them proper homes.
Maer: What influenced you to write in your genre? Do you write in others?
Melodie: I have been told repeatedly that I’m a genre bender. I really just write literary fiction. My books are big, messy slices of life that you can really dig your teeth into. I’m inspired by life. Love and life, and the intricacies that bind us together and tear us apart. I try to tell the truth in my books, to really reach deep and pull out the confusion, joy and mystery that makes life interesting.
Maer: As a genre-bender myself, I can appreciate that! What music, if any, do you like to listen to while writing?
Melodie: That depends. I tend to take on habits and traits of my characters as I write them. BURNING DOWN ROME was about a pop-punk rock band, so I listened to a ton of punk music and rock n roll. During Lights of Polaris, for whatever reason, I listened to a lot of music from the sixties – like Donovan and the Rolling Stones. With the new book I’m writing, I’m playing tons of jazz and some rock music from around 2010. So it varies with the mood of my characters and what they enjoy. Or, I’ll pick a certain song for tempo in a scene – something breakneck or soothing, or heartbreaking, depending on the emotion I’m trying to evoke.
Maer: Thanks so much for stopping by today and giving us a behind-the scenes peek at what you do. Do you have anything you’d like to add?
Melodie: I just really want to thank you for having me, and I hope that anyone who picks up my books will enjoy them and take something positive away and keep it with them. I put a lot of myself into what I write and I hope that my experience, turned into fiction, can make a difference to people.
When defrocked ex-priest, Jimmy Holiday, agrees to help an old friend with his sick daughter, he doesn’t expect the horrors that await him. Blackmoor, his friend’s new residence, rests upon the outskirts of the town of Sorrow’s Point. The mansion’s history of magic, mayhem, and death makes it almost a living thing – a haunted mansion straight out of a Stephen King novel. Jimmy must decide if the young girl, Lucy, is only ill, or if the haunting of the house and her apparent possession are real.
After the house appears to affect him as well with colors of magic dancing before his eyes, rooms warded by a witch, and a ring of power in his voice, Jimmy is met by a transient who tells him he has “the Mark”. Whatever being “marked” means, Jimmy doesn’t care. All he wants to do is help Lucy. But, helping Lucy means performing an exorcism.
I’m so excited that Apocalypta Z won the Cover War over at the fabulous Masquerade Crew. There were so many awesome covers for that two-month period, but my wonderful supporters kept the voting going through two months! A giant shoutout to the members of Team Thulukanover on Facebook. They are the rock stars of my street team and their unflagging support did the trick! Thanks so much, my friends!
First – meteors. Now – zombies. Ninety-nine percent of humans and animals have become zombified, leaving the rest scrambling to survive. Maddie Worthing and Nick Stanton are among the few not infected. They’re gathering survivors and doing what they can to preserve life in their isolated desert town. Joined by the remaining townspeople and a few scientists, they search for a way to make it through the apocalypse.
The key to humanity’s continued existence may lie within the mystery surrounding Maddie’s puppy. But they need to survive the roving gangs, crazy scientists and troublemakers within their own ranks in order to discover it.
“Not since World War Z have zombies been presented in such a unique light. Give Wilson some props, and her little dog too.” Danielle DeVor, Author of Sorrow’s Point
You can get your copy of Apocalypta Z at these retailers:
First – meteors. Now – zombies. Ninety-nine percent of humans and animals have become zombified, leaving the rest scrambling to survive. Maddie Worthing and Nick Stanton are among the few not infected. They’re gathering survivors and doing what they can to preserve life in their isolated desert town. Joined by the remaining townspeople and a few scientists, they search for a way to make it through the apocalypse.
The key to humanity’s continued existence may lie within the mystery surrounding Maddie’s puppy. But they need to survive the roving gangs, crazy scientists and troublemakers within their own ranks in order to discover it.
“Not since World War Z have zombies been presented in such a unique light. Give Wilson some props, and her little dog too.” Danielle DeVor, Author of Sorrow’s Point
