Matthew Kresal

Extra nerdy moment of this evening for me with a brief bit of interaction with one of my favorite authors (and fellow Sidewise winner!) over on BlueSky. If you’ve not read Mary Robinette Kowal’s Lady Astronaut novels and have felt some “Moon joy” this week, go check them out!

"Christmas time. Presents. Turkey or a piece of poultry on the table for dinner. Stories of redemption and a new found chance of happiness (romantic or otherwise) amid the snows of the holiday season.

All of these are hallmarks across the western world of that time up to and around the 25th of December every year. Many of which can trace their influence back to one particular work published just before Christmas 1843. Called by some “The Second Greatest Christmas Story Ever Told”, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens has spent the last 182 years continually being not only read but adapted, with the name of its protagonist having become a synonym for those greedy and lacking in cheer around the holiday season.

Which makes it all the more remarkable that if events had gone a little differently, Dickens might never have written A Christmas Carol at all."

Join me this holiday season over at the Sea Lion Press blog for the story of the circumstances that gave rise to a classic and its impact on this time of year.

A Christmas Carol That Almost Wasn't By Matthew Kresal.Christmas time. Presents. Turkey or a piece of poultry on the table for dinner. Stories of redemption and a new found chance of happiness (romantic or otherwise) amid the snows of the holiday season.All of these are hallmarks across the western world of that time up to and around t...

I'm pleased to announce that I've returned to the latest issue of Chromakey, the Magazine of Cult Television, from the wonderful folks at Pencil Tip Publishing. Join me for a look back more than seven decades when James Bond first came to the screen played not by Sean Connery but by American actor Barry Nelson in a live TV version of Casino Royale. Check that and articles about Stargate SG-1, Crusade, Survivors, and more over on the Pencil Tip Publishing Lulu store.