I should have told Peter David
In which I wish I’d said something, get a box of books, and news of another.
It was just five days ago that I came home from a day out to be greeted with the news of the passing of writer Peter David. I posted the following that evening on my Facebook account:
His name on a comic series or novel meant an instant read. His weekly columns in the Comics Buyer's Guide were a constant joy.
Was honored to have spent time with him at various conventions over the years. I still use some of the techniques I learned from him in a comics writing class.
But my absolute favorite memory is the two of us debating the Arthurian connections of The Fantastic Four on a panel at FenCon in Dallas.
I know he’d been struggling with health issues for quite a while, but this is still a great loss to the creative community.
Thank you so much for all your words and wisdom.
But over the last few days, my thoughts kept drifting back to Peter and two instances in particular when he had a major impact on my life and writing.
When I was working on Star Trek: The Illustrated History, my book on the history of Star Trek in comics, Peter was a great help and took time out to answer my interminable email questions, but he declined to participate in the creator interviews section. That was fine and not a problem. I’m sure he had his reasons.
One of the first reviews for the book was along the lines of “this book would have been so much better if the author had spoken to Peter David.” - He got a kick out of that when I shared it with him.
A fun memory, but the more I thought about Peter this week, the one memory that kept rising to the surface is a darker one, from years before I met him.
In 1991, our youngest daughter was born with a life-threatening congenital heart condition. When she was just 9 months old, she went into the hospital for some pioneering open-heart surgery. Knowing we would be doing a lot of sitting around waiting, we packed books. I picked up a copy of the Star Trek: Next Generation novel “Vendetta” by Peter David. A name I knew from comics, but this was the first time I’d picked up any of his prose work.
That book helped me during those terrifying few days while our child underwent extensive surgery and fought for her life in the intensive care unit afterwards. At times, I had dark and deep thoughts about where we were and what we could be facing as a family. Peter David’s words drew me into a place of comfort and hope with the familiar crew of the Enterprise. If they could overcome seemingly insurmountable odds, then so could we as a family.
And we did. Our daughter survived, thrived, and has been a model of strength. A survivor who is now a mother to two wonderful daughters of her own.
In the few conversations we had over the years, I never told Peter David about how his words had helped.
I wish I had.
Alan
Other Stuff
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Lemon Hog Publishing
As this newsletter drops, we are just one day away from the paperback release of Gill’s debut novel, Trust Issues.
We’ve already heard of a couple of book clubs who have said they’d review it, and pre-orders for the physical book have been on a par with the eBook orders. The reviews also continue to come in.
Overall, an exciting time for us all.
Trust Issues is the first novel in the exciting new Brightwater series of light-thrillers
When her ex-husband is found murdered Ellie Brightwater must delve deep to find the strength to protect her daughter. Ellie has to break out of the protective shell she has created and learn to trust friends and ex-lovers while not being sure who is working with her or against her.
You can now pick up your copy of the eBook right now at your favorite online book retailer for just $2.99.
The paperback edition will be published on May 31st.
Exciting times are ahead, and you can keep up with our progress at the Lemon Hog Publishing instagram account.
Brabazon Bits
Details are now finalized, and I’m happy to confirm we will be launching my new book on the Bristol Brabazon at the Aerospace Bristol museum on June 7th with a signing between 11:30 am and 3:30 pm. Looking forward to meeting folks there.
The book has also been signed off and gone to press. The day before the sign-off I was sent a copy of the printer’s proof for the finalized cover - and it looks good.
On September 13th, I will be presenting a talk on the ‘Mighty Brab’ followed by a signing at my local indy bookstore, Snug Books in north Baltimore. We are also in conversations about some other potential US signing events - more on those to come.
“Bristol Brabazon: The Ocean Liner of the Skies and its Ongoing Legacy” will be published on 30 MAY, 2025 in the UK and 30 JULY, 2025 in the US.
Word Slinging
It’s been a good couple of weeks of book news in general. As well as the Brabazon book nearing its publication date, I received my box of copies of Masked Rider Vol. 4 from the fine folks at Airship 27 Productions. This new Western anthology includes two of my short stories, “Wild Duck” and “Alamo Reflex,” both featuring Wild Bill Hickok.
Plus, the latest volume of Outside In: Star Trek essays from the fine folks at ATB is now available for pre-order. This time around, we tackle Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, including my take on the 007-esque “Our Man Bashir” episode.
Podcast Procrastinations
The Chronological Christie podcast continues to grow faster than we’d possibly imagined.
The second part of our discussion on the Poirot Investigates collection is now live. In this episode, we take a look at:
- The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb
- The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan
- The Kidnapped Prime Minister
- The Disappearance of Mr Davenheim
- The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman.
And to make it easier to find the podcast, it now has a shiny domain name -
https://ChronologicalChristie.com
And for updates and reminders, you can also follow the podcast's Instagram account -
Pages and Screens
Books Read in 2025 - “The Essential Rawhide Kid Vol. 1” by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
Around 400 pages of early Marvel mid-50s style Western action as only Lee and Kirby can deliver. A perfect accompaniment to my late evening revisits of classic TV Westerns.
As well as the bombastic action packed plots and the Kirby acrobatics of the titular hero the collection also includes several of Stan Lee’s two-page prose Western stories and the occasional back ups from other early Marvel stalwarts like Don Heck, Jack Davis, and Gene Colan.
A fascinating insight into the pre-superhero days at Marvel and the developing dynamic between Lee and Kirby as storytellers.
Over at our online bookstore at Bookshop.org I’ve now added a new section listing books read so far in 2025, so you can pick up copies of any that interest you, while also helping out local independent bookstores.
Weekly Web Round-Up
Batman On The Cover - We continue our chronological look at Batman’s publishing history as we take a look at the new releases from March 1970 in Brazil, Belgium, Denmark, and France.
Is it just me, or is the Dark Knight sporting lipstick in this Danish cover?
Where on the Web is Alan?
You can now find links to all the places you can find me online, websites, newsletters, social media, and more in a single LINKS page on my personal website.
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See you next time
Alan J. Porter
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