The Scribe Awards 2008

Posted by Bob Greenberger on July 27, 2008

The International Association of Media Tie-In Writers handed out the second annual Scribe Awards during a Saturday event at Comic-Con International.

According to co-founder Max Allan Collins, “The nominee panelists were a varied and interesting lot, with our Faust winner Alan Dean Foster a particular standout. Andy Mangels did his usual smooth emcee job, and it was great having co-founder Lee Goldberg on the panel.”

The Scribes also handed out the first Grandmaster Award which honors a writer for his extensive and exceptional work in the tie-in field. This year’s honoree is Alan Dean Foster.

As to the winners themselves….

BEST GENERAL FICTION ORIGINAL

MR. MONK AND THE TWO ASSISTANTS by Lee Goldberg

BEST GENERAL FICTION ADAPTED

AMERICAN GANGSTER by Max Allan Collins

BEST SPECULATIVE ORIGINAL

STARGATE ATLANTIS: CASUALTIES OF WAR by Elizabeth Christensen

BEST GAME-RELATED ORIGINAL (SPECIAL SCRIBE AWARD)

EBERRON: NIGHT OF THE LONG SHADOWS by Paul Crilley

BEST SPECULATIVE ADAPTED

30 DAYS OF NIGHT by Tim Lebbon

BEST YOUNG ADULT ORIGINAL

NANCY DREW AND THE CLUE CREW #10: TICKET TROUBLE by Stacia Deutsch & Rhody Cohon

BEST YOUNG ADULT ADAPTED

THE 12 DOGS OF CHRISTMAS by Steven Paul Leiva

I served on the Best General Fiction Adapted award jury but am giving jury duty a pass this year given what’s going on. Instead, I’ll be submitting Hellboy II for consideration, a first for me.

Week Twenty-eight

Posted by Bob Greenberger on July 26, 2008

This has been a roller coaster of a week and yet when all is said and done, nothing has really changed.

The roller coaster part has to do with doctors from varying specialties treating a CT scan as a Rorschach test. Everyone has seen something different and depending upon who saw what and when, they came and told us different things. Some were very scary things which caused unneeded emotional angst.

Here we are, at the end of the week and know this much: he still has leukemia. The chemo he’s been taking as a holding action has done its job so now he’s off it so his blood counts can recover a bit, including more leukemia cells. But there are good cells in the mix and he needs those to combat the last vestiges of the fungus still within his lungs.

He may still have fungus in there which is why they’ve added a third antifungal plus a drug to starve the fungus of iron.

Robbie remains transfusion dependent for thins like platelets and red blood cells, a situation that can be managed for some time but does involve a lot of pre-medication and time keeping him tethered to the IV pole (currently decorate with an inflatable parrot).

A CT scan on Tuesday followed by a fresh bone marrow study on Thursday will guide the next steps but will most likely involve repeating the chemo regimen he had for round four to knock him back into remission.

There is no 100% bone marrow donor match so now they’re coming up with the criteria they want for the next-best-thing. Marrow registry remains important to increase the size of the pool and I was honored when my old time pal Melissa Ann Singer wrote about it at the newly launched tor.com.

The other fact, mentioned on Monday when he moved from a double to a private room but really brought home as the week wore on is that Robbie’s in the hospital indefinitely. We were told to make his room comfortable so all the posters Kate bought him in January went back up on the walls and other little touches were brought back so the room looks more like a dorm room than hospital room. The news settled in and has frustrated Robbie who really misses the events that happen in life. His friends came in numbers this week and while they shared the gossip with him, it was clear he won’t be making any gossip for some time.

Another thing we realized this week: Robbie has touched an increasing number of doctors. Dr. Dodson rotated off the floor and made a point of saying goodbye then paying a visit later in the week. She explained to us that all the interns and residents pass along news of his status and each new resident coming on is instructed that its part of their job. Additionally, his oncology team has been nothing but top-notch. They have become the gatekeepers of information, rallying the departments to funnel their news through them rather than give us four or five different thoughts that can confuse or worse, frighten, us. Dr. Massaro and Dr. Beardsley have been nothing short of wonderful with their time and level of interest in Robbie.

We feel in very good hands. It’s important considering how dependent we’ve become on the staff to help us look after his immediate well-being while working to cure him of this insidious set of diseases.

Bob the Artifact

Posted by Bob Greenberger on July 24, 2008

To me, age has always been a number. People used to freak about turning 30 and to me the ones who bellyached about it usually had nothing show for that first decade of adulthood.

I said for years that the only number that might give me pause was 50 given its half-century significance. In the last few years I stopped saying that since I didn’t feel old. Being 50 wasn’t significant any more since it’s maybe the beginning of middle age or something like that. After all, I’m likely to be working another two decades before retiring and nearly that long to qualify for social security.

Robbie, though, has been looking forward to this milestone for quit e some time now since it would qualify both his parents to be artifacts.

Today, I am an artifact.

I don’t feel like one. In fact, I feel pretty good. My doctor is pleased with my general health and the stress from the last six months has made me tired but that’s about it. Of course, with Robbie’s condition, I haven’t given my birthday and its cultural significance a s lot of thought,

Others, though, have. Robbie’s plan all along had been to buy those 50 year old gag gifts and hide them in my luggage so I’d have a laugh while in San Diego. Instead, he was hospitalized and I never left the east coast. His gift is now letting us leave early tomorrow – together – for dinner and The Dark Knight..

He’s also been telling people at the hospital so various members of the staff have wished me well and given me some hugs since their schedules have them missing the actual day.

My old DC boss, Terri Cunningham, generously planned a surprise birthday breakfast for me at San Diego but those plans also had to be scuttled but the thought was certainly appreciated.

E-mails have been arriving for a few days once it cropped up on various social networking sites. A few cards have arrived from friends and family. All of this pleased me, but the celebration is a muted one given the gravity of the situation.

The cliché has it you’re as young as you feel. I certainly don’t feel like the stereotypical 50 year old. Can’t quite put an age to it, but I don’t feel old and barely think of myself as middle aged. (And yet, my brother, thinking it funny, sent me the application to the AARP.)

Thanks to all for the wishes, may there be fifty more opportunities.

For my Next Trick…

Posted by Bob Greenberger on July 22, 2008

Growing up, I came a little late to the Marvel super-heroes. I discovered them via the limited animated cartoons under the umbrella title Marvel Super-Heroes. Soon after, Mom surprised with an issue of Thor (#134 for those keeping score) and shortly, I was collecting Marvels alongside my stack of DCs.

While I liked them and was getting to learn about them, at first there was something about the Golden Avenger that always appealed to me. Maybe it was the armor or the fact he needed technology to stay alive. I couldn’t tell you. But I also remember being jazzed when I saw the first Adam Austin issues of Tales of Suspense and that solidified my affection for Iron Man.

Ever since, he has remained one of my favorite Marvel heroes and super-heroes in general. I’ve suffered through long creative droughts, ugly armor designs and some poorly conceived villains. But there have also been the highlights such as “Demon in a Bottle” and he’s been blessed with outstanding artwork more often than not.

As reported earlier, I loved the movie.

Today, I am happy to report that I will spend some eight weeks this fall writing an original Iron Man novel for DelRey. As part of their deal to novelize the movie, they also picked up the rights for two originals. I lobbied long and hard to get the deal because of my affection for the character. When the offer came through I was ecstatic.

I was then asked for three springboards and I tried to imagine an era that worked for a story I wanted to tell. Honestly, I didn’t want to do anything current with the extremis technology but more because Tony Stark was too tied to the rest of the Marvel Universe. Instead, I wanted to find a period closer to what the mass market would recognize from the film, which just happens to coincide with my golden reading years as a kid.

I came up with the three ideas, two I really liked. My editor then informed me that he was so swamped; he was bringing in a freelance editor. Another delight in that the new face was an old friend. Steve Saffel, former Marvel exec and former DelRey editor and a longtime pal, had about the same enthusiasm for the character. Additionally, it wasn’t that long ago we agreed working together would be fun and here it was a reality.

He glommed on to one of my favored ideas and we’ve been batting it back and forth. Today, I delivered one unannounced project to my editor and tomorrow I’ll begin a short unannounced piece which should take me through the weekend. In theory, come Monday, I can expand the one paragraph pitch into an outline worthy of an 85,000 word work; my longest novel yet.

But it’s Iron Man! How cool is that?

Bone Marrow Drives

Posted by Bob Greenberger on July 20, 2008

People always ask how they can help. Locally, we’ve had people cook for us, walk the dog, rake the yard, and send cards. Further away, people have sent cards or stayed in touch to offer support. We tell everyone to give blood (we’ve lost count as to how many units of red blood cells and platelets he’s received) and feel free to register for the bone marrow registry.

For most that’s enough.

For Robbie’s friends at Shore Leave, that wasn’t enough. Robert Longo, Karen Donnelly and others from the committee decided to augment their annual blood drive with a bone marrow registry drive. They went out and received a grant to cover the costs so people could donate risk free. All weekend long people wore yellow buttons asking “R U a Match?” Eighty people registered across Friday and Saturday which was terrific.

The convention also did an auction with money going to the Marrow Foundation. The biggest ticket item was a George Takei caricature, drawn by George, which he and I auctioned off Sunday afternoon. It fetched a whopping $650. All told, they raised over $2800.

My pal Kevin Dilmore received permission from his employer, Hallmark, to bring five variant Uhura ornaments, signed by the artist. At the beginning of the masquerade Saturday night, I had a ball auctioning them off, raising an additional $1500 or so for the Tommy Fund, a local charity that aids family’s of patients plus covers salary for first year oncology fellows.

Meantime, Robbie’s friend Marianne Honeycutt is working at the Fairfield U. bookstore this summer and caught wind that Swim Across the Sound was holding their annual bone marrow registry on the 18th. She decided to use the opportunity to get people to donate to potentially help Robbie. She got in touch with the right people then posted it on Facebook, inviting about 100 people. Well, you know what happens next…within days some 1000 people had been invited.

Word spread and his priest asked for the info to pass around the parish. The Democratic Town Committee also passed the info on line. A friend told a friend told a friend…

The event was scheduled from 12:30 to 6:30 and in the past, the Swim event netted 30 registrants a year. This year, the people came and came and came, so things didn’t end until 7:45. Marianne’s mom Denise and our friend Martha Brooks manned the table every minute, with no relief. People registered, talked to a nurse, got swabs taken, and the material was packed for study. For many it was an unexpected high school reunion while others came from everywhere including our friends Paul and Robin Kupperberg from Stamford.

By the time the worn out people called it a night, 101 people had joined the registry.

Robbie and his parents are honored by the support and thank one and all.

Week Twenty-seven

Posted by Bob Greenberger on July 19, 2008

This has been another week for significant changes and events so settle back and follow along.

On Saturday, Robbie had a surgical consult regarding the fungal infection. Deb and Robbie insisted whatever was decided be done by consulting Dr. Beardsley. Well, by dinner time, the surgery was scheduled but no, Dr. Beardsley hadn’t been consulted. When she heard from Deb, she showed up at 9 p.m. and worked the phones pulling all the appropriate doctors in for a Sunday morning meeting to determine if the surgeon’s call was the right one.

On time, the doctors clustered outside his door and reviewed the scans, the blood work and compared notes. It was decided the surgery was absolutely necessary and would be done that day. Deb and Dr. Beardsley decided I should remain in Maryland to be with Kate, try to sleep and come home Monday. It made perfect sense although it was tough getting through the final day of Shore Leave while thinking about him.

Deb’s brothers Jim and John, and their wives, dropped everything and came to spend the day with her. Periodically, the anesthesiologist would bring out updates and while it was going well, they had to slow down their pace given Robbie’s low blood counts and clotting issues. Finally, it was finished and around 8 p.m., Dr. Massaro brought Deb in to see him. Deb’s oldest friend, Judy, came up to spend the night and day with her as the family had to go home and to work.

In short, they removed 30% of his lungs but we have been assured we’re born with 50% excess capacity so by doing the math, he should be fine long-term. A few days later Dr. Topal, the adult infectious disease man, gave us the name of the fungus and reminded us not to look on the internet, which we haven’t. He confirmed that he has never successfully treated a patient with this type of fungus medicinally so the right call had been made.

He spent Monday through Thursday in the Cardiothoracic ICU. We were given use of a private lounge with a cot so we could take our turns spending the night. On Monday, they woke him up from sedation and he was alert and communicative, gesturing for pen and paper to ask questions which ranged from the procedure to who pitched Sunday’s Mets game. They extubated him in the afternoon and he was far more comfortable.

While the ICU staff was attentive and worked with him to walk and breathe and eat, they clearly weren’t as used to a 20 year old as they were with the much older patients they routinely handle. From the pain and anti-nausea medicines, he was pretty disoriented for large stretches of time. His comments were loopy and entertaining and with each passing day, he was more cogent and awake for longer stretches of time. He had a steady stream of visitors from his priests to staff from 7-West who wanted him back. He was healing nicely and his surgeon was very upbeat about his progress.

On Thursday, he had the final two chest tubes removed and he was cleared to return to 7-West. Upon arrival, he discovered Child Life had decked out his room with pirate regalia with a huge welcome back sign. He settled into his bed and promptly drifted off into a long, deep nap; as if he was finally allowing himself to relax. That night, though, those final two wounds leaked and oozed and despite lots of pressure and blood products, it became difficult to control. At 2:30 a.m., it was decided he needed to be in the Pediatric ICU next door.

They got it under control and on Friday, they sutured all five exit wounds to be certain in addition to giving him lots more blood product. Dr. Joe McNamara, his on call oncologist, said there was some concern over clotting so they had to see if new products were required. Other than the sutured areas feeling tight, he’s remained dry for over 12 hours as I write this so we think the worst is over. Fortunately, they were able to keep his room intact on 7-West so we can easily relocate across the way today or tomorrow.

Right now he’s relatively comfortable and his blood work is encouraging to the doctors as he heals. He walks for exercise, which helps tremendously.

As he weans himself off the morphine for the pain, they will start him back on the chemo regimen to knock him back into remission. After two weeks, we’ve heard very little about progress in finding him a bone marrow match. Tomorrow, I’ll talk a little about two bone marrow drives that impressed the hëll out us all.

Chatting about Work

Posted by Bob Greenberger on July 16, 2008

We haven’t talked about work in a while so I figured it’s time for an update.

Each day I continue to write for Famous Monsters of Filmland and do my work for the Heroes Happen Here web comic strip. The latter is winding up its six month run and it’s been quite the experience. The graphic novel project I’m managing for ACE is also a month away from completion and I’m pleased to say we’re on target. The other ACE graphic novel project is about ready to be announced by a publisher, hopefully next week at San Diego. It’ll be published in November if all goes according to plan and having seen the first pages of color, I think it looks great. I am also attached to a new consultancy project that ACE is about to contract for so that could be cool, too.

The rest of the day is doing the odds and ends little projects along with the big projects. I did two short jobs for different DC Comics departments over the last few weeks, along with completing my essays for another themed non-fiction collection, this one called Haunted Museums and it should be out next May. And I get distracted tidying up previous projects like proofing galleys to Biomes: Deserts, which I did at Shore Leave and this week I have to finish the galleys to Bataan Death March.

I had two major projects for the summer, one is for DC Comics and not yet announced. It has been first drafted and needs a polish but overall it’s not a bad bit of work. The other was the previously mentioned massive editing project. Unfortunately, materials got to me late, while Robbie was back in the hospital, and getting my head wrapped around it has proven difficult. Last week’s setbacks haven’t helped and I admit to being worried about it.

Post-summer, I have my first YA fiction assignment which is another media tie-in but one I’m pleased about. The other is something I lobbied for and was delighted to receive, a media tie-in original novel. I need to take the chosen springboard and expand it into a full outline then get to writing. A different media tie-in project inches along for a full proposal to the editor. I also have springboards cooking for another project but, tantalizingly it’s the same media tie-in property, but a different editor and publisher.

I also had a meeting last week that could lead into a long-term consultancy that has me very excited on a number of levels. I’ll know more post-San Diego.

My first anniversary as a fulltime freelance writer approaches in a few short weeks and it looks like I will sail right by the deadline and keep going which is a pleasant surprise. When this all began, I had no idea what was going to happen and the work continues to pop up from unexpected places.

Ah, Shore Leave

Posted by Bob Greenberger on July 13, 2008

I love Shore Leave. I’ve loved being here since Shore Leave 3 and here we are celebrating Shore Leave 30. The kids grew up here and Robbie has always considered the Hunt Valley Inn his home away from home.

This year it’s different. We missed last year’s show because of my father-in-law’s funeral and this year we’re missing Deb and Robbie. The people have been fabulous with cancer survivors coming to tell me their stories and offering experienced words of encouragement.

The con’s bone marrow drive netted over 80 donors which is great overall. On Saturday we auctioned off numerous items for the Tommy Fund, the people who have provided us with parking passes and help fund the fellows who practice pediatric oncology. Kevin Dilmore offered us five variant Uhura ornaments, autographed by the artist, and the only five currently in circulation. That netted us some $1200 which was rather nice.

All weekend long it was nice to play catch up with fellow colleagues such as Kevin, Dayton Ward, Amy Sisson, Dave Galanter, Allyn Gibson, Marco Palmieri and others. It was also great to see the Baltimore-based gang such as Howard and Susan Weinstein and all the Boogie Knights. On the other hand, the number of regulars not here for one reason or another has been surprising.

So, it felt normal and it felt a tad off. Both Kate and I noticed we were here and having fun but not fully engaged as we kept thinking about those not beside us.

My panels went well and I had fun playing emcee, auctioneer and masquerade judge so circulating in public was certainly a treat. Meet the Pros was odd in that rather than have us all clustered, we were spread in the hall and one of the meeting rooms so it felt lightly attended and diffuse. Still, the Borders that was selling our books had sold out of my Hellboy II novelization and had just two copies of The Essential Batman Encyclopedia left so that was gratifying.

Today will be more of the same starting with the annual Bob & Howie panel and ending with Mystery Trekkie Theater. I’m really looking forward to the opening skit even though it will put my lack of rhythm on display.

In all, it was fun and entertaining and tiring but still not feeling complete.

Week Twenty-six

Posted by Bob Greenberger on July 12, 2008

A crummy week only seemed to get worse as the sixth month came to an end.

As you know, on Sunday we got hr word the leukemia had returned. As the week progressed, Robbie had a variety of issues with blood pressure and oxygen. It was clear he was going to need plenty of help so once the nasal tubes were strapped over his ears, they remained there for the rest of the week.

The issue with the breathing seems to be connected to the fungal infection in his left lung. On Wednesday, the nadir day of the week, Robbie started the day with the bone marrow biopsy. We later learned that it was the same leukemia, M5A, so they knew what how to treat him. As the day progressed, though, Robbie remained NPO (no food or water) waiting for a scheduled time for his lung aspiration to finally get a piece of the fungus. The schedule was packed in the radiation room and they wanted to make it for Thursday. Dr. Massaro refused to accept that and pushed. During all this back and forth, Robbie got really worn and tired and thirsty. Finally, when a resident came to get his consent for the Thursday procedure, he refused. He knew his doctors wanted it done today and he wasn’t signing until the schedule was final. Dr. Beardsley herself walked down to radiation (a scan was required to see where to stick the needle) to make certain he got on Wednesday’s schedule. His nurse, Laura, went with him for the procedure and Dr. Beardsley came out, happy with the samples they managed to retrieve.

Robbie declared Thursday to be an intrusion-free day. The doctors and nurses on 7-West rallied to keep members of other departments away from his door unless absolutely necessary. As a result, he rested a lot, as he deserved.

Meantime, the parents were informed that the fungus removed was not a good kind, not at all. It meant changing his chemo protocol, which had begun the night before. They now needed to keep the leukemia at bay while allowing his few good white cells to work with the antifungal medication to help him. The specimen was growing in the lab and by Monday we’d know more.

Friday he had another MRI as they continued to measure and locate the fungus. Everythign looked fine, in fact, the antifungal may have actually shrunk some of the fungus since the previous scan.

We’re now in some very serious, very scary territory. The fungus is insidious and takes time to beat, even in healthy people. The goal is to beat the fungus then treat the leukemia, mixing and matching medications that will do the least harm to his various organs. The search for a bone marrow donor continues and while we’re told there are some promising candidates, Dr. Massaro noted there weren’t as many as she would have liked. A vague but concerning comment – just another in a long line of things this week that indicates the kid cannot catch a break.

We were repeatedly assured that this is not the end. While serious, they’ve seen it before. They know how to treat this and have successfully done so in the past. One doctor told us that this transplant doctor, his adult infectious disease doctor and Dr. Beardsley are three of the smartest doctors in the hospital. He’s in great hands medically and in very loving, caring hands from the nursing side. We’re taking comfort tin this as we enter some new, dark and for us, uncharted territory.

People continue to rally and support us. In addition to the bone marrow drive at Shore Leave this weekend, there will be serious auctioning going on for leukemia research. At the Pocket Books panel last night editor Marco Palmieri not only pushed the drive but at the end of his presentation, flashed an image wishing Robbie the best of luck with his treatment. Again, we remain humbled by the support.

Shore Leave Schedule

Posted by Bob Greenberger on July 9, 2008

So, my schedule for Shore Leave is now up and honestly, I expected to be a little busier. On the other hand, it leaves me time to socialize and, sadly, work.

Friday

10-12 p.m. Meet the Pros

Saturday

10-11 a.m. An hour with me chatting about Robbie, my current projects, and showing movie trailers.

1-2 p.m. eBook Post-Mortem — Goodbye to SCE, Mere Anarchy, Slings and Arrows — the eBook line comes to an end. Keith R.A. DeCandido (m), Christopher L. Bennett, Kevin Dilmore, William Leisner, David Mack, Dayton Ward, Howard Weinstein, and whoever else shows up including me.

3-4 p.m. Writers and their Day Jobs
Aaron Rosenberg, Dave Mack, Glenn Hauman, Allyn Gibson, Me

Sunday

10-11 Bob & Howie Show
Howard Weinstein and I reunite in what has become an annual tradition of shooting the breeze and entertaining the crowd.

11-12 p.m. Comics to Film — Dave Galanter, Bob Greenberger, Kevin Dilmore

12-1 p.m. SCE Port-Mortem

2-3 p.m. Movie Novelizations and Why We Love Them Even Though They Drive Us Bat**** Crazy” — Robert Greenberger (m), Greg Cox, A.C. Crispin, Peter David, & Michael Jan Friedman

5-6 p.m. Mystery Trekkie Theatre

Additionally, Kate will be there performing with the Boogie Knights Saturday at 11 and as the Masquerade Half-Time Show.

Most importantly, the con is running a Bone Marrow Drive in Robbie’s honor so those attending please help.