Ask the Author: Clifford B. Pearson
Answered Questions (4)
Clifford B. Pearson
I woke to the rowboat rocking and the lake so still it held the stars like pins. Then the man in the other boat raised his hand, and I realized he was waving from exactly where my reflection should have been.
Clifford B. Pearson
Melniboné - An ancient island empire from Michael Moorcock’s Elric books, full of old magic and messy politics. I’d watch the sunrise from the sea wall and ask Elric straight up what power really costs.
Camelot - King Arthur’s court from the Arthurian legends. I’d find Merlin, talk about fate versus choice, then sit in the great hall and listen to the singers before the quests kick off.
Greyhawk - The classic Dungeons & Dragons world on Oerth. I’d grab a stool at the Green Dragon Inn, swap stories, and tag along with a small party for one careful dungeon run.
Oz - L. Frank Baum’s bright, strange land beyond the Deadly Desert. I’d walk the road to the Emerald City with a notebook in my pocket, catching the moment when ordinary things turn wonderful.
Camelot - King Arthur’s court from the Arthurian legends. I’d find Merlin, talk about fate versus choice, then sit in the great hall and listen to the singers before the quests kick off.
Greyhawk - The classic Dungeons & Dragons world on Oerth. I’d grab a stool at the Green Dragon Inn, swap stories, and tag along with a small party for one careful dungeon run.
Oz - L. Frank Baum’s bright, strange land beyond the Deadly Desert. I’d walk the road to the Emerald City with a notebook in my pocket, catching the moment when ordinary things turn wonderful.
Clifford B. Pearson
Summer is over, but here's my list for this year - “Young Mungo” by Douglas Stuart for tender, gritty coming of age; “Circe” by Madeline Miller for mythic character work; “The Mabinogion” translated by Sioned Davies and “The Táin” translated by Thomas Kinsella for Celtic roots; “A Swim in a Pond in the Rain” by George Saunders, “Steering the Craft” by Ursula K. Le Guin, and “The Art of Memoir” by Mary Karr for craft.
Clifford B. Pearson
Whether an extraterrestrial intelligence exists that already knows about us, surpasses us, and takes any real interest in what we are doing. If a mind like that is out there, our ancestors would have called it a god, and we would see it as a civilization far beyond our reach. The universe is old, vast, and full of time for others to have risen first. A culture with that head start could study Earth the way we watch a tide pool, mostly hands-off, sometimes curious, and almost impossible for us to notice. The heart of the mystery is motive. If they are indifferent, the silence makes sense. If they are curious, their presence might be subtle enough to miss. If they ever chose to act, their tools would feel like magic to us. I keep wondering which is more likely, and what it would mean for who we are and how we tell our stories.
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