The Write Journey

Applause for Ms. Rowling!

As a writer, I had serious concerns about book 7 of Harry Potter. I can only imagine what it was like to be Ms. Rowling and deal with the pressures by the media, the legions of fans, and the publishing and movie companies, to produce a fitting ending to this powerhouse cultural phenomenon. I mean how do you produce an ending that both satisfies and yet surprises under such widespread scrutiny and speculation?

But to her credit, Ms. Rowling pulled it off to beautiful effect. While I won't say the book is perfect (and honestly, what book is?), this is an outstandingly written book full of action and adventure. There are some parts that seemed to be glossed over a bit too quickly, and other parts that maybe didn't warrant as much detail as they were given, but overall the book has a strong plot that maintains a good, steady pace all the way through. Yes there is loss, and yes some of the occurrences in the book will be disturbing to those of us who have fallen in love with all of the characters. But these books have an underlying message about life, and the process of growing up, and the adversities and life-lessons we must face along the way.

For me, Harry Potter is a metaphor for these things, and the fact that we can all identify with these them is exactly what has made them so unbelievably successful. We all have at least a little Harry Potter in us, and what we learn from him is to persevere and always hold on to doing what's right. JK Rowling has created a character that will be a part of our culture from now to the end of time.

Clearly, like her beloved literary offspring, she knows how to do what's right, because Harry Potter represents all the virtues that are right in this world. I hope everyone will read and enjoy these books as much as I have.

- Gregory Bernard Banks, author

The Black Literary Imagination

I just learned about this interview from NPR Radio about the Ups and Downs of being a black speculative fiction author. In it, radio host Farai Chideya talks with fantasy writer Tananarive Due, science fiction writer Steven Barnes, and speculative fiction editor Sheree R. Thomas. The interview was done back in August of this year.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12742905

WheelMan Press launches website for upcoming book, “Into the Every”

WheelMan Press announces the launch of IntotheEvery.com to promote its latest release, due out in December (url: www.IntotheEvery.com).

September 13, 2007 - Stockbridge, GA. Today marks the official launch of IntotheEvery.com, in conjunction with the announcement that the next book from WheelMan Press will be titled Into the Every: Tales of Magic and Science. The website will serve as the lead promotional tool for the book. a collection of short stories and novelettes exploring Magic, Science, and the place beyond humanity’s wildest imagination where one becomes nearly indistinguishable from the other. The site will provide the latest information on the book’s progress as well as ongoing discussions on the ideals driving the theme of the book. The site also has links to a variety of resources in print and online related to the subjects of Science, and the Fantasy and Science Fiction genres, as well promotional items for sale, for free download, and more. “I designed IntotheEvery.com to be more than just a promotional tool,” says the author, Gregory Banks. “I also want it to be a resource for all those who are as excited by the wonder and the limitless possibilities to be found in the exploration of our universe and beyond.

WheelMan Press, a subsidiary of BDDesign LLC, published its first book, Crossroads and Other Tales, in January of 2004. Since then it has published three more books, the highly acclaimed Foreword Magazine 2005 Book of the Year Award Finalist Phoenix Tales: Stories of Death & Life, the journal/biography A Writer’s Journey in Poetry & Prose, and a reprint of the H.G. Wells classic, The Door in the Wall and Other Stories.

Author, publisher, and graphic designer Gregory Bernard Banks runs WheelMan Press. During his ten-year writing career, he’s garnered many publishing credits, and has had stories reaching both the semi- and quarter-finals of the prestigious L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest. The title story from his upcoming collection, Into the Every, finished 6th under the Science Fiction Short Story category in the 2006 Preditors and Editors Readers Poll, and another story, that will also be contained in this collection, The Summoner, currently ranks in the top five under four separate categories at Amazon Shorts. Banks currently works as co-Webmaster for the Speculative Literature Foundation, is the sole proprietor for WheelMan Press and its parent company, BDDesign LLC, and is both a Community Leader and Customer Support Representative at Lulu.com. He also writes the column “A Sedentary View” for Audacity Magazine (AudacityMagazine.com).

Into the Every: Tales of Magic and Science, is scheduled to be released in December of 2007. For more information, point your browsers to www.IntotheEvery.com.