The Savage Sword of Obama

President Barack Obama made it known during his campaign that he has been an avid collector of two Marvel comic books since his childhood: Spider Man and the Savage Sword of Conan. While I don’t read comic books, I find this presidential connection to one of fantasy fiction’s most iconic characters rather heartening (after all, one’s tastes say a great deal about a person), and I smile at the idea of classic comic books residing in a future presidential library.

The Onion took Obama’s fascination with Conan a few steps into the realm of the ludicrous (as they often do) in a recent article sure to elicit a chuckle from comic book and Conan fans alike. Perhaps there’s a Department of Swords and Sorcery in our nation’s near future, or is that already a bureau in the Department of Homeland Security?

Man, do I love The Onion.

Preditors and Editors Nomination

Well I’ll be.  Someone saw fit to nominate my story, “What Heroes Leave Behind,” for best SciFi/Fantasy short story in the Preditors and Editors Poll.  Thank you to my anonymous supporter.  I see a lot of other stories from the Return of the Sword anthology in there, too, which is great.  In fact, I cast my own vote for one of them.

You can vote for or nominate your own favorite short story here.  There are loads of other categories, too, so have at it.