Meet Hall of Famers Rex Burns and Kevin J. Anderson

Attitudes at Altitude promise to our readers … We celebrate the outstanding authors inducted into the Colorado Authors’ Hall of Fame (Hall) in 2019 and 2021. The Hall is the first in the United States to honor published authors exclusively. The next Induction will be on September 16, 2023.

Each month, two of the past Inductees will be featured with their background and latest books.
One of our past Inductees will offer their sage advice on “how they do it”–whatever “it” is.
You will be the first to hear about Hall Events that are planned. Next up is the Aspiring Authors Scholarships Luncheon on September 16. Plus, nominations for 2023 Inductions will open.

Have you ever wondered how authors write? How they get ideas? I love what Prolific Sci-fi author and 2021 Inductee Kevin J. Anderson shared in his insightful article for readers on how he writes, “Miles and Words and Inspiration”—sage advice for all authors.

It’s grand when new bestselling, buzzed-about authors can join the Barnes & Noble events that I put together. 2021 Inductee Patricia Raybon will be joining several local authors at the Barnes & Noble (BN) Colorado Blvd. store on June 18, the Southlands store on July 2, and the Lone Tree store on August 6 to sign copies of her All That Is Secret (An Annalee Spain Mystery). BN will be donating back to the Hall for the Aspiring Author Scholarships.

Woot … I’m thrilled to share that we have many applicants for the first Aspiring Author Scholarships. The entries will be turned over to judges this month. Huge thank you to Hall Inductee Michael Gear who will head up the judging along with others. The celebration luncheon will be held at Denver University on September 16th. Tickets are now available on the Hall’s website. Come and celebrate this next generation of authors. Register at: https://www.coloradoauthorshalloffame.org and Click on the Events tab

Meet Board member Mike Howard, who spearheaded the way so many major corporations look at their global security outreach. Mike recently retired from Microsoft as its Chief Global Security Officer. and has become an author. His first book, The Art of Ronin Leadership demanded an encore from his fans. This summer, Strategies for Ronin Leadership will be released.

It’s summertime and the bookstores welcome you. This summer, several Colorado Barnes & Noble stores will be celebrating local authors and donating a percentage of proceeds to the Aspiring Authors Scholarships. Visit the Colorado Blvd. store in Glendale on June 18th, the Southlands store in Aurora on July 2nd, and the Lone Tree store on August 6th. Authors will be there all day from 9 am to 5 pm. Come. Buy books. Support BN, which has aggressively positioned itself to support communities and the authors who reside within them.

Join us on Friday, September 16th for a unique luncheon celebration … the Hall’s first Aspiring Author Scholarships will be awarded.

The Colorado Authors’ Hall of Fame Scholarship applications are closed, effective June 1. The judges will begin evaluations this month and winners notified in August. The Hall will grant up to five $2,000 scholarships to aspiring Colorado authors and authors-to-be. The Scholarship is part of its commitment to encourage, support, and nurture Colorado connected writers.

The application consisted of general information, an essay on plans and what the applicant would do with the money, and a sampling of their current writing. They will be evaluated for excellence of writing, creativity, and yes, grammar by a panel of judges consisting of bookstore owners, librarians, and published authors.

Recipients will be honored at a luncheon event to be held on Friday, September 16, 2022, at Denver University.

Tickets are available on the Colorado Authors’ Hall of Fame website. Get yours for $75 now. Bring author friends. Why not get a table? Space will be limited: http://ColoradoAuthorsHallofFame.org and Click on Events tab.

Rex Burns

has been writing Colorado-based mysteries since 1975 along with being a professor of American Literature at the University of Colorado. To date, he has published 17 novels. He is the recipient of multiple book awards, including the Edgar for his first mystery The Alvarez Journal. His book The Avenging Angel was adapted into the 1988 film “The Messenger of Death” staring Charles Bronson.

For years, Rex wrote a monthly mystery book review column for the Rocky Mountain News. He is a contributor to Scribner’s Mystery and Suspense Writers, an advisor and contributor to the Oxford Companion to Crime and Mystery and the host of the StarzEncore’s Suspense Channel television series, “Anatomy of a Mystery.”

Kevin J. Anderson

With more than 170 published books, 58 of which have been national or international bestsellers, Kevin Anderson is a true creative wordsmith. He has written numerous novels in the Dune, Star Wars, X-Files, and Batman/Superman universes, as well as unique steampunk fantasy novels Clockwork Angels and Clockwork Lives, written with legendary rock drummer Neil Peart. His original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series, the Wake the Dragon and Terra Incognita fantasy trilogies, the Saga of Shadows trilogy, and his humorous horror series featuring Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. He has edited numerous anthologies, written comics and games, and the lyrics to two rock CDs. Kevin is the director of the graduate program in Publishing at Western Colorado University in Gunnison and he and his wife Rebecca Moesta are the publishers of Colorado-based WordFire Press.

Kevin does most of his writing by dictation while out hiking in the Colorado mountains.

He has climbed all the Fourteeners in the state and has completed the entire Colorado Trail, and after lengthy hikes he enjoys relaxing with an IPA from one of Colorado’s many excellent craft breweries. His most recent novels are Vengewar, Dune: The Duke of Caladan (with Brian Herbert), Stake (set in Colorado Springs), Kill Zone (with Doug Beason), and Spine of the Dragon.

Books of note: Dune: The Duke of Caladan and Hidden Empire: The Saga of Seven Suns Book 1

MILES AND WORDS AND INSPIRATION

Kevin J. Anderson

I like my office. My office is Colorado.

People might think that writing is a sedentary job, where authors slouch in an office chair, unmoving, as they stare at their computer screen and wait for inspiration. For me, though, writing is an active sport, an exercise in experiencing the places and a hint of the adventures taking place in my mind.

You see, I’m a dictator … no, not that kind!

Rather than sitting in front of a screen and moving my fingers on a keyboard, I actually put boots on the ground—hiking boots, that is. I carry my digital recorder, my notes for the story or chapters I plan to write, and then I hit the trail. Colorado trails.

This writing method has been around for as long as humans have made up tales, the art of verbal storytelling. I will envision my world, my characters, my plot. I map out in my mind the beginning, middle, and end of each chapter. As I go out for a walk, rain or shine, I allow myself to sink into the project at hand. While I cover mile after mile, I tell myself the story and record it; afterward, the words are transcribed, so I can edit and then deliver the finished work to readers. I use the same process, whether I’m just strolling along the local bike path or climbing a strenuous Fourteener … although my prose might have a few gasping ellipsis dots as I reach the summit of a mountain.

The process isn’t really all that different from more-traditional keyboard writing. Instead of thinking up a sentence and moving my fingers over the keys to reproduce those letters and words, I think up the sentence and speak it through my vocal cords.

I’ve been writing this way almost exclusively for more than 30 years, and although I can, if necessary, write the old-fashioned way—say if I’m stuck aboard an airplane or something—but it is not my preferred method. I feel freer and more inspired if I can exercise and explore while I’m creating my stories.

Many studies have shown the (obvious to me) conclusion that creativity increases with physical activity, that simply moving about makes the ideas flow. I have found that to be true.

Early in my career, when I was stuck on a plot twist or trying to flesh out my characters, I would go out for a walk and mull things over. I’d walk along, let my imagination wander … and, more often than not, I would have the epiphany a mile or more from home. Words would spill into my mind—the perfect dialogue, an amazing turn of phrase—and I’d rush back home to type it up … only to have forgotten all of the best parts.

That’s when I started carrying a recorder along with me, just so I could dictate notes and preserve my ideas. My dictation soon evolved into more detailed outlines, entire character conversations, and choreographing space battles. I decided I liked it.

One of my favorite activities is to go out hiking, and this way if I could write while out on the trail. I didn’t have to choose between a day of writing or a day out in the mountains. By dictating, I can come home from an exhilarating hike having written several chapters, more than I would ever have done while sitting in a claustrophobic office. I'd send my audio files off to a typist, who transcribes them and returns a Word file, which I polish up before publication.

Then the next morning I go out and do it again.

I’ve lived in Colorado for more than 25 years. I have climbed every one of the Fourteeners, completed the entire five hundred miles of Colorado Trail from Denver to Durango, and checked off the lists in hiking book after hiking book. I have covered thousands of miles and written millions of words here.

The Great Sand Dunes National Park is an epic inspiration for my novels about the desert planet Dune. Snowshoeing up mountain passes in Rocky Mountain National Park is the perfect setting to write chapters about the ice planet Hoth in my Star Wars adventures. The Anasazi cliff ruins in Mesa Verde or the bizarre rock formations of Garden of the Gods are an excellent imaginary setting for alien landscapes and lost civilizations. Waterfalls, petrified dinosaur tracks, the lost dreams implied by the abandoned ruins of old mines, hot springs, glaciers, dense forests—everything provides a jumping-off point for my imagination to explore the vast galaxy and the ancient past.

Colorado is a nice office, and I can be very productive here … to the benefit of readers everywhere.

###

I have had experience serving and leading several boards in my life and still, in addition to the CAHF, serve on a few even in my retirement as the Chief Security Officer of Microsoft. During my own journey to write and get my books published, I have met many wonderful and giving people who helped me see my dreams of becoming an author come to fruition. Having attended the Colorado Authors’ Hall of Fame Induction Gala this past fall, my wife and I, though not from Colorado, felt embraced by all of the attendees and were made to feel part of the Colorado author’s community.

Being on a board is not just giving whatever brainpower and spirit power you have to a worthy effort, but it has always been for me, a learning experience. Board work helps me to grow and experience/learn new things, skills, and ideas. I also believe serving on this Board will help me to hone the craft of writing by being around so many accomplished and experienced writers.

Support the Hall

The Colorado Authors' Hall of Fame celebrates the accomplishments of living and deceased authors who have been connected to Colorado—their words, wisdom, accomplishments, and the life-changing impact their works create. The result: their legacy lives on.

The Hall is an all-volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that honors and celebrates authors connected with Colorado by birth, residence, temporary residency for writing encouragement and support, writing about elements within Colorado, or placing storylines in or about Colorado.

Authors’ words have immense power and impact on changing others’ lives. They solve problems, bring awareness to a topic, and provide hours of pleasurable reading. It’s the power of their words.

Your financial assistance through donations and participation at events supports the bi-annual Induction Gala in odd-numbered years, the Aspiring Author Scholarships, and the general operation to bring these events to the public.

Please support the Hall for this year going forward.