Loosen up your clicking fingers, because here are a few links I found to be particularly fun or inspiring:

The Nasty Four-Letter Word That Keeps You From Writing

The Top 20 Ways to Come Up With Amazing Ideas

Litemind’s List Group Writing Project

Nimrod by Chris Samnee (one of my favorite comic villains drawn by one of my favorite comic artists)

Robert E. Howard was a helluva storyteller. Best known as the creator of Conan and the father of the sword-and-sorcery genre, Howard was a prolific author, spinning yarns ranging from fantasy epics to horror to prizefighting tales. He was a contemporary of Lovecraft, and he contributed his own stories to the Cthulhu mythos. Luckily for those of you who want to dive head first into a Robert E. Howard Christmas, much of his work has been re-released in handy little volumes, several of which form the basis of today’s recommended wish list.

1. The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian (Conan of Cimmeria, Book 1) – The first book collecting the adventures of Howard’s most famous character. Like most of Howard’s fiction, these are the kind of stories that can be read and enjoyed over and over again. The tales are printed in this volume in the order they were written.
2. The Bloody Crown of Conan (Conan of Cimmeria, Book 2) – Continuing the adventures of Conan, this volume features three short novels.
3. The Conquering Sword of Conan (Conan of Cimmeria, Book 3) – The third book in the Conan collection, this one featuring “Red Nails,” which is considered one of Howard’s finest Conan yarns.
4. Conan the Barbarian – Collector’s Edition – “Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of the women.” The movie may not have been true to the stories, but the look of the film is awesome.
5. Kull: Exile of Atlantis – In this book you can follow the adventures of one of Howard’s other barbarians — King Kull.
6. Pigeons from Hell – My absolute favorite REH story has nothing to do with barbarians. This horror story delivers the goods. The book is out of print, but you can get it pretty cheaply. I don’t personally own this volume. Years ago, I picked up the story in aREH collection titled Cthulhu: The Mythos and Kindred Horrors, which you can also find if you look for it. That book, however, tends to go for a few dollars more. (On a side note, I just discovered that this story was adapted for an episode of the TV series Thriller. I’ll have to track that down.)
7. The Savage Sword of Conan Volume 1 – Many of us were introduced to Conan through comics. There are many collections of Conan funny books, but this one (which will be released this month) is the first volume collecting the amazing stories from the magazine of the same name.
8. Conan Volume 1: The Frost Giant’s Daughter And Other Stories – More Conan comics. This is the first volume collecting the more recent Dark Horse Conan series.
9. Conan The Indomitable Action Figure – Everyone needs a toy under the Christmas tree, and now you can have some Conan action figures. This is just one of many fine figures in the series.
10. The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane – My favorite REH hero was a dour puritan who was handy with the blade. Soloman Kane’s swashbuckling supernatural adventures are collected in this book.
11. Nameless Cults: The Complete Cthulhu Mythos Tales Of Robert E. Howard – This book collects the Cthulhu mythos tales REH penned. Good, spooky reading.
12. Conan the Barbarian Soundtrack – The Basil Poledouris score is half the fun of the Conan movie. Put this on the next time you’re reading a Conan tale.
13. The Whole Wide World – I dare you to watch this account of Robert E. Howard’s tragic love affair and not get a little misty-eyed. A well-made movie depicting Howard’s life.
14. The Last Celt – A Bio-Bibliography of Robert Ervin Howard – A little tough to come by these days, but this hefty volume offers some terrific insight into REH’s life and fiction.

Related Posts:

Lovecraft and Cthulhu Christmas List

When I was a kid, I started plotting my Christmas lists months in advance of the big day. No matter what ended up under the tree, creating the “perfect” wish list was just as much fun as ripping into presents. I’d pour through the JC Penny holiday catalog and through the ads in Famous Monsters, scrawling dozens of items on sheet after sheet of notebook paper. Often, I themed my wish lists — Mego Superheroes, Star Wars, Micronauts, Dungeons and Dragons — hoping to send myself into a Christmas day overdose of whatever obsession haunted my dreams at the time. I’m often asked questions along the lines of “if I were going to get into TV shows about talking cars, what would you suggest I buy to get me started?” Considering the season, I thought it might be fun to post such recommendations (not about talking cars … maybe … but about some of my other favorite obsessions) in a few themed gift lists over the next couple of weeks.

And since nothing says Joyeux Noel like cosmic horror, I figured I’d kick things off with a suggested shopping list of Lovecraftian horror!

1. The Best of H. P. Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre – This is the first collection of Lovecraft’s work I ever read, and it’s a great primer for someone interested in his fiction.
2. Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos – You’ll get a few repeat stories in this book, but you’ll also get a good overview of the mythos created by Lovecraft and enhanced by others. One of my favorite Robert Bloch stories, “Notebook Found in a Deserted House”, is included in this volume.
3. Dreams of Terror and Death: The Dream Cycle of H. P. Lovecraft – Another book of basics for your shelf, this one covering Lovecraft’s Dreamlands stories.
4. Graphic Classics Volume 4: H. P. Lovecraft – 2nd Edition – A nifty collection of comic adaptations of Lovecraft stories.
5. H.P. Lovecraft: A Life – An extensive biography of Lovecraft by renowned Lovecraft scholar, S. T. Joshi.
6. An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia – S. T.Joshi also put together this essential reference on Lovecraft’s work.
7. Arkham Horror – A classic board game recently revised and re-released. Hours of spooky fun.
8. Cthulhu 12 Inch Plush Inspired by HP Lovecraft – Awww. A cute Cthulhu for you to cuddle with at night. Sweet dreams.
9. The Call of Cthulhu: The Celebrated Story by H.P. Lovecraft – A silent film adaptation of “The Call ofCthulhu” by the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society.
10. Re-Animator – Lovecraft hated this story, but horror fans delight in this gruesome movie.
11. The Resurrected – A relatively faithful and rather creepy adaptation of “The Case of Charles Dexter Ward”.
12. Call of Cthulhu: Horror Roleplaying in the Worlds of H. P. Lovecraft, 6th Edition – Break out the dice and immerse yourself in Lovecraftian horror in what I consider the best roleplaying game ever created.
13. Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth – A Lovecraft-inspired video game that’s actually kind of creepy. If you can figure out how to escape the Innsmouth mob, let me know!
14. Lovecraft – A Vertigo graphic novel that ponders the question, “what if Lovecraft’s creations were real?”
15. The Necronomicon – For goofs, really. This was the book that introduced me to Lovecraft. It’s funny how many people used to (and still do) believe this little paperback has real power. Many a junior high warlock had this tome in his backpack in my day.

If, like me, you get a kick out of lists, I encourage you to visit the entries in LiteMind List  Group Writing Project.  This list is a little too niche-specific to really get any traction in the project, but it was still a lot of fun.