Marvin Mudpie Will Return

I used to love sitting through the end of a James Bond movie credits just to see those words at the end, "James Bond Will Return". To me it meant continuity but also made me excited for further adventures.

Now, my own ne'er-do-well spy, Marvin Mudpie, hasn't had quite as much luck. Started as a collaboration with Ian Thriters, Marvin Mudpie's first book, "Dunebreaker" was completed in 1984. His second adventure, "Stilleto," was completed the following year. Since then there have been about four short stories written and one mini-series that explored his origins. He also was a co-star in the Bimbotech saga, but we'll ignore that for now. Mudpie has been largely absent around these parts for 11 years.

This points out the answer to the question about how do I get my ideas. For some stories, I can force an answer. If the story needs a mundane solution to a mundane problem, I just think one up. But for other characters or stories, there is never anything mundane about them, and you have to wait for a story idea to pop into your head.

Well, POP! I had a DOOZY of an idea on Sunday on my way to church. It still makes me chuckle even now. It came out of the clear blue and let's just say that it will finally answer all of your questions about our debt crisis and who is behind the last few years of economic unrest - while presenting our hero, Marvin Mudpie, with his greatest villain yet!

But the thing is, I don't ever plan for a Mudpie story. I had probably written him off as a hero a while back. 11 years is a long time to go between stories. And yet, there are some story ideas that can only be handled by this master spy. As soon as the idea occurred to me, I KNEW it was a Mudpie story.

So, now I have to cram yet another story idea onto my very full plate. Don't expect it anytime soon. You won't see the first chapter of this story until the middle of September on the newly revised TAC website. Until then, remember that old spies never die, they just become plumbers.