JMS on Usenet

Message

Subject: Re: calling all you fans
Date: 07 Dec 2002 03:17:54 GMT
From: jmsatb5@aol.com (Jms at B5)
Newsgroups: alt.books.clive-barker

>Okay...I have to comment on JMS.  I always end up in trouble when I do this
>though - so again, this is my opinion.

Okay, so this is either opinion or fact, you seem to kind of confuse the two,
but we'll get to that in a second....

>I know him.  Personally.  I know him through Norman Corwin who is a family
>member.  

Which is interesting since I have NO idea who you are.

>My opinion of JMS is extremely low, mainly because I was in his
>house about 3 years before B5 aired. 

Which is interesting since I have never had a relative of Norman's in my home,
ever.  The closest I've ever come to a family member is his nephew, who is also
a B5 fan, with whom I've corresponded via email and met once for lunch (with
Norman) at a Chinese restaurant in Beverly Hills.

>Sitting in his living room were stacks
>of books.  Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Fiction, hundreds of them.

Which is interesting because, at the time you cite, about 3 years before B5, we
had moved into a house specifically to get a library, and we didn't HAVE
"stacks" of books in the living room.  In fact, we STILL don't, because there's
noplace to PUT the darned things in the living room.

>When we asked him what they were for,

Which is interesting also because now there are two of you....

> he said they were research for a new story he was
>working on (B5).  He said he planned on combining the best parts of all
>those books into one story because he knew people would love it and he'd
>make a serious amount of money. 

Which is interesting because...well, let's cut to the chase, shall we?

That is an absolute and uncategorical lie.  Period.  Never said it, never said
anything CLOSE to it, not to you, not to anyone, because it's simply not true. 
The incident never happened, the statement never happened. 

There's no more really to say about it, because it's as blatant and outright a
lie as I've ever come across.

>JMS started going on and on
>about how he was one of "Norman's Kids". Bradbury is one of Norman's Kids.
>NOT JMS.

This is one of the more absurd things I've ever read on the net.  That sort of
thing is cited by those of us who love Norman's work in order to acknowledge
its influece and power on everyone who encountered it.  It's not about being
close to someone, it's a nod of respect.

>At Norman's 90th birthday, I sat at a table with
>JoBeth Williams, Ray Bradbury, Walter Cronkite.  JMS was no where to be
>seen.  He wasn't invited.  

Oh, you mean the gathering at the Skirball Center?  I was there.  Second row,
left side.  I still have the program, and can produce it.  I also have the
photos, somewhere.  On my way out at the end (I had to bug out to get work
done), I had a very pleasant chat with Carl Reiner, who was there with his
wife, who sang Happy Birthday to Norman over champagne .  A couple of days
earlier, Norman called specifically to make sure we (Kathryn and I) would be
there.  

Everything in your post is a work of utter and complete fiction.

Simpler still, and in terms anyone can follow...you are a liar.

End of discussion.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
(all message content (c) 2002 by synthetic worlds, ltd., 
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine 
and don't send me story ideas)