H. P. Lovecraft, A Fine Friend
Wilson Shepherd Remembered, 1932–1938
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Come over here and sit down and let me tell you a story. It is true that every family has an interesting story to tell. Certain stories may be more unbelievable than most. What do any of us really know about our fathers before they started a family? As it turns out it my case, not very much. This story is about my dad, Wilson Hassell Shepherd (Wilson). My dad was an early publisher of weird fiction during the great depression era and even went on to publish a few of Howard Phillips Lovecraft's works and correspond with him. How did my dad as a teenager become interested in publishing science fiction? This is his incredible journey into the mystical and fantastic world occupied by H. P. Lovecraft (HPL) and his countless adherents. How did Dad's small-town upbringing prepare him for the world of early science fiction, fantasy, and horror? That he would correspond with HPL, Robert E. Howard (“Conan the Barbarian”), Robert Bloch (“Psycho”), Donald Wollheim (“Mimic”), Henry Kuttner, Duane Rimel, August Derleth, Robert Barlow (though they got off to a rough start), and others within this world, and also produce science fiction/fantasy publications from his dirt floor cellar in Oakman, Alabama is a story worth telling.
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About the Book
In a rural Alabama town, during the 1930's, a teenage boy had dreams of being a science fiction publisher. In a dirt floor cellar, using primitive, second hand presses, he managed to publish several science fiction/weird fiction magazines. Along the way, he came into contact and developed a correspondence with H. P. Lovecraft, who became his 'fine' friend. He was ninteen years old when he wrote his first letter to Lovecraft.
About the Author
John Shepherd has lived most of his life in the Birmingham, Alabama area. He was born and lived in Oakman, Alabama till age ten. He graduated from Auburn University. He and his wife, have three grown children and six grandchildren. Currently, two of his grandsons are in the Auburn Marching Band, and are the fifth generation to attend Auburn.