#edgarriceburroughs - Every Day With Edgar Rice Burroughs - June 12, 2025

 June 12, 2025 and one hundred and one years ago on this day in 1914, All-Story’s editor, Robert Davis, encouraged Ed to lengthen The Girl from Farris’s and write sequels to The Mucker, The Mad King and At The Earth’s Core. It’s a good thing that Burroughs agreed. Otherwise we wouldn’t have the second halves of “The Mucker” or “The Mad King.” “Pellucidar” was the first of six sequels to “At The Earth’s Core.”

Details about all of these books are on www.erbzine.com

The drabble for today is “I Do It My Way,” and it features Major Bouncingbutt, an aspiring writer and colonial governor in an imaginary version of Tarzan’s Africa. It is inspired by arrogant writers, real life archetypes of the major. The final sentence quotes Carl Sagan.

Jane said, “Major Bouncingbutt, Tarzan said you’ve published a new novel.”

“It’s the fourth in my “Great Rift Lost Race” series.”

“How did the first three books sell?”

“Well, my mother bought copies.”

“Will you use distributors for the new book and place it in bookshops?”

“Share the royalties. Never!”

“You could consider conventional publication methods.”

“Publishers edit my perfect manuscripts and demand a lion’s share of the profits. No thank you.”

“Mayor, 100% of nothing is nothing.”

“Only I am qualified to edit and publish my stories.”

“How ever unfortunate. Nothing disturbs me more than the glorification of stupidity.”