Bertram Gibbs

As stated, my name is Bertram Gibbs, and I am a writer of speculative fiction, not by choice, but by obsession. I was born in the Bronx, New York, and came from a family of frustrated (and frustrating) entertainers. My grandmother was a chorus girl in Blackbirds of 1928, my grandfather was a jazz drummer, and my mother � who never overcame her fear of being on stage � was a film historian; an obsession she passed on to me. In growing up, Ma (as I call her � taken from �White Heat�) would sit me in front of the television and we�d watch movies together. Throughout the broadcast � usually during the commercials � she would explain the different aspects of the film we were watching (direction, cinematography, acting, etc.) in order for me to understand the medium.

I was an actor in New York for about ten years (during the 1970s), but stopped because all the roles that were offered were either street hustlers or drug addicts. I never returned to the stage and concentrated on my writing.

Regarding my writing, the two best-backhanded complements I ever received were from HBO who read a story I wrote about the Joker from the Batman comic book series. Within the rejection letter was a handwritten query, asking if I was the one who scripted the first Tim Burton film.

The second was from a publisher who rejected my novel, stating that it read too much �like a movie�. Strangely enough, this is the book that was published. It is titled �Formally Known As . . . � and is available on Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

On a personal level, I am a single parent with an nine-year-old daughter. I thought that the production or publication of my work would be enough of an explanation to her why Dad is always typing and giggling to himself at the computer � she hasn�t bought it yet. I am also the Collection Supervisor for the United States office of a British publishing firm. I am a film, television, and comic book historian. I majored in abnormal psychology (now called forensic psychology) in high school, college and as a hobby (because of my vast collection on serial killers and mass murderers, Ma is afraid my ex-wife would be found lifeless and all necessary evidence � pointing to the perpetrator - would be on my bookshelves).

I have one story � The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of � on The Cliffhangers Case Files (http://www.paratime.ca/cliffhanger), The Return of BWAH-HAH-HA!, JSA: Cinemania, Batman: For You, and Worlds Finest: Just Another Mutha-$%@&!-ing Team-Up Story on the JLU2001 Fan Fiction Project (http://www.carnaj.com/JLU2001), and The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of, Momentum and Bad Dog on Bloodletters (http://bloodletters.cjb.net/).

Otherwise, my life is as dull as dishwater.