Action Pulp!

February 1, 2026

By Adam Messer

James Palmer writes science fiction and pulp adventures about Cthulhu, monsters, and more.

Please introduce yourself.

My name is James Palmer, and I write science fiction and pulp adventure. I also edited the Monster Earth anthology trilogy as well as League of Monsters, Southern Fried Cthulhu, and a few others. In 2023 a story I wrote got honorable mention in the 3rd Quarter Writers of the Future Contest. I live in rural Northeast Georgia with my wife and daughter, 4 dogs, and 5 cats. 

What genres do you write and why?

Over the years I’ve written a little bit of everything, but I tend to gravitate toward science fiction, my favorite genre. I don’t really know why. Some people gravitate to mysteries or westerns. Some like football or knitting. Science fiction, for me, is the answer to every question. What happens tomorrow? Where will we go? What will we become? What can we accomplish as a species if we give up hatred, superstition, and bigotry?

What is your earliest memory of reading?

I’ve heard a lot of writers say they can’t remember not reading, but I can. There was this book at my grandmother’s house that for some reason I had taken to. There were no pictures in it, and from what I can remember it wasn’t formatted like a kid’s book. I had stuck these oversized bird stamp stickers all over the cover, and to this day I don’t know what it was called, because the words were gibberish. It was then and there that I vowed to decipher the gibberish. I never did, but I learned to read other books. The first science fiction book I can remember reading was called The Vandarian Incident by Martyn Godfrey, which was a cool alien invasion story. After that I picked up the usual gateway stuff: Asimov, Bradbury.

When did you know you wanted to write? How did it happen?

I can’t remember if there was a precise moment. I always wanted to be creative in some way, which at one point early on meant movie producer for some reason. Now, I had no idea what a movie producer was or did, but I had seen plenty of “Produced by Steven Spielberg” credits so I thought that’s just what one did if one wanted to work in the movies. It must have transitioned to writing when I read Ray Bradbury, and I decided then and there that I would devote my life to figuring out how in the hell he did that, how he made me feel a certain way so that I could write stories that made others feel that way. 

What’s one of your favorite scenes in one of your books?

I wrote a series of novellas for Falstaff Books in which the famous explorer Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton teams up with Professor Challenger, the Time Traveler, and Captain Nemo. In one scene aboard Nemo’s Nautilus I have the Time Traveler explaining how time travel works to Burton and Challenger. Rather technical, but I like the interplay between the characters and I have a lot of fun with that kind of stuff. 

What makes a good character? A bad one?

Good characters are a mix of good and bad. They’re not all one way or the other like a cartoon character. They’re nuanced. 

Bad characters are usually just flat, one-dimensional, or one-note characters, with nothing about them that makes them particularly memorable. 

What moves the story for you?

Action. A compelling moral dilemma. End each scene or chapter with a cliffhanger and I’m sticking around for the whole thing. 

What is your favorite book and why?Picking a favorite book is like picking a favorite child. My go-to is usually Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. I love the world Bradbury built and the warning it holds for us all. 

What do you want to say to your audience?

Thanks for sticking with me this long. I hope you’ll stay around because I’ve got some new things coming down the pipeline. And if you’re scared and worried about the current state of the world, just know that I am too. But I see you, I’m here for you, and I’m an ally. 

What advice do you have for new writers?

Write what you love. Then edit it and figure out how to sell it later. In your heart of hearts you’ve got to love it. Because while you’re writing it no one cares, and Cthulhu knows you may not make much if any money off of it. At the end of the day, love is all we’ve got. 

Do you have anything else you would like to add?

Just thanks for giving me this opportunity. It was fun. 

Website: http://www.jamespalmerbooks.net/

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