Every day I scour the web for interesting articles, writing tips, and just great reads. It’s all part of my ongoing effort to learn more about the craft of writing. A lot of these come from email newsletters I subscribe to or from my Facebook newsfeed. From time to time I may also throw in my two cents about the topic at hand. Not because I’m an expert, mind you, but because I feel like sharing. I encourage you readers to also chime in if you have any insights or thoughts about the topic. Just leave a comment.

Today’s roundup looks at some stories behind the stories, and, specifically, the authors.

The new Vacation movie is now playing, but without the humor magazine’s name in the title. Here’s an interesting story behind the death of National Lampoon magazine.  And, better yet, here’s John Hughes’ actual Vacation story that appeared in National Lampoon and effectively launched the movie franchise. Sadly, the new movie is only receiving mediocre reviews so far. I don’t typically spend money at the theater for a comedy since there aren’t any special effects to ogle over. But, as the original Vacation is a favorite and I can use a good laugh, I’m planning to catch this one this weekend.

You can’t please everyone… Did you know Emily Bronte never knew how successful she’d become, according to this article from Time. (By the way, scroll to the bottom of the Time article for a list of the 100 best young adult books of all time.)

Did you know the newest issue of The Strand Magazine includes an unpublished story by F. Scott Fitzgerald? Here’s a neat little story about Andrew Gulli, the man who discovered the unpublished work. Go get a copy.

While we’re on the topic of famous authors, here’s another interesting read. This one is a book review about the life of Edgar Wallace, the author who created that most cinematic of giant apes, King Kong. I wasn’t aware of how prolific an author he was, so I checked Project Gutenberg, and sure enough, there are more than a dozen of his stories available to download to your e-reader.

Clive Barker fans should be plenty happy right now. Not only do they have a new book from the author to read set in the Hellraiser mythos, The Scarlet Gospels, but also a new anthology of stories in tribute to his Nightbreed/Cabal universe. Co-edited by Joseph Nassise and Del Howison, the book is titled Midian Unmade. I didn’t realize this, but Howison happens to own an independent horror bookstore called Dark Delicacies in Burbank. Next time I visit my brother in Burbank I’ll also make it a point to visit the store.

Got any good stories about authors to share? Post ‘em in the comments section below!