David Gerrold (born January 24, 1944 )

[reviews_and_ramblings]

David Gerrold (born January 24, 1944 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American science fiction screenwriter and novelist known for his script for the popular original Star Trek episode "The Trouble With Tribbles", for creating the Sleestak race on the TV series Land of the Lost, and for his novelette The Martian Child, which won both Hugo and Nebula awards, and was adapted into a 2007 film starring John Cusack.

The Martian Child is a semi-autobiographical novel, expanded from a novelette of the same name, based on the author's own experiences as a single adoptive father, with most of the key moments drawn from actual events. The novelette won both the Hugo and Nebula awards, and a movie version was released in November 2007, with John Cusack playing the adoptive father. There is some controversy surrounding this character, as David Gerrold and his character in the novel are both gay, but in the movie he is a straight widower.

In 2005, Gerrold was awarded the Telluride Tech Festival Award of Technology in Telluride, Colorado.

In 2013, Gerrold wrote a Starcraft 2 short story titled In the Dark for Blizzard Entertainment's series of short stories.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Gerrold

Further Readings:

The Martian Child: A Novel About A Single Father Adopting A Son by David Gerrold
Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (September 4, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0765320037
ISBN-13: 978-0765320032
Amazon: The Martian Child: A Novel About A Single Father Adopting A Son
Amazon Kindle: The Martian Child: A Novel About A Single Father Adopting A Son

Basis for the major motion picture from New Line Cinema —starring John Cusack, Amanda Peet, and Joan Cusack—in theaters November 2007

When David Gerrold decided he wanted to adopt a son, he thought he had prepared himself for fatherhood. But eight-year-old Dennis turned out to be more than he expected—a lot more. Dennis suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome, the son of a substance abuser and alcoholic who abandoned him in a seedy motel at the age of one-and-a-half. His father died of an overdose. Seized by the state, Dennis was shuffled between eight different foster homes in less than eight years. He was abused and beaten severely in at least tow of his placements. Dennis was diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and put on Ritalin and then Disipramine. He was prone to violent emotional outbursts. His case history identified him as “hard to place” —a euphemism for “unadoptable.” But for David Gerrold it was love at first sight…

More Spotlights at my website: www.elisarolle.com/, My Lists/Gay Novels

Comments

[eraila.livejournal.com]

Just saw a trailer on youtube and one of the commentators mentions that David Gerrold gets reedited as a widower instead of as a single gay man. A little surprising since that ruins a little of the appeal for me, I think a little of the book's premises. But the youtube trailer DID bring a little moistness to my eyes, so will still watch it. If it makes me really cry, I be looking into this author:)