The Mouse formerly known as Mortimer.
Steamboat Willie, the first Disney synchronized-sound cartoon, is now in the public domain. The 1928 short features Mickey Mouse (whom Walt was going to call Mortimer, until his wife voted thumbs down). Anyone can now use this version of Mickey…but not the later one where he’s put on a little weight and sports white gloves. You also can’t imply that your use is sanctioned by Disney corporate. The rules are spelled out here. A list of some of the prominent works now open to all is here.
Here’s something to look forward to: Seventy years after your death, your works will enter the public domain. So let’s go to a day in the future when a browser with a virtual reality headset happens across one of your books and decides to look up who you were. What would you like your short bio to say? Put it in the form of “[Your Name] was a writer known for ____” and go from there!
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Happy New Year, Jim, and thank you for a wonderfully speculative question.
“Lou Myers Schlesinger was an uplifting writer of Historical and Speculative fiction who rendered the past as present and the unrealized as realized. He delivered on relatable story promises and inspired readers to believe that they, too, could make a positive difference in a complex and often uncaring world. And along the way he was inspired by The Kill Zone.”
Terry Odell wrote over thirty novels which she called “Mysteries With Relationships” because she didn’t like the genre confines of traditional publishers of the time. Her books were filled with down-to-earth characters trying to do their best at their jobs. They were the sort of books that let readers escape for a few hours. The sort of books, according to Odell, that you’d read on a plane and leave in the seat pocket for the next occupant.
Sue Coletta was a writer known for her heart-stopping eco-thrillers, her work to end poaching and animal trafficking in the real world, and her undying love of the Natural World. Though her books could be classified as dark, gritty, and violent at first blush, hope, love, laughter, and spirituality also bled through the pages.
Dale Ivan Smith began writing and publishing fast-paced urban fantasy, then made the leap to writing mysteries, first with a series set in a 1980s library, using his own background as a librarian. He went on to write other mysteries, including eventually science fictional mysteries. Regardless of the genre and setting, his books featured everyday heroes who cared about the found families they were a part of, who made a difference in their world, and page-turning narratives that gave readers a few hours of fictional escape.
Happy New Year, Jim. Great question! What will your legacy be?
Steve Hooley was a physician, woodworker, and writer. His Mad River Magic series, written for his grandchildren and all teens, used fantasy as an allegory to gently remind young people of important truths about life, faith, and choices. His stories were set in an enchanted forest in Western Ohio, reflecting his interest in trees and woodworking. His magic was derived from the language of the Native Americans, the Shawnee, who once inhabited the magic forest. Later in his career he also became known for collector pens he handcrafted from historic wood growing in the 1700s and early 1800s.
Kay DiBianca was a writer known for her mystery novels that featured well-written, cleverly-constructed plots that always ended in justice being served. While her amateur sleuths were famous for their humor, common sense, and dogged pursuit of the truth, their struggles with relationships and life issues added depth to the characters and stories. Ms. DiBianca often said she found great joy in the complexity of life and in the hard work of writing novels, and her books reflect that delight. In addition to her novels and short stories, DiBianca served a long and happy tenure as a contributor to one of the twenty-first century’s most acclaimed writers’ blogs, The Kill Zone.
Hmm…let’s see…
“Deb Gorman was a writer of novels, devotionals, and creative non-fiction stories.
Her focus was God’s most clever creation-human families-the bedrock and foundation of all societies. Quirky, cruel, loving, distant, or all of the above, our families connect us to each other, and to the larger human tribe populating the globe.
Deb wanted her readers to know that family relationships teach us about our world . . . and about ourselves . . . and those relationships must be nurtured.”
Best I can do on only three cuppas . . . 🙂
James Scott Bell was known for his heart-whamming thrillers about the quest for justice in a world where justice is too often frustrated. He also wrote short stories and books on the craft of fiction writing. When he wasn’t writing, he could be found thinking about writing. In one oft-told incident, his wife said to him, “You haven’t heard a word I’ve said, have you?” And he answered, “That’s an odd way to start a conversation.”
Love it!
And the new pic . . .
Imagine the public domain deluge seventy years from now. It’s gonna swamp servers all over the planet, if there is a planet, which I have my doubts about, and if there is such a thing as a book, movie, or sound recording. We may not even have electricity. Or we may have things just like Huxley predicted we would.
Someone once said that World War Four would be fought with sticks and rocks.
Might it also be true of literature? Half naked humanoids dressed in rags, burning piles of paper and e-junk to stay warm for a time amidst the polluted remnants of a world of which they know nothing except what’s told around their fires by tribal storytellers.
Garbage in, garbage out, remember? That’s going to be the digital age’s legacy gift to the next. It’s kinda like Walter Miller’s A Canticle For Leibowitz in a way only not as nice.
I hope this is what they’ll find on my bio if such a thing can be found seventy years from now if I get my ass in gear and publish something.
He was a writer of tall tales about real people, the kind of stories you hear across the break room table at the plant or in a booth at a local tavern or roadhouse. They were not polite stories about the travails of rich folk, who have their own memoirists on call to clean up the record.
He came to the craft late in life and figured he’d better get a move on. These are the stories.