Mike Sirota's Blog – Swords, Specters, & Stuff
Welcome to My World
I started this blog in January 2012 for one simple reason: I love to write. I named it “Swords, Specters, & Stuff” because I especially love to write about writing, about books and movies in my favorite genres, about authors that mean a great deal to me. But there’s so much more than that, hence the all-inclusive “Stuff” in the title. It is “Stuff” that gives me carte blanche to write about anything, which is why you’ll see stories about special trips to Cooperstown, Sedona, and other places; about getting older; about baseball; about the otherworldly way in which I met my soul mate; about the loss of good friends, and so much more. Enjoy! And feel free to leave a comment.
Throwback Thursday: “It’s Alive!”
Some more fun with memorable movie lines. Enjoy! This post first ran in 2015.
read more
Good News For Fans Of “The Thing”
A magazine called “Astounding Science Fiction,” later renamed “Analog Science Fact and Fiction,” was highly influential in bringing the sci-fi genre into the mainstream many decades past. One of its editors, John W. Campbell, also wrote for the magazine, and in 1938 he published a novella titled, WHO GOES THERE?
read more
Throwback Thursday: A Neat Disappearing Act
Old joke: Igor says to Count Dracula, “Master, the Invisible Man is here!” and the Count replies, “Tell him I can’t see him.” (Like I said, old, and also bad.)
read more
Once Again I Say—Write Well, Not Fast
Ah, November! I’m not even sure NaNoWriMo or whatever is around anymore, but the point I attempt to hammer home to all writers, novice and otherwise, remains valid in any month or year. So as in Novembers of yore, here is this oft-run post.
read more
Throwback Thursday: Writing A Novel Requires Commitment
Back in my salad days, when I took on just about any writer who had a pulse, I worked with a woman from the Midwest—let’s call her Helen—who had written, according to her, about three-quarters of a thriller. I first evaluated what she’d completed, and quite frankly, found it lacking in just about every area necessary to make for a readable, compelling novel.
read more
My 2018 Halloween Playlist
It’s that time again. Living in a gated 55+ community, I no longer have to hand out Halloween candy at the front door, since no one does trick-or-treating. These days I spend the holiday enjoying a horror movie marathon…three or four shockers, and sometimes more.
read more
Throwback Thursday: The Man-Eaters Of Tsavo
Over a century ago a British engineer, Col. John Patterson, wrote a book titled, THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO AND OTHER EAST AFRICAN ADVENTURES. A considerable portion of the book details his experiences in dealing with attacks by two enormous, man-eating lions that terrorized the builders of the Uganda Railway in and around the Kenya village of Tsavo.
read more
Guilty Pleasures: End Of Days
Arnold Schwarzenegger in a horror movie? Yes, he starred in the 1999 clunker, END OF DAYS. Wait, did I say clunker? Well, the reviews were uniformly bad, but since I’m easily entertained, that never bothered me. I get a kick out of this film, and in truth it is an action/horror story. And as we all know, the Governator does “action” well…or at least he did.
read more
Throwback Thursday: Myths And Legends—The Modoc Tale Of Bat
The Modoc People, like all Native American tribes, have their own folklore—myths and legends handed down through time. In my award-winning historical novel, STONE WOMAN: WINEMA AND THE MODOCS, I insert one of these legends at an emotionally charged moment in the (true) story.
read more
“You’re Killin’ Me, Smalls!”—Great Lines From Baseball Flicks
With the MLB playoffs in full swing and the World Series looming (please, Great Spirit, not with the Dodgers!), I thought it might be fun to visit a few quotes from some of the most popular baseball movies. Having seen just about every one ever made, I’m sure it would require a whole lot of posts to list all great lines.
read moreRecent Releases
