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: Better Late Than Never
With regard to novelists, I’ve written a great deal about listening to the voices of experience when it comes to a writing coach/editor. I shared the following post in 2013 and figured it would be just as relevant today.
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Scenes From An Idyllic Mountain Hideaway
Last week being the second week in October, Jacqueline and I made our annual trip to Idyllwild, a mile-high town in Southern California’s San Jacinto Mountains. My bride’s birthday occurs during this time, and we’ve been driving up to Idyllwild for years to celebrate it at a cozy cabin in the pines.
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Throwback Thursday: Guilty Pleasures—Arachnophobia
If you’ve read this blog for any period of time you probably know that I’m a sucker for movies like the 1990 bug-fest, ARACHNOPHOBIA. Creepy-crawlies? Yep, I’m there. And this one is a gem.
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Freedom’s Hand: Let’s Hope It Never Comes To This
I began writing the bare bones of Freedom’s Hand many years ago and ultimately published it in 2013. My storyline was that, five decades after the liberation of the European concentration camps, a white supremacist called The Commander would use his vast wealth to replicate Auschwitz in the desert of the American Southwest and “collect” all minorities with the intention of destroying them.
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Throwback Thursday: Priscilla Rolls On
I had the great pleasure of seeing the musical stage production of PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT here in San Diego. Most of the twenty or so familiar songs are still rolling around in my head, and they are more than welcome there. But above all the laughs, the music, and the glitz, the message of this show is one of tolerance and love—and on that score, Priscilla hits the high note.
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“They’re Coming To Get You…”: Lines From Vintage Horror Movies
The dialogue in horror movies can range from outrageously humorous to super creepy. Here are just a few, all of the films prior to 1990.
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Throwback Thursday: Still Scary After All These Years
The late, great Richard Matheson, one of my favorite authors, wrote many novels that I still cherish. At the top are two in particular: BID TIME RETURN (SOMEWHERE IN TIME), a time travel/romance that takes place in and around San Diego’s Hotel Del Coronado, and HELL HOUSE, a 1971 haunted house story that became the 1973 film, THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE.
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Along The River Of Lost Souls
The Animas River, part of the Colorado River System, begins high in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado and winds all the way down to its confluence with the San Juan River in New Mexico. On our recent trip to the Four Corners region, Jacqueline and I seldom lost sight of the oftentimes breathtaking tributary, once known by the lengthier name of Rio de las Animas Perdidas—the River of Lost Souls.
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Throwback Thursday: What’s In A Name?
“Hey Mike, where do you come up with those weird character names and place names in your fantasy and sci-fi novels?”
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Short And Sweet III
I just got back from a cool trip to the Four Corners area, mostly in Colorado. I’ll have plenty to say about it in next week’s post. For now, I want to sadly acknowledge the passing of actor Harry Dean Stanton last week at the age of ninety-one.
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