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 more to it than that, which is why I included “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.
My Oldest Book
This hardcover copy of the Jules Verne classic, TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, has been in my life for as long as I can remember. A “Rainbow Classic,” this edition was published in 1946, the year of this “young fart’s” birth.
Throwback Thursday: Myths And Legends—Icelandic Trolls
When my bride and I returned from an amazing trip to Iceland over a decade ago, we brought home the studious troll you see pictured here. Icelanders love their trolls (and elves, too) and are happy to point some of them out to visitors—the ones that have been turned to stone, of course. More on that shortly.
I Won’t Tie One On
Being retired means never having to wear a tie. But I was a long way from retirement the last time I actually put on one of the damn things. How long? Let me share this story.
Throwback Thursday: Report From The Quarantine Cave 4.0
I didn’t have all that much to do during the pandemic, other than write blog posts—and an entire novel! This post first ran in—when else, 2020.
What The Hell Is In…THE WELL?
First of all, Happy New Year! For my first post of 2024, I hearken back to my first of four horror novels. Originally titled THE WELL and published by Bantam Books, the book is now called THE MODOC WELL and is part of my own imprint, Atoris Press. In addition to being a rip-roaring yarn (IMHO), it is a prime example of writing what you’re feeling. I shall explain.
Throwback Thursday: Report From The Quarantine Cave 3.0
It’s not exactly “fun” revisiting posts that I wrote during the pandemic. But at least we don’t have to deal with it now.
Merry Christmas: “Are There No Prisons? Are There No Workhouses?”
This was supposed to be a “Christmas post” when it first ran many years ago, but since then it has been viewed countless times—in just about every month of the year.
Throwback Thursday—Myths And Legends: The Jersey Devil
Did a woman named Deborah Leeds give birth to a spawn of Satan in 1735? According to the folklore of the forested Pine Barrens region in the southern part of what is now New Jersey, she sure as heck did. Here is one possible scenario about the creation of the legend that is known as the JERSEY DEVIL.
Ball Of Confusion: Some Things Never Change
“Fear in the air, tension everywhere.” Does that sound like commentary on the current condition of the country, if not the world? The line comes from the hit single, “Ball of Confusion,” released in 1970 by the Motown super group, The Temptations—one of my all-time favorite groups. And it is hardly the only line in the song that it sadly relevant over five decades later.
Throwback Thursday: One More Inspirational Baseball Movie That You Probably Missed
The 2019 drama, BOTTOM OF THE 9TH, initially drew me in for two reasons. First, it’s a baseball movie, and if I haven’t seen every single one ever made, I’m pretty close. Second, much of it takes place in The Bronx, where I spent the first 21 years of my life. But ultimately, this powerful tale of redemption kept me engrossed from beginning to end.
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