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.
Blowing Shit Up: Dante’s Peak And Volcano
Being a guy, it’s in my DNA—like all guys everywhere—to love movies in which they’re blowing shit up. Lots of shit; the more the better. In this new occasional series I’ll be exploring films that shake the theater—or your living room—and cause premature hearing loss.
Writing Tips: To Outline Your Story…Or Not?
Here is another post that came through time via the Wayback Machine. Useful writing tips never become outdated. But first, I’d like to brag about a couple of my writers, both of whom I’ve heard from in the past week. They must’ve listened well to some of the things I told them when we worked together on their books.
Films About Books: The Ninth Gate
Thus begins a new series on my blog. Just to clarify, there are countless films “adapted from” or “based on” one book or another. That is not what I’m doing here. As the title says, these movies are “about” a book or books. For example, on my to-do list are The NeverEnding Story, The Book of Eli, The Princess Bride, and The Book Thief.
Steel Versus Dark Magic…Who Wins?
In last week’s post I discussed a movie, The Whole Wide World, which chronicled a brief period of time in the all-too-short life of writer Robert E. Howard. Best known for his stories about Conan the Barbarian, Howard is considered by many to be the “father” of the genre that would come to be known as sword & sorcery.
Howard’s work became a great influence on my early writing. While Edgar Rice Burroughs was my main muse, Howard came in a close second.
Films About Writers: The Whole Wide World
Who knew? While writing a post about Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan and the acknowledged “father” of Sword & Sorcery, I did research to make sure some of my facts were correct. I discovered that a movie had been made about a portion of his short life—the last year or two, to be precise, when he had a compelling relationship—his only one, apparently—with a woman named Novalyne Price.
Where No One Has Gone Before
This should be an easy one for you. What sci-fi show am I thinking about? It involves a starship traveling the galaxy on a deep-space exploratory mission. The captain is usually found in the company of his first officer and the ship’s doctor. Its plot is as much a morality play as it is a space adventure. Easy, huh? That has to be Star Trek, right? Wrong-o!
Ugly Precursor To Auschwitz: Hitler Said To Have Been Inspired By U.S. Indian Reservation System
It was seventy years ago today (1/27/15) that the imprisoned and starved and viciously battered victims of Hitler and his Nazi thugs were liberated by Soviet troops. Hitler—the coward, who’d later commit suicide rather than face the music—was incontrovertibly one of the world’s most brutal and bloodthirsty bastards to ever walk the globe. Yet, little is it known that he was also a plagiarizer.
The Island: When Science Goes Too Far
As far back as Dr. Frankenstein creating his monster, there are many stories about the gross misuse of science and technology leading to disastrous results. Perhaps Ian Malcolm, the chaos theorist in Jurassic Park, said it best. When addressing John Hammond, whose vision brought cloned dinosaurs to life, he said, “…your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn’t stop to think if they should.”
Writing Novels For Fun And—Fun?
Did you expect to see the word “profit” in that title? Not likely. Let me share some thoughts from what I’ve experienced over the past gazillion years and about thirty novels written.
When I made the commitment to start writing novels a long, long time ago I began by sticking to one of the basic tenets: Write what you know. I knew Edgar Rice Burroughs, Lin Carter, Robert E. Howard, John Norman, Otis Adelbert Kline, among others, and my first thirteen published books (and a few unpublished) reflected this influence. Nothing wrong with that; it’s a good way to get started.
Myths And Legends: Coyote, The Trickster
The Coyote myth is well known in many Native American cultures, especially out here in the western U.S. In the Creation stories of some tribes he represents the Creator himself, but for the most part Coyote is known as a messenger, a trickster, or a clown. In the latter guise, he may begin by entertaining folks but ultimately tricking them and stealing their stuff.
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