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.
Guilty Pleasures: SKYSCRAPER
Our hero “is able to leap tall buildings in a single bound,” right? Uh, no, that’s another guy. In the 2018 action/disaster film, SKYSCRAPER, our hero, Will Sawyer (Dwayne Johnson), can leap his way into the world’s tallest building, which happens to be on fire, while outrunning both the bad guys and the police—and he can do all this on only one leg.
Magic In The Stone
Magic is a key component in just about every sword & sorcery novel, be it benevolent or for the darkest of evil. In one of my early stories, THE SWORD OF TYRON (original title: BERBORA), magic is used to transcend time itself. I’ll show you one of those scenes—but first, some backstory.
Cult Classics: One Person’s Opinion
A great philosopher (either Plato or Frank Zappa; I’m not sure) once said, “Opinions are like assholes. Everybody has one, and they all stink.” With that in mind, I’ll reference an article that I read last week about twenty-five movies that, while considered “cult classics,” are not worthy of such adulation.
The Saga Of Greasy Neale
Elly de la Cruz, the exciting rookie, had just stolen three bases in the same inning, a rare feat that had occurred only 47 times in the history of Major League Baseball. As for the Cincinnati Reds, the last player to accomplish it did so in 1919, over a century ago. That player’s name: GREASY NEALE.
A Story’s “Setting” Can Also Be A “Character”
Indeed, I strongly believe that statement. Think about it: what would Tarzan’s life be like without the challenges of the beautiful but deadly jungle? Or the scientists and staff in John Carpenter’s THE THING without the starkness of Antarctica’s ice and snow? Or LAWRENCE OF ARABIA without the vastness of the blistering desert? Settings such as these play key roles in so many stories.
Using Fiction To Make A Statement
My four-book comedy/science fiction series, which began with BICYCLING THROUGH SPACE AND TIME, depicts the mostly outrageous adventures of mountain bike rider Jack Miller along the cosmic tunnel called the Ultimate Bike Path. But “outrageous” occasionally turns to “outrage…”
“My Planet Just Exploded…Let’s Get Married!”
Until recently there was something about FORBIDDEN PLANET that I did not know—probably for the better. It had to do with a scene that wound up on the cutting room floor, one that would’ve left a sour taste in the mouths of many who watched it. Here’s the deal.
Myths And Legends: The Point Lookout Lighthouse
It is curious that lighthouses seem the ideal places for hauntings. That is certainly true of the Point Lookout Lighthouse in Maryland, considered by some to be the most haunted lighthouse in America.
A Study In Black And White
The popular Canadian detective series, MURDOCH MYSTERIES, is now in its sixteenth season. By the time the final episode of this season airs later this summer, the count will have reached in excess of 260 episodes! (My bride and I love this show, and we’ve seen them all.) You would think it quite a challenge to keep each episode fresh. Which brings me to an episode titled, “Dead On Arrival.”
Guilty Pleasures: THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE
Seeing that title, most folks would immediately think of the animated segment in the 1940 classic, FANTASIA, starring Mickey Mouse, which was remastered in the 1999 sequel, FANTASIA 2000. But no, THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE was also a 2010 live-action fantasy/comedy film starring Nicolas Cage…
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