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.
The First Time
What? No, this isn’t about THAT first time. This blog is about writers, and writing, and fantasy, and horror, and stuff like that. Besides, that would be telling. This is about the first time I wrote a novel, and since I’ve written over thirty of them, I had to take a...
The Whole Wide World: Cross Plains Revisited
Who knew? While writing a recent 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...
“She Wouldn’t Even Harm A Fly”
Horror fans in particular, and movie buffs in general, probably know that line well. Actually, it’s a part of the last line from Alfred Hitchcock’s classic 1960 film, Psycho. Norman Bates, played so creepily by Anthony Perkins, has been taken down—wig, dress, and...
What If?
Everything I write—everything that just about all novelists write—begins with those two words. I prepare detailed outlines for my stories, so that I always have a pretty good idea of where I’m going. But even before outlining a story, there is the “what if?” I...
When Art Creates Life
Okay, art is supposed to imitate life. From our life experiences we create paintings, prose, sculptures, you name it. But on rare—and awesome—occasions, art can create life. Back in the early nineties I landed a contract with The Berkley Publishing Group for a...
Swords, Sorcery, And Cross Plains, Texas
Readers of sword & sorcery, sword & planet, science fiction, fantasy, and horror undoubtedly know the name of Robert E. Howard. For the majority of people, not so much. But just about everyone is familiar with the name of Howard’s most famous creation: Conan...
Weird Happenings
In a January post I wrote about my trip to Downieville, in California’s Sierra Nevada foothills, to do some background research for my recently released ghost story, The Burning Ground. Some weird things occurred during my time there, and I mentioned that this wasn’t...
Horrors! Or, How To Scare The “Yell” Out Of People
I actually taught a class with that exact title some years back. For a long time I served as a consultant for the San Diego Unified School District’s GATE program (Gifted and Talented Education). I’d visit middle grade and high school classrooms, talk about how...
California Genocide
Now there are two words that don’t seem to belong together. California Sun? A natural. California Dreaming? The Mamas and the Papas sang about it. California Girls? Well, yeah. “Genocide” is not a pretty word. According to Merriam-Webster, it is “…the deliberate and...
A Book Launch At A Real Bookstore
This past week, Mysterious Galaxy bookstore hosted the launch of my new novel, The Burning Ground. At a time when so many bookstores, independents and chains alike, are closing their doors, this specialty shop (science fiction, fantasy, horror, mysteries, thrillers),...
Latest Release
