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.
“I Ain’t ’Fraid-A No Ghosts”—Lines From A Great Film Series, Part Two
The 2016 version of GHOSTBUSTERS (“Answer the Call”), a remake of the original, featured an all-female starring cast. Many folks had an issue with that. I didn’t…I just enjoyed it for what it was. Get a life!
Throwback Thursday: A Few Thoughts On A Dark And Stormy Night
Okay, first of all I’m writing this on a sunny Southern California afternoon, and the next storm is not expected here till at least November. But hey, I am a purveyor of fiction, and as my dear bride can confirm, I tend to exaggerate upon occasion. Just a little bit though. So here are some thoughts and updates about this and that.
“Ghostbusters, Whaddya Want?”—Lines From A Great Film Series, Part One
Having just watched the fourth film in the nearly forty-year-old franchise, GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE, I decided to feature these movies in my next three posts. This week: lines from the first two films. The following week, lines from the more recent entities. And finally, I’ll rate the films—in my humble estimation, of course.
Throwback Thursday: Guilty Pleasures—NEXT
Through the years, it seems as if many of my Guilty Pleasures—films that bombed at the box office and/or with the reviewers—involve Nicolas Cage. The same is true of the 2007 sci-fi thriller, NEXT, based on a story by legendary author Philip K. Dick.
More Dinosaurs? Yaay!!!
The long wait is almost over! (Drum roll here.) JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION is scheduled to open in theaters on June 10th. I haven’t seen a film inside a movie theater in years, but I will make an exception for this one. I mean, it’s dinosaurs, right?
Throwback Thursday: Where Was #MeToo Back In The Day?
The demeaning of women, a problem that just doesn’t seem to go away. I first presented this post in 2018.
A Novelist’s Challenge: “What Book Should I Write Next?”
When the pandemic drove us indoors in early 2020, I found a number of ways to keep busy. At that point I hadn’t written a new book in years, but circumstances being what they were, I decided the time had come to do just that. So I journeyed far and wide to the repository of unfinished stories and unrealized book proposals—aka the file cabinet in my attic—to see what I could find. And one partial manuscript of 35,000 words that seemed to call out “finish me, please finish me” caught my attention.
Throwback Thursday: Myths And Legends—The Ghosts Of Alcatraz
I had no idea that I’d come to one of the most haunted places in the country when I visited Alcatraz many years ago. This post first ran in 2018.
Bernie Smith Is Back! Well, Soon…
It is about time to announce (trumpets, here) that I am hard at work on a new book! THE HORRORS OF HARRMEL, a Sword & Planet spoof, is a sequel to my 2016 novel, THE WIZARD FROM HARRMEL, sub-titled “The Weird Adventures of Bernie Smith on the Distant and Deadly World of Persus.” If the tides don’t rise and the meteor misses Earth, it should be ready in a month or two.
Throwback Thursday: Exploring THE PLANET OF THE APES—Part Five
Will we ever see another PLANET OF THE APES film? Hollywood says that one is in the works…but you know Hollywood. This post first ran in 2018.
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