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.
Films About Writers: The Magic Of Belle Isle
It is hard to imagine any film starring Morgan Freeman, one of my favorite performers, bombing big-time. But if you go by the box office receipts of the 2012 comedy-drama, THE MAGIC OF BELLE ISLE, you’d have to wonder if anyone saw it. Add to that the film reviewers that wrote negatively about it (how jaded they must be), and you’d pretty much have a Guilty Pleasure.
Earth-Shaking News: Graboids And Ass-Blasters Are Still Around
I recently re-ran my posts on the sequels to TREMORS, the classic comedy-horror flick from 1990, starring Kevin Bacon. Aside from a short-lived TV series in 2003, it appeared that the days of the Graboids, Ass Blasters, and Shriekers were over. But Hollywood sometimes surprises us, and in 2015, much to the delight of TREMORS fans everywhere, TREMORS 5: BLOODLINES hit the small screen.
Jack Miller And Me: One And The Same?
BICYCLING THROUGH SPACE AND TIME, the first book of my comedy/science fiction trilogy featuring cosmic bike rider Jack Miller, was initially not supposed to get published. I wrote the three books during the late 1980s-early ’90s with the idea of preserving my sanity during a challenging period of my life.
The Cosmic Bike Ride Is About To Begin!
Having written over two dozen novels, I can honestly say that I never had more fun than when I created my comedy/sci-fi stories, BICYCLING THROUGH SPACE AND TIME and its two sequels, in the ’90s.
Myths And Legends: The Dancing Plague
Over the years I’ve written about many weird occurrences, but this particular one ranks way high on the Weird-O-Meter, I kid you not. It is called, among other names, the Dancing Plague of 1518.
Films About Books: Stranger Than Fiction
Harold Crick is an IRS agent who leads a boring life. Harold is also—not by choice—a character in a book, and that character is slated to die at story’s end.
Harry Potter In The Bolivian Rainforest?
In 1981 a young Israeli man, Yossi Ghinsberg, went backpacking around the globe in search of adventure. During a trek through a minimally explored jungle in Bolivia, he found more adventure than he ever bargained for—and it nearly cost him his life.
Bone Tomahawk: Odd Title, Compelling Film
I checked out the 2015 western/horror flick, BONE TOMAHAWK, for two reasons. First, I like those genres, and second, the film stars Kurt Russell, one of my favorites. I had not even heard of it until recently, and it is not hard to understand why.
Films About Writers: Under The Tuscan Sun
In 1996 Frances Mayes, a writer, book reviewer, teacher, and foodie extraordinaire, published a memoir—replete with recipes—called UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN. The book spent over two years on the NEW YORK TIMES bestseller list, a remarkable achievement. A romantic comedy-drama “loosely based” on the book was inevitable…
Native American Film Gems: Dreamkeeper
The excellent, Emmy Award-winning 2003 film, DREAMKEEPER, began life as a two-part Hallmark mini-series, which accounts for its three-hour length. But the time flies as you watch this spellbinding tale about a Lakota storyteller and his quest to see the oral tradition of his people carried on.
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