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.
Throwback Thursday: Films About Writers—THE DARK HALF
The 1993 horror film, THE DARK HALF, is an adaptation of Stephen King’s 1989 novel of the same name. His main character, Thad Beaumont, is a bestselling novelist—what else? Writers love to write about other writers, and King leads the league in that category.
Can You Take A Bath In Bath?
MCDONALD & DODDS, a BritBox original series, is a crime drama set in the city of Bath, about ninety-odd miles from London. The quirky show—not a comedy, but hardly as intense as SILENT WITNESS or VERA—highlights the trials and tribulations of women—specifically Black women—and seniors in the good-ol’-boy world of law enforcement.
Throwback Thursday: Demons In…The Bronx?
The 2014 supernatural horror movie, DELIVER US FROM EVIL, is “inspired by” the actual experiences of a New York City cop named Ralph Sarchie. I like to think that “inspired by” gives the filmmakers even more creative license than “based on a true story,” and I’m sure that’s the case with this film. Still, true or not, DELIVER US FROM EVIL has more than its share of disturbing moments.
They Built It…We Came
“Three years ago at dusk on a spring evening, when the sky was a robin’s-egg blue and the wind as soft as a day-old chick, I was sitting on the veranda of my farm home in eastern Iowa when a voice very clearly said to me, ‘If you build it, he will come.’”
Throwback Thursday: Homicidal Maniacs In…Iowa?
The Hawkeye state, birthplace of my bride, isn’t usually in the forefront when it comes to horror movies. But in THE CRAZIES (2010), a remake of George Romero’s 1973 film, Iowa is where we find ourselves, and yeah, the maniacs are all over the cornfields.
A Perfect Ending To A Beloved Film Series…Or Not
The renowned director, James Cameron, was hardly a blip on the Hollywood radar screen in 1984 when he pitched his screenplay for a science fiction/action movie called THE TERMINATOR. Fortunately the film got done, he got to direct it, Arnold Schwarzenegger landed the perfect role for him at the time (lots of muscle, little dialogue), and the rest is history.
Throwback Thursday: Mr. Mankind Still Creeps Me Out
Growing up in the 1950s I got to experience first-hand the new wave of science fiction movies that defined the era. One of my absolute favorites, INVADERS FROM MARS (1953), had the distinction of being the first film to present aliens and their spacecraft in color…
Will The TITANIC Really Sail Again?
Last month I watched the much-honored 1997 film, TITANIC, for the first time in many years. It reminded me that I had heard a replica of the doomed ship was under construction and would sail the same route, from Southampton in England to New York City, possibly in 2022. Was this true?
Throwback Thursday: All That Glitters…
I’d like to share a creepy scene from THE BURNING GROUND, one of my four horror novels. This is the final scene in chapter one, which takes place in 1849. (The balance of the story is contemporary.) I first presented this post in 2017.
“I’m The King Of The World!”—Well-Known Movie Lines That Were Ad-Libbed
Film actors and actresses—especially the most creative ones—will deviate from a script more often than you’d think. Some of the most iconic movie lines were improvised. Here are a few of them.
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