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: Remembering “Charlie Bloom”
Wow, time not only flies…it breaks the sound barrier! I first wrote about John Heard’s passing in 2017.
“The Only Good Indian Is…”
You likely know how that sentence ends. More about it shortly. In a previous post, “Writing Humor: It Doesn’t All Have To Be Funny,” I documented how my first comedy/science fiction novel, BICYCLING THROUGH SPACE AND TIME, came to be published in the ’90s. Berkley bought it based on seven chapters…six totally outrageous ones, and a seventh that just about tore my heart out as I wrote it.
Throwback Thursday: Myths And Legends—Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery
One of the most haunted places in the U.S. is located in suburban Chicago, of all places. The Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery, abandoned over four decades ago, is surrounded by the Midlothian Forest, which sounds more apropos to Middle Earth rather than Middle America. As creepy sites go, this one has it all.
Myths And Legends: The Myrtles Plantation
Built in 1796, the antebellum Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana has a reputation as one of America’s most haunted houses. Currently a bed & breakfast, the main house is said to have been built above a Native American burial ground, and we all know what that means.
Throwback Thursday: The Gill-Man—A 1950s Rock Star
Long before the Great White Shark kept us out of the water, there was the Gill-Man. I first presented this post in 2017.
A Walk-Off To End All Walk-Offs
The batter standing at home plate was a second- or third-string catcher for most of his 14-year career, with a lifetime batting average of .233 and 34 home runs. The pitcher poised on the mound would win 363 games and become a first-ballot Hall of Famer. What happened on that fateful day could only have been construed as improbable, corny fiction.
Throwback Thursday: The Man Of A Thousand Screen Roles
Before Samuel L. Jackson began acting in seemingly every movie made since the 1980s, there was Whit Bissell. This post first ran in 2017.
“A Wild And Sick Imagination”
I thought you might get a hoot out of the first few pages of my latest literary gem, BACK ON THE BIKE PATH. Since I hadn’t written anything for a while, it surprised me that I managed to ease into the story so easily. But when my character, Jack Miller, is a barely disguised me, it wasn’t all that hard.
Throwback Thursday: Who Is The Real Monster?
Yes, there is an actual monster in the gripping 2016 horror film, THE MONSTER, the kind you once thought hid under your bed, or in your closet. But there is also a metaphorical monster in the person of Kathy, a Mother From Hell to ten-year-old Lizzy, who can’t wait to have her mom out of her life for good.
Final Report From The Quarantine Cave…I Hope
When 2020 began, I had no idea that I’d be writing a whole lot of posts over the course of thirteen months while hiding out at home to avoid the nasty coronavirus. (Age and underlying health issues gave Jacqueline and me no choice.) Things are finally looking up, and I truly hope this will be the last mention of it. But as Yogi Berra famously said, “It ain’t over till it’s over,” and guess what, folks—it ain’t over!
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