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’m Still Here, Chief”
That line comes from my second-favorite movie of all time, Frequency. Released in 2000, this fantasy/baseball/serial killer/father & son relationship flick, starring Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel, has just about everything I could want in a story. But for my wife...
Guilty Pleasures: Lake Placid
Lest anyone think that this 1999 horror/comedy flick takes itself too seriously, they need only consider one of my favorite lines about halfway through. The hilarious Betty White plays old Delores Bickerman, who is spotted happily feeding one of her cows to a...
Opening Lines: Part Trois
I suppose I’m fascinated, if not obsessed, with the bad opening lines that have been submitted to the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest over the past thirty years. What the heck, they are so entertaining. Here are some more award-winning gems from the past. Enjoy! His...
Myths And Legends: Cropsey
A long-ago childhood nightmare rose up unbidden from my subconscious recently to cause a few sleepless nights. That nightmare had a name: Cropsey. My memories of this time are a bit disjointed, but here goes. In the late 1950s I joined a Boy Scout troop that held its...
Guilty Pleasures: Arachnophobia
If you’ve read this blog for any period of time you probably know that I’m a sucker for movies like the 1990 bug-fest, Arachnophobia. Creepy-crawlies? Yep, I’m there. And this one is a gem. Is Arachnophobia a horror movie? Well, yeah. Is it a comedy? For sure. Back...
Priscilla Rolls On
I had the great pleasure of seeing the musical stage production of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert here in San Diego last month. Most of the twenty or so familiar songs are still rolling around in my head, and they are more than welcome there. But above all the laughs,...
Still Scary After All These Years
The late, great Richard Matheson, one of my favorite authors, wrote many novels that I still cherish. At the top are two in particular: Bid Time Return (Somewhere in Time), a time travel/romance that takes place in and around San Diego’s Hotel Del Coronado, and Hell...
What’s In A Name?
“Hey Mike, where do you come up with those weird character names and place names in your fantasy and sci-fi novels?” Yeah, I used to get that question, or variations thereof, a lot when I did tons of appearances, signings, conferences, and so on. But it had been a...
Tall Tim’s Tales: Memories Of Arizona
So what DON’T I like about Arizona? Traffic roundabouts. Can’t stand the darn things, which are ubiquitous—at least where Jacqueline and I traveled during our recent trip. In a small town called Cottonwood there were like four or five of them in a row—in the middle of...
Opening Lines: Part Deux
I just returned from an excellent trip to northern Arizona. Lots to write about—next time. For now, here are some more outrageously bad opening lines from the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest. Enjoy! Cheryl’s mind turned like the vanes of a wind-powered turbine, chopping...
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