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: Ghostly Happenings In The Desert
I first ran this post in 2014, around the time I reissued my two ghost stories. This one tells the tale of many benign ghosts—and one murderous spirit—in the Anza-Borrego Desert.
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.
Throwback Thursday: Guilty Pleasures—Ghost Ship
Be forewarned: the 2002 horror flick, GHOST SHIP, has one of the most memorable—and gross—opening hooks in all of filmdom.
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.
Throwback Thursday—Editing: “It Ain’t Over Till…” Never?
I’ve published over two dozen novels. Writers with whom I’ve worked have published close to 150 books. It would seem that I have some clue as to what I’m doing. So why in the name of Zeus’s butthole am I re-editing one of my already published novels for what must be the hundredth time!?
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.
Throwback Thursday: Play Ball!
In the spring, those two words are like music to my ears. All of the Major League teams—especially my beloved San Diego Padres—are in Spring Training, and opening day is only a few weeks away. And since baseball is my religion, I could not be happier.
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.
Throwback Thursday: Dirt Dragons
When I saw that Michael Gross, who played whacko right-wing survivalist Burt Gummer in the first three TREMORS films, also starred in TREMORS 4: THE LEGEND BEGINS, I assumed this was yet another sequel. But no, this one takes place in 1889, about a century before the first movie. So what’s the deal?
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.
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