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—Tremors 3: Back To Perfection
Burt Gummer becomes the star in the 2001 sequel, TREMORS 3: BACK TO PERFECTION, which takes us back to the town of Perfection, Nevada, site of the first movie. It’s a reunion of sorts for actors from the original, reprising their roles as Miguel, Nancy Sterngood, her daughter Mindy, and obnoxious teenager Melvin Plugg.
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.
Throwback Thursday—Tremors 2: Aftershocks Is Mildly Earthshaking
“Evolution: It’s a Bitch” served as the tagline for the first sequel, and indeed it is. Fred Ward is back as Earl Bassett, now trying to make a go of it with a failing ostrich ranch. A guy from a Mexican oil company asks for Earl’s help. Seems that Graboids are killing workers at an oil field in Sonora…
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.
Throwback Thursday: Guilty Pleasures—Mimic
The 1997 sci-fi/horror flick, Mimic, is one of my favorites, though to date I had not written about it (that changes today). Maybe it had to do with my utter disappointment with its two direct-to-video sequels. Let me explain.
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.
Throwback Thursday: Why I Do What I Do (Or Did What I Did)
Given my (approaching) dotage I’ve been taking on fewer writers in recent years, though I still love sharing in the success that many of my writers experience. This was more than evident last week when, three days apart, I received two freshly minted non-fiction books from a couple of writers with whom I thoroughly enjoyed working, from start to finish.
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…
Throwback Thursday: Self-Publishing—Where’s The Watchman?
Quite a few years ago, when self-publishing, e-publishing, POD and such were in their embryonic stages, literary super-agent Richard Curtis (who at one time represented me) wrote an op-ed piece in Publishers Weekly titled, “Who’s Guarding the Gates?” The article detailed his concern over books that were going to be published without any professional screening from literary agents, or editors at mainstream publishing houses.
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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