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.
Your Book: Managing Expectations
A person of some fame and accomplishment (in endeavors other than writing) contacted me some years back to see if I could assist her in writing a book about her life. At first thrilled and honored, I quickly re-evaluated the possibility of this happening when she...
A Real Turkey
This being Thanksgiving day, what would be more appropriate than to write about a turkey of a movie? I’m talking about Mimic 2, the 2001 sequel to one of my favorite horror flicks, Mimic (duh). In 1997’s Mimic we had an Academy Award-caliber cast (Mira Sorvino, Josh...
Writers Are Amazing
I’ve worked with countless writers over the decades as a coach and editor, and interacting with the majority of them has been a joy for me. But with some, not so much. The difference? The “not-so-muchers” don’t take critiquing well, are defensive, and some actually...
“They’re Here Already!”
I spent part of last weekend giving workshops at the 12th Annual La Jolla Writer’s Conference down in San Diego. This excellent conference was launched in October of 2001—it almost got canceled because of 9/11—and I served on its founding faculty, as well as on every...
“Give A Writer A Fish…”
Actually, the quote goes something like this: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Depending on where you look, it is either an old Chinese proverb or it comes from the Talmud. (I always thought that the...
A Sword & Sorcery Do-Over
I’ve written about this being my third writing career, with a gap of about seventeen years since my second writing career until starting up again in 2011. One constant, as I’ve come to realize throughout a span of over three decades, is that the majority of...
A True Horror Story
I usually don’t write about musical theater, but I saw a show last week at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre that remains indelibly stamped in my mind and my soul. Allegiance: A New American Musical, premiered at The Old Globe on its almost certain path to Broadway in...
Guilty Pleasures: Deadly Friend
Actually, I’d wanted to write a post on one of my all-time favorite dumb guilty pleasures, Deadly Blessing. But my old VHS tape had long since gone the way of Goodwill, and DVD versions were no longer available. (Good news: they’re reissuing it in DVD and Blu-Ray next...
Writer’s Block—What’s That?
Okay, I don’t mean to belittle a malady that is prevalent among so many writers. It’s just that I’ve never had writer’s block. I mean, never. Not ever. I will admit that there were periods when life got in the way big time, and accordingly I just stopped writing. But...
The Big Five-O!
No, this post is not about a cop show in Hawaii, and it’s definitely not about me approaching a significant birthday. OH, I WISH! I passed that particular milestone a long, long time ago and just kept on truckin’. So what is this all about? Well, I started this blog,...
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