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.
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.
Throwback Thursday: Opening Lines—Part Four
I just can’t get enough of those great bad opening lines that have been submitted to the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest over the decades. Here are some more gems from recent years.
Oy! Jack Miller Rides Again…Well, Soon
As one who loves to write, I enjoyed creating all my many published novels. But my comedy/sci-fi trilogy (BICYCLING THROUGH SPACE AND TIME, THE ULTIMATE BIKE PATH, and THE 22ND GEAR, all from Ace/Berkley) provided me with the most fun I ever had—and ultimately, sad to say, some heartache.
Throwback Thursday: “We All Go A Little Mad Sometimes”
I love memorable lines from the silver screen, especially if they’re from movie favorites that I watch numerous times. A couple years ago I wrote a post titled, “She Wouldn’t Even Harm a Fly”—the great last line from the classic 1960 Hitchcock film, PSYCHO.
Mirror, Mirror…Who’s The Deadliest Of Them All?
Big things often begin as something much smaller. Case in point: the 2013 supernatural thriller, OCULUS, a critically acclaimed—and profitable—movie that started out as a short film (28 minutes) with the lengthy title of OCULUS: CHAPTER THREE–THE MAN WITH THE PLAN.
Throwback Thursday: Myths And Legends—Robert The Doll
Few folks know that Chucky had a real-life role model called Robert the Doll. Chucky, of course, is the murdering Good Guy doll—possessed via voodoo by the spirit of serial killer Charles Lee Ray—who “stars” in the CHILD’S PLAY franchise, at last count seven movies. He probably never met his ancestor, but the DNA is undeniable.
Revisited: The Future—Now Past
As the year 2017 comes to an end, I got to thinking: how in the name of Zeus’s butthole did it pass so quickly?! I guess when a year is 1/71st of your life, that’s what happens.
Throwback Thursday: Wolf Spirits In The Old ’Hood
For the first fourteen years of my life I lived in the South Bronx, until urban decay began to set in. Through the ’60s and ’70s that part of The Bronx—especially the area around Charlotte Street—deteriorated to the point that President Jimmy Carter called it “the worst slum in America.” – Which brings me to one of my favorite old movies, WOLFEN.
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