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—Guilty Pleasures: Darkness Falls
You don’t want your kids encountering THIS tooth fairy. I first wrote about this film in 2013.
A Touch Of Football, A Touch Of Fantasy
The 2012 film, TOUCHBACK, is another inspirational sports movie that you undoubtedly missed. I viewed it on Netflix last year because I enjoy sports movies, and because Kurt Russell, one of my favorites, had a co-starring role in it. The film proved a pleasant surprise, and a copy of it is now a part of my collection.
Throwback Thursday: Why’d It Have To Be Snakes…?
Like Indiana Jones, I too have asked that question many times of late. I finally decided to stop trying to figure it out and accept the fact that—to use one of my least favorite clichés—it is what it is. (At the end of the day, of course.)
Films About Writers: In The Heart Of The Sea
Okay, calling this 2015 historical adventure a film about a writer may be a reach. Then again, one of the primary characters is Herman Melville, author of Moby Dick, so it may not be too far out after all.
Throwback Thursday: Go Ahead, Mate, Make My G’Day
This post, first presented in 2013, talked about one of the most favorite things that ever happened to me as a writer.
When Dragons Rule The Earth
Three of Hollywood’s leading men in one movie? Yes, the 2002 post-apocalyptic fantasy, Reign of Fire, gave us Christian Bale, Matthew McConaughey, and Gerard Butler, all with a common goal: kill the dragons, before humankind on Earth is no more.
Throwback Thursday: Always “Acknowledge” Your Writing Coach
Happy New Year! Here is a fun and meaningful story for you writers out there. I first presented it in 2013. Enjoy!
My One—And Only—Self-Indulgent Post For The Year
As the new—and uncertain—year of 2017 begins, I’ve had a chance to look back at what I’ve accomplished in recent years. The last seven years, to be more specific, ever since the eye-opening experience of a brush with my own mortality.
Throwback Thursday—The Future: Now Past
As the challenging year 2016 comes to an end this weekend, I got to thinking: how in the name of Zeus’s butthole did it pass so quickly?! (Yeah, I know…not quickly enough for many of you.) I guess when a year is 1/70th of your life, that’s what happens.
Can A Butterfly Alter The Course Of Time?
It is hard to imagine a story written by the great Ray Bradbury NOT translating well to the big screen. But such was the case with the 2005 sci-fi thriller, A SOUND OF THUNDER. Bradbury published the story in COLLIER’S magazine (1952) and he later included it in his short story collection, GOLDEN APPLES OF THE SUN. But to me, all of the bad reviews for this box-office bomb may not have been totally justified.
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