Innocence by Dean Koontz

I’ve been reading Dean Koontz for a lot of years, starting in my youth when I knew I wanted to be a writer. My local library had a book called Writing Popular Fiction by Dean R. Koontz (I believe the book was later released under the title Writing Bestselling Fiction , once Koontz was actually a bestseller). The author’s photo showed a long-haired young man with a mustache. Cool, I thought. Unlike most jobs, writing let you grow your hair as long as you liked.

I must have checked out that book 10 times while I was in high school, trying to memorize its secrets.

A few years later, when I was looking for another author to fill the gap between releases by my new favorite, Stephen King, I discovered the fiction of Koontz (I recall searching for his work after reading the non-fiction book, but Koontz’s science fiction novels were hard to find in this part of Kentucky).  I think the first Koontz I read was Whispers. After that, I was hooked. While Koontz didn’t seem to dig into his characters’s heads as deeply as King did, his plots were outstanding and the premise of each novel was imaginative and original. Since then, I’ve grabbed everything he’s released. That doesn’t mean I’ve loved every book, but even the least of them were enjoyable.

Over the years, Koontz has introduced more spirituality into his novels. I hope it isn’t too much of a spoiler to say that Innocence is his most overt expression of this.

Innocence concerns a boy named Addison, who must remain hidden from the world. If he’s spotted and someone looks at his face or into his eyes, that person tries to kill him. So Addison only goes out at night, and only with his face hidden. One night he meets a girl named Gwyneth, who can’t stand to be touched. They bond, and we’re off on another Koontzian adventure.

At times, the book’s pace slows down, but the ultimate revelation of Addison’s “condition” is quite unique and offers a payoff that makes up for any of the novel’s shortcomings.

There are a few unanswered question, though, and that’s unusual for a Koontz novel. Those include the presence of spooky marionettes and a confrontation with an archbishop, both of which almost read like plot threads that were meant to be expanded upon.

I’ll give Innocence a grade of a solid B. We’ll see what Koontz comes up with for The City, due out in July.

Batman Turns 75

Artist and producer Bruce Timm, who brought us Batman: The Animated Series, returns to the character with this short cartoon. Enjoy!

Evil Update

From today's walk, the evil Flatwoods tree is still bringing the creepy.

Still Stinky After All These Years

Check out the story of the human waste that still smells as fresh as when it was excreted in the 1300s.

Who knew 14th Century Denmark had a Taco Bell?

Odd Thomas and Other Sunday Morning Musings

Dean Koontz, a writer I’ve enjoyed for nearly 30 years, has a series of books about a young fry cook named Odd Thomas. Odd can see the silent spirits of the dead, who linger on Earth due to unresolved issues. Those issues usually involve murder. Odd is aided in his mission by his girlfriend, Stormy. They have been a couple since childhood, when a card from a gypsy fortune telling machine revealed Odd and Stormy were destined to be together forever.

Koontz, like many writers, has not exactly hit the jackpot when his work has been adapted for movies and TV. Watchers 3, anyone? However, several months ago, Koontz praised the adaptation of Odd Thomas, written and directed by Stephen Sommers, the man behind the Brendan Fraser Mummy movies. The movie briefly appeared in theaters and was recently released to DVD and Blu-Ray. We just watched it and here are a few thoughts.
 
* Anton Yelchin, from Hearts in Atlantis and the guy who plays Chekov in the Star Trek reboot, is perfect as Odd. He manages to embody a mix of optimism, dread and a sense of heavy responsibility. Humor is a big part of Koontz’s Odd Thomas books, and Yelchin and Addison Timlin as Stormy, do a fine job delivering one liners and keeping the mood as light as needed.

* The plot of the novel has been compressed and changed to work as a film. At least there’s a nod to Elvis, who is a character in the book.

* At times, Odd Thomas has the look of a TV movie, due, I’m sure, to budget constraints. On the other hand, the effect are impressive, particularly the bodachs and a scene inside the house of Fungus Bob.

* The story has a lot of heart, and it stayed with me. There aren’t many days when I wake up thinking of the movie I watched the night before. In this case, I did.

All in all, it’s a solid representation of Koontz’s work, and I would recommend it for fans of the book.

We also watched Last Vegas, which has been predictably referred to as The Hangover for seniors. Four old friends go to Vegas for a bachelor party and hijinks ensue. The big takeaway? Michael Douglas looks more like his dad than ever. The performances are good, the script has some solid jokes and Mary Steenburgen can sing. Who knew? It’s was an enjoyable couple of hours. Definitely a rental, not an owner.

While writing this weekend, I realized what the title to the third Dead Sheriff book needed to be. For fans of the first book, I realize this news might be slightly ironic and perhaps even frustrating, since I haven’t finished writing the second book yet.
 
No one has been more disappointed than me at my lack of productivity. The last couple of years have been tumultuous and that’s all I’m inclined to say. I may be the only person on the Internet who doesn’t feel an obligation to share every personal detail of my life with the world, but I’ve never been one of the cool kids, so why start now?

The good news is that my writing is returning to something resembling a normal schedule.

And it feels good.

In addition to the next Dead Sheriff book (which involves masked vigilantes, cannibals and a vampire bordello, so, you know, booyah), I have several other projects in the works for this year and I’m anxious to see some results. Now it’s a party.

The Guardians of the Kitty Cave

I woke up to this today. It's kind of interesting to me because I didn't leave the shoes there. They were next to the cave, not in front of it. I did see Sabrina rolling on my shoes last night, one of her favorite leisure activities. If Norma didn't move them, then Sabrina put a lot of effort into that arrangement. I hate to move them now.

How Superman Would Have Made Gravity A Much Shorter Movie

And One More Thing

After the death of a pet, so many friends have said to me, “Never again”, meaning they will never bring another animal into their lives because of the pain that comes at the end.

I understand. I understand, but I completely disagree.

Grief is the most devastating of emotions. Those of you who share your lives with animals already understand this. Those who don’t, or who don’t even like animals may as well stop reading now. This is not for you and you are not equipped to understand it.

At this point, we have said goodbye to several feline members of our family. For those who haven’t been through this, I’m sorry to inform you that it never gets easier. With Clark, 18 years of love and companionship created a bond that is tough to release. This is the most difficult loss we have faced.

While the last two years or so have been tough, and the past few weeks even more so, I would not give up one second of those 18 years to avoid the heartbreak at the end.

The pain is awful. But it’s fleeting. The memories of Clark’s life are powerful and positive, and something to be celebrated. We were lucky to have him in our family. One day–not today, but one day in the coming months–we’ll adopt another cat and we’ll honor Clark’s memory by providing a loving home for that new family member.

Endings are always hard. But the end will always be overshadowed by the life that preceded it.

Clark

Our cat Clark passed away yesterday at the age of 18. Yes, that’s a good long run for a cat, but you always want more.

He’d been sick for a couple of years, months marked by sharp declines followed by slow recoveries. Finally, it became clear that his suffering had worsened and he wasn’t going to get better.

We brought Clarky and his sister Lois home in November of 1995. We’d lost another cat, Precious, to leukemia a few weeks earlier. She’d come to us as an adult after being abused and abandoned by her previous owner. She had a lot of issues, which made us wish we had gotten to her when she was young so she could have been raised in a loving home. When we knew we needed to keep cats in our lives we found two beautiful kittens.

This seems ridiculous now, but when we adopted Clark we had never had a male cat and were concerned he might be mean. Instead, he turned out to be the sweetest, gentlest member of our family. He was happy and adventurous and curious, always anxious to be brushed or to offer his companionship for any and all naps. He assumed every visitor was there to see him and he proved to be a good little host for family gatherings and parties.

Clark–the real Clark–had been fading away for many months, so when I miss him now I realize that I have really been missing him for a long time.

Late last Friday night, he climbed up onto my lap, something he hadn’t done for at least two years, and for the next half hour or so, he cuddled next to me and purred. The next morning I told Norma that it felt like he was telling me goodbye. Cats, I have learned, are much wiser than we are, and over the years there have been many occasions that I felt Clark was taking care of us rather than the other way around.

I never believed we were his “owners”. I hate that term. If anyone was owned in this relationship, it was Norma and me. Clark wasn’t property. He was family. That’s why there’s an ache in my heart now.

(By the way, the photo above was take a couple of years ago by Clark’s incredible veterinarian, Dr. Ursula Nance.)

Thank Ya, Thank Ya Very Much

A call from Elvis is the topic of this week's column in the Ashland Beacon.

It's on page 2 and you can read it here.

American Horror Story News

Entertainment Weekly has an article on the next season of American Horror Story. 

The season's subtitle will be Freak Show, and the cast includes the majority of actors from the recently completed third season Coven.

Producers must have enjoyed their season three stint in New Orleans, since the Big Easy will stand in for Freak Show's Jupiter, Florida setting.

11 Essential Stephen King Books

Every list is subjective, but I can't find much to quibble with on this one.

I would also put The Stand at the top. I would've placed 'Salem's Lot much higher and skipped the short story collection--it's in novel length fiction that King is at his best.

Overall, though, an excellent list for someone wanting to sample King's greatest hits. I also concur that Needful Things belongs here, though many readers and most critics disagree.

What's On the DVR

Because I am occasionally asked, he's a current list of shows I record. My TV viewing time is very limited so I'm usually way behind. And the list continuously changes. My one guilty pleasure reality show, Storage Wars, has just been replaced by another too-rehearsed-yet-oddly-entertaining series, Barry'd Treasure. That's because of the star, Barry Weiss, pictured above. Here's the current lineup:

The Good Wife
Doctor Who
Marvel's Agents of Shield

Cosmos

Once Upon A Time

Castle 

Supernatural 

Arrow

Justified

Modern Family

Big Bang Theory

Elementary

Pardon the Interruption 
Veep
Episodes
American Horror Story

I'm also hooked on Sunday morning news shows, particularly Face the Nation. I wish our local CBS affiliate, WOWK in Charleston, WV, would run the full hour instead of The Wiggles or whatever they fill the second half hour with.

The recently completed True Detective on HBO was brilliant. If you haven't seen it, immediately catch a re-airing or find it On Demand.

I've also tried HBO's Girls, but it's clear to me that I'm not the audience for that one. That's okay. There's a universe of shows out there for all audiences and tastes. if you love Girls, good for you. My list is not suggested viewing. It's merely some of the stuff I regularly watch. On the weekends I tend to surf a lot and sample sports and many shows on the Science Channel. To each his or her  own.

So what are you watching that I should try?

Selfie and an Update

I hoped to get a blog update done last weekend and it didn’t happen. So this will be the make-up entry.

It’s Friday evening, and in addition to a busy week at my day job, I’ve also been battling some weird combination of cold and sinus infection. Pity me not, for I am on the mend. Or pity me some, for it couldn’t hurt, I guess

More importantly, we’ve been preoccupied with caring for Clark, our 18-year-old cat who has had a bad week. He suffers from a few ailments and every time he struggles we fear he’s near the end. At the moment, he’s bounced back and is acting like his old self. Or, at least the best version of his 18-year-old self. I’ll take that. Most pet owners will understand that he is part of our family, a huge part.

I feel no need to explain that to people who aren’t animal lovers. They will never understand nor do I need their understanding. In fact, here’s a small confession: as open-minded as I try to be, I never completely trust anyone who doesn’t like animals.

Egads! My prejudice has been exposed.

I want this to be a good weekend for writing. My day job has taken over my life for the past few months, but things seem to be settling down to something close to a normal schedule now. Hopefully this means being able to strike a healthy balance between my two passions.

Yeah, I love what I do for a living. My mania for radio is worthy of a few blog posts in the future. My writing is equally important to me. Sometimes, though, I find it tough to switch gears between the two. More on that later.

I’ll be back later to report on how the weekend is going. Until then, whether you’re searching for jets or seeking the meaning of life, follow the evidence. Question everything.

And don't forget: mac and cheese will never let you down.

Still Alive

I'm just very busy. I'll try to do a catch-up post this weekend. Meanwhile, my latest column in the Ashland Beacon is a case from my days as a private dick (as opposed to, I suppose, a public dick). It's right here on page 2.

Nope

Everything From This 1991 Radio Shack Ad You Can Now Do With Your Phone

From an article at Huffington Post.

More Newspaper Coverage

This article is from the Herald Dispatch in Huntington, WV.

Black and White and Read All Over

The local paper did an article today on the changes at the radio station. You can read it here.

Broken Resolution

So, about that pledge to blog every day...

The last week has been spent on a major work project, with no time for writing. It went a little something like this:

The format flip unfolded over several months but, due to technical constraints, the majority of the heavy lifting had to occur over the final seven or so days. Fortunately, I work with smart and dedicated people, and we managed to get it done on time.

Now I'm ready for things to return to normal, or at least as close to it as it gets in my world.That includes writing. I hope to have more to report very soon.