Cover Guy

Today is the birthday of Bob Eggleton, immensely talented artist and the creator of amazing covers for fantasy and SF book. 

Of course, I have a preference for one of his pieces in particular. Thanks to Nick Cato at Novello Publishers for scoring this cover.

By the way, I have an idea swirling around in my head for a novel that would link the Deadneck stories. I hope funny zombies never go out of fashion.

News From The Future

The secrets are revealed this week in my newspaper column in the Ashland Beacon. It's on page 2! Read it here.

Reading

I just finished Personal by Lee Child, the new Jack Reacher novel. This one has Reacher, the former Army MP, drawn into the search for a deadly sniper he originally put in prison years ago. Set partly in France and England, and concerning possible multiple assassination attempts, Child crafts a supersonic page turner. It's possible that he's the best thriller writer in the biz.

Up next on the reading list:

Still Supernatural After All These Years

I recently wrapped up watching the 9th season of Supernatural. 17 episodes were on my DVR for months.

My TV watching time is very limited during the week, so I mostly watched the show here and there on weekends. Now the season is finished and here are a couple of thoughts.

(I know the season ended a long time a go, but there will spoilers. Consider yourself warned.)

Generally, I thought it was a successful season. Supernatural is strongest when it follows the shows mythology. Nine years of continuity can be intimidating for new viewers, so the show makes a token effort to appeal to newbies with a few episodes that don’t tie in to the main story.  Some of those stand alone monster-of-the-week episodes worked well, except for “Bloodlines”, which was a backdoor pilot for a spinoff series–a failed pilot, as it turns out. In hindsight, it’s not hard to understand why the CW passed. The pilot was about as generic as a show with Supernatural in the title could be.

As for the major arc–the fallen angels, Metatron, Abaddon, Dean’s descent into evil–it took a surprising and therefore, refreshing turn (a turn which was spoiled by much press this summer. I’m not complaining. It’s my fault for waiting so long to watch the show. But had the big finale not been spoiled, I would have been stunned. Stunned, I tells ya!).

So Dean’s a demon. This sets up interesting story possibilities for next year. More good news is the promotion of Mark Sheppard and Misha Collins to series regular.

Confession time: does any other longtime Supernatural viewer get chills when the season finale begin? When that “The Road So Far” title card comes up, followed by “Carry On, My Wayward Son”, I’m in need of an adult diaper. Er, was that too much info?

Reader Mail

I answer it in this week's column in the freakin' Ashland Beacon. You can read it online. It's on page 2.

Writing Update

I’m on vacation, and after the hectic work schedule of the past seven or eight months, and following the other issues of the past couple of years that have kept me away from the keyboard for long stretches, I feel like I’ve turned a corner.

I don’t want to talk much about the issues that kept me from writing (imagine that: someone on the Internet who doesn’t want to share every infinitesimal detail of his personal life). Part of solution has been some solid vacation time, allowing me to get a lot of rest and find much-needed perspective.

I’m 54. I’ve loved dabbling in writing for most of my life, and until recently I had been fairly disciplined in producing work that got published.

I have a lot of stories I want to tell and less time in which to tell them as each day ends. I have to make each day productive.

I’ve made some great strides on the long-delayed second book in the Dead Sheriff series. God bless the staff at EvilEye Books for their patience.  I hope to have it finished and in their hands by the end of the month.

Next, I will finish another partially-completed horror novel, and then write a pitch for a graphic novel that a publisher has asked for.

Following that, I have to finish a novella for one of the best publishers I’ve ever worked with, and a novelette for another company.

That will catch me up with projects I agreed to do long ago, and clear the boards for the future.

That future will include more Dead Sheriff, stand alone horror novels and, I hope, books in a couple of other genres.

If you’re a reader, thanks for your support. If you haven’t tried any of my stuff, the links on this page should give you a place to start.

I’ll update my progress as often as possible.    

Pod of Horror was also a victim of the same circumstances that cut into my writing time. It, too, is coming back soon. 

 It's always been a labor of love. And I missed talking to my co-host and pal, Nanci Kalanta, on a regular basis. 

Keep watching for a PoH update by the end of the month, if not before.

Thursday Afternoon

I took a break from the longer project to write half of a new story today. At least, it feels like half. These things tend to grow in the writing and are then usually chopped down in the editing. My writing time will be almost non-existent tomorrow and Saturday. I hope I can finish it on Sunday.

It's very different from the kind of fiction I usually write and I have no idea if there's any sort of market for it. Which is fine. It's one of those things that feels right when I'm getting it down, and sometimes that's the best reward. 

I may post it here or I may shelve it until I have a new collection of stories. That will happen one day. I have a long list of stories I need to write, including a funny one that sprang from a recent dream about science fiction writers in the 1970s and stolen starships and a daring rescue out past Pluto.

As for the longer project, I hope to have some positive news on that around mid-July. 

I also need to post a brief review of Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King. That should happen sometime Sunday, too.

Rocket Power

Here's the United Kingdom trailer for Marvel's Guardian's of the Galaxy. New and improved with more Rocket Raccoon!

FaceOff

Before MR. MERCEDES arrived today, FACEOFF downloaded to my Kindle. I'd forgotten I'd ordered it. Edited by David Baldacci, the book teams up thriller writers to pit their best-known characters against each other. Lee Child's Jack Reacher vs Joseph Finder's Nick Heller, Heather Graham's Michael Quinn vs. F. Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack, plus Michael Connelly vs Dennis Lehane, James Rollins vs. Steve Berry, Jeffrey Deaver vs John Sanford, and a bunch more. Best of all, R.L. Stine's Slappy the Ventriloquist Dummy vs Preston and Child's Pendergast. This looks like a blast.

What I'll Be Doing The Next Few Days

Yep. Just sitting here holding this book.

Happy Birthday, Norma Kay

My beautiful wife, the gal of my dreams, has a birthday today. She is simply the best person I know. I'll save the rest for another 30 days. That's when we celebrate out 32nd wedding anniversary.

Now Reading

Godzilla's Witnesses

Pulp Friction

I love pulp fiction.

Maybe I should rephrase that. I love the idea of pulp fiction. Let’s face it: a lot of the stuff we call pulp fiction was pretty bad, cranked out to meet a tight deadline and earn a low wage.

But there were a lot of gems hidden in that mountain of turds, especially if you’re in the right frame of mind when you read the stuff. I know this because I’ve had quite a few friends say, “What’s the big deal with The Shadow/Doc Savage/The Spider, etc.?” I pass along some samples. Occasionally, the new reader becomes a fan. Often, they do not. In fact, they sometimes violently do not become a fan. So take what I’m saying with a big grain of salt. I’m a fan. I love the stuff.  Your mileage may vary.

New Pulp is the genre of current pulp fiction, written to emulate the tone or style or campiness of the original pulp. I’ve read a lot of it. Heck, I’ve written some of it (I even have a pulp project on my to-do list). Some of the New Pulp is great. Some of it is not. The New Pulp I’ve read includes its fair share of bad writing and bad editing (or, I suspect, no editing).

Having said that, this caught my eye today.

Here’s the link to read more or to order.
 
The editors have a good pedigree and that may be enough for me to check it out. If that happens. I’ll review it here. On the other hand, I have a lot of old pulp fiction left to be read, and I plan to knock out some of that over the summer. For some reason summer time always means pulp time for me.

Catching Up (Part 1)

Hey. Long time, no blog. Things have been busy, as usual. But a recent renovation job at the house threw the schedule waaaay off. It’s amazing how construction at a small house like ours can become all-encompassing. But it’s over now and we have beautiful new floor to ceiling bookshelves, which will finally help organize our out-of-control book collection. This will make it far easier to see what we have, what we want to keep, and what we want to discard, probably through Goodwill. Here’s one of the shelves, partly stocked.

Here’s another, with our cat Callie in the background, holding the bed down.

Over the Memorial Day weekend, between stints at work, I read the new Steve Berry novel The Lincoln Myth. Berry writes a fast-paced thriller, with a plot drawn from American history, in this case a deal between Brigham Young and Abraham Lincoln to keep the Union intact during the Civil War. In the present day, former intelligence agent Cotton Malone has to stop the centerpiece of the Lincoln deal from becoming public and destroying America. I always think of Berry’s novels as “Da Vinci Code-lite”. And, as Martha Stewart wisely puts it, that’s a good thing.

For those who are politically inclined, here’s an article from Damon Linker where he examines why he’s not a Republican anymore (but he’s not really a Democrat, either).

The Incredible Bulk VS Agents of S.H.E.M.P.

The carnage takes place in this week's Ashland Beacon. It's on page 2. You can read it here.

Tuesday Afternoon

First, my apologies to anyone who has received spam email from my AOL account.  No, I haven’t been hacked. I wish it was just something I could fix with a change of password. Actually, I–and around 1% of AOL customers– have been spoofed.

I always thought being part of the 1% would be more fun.

 A hacker stole contact lists from AOL accounts,  including accounts that have been inactive for years, and is using them to send out spam email from what is jiggered to appear as an AOL account. It doesn’t originate from my account and I can’t stop it. Apparently, neither can AOL, although they promise to do just that.

AOL’s help page suggests that account holders change their passwords. It won’t help with this spoofing, they tell us. I guess it’s supposed to be comforting.

If you want to read more about the situation, you can check out this article.

As with any email, if you don’t know the sender or there’s an oddly phrased message and a link, delete it without clicking on the link.                                             

***

I’m in a Doc Savage frame of mind this week. I’ve plowed through two Will Murray novels–Horror in Gold and The Forgotten Realm–and I’m starting on a third, Phantom Lagoon. Two or three novels in a row from any genre are usually my limit before I have to turn to something else. I’ll let you know how it goes.

 
***

I’ve been dealing with a recurrence of the gout, and merry malady that I have enjoyed since 1991. This gout bout has not been as serious as the first go-around, and I hope I caught it early enough. Just as he did 23 years ago, the doc put me on Allopurinal, a drug which seems to work well on me. While gout limited some of my activity for a few days, it did force me to get some reading done, and things seem to be getting back to normal, so I hope to resume daily walks soon.

Holiday Greetings From The Easter Duck

Whether you celebrate the holiday or not, have a great day.

New Doc

This amazingly cool cover was recently unveiled at the Wild Adventures of Doc Savage Facebook page. The book isn't out yet, but since the Joe DeVito cover blew me away, I wanted to share it here.

I'll review it when it's released. As detailed here, I've become a fan of Will Murray's novels.

Oh, look, another 90s Doc is being re-released, too.

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.

And While We're Talking About Boneheads

The guy who thought it was a good idea to tape firecrackers to his face and light them would like a moment of your time.

I Know It's Early...

...but, so far, this is my favorite picture of 2014.

Slow Sunday

I made little progress on the book today because I went back to fix a character issue. I don't usually like to do any revisions (other than typos) until the first draft is complete, but this issue affects the rest of the book, so if it ain't right, the book ain't right.

Tomorrow I go back to work after my holiday vacation, and I'm in for a very busy couple of weeks. If I can squeeze out a thousand words a day on the new book, I'll be happy. In fact, I know of one day where I'll probably have zero writing time. I'll have to make that up down the line.

The book is due at the end of the month. It's going to be tight.

Once it's done, I'll move on to a novelette I've promised a friend, then to finish a novel I've been tinkering with for a couple of years.

Also this year, I want to pitch a horror comic called Usher's Furnace, and Dave Wilbanks and I are discussing another Dead Earth book. 

That should take care of my free time.

City Councilman Resigns in Klingon

I bet the city council meetings were full of mIS Dun. Details here.

Aw, Poop

This was not my most productive day, which is indicated by the traditional Internet symbol for disappointment: a cartoon rendering of dog poop. 

Okay, it's a traditional Internet symbol that I just now made up, but still...

Today's Writing

While not nearly as exciting as the magnetic alignment of pooping dogs, I did manage 2162 words on the new book today, my best day's writing in quite some time. I'm at that point where key elements of the story are orbiting my head and starting to fall into place. I just hope I don't end up like the guy who used to repair appliances for us. 

When he once fixed our washer, a couple of big parts were left on the floor. 

"What are those?" I said.

He glanced at them and said, "Aw, don't worry about it. You don't need 'em."

***

I've been reading the year-end recaps on other blogs, and I realized I should tell you that I don't know how many books I read last year. I don't keep track of how many movies I watched. I don't care how many books anyone else read. Apparently I lack the OCD gene necessary to count all of that. Or to, you know, care on any level. Man, it just seems like a lot of work. Isn't life hard enough? I mean, dogs are lining up their poops according to Earth's magnetic field. Wake up, people!

Breaking Dog Poop News

As one who grew up with dogs (grew up with, not raised by; that's a different family member), I always wondered why pooches had to spend so much time picking a spot upon which to deposit their doo doo.  It turns out they have to align their bodies with the Earth's magnetic field. It's explained in this article. And remember, you don't have to magnetically align your body to pick up the poop.

Saving Mr. Ellison

Here's the shy, retiring, polite opinion of one of my heroes, Harlan Ellison, regarding the film Saving Mr. Banks.

A Quick Writing Update

This a brief note because I did say I would blog more and because it's good for me to talk about my writing again. I managed about four pages tonight on the Current Fiction Project (CFP). It's not the total I wanted, not the pace I had during the last book. But I think that's okay. I feel like one of those old steam locomotives, starting out slowly, huffing and puffing, building up energy. I can feel this story swelling, ready to explode. Or maybe that's my head. Regardless, I'm pretty happy with the output. 

Oh, and I also wrote another newspaper column earlier in the day, so today's word count is respectable. 

Let's see if I can do more tomorrow.

Wholock

This is so well done that I was fooled into thinking it might have been a BBC promotional gimmick. But, no, this is an impressive fan -created mashup up of Sherlock and Doctor Who. After you watch it, you might wish to check out the "Wholock-VFX Breakdown", which shows where the clips  originated and what was done to make them fit into this mini-movie. I've embedded it below.

Welcome to the Future

Like almost everybody I’ve spoken with, I’m looking forward to better year than 2013.

The year wasn’t horrible. In fact, several great things happened in 2013. Unfortunately, writing wasn’t one of them.

There was a lot of chaos swirling near my life and I allowed it to interfere with my writing time. Did I say interfere? Hell, I meant practically eliminate. This was my most unproductive writing year since I turned pro. In fact, the only writing I turned out on regular basis was my weekly humor column for the Ashland Beacon (which you can read right here; this week’s column is my New Year’s “revolutions” for 2014).

(Oh, and for what the specific cause or causes were for the chaos, forget it. It’s personal and that’s all you need to know. Except that some of the reasons for the problems have been resolved.)

Obviously, things have to change. I have deadlines to meet and several projects I want to complete. My focus this year has to be to carve out time at the keyboard every single day. That means other things will be delayed. For instance, I managed to produce only one episode of Pod of Horror in 2013, due to the same reasons that kept me from writing. Moving forward, I do want to continue PoH. It’s a labor of love. But writing is going to take top priority. I will do PoH when I can.

I will also try to blog more regularly, if for no other reason than to update the status of my writing. That serves as motivation for me. I’m not sure I’ll need it, but it’s here if I do. I will continue to do the bulk of my social interaction on Facebook.

So thanks to those of your who have supported my writing. I hope to have a few things to announce here over the next 12 months.

Oh, and Happy New Year from the Evil Flatwoods Tree.

The Horror Fiction Review has weighed in on The Dead Sheriff. The  review is here, about halfway down the page. I've been a huge fan of HFR since it was a printed 'zine, and to get a nice review from them is a big thrill.

If the review moves you to order a copy of the book, you can do that here.

Doc Savage: The Miracle Menace

When I heard about the new “wild” adventures of Doc Savage, I had some misgivings. I thought the price was a bit high and I was afraid the larger page counting would lead to story padding. The original Doc novels were lean adventures (even leaner as the series aged).

Also, when author Will Murray wrote several Doc Savage novels for Bantam books in the early 90s, I thought they were rather hit and miss.

My thinking has changed.

It started with Skull Island, Murray’s story of Doc Savage meeting King King. It took place early in Doc’s career, before he had officially begun his life’s work of crusading again evil. The novel was a grand adventure, with an exciting plot and a wealth of detail about Doc’s family and his unusual upbringing. I had no qualms with the size or the price or the writing.        

Now comes The Miracle Menace.

In the latest Doc novel, Murray tells two stories that finally converge into one epic. In the first thread, out of work magician Gulliver Greene and his assistant Spook Davis encounter strange happenings in La Plata, Missouri (the hometown of original Doc Savage author Lester Dent) involving a murdering midget, a suspicious religious cult, telepathy and the rumor that Christopher Columbus is alive and well in 20th Century Missouri. In the parallel story, Doc Savage and his aides investigate a mansion in the Missouri woods that disappears and appears at random.

When the two sections of the novel finally come together, Murray dishes out an explosive finale, including shocking revelations about the past of some of the characters and the appearance of a villain from an earlier Doc novel. The secret of the vanishing house proves to be one of the most amazing mysteries of Doc Savage’s career.

Wild adventures, indeed.

With Skull Island and The Miracle Menace, I was as captivated and entertained as I was when I first discovered Doc Savage as a kid. Back then, those classic James Bama covers drew me in with the promise of action and mystery. Now Joe De Vito paints Doc’s covers and the last two have been spectacular.

I have gone back and found that some of the earlier Murray Doc novels that I had a problem with have magically gotten better.

Apparently the 12 year-old inside of me has issued an order to relax and enjoy the new Doc Savage novels. The older I get the more that kid seems to get the best of me.

Silent Night: A Spenser Holiday Novel by Robert B. Parker and Helen Brann

One of the final projects begun by author Robert B. Parker before his death in 2010 was this novel featuring his ageless sleuth Spenser helping a homeless boy during the Christmas season. Parker wrote only 17 pages before his passing, and since the book was under contract, his longtime agent Helen Brann stepped in to finish the novel, with the consent of Parker’s family.

To my surprise, Brann captures the voice of Spenser almost perfectly, as well as those of Susan and Hawk. In fact, Brann may write a better Spenser than Ace Atkins, the author selected to carry on the series. There are no real surprises in the book (just as there were none in Parker’s last several novels). On the other hand, I never read the books for their innovative plots. Like most of Spenser's readers, I came back for the characters and Parker's unique authorial voice.

Speaking of the plot, Brann handles the story pretty well, including the requisite holiday moments that aren’t nearly as out of place as I’d feared.

The one facet of the book where I found Brann lacking was the action scenes, which are light on detail. Despite that, the novel stands on its own, as good as the last few Parker-written Spensers. It was nice to revisit these beloved characters again, particularly knowing the book contains Parker’s last few Spenser pages.

It wouldn’t break my heart if Brann alternated with Atkins on future Spenser novels.

Pod of Horror #70

The stake has been pulled from the heart of Pod of Horror and our moldy slumber is over. We’re back with PoH #70, featuring horror writer Jonathan Janz, author and Stephan King expert Bev Vincent, Jason L. Keene’s Moonshine Matinee and all the news that fits in the Call of Kalanta. Pod of Horror # 70 is produced and hosted by Mark Justice. You can listen here.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Here's the first trailer for the next Cap movie, coming out in April in the U.S. This introduces the Falcon.

Here's the film's official description: 

After the cataclysmic events in New York with The Avengers, Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier finds Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America, living quietly in Washington, D.C. and trying to adjust to the modern world. But when a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague comes under attack, Steve becomes embroiled in a web of intrigue that threatens to put the world at risk. Joining forces with the Black Widow, Captain America struggles to expose the ever-widening conspiracy while fighting off professional assassins sent to silence him at every turn. When the full scope of the villainous plot is revealed, Captain America and the Black Widow enlist the help of a new ally, the Falcon. However, they soon find themselves up against an unexpected and formidable enemy—the Winter Soldier.

New Story

 

Actually, it's a novelette (shorter than a novella, longer than a short story) in Volume 4 of Jim Anthony, from Airship 27th.

Jim Anthony was a Doc Savage imitator for a short time during the pulp era. He was super-strong, super-smart, rich, etc. Unlike Doc, Big Jim loved the ladies. He had a Native American grandpa and a secret hideout called the Wigwam. For a while his stories were wild and wacky. Later, he was tamed down and turned into your run of the mill pulp detective. 

My story (and, I presume, the others in the book) is set during the "fun" era. I know I had fun writing the story. I don't produce much pulp fiction anymore (yeah, The Dead Sheriff is pulpy, but I consider it equally part of the horror genre) so it was a hoot to read the story again. It was written several years ago and, in my biased opinion, it still holds up.

Here's an Amazon link for ordering it.

The Greatest Toy of All Time