Genre Favorites Blogfest

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. As always, thanks for dropping by. As you can see, we're shaking things up a bit this week. Rather than discuss my vampire series - my book is on the right and we've got the cover reveal for the forthcoming sequel over there as well - I've decided to join Author and Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh's latest and greatest blogfest. These things are always huge and lots of fun as we meet new people and share a bit of ourselves. Today, we're discussing Genre Favorites in books, music and film.

As a horror writer you might worry that my books and films would be full of blood and guts, and my music dark and eerie; however, you may be surprised to find that my choices might be scary for all the wrong reasons. Let's get started, shall we?

Favorite Movie Genre: Here's where I leave you scurrying off into the night. You see, I have a poster of The Exorcist on my library wall and I was a teenager when teenagers were being sliced and diced in the original Friday the 13th and Halloween films, but when I curl up on the couch to be comforted, I choose Romantic Comedies... What? Yep, it's sad but true. I write vampires, but would rather watch Notting Hill, An Affair to Remember, Love Actually and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.

Favorite Music Genre: Now this one should make a bit more sense to you. I listened to pop music as a child, but it was when I got into Junior High that things changed. Since then, it's all been about Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. We call is Classic Rock now and refer to the 80's musicians as Hair Bands. My first real show was Kiss just after the make up came off. I saw Motley Crue, Iron Maiden, Scorpions, Sammy Hagar, Van Halen and much more. Here's a photo of me taken when Van Halen was "standing on top of the world for a little while." I'm kneeling in the center.

Favorite Book Genre: Here's another category which should make more sense to those that stare at the flames above and wonder what the hell happened to make me like tear-inducing films. *laughs* As a teenager, I found myself reaching out for Jaws and The Amityville Horror (still one of the most frightening reads ever, whether you believe it was fake or not). I then found Michael Slade, Clive Barker and Uncle Stevie. I'm still reading horror, but now they are mostly Indie books and you guys wrote them.

Guilty Pleasure Genre: Hmm? This provides an interesting choice. I could tell you how my iPod also includes Air Supply, Neil Diamond and the Bee Gees, and that would be a lot of fun, watching you scratch your collective heads once again. Instead, I think I'll list Dramas as my guilty pleasure in books. In fact, I'll tell you that my favorite all-time book is Beach Music by Pat Conroy. Yeah, I know. I didn't want to read it either, and fought it for a while before succumbing to what I think is a masterwork and one of the most brilliant books ever crafted. My sister in law peer-pressured me into reading it and I have yet to put it down. Every couple of years of so, I find myself grabbing it off of my book shelf and carrying it with me on vacation or just to spend a weekend. I can't help myself. It's that good. I am firmly on record as having said that I will die happy if I can write a story half as good as Conroy did there.

So there you have it. I hope I have gained some new friends in this latest and greatest from Ninja Alex, and haven't scared others off. Lol! I look forward to seeing your answers. I can guarantee you that it will take me most of the week to get through the list, but I will. Eleven hour day jobs do that to people. Here's the link back to Alex's list here. I'll see you guys there.

We'll talk soon.

1st Annual Coffin Hop

Greetings and salutations, Horror Enthusiasts. Wait! Horror?

Yes, that’s what I said. Since it is the build-up for Halloween, I thought this would be a bit more appropriate than the usual.

First of all, allow me to take a moment to apologize for disappearing off of the face of the planet these past few weeks. Everything was fine. There was nothing to worry about, and I will be explaining it all in another week. In any event, I'm back, and very excited to be participating in the first annual Coffin Hop.

This week we have nearly 100 blog sites, hosting all of your All Hallow's Eve thrills and chills. We've got shorts, book teasers, quizzes, scavenger hunts and so much more. Perhaps most importantly of all, each and every one of the sites is hosting giveaways. I will only be posting Monday, like always, giving everyone plenty of time during the week to visit all of the sites. The hope is that you will feel as if you just got out of Disney's Tower of Terror ride, escaped with your life like George and Kathleen Lutz from 112 Ocean Avenue in The Amityville Horror or are simply the last person standing at the end of any horror film - whatever floats your boat! You should also be walking away with some great stuff, too.

That is, if you actually get away. [Cue Maniacal Laughter]

This week I am sharing a very brief snippet of my debut vampire novel which was published by Vamplit Publishing. The e-book was published in February of 2010. It has been getting very good reviews, both on the web as well as in print, and we're very excited about that. It is currently tied for the highest-rated novel in the horror category in the Smashwords store. I promise you that you will definitely survive the experience.

  

May 4, 2008

11:59 a.m.

          The great beast paused in the dark and sniffed the cool spring air as if welcoming in the fragrant bouquet from a glass of fine wine held below his nostrils. Hands casually held inside the pockets of a brown leather coat, long single strands of his dark hair leaping and dancing in the light breeze, head held slightly elevated, he breathed deeply so as not to miss a single delectable whiff.

After all of these many years, he was close now. Before, he simply had a sense of it; perhaps one might call it a fool’s hope. Now he could smell it, taste it.

He was very close indeed.

The breath within it now spent, devoid of any flavor; the beast released it and stole another.

Cold, penetrating eyes pierced the moonless night as he was on the move again strolling languidly, almost if in a hypnotic trance eastward through the peach orchard. Had he already become intoxicated by the scent? Perhaps not the blood that led him, but what the blood was speaking to him. His eyes swept across his field of vision obscured as it was by the trees’ thick canopies. With each additional step, more of the approaching town was revealed: multi-colored light, the spectrum of sounds, the differing shapes of buildings. Looking was unnecessary, however. At this moment, he was as finely tuned to the world around him as he had ever been before. Ahead where the small town the clues had led him to met the open country, a coyote prowled cautiously, desperately searching for a morsel. To his far left was laughter. Actually, it was more like giggling: the squeals of drunken hyenas, intoxicated with the blood and flesh of their kill. Although in the case of these young men, much too young to drink, it was Budweisers that they were killing. He could actually detect the faint sound of the beer sloshing within the long-neck bottles held in the hands of these who probably thought themselves safely undetected among the rows of the raisin vineyard. This night, at long last, after much searching, longing, nothing could escape the beast’s notice.

He paused yet again, this time kneeling low to the earth that lay below his heavy riding boots. Though quite minimal, the scent of blood was now sweet and heavy in his flaring nostrils and parched throat, awakening a deeper hunger within him, as if that could be possible. The sensation seemed so new to him. It felt so virginal: like that first bumbling attempt at lovemaking; that first night away from home; that first bloodletting.

Yet, it was none of these. It was the sweet taste of revenge. The beast would have to salve that hunger with something else tonight, he knew, and perhaps tomorrow as well, but not for very much longer.

Claw-like fingers dug slowly and confidently at the ground until a tiny leg emerged. It was followed by another, and then a shriveled face. They stopped digging and wrapped themselves around the tiny head, where nails all too similar had recently gripped and snapped away the last of the cats’ life. Without a thought, the beast pulled the corpse from the shallow grave. He did not need to search for the wound that had drained the last of the creature’s life, but he did. He longed to see the wound. How could he not? Was this not what had been driving him, filling his days? And now, he would do nothing but enjoy it to the fullest.

He bent the pathetic little neck back until there was an awful crack. His expression showed little knowledge of the sound of it. When he found the matted place where cold lips such as his had drank, when he could see the bite that had drawn the blood, he brought it quickly to his mouth and blew away the dirt with a sharp blast of dank air. Now he did the unthinkable. He licked the wound, long and slow like a lover would the breast of his beloved. Then the great beast smiled a horrible thin smile as he looked up from it.

            “At last,” he whispered, nonchalantly dropping the dead cat and gazing up toward the small town before him. He spoke as if to the entire population. “Nathaniel,” he declared, gritting his perfect white teeth as he did. “I have you at last. And when I am through with you the insignificant souls of this place shall gladly hand you over to me!”

The vampire immediately headed off into town, setting events into motion.

Kingsburg, California. It is a rural agricultural community in the heart of the San Joaquin valley, the richest agricultural valley in the world, so states the city’s official website. It was incorporated May 11, 1908. It has a population of over 11,000 and lies twenty miles south of Fresno, and nearly halfway between San Francisco and the city of angels.

It is the home of Sun-Maid: the largest and most well-known raisin plant in the world. The gold medal Olympian Rafer Johnson was raised here. The actor Slim Pickens, who rode a nuclear warhead in the film, “Doctor Strangelove”, was born here.

The Swedish Village, the signs read and the police cars and police badges proudly proclaim. The style of the buildings’ architecture, the baby blue and yellow colors of Sweden, as well as the frequent sighting of the traditional dress from one or another of the downtown business owners further testify to this. Signs at various points along the city limits greet strangers with the Swedish Word: Valkommen. It means exactly as it sounds which is “welcome”.

Every third weekend in May thousands of people converge on Kingsburg for the Swedish Festival. It is a time where nearly the entire town puts on its traditional dress and a show for the weekend, with the highlights being a dance around the May Pole on Friday night and a pancake breakfast and parade on Saturday. This year marks the 43rd annual celebration and the town’s centennial anniversary. The festivities were set to begin in ten days.

The Giveaway:

I am offering a few free copies of the e-book, as well as a couple of autographed copies of the softcover.

How to win:

What one needs to do to win one of these is to comment here and tell me that you'd like to be entered. Secondly, post somewhere about the Coffin Hop so that others will find us. Lastly, please leave your e-mail address so I may contact you. YOU ONLY NEED TO PROMO FOR THIS ONE TIME AND HOWEVER YOU CHOOSE.

If you are on on Twitter: promo the main page and include @danceauthor so I will see it.

If you are on Facebook, Google+ or a blog: paste one of our cool posters on your page and tell me about it. I'll find it. You do not need to visit each site along the tour, but we encourage you to visit as much as you can. You won't be sorry.

If you are one of the sites participating this week, you are eligible to win, and do not need to worry about promoting because you are already doing that. Just remind me.

So that's it. Visit some sites, grab some bling and meet some new people. I'm looking forward to joining you...until the end.

We'll talk soon.

  

Greetings, Fire Enthusiasts. How are all of you today. Oh! There's a light knocking on your door. It almost sounded like more of a scratching than actual knocking. Other than me, who would come calling so late at night? Anyway, I'll wait here while you see who it is...

Relax. There isn't really anyone at your door. I was only messing with you. You see, I have come before you this week to tell you about a cool blog hop that is going to take place during the week before All Hallow's Eve from October 24th to the actual thinning of the veil.

Okay, okay. I'll stop. You know, you're not any fun at all. Besides, I'm an author; we're supposed to me demented on one level or another. Come to think of it, most of you are writers, too. Aren't you? If it pleases the court, notice I didn't accuse you of being demented. *whispers* It was implied.

I haven't yet decided what I plan to do for this event. As you know, I usually only post on Monday. I could re-post a bunch of reviews or snippets of my novel. If I post too often I won't have the time to visit the blogs of others, so we'll see. I'm taking a week off from work soon - at the end of the month I'll tell you what that was/is about - so there will be plenty of time to think my plans over. There will definitely be a contest at some point during the week. I will be coming to your house and washing and detailing your car... Are you kidding? I don't even do my own! Of course I'll be giving away copies of my novel. I see you frowning there. My little crossover vampire novel is currently the highest-rated horror novel on Smashwords, so there. *bares fangs* ;)

The point of all of this, just like anything else, is for the exposure. We writers get to meet other like-minded writers and, more importantly, we will use this fun time of year to reach like-minded readers. Each one of the sites will amaze, surprise and perhaps even shock with their content, and there stands to be some very cool giveaways.

Had enough of the hop badges yet? Good. There's more. I like them, too.

You know, I thought she was better looking last night. Must have been that second Crown & Coke. What? It's too cold for beer here in California now. Okay, I don't drink that much, you guys. I kid.

In hopes of whetting your dark appetites for the blog hop, I am leaving you with another, very brief snippet from my novel. In this scene, the heroes have locked themselves in the Kingsburg Police Department. The young distraught dispatcher has been sent home. Or so we hoped. The evil vampire is still hot on the trail for the other vampire Nathaniel, who is inside with the heroes.


4:58 a.m.

At long last, Vincent had located the correct key, turned it in the lock and gained access. Before entering fully; however, he leaned toward the ground with his left hand and retrieved something that he had placed there. Michael could not make out anything yet. While Nathaniel held his ground beside him, Michael glanced nervously from door to door, deliberating and calculating in his head whether or not he believed that the last door between them and the vampire might hold. It seemed too much to hope for.

When Michael tore his eyes away from the what if’s and what might happens of his deliberations, the vampire had reached the other side of the large lobby window.

“What’d he just drag in here?” Michael whispered the question. He waited for the reply, but none came. “Nathaniel?”

“You may wish to turn away.”

With still surprising little effort, Vincent reached up and slammed the object against the glass. In horror, Michael cursed as the lifeless body of Lainie Bishop struck the glass with her back and head. The blow did nothing to the thick bulletproof glass, but it collapsed several of the plates that had once made up her beautiful skull. There was a sickening squashing sound as some of the contents inside were loosed. There was very little blood, however.

For good measure, Vincent pulled her down and slammed her three more times in some sick, twisted rhythm as if she were simply the door knocker of an even larger castle.

“She did not seem pleased that she was being sent away,” Vincent broke the silence between them. “So I decided to invite her back inside.”

My God! Barbara stifled her cry as she entered the room just in time to witness the carnage. “What kind of monster are you?” she screamed, just not able to hold back her outrage at the sight of the dead woman’s hanging limbs. Whatever blood she had remaining stained the glass in dark splattered rivulets.

All three in the room turned to look at her as she did so. Both detectives were wondering just the same thing. Though some had seen some of what the vampire had been capable of, some getting a very close and personal taste of it, it was only Nathaniel who really knew.

“He is the great beast,” Nathaniel said. “There is nothing that he is incapable of.”

I hope you will join my fellow Coffin Hoppers and I this upcoming Halloween for chills, frights, shocks and treats. There's still time to join the hop. You can find it here. If you don't feel like hosting, I hope that you will hop, run or crawl along the different sites. I'll see you there.

We'll talk soon.

Monday Morning Musings

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. How was your week? Mine was busy, as always, but also quite rewarding, as you'll see.

Many thanks to my buddy, Ellie Garratt. She hosted the Star Trek Blogfest last week. It was very cool, reading through each list and meeting new people. It was also educational for me, because I never paid much attention to any of the other Star Trek series or films. My allegiance was always to the original cast. It wasn't intentional. It's just how it all worked out. Anyway, I gained a bunch of new followers out of the blogfest who I look forward to getting to know better. *waves to new friends* If I missed any of your blog posts last week it was because it took me three days to get through the Star Trek posts. I believe it was nearly fifty.

On Friday morning, I happened to come across a Facebook Page entitled, Novel Publicity. They were doing a chain where you posted the link on your page, along with a simple sentence which alerted participants that you knew the rules of the game and intended to play along. Next, we posted on the Novel Publicity post and then headed off into cyberspace to meet new people. It took quite awhile getting through the list and saying hello to everyone participating; however, by the time it was all said and done, my author's page on Facebook had jumped nearly 100. Out of that number I did manage to find a few familiar faces that I already knew. Although only a few appear to share my darker genre, I think there are many that we'll find share some things in common, and will end up being friends out of the deal. I plan to join again next week if I'm able. Perhaps I'll see you there.

On the reading front, I have been reading Drood by Dan Simmons. It is a huge book that I picked up at Borders when we were in Monterey, California last month. It is the story of real-life Charles Dicken’s supposed infatuation with a mysterious character that ends up consuming the last years of his life. Unfortunately, I only have about a half hour each night to read, and although the novel is very interesting and intriguing, I can’t find any other time to read. No matter how good the novel is, I read in bed before going to sleep, since it helps to tire me out. When do some of you writers find the time to read?

Speaking of writing, by the time that you read this post, I should be doing an edit/rewrite on my second novel, the sequel to Dance on Fire. It is currently entitled, Dance on Fire: Flashpoint. Before I do that, however, I need to get going on my next article for Kings River Life Magazine. I’m writing about a very talented gentleman that composes, performs and leads choirs. His music has been played all over the world. He teaches and actually leads worship in our church. It should be interesting.

How are your stress levels, my friends? I’m not going to repeat myself here; most of you are aware of my day and little time I have to do anything. A week ago, I took most of Saturday and Sunday to clean my house–I had neglected it that much. Now, with the work that remains on my novel, plus the itch inside me to begin writing book three, I am really beginning to need to clear my desk, as it were. It may be time yet again to reevaluate what takes up my time.

How about you guys? Kids are back in school, so do we have more time to write or less?

Anyway, I hope you all have a great week. I hope our paths cross more than once, whether it be the blogs, Twitter, Facebook or any of the other social networks. Are any of you on Google + yet? I'm not, but would like to be. Do we still need to be invited? If anyone knows the scoop on that, I'd love to hear it.

We'll talk soon.

Star Trek Blog Fest

Hello, Star Trek Enthusiasts...

Wait! Did I just write, Star Trek? Yes, I did.

We're skipping the whole Fire Enthusiast thing for one week while we instead celebrate the phenomena that is the Star Trek Universe. This blogfest is being hosted by my good pal, Ellie Garratt. Many of you probably already know her, but if you don't, you really should introduce yourself. If you have stumbled here and would like to see more Star Trek thoughts, please surf over and check out the other entries at Ellie's blog.

Now, I must tell you that I am not the biggest Trekkie in the world. Not by a long shot. I grew up watching the original television show with my dad. When the original crew reunited to begin doing films, I came along for the ride; however, that was about all. I never got into the Next Generation or any of the other shows. I did watch the big reboot by J.J. Abrams and liked it.

In any event, here is an eclectic look at Star Trek through my eyes in no particular order:

(1) I was born March 22, 1969. This was William Shatner's 38th Birthday. He has been many things and has gone by many names: he was Bob Wilson, terrorized by a gremlin on a plane in the Twilight Zone episode, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet; he was T.J. Hooker in the 80's; he has been Denny Crane in the television show, The Practice; and although he later became Admiral, he will really only ever be Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise.

(2) In one of the saddest moments, the Enterprise is destroyed in Star Trek 3. With our heroes safely away, the ship is put through its self-destruct paces in order to take out Klingons and swing the advantage back into Kirk's court. I do love Christopher Lloyd's reaction as he realizes that his men are about to be killed. You can watch the scene here:

(3) Now, my wife didn't think this would be a very good idea to post this next one, so I hope everyone takes this in the fun spirit that it is given. I just watched it for the first time in a long while and I think it is hysterical. If you have never seen the skit William Shatner did on SNL, you really much check it out:

William Shatner SNL skit Get A Life 1986-12-20 by efly2020


(4) Once again, I don't know each and every villain in the Trek Universe; however, not only is Ricardo Montalban's Khan a great Star Trek Villain, he may very well be one of the great movie villains of all time. I loved his timing and his facial expressions, and he had some great lines to deliver:

"Surely, I have made my meaning plain. I mean to avenge myself upon you, Admiral. I deprived your ship of power, and when I swing around, I mean to deprive you of your life."

"I've done far worse than kill you, Admiral. I've hurt you. And I wish to go on hurting you. I shall leave you as you left me, as you left her; marooned for all eternity in the center of a dead planet... buried alive! Buried alive...!"

"[quoting from Melville's Moby Dick] To the last, I will grapple with thee... from Hell's heart, I stab at thee! For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee!"

(5) And if you haven't guessed yet, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is my all-time favorite in the series. I can watch it over and over again. There should even be a 24-hour channel or, if nothing else, a one day a year event where they loop it. Okay, perhaps I'm going a bit overboard, but I think the film had everything. Great action and dialogue. Good drama. And not campy at all. I think it has also aged very well, thankfully. So I will leave you with the poster.

My thanks to all who pay me a visit. I look forward to checking out your thoughts as well.

I usually end posts with "We'll talk soon", but obviously this week I must close with the following...

Live long and prosper.

Super 8 Debut Albums Blog Hop

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. So, I was looking for something to post for Monday. I had thought about posting another teaser of my novel. I have done two or three so far. I know some would say that if they wanted to read the novel, they'd buy it. Therefore, I wasn't exactly keen on that idea. I probably will do so at some point, but in the meantime, I found something much, much better. The Super 8 Debut Album Blog Hop, hosted by DiscConnected.

Super Debut Albums? Are you kidding me? I'm all over that.

Now, before we get all crazy, we have to slow down before beginning. Some "debuts" were not debuts at all, but "major label" debuts. By that I mean that the artist or record company hit the restart button on either their material or career. Metal Health by Quiet Riot was pretty darn good, if you discount those Japanese releases. That Jagged Little Pill that Alanis Morissette gave us was kick ass, as long as you forget those Canadian releases that preceded it. Then there is Room For Squares by John Mayer and The Sound of White by Missy Higgins, but each had one or more EPs before hitting it big.

In any event, let's get to the list, shall we?
My criteria: Is it a real debut? How many of the tracks did I skip? Finally, do I continue to play the hell out of it!

Van Halen: I love the Kinks, but after Eddie and the boys covered "You Really Got Me", injecting it with power, you'd almost never want to play your version again. From "Runnin' with the Devil" to "Eruption" to "Little Dreamer" and "Jamie's Cryin'", the album set the table for a monster career.

Shake Your Money Maker: The Black Crowes hit it big in 1990 with this powerhouse. It's got a bit of everything, including some huge hit songs: "She Talks to Angels" and "Hard to Handle" might be the most well-known; however, some of the other tracks are my favorites. "Sister Luck", "Could I have Been So Blind" and "Thick N' Thin" help round out this classic.

Songs About Jane: For me, the bloom has come off of the rose a little bit. Maroon 5 is a bit too safe these days, seemingly making the same music over again; however, "Jane" is a brilliant record. Had they wanted to, they could have released nearly 6 or 7 songs as singles. As it was, they toured for years on just that one album.

Dawn Patrol: I'm still playing Night Ranger to this day. This album came at the beginning of my adolescence, and at the beginning of the hair band explosion of the eighties. "Don't Tell Me You Love Me" and "Sing Me Away" were the big hits on this album, but there's also "Eddie's Comin' Out Tonight", "Young Girl in Love", "Night Ranger" and more.

The Blizzard of Oz: Ozzy has a fantastic catalogue of great songs, but there was definitely something special going on while he was recording and writing with the late Randy Rhoads. What they accomplished with this album as well as Diary of a Madman was magical, making it easier to take that he was no longer in Black Sabbath.

Asia: It almost shouldn't count when a band is formed like a high-priced mercenary squad, but that's what we got here with this supergroup. John Wetton, Carl Palmer, Geoff Downes and Steve Howe all came from other successful groups of the 70's. "Heat of the Moment", with it's infectious drum and guitar work was a staple on a young MTV. "Only Time Will Tell", "Time Again", "Wildest Dreams" and more make this a classic debut.

The Doors: William Blake wrote: “If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear as it is - infinite”. Aldous Huxley took the quote and wrote a book, and James Morrison and The Doors labeled their band and the rest is history. From "Break on Through" to "The End", this is a album that not only started something huge and groundbreaking, but blew The Doors off of the joint!

Boston: Just like the last music blogfest that I participated in, where I proclaimed that the list was only ever going to be about nine of the ten best songs because "Stairway to Heaven" was going to be number one, the same thing holds true here, There is no doubt in my mind that the greatest debut album ever is by Boston. Each of these songs can stand on its own. There's not one track that should be skipped. It is the second best-selling debut of all-time to Appetite for Destruction by Guns N' Roses. I didn't list "Appetite" because I only ever listened to half of its songs. Listen to classic radio long enough and you will eventually hear all 8 of these Boston tracks. And isn't it fitting that this blogfest is entitled Super 8? That's what the debut from Boston should be nicknamed.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope this has sparked some memories and inspired some to investigate these great albums for themselves.

We'll talk soon.

Horror/Science Fiction Quote Blogfest

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts and distinguished guests. A couple of weeks ago I participated in a top ten song of all-time blogfest. It was so much fun, and I spent way-too much time building it. I laughed that I spent more time working on it then I ever have for any of the other blog posts or articles that I have written! Now, if you know anything about me at all, it's that I have a head full of useless trivia. I know a lot about music (even the stuff that I don't like), television, books and...movies. So, I was more than pleased to be participating today with a new blogfest: Top Ten Horror/Science Fiction Quotes. It is being hosted by Ellie Garratt and Jeremy over at iZombielover.

I hope you enjoy this recollection of some of my favorite or memorable quotes. Some you will recognize right away, while others may be new to you. If you are not a Superbowl fan or are simply waiting for the actual game to start, rather than listen ad nauseum to all of the endless build-up, then take the time to check out all of the other participants. It may take a while, but should be well worth it, and a lot of fun.


1) “You’re gonna’ need a bigger boat!” This particular quote is great because it was ad-libbed. The late Roy Scheider just pulled it out of the thin air off of Martha's Vineyard, where the classic film Jaws was being shot. I could have used several other lines from the film, but this might be one of the great scenes in the history of filmmaking. After a long while, the shark finally pulls up out of the water. Chief Brody sees it and stiffly sits up in shock. He slowly walks backwards into the cab of the small boat and the rest is history.


2) “A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some Fava beans and a nice Chianti.” The Silence of the Lambs is a masterpiece. It was evident when it stunned Hollywood by essentially sweeping the Academy Awards in 1991. This quote was made famous by yet another ad-lib. As the story goes, Anthony Hopkins turned to Director Jonathan Demme and told him that he wanted to say the line and try something. He did, adding his trademark noise at the end, creeping everyone out. I can well imagine the words "cut!" and "print!" soon followed.


3) “Just remember what old Jack Burton says when the earth quakes, the poison arrows fall from the sky, and the pillars of Heaven shake. Yeah, Jack Burton just looks that big old storm right in the eye and says, 'Give me your best shot, I can take it!'". It's campy, it's John Carpenter and it's Kurt Russell in an unforgettable role as an over the top John Wayne. He's a quote machine in Big Trouble in Little China. One might question my taste in films at this point, but I can't help loving this movie. I just jump right into the Porkchop Express and ride along with old Jack Burton.

4) “You son of a bitch! You moved the cemetery, but you left the bodies, didn't you? You son of a bitch, you left the bodies and you only moved the headstones! You-only-moved-the-headstones!” Poltergeist is a fantastic film which I grew up with. I don't own the DVD yet because I've been hoping that they might put a large collector's set together. This film has a bit of everything: great actors, great effects, great writing and, if nothing else, Spielberg. 'Nuff said? Rumors persist that Steven had to step off of his producers chair at the last minute and see this film completed as an uncredited director. In any event, it is still good after all of these years.

5) “But,...then he's still out there.” Whether the producers knew it or not, they set up their franchise perfectly with the last lines in the original Friday The 13th back in 1980. The lone survivor (at least until the first minutes of part 2) awakens to find herself in the hospital. She asks the police officer what happened to the boy, Jason Voorhees, who pulled her into the water. They explain that they didn't find any boy...


6) “Listen to them, children of the night. What music they make.” Many have played Dracula or other vampires. Some have done well; however, for me, there is none better than Bela Lugosi. Don't believe me? Try looking up regular photos of the great actor and he still looks like the famous vampire.


7) It's perhaps one of the most memorable exchanges in film. In The Exorcist, Father Karras walks into the bedroom of Regan McNeil for the first time. She is fully possessed:
[Demon with Regan] “I'm not Regan."
[Father Karras] "Well, then let's introduce ourselves. I'm Damien Karras."
[Demon] "And I'm the Devil. Now kindly undo these straps."
[Father Karras] "If you're the Devil, why not make the straps disappear?"
[Demon] "That's much too vulgar a display of power, Karras."

8) I typically do not see a film multiple times until it is released onto DVD or video before that. With the classic film, Jurassic Park, I saw it three times in the theater. As often as I use the quote: "I hate this hacker crap!" whenever my pc is acting up or I am unable to access whatever it is I want on the 'net, the following is my all-time fav. When John Hammond attempts to explain away the trouble the park was having as totally explainable, Ian Malcom counters.
[Hammond} “All major theme parks have had delays. When they opened Disneyland in 1956, nothing worked!"
[Malcolm] "But, John. If the Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don't eat the tourists."


9) "Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!" There have been many remakes and all-too many poor sequels, but nothing beats the classic original, The Planet of the Apes, and this signature line. After all, it is the late great Charleton Heston!


10) Lastly, as much as I really didn't want to use this quote, it was probably inevitable. My wife encouraged me to use it. It was brilliant at the time, and has been used and overused since George Lucas surprised the world with it back in 1980 in the The Empire Strikes Back. It was one of the great all-time cinematic twists. Therefore, whether I am tired of it or not, I shall leave you with the exchange:
[Luke Skywalker] "I'll never join you!"
[Darth Vader] "If you only knew the power of the Dark Side. Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father."
[Luke] "He told me enough! He told me you killed him!"
[Darth Vader] "No. I am your father."

Once again, I hope you all find this blogfest as fun as I have. I look forward to reading what everyone else considers to be the greatest quotes in Horror/Science Fiction.

We'll talk soon.