All Good Things Must End

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. How's that new year treating you so far? Mine has been great, but now I have to go back to work. Yeah, my two week vacation is over. Sorry if that title made you think I was finally quitting this crazy writing business. One day I might, but I'm not done just yet. I still have some stories to tell.

If you have been here a while, you may recall that I was ill for the entire two weeks last year at this time. I had plans to get all sorts of writing done that year, only to find myself wrapped up in a blanket on the couch, watching movies. Thankfully, I didn't get sick this time, not from lack of trying on the part of my family. Poor things. All three of them were sick. How I got off so easy, I don't know, but am very grateful. How about you? I saw on Facebook and Twitter that a great many of you succumbed to illness, too. For those of you who were ill, I'm sorry. I hope you're better now.

Now, it would have been very easy for me to plug myself into my trusty laptop for the entire two weeks and busy myself with writing and social networks. I did do some writing. I completed an editing project and began working on draft two of my WIP; however, many of you who know me well will be shocked to hear that I turned off my computer a lot more than you might have thought...and went to the movies.

My wife and I went several times, sometimes I went with the teenagers and more often than not we curled up on the couch and plugged into the latest releases on Xfinity. I saw The Hobbit, Lincoln, and Jack Reacher (No swearing! Some of you are pretty pissed over Cruise in this role. For my part, I still have yet to read Lee Child, so please forgive me my ignorance. *smiles*). Of all the films we saw, the one that sticks with me is Les Miserables. I knew next to nothing of the story, only knowing there was a book and Broadway production. Little did I know! I'm more of a West Side Story fan, you see. I have been to Jesus Christ Superstar a few times, and did attend The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway during our trip to New York City two years ago. If you have yet to see it, you really must do so. Why filmmakers had yet to attempt allowing the actors to sing on camera, rather than lip syncing a previously recorded playback, I guess had to do with the amount of work and technology involved. But I bet they never go back. These performances are brilliant!

At home, I watched a handful of Christmas films, of course, but also got caught up on things I had missed. We saw Trouble with the Curve, Hope Springs and...(do I really want to admit this?)...okay, but only for the sake of equal time: My wife and I watched Magic Mike. *hides embarrassment* Not really. I'm not so prudish. Actually, my only complaint was language. I would have liked it better without the prolific swearing going on. I don't mind swearing. Sometimes it's just a bit much or out of character. Anyway, you ladies might not mind a bit of language as long as some of your other senses are being stimulated. *winks*

Well, my vacay is over, and it's time to get back to the day job. It's also time to climb back onto my treadmill. There was too much to do, too much good food, too much drink, way too many goodies sitting around the house, and too much sitting down. I've got an extra ten pounds that I didn't have mid-December that I need to shed. *sigh*

We'll talk soon.

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.

Getting the Chills

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. It's so good to have you stop by. I do so love your visits and, no, this isn't some Hotel California kind of moment. You can check out and leave any time you'd like. Trust me.

Chilling Films:

I finally watched The Woman in Black Saturday night and loved it. It did everything for me that I wanted it to do, much like the promise of a good roller coaster. I love a good Haunted House/Ghost story, as I've reported in the past. I started the film at 9:00 pm and turned out most of the lights in the living room/kitchen area. My poor wife fled immediately. She was reading her Kindle, so she headed for the master bedroom. School is out for the teachers, too, don'tcha' know, so my teacher-wife will be doing as much reading as she can during the summer.


Now, many of you might be saying, "C'mon, the film wasn't scary at all!". Remember, I really don't watch that many horror films, due to my family not appreciating the genre, so I have to enjoy 'em while I can. Although, I should say that this might be changing. My oldest took his brother to see the big Prometheus film on Friday, along with a bunch of his buddies, and is hoping to take me today (Sunday afternoon). They all watched Alien before they went. For those of you just back from a half year vacation on another planet and unaware of the significance, Prometheus is an unofficial prequel. Director Ridley Scott will not confirm it, but it is. So, perhaps my boys shall soon join me on the dark side.

In any event, The Woman in Black gave me a solid 10-12 real chills, and I love that. Some were expected and I suppose some might say came with too much warning, but they were good. For you Potter fans, I thought it was a good step beyond the Harry Potter series for Mr. Radcliffe. I don't like it when actors get type casted, so hopefully the performance will allow him to have a career beyond the wand. And, no, I didn't once think he would whip it out in order to do battle with that dreadful woman in black.

Chilling Research:

For those of you who have been by recently, you are aware that I have just completed the first draft of a new project involving ghosts. I was able to write the thing without doing a boatload of research first; however, I did realize that I would need to do some, delving into some dark subject matter in order to get specific about some of the plot. I started doing this Saturday morning. I had to research black magic; Satanism; rituals; and ritual items such as black candles and singing bowls to name but a few. Usually, I have my lap top in plain sight of others; however, not this time. I was seated at the head of the dining room table with my back against a wall, in order to hide what I was viewing. Some of the visuals were unpleasant.


With that being stated, have you had to do any research that made you uncomfortable? Anything unsavory? It doesn't have to be in the darkness either. Do you recall the Aaron Sorkin television series Sports Night that he did before The West Wing? Do you remember the episode where the reporter had to accompany a group of hunters on a deer trip? He was so upset because he thought hunting wasn't a sport, but just plain mean. Your research could have been like that. Have you had to research subjects that made you uncomfortable that way?


I'm just curious. You see, I would much rather talk to you than get back to my research... ;)


By the way, the boys and I did see Prometheus Sunday afternoon. I wrote this post earlier and have just gotten home after the film. I liked it. It was gripping, pretty well done and did everything that it needed to in order to be a fitting origin story. I only wished that I had sat with those high schoolers and watched Alien again on Friday. It might have helped my memory. That and, of course, it would have gotten me out of work at my day job.

We'll talk soon. 

To Review or Not to Review...

This is my actual book shelf. Pretty soon I will have just as my books in my Kindle!

...That is the question that I pose to you, Fire Enthusiasts.

Greetings. I do not have a book review for you this week. Well, that is not entirely accurate. You see, I did complete a book this week and begin another; however, I have no plans to share anything about it with you here. Why am I being such a tease, you ask? It is because I thought that the book was merely only okay.

It would not be difficult for you to figure out which book I am referring to. We are all on many of the same sites, are we not? It would probably only take you a few moments to discover which book I'm referring to, but I hope that you won't actually attempt to figure it out. I would rather that you find the book and like it or not like it all on your own. The book didn't suck! Many of you might actually like it, and by all accounts, many have thought highly of it. I just thought it was a bit of a miss.

So, what's the big deal, you ask? The big deal is that although I do not really know the gentleman, I know of him. He's like me, and he's like many of you as well. No doubt he dreamt a lot about being a writer, and probably spent a lot of time dreaming up that book. He researched, outlined, wrote, rewrote, revised, edited and is now hard at work promoting the hell out of it, much like all of us. Knowing what I know about that whole process, I just don't feel the overwhelming urge to do anything but reach out and shake that man's hand, pat him on the back and wish him well.

I have one book written, and although it has received some pretty sweet reviews, I am quite certain that there are more than a few people who probably think I might be better off working my 11-12 hour day job and spending the rest of my evening watching television. *laughs* I also have my second book in the editing stages, as you know. Lastly, I started writing my third novel during Christmas vacation when that much publicized cold (read: whining blogs/Tweets) had begun to dissipate. I'll want lots of people to read all three of those books when they are all on a shelf together one day, virtual or otherwise, and not have someone go all negative on me.

Is that why I chose not to review that book, because of Karma? Absolutely not. I may write horror and listen to classic rock and 80's and 90's heavy metal on volume 20, but I also love to be moved by my books, movies and music. That means I have to have some feelings within me. And it is because of those feelings that I chose to be respectful and simply leave an "okay" review on one of the book social networks.

I want that author to keep writing, to keep perfecting his craft, regardless of what this guy thinks. What do you folks think? Should I have been respectful, but also specific? I know that some have gotten into it on the Internet due to negative reviews. I don't want any part of that. Probably no one does. Should I simply have pretended to "forget" that I had ever read that book and leave the reviewing to others?

What are your thoughts? I'd love to hear them.

Before I go, let's forgive Blogger together, cross our collective fingers and hope that you're able to leave a comment. I know things haven't been great in that regard, especially this past week. If you do have issues, you can always drop me a quick line on FB or Twitter. Sometimes that's much easier anyway.

We'll talk soon.

The Film vs The Novel

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. How has your week been?

I thought I would tell you about something that happened this past weekend. For Good Friday, my wife and I took a rare day together, leaving the kids at home (not that they noticed). We started with a late breakfast, did some shopping, saw a movie, did a bit more shopping and then completed the evening with a great Italian dinner. It was a wonderful day and something that my wife and I should do more often; especially having been together for nearly 23 years.

It's the film that we saw that I want to discuss. We saw The Lincoln Lawyer.

I'm not the biggest Matthew McChonaughey fan in the world and, thankfully, he only removed his shirt the one time (Lol!), but I enjoyed the film. It had an all-star cast that included Marissa Tomei, Ryan Phillipe, Josh Lucas, John Leguizamo, Bryan Cranston, Francis Fisher and William H. Macy. For someone my age or older, you'll also be surprised to see a familiar face as Michael Paré makes an appearance. Country music star Trace Adkins also co-stars as does Michaela Conlin who plays Angela on the hit series, Bones.

On top of the great cast, it is a good story, based on the novel by Michael Connelly: Criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller(Matthew McConaughey) operates around Los Angeles County out of a Lincoln Town Car. Haller has spent most of his career defending garden-variety criminals, until he lands the case of his career: Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe), a Beverly Hills playboy and son of real estate mogul Mary Windsor (Frances Fisher), who is accused of the brutal beating of a prostitute. But the seemingly straightforward case suddenly develops into a deadly game of survival for Haller.

I thought the film was very good. In many films we spend most of the time trying to figure out what is going to happen, and who the guilty party might be. In this one, we find out who is guilty very early on, and then need to watch and see how Haller must get out of the corner that he is trapped in.

My wife, on the other hand, was not a fan. Why, you ask?

It was because she had just read the book...

The book is almost always better than its film version. Basically, the only ones who might dispute this are people who refuse to read. However, regarding those who love both mediums, this is hardly a debate at all.

Rather than spoil your viewing of the film, if you have yet to see it, I won't take any time to reveal what was so different or altered from the book. I only want to discuss the two mediums. What are your feelings with regard to this subject? Do you read the book first or watch the film first when there is a choice? Why?

Are there some examples where the book wasn't better than the film? I'll stir things up right away by declaring that, since I did not grow up with Tolkien, my initial experience of LOTR came from Peter Jackson's vision. I did finally read the books, but I did not like the staggered approach to time. I didn't care for reading about half of the Fellowship, only to have to go backwards in time and see what the other half of the Fellowship was doing at the same time. It was disconcerting.

I would love to hear what you think.

We'll talk soon.

Valentine's Week Update

Happy Valentine's Week, Fire Enthusiasts. How did your day go? Were you able to spend time with the one who means the most to you? I hope so.

My wife and I spent a half day together Sunday afternoon without kids. We went to lunch in town and then headed to Fresno, which is our large neighbor to the north, in order to watch a movie. As much as I wanted to watch The King's Speech once again (It had better win the Oscar or I'm going to be ticked!!), we watched The Company Men. It was good. That's the film about lay-off's that affected both the ordinary worker as well as high-end executives. It starred Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Craig T. Nelson and Kevin Costner. It was very good, but made me feel self-conscious about spending money when we went to Costco later that afternoon. Lol! I suppose that was a good thing. So, I'm writing this post with a tall glass of water, rather than the Crown Royal Whiskey that I might have had had that damn movie not crawled inside my head. ;)

The evening concluded with a thrill. Recently I was featured in my town newspaper, The Kingsburg Recorder. Without any help from me, the much larger newspaper, The Fresno Bee, featured the snippet above. The reporter informed me Monday morning that they no longer reviewed books; however, it was still a treat to open up the Spotlight Section of the Sunday Paper last night to find that I was in there.


Before I go, I would like to point those of you who like scary movies to check out the review that I posted Monday morning over at Something Wicked This Way Comes. It is the blog that is shared among four Vamplit Writers. I say that it is shared, but really I have had very little to do with any of the reviewing there. Mostly it is Marissa Farrar and Nicole Hadaway who do all of the work. Saturday, I finally got around to watching the film, Let Me In. It is a vampire story that breaks the mold. If you like vampires...and I know you do...you should really check it out. I really don't watch horror anymore, but this film is special. After you check that out, think about giving us a follow.

That's about all for now. Have a great week.

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.