Blast(er) from the Past

Can't believe I never shared this with you before, but this is the first part of a reading/talk I did on a Death Troopers tour stop at B&N in Indianapolis. There's more out there on YouTube, but this is the first part. Have a few drinks and it starts to make a lot more sense.

Scary houses need love too!

And it's been a lovely week for No Doors, No Windows. First we had Michael Northrop's captivating dramatic interpretation, and now Jake Chism has posted a lovely review of the book at Fiction Addict.

Thanks, guys!

If you haven't checked out the book yet, I invite you to order it, pick it up or check your local library. You can read it during the summer time, but my feeling is that it's a whole lot more effective with a chill in the air.

Lost Ladies of Noir - Linda Darnell

I was going through Eddie Muller's indispensible Dark City last night, looking for ideas for a title, when I came across a picture of Linda Darnell, an actress who, in my benighted ignorance, I'd never heard of before. The still was from Otto Preminger's 1945 noir classic Fallen Angel, which in my ignorance, I've never seen. Are you noticing a pattern here?



Linda Darnell also did No Way Out in 1950. Did I see that? Nope. Looks like I've got some renting to do.


I love noir, and I love noir actresses, and I really love discovering new actresses and movies that I haven't seen before. If I build a panic room in the basement with a DVD player and flat-screen and "accidentally" lock myself inside for a few days, that ought to do it...

I'm a Pepper...

Because I just bought a case of Dr. Pepper Heritage, the newest addition to the "throwback" phenomena of soda being manufactured "with real sugar" instead of corn syrup or what have you. I opened one last night and I have to say, I'm not completely bowled over by the difference between that and corn syrup, so I decided to see what would happen after I added some of this.

And by golly, they're right, you really can taste the difference! In conclusion, it's exciting, this whole heritage business, and I endorse it whole-heartedly.

Book Theater is Go!

So I was checking my Facebook page tonight -- because it is the only method I seem to be able to communicate with the outside world -- when I became aware that award-winning YA author Michael Northrop has elected to spend valuable writing time doing an online reading from No Doors, No Windows.

Thank you, Michael. And while I don't dare attempt to reciprocate with a reading from your brilliant Gentlemen , which everyone should order right now, I might be tempted when I'm finally allowed a peek at your forthcoming novel Trapped, whose description is so enticing it staggers the imagination.

"So, is your blog completely dead now?"

This was the question that turned up on my Facebook page tonight.

And the answer is...

No!

It was just sleeping.

It turns out that the sound of fiction being written lulls the blog right to sleep. You write twenty, thirty thousand words of new prose, and the blog just nods off. Goes into hibernation. And then you have to go and wake it back up. Feed it some coffee. Dunk its head in icewater till it sits up and blinks its bleary red eyes at the world.

Which is a fancy way of saying that I've been writing the stuff that I've always been writing -- made-up stories. A new novel. Some screenwriting stuff. You know the drill.

Meanwhile, did everybody have a good 2009? Pretty much glad to put it behind you and get on with new business? Me too. So here's what it is.

I'm in New York City tomorrow, specifically in Brooklyn, at GELF Magazine's "Geeking Out" event at the JLA Studios Art Gallery, in the DUMBO neighborhood. The event is at 7:30 and there are drinks. What will I talk about? Prepare to be dumbfounded and amazed.

In other news, the second Star Wars horror novel has a new publication date, in February of 2011. Which is probably a good thing, since we still don't have a title for it, though there are some pretty good suggestions out there. I'll keep you posted.

For those of you craving a more immediate fix, my Supernatural novel, Unholy Cause, is due out in just a couple short months. The folks at DC/Titan books are really happy with the way that it came out, and so am I. So check it out if you dare.

I've been reading forthcoming stuff by Norman Partridge and Peter Straub, and the new collection of stories by Robert Stone. The best movies I've seen lately are The Hurt Locker and Anvil: The Story of Anvil. I recommend both without reservation.

And to anyone who might still be out there, I hope things are going well with you.