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Since I’ve recently watched the film, I’m curious about how different the novel The African Queen is from the celluloid medium. Supposedly, there are marked changes, but I did not investigate any of these, since I wanted to witness them firsthand. I hope to be in for an enjoyable read, all in all. As usual, I’ll share my thoughts when I’m done reading.

Americans are a**holes. There, I said it. If there are any takeaways from Vengeance: The Last Stands of Custer, Crazy Horse, and Sitting Bull, by Tom Clavin, it’s the above statement. The book chronicles the events preceding Little Bighorn and ends with the massacre of Wounded Knee. It also provides details of everyone involved in these events. George Custer, with his larger-than-life confidence and battlefield savvy, took many risks in his military career, most of which pa

Marrying genres has always been a thing in literature. From A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain, which blends time travel and satire, to The Caves of Steel, by Isaac Asimov, a whodunit murder mystery set in a dystopian future, to that scarefest cinematic experience Alien (1979), horror and science fiction, to the quintessential Blade Runner (1982), a blend of cyberpunk and noir, there are many, many examples of shaking up two genres to see what come up.

Why do female empowerment films anger men so much? Or should I say, some men? Are they fearful? Worried about their tenuously dominant place in society? Or are they so wholly insecure in their masculinity that anyone resembling a strong female is a direct attack to their very being? Films like Suffragette (2015), Hidden Figures (2016), and of course the landmark feminist film, Thelma and Louise (1991), are all examples of films that exhibit women who rise above societal norms

What is it about secret, rogue, quasi-governmental agencies that’s so appealing? From The Syndicate in The X-Files, to SD-6 in Alias, to Caddis in Butterfly, even The Bureau of Paranormal Research in Men In Black, what do they all mean? What do they signify? Are they an allegory for the wishful, defiant, bird-flippers in all of us? Or do they signify something else? Hitman (2007), based on the popular video game, doesn’t seek to answer any of these questions. But it plays th

Katherine Hepburn (The Lion in Winter) has great facial expressions. Couple these with Humphrey Bogart’s (The Maltese Falcon) large, expressive eyes, and you have a formula for guaranteed on-screen chemistry. Why didn’t they work together in other films? The African Queen (1951), based on the C.S. Forester novel—which I duly added to my TBR List—is an exotic adventure romance about two completely different people working together against all odds towards a common goal: an ac

I love a good historical tale, especially if it’s about the Old American West. Vengeance: The Last Stands of Custer, Crazy Horse, and Sitting Bull, by Tom Clavin, appears to fit this bill. I look forward to an even, non-judgmental account of all sides of this conflict, along with any humanity therein. As usual, I’ll share my thoughts when I'm done reading this book.

I want to emulate Raymond Chandler. I really, really do. His prose is the stuff of genius; I can read his works again and again. The Big Sleep, the first of the Phillip Marlowe novels, refines the storied hardboiled detective, the cynical protagonist, the archetypal antihero, first introduced by Dashiell Hammett (of whose works I’d read again and again, as well). Regardless of his approach, his ethical principles remain unwavering, and he dedicates his efforts not merely to

“Keyser Söze!” Wait…wrong film. But there’s a reason I’m mentioning this cinematic monster, alluding to The Usual Suspects (1996). I went into watching Abigail (2024) from a comment I overheard last weekend at BaltiCon 60. The congoer alluded to the film, especially the ending, hinting that Krystoff Lazar (Matthew Goode, Watchmen) is a monster, a classic monster, the classic monster, in his own right. Also, knowing what it was about—and this is another example of a film whe

Firstly, I love this movie, and can watch it again and again. That being said, here are my thoughts for this most recent viewing. The Big Lebowski (1998) is a film by the arthouse wunderkind filmmaker brothers, Joel and Ethan Coen (Fargo). They admittedly wanted to create a film that’s a valentine to Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep—which I am currently re-reading—while making some specific, and quite hilarious, changes. Jeff Bridges (The Fisher King) stars as The Dude, a hap

After I decided to self-publish Arrested Souls: Book One of the Ecto-Files, which was only a few days ago, as I was driving home form BaltiCon 60, I was eager to get going! I contacted graphic artists who were also publishers, received proposals and sample book covers, and even put aside funds to start it all! Then I had a conversation with my good friend, fellow writer, and artist Francine Roche Kay. She told me that AS had to be as nearly perfect as I could make it, that I

Back to the Classics. I’ve read Raymond Chandler before, a few times, because his creation, Phillip Marlowe, is one of my inspirations for Duncan Griffiths, the main character in The Ecto-Files, a series of urban fantasy books I am currently writing. I am re-reading this story to get reintroduced to Chandler’s voice, his style. This will not be the first Phillip Marlowe novel that I re-read. As usual, I’ll share my thoughts when I am through.

I’ve finished a short story, which GoodReads considers a book, but my close friend does not. If a piece of literature falls under a specific page or word count—the actual number escapes me at the moment—she removes it from her GoodReads list. But I don’t do that. I read—no, I consume—so many books per year that one shorty like “Randomize” by Andy Weir would not really matter to the overall count. Which for me is over one hundred. Am I, heh, shorting myself by including these

Last weekend at BaltiCon 60, I attended a panel called, “Who Cares About The Chosen One?” It talked about the trope in Science Fiction and Fantasy where, you guessed it, the protagonist is so important, so integral to the story—if not the series the first installment kicks off—that they are, in fact, a, if not the, Chosen One. Soul Fraud, by Andrew Givler, is just such the start to an urban fantasy series. We have the hapless twenty-something, down-on-his-luck schmo named Ma

I was sitting in a colleague’s classroom (Colleague A) earlier today, and I was telling her about my eventful weekend at BaltiCon. Soon after, while I was still talking, another colleague (Colleague B) came to the door, said hello, and started a conversation, essentially bulldozing what I was saying. After she was finished with her “entrance,” Colleague A did not ask me to continue. I became upset, but I bit my lip, exhaled, and hid it. As a teacher, I continually try to inst

I’ve made a decision. I’m going to self-publish Arrested Souls: Book One of the Ecto-Files, the first novel I’ve written in a series I intend to pursue. I have over half of the second novel, Soul Eaters, drafted, and ideas for book three, Soul Rain, on the back burner. After attending all these panels at BaltiCon 60 and learning about the ins and outs of independent and self-publishing, and not being willing to pursue traditional publishing tirelessly, I realized that I simp

My calves are sore. I’ve overreached my step goal for two days in a row. Friday, I spent a good amount of time in my car travelling. I wonder how many steps I’ll clock for this entire convention. Here is a list of the panels and events I’ve attended so far: Friday, the 22nd: Self-Editing Strategies We Come in Peace: Writing Non-human Sentience Music Copyrighting and IP Opening Ceremonies Book Party with Celia Tan Saturday, the 23rd: Murderswoon: Morally Gray Characters Who

I’m here! I’ve attended a few panels, passed out some Ectoverse, LLC business cards, had lunch with a college chum who lives in the area, and experienced a marijuana flashback, thanks to the pictured hallway. Yes, I said “marijuana flashback.” It’s a thing. Because I said it is. So there. First things first, the flashback. I was on a band trip to Los Angeles during my senior year. It was the day before we’d all depart, it was fifteen minutes before our (soft) curfew, and my d

This weekend, I will be attending BaltiCon 60, a science fiction/fantasy writers' convention in Baltimore, MD. I hope to network with other writers, find publications, query agents and publishers, and, hopefully, sell my first novel, Arrested Souls: The Ecto-Files Book One. I will post photos and the like when I return. https://www.balticon.org/

I am currently reading Soul Fraud: A Debt Collection Novel by Andrew Giivler. The premise harkens back to Faust and beyond. But there’s a twist here. Matt’s signature is forged by the salesman demon, offering the best life for ten years in exchange for his soul. Matt winds up the recipient of a deal he never wanted in the first place, despite the dumpster fire his life has become. I already enjoy twists, different takes on standard tropes, viewing motifs from different angle