Things and Happenings

Art School Confidential
I watched the newly released movie Art School Confidential and I loved it. It's about a young man going to art school and his struggles to find his inspiration for his art. Will he find his muse? You'll have to rent this gem and find out. This is right in line with other strange movies that I like - Ghost World, Napoleon Dynamite and Welcome to the Dollhouse.

World War Z
I just finished reading the fantastic account of the zombie war. We almost lost the entire planet to the walking dead. Max Brooks gives you the account of victory in his oral history World War Z. This book goes way beyond just ghouls; it shows what happens in different countries and cultures when world-wide panic hits. This book kicked ass and took names. I have put Night Watch down and will get back to that book in the near future. Too many books and not enough time to read!

Chuck Palahniuk
Everyone knows that I love the writer of Fight Club, Invisible Monsters, Survivor, Choke, Lullaby. I picked up his non-fiction book Stranger than Fiction. Chuck is one twisted person and I can't help but read his work. I'm the moth attracted to his warped sense of the world. Check out the master of yuck at www.chuckpalahniuk.net .

Black Friday
I will be at the New Hartford, NY Barnes and Noble on the day after Thanksgiving - Black Friday at 9am. I hope to see you there. This will be my last appearance for a while. I need to go back into seclusion and finish my noir novel.

Mystery Writers of America

MWA
I'm now a member of the Mystery Writers of America (MWA). This is an organization for published authors of the mystery genre. I'm very excited to be in this club with many heavyweights of the mystery field. I received a thick packet of goodies from MWA including my membership card, literature on club happenings and an Edgar Allen Poe pin. This is one of the goals I had set for myself when I started writing 8 years ago! You can check out the club at www.mysterywriters.org.

Godzilla
I'm addicted to my Netflix account and I've been getting all the old Godzilla movies. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, Godzilla vs. Mothra, Monster Island. I loved these when I was a kid so I was overjoyed to watch these flicks that had scared me as a squirt. So what if I can see the wires holding the creatures up. I'd take these over any CGI crapfest of today.

Cemetery Dance
I just got the latest issue of Cemetery Dance magazine and it's a special issue of Glen Hirshberg. I always skip right to my favorite sections: From the Dead Zone by Bev Vincent, The Mothers and Fathers Italian Association by Thomas Monteleone, Waves of Fear by Paula Guran and Mediadrome by Michael Marano. Go to www.cemeterydance.com and you'll see much more cool stuff.

Wednesday Morning Club

Back to Rome
Well I made a return trip to the beautiful city of Rome, NY for an appearance at the Wednesday Morning Club. I spoke to a full house of wonderful ladies at the Rome Historical Society about the Loomis Gang, my mystery novel and the writing life. These ladies treated me like a king and after my presentation, took me to a nice lunch at the Savoy- A great restaurant in the city. I was at Rome for a book singing earlier in the year at the Jervis Public Library. The Wednesday Morning Club is well over 100 years old and has well over 200 members.

Movie Premiere

Anchor Eddy's
I went to the premiere of David Dellecese's new movie Anchor Eddy's and it was fantastic! A packed house at Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica, NY roared with delight throughout this beach romp. I can't remember the last time I laughed this hard at anything put out by Hollywood. The independent movie scene is bursting with talent. Dave and his co-writer Demian Morrisroe write terrific scripts. The acting was superb as was the cinematography.

The Matador
I rented the movie The Matador with Peirce Brosnan and it was a hoot! The former 007 plays a burnt out hitman. It baffles me how these great movies slip through the cracks while crapola rises to the top. I'm not sure if it's marketing or what have you. All I know is this gem of a movie is well worth the 1.5 hours of your life.

Drive
This slim noir book has to be pound-for-pound the best of it's genre ever. James Sallis creates a world hidden from us boring 9 to 5 people. It's about Driver who drives stunt cars in Hollywood and also sub-contract his services for robberies. He doesn't care what the job is. "I drive, that's all I do." I can see why Hollywood bought the rights to this and will be making a movie. Phenomenal writing in a short punch. Another great book from Poisoned Pen Press.

Next Book
My next read is Nightwatch by Sergei Lukyanenko. He's the acclaimed Russian author of thrillers. I found this book when I was wandering Barnes and Noble reading the back covers, searching for my next printed treasure.

The Poisoned Pen

Arizona Bookstore
I just got back from Scottsdale, AZ. I was able to get to the coolest mystery bookstore in the Universe - The Poisoned Pen. I left them a copy of my mystery novel Daisy Daring. They had me sign it and placed it on the shelf! Cool can't even describe the place. I purchased an autographed copy of Drive by James Sallis and a coffee mug with the Poisoned Pen logo. You can check the place out at www.poisonedpen.com . They get many heavy hitting mystery writers there. This is a very famous bookstore amongst mystery writers.

A House Divided
I just finished the newest masterpiece by Deborah LeBlanc. A House Divided was a thrill ride. I loved it!! Ghosts, gore and Louisiana mores. Ms. LeBlanc is: Stephen King + Dean Koontz / Ann Rice. Check her stuff out at www.deborahleblanc.com .

Anchor Eddy's
The newest movie by David Dellecese makes it's premier on October 7th at 7:30pm at MVCC in Utica, NY. The movie is Anchor Eddy's. Dave is a really talented filmaker and I'm excited to see it on the big screen. You can check all his stuff out at www.cybproductions.com . Dave is the talent behind the book trailer on my website.