Another week?

Another weekend is half over and I simply don't know where time has gone. I've been working hard at finishing the rewrite of MURDER AT PK'S. Got about 30 pages left to go. With luck, I'll have it done by next weekend. I'll try to have the book in print sometime in August. I've been shooting around the idea of a spoken word CD and have written several experimental pieces for it already. That'll probably happen this Fall sometime. And, I swear, we'll shoot THE BIG MUDDY MONSTER this October or November. I want to trees to have changed colors and a bed of leaves on the ground. I'm also working on a short novel called THE JOURNEY. Since my return to writing in late 2004, I've had a certain change of direction in my writing. Back in the 80's, I wrote primarily dark fantasy or horror. I've been writing a melange of general "literary" fiction, science fiction and only the occasional horror piece. Funny how time can change your outlook on things, I guess.

Anyway, just wanted everyone to know I'm still alive and kicking. It's a beautiful day out and I need to get the kids outdoors. Till later, Roger

Has it really been a week already?

Has it really been a week already since my last post? Jeez, time is flying by. Not really much new to report. Life has pretty much been work, kids, sleep, eat, in a continuous cycle. I've been working very had to finish typesetting "Murder at PK's". I think I'll have it typeset by the end of the month, and the month of July will be spent proofreading and fine-tuning the text. The book will also feature a short story, "Dead Man's Mug". It's already written as well, and it's set in PK's as well. I'm considering adding another Frank Powell mystery to the mix, an as-yet unwritten tale to be called "Sequence of Events: a murder at Lost Cross". As anyone in Carbondale knows, Lost Cross is the quintessential punker after hours hangout. I've been there a few times with Brad and my buddy Rehab. I was never really a punker, but it's interesting to get out there and meet people with different values and philosophies in life. I had a conversation with one of the guys that lived at Lost Cross the last time I was there. It was a small crowd, and he was playing Black Sabbath's Technical Ecstasy album. As anyone who's seen my record collection can attest, I'm a music - well, hard rock - afficionado. It was a good conversation, even though I doubt the guy remembers it because he was so drunk. We both agreed Technical Ecstasy and Never Say Die were severely underrated Black Sabbath albums. Tony Iommi was trying to expand their musical horizons, and the public wasn't really listening.

Anyway, I just wanted to put up a new post. I have a story coming out online at www.crimeandsuspense.com Check it out when you can.

Roger

The weekend has arrived

Well, the weekend has arrived. I have the kids this weekend and I bought them a new swimming pool, so they'll be water horses most of the weekend, I reckon. Gonna barbeque dinner for them tonight, sit out on the deck, and ponder the future. Hope everyone has an awesome weekend...life's too short not to enjoy weekends.

take care,
Roger

New story

Looks like my story, "Night Patrol" will be featured in the July/August issue of the online magazine CRIME AND SUSPENSE. www.crimeandsuspense.com

"Night Patrol" is a story I wrote toward the end of my first go-around as a writer, probably penned sometime around 1991 or thereabouts and features my recurring character,Detective Frank Powell. Powell is the detective in several novel length works I've done and, from time to time, I write a short story featuring him as well. "Night Patrol" is such a story. I'll let you know when the story goes live, along with several other stories that are pending acceptance and publication. Don't want to count my chickens before they're hatched, so I'll keep my mouth shut about those tales until I know for certain.

Roger

"Never lose your sense of humor, Dan"

This post is sort of a tie-in to the last post about John Waite. My friend Wayne Allen Sallee sent the picture that accompanies this post. I found the picture rather humorous, so I put it up here (and I honestly don't know where Wayne finds this stuff....but I'm glad he does). Anyway, I started thinking about people's sense of humor, and was reminded of the movie "About Last Night". One of my guilty pleasure movies, "About Last Night" is a coming-of-age love story with Rob Lowe, Jim Belushi and Demi Moore (and, as a side bar, if you REALLY want to see Demi Moore's breasts, this is the movie.....STRIPTEASE sickened me to see what she'd done to her beautiful body). Anyway, it's a story of a boy and girl who get together, fall in love, and end up disintegrating from the pressures of life. Jim Belushi is Rob Lowe's amiable sidekick and, in one scene where they're walking along Lake Shore Drive, Belushi's drunken character pulls Rob Lowe aside and says: "Never lose your sense of humor, Dan. Never lose your sense of humor."

Good advice, I think.

To get back to the John Waite tie-in. the end sequence of love reborn is augmented by one of my favorite John Waite songs, "If Anyone Had A Heart." Great song...sadly, he didn't play it last Saturday.

Hope everyone is doing well. More later, Roger

Ain't it funny how time slips away ...again

Well, Memorial Day is upon us. Last night, I went to Herrinfest to see John Waite. Waite is best known as the lead singer of a 70's group called The Baby's. They had hits like "Isn't it time?" and "Every time I think of you." Mostly ballads, but well crafted ballads. He had a huge solo hit with a song called "Missing You" that he remade with Allison Krause a couple years back. I highly urge everyone to hunt down the video of the song on the Internet. Allison Krause looks gorgeous in the video and that version is awesome. He also did one of my favorite Baby's songs, "Midnight Rendevous". As an encore, he did a decent reading of Led Zeppelin's "Rock n' roll". All in all, a show well worth the five bucks admission.


Anyway, my vacation ends on Tuesday and it's back to the ol' bump and grind. Just thought I'd let everyone know I'm still kicking.

Roger

Vacation, all I ever wanted, vacation, have to get away...

Yup, like that GoGo's song from a better, simpler time, I'm on vacation until the 27th. Not sure what I'll do since cash is kinda tight at the moment, but I am considering making a roadtrip to Frankfort, Kentucky next Friday night to see the one and only Bonepony perform. It's been years, literally, since I heard the unique sounds of this awesome band. Might spend the night and do a little sight-seeing, too. Otherwise, I have intentions of doing some much-needed work around the house, beautifying the old dump. I'll probably try to watch the Indiana Jones trilogy in anticipation of the new movie coming out. Otherwise, it's forget about work and relax.

I'll probably be so bored I'll make daily posts.

We'll see.