SAD IRON MEAT is coming soon

It's a strange world, my friends. More on that in a moment.

I've been fairly productive this year, fiction-wise. I wrote an online novel, DEVLIN'S DESCENT (available for free online at www.annihilationpress.com ) that I'm fairly proud of. It was an experiment to see how far I could go with a few concepts. It also (I hope) helped finally purge my heart of a few things that have troubled me these past three years. Time will tell on that one. Anyway, DEVLIN'S DESCENT was finished back in late July, just short of my 48th birthday (yeah, I feel old). Anyway, after DEVLIN'S DESCENT, I sat around and pondered what I would do next. I've been toying around with the idea of doing a movie, but time and finances have been prohibitive. I still have the script to THE BIG MUDDY MONSTER, but put it on a back burner time finances aren't so tight and I can do it right. Yeah, I'm a poet. So, I decided I'd do a silly little movie called SAMURAI ROBOTS FROM HELL. We are scheduled to shoot the movie this weekend. It'll be a bunch of friends acting like idiots. It ought to be awesome fun. I'll post the trailer (which Brad Moore and I discussed last night) on here. You'll want to buy five copies for your mother, I'm sure.

I had so much fun and creative liberties with DEVLIN'S DESCENT that I thought I'd write another online novel. This one, SUCKERS, is a redneck vampire novel. It's a bit tongue-in-cheek; but, I think, you'll enjoy it. Chapter one is already posted over at www.annihilationpress.com and chapter two will follow as soon as I proofread it.

I also started work on the sort-of sequel to MURDER AT PK'S. UNDER THE BOARDWALK is set in Makanda, Illinois and starts out just after Woodstock during The Summer of Love. It's a grisly murder novel that, I think, will put MURDER AT PK'S to shame in the graphic murder department. I've written a couple thousand words on that so far.

Now, to the "it's a strange life" department. Love is a weird thing, my friends. I thought when I was young that, by the time I was the age I am now, I would understand things. Trust me, I don't. Shakespeare said it correctly when he wrote: "There are more things on Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophies." Well, I wholeheartedly agree. Hope springs eternal, my friends. If you care for someone, don't let them slip away.

As a final comment, the artwork gracing this post is for a comic book called SAD IRON MEAT. I worked on this comic with artist Brad Moore and Steve Woolridge (amongst others) and my story, "Sad Iron Meat", will be featured in issue #1. It will be available for sell at Vulturefest in Makanda On Oct. 17 (knocking on wood right now)

Hope everyone is well (with the exclusion of those who read my words with malice...buzz off, would ya?)

later,
Roger

Saturday Afternoon Matinee and where does the time/money go?

Once again, it's been a while since I posted a blog. I've been trying to make by blog entries a bit more generic, considering the fact that there are some serious idiots reading my blog these days. If you don't like it here, move on, would ya? As the old saying goes: "Say what you want. Those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." So, idiots, you don't matter, okay? Yeah, up yours, too!

Anyway, I broke down and cleaned out my basement the other day. I've been seriously lax in that regard (I haven't cleaned down there in at least three years). Three trash cans full of dirt and trash so far (with at least another three in the near future). I uncovered the pool table and the kids have been playing pool. I moved the television over by the computer and it's actually a pretty cool rec room these days. I'm looking for a cheap (aka free) couch or futon to compliment the seating arrangements. After that, starting in October (or whenever the weather gets too cold outside), I plan on doing a Saturday afternoon double-feature in the basement. I've got a buttload of old sci-fi and horror movies that I can screen and, if I run out, my buddy Brad has a stash of his own. So, we'll enjoy the winter months in style. You folks that aren't idiots are more than cordially invited to come over and watch.

Hope everyone is well (except the idiots, of course). Take care, Roger

Where does the time go?

I've been thinking about angels, lately. I wrote a pieces for Clifton Bailey and Little Deady Boy Productions' JULIAPALOOZA benefit. It was a short story called, "They Walk Among Us". I set out to write the most unoffensive piece of fiction I could. I'm sure there's SOMEONE out there who took offense, but they really, really, really need to get a life. Anyway, the story was about how people can be angels right here on good ol' terra firma. You just have to care for someone besides yourself. That's a rarity these days. The topic came back to me last night when I read my all-time favorite poem, "Annabelle Lee", by Edgar Allan Poe. In it, the angels are jealous of his love for her and they send a cold wind "chilling and killing" Annabelle Lee. The image sticks in your mind. Jealousy and angels? It's an interesting combination, and something I'm sure I'll explore fictively in the future.

Anyway, it's been well over a month since I posted here. In that time, I finished DEVLIN'S DESCENT. You can read it for free over at www.annihilationpress.com until I decide to pull it down or start writing SUCKERS, a book about redneck vampires.

I need to get off to bed. Maybe I'll dream of angels tonight?

Walter Cronkite and the first man on the moon

Walter Cronkite died yesterday. He had a reputation of honesty and integrity. I'm sure he wasn't a saint, but he was leagues beyond his colleagues....at least in appearance to the common man. I remember watching his excitement over the first moon landing. He watched it like I did — with a child's eagerness. I was on the verge of 8 years old at the time, and I got up in the middle of the night (much to my father's chagrin, I'm sure) and watched the live footage as it happened. And Walter was there, up and watching it, too. I don't know if he had to be there; but, I hope, he was there for the same reason I was — an innate curiosity. Anyway, he's dead now and I feel sad for his passing. i think a good man has been lost.

NASA, on the other hand, gets the "idiot of the century" award for erasing the original video tapes of that very moon landing. Some boob erased the tapes. Thankfully, other sources have been recovered, including (I think) the very CBS footage Walter Cronkite watched. Hopefully, NASA will hang on to this version of the most historic moment in space travel yet. It also makes me sad to think we landed on the moon 40 years ago now. Why aren't we on Mars? Why don't we have a moon base? Why? Because we're always too busy killing each other to worry about space travel. That makes me sad, too. Maybe Walter's better off where he's at now...exploring whatever lies beyond.

Goodbye, Walter, and thanks for everything.

Farrah Fawcett R.I.P.

It's official — It sucks getting old. I was a wee lad of 14 the year they released this poster of Farrah Fawcett. Needless to say, I was one of the 12 million young men who owned a copy of the poster. It hung over my bed on the arched wall that also held that famous KISS ALIVE poster. I was far from oblivious to the opposite sex, but the Farrah poster spoke to me as, I'm sure, it did 12 million other purchasers. Today, Farrah died. She was 62 years old. But, this poster, now 33 years old, is how I will always remember Farrah Fawcett — young and beautiful and a 14-year-old's awakening to so many things.

Rest in Peace, Farrah....

Summer

Summer has finally arrived in southern Illinois. To prove it, I filled up the kiddie pool for the kids and they swam all afternoon. I barbequed dinner (burgers, brats and hotdogs along with baked taters and sweet corn). Darrien is on his second hamburger. The boy can eat more than most adults. Wish I had his metabolism.

Anyway, took the kids to the Shriner's circus last night. We got home at 10 p.m. and everyone was exhausted.

Watched STAR TREK (liked it but plenty of plot holes) and TERMINATOR: SALVATION (liked it but plot was predictable). I'd recommend both movies. Also, if you're in to low-brow horror, TRAILER PARK OF TERROR is a tasty morsel.

Hope everyone is well. More later. Now, back to your regularly scheduled program.

Memorial Day

Well, here it is. Memorial Day. The beginning of summer, they say. I took the kids to Herrinfest and bought them armbands so they could ride all the rides. We stayed for hours and everyone was exhausted. It was a good time and it made me feel good to see their happy little smiles. Sadly, I missed the live acts I wanted to see. Both Kansas and Collective Soul played this year. I really wanted to see Kansas but that just didn't work out. Oh well, maybe next year. One thing I've learned in life over the past three years is to expect the unexpected. Be open to new things, even if they rip your heart out. You only have control over you....and there are a lot of turdballs out there.

Anyway, sorry to get off on a negative tangent. I just posted chapter seventeen of DEVLIN'S DESCENT over at www.annihilationpress.com Go read it....and send me a buck or two. I need it.

Later
Roger