Author of adventure/thriller and horror fiction

BONE TOMAHAWK (2015)

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I’m old enough to remember when TV sucked and you had to go to the movies to catch a thoughtful story. That seems to have reversed. I don’t watch many movies anymore, instead catching fantastic TV such as GAME OF THRONES, TRUE DETECTIVE, THE WIRE and PREACHER.

So imagine my surprise when I caught BONE TOMAHAWK, a film I’d never heard of, on Netflix. It’s an amazing horror-western about a group of men who set out to rescue people abducted by a lost native tribe of sadistic cave-dwelling cannibals.

The writing is brilliant, based on a script by S. Craig Zahler, who also directed. There’s quite a bit of humor and sharp dialogue even in minor throw-away characters. The brilliant cast includes Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox, Richard Jenkins, Lili Simmons, David Arquette, Sid Haig and Sean Young. The result is a very realistic, slow-burn, character-driven western with a very strong horror element.

Highly recommended if you’re looking for something different in the horror genre.

BATTLE STATIONS Now Available!

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battle-stations-craig-dilouieBATTLE STATIONS, the next episode in the CRASH DIVE series, is now available for instant reading on Kindle here!

CRASH DIVE chronicles the adventures of Lt. Charlie Harrison as he fights the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Pacific during World War 2.

BATTLE STATIONS:

Fresh from PXO School, Lt. Charlie Harrison is offered a posting on Sandtiger under Captain Gilbert Moreau, a legendary fighting captain in the submarines. Sandtiger’s mission is to join a wolf pack that will penetrate the heart of the Japanese Empire.

Along the way, Moreau teaches Charlie how to fight–and what lines should never be crossed.

Get the Kindle book here! The trade paperback and audiobook versions will be out shortly.

Thanks for reading!

“Spokes for the Wheel of Torment” by Buckethead

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“The Garden of Earthly Delights” (dated between 1490 and 1510) is a three-part painting by Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch and his best-known work. An oil painting on oak, the work consists of a center panel and two outer panels. When the outer panels are folded, they depict Creation as described in the Bible. When opened, the left panel shows God presenting Eve to Adam. The central panel shows an earthly paradise (or a warning against too deeply tasting earthly delights, depending on the interpretation). The right panel shows Hell.

The images of Hell, based on Church doctrine at the time, are fantastic and disturbing.

bosch

Syd Garon created an animation of the Hell panel for “Spokes for the Wheel of Torment,” a song on a new Buckethead album. He writes on YouTube:

“So Buckethead has someone send me some mp3’s of his new album without any comment or album art. I am struck by the “Spokes” track and I *instantly* visualize animated Hieronymus Bosch in my head. I scan a few of his paintings in and make a 15 second test animation. A week or so later I drive to Buckethead’s secret headquarters and play him the test. He freaks out and takes me into his recording area, right there on the wall is a huge Hieronymus Bosch poster. Buckethead had been imagining the painting coming to life when he wrote the song. This was one of the most effortless things I have ever done, it felt like it was meant to be.”

Check it out here:

Stephen King’s Advice on Writing

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Hodderscape recently published an infographic summarizing Stephen King’s tips on writing from his On Writing.

Good stuff. For me, the most important are:

* Start your concept with a what-if question
* Respect the reader’s imagination in your descriptions
* Character comes first
* Read
* Don’t chase an objective standard of quality but instead write to satisfy a real or imagination Ideal Reader

[Note: This infographic appeared on Hodderscape, in the post “Infographic: 14 Top Tips from Steven King’s On Writing“]
[Note: This infographic appeared on Hodderscape, in the post “Infographic: 14 Top Tips from Steven King’s On Writing“]

Geek Syndicate Reviews CHILDREN OF GOD

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children of god cover FINALGeek Syndicate reviewed Children of God, writing:

“Sometimes … the written word can bring the reader or writer closer to their own vulnerability and pain, their own soft center that is rarely breached by the mundanity of everyday life. Children of God is one such book, a book that takes the reader into the thoughts and emotional states of some cult members, people who turned to the written word as a way to come to terms with the ordeal they went through, when the end of the world didn’t come, and events took a brutal turn …

“Children of God is an emotive look at the inner-workings of people who have come through a traumatic event, one that is expressed in their own words and feelings. As a consequence, it doesn’t make for pleasant reading, but once you come out on the other side of the last page, you will almost certainly have felt moved by at least one poem inside, whatever your religious beliefs, or lack thereof.”

Thank you for reviewing Children of God, Geek Syndicate!

Read the review here.