Category: about writing
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Characters from books to screen: good, bad, misguided
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About 30 minutes into the first Lord of the Rings movie, I was ticked off, and spent the next three hours fuming. Now, for that movie my problem wasn’t with the casting – except for the ridiculous choice of actress to play Lady Arwen – but with the many, many…
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Inspired by Ancient Mythology
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Along with the eerie literature and movies that were big influences for me as a child and early story-teller (Edgar Allan Poe, The Twilight Zone, etc.), I also grew up on what I loosely call ‘sword-and-sandal’ movies. Officially, the term ‘sword-and-sandal’ refers to a popular genre of Italian knock-off movies…
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Plotting a novel old-school – Excel spreadsheets are still alive!
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“It’s alive! It’s alive!” cries Dr. Frankenstein cries in the classic 1931 movie. I was starting to feel like his creation, plodding away with my Excel spreadsheets to plot out my novels, when I came across something that made my little old-fashioned heart beat again. Excel, the clunky, cumbersome software…
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Dark, Crumbling and Intense
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“Who shall conceive the horrors of my secret toil, as I dabbled among the unhallowed damps of the grave…” Victor Frankenstein Another year gone – it’s hard to believe that we’re now twenty-six years past the qualms of New Year’s Eve 1999. After what I hope was a lovely holiday…
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Murder & Mayhem at Christmas
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Are the usual Christmas movies so sugary-sweet they set your teeth on edge? All beautifully-decorated-homes that seem to clean themselves, and perfect family meals that appear out of decorating-magazine kitchens? Then take a ‘stab’ at Christmas-themed murder mysteries, or the raft of holiday suspense and horror movies. Sometimes I’m in…
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Tea and Topics: A magical journey for some, not all
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This is a fast post, as I’m getting everything ready for the Holiday Comic Con this Saturday. I’m drinking a cup of Library Blend tea, and reflecting on how there always has to be at least one grinch in a crowd. From the first time I ever watched The Polar…
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The Hidden
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A spooky theme in November? What the heck? Well, today is Occult Day, a day for us to indulge curiosity about what lies beyond. A lot of people believe that there’s more to our world than meets the everyday eye. We want to believe that there’s something beyond being born,…
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Fun with Podcast Interviews
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“She finds out that a lot of our Earth history isn’t necessarily what we have been led to believe.” Author How do you talk about yourself? When I was invited to be on a podcast featuring indie authors recently, the first thing I did was research into how not to…
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Novel Writing Month lives on
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Here I am, once more sitting with my laptop, a mug of one of my favourite teas, Milk Oolong, ready to hand, as I commit words of horror to ‘page’. Twenty-six years ago, a freelance writer named Chris Baty started NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) with just 21 participants. Originally…
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New and revisited horror trends – Happy Halloween
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The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown. H.P. Lovecraft The Horror genre is having a moment – or several, if you consider its split personality. Some of it is old, a lot new, but all…