I had kind of sworn off the idea of doing another personal blog — I’ve been writing for a site called Cheese Magnet, but that’s mostly movie reviews and the like — but recently, folks have been telling me I need to get with the program and start blogging it up. So here we are at Rattle and Blast.
That title comes from something Victor Milan (author of many fine books, including the upcoming Dinosaur Lords trilogy) said about my writing in his introduction for Tales of Misery and Imagination, a collection of my short stories. The quote is up there at the top of this site, in fact. And yes, I realize Vic said “blasts and rattles,” but I rearranged it a little.
Anyway.
Even though this is a personal blog, I don’t intend to get too personal — some stuff, as they say, should be unspeakable. I think that came out wrong, but you get my drift. What I will talk about is my writing (but I promise I’ll try not to go overboard), my 1978 Jeep Wagoneer (which also rattles and blasts), my dogs and cat, and plenty of other things. But I’m not gonna tell you what I’m wearing.
By way of introduction — and to test out the image-posting business on this here thang — I’m gonna post photos of our principal cast:
ME:
Okay, I guess I’ll tell you what I’m wearing in this case: that is indeed Gene Simmons’ actual Demon armor, built by my pal Kenneth J. Hall and his crew at Total Fabrication in Hollywood. The best part? It was still soaked in sweat and fake blood. KISS fan that I am, I thought I was gonna pass out.
DECKER:
The Chihuahua. She does crazy stuff sometimes. (And that’s the aforementioned Jeep back there, too).
CASEY:
The cattle dawg. She also does crazy stuff. And she loves to get stinky and stay that way. Say the word bath to her and watch the look she gives ya.
LESTER:
Douchebag extraordinaire. Loves to drool and put his bungus on people. Once slapped that winker right in the face of a little girl. Filled with evil. Yodels.
And, just for the heck of it, here’s what I was listening to earlier:
I’m sorry to report that the Molly Hatchet does not stand the test of time very well. I owned this album on 8-track back in the 1700s. I think the Frazetta cover is what made it work.
So there you have it. Stay tuned for whatever passes for adventure. And please, if you’re so inclined, check out my serial novel, Pete, Drinker of Blood — a crazy vampire story in 8 parts. Parts 1 and 2 are available now, for Kindle, Nook and at Smashwords.