I didn't know this picture existed. It's the only picture I have of my father (don't feel bad for me, he was a shit human being), but if you look over his right shoulder (the upper left of the pic), you'll see my mother's Stephen King collection, which I'm always talking about. This pic is circa 1994. I was fourteen.

This past weekend, I found quite a few pics I thought were long lost to time, so I'll be posting them over the next few weeks.

I understand some people do not see the purpose of posts like this, but I think it's simply another way to get to know one another. We all have pasts, and those pasts make us real. Here's a tiny piece of my history. 

A little late but not too late. You wanted it, you got it. Unless I come across a time machine, this is the last one. 

That house off to the left, the one with the corner window... that's where Eddy lived. 

Seems like it has been ages since I visited the Comic-Con International. My first visit was in 1999, specifically to pay a visit to the pre-Invader Zim-famous Jhonen Vasquez (I have to say, after Invader Zim, Jhonen was not as friendly at the SLG booth!). My wish came true and I met him. I also met Jill Thompson and Neil Gaiman. I think the Undertaker (if you're a wrestling fan) and Lou Ferrigno were also present that day. Countless others as well... I just can't remember so well as 99-01 all the faces get mixed up... maybe Roman Dirge was at the 99' con as well!

This was before the Comic-Con blew up into a super famous people gathering event. Ah, memories~  I still have my badge too!  

Oh, I also got my copy of Johnny the Homicidal Maniac signed and doodled on!

Well, I'm off to a concert tonight and will be busy with comic stuff until Monday. I hope everyone has a splendid weekend and some great reading! :D

I'm falling behind on my video postings. Here is a throwback and fantasy related video; great song and almost three minutes of sexy David Bowie. Who can complain? :D

I've had a busy week; family gathering on Wednesday, recovery all day Thursday. Yes, 1 simple outing has zapped all my energy but... I'll live.  I'll have my review on Angelfall up by Monday. Somehow that book managed a 3 star even though my eyeballs were rolling so much I thought I might have to make an eye doctors appointment. What? Not funny? Yes, I see many of you out there have rated it a 5! Shh... I agree, it wasn't terrible (but there were many, many problems). ;)

Since I started this blog in January I've had this crazy fear that somehow doing this would change my voice/style when it comes to writing fiction. My blog style is so super informal... so super! I bet ya never noticed! To counter this fear I have been writing a short - novella length story at least once a week. I have to do something to make sure these damn ellipses, exclamation marks and poorly structured sentences don't make their way into my writing! It's contagious, at least that's my fear. ANYWAY...

What does this have to do with the video above? Well, this week I used this song as a sort of writing prompt. When using music as a prompt, I'll usually use the first line of a song to get things rolling, or if I'm really fortunate... it will just be one word sung in a specific way that sets me off. Other times I will look at the theme behind a song and sometimes (when a piece is really good or if it's purely instrumental) all elements just come together without even having to think much at all.

This song ended up inspiring a ghost story where the main character doesn't know she is dead until she meets up with her mother at the end and discovers she died as a young girl. The magic man works as her guide to get her from point A (wandering spirit) to point B (acceptance of her death to pass on). It's funny because I know that this song was inspired by the lead singers relationship with her manager... and it's just fun for me to play with words and take them in unintended directions. So, yeah... if you need inspiration to start writing, music and other art forms are a great place to start! :)

It has been a ghost story sort of month for me. I had been planning on May being a month for horror, but somehow I stumbled off the path. It started with reading The Bird Eater and I was like, YES! Horror, it has been such a long time~ but then I was reminded of an author I love and after looking up books that are available for the Kindle Lending Library... I ended up checking out Kill the Dead by Tanith Lee. It isn't horror but it does involve ghosts and adventure, so I am enjoying it and changing this month to just ghosts.

I should finish this book by tomorrow and have a review up shortly after. Next book on my list... one I started a long time ago and just fell out of the mood for... Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill.

P.S.
Apologies for the rambling and not really sticking to a main point here. I felt compelled to write something since it's been about a week since I've posted anything with substance. Tagging this post with multiple day themes... because I can! :P