Ron D. Voigts's Blog, page 9

Trick or Treat, Give Us Something Good to Eat

I grew up in the 50's and 60's when knocking on strangers' doors and getting candy was safe.  Our parents dumped us in neighborhoods around town with promises they'd return in a few hours.  We had no fear of eating candy while we made our way door to door. One guy in our neighborhood never gave out candy; every Halloween he'd hang a sign on his front door: Quarantine Measles, Keep Away.

Occasionally a trick got played. TPing someone's yard. Soaping screen doors. I'd heard of burning a sack of dog poop on someone's front porch but never knew anyone who tried it.  My best friend's brother and his friends, all in high school, went out with a tool box one Halloween and dismantled backyard swing sets. They were courteous enough to leave the hardware in a neat pile.

One year getting candy while dressed as a clown was so successful that I went home wiped off the make up and put on a new face. Only one old lady said, "Weren't you here before," but she gave me candy anyway.

This Halloween I leave you with a poem I wrote for the occasion. Considering this is the first poem I have written in over 40 years, please, be kind.

Old Halloween
Dry leaves crunch beneath feet. A black cat perches on a porch front,eyes blinking in and out.Clouds scurry across a watchful moon.Carved pumpkins peek from window sills,flashing threatening grins.Something groans from a tombstone’s shadow.The wind shifts, carrying the soundsof small voices.Bags filled with caramel apples and candy corn and popcorn balls.Discarded candy bar wrappers andspent chewing gum.A ghost floats down the avenue, a zombie staggers along,and Count Dracula offers a sharp smile.Fairy princesses wave wands andpirates raise hooked hands.Door bells ring with cries for payment.Trick or treaters loot candy bowls.Halloween delight.

Something darker than a Vampire

I took a writing course a long, long time ago.  When asked what I wanted to write about, I chose vampires.  The teacher did not approve of my choice. Vampires had been done already. Nothing new could be written about them. The subject had been overdone.   In the end, I yielded and turned my back on a story of a blood drinking creature.

As a I said before this was a long, long time ago.  As it happens, Anne Rice made quite a career of writing about her vampires,--her most famous being The Vampire Lestat.  Stephenie Meyer brought us the Twilight series that answers the question if the all American girl can find happiness with a vampire. Then there are a host of movies and TV Shows, like We Are The Night, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and Let Me In (Let The Right One In).

Perhaps the most famous is Dark Shadows that started in 60's as a soap opera about the life (or is that death?) of Barnabas Collins. Most recently Johnny Depp appeared in the title role in the 2012 remake. Here is the trailer.

 

Next year, my first vampire story will be out.  I hesitate to call it a vampire, but something more sinister.   As Sally in the story says, "Vampire is the invention of writers like Bram Stoker. Before the book, there was the Strigoi."
Watch for it next year.
 

Book Review of NIGHT CHILL

Jack Tremont runs from his past, hoping to start fresh with his family and moves them to Western Maryland .  But things turn sour for him.  A psycho-weirdo, Nate Huckley, is after Jack's daughter Sarah and soon she goes missing. Jack's wife thinks he has abducted his daughter and no one is buying the story of a conspiracy of epic proportions and an evil as old as time.  The story is a page turner to the last page.

Jeff Gunhus' book kept my interest and reminded me of a young Stephen King. The story line was detailed and gripping, although I think a little tightening at some places would help. Another issue I had was not really feeling grounded in the Western Maryland setting.  But the supernatural thriller is still well worth a read. I give it four thumbs-up.

A Broken Pen for Tom Clancy

I’ve asked myself this question frequently. So many other things interest me. At one time, I was a magician, doing sleight of hand. I know I should exercise more; I love taking long walks. Technology fascinates me and I used to tinker with computers and software. But most of these things I’ve dropped, so I’d have enough time to hit the keyboard and churn out words.
Some innate drive buried deep inside us compels writers to tell stories and weave tales.  Happiness. Sadness. Adventure. Drama. Mystery. Comedy. Love. Death.  These are the things that drive us to write and become writer.
This past week, the world lost one of the greats. Tom Clancy died at the age of 66.  He’d brought the world the Techno-Thriller, entertaining millions with words.  His first book, Hunt for Red October, became an overnight bestseller, followed by sixteen more hits.  Here is a cut from the movie.
In magic, when a magician dies, a wand is broken in his honor to mark the end of the magic.  For Tom Clancy, a pen has been broken to mark the end of words.

Hammett, Inventor of the Hardboiled Detective

I've been mulling over my next mystery novel.  I've shifted from my past works and taken on paranormal themes. Right now I have a novel with the literary agent, called The Witch's Daughter.  The story revolves around a cold case murder and an unlikely trio looking for the killer.  A down on his luck newspaper reporter, a disturbed psychic and a Gothic witch team up to find the killer.

I'm also finishing a new novel called The Blood Bond about a small hidden community run by shapeshifter with a thirst for blood. Although I first planned to send this one off to the literary agent, I am starting to think going it alone from the beginning. My agent does a great job but publishers are not readily buying. Or rather they want someone with a proven track record, a band of loyal followers, and some big sales under his belt. The problem I see is most writers who are doing well on their own probably don't care about taking on a publisher.  Unless the publisher is a big name with a multi-million dollar advance who wants the added baggage?

Recently I've been kicking around something paranormal but hardboiled.  Perhaps a period piece from the 40's or earlier.  A time when a gumshoes swilled cheap booze, and thugs carried gats, and a dame with great gams could go places.  I started looking around for a movie, and found a 1982 flick about Samuel Dashiell Hammett. Here is a trailer for the movie.


Although the movie is fiction, the man led a life as daring as the characters he wrote about.  He served in WWI and WWII. Had TB. Drank hard and chained smoked.  Worked as a private detective. Was married. Had a few lovers. Was blacklisted as a communist in the 1950's.  He died in 1984 leaving behind a legacy of short stories and novels that included The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man .

Raymond Chandler said about Hammett: "He was spare, frugal, hard-boiled, but he did over and over again what only the best writers can ever do at all. He wrote scenes that seemed never to have been written before."

Spotlight on Paul Draker and Author Marketing Book Club

Spotlight on Paul Draker

I had the pleasure of reading of Paul Draker’s debut novel, New Year Island, prior to publication, and all I can say is WOW!  Ten strangers are plunked down on an isolated Island as part of reality show.  Ten strangers with ten secrets. Then one dies in a horrible accident and now there are nine.  If you are fan of Agatha Christie’s who-done-it, And Then There Were None, this one is for you. Only be warned this read is gritty, fast-paced and sure to keep you reading late into the night. A great read for $2.99. Eight…Seven…Six… The countdown continues. Who will survive New Year Island ?



Author Marketing Club

I joined recently the Author Marketing Club and am overwhelmed by so many ideas to promote my novel Claws of the Griffin.  I just redid the Book Description using their Amazon Enhanced Description Maker. Stop by and check it out.

Also, the price is still 99 cents for until the end of the month.  October first it goes back up.  Don’t hesitate. Grab your copy today.

A dark figure, an old wound, and grass seed

This week I offer another cut from Claws of the Griffin .  In this excerpt, Sheriff Stacey Goodnight and Deputy Poole investigate a break-in at the local home and garden center.  They are walking down an aisle in the store, checking for the intruder.


     In the recess between the rack of garden tools and shelves of insect spray was an emergency door. The shelf of cans blocked the light of their flashlights, making the exit dark and forbidding. She squinted, staring into the black. Something didn’t look right. The shadow bulged and swelled against the rack of tools.
     A shovel arced overhead, the spade end targeting the back of Poole's head.
    She lunged and tackled him. His gun and the flashlights slid down the aisle. The shovel clanged against floor.          The shadow leaped out, crashed into the cans of insect spray, and caused an avalanche.
    “What the—?” came Poole's astonished cry.
    Stacey groped for the gun, crawling over his body, grabbed it and a flashlight. She rolled to her stomach and aimed the light down the aisle.
   The dark figure raced toward the back room, knocking over a display advertising the perfect lawn. Boxes split open and dumped grass seed across the aisle.
   She scrambled to her feet and ran after him. Her old leg wound flared up. The pain shot into her hip like someone stabbing her with an ice pick. Bouncing along with a noticeable wobble, she raced toward the back room.
Claws of the Griffin is available from Amazon.

Twixt and Between

I saw the trailer for the movie Twixt  a few months back and became disappointed that it was not out yet, unless I wanted to buy it from Amazon, which was a bit outside my budget. At that time the cost was $22.98, although that has come down some since.  This past weekend the movie showed up at my local Redbox and soon was playing in my DVD player.

The plot on this movie is a bit convoluted. A down and out writer, played by Val Kilmer, gets linked up with a crazy sheriff, played by Bruce Dern, and together they plan to co-author a book titled The Vampire Executions. Add a strange girl called V., a bunch of gypsy like characters on the other side of the river who might be vampires, a few guest appearances by Edgar Allen Poe, some murdered children and a dead daughter, and you have a strange recipe for horror.  The movie's trailers perhaps explains it best.


Twixt comes from the imagination of director Francis Ford Coppola known for movie greats like The Godfather, The Conversation and Apocalypse Now. Unlike these memorable motion pictures, Twixt is done on his dime, based on a dream he had.  He's walking along and talking to an attractive young lady who has crooked teeth and explains she is a vampire. From there he's in this building where a grave is in the floor, and he is careful not to step on it, because children are buried there. On and on it goes. The problem with the movie is too much going on, on too many levels. Keeping the plots straight is not the hard part; figuring out how they intersect is.  Most stories have a main plot with subplot. In this tale, it seems like everything is the main plot.

What I did like about the movie was the creep factor, something every horror movie needs. The characters seem just not right in the head. Scenes feel askew. The story line is twisted. A technique he uses is shooting past events/dreams in black and white, although it looked more like deep blue and white. To this is a splash of color. The carpet over the grave is red. Edgar Allen Poe carries a lantern that glows yellow. When the children make lemonade aide the lemons are vivid yellow. Yes, of course, blood is redder than red. The overall effect is dark and creepy.

The reviews on this movie fell into two categories. Two star and five star, with the two stars winning. Yet if you like your tales served with a Gothic flavor, you may want to check it out.  Who knows, maybe one day Twixt will become cult movie.

Ron D. Voigts is the author of Claws of the Griffin, a dark cozy, available on Kindle.




Francis Ford Coppola. Not to overstate the obvious, but the director of The Godfather, The Conversation, Apocalypse Now - See more at: http://www.fearnet.com/news/review/fe... Ford Coppola. Not to overstate the obvious, but the director of The Godfather, The Conversation, Apocalypse Now - See more at: http://www.fearnet.com/news/review/fe... Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola

What scares you?

You walk outside late at night. A dim glow from a distant street light casts a twilight glow into your yard. You pass under trees to your driveway where your parked car waits. Something lightly touches your face. Must be spider webs. Something tickles the side of your neck. You remember the special on the news about some South American spider invading the area and being quite deadly. Your back itches.  A tingle. Then a sharp pain and you scream.
You’re away on a trip and happy that you found an out-of-the-way motel with dirt-cheap rates, just outside of town. The desk clerk told you the area was so secluded you could scream and no one would hear you. The night had been quiet, your sleep peaceful. But something awakes. A sound like keys jingling or coins rustling in someone’s pocket. A thump follows. You open your eyes. The only light comes from a flickering neon sign outside, bleeding in around the edges of the window curtains, pulsing like a heartbeat. A shadow looms in the corner of the room. A scratching like someone dragging the tip of a knife blade across the wall puts you into a cold sweat and you scream.
The neighbor pounds at your door. You answer and she tells you someone had been peeking in her window. Outside a heavy snow falls. You walk with her to the side of the house and note not a single track in the snow where someone would have stood to look inside. But she argues that the falling snow could have covered it up. You tell her you’ll stop by later and check on her. Later you go back out and find trampled snow around the same window. You spot an overturned lamp on the floor, a broken glass on the floor and red pool of liquid that looks like blood. You turn to run home and call the police. A dark figure looms in your path and you scream.  
Fear is born out of imagination. The spider webs may be real, but the spider a trick of the mind. A strange room, someone checking in next room over and a floor lamp causes heart palpitations. A scaredy-cat neighbor, a spilt glass of wine and a table lamp knocked over while running to get a towel elicits images of foul play. But everything can be explained. And the dark figure?
Maybe it is the boogie man coming to get you.

 Ron D. Voigts is the author of Claws of the Griffin, a dark cozy, available on Kindle.

Claws and Penelope on sale.

Just posted a cut from Claws of the Griffin on my blog. "Hey, Ruby. What have you been doing?" The book is on sale for 99 cents on Kindle. Stop by and check it out.

All the Penelope Mysteries are now 99 cents. Stop by Penelope's blog for details.

My review of Beautiful Creatures is posted on Bittersweet Enchantment.