StanleyWheeler

   Les Freres Corses finally completed the level--I forget the number, but it was the one with the dragons and glitches. Unfortunately, the time traveling DeLorean was killed in combat with a dragon or some other mean beastie and our heroes had to be rescued. Darth Vader was hors de combat with a plethora of wounds. Even though the transportation was too kaput to travel, there remained enough power to send a signal to another ship for rescue. The dice rolls proved favorable and the signal was sent; there was a ship in the area; and it was able to respond in time. I suggested that we roll for the possibility that the responding ship could be an enemy or slaver ship, but the objections prevented checking on that possibility. As seen in the picture above, they all piled into the rescue ship (some had to be carried) and blasted off to the next level where the DeLorean undergoes repairs while they gather some valuable metal necessary to complete the resurrection of the time trav...

 Sometimes things don't go as planned:   The bugmageddon novel isn't complete, but I did get it nearly finished on Saturday as my fingers danced over the keys while episodes of Magnum P.I. (the good old one) played in the background.  Excerpt from Bugs in the System: Doot triggered the carbine. A bullet pierced the chitinous belly and exploded from the back of the rising centipede. The gun spoke no more. The last magazine was empty. The pede shot forward. Doot swung the gun like a bat, knocking back the crawler. The monster’s many legs held its lower body in place and it thrust again, head and upper body darting toward its prey. Doot took the pitch to the inside and smashed it wide. The novel is deep in the gobsmacking wonderclash. The hammerschlag falls and the streams are crossing. A couple evenings or another Saturday writing session will have it complete for my Skirmish Team's review. Speaking of wonderclashes, hammerschlags, and crossing streams, that reminds me...

 Interview with Amanda Muratoff Author of The Pantracia Chronicles   Please tell me a little about your current work in progress. We are currently working on Book 12 in the Pantracia Chronicles! It is the second book in the final trilogy of the main series, setting us up for the finale in book 13. Things are definitely ramping up in these last two books, Where did you get the idea for this book or series? We get inspiration from everywhere! Though most of it for this series comes from our original tellings of these stories, which happened 10-15 years ago, depending on which character. They’ve existed for so long. We started Pantracia by doing text-based role playing when we were teens, and while the characters have evolved a TON over the years, their inspiration remains true to our original vision. Do you write in more than one genre? Published, no. But I also write YA second world fantasy and have one project on the go in that genre. Maybe one day I’ll hit the p...

  I know I just did a movie review last week, but the eclipse approaches for some (not me), and Ladyhawke is available to stream for free on tubi. It's as if the planets have aligned. So, it's a sword and sorcery movie from the 80s for the win. Directed by Richard Donner. Written by Edward Khmara, Michael Thomas, and Tom Mankiewicz We begin with the true star of the show. The character is Phillipe Gaston, played by Ferris Bueller--apparently he took another day off to go to Italy to film this gem that is supposed to be set in the south of France. Why start with him? First, because he is the star of the show, getting more screen time and lines than any other character (by my gut reckoning), and because he's the character that makes the show worth watching. His witty banter and conversations with God are the best reasons for watching the show. Second, when the movie first came out, my neighbors saw it and told my parents they enjoyed it and that Phillipe reminded them of me. ...

 Around my writing adventures on Saturday, I squeezed in some time watching music video. The music was Anton Karas on the zither and the video was The Third Man , directed by Carol Reed and written by Graham Greene. It stars Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Trevor Howard, and Orson Wells. Filmed in bomb-ravaged locations in post-war Vienna, the black and white picture benefits from the intriguing theme played on the zither and fabulous cinematography. Joseph Cotten plays a writer of westerns who is lured to Vienna by an old friend and the promise of a job. He arrives just in time for his friend's funeral. He learns from the British officer in charge (Trevor Howard) of the international police headquarters in Vienna that his friend Harry Lime was a smuggler. Cotten investigates and learns that Lime was killed when a truck hit him while crossing the street. Two men were present and dragged Lime's body to the side of the road. Cotten finds it a bit suspicious. The porter at Lime's ...