Hello there!
Welcome to the new folks who joined last month!
After not seeing the sun in Central Ohio for the entire month of January, we were finally able to witness the bright, glowing orb in the sky for the first time in 2024. We also had sixty degree days followed by five inches of snow. And tornado alarms. Never a dull moment in Ohio.
My work in progress novel JANET is… in progress. After hitting the 20k mark, I gave a copy to my wife and daughter to read, who both gave me grammar and story notes, so I’ve been steadily progressing.
Speaking of my wife, she has been steadily getting our dog Honey outside with the other dogs when the weather has been momentarily warm here and there. Here’s the small dogs lounging together.
RECENT DIG ME OUT
Here are the February episodes of the Dig Me Out Podcast:
The Hookers - Black Visions of Crimson Wisdom
The Brady Bunch Lawnmower Massacre. -Desperate Football
Jawbreaker - Dear You
Indigo Girls - Swamp Ophelia
And our 80s Metal Podcast:
Bang Tango - Psycho Cafe
Yngwie Malmsteen - Trilogy
RECENT READS
THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF THE MAFIA: First-Hand Accounts of Life Inside The Mob by Nigel and Colin Cawthorne
A different mafia figure, chapter-by-chapter, either told via their own biography, or a third party, recounts the origins, expansions, and depth of the mafia from small Sicilian towns to across America. This is essential a compendium of various other writings combined into one big collection with some added commentary stitching together the pieces, but it’s full of info and tidbits that, when assembled together, help understand the vice-grip power the mafia once held.
REDSHIRTS by John Scalzi
This was a blast. The premise will be familiar to Star Trek fans - Senior officers lead an away team down to an unfamiliar planet or a (supposedly) lifeless ship, things take a turn, and one of the extra crew members, usually in the “red shirt” uniform, ends up biting the dust. Well, Scalzi tells the story from the perspective of one of those red shirts, and then ads layers of twists, turns, and more that make this one of the most fun sci-fi books you’ll read.
RECENT TV/MOVIES
SQUARING THE CIRCLE: THE STORY OF HIPGNOSIS (Netflix) - Look behind the art design group that created the album covers for bands and artists such as Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney, Peter Gabriel, and many more.
WHAM! (Netflix) - In depth history of the 80s pop band and the relationship between childhood friends George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley.
MOB STORIES (HBO) - Various mafia and mafia-connected characters share their stories of being in and working for the mob.
RECENT MUSIC
Duke Ellington - Afro Bossa (1963)
A few reminders before you go:
Help spread the word - leave a book review at Amazon or GoodReads!
All previous newsletters are archived. Lots of stuff to check out including a link to the original 2011 screenplay of THE BLACK SKY, hints and helps to get started on the real work easter egg hunt teased at the back of the book, and more
Spotify Playlists! I made them for when I was writing THE BLACK SKY, THE RED SKY, and there is also a special one for “The Dank” bar that is in THE BLACK SKY.
If you like instrumental electronic music, I have soundtracks for THE BLACK SKY and THE RED SKY available at most streaming services, along with several other releases.
Stay Safe!
Tim