A Far Out Fantastic Site

Credit: the blogger Halloween is upon us! And I've been busy doing writing-related projects in relation to the holiday. One is the Halloween edition of my free author's newsletter, "Night Creatures' Call" which is now out. Be sure to check your in-boxes if you haven't done so. If you're not subscribed the newsletter, you can do so here .    Also going on now through the Halloween/Day of the Dead weekend is a sale on my books! You'll find more about that below. But first, I just wanted to share with you a comment of mine to a YouTube video I watched a while back about the extensive commercialisation of Halloween. This time of year offers plenty of opportunity to make a sale (as with my discounted books listed below), but we must remember that the hallowday is primarily about the community, both living and dead.  Blogger's Response to Video,  'Halloween is Dying'   (I encourage you to watch the video at the link above to get a better understa...

Credit: Pixabay.com I apologise for posting so late. I was busy all weekend putting together the Halloween edition of "Night Creatures' Call", my free author's newsletter. If you're not subscribed to it, then you can do so here . In the newsletter, I talk about writing project details that normally are not discussed here. I also offer discounts on books that you'll often be the first to know about like the case has been with the latest edition of the newsletter with my current subscribers. Speaking about discounts, I was busy putting together those as well. Afterall, it's my Halloween treat to you! So, be sure to check that out below. But first, some highlights of a zombie fest that I attended over the weekend. Davis Zombie Bike Parade This past Sunday, I attended the Zombie Bike Parade in Davis California, home to UC Davis. In its sixth year, one of the event's hosts was the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Davis, a lodge chapter. Although I didn...

Credit: Pixabay I said last time  that I would have a list of horror films for your Halloween viewing and so I have that for you today. I wanted to do a list of horror movies based on books or short stories that are currently streaming for free. However, there are just too many of them out there to do in one post, and so I had to narrow it down to original movies that are either based on Stephen King’s fiction or that’s screenplays were written by him. I also have some of the latest progress made on my upcoming book of short fiction, “Bad Apps”. But let’s start with the list of movies.  8 Original Stephen King Movies Online that are Free to Watch Like Edgar Allen Poe and H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King is an author and filmmaker who has become an icon for Halloween. For years, people have gathered on or around October 31st to watch such classics as “Carrie” and “The Shining” at adult parties, college campus movie nights and, relatively more recently, virtual watch parties online....

Credit: Steven Arellano Rose  And this really will be a mini report and I will tell you why in a bit. As you may have guessed, I’m delaying the Book-To-Movie  of the month to next weekend. Today was Sinister Creature Con's Sinister Halloween Con at the Scottish Rite Center in Sacramento, CA and so I wanted to go over that a little, and, as I’ve kind of already indicated, I do mean I’ll go over it just a little. Sinister Creature Con is the organization that puts on horror conventions in the Sacramento area throughout the year and is very big on make-up art but features other art as well such as books, comics, paintings, sculptures, jewelry and even clothes. And they always feature tons of guest celebrities. Now, why is this con report going to be so short? Because I didn’t attend it. Not really. I only attended the free outdoor portion. By the time I arrived at the Scottish Rite Center, which was a little before 2 PM, the length of the line for admission was nearly the equiva...

Credit: Pixabay We're just over two weeks away from Halloween! I've been slowly but surely decorating my house, and lining up my favourite horror fiction to read as well as favourite horror flicks to watch. Many of you have probably been doing similar. You’ve probably also been shopping like mad for the best deals on candy, costumes, decorations and party food. And this Halloween those deals are more important than most years because of the big inflation that's been going on. You may even be struggling to find the best deals on horror movies to rent or stream for Halloween. Well, you can really save some bucks if you look to free streaming movies which, as of this writing, include plenty of scary ones.  The drawback is that in order for the platform companies to make these films available for free viewing, you need to put up with commercials. Most commercials can get pretty annoying but the good news is that many free streaming platforms' ad breaks aren't as long as...

  Credit: The author I know, I said last weekend that I would not be doing a blog post because I was taking the time off for Halloween. However, I had to let all you ghoul guys and ghoul gals know that my YA dual short story book of terror, "The Boo Brothers', is now available for purchase at Smashwords ! I also wanted to let you know that you can get it for free if you sign up for my newsletter, "Night Creatures' Call" ! I'm offering a coupon for a free copy of "Boo Brothers" in the October edition of the newsletter which is now out. If you want the free copy, I strongly suggest you sign up now because the offer ends  November 12, 2021! Synopsis:  The Boo Brothers consists of two teen tales of terror. These tales come from the deepest fears of that isolated realm that lies between childhood and adulthood. They are sure to entertain with fright. Now available at Smashwords ! Have a scary and safe Halloween! Until next time . . .  Credit: The blogge...

Credit: Pixabay Warning: This review may contain spoilers. It's the fourth weekend of the month and so time for another Book-To-Movie review! In a Book-To- Movie , we review a work of prose fiction and its movie adaptation. Tonight, we are reviewing H.P. Lovecraft's short story, "Dagon", and its movie adaptation. (That's right, Dagon-it!)  Like Poe, Lovecraft has become a pop literary icon for Halloween. When Halloween comes around as it is now, avid horror readers start recommending reads fitting for the season and many of Lovecraft's books and stories end up on the recommendation lists. Even Lovecraft himself published a Halloween poem that he wrote called "Hallowe'en in a Suburb" . Like Poe, his stories contained gothic settings such as secluded mansions and towns. Unlike a lot of Poe’s horror stories, the horror in Lovecraft’s was often from natural causes yet monstrously alien and so he combined science fiction elements with gothic horror o...

Credit: Pixabay We all know that this Halloween will be unlike any other we’ve experienced. This year many of us will be required to wear masks. Many of us already are. At least in public, that is. Needless to say, the pandemic has made it necessary. Things are going to be very isolated compared to other years. Fewer trick-or-treaters in the streets, at the malls and downtown commercial areas. There will be fewer parties, or at least fewer guests at them. But it doesn’t mean that the fun has to end. There are always alternatives. One is: buy candy and other treats from the store, stay in with your family and eat them (the treats that is, not your family!) while watching scary movies, playing Halloween related games, or/and reading/telling scary stories. Make it a party inside your house limited to your loved ones and keep the plague out! Which this month’s Book-To-Movie review is exactly about that: keeping the plague out. We are reviewing Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, “The Masque of ...

  Credit: Pixabay.com The week has been extremely busy for me with creating more benefits for the membership Portals (Tiers) at my Patreon page and getting ready my ebook of “The Fool’s Illusion” for distribution through Smashwords . The week’s also been a trying one for these two things.  Patreon Discount and “Fool’s Illusion”’s New Book Cover One of the benefits I’m trying to create for the Patreon Portals are book discounts. But, as I said a couple of posts back , in order to do that I need to publish my books on Smashwords since I’m not qualified for Kindle Direct Publishing’s (KDP) discount program anymore. [link] Yesterday, I hired a book designer to format my “Fool’s Illusion” manuscript for Smashwords’ ebook program. In order to convert my manuscript to ebook format he needed the book cover too. I thought I gave both the manuscript and book cover files to him until I found out this morning that I had only given him the cover’s illustration and not the full cover with t...

Credit: Pixabay.com I hope you all had a groovy Halloween! I did. But now I'd like to wish you all a Happy Day of the Dead! So did you think all the spirits and dead things end with with October? Well, think again! Day of the Dead, a holiday originating in Mexico and with both indigenous and European roots is celebrated for our deceased loved ones on this day and throughout the month of November. Like the Irish brought their Halloween with them here to the U.S., Day of the Dead came with the Mexican culture in this country. To find out more about this hallowday and its similarities to as well as differences from Halloween, see last week's special Halloween post ! I have a segment on there from an even earlier blog post that talks about these two festivals. As a Dead Day gift to all of you, I'd like to present a free copy here at the Fantastic Site of my short sci fi horror story that commemorates the hallowday. I apologise for any formatting that may be off course. F...