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When I began publishing, I would print out a copy of a story and mail it to my parents. This is referred to as the poor man's copyright since it would be sealed and dated. There were a few stories I did this for, until I learned this was an exercise in futility and began copyrighting through the US Copyright Office. Soon after I'd forgotten what I'd done.

Recently this time capsule came back into my possession (thanks Mom). Before I opened the folder, I wasn't sure what I would find. It was a...

Engaging, daring and unpredictable. Reminiscent of movies from the 1970s. The filmmakers should be proud.

Robert Eggers has become one of those directors I follow. They aren't household names, yet, and I might not own all of their movies, but their talent and vision are undeniable.

Before him it was an up-and-coming director named Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Equalizer, too many entertaining movies to list here) ever since I saw the trailer for The Replacement Killers (1998).

Jeremy Saulnier after I saw The Green Room, which prompted me to seek out Blue Ruin. Saulnier's most recent directorial...

The Penguin surprised me. The first episode was as cinematic as a movie. It’s about a ground-level gangster and his rise to power. Similar to other HBO gems (The Sopranos, Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon) it reminds me of a favorite film I look forward to rewatching.

The tone matches the Batman but then it drills down deeper into that world. The actors are well-cast, especially the unrecognizable Colin Farrel, who is ideal for the Penguin role. To understand Farrel’s range, check out In...

I heard somewhere authors should throw out their first million words. Quite a punch to the gut. But as I near that number or perhaps even surpass it (I think I have, if I also count the screenplays and short films I wrote and all those freewrites since I was a teenager), I get it.

Some of my older books and short stories float to my current standard, and others do not, but in a way that’s part of their charm. Over the years I’ve considered revising a post-apocalyptic series, but I always...