“Do you fall in love with all of your clients?"

NOTE: SPOILER ALERT IN THE COMMENTS Recently I got an e-mail from a reader that said, in part: “Eddie LaCrosse with a girlfriend is not the same as Eddie LaCrosse wandering companionless through the world. The lonely but worldwise Eddie LaCrosse seems like a stronger character…Burn Me Deadly starts out great, but as soon as it went to the town … Read More

Robin Wood, R.I.P.

Film critic Robin Wood died on Friday, December 18, 2009. You can read the New York Times obituary here to get an idea of his importance in his chosen field. I want to tell you about his influence on me. To repeat something I seem to say often here, I grew up in a small, isolated west Tennessee town. I … Read More

Buford Pusser addenda

Thanks to my pal Thom who still lives in Tennessee, here are pictures of the markers from the site of Buford Pusser’s fatal car wreck. See my original blog post on Pusser here.

Belatedly, Dracula The Un-Dead

Before we start, a caveat. Sequels to classic novels, written long after the fact by new writers, annoy me. It’s one thing to be influenced by the classics, it’s quite another to co-opt settings, characters and atmosphere (the heavy lifting of writing) to bring life to your own derivative plot. It’s worst of all when capped by the hubris to … Read More

Agent Appreciation Day

Today is Agent Appreciation Day, created by Kody Keplinger. To celebrate that, I want to praise my agent, Marlene Stringer. Not only is she the best advocate I could ask for, she’s unfailingly astute, insightful and honest. She’s never given me bad advice, either for my career or my writing, and she’s never tried to steer me away from what … Read More

Giants of West Tennessee: Buford Pusser

NOTE: This is the first in an occasional series about notable figures from my home region. These are personal reminiscences and opinions; where available, I’ll include links so interested readers can find out more. There aren’t many heroic figures to come out of flat, muddy west Tennessee. Elvis is one, obviously, but he’s a special case. Tina Turner, born Annie … Read More

Julius Caesar, fair and balanced

One of my favorite books to pick up and read random sections from is Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human by Harold Bloom. He means the title literally: “Our ideas as to what makes the self authentically human owe more to Shakespeare than ought to be possible.” I don’t know if I’d go that far, but no writer can deny … Read More

Epiphany in slow motion, with blood

A few months ago I found myself seized with the urge to see anything and everything by filmmaker Sam Peckinpah. Up until then I’d seen only the highlights of his career–The Wild Bunch, Straw Dogs, The Getaway. So I started watching, in no particular order. I wasn’t sure why I was driven to do this, but I get these periodic … Read More

Brother Blue (1921-2009)

Brother Blue passed away earlier this month at age 88. If you know of him at all, it’s probably from the George A. Romero film Knightriders. In this Arthurian story of jousting motorcyclists, Brother Blue played Merlin, advisor to King William (Ed Harris). He was the troubled king’s lone confidante, and the one person who understood William’s desire to maintain … Read More