Today I went to used book store, and I got two books. One of them is anthology book, "Revelation". I like anthology book. I can enjoy many stories in one book....Anyway I found out "Revelation". Clive Barker, Joe R. Lansdale, David Morrell, F.Paul Wilson.....wait a minute.....F. Paul Wilson's "Aryans and Absinthe"!?!? That was a moment of big surprise. I've never heard that short story before.

Previously I read "Bugs" in Fantasy & Science Fiction. "Bugs" was also not included in collections, "The Barrens and Others" or "Soft and Others".

Now I'm sure many FPW's short stories were included to anthology books. But I don't know what books they are. So I have one question. Please tell me short stories included in anthologies but not included in collections.

I've just completed reading CrissCross. I have been seeking out this piece of fiction for the better part of a year (missed it in hard cover and had to wait for paperback) and finally obtained it Wednesday May 31. It didn't take me long to get hooked and pulled back into Jack's fantastic world. It's almost a guilty pleasure. I know I really should be doing something around the house, but by god, its Sunday night/morning in the book, Jack has just plugged three, count 'em three slugs into a rotund slimeball who really could've used a whole magazine's worth of bullets, and Jack's got a plan with 73 pages left to go in the book, and that's all that really matters.... at this point, who needs sleep... sleep is highly overrated at this point and I just gotta know what's gonna happen next.... *lets out a long breath and sucks another one in* but, alas, that is neither here nor there.... and i've got a few questions for anyone who'd care to answer/comment.

Now, I'm not sure if this has been covered, and I'll go ahead and apologize for any repetition that may happen.

In the past several books, there have been 4 mystery women. The Russian (in Hosts), the Indian (at least I think she was Indian due to the sari, in The Haunted Air), Anya (from Gateways), and Herta (CrissCross). All of these women have had a dog of some sort with them. I am assuming, since I have read neither Infernal nor Harbingers that more of these mystery women will appear.

Here's the first question.

Who are these women?

Answer: At this point in time, no one can really say except FPW, the man with the plan. However, I'd like to venture a guess. When asked by Jack "Who are you?" every woman had the same answer, "I am your mother." That got me to thinking. Who is the mother of all of us. The answer that came to me was earth, or Mother Earth. It is of my opinion that each woman is a representative of Mother Earth or Gaea. Another thought on that is 'the map of my pain,' that was shown by Anya and Herta. When wrapped around a globe, it reflect the Opus Omega globe that was built by Luther Brady.

Also, in an oddball followup, what's up with the dogs?

Answer: Beats me. Though, to venture a guess, I am wondering if they are going to end up like Mauricio, the monkey-beast from Conspiracies. Could these dogs be advisors/protectors to these women? An extra thought on that. Re-examine Oyv's escape from the alligator in Gateways. I don't think a normal Chiauau (or rat dog, if you forgive the phrase) would've been able to eat his/her way out of an alligator.

Well, that's all for now. Wait. I lied. I do have one more thing to ask of Mr. FPW.

Are you ever gonna head down South for a book signing? I know some folks that would be very excited if you ventured down into this neck of our country. Please? (I read somewhere on here that begging sometimes helps)

Okay. I promise. That's it for now. At least until I get some sleep.

We just came back from seeing Over the Hedge. That was so funny! Bruce Willis was great. But I think William Shatner stole the show. Although it was a kids movie it had some "slightly adult" one-liners that went over all the kids' heads. A very funny movie.

Its not exactly TV or film, but music. Has anyone heard of this artist? I am a huge fan of Linkin Park and their spinoff Fort Minor. On one of Fort Minor's songs (Where'd You Go), Holly Brook is featured in the chorus. She is absolutely incredible!
http://www.hollybrookmusic.com
Her player features 5 or 6 of her songs from her upcoming debut album, and I couldn't be more impressed. She's like a mix of Sarah McLachlan, Michelle Branch, and the female singer from Straylight Run. Once you hear some of her stuff, let me know what you think!

Waaaaaaay over the top, non-stop action, outlandish martial arts sequences, Parkour free-running scenes, frantic, minimal dialogue that pushes the boundry of believability, minimal plot, French with subtitles.

LOVED it.

Think "Run, Lola, Run" meets "The Transporter,"

Highly recommended.

As a filmmaker I have been asked from time-to-time why I don't move out to LA or why I don't do commercial work while trying to produce my own films. "The Reel Truth" is a good example of why.

This video has been floating around for years but I'm glad somene finally posted it on-line.

The Reel Truth

[SIZE="3"]If you’ve been paying attention, you know that I agreed to do two signings on back-to-back nights in Manhattan to support the launch of the THRILLER anthology. The first, on 6/1, came off very well. But the next night…

I live about an hour out of NYC. Since 6/2 was a Friday, and since Fridays can be hell getting in and out of the city (especially during rainy weather – and storms are predicted), I decide to take the train. I catch the 3:38 out of Little Silver, NJ.

We travel maybe 3 stops before the conductor comes on the speaker and tells us that a transformer to the north has been hit by lightning and we may not be able to proceed. Swell. But it’s not wasted time. I’m revising Virgin for the Borderlands edition. I have the ms. along, so I pull out my red pen and get to work. After a while we’re moving again. We pull into Penn Station by 5:30. The signing is at 6. No problem. I’m a subway pro. I can make it to the Borders at Park and 57th in no time.

Ha!

It seems a violent storm hit the city around 4pm, dumping a huge amount of rain, flooding train tracks and subway tunnels in Queens and Manhattan. Penn Station is like a scene out of a disaster movie. Mobbed. LIRR, Amtrak, and NJTransit trains are being canceled or delayed. The Station is huge and there’s barely room to move.

But I fight my way to the subways and now I’m in Bladerunner: hordes of people hopping puddles formed by the water leaking down from the street as they hurry through decrepit tiled gullets. I catch the 1 up to 42nd Street where I plan to take either the Q, N, R, or W over to 59th and Lexington, leaving me 3 blocks from the bookstore.

Again: Ha!

Another mob scene. Flooding has stopped all those trains, and all Queens-bound passengers are jammed on the dripping platforms wondering what to do. And it’s got to be 95 degrees down here. With 110% humidity. I’m drenched, and not with rain. So I take the 42nd Street shuttle to Grand Central Station where I think I’ll grab the 4, 5, or 6 uptown on the Lexington line and make it to the store just in time.

All together now: Ha!

I can’t even get into the subway station. So I walk 16 blocks in the rain and arrive at the bookstore at 6:25 looking like a drowned rat. The other 3 authors are already there and the discussion is in gear. It’s a small crowd – who’d want to brave the weather and the mass transit nightmare to hear us? – but at least somebody showed up.

At 7:10 it’s over. Transit is still in chaos, so Maggers and I find a bar and we kill some time. Finally, with some gin in my gut, I feel brave enough for the trip home.

The Q, N, R, & W still aren't running but the 6 is, so I take that from 59th down to Grand Central, then shuttle back to 42nd where I take the 1 which delivers me to Penn Station at 9:15. I catch the 9:45 train back to Jersey.

So, here’s the bottom line: I left my home at 3:15, got back in at 11:45 – an 8.5-hour trip to spend 45 minutes at a 70-minute event that netted maybe 20 signed copies.

It’s the glamour, folks. That’s why we write. The glamour. [/SIZE]

[SIZE="3"]Here's another sort of name game. You all came up with great title suggestions for what eventually became Harbingers. See if you can help me here.

I need a title for the YA Repairman Jack series. It can't include "Repairman" because at 14 he wasn't in the fix-it business. (Yes, he'll get involved in fixing a situation in each book, but he won't see it as part of who he is.)

Because the big arc of the series will be self-discovery -- Jack learning about himself (and the reader learning about Jack) -- as he experiences the events of the novels, "You Don't Know Jack" and "Nobody Knows Jack" have been floated. There might be trademark issues with the first. They're okay and might work, but if one of you can come up with something that smacks us* between the eyes, we'll use it.

Not only that, I'll name a character after the winner.

Remember: this is a name for the series. Each novel will have a separate title.

This board is peopled by a plethora of creative minds. I trust you'll come up with something great.

*(It won't be my decision alone. The title of the series is deemed so important that the editor, the YA division director, and the marketing people will have their say as well.)
[/SIZE]

Well, today I saw "Transporter2", and after that I had a time and free ticket. So....I saw "Poseidon". I like original (Gene Hackman's), and this remake version was not bad, but not great. I mean, it was so-so.

SFX was almost full CG. Tsunami scene was awesome. I felt stuffy in the scenes of water rises. Big problem was characters. They didn't have appeal to the emotions. Actors & actress, themselves were no problem. I think script was bad. In the original, Shelly Winters say to Gene Hackman "You see, Mr. Scott? In the water I'm a very skinny lady*". Original script had a little wit and humor.

If you want to see spectacle movie, I recommend this. But if you want to see dramatic movie like original, I don't recommend it.

I'm glad I had free ticket.


*Quoted from imdb.

Hello all, hope everyone is doing well this friday afternoon. I haven't been on in a while. Been reading a bunch of other stuff and just now finished All The Rage. What can i say that hasn't already been said. I was a member of the fan club from day one and that hasn't changed. I love the way Jack's mind workd, the schemes he puts together to make his fixits a tour de force of wit and humor. The next title on my shelf at the moment is The Haunted Air and then I will go from there.

I have also been reading Lee Child's Jack Reacher series and find them wonderfully entertainine as well. Met him at a book signing and he is a great guy. Has anyone else read any Reacher novels? What do you think?