One crazy week… anchored by a Meteor

SO LAST WEEKEND, I got home late Saturday night from a work trip to Vegas. But I didn’t stay put for long. After a one-day rest, on Monday, I rented an SUV and drove four hours to Ann Arbor, Michigan. The reason? Meteor. Meteor is a pinball table that I’ve been looking to add to my basement mini-arcade for the past couple years. There were a lot of them produced back in 1979 by Bally…

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Cover reveal: The House By The Cemetery

LAST MONTH, I got a peek at the cover for The House By The Cemetery, my 10th novel overall, and my first for Flame Tree Press. I’ve been itching to share it ever since, but had to wait for a final version from the publisher. And at last… here it is! What do you think? The House By The Cemetery was the very first book signed for Flame Tree Publishing’s new Flame Tree Press imprint…

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Devil’s Dare Chili

THERE IS NOTHING better on a cold January weekend than a belly-warming bowl of chili. But not everyone can handle the same levels of heat. So when I make chili for my annual winter chili and ale fest for a bunch of guys from the neighborhood, I make a really big vat of it. After the initial base preparation, I separate the chili into three or four different crock pots to simmer for an afternoon…

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Sleepy Sunday Pork and Chicken Stew

SOMETIMES, ON A WET or wintry Sunday, I walk into the kitchen after my morning coffee and say, “this feels like the perfect day for a stew.” A good stew fills the house with rich savory scents that can warm up the most dismal day! A good stew is always somewhat unique, depending on what happens to be in the fridge and freezer at the time. But the keys are meat, potatoes, onions and carrots.…

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A Year of Transitions: Looking back on 2017

IT’S 1:30 AM on the first day of 2018 as I start to write this and think back on all the cool things that happened in 2017 (like this photo with my friends from Synapse Films). It was truly a year of transitions for me. The DVD of the Grateful Dead Farewell Concert at Soldier’s Field in Chicago is playing a few feet away on my big screen TV right now — watching that seemed…

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