Rumor is Edmund Dantes is returning in Avengers Doomsday.

#OneCharacterOneArtist I got to meet John Buscema and thank him for his fantastic comics art but mostly for his Conan. There was a Mighty Marvel Fun Book where they asked artists to draw their character while blindfolded and his ‘blind’ Conan was terrific. Wish I could find it.

Happy birthday to David Bowie, who would have been 79 today. I’m glad we have his music. It’s been a comfort the last little while.

The first song of Peter Gabriel's new album/cycle is pretty great. This Dark Side mix has a really interesting array of sounds and instruments. Excellent Tony Levin bass tone near the end. Looking forward to the next ones.

Introduce yourself as what almost killed you: Hi, I’m a massive group of pulmonary emboli gathering in both your lungs, but we like the one on the left the best. Good luck breathing.

Four seasons of investment in these characters and these stories absolutely paid off for me in this fifth season. And so much to ponder on, to revisit and explore. Wow. I really enjoyed the entire series. #StrangerThings

Working on cleaning up/cleaning out my home office of superfluous stuff with Before Sunrise playing in the background. The whole trilogy is one of my favorite things ever.

End of the year update on progress of the novel, a personal statement on AI, and a list of some things I’ve liked throughout 2025. I genuinely appreciate everyone who reads anything I write. Thank you for your time on my words. ajasont.wordpress.com/2025/12/29/i...

Today I learned about another cover that is now owned by the artist covering it. Linda Ronstadt on Tumbling Dice. Wow. youtu.be/2I7GkHy5iOA?...

Yesterday we made a tour of our local used bookstores and I scored four more Doc Savage books, bringing my total to 86 of the original 182 supersagas. I have two of the 18 Doubles and 3 of the 13 omnibus collections. I may never get them all, but it sure is a blast to keep gathering them.

The “Noodle Incident” is the best MacGuffin in comics.

That feeling when your mind opens up and the right idea sneaks in, takes root, and seeds itself into the story you love to make it BETTER. #writing

I've finished the latest revision on my novel in progress. It was extensive enough to make it a new draft. The next revision will go faster because now all the right moments are in their right place. W00t!

Watched this last night and REALLY enjoyed it. If you liked the first one, The End Continues will not disappoint.

Absolutely agree. Given the the 45 year assault on education, it’s no surprise that there are views like this in the column. Our critical thinking skills and collective imagination have taken quite a beating to be replaced by a pervasive cynicism and an endless search for the Easy button.

I will watch as many Benoit Blanc Mysteries as Rian Johnson and Daniel Craig want to make. They’re all fun.

Seeing Hellraiser and the Cenobites for the first time. ALSO: taking my 7 year-old to Spider-Man. He stood up and shouted "SPIDER-MAN!" when the Goblin gets it. The theater cheered him.

I will always watch Secretariat run the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes. Always. What a horse.

There's been difficulty in getting to the writing desk this week, but I finally got some work done on the novel tonight. Whew. This life thing is something, ain't it?

Revised three chapters today while doing my mandatory training for the day job. Deadlines really do inspire one to work faster, don't they?

Happy Thanksgiving, friends! I am most grateful for the breath in my lungs, the love filling my heart, and the ideas floating in my head. I extend to each and every one of you, and to your families, my very best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving.

A movie that takes place where you’re from.

There can be only one.

CORRECTION: A *third* potato has been named after Prince.

Hero Initiative is helping writer Mike W. Barr through a series of health problems. If you'd like to contribute directly to Mike as well, go HERE: www.gofundme.com/f/rally-for-...

After searching for several years, I finally found a reasonably priced copy of the Dark City novelization in terrific shape. At the same time I stumbled across Gary Provost’s interesting book, 100 Ways to Improve Your Writing. Sometimes the mail brings wonderful things all at once.

Viruses not killing bacteria effectively? Problematic phage gap.

Current mood: Soundgarden's Birth Ritual.

We’ve been doing this online shopping thing for awhile now, and retailers are still saying “Your package has shipped” when all they’ve done is create a label. I suppose it’s the software the logistics companies use, but come on. This can be better. Ready to ship and actually shipping are two steps.

Carol’s situation in Pluribus is another argument for physical media.

I listen to a lot of music. Today I heard one of my top 5 all-time covers. IMO Santana has owned the Zombies’ “She’s Not There” since 1977. 14 weeks in the Top 100 (as high as 27) in the US and top 20 in the UK. I roll down the windows and turn it up so no one can hear me sing along.

Promethea 1 is one of my favorite first issues, launching one of my all-time favorite comics.

Don't let anyone tell you writing and revising a novel isn't work. It is absolutely work.

We're just back from Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere. Jeremy Allen White makes a very believable Boss and delivers an intimate portrait of the artist on the verge of superstardom. This film is not for everyone the way Nebraska is not for everyone.

It’s not Halloween until I listen to Ernest Chappell’s baritone voice asking for Quiet, Please, and then telling me one of the scariest stories produced during the golden era of radio plays. Now, imagine sitting alone in a darkened room in 1947…. www.quietplease.org/episodes/the...

Anybody got the mailing address for The Great Pumpkin?

For the record, I never had a problem with parking meters that I fed coins into. I'm not a fan of texting to park. Sigh.

It hurts to write this, so not much now, but Rest in Peace, Spaceman. You inspired me and so, so many others. You’re always in The New York Groove.

Even though I'm rewriting over half what I've already revised, I'm still having the time of my life making this novel the best it can be. Everything I embraced in the second half of that revision pass is getting in here. It's a level up for me, for sure. I hope you all will like it.

I am about one-tenth through this revision pass of the novel. Taking every opportunity to foreshadow future events and enhance the characters. Killing lots of words and writing about the same number to replace them. I wish I could've found these the first time through.

The revising continues with better words replacing the good enough ones and word count staying close. Two chapters down this weekend. Hope to keep making progress all week and onward. Would love to have a solid draft to send out to beta readers at the end of the month. #writing #sciencefiction

One of my perfect fall albums.

I’m really glad that my life now includes the Sex Pistols covering the Monkees’ (I’m Not Your) Stepping Stone.

Seven drafts and one revision later, I finally have the bulk of the novel done. Tomorrow I switch to refining mode because the story is THERE. 1st draft was 46,400 words. 7.1th draft is 96,700. This was supposed to be a novella.

What a joy to read. Thank you, Peter Ames Carlin for TONIGHT IN JUNGLELAND. I am inspired.

Today is the crime writer Jim Thompson’s birthday (born 1907) and a while back I co-wrote a “Mars noir” with @robschamberger.bsky.social that might appeal to you if you’re a fan. Not saying we captured the spirit, but his influence is embedded in the DNA of the story. www.amazon.com/Rudow-Cant-F...

This scene I just revised may be the best thing that's come out of me in this book. It's relentlessly grim and writing it took me almost out of my body. That's The Zone, I guess. Whew.

Slow but steady. This book will get to a point where I have to release it. That point has not yet been reached. My apologies.

It’s Monday. Beware of the Sleestak.