Authors, Religion

Leaving the Darkness Behind Him

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Author and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas, the man behind the movies Basic Instinct, Flashdance, and Jagged Edge, is now a devout Catholic.

“Frankly my life changed from the moment God entered my heart. I’m not interested in the darkness anymore,” he said. “I’ve got four gorgeous boys, a wife I adore, I love being alive, and I love and enjoy every moment of my life. My view has brightened and I don’t want to go back into that dark place.” . . .

“The Eucharist and the presence of the body and blood of Christ is, in my mind, an overwhelming experience for me. I find that Communion for me is empowering. It’s almost a feeling of a kind of high.”

[Thanks for Jimmy for this article]

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On swords IV: The epilogue

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I’m flip-flopping here. I said my previous sword post would wrap it up, but (as is so often the case) I thought of something else I wanted to say.

One of the great things about blogging is that you’re generally immune from “staircase syndrome,” the phenomenon where you get into an argument with somebody at a party, and then finally come up with the perfect retort as you’re going down the staircase as you leave.

When a blogger comes up with something he should have said, he can just make it a new post.

One of the guys I do live steel combat with is a Vietnam combat veteran. At one point early in my training, after I’d been in my first fight, and he saw how much I’d enjoyed it, he told me, “Now you know what it’s like.” There was a gleam in his eye as he said it. Continue reading On swords IV: The epilogue →

Authors

Crimes Stories

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1. Writer Greg Halvorson had his laptop and the unfinished novel saved on it stolen from his car. “You’ve gotta have some cojones to do that,” Halvorson said. “Because if I would’ve caught them, I would’ve just gone football kickoff on them.”

It is not reported what kind of novel Halvorson was working on.

2. In Cape Cod, Massachusetts, a crime writer has been indicted for possession of firearms without a valid license. The writer is working on a book about the murder of another writer and has declared his support for (I assume for the innocence of) the convicted murderer.

3. The Democratic National Convention is in Denver this week, and the city’s drug panel has asked the police to ignore anyone carry a bit of weed with them during the convention. Denver has recently voted to relax restrictions on marijuana use, perhaps in a bid to win favor with the DNC convention committee. Denver police said the drug panel could keep their ideas to themselves.

Non-fiction, Publishing

Viking Norway update

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I recently received word that there is now an American website where you can order Viking Norway, which I reviewed here.

Fair warning for those with weak hearts: The price is steep.

The webmaster tells me you can get a lower price if you go for economy shipping.

They’re still seeking an American co-publisher who could help produce a less expensive domestic edition.

Update: I note that I didn’t actually provide the link to the new Sagabok site. I have remedied that omission.

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On swords III: Swords in battle

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This ought to be my last post in this series on swords. As you’ve doubtless noticed, it hasn’t been a sword series so much as a Viking sword series. This has doubtless been a disappointment to the shamshir and falcata fans out there, but it has the virtue of keeping me to material I know (or think I know). And I’ve found that in general I speak with more authority when I’m talking about things I actually know (or think I know).

The purpose of a sword, it goes without saying, is to severely injure or kill another man. For all the romance of the sword, its use actually works out in serious practice to mean severed muscle, spouting arterial blood, and unreeled intestines.

It’s nasty. Continue reading On swords III: Swords in battle →

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On swords II: The vulnerability of swords

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One thing not generally known about swords, but cruelly understood by sword owners, is that the darn things are highly prone to injury and premature death.

This is probably another reason for the historical rarity of swords. Aside from being expensive and impractical for the average guy, swords are high maintenance.

One of the trials of being a Viking reenactor is that people come around and ask to look at your sword (or don’t ask, which is extremely irritating [and dangerous for them]), and then they unsheathe it and pick it up with both hands, one around the grip and the other grasping the blade.

The same blade which you have spent hours polishing with oil and steel wool, to get some previous idiot’s fingerprints off it. Continue reading On swords II: The vulnerability of swords →

Writing

The Rule for Writing

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J. Mark Bertrand writes about following the rules for writing. “The problem with the rules . . . is that they focus on the means rather than the ends. Remember, it’s all about the illusion, so why should we quibble with how it’s pulled off? You don’t berate the magician at the county fair for passing his swords through his barely-clad assistant in the wrong way. So long as it looks convincing and nobody gets killed, he’s pulled off the trick. . . .

“Ignoring the rules isn’t going to keep you from success, so long as you create and sustain the illusion.”

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On swords I: The prestige of the sword

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Now that I’m an author with a publisher again, and have achieved the heights of fortune and public adulation, what shall I do next?

I shall talk about swords. That’s a subject everyone’s interested in.

Every guy, anyway.

I suppose there are guys out there who don’t like swords. But I’ve never talked to one.

Feminists and psychologists—especially feminist psychologists—scoff at this. They make snide remarks about symbolism and compensation. They speak slightingly of swordfighting as a symbolic competition in virility.

You know what? Who cares? The only reason they sneer is because they can’t do it themselves.

I shall tell you all I know about swords. It will probably take a few posts to do that, and I’m not even an expert. Continue reading On swords I: The prestige of the sword →

Book Reviews, Creative Culture