A Far Out Fantastic Site

IWSG: Themes in Writing; 'Bad Apps' Print; Upcoming Book Tour

2026-11-04T22:16:30.932-08:00

Missing the Newsletter

Halloween came and went too fast, it seems! For me, that was probably because I was so busy trying to get out the Halloween edition of the Far Out Fantastic blog post since I didn't have time to do a newsletter. I apologise for that subscribers, but there will be a Holiday one coming in December. For those who aren't subscribed to my free author's newsletter, you can subscribe here.

Preparing "Bad Apps" for Print

I've also been busy preparing "Bad Apps" for its print edition. Currently I'm working on the book cover, which I had to make a kind of last minute change of plans as far as online tools go. I had to switch from Kindle Direct Publishing's Cover Creator to Canva, which has been working out much better. I have more details about the print (paperback) edition of "Bad Apps" on my post for October 30th (the Halloween edition mentioned above). So, if you haven't yet, be sure to check it out. It includes the Book-To-Movie review, in which this time I review the 1985 film, "Cat's Eye", and two of the Stephen King short stories it's partly based on.

I'll admit that I've been a little slow with the writing this week. I've been worn out each evening both from working on last week's post and from a Halloween rush where I was trying to get so much done just to celebrate the holiday. I was really trying to get the print edition of "Bad Apps" released by this past Saturday, but that didn't work out. It will probably be another week or two before it releases. Keep checking back here and at my Facebook page for the latest updates.

A Real Bad App?

In the meantime, if you're interested in the ebook version of "Bad Apps", it's now available at Amazon. However, for the time being, I suggest you use the above link because, for some reason, "Bad Apps" doesn't come up in a search on Amazon whether you put in the title or the author's name. That seems to be the case more with the Amazon mobile app than the website. So, if you want to check out a real bad app, try looking for my book on the former. (I know, that was a dumb joke.) I'm going to try to fix the problem during the remainder of the week. We all want people to find our books, right?

IWSG Question of the Month

Now it's time for IWSG's November 4 optional question: As a writer, do you have favorite themes that you like to explore in your stories? If so, what are they? When I was an English major in college, I was a theme nerd when reading literature for my classes. I was always analyzing for the themes in the stories we read. I still look for them in some stories that I read today. However, when it comes to my own writing, theme is the last thing that I worry about. In fact, I hardly even worry about it at all. It's my belief that theme will form itself as you write the story and focus on developing the plot and characters.

'Bad Apps' Book Tour to Come

I'll be putting together a book tour for "Bad Apps" pretty soon. If anyone is interested in hosting my book's presentation on their site, please let me know either in the comments box below or email me at sarellanorose@gmail.com.

For those of you who celebrate it, what did you do for Halloween? Do you intentionally explore themes in your writing or do you let them develop on their own? Today’s IWSG is brought to you by these super co-hosts: Kalpana, Kim Lajevardi, Rebecca Douglass, Jennifer Lane, and Cathrina Constantine! IWSG was founded by awesome author Alex Cavanaugh, writer of the Cassa Series of novels!

Until next time . . .

'Bad Apps' Paperback Update; Review: Stephen King's 'Cat's Eye'

2026-10-30T18:51:32.230-07:00

Credit: Pixelbay (with alterations)

Halloween is only a day away, and we're also getting into the Day of the Dead season. It’s a time of witches and their demonic cats; a time of skeletons and jack-o lanterns. And at this time centuries ago, people such as the Celts of what are now the British Isles and the Aztecs of Mexico believed that the barrier separating the dead from the living opened up for a short time for the two to come together and celebrate. Some of us believe that still today, at least in a certain sense. But some of the citizens of the realm of the dead did not come to celebrate with the living but, instead, to terrorise them. At least that was the belief.

Well, my newest book of short fiction, "Bad Apps", contains stories of a similar nature and, in some cases, even a supernature. However, the barrier that is removed is not so much one that separates the living and the dead but one that separates the real world from the virtually real world. And the ones who come from the virtually real world come to terrorise the real one. "Bad Apps" can be purchased now in ebook at Amazon, and I’m currently working on the publishing of the paperback version. I have updates on that in today’s blog. I also have for you the Book-To-Movie review for October, a time for cats and the movie I’m reviewing involves a cat. So, keep on readin’!

Update on ‘Bad Apps’ Paperback Version

I was trying to make the cover for the print version of “Bad Apps”, but Kindle Direct’s Cover Creator doesn’t offer the same templates as it does for the ebook. So, I was not able to fit the cover illustration accurately onto the paperback cover. Because of that, I had to turn to Canva to make the cover which I’ve been currently doing. Once the cover is done, I’ll upload it to KDP. The manuscript for the paperback version of “Bad Apps” has already been uploaded.

I’ll be submitting the book for publication by next week. Once I review an author copy of it and make sure everything looks good, I’ll release it to the public. That will probably happen in the next couple of weeks.

Book-To-Movie: 'Cat's Eye'

Credit: Wikipedia/MGM

The rise of Stephen King's career occurred during the early 1980s, a time when supernatural horror in fiction and movies was giving way to the more mundane slashers. Although much of King’s work involves stories that emphasise the more realistic events of psychotic murderers such as in his 1970s novel, “The Shining”, its film adaptation being released in 1980, they also involve at least references to the supernatural and otherworldly terrors. Some of these stories didn’t even have to depend on the graphic gore that so much of ‘80s horror did in fiction and film. Two of King’s short stories adapted into the 1985 horror anthology movie, "Cat's Eye", are good examples of this. “Cat’s Eye” consists of three stories that almost have no graphic violence yet carry the frightening supernatural atmosphere of much of King's fiction. The first two, "Quitter's, Inc." and "The Ledge", come from his 1978 short story collection, "Night Shift", while the third, “General”, had never been published.

The Short Stories

'Quitter's, Inc.'

The plot to "Quitter's, Inc.' is that chain smoker Morrison goes to a clinic, that's of the same name as the story's title, to get help to break his nicotine habit. Little does he know the big price he has to pay for his therapy, and it's not merely monetary--it's his and his family's lives. With the help of clinic director Dr. Donatti's giant of a henchman, Morrison becomes trapped into committing to the therapy. The therapeutic method Donatti uses on his clients: kidnapping their loved ones and torturing them in an electric shock chamber until the habit is broken. For Morrison, after he commits to the "therapy", there is no foreseeable way out since Donatti has someone randomly spying on him in his daily life.

The plot seems pretty mundane, but suggestions of the supernatural and fantastic run throughout the story. For example, there’s a surreal scene: when Morrison leaves the clinic after being told about the rough therapeutic methods, he is described as seeing Donatti's face eclipsing the sun which suggests the all-seeing power of Donatti. Also, mad doctor Donatti is likened to a mad magician when he uses a rabbit to demonstrate the effects of the electrical chamber, and it’s referred to as the "rabbit trick".

'The Ledge'

"The Ledge" is a kind of game-of-death story. The protagonist, Norris, who also serves as the narrator is kidnapped by gangsters for having an affair with their boss's wife, Marcia. The boss, Cressner, threatens Norris into walking the top ledge of the high-rise building that the crime boss’s penthouse sits on. He tells Norris that if he makes it around the entire building alive then he can have both his wife and a monetary prize of $20,000. If Norris refuses the deal--that's just it, it's an offer he can't refuse. If he does, Cressner will report him to the cops for possessing a supply of heroin which his henchmen have put into the trunk of Norris's car.

The storyline comes across as mundane for a horror story and so seems more like a crime and suspense story. While it is that, there is a dark fantastical sense to it. For instance, the narrator describes his thoughts and impressions of Marcia as if they were telepathy. He even describes the face of Marcia as coming up in his mind warning him not to go along with Cressner's game. A cold wind is also described as if it were a living entity or spirit: "It slapped against me with vicious invisible fingers . . ." There’s even an implication of the presence of the Grim Reaper: "The man with the sickle was close enough to read over my shoulder." Cressner's henchman is also described as monstrous, "looking like a leftover from Halloween."

Even though many of the fantastical elements of “The Ledge” and “Quitter’s” come across as metaphor or simile, they raise the suspense and a sense of evil in the protagonists' experience.

The Movie: 'Cat's Eye'

The 1980s saw a return of the TV and movie horror anthology having been popular during the 1950s and on through the earlier half of the 70s. "Cat's Eye" was part of that return. The movie contains a story arc that holds together three stories even if somewhat loosely. The arc begins with a Tabby cat being contacted telepathically by a little girl (played by Drew Barrymore) who claims to be in some sort of trouble, and so he sets out to find her. On his journey, he witnesses three perils, each of which is a tale itself: the first two are the adaptations of King's "Quitter's, Inc." and "The Ledge"; the third is one that had never been published, "General".

The first two stories in the movie don't have the degree of fantasy that their prose versions do, yet those elements are still presented sufficiently in the “Quitter’s” segment. In this segment, the cat is kidnapped by Donatti's henchman to be used in the electrical shock treatment demonstration instead of the rabbit of the prose version of the story.

So, the magician implication may have been omitted, but there’s still a surreal scene, only not with the face of Donatti watching Morrison. Instead, this one is set at a party where a portrait painting of Quitter's, Inc.'s deceased founder watches Morisson while literally smoking several cigarettes simultaneously. In this same scene, many other strange things happen such as a platter of hors d’oeuvres that forms a face with blinking eyes. This nightmarish sequence intensifies the protagonist's life-threatening therapy and the temptation to resist it like the surreal scene of the prose story.

In "The Ledge" segment of the film, the Tabby is rescued from oncoming traffic by Cressner. Although Cressner, unlike Donatti, doesn't treat the cat poorly, the cat observes the mistreatment Cressner gives to Norris when making him walk the ledge. As with the other stories in the movie, it's full of dark humour and scary moments, but unlike the other two and its original prose source, there's no supernatural or other fantastical elements, making the story more crime-suspense than horror.

The cat finally reaches his destination, which the movie's story arc culminates into the third and final story segment, "General", the title being the name that the little girl, Amanda (Barrymore), gives the cat. She struggles to keep the cat as a pet against her mom's wishes while being terrorized by a troll that keeps coming into her bedroom at night. She depends on General to ward off the troll. Out of the three stories in this movie, this one had the best characterisation including likeable characters. The other two stories did not do as well with the characters, unlike their original prose versions which did much better.

"Cat's Eye" holds up well due to its style and dark humour. It still has sufficient suspense in it, but it doesn't have the terror or degree of dark fantastic elements that King's short stories, "Quitter's, Inc." and "The Ledge", do in their prose fiction forms. But it's still a fun movie and a break from the more graphically violent movie adaptations of many of King’s other stories.

Be here next Wednesday for another Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog hop. Until then, have a happy and safe yet scary Halloween! And if you happen to celebrate virtually and come across crazy old ladies or men offering you cookies, don’t take any. They may be poisonous to your device. Have you read either of the two above short stories by Stephen King or seen the movie, “Cat’s Eye”. What are your plans for Halloween and/or Day of the Dead?

IWSG: Ghostwriters; 'Bad Apps' Paperback Progress

2026-10-07T04:30:00.000-07:00

IWSG Question of the Month

I thought the optional question of the month that Melissa Maygrove selected was just perfect for October! That is, in the sense that it involves a type of ghost--ghostwriting! Of course, that's not a literal ghost that the term is referring to, but it still makes great wordplay for the season this blog hop falls in. So, the October 7th question is: Many people are calling for writers who use AI to disclose it. Most who employ ghostwriters do not admit it - do you think authors who use ghostwriters should have to disclose that, too?

My answer is yes, I do. My understanding is that when a book is ghostwritten it's often disclosed in the fine print of the copyright page. But I heard about that several years ago, so it may be different now. But in this age of AI, when a book is ghostwritten it should be disclosed up front--as on the front cover near the author's byline. If the ghostwriter wishes, their name should be written next to the author's with an attribute declaring them the ghostwriter. Doing otherwise is not only deceiving to readers who purchase the book, but it's also neglecting a person who was actually writing the book rather than just pitching or outlining it like what many authors do when they hire other people to write their books. They participated in a big role in the creation process, so they should get due credit as co-creator.

Current Writing

I just received the printable version of the illustration for the cover to "Bad Apps". I've been working on key search words for the print book's Amazon page. It's said that when determining a print book's search terms you should do so separately from the ebook version's. The terms people use to search for the print version of a book may be different from the terms people use to search for the ebook version. Expert Dave Chesson has a really good article on this at his website, Kindlepreneur.

I plan to release the print version of "Bad Apps" within the next week or so. I'll keep you updated here at the Fantastic Site and at my Facebook page. The ebook is now available at Amazon.

Do you think authors who use ghostwriters should disclose it up front in their books? What writing projects are you currently working on. Today’s IWSG is brought to you by these super co-hosts: Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Liza at Middle Passages, JH Moncrieff, and Jemima Pett! IWSG was founded by awesome author Alex Cavanaugh, writer of the Cassa Series of novels!

Until next time . . .

Horror Book Fair and 'Bad Apps' Bookmarks

2026-09-30T23:03:58.009-07:00

I apologise for having to skip the Book-To-Movie review again this month. Having published "Bad Apps" and now preparing it for print has been keeping me busier than I thought. I've also been doing some promotion swag work for "Bad Apps": bookmarks. I spent the previous week creating the bookmark and then getting it printed at a Kinkos in Davis (CA) near where I live. I had to cut the prints myself which wasn't very hard but altogether was time consuming.

The promotional bookmark for my new book of short stories, "Bad Apps".

I would have left the bookmarks for another time, but I wanted to distribute them at the first Sinister Horror Book Fair which occurred Sunday at a Scottish Rite centre near Sacramento State University. This book fair was put on by the same people who do Sinister Creature Con, a horror movie and TV convention that occurs twice a year. It was the first book fair they did and it seemed to do really well and I hope they'll do it again next year. The horror genre needs more of a book culture these days since it's seemed to be dominated by the film and TV industry (especially streaming TV) for the past decade if not more.

Sinister Horror Book Fair had a lot to offer. There were mostly venders selling their books, of course, many of whom were authors themselves and indie ones at that. I myself didn't have a table for my books because I didn't find out about the event until late. There were several subgenres of horror fiction, including steam punk noir and Western horror, and there were also dark fantasy works. Besides, books, there were crafters who sold their dark-themed jewelry and artwork, and there was even a movie production company, In Media Productions, promoting their feature film-in-the-making--"The Whistle". Their short film that they're developing it from is currently available to watch free at YouTube.

I recently put in the order for a printable version of the illustration for "Bad Apps"'s book cover. While that's being worked on, I'll be getting the manuscript ready for it's print publication which I'm aiming to release bu mid October. I'll keep everyone updated on that at my Facebook page.

Be here next Wednesday for another Insecure Writer's Support Group blog hop!

"Bad Apps" is a collection of techno-horror short stories that encounter mobile device apps that are strange, sinister, and deadly. Many of these stories deal with the weirdly scientific, while others go right to the brink of the supernatural. Some blur the lines between reality and virtual reality, others feature handheld devices that connect to parallel universes and alternate timelines.

A young woman discovers that her computer’s search engine is reading her mind. A teenager downloads to his phone a voodoo doll app and uses it against his enemies. A streaming music video conjures up a demon. These and the many other techno-terror tales in this book show the nightmarish consequences of when technology goes too far on both the programmer's end and the user's.

Now Available at Amazon

'Bad Apps', a Book of Techno-Horror, Releases!

2026-09-21T23:00:51.198-07:00

This is it! "Bad Apps", a book five years in the making, has finally launched at Amazon! That is, I have published it on the Kindle Direct Publishing platform. It may take up to one to three days to become available in the Amazon store itself. But here's the link to my Amazon Author Page where you'll find "Bad Apps" once it's available for purchase! And, beta readers, you will be receiving a free copy of the ebook version within the next couple of days, so keep checking your in-boxes!

So, what's next? Currently, "Bad Apps" is available in ebook form only, but you can be sure that print will be coming soon! To me, a book really isn't a book unless it's printed and bound, bibliophile I am. Once "Bad Apps" releases in print, I'll announce it here at A Far Out Fantastic Site and my Facebook page. So, keep checking back at those two sources throughout the next couple of weeks! Also, a book tour will be coming in the next month or so, as soon as I can gather enough bloggers who are interested in featuring my book. Those of you bloggers who are interested, let me know in the box below or email me at sarellanorose@gmail.com.

Available to purchase soon at Amazon

'Bad Apps' Cover Reveal; 60 Years of 'Star Trek'

2026-09-15T22:48:42.297-07:00

I said I'd show it to the beta readers first, and so I did. I said I would then show it to my newsletter subscribers [link], and so I did. Now I'm showing it to the rest of the planet. Yes, this post, along with the ones on my Facebook and Instagram pages, is the official reveal of the book cover to my new and upcoming collection of short stories, "Bad Apps"!

You’ll find the cover with the most recent and final revised version of the book’s blurb below. I'd like to thank the illustrator who I hired, Eternal Visual, for doing such a super job on the illustration to the cover. He took it even further than the concept sketch I gave him to work from, and I approved it with very little thought because I was that impressed! Thanks, again, Eternal Visual!

For the cover's font's, I used Orbitron because, out of Kindle Direct Publishing ‘s font selection, it was the one most fitting for the science fiction short story collection this book is. But the book is also horror and so will provide plenty of scares and suspense!

Credit: Steven Arellano Rose Jr. and Eternal Visual.

Next will be the release of the book itself! It will be coming out at the end of the week sometime. Once it does, I’ll announce it on my Facebook page and here at the Far Out Fantastic Site. So, check back at either throughout the week!

'Star Trek' Turns 60!

Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Paramount

Last Tuesday, September 8th, was the 60th anniversary of one of the best space opera series of all, "Star Trek"! For sixty years, the "Star Trek" franchise has amused viewers and created fans with its visionary storylines and loveable characters. Created by Gene Roddenberry, it started with the original TV series in 1966, first airing in Canada on September 6th and then in its home nation of the U.S. on September 8th, the day now officially recognized as its birthdate. It has grown into a full phenomenon offspringing two series of movies, both fiction and non-fiction book series, and three animated series. That's not to mention all the other media and collectable items, such as games (including board and video), action-figures, and models of the franchise's nearly countless starships!

I've always been a lover of "Star Trek" at least since I was six, but I seriously started getting into it when I was going into my freshman year of high school. What I like about both the original series and the franchise overall is that they're optimistic in their visions and characters while making believable stories. Ever since it began in the 1960s, "Star Trek" has been a franchise of optimistic futures of (relative) peace and diversity among peoples (including aliens). It's a vision that we need more than ever, and "Star Trek" is carrying it on the vision and I hope it does for many more years.

So, what do you think of the book cover to "Bad Apps"? Are you a "Star Trek" fan and, if so, what is your favourite series or movie?

Until next time . . .

IWSG: Prep-Publishing; My Character’s Archetype

2026-09-02T22:52:26.600-07:00

Book Updates and Prep-Publishing Challenges

I've said before that I’m not a deadline person, as much as I try to and believe in getting things done promptly. So, I try to be as transparent as possible with my writing projects. That includes “Bad Apps”. There are often unexpected challenges for the artist, and so I’ve been getting those in the formatting and publishing preparation processes lately. Fortunately, it’s nothing too delaying. However, it’s caused me to have to skip the Book-To-Movie (BTM) for August, especially because the one I had planned involved three different stories since the movie part of the review would have been of an anthology, and so it would have taken me longer to go over each in connection with the film. So, that one will come up toward the end of September. To make up for last month, I’m going to try to post a mini movie review of a summer sci fi in the next week or so. But now for some details on the preparation progress of “Bad Apps”’s upcoming publication!

The book has been formatted for its ebook release and so it's ready to upload to Kindle Direct. But while I was formatting it with Kindle Create--an app that’s supposed to make the formatting of your manuscript easier, and it does considerably--I would discover problems with the spacing and so I had to fix that. Those are technical problems that aren’t always easy to notice in word processing software like Word but are more easily noticeable in apps like KC.

Currently, I’m in progress of filling out the web form on KDP for the book’s metadata and other details. These are details such as the book’s title, author name, and categories that shoppers can find the book under. I also have to set up the book’s keywords for Amazon and then, I believe, next comes the pricing of the book and then putting together the cover on the platform. The illustration for it is already made.

As soon as the cover is put together, I’ll be sending out downloadable copies of it to the beta readers, and then I’ll reveal it in an email to my newsletter subscribers. Once it goes out to them, I’ll be doing the official reveal on my Facebook and Instagram pages and here at the Fantastic Site! That will all be coming up this week so, Beta readers and newsletter subscribers, check your mail boxes; everyone else keep checking here, at my FB or Instagram pages throughout the week! Also, beta readers, don’t forget, you will be receiving a free ebook copy of “Bad Apps” when it releases!

If any of you aren't subscribers or did not beta read but would like an early look at the cover, you can still do that! Simply subscribe to my free author's newsletter, "Night Creatures' Call". But do it now, because the official reveal will be happening by early next week!

‘Bad Apps’: Synopsis (Updated)

IWSG Monthly Question

Credit: Pixabay

Now for the IWSG’s question for September which is: Do you have a favorite character archetype you tend to gravitate toward in your writing?

My main characters tend to be based on the magician archetype. My characters under this archetype tend to be artists, computer programmers/developers or at least intellects of some sort. In addition to that they are often nostalgic in their interests and behavior while looking forward to better futures and societies, or at least they declare to. Because they are so eccentric and often seem isolated from the rest of society, they have a countercultural element to them. These kinds of characters also include the mad scientist who does a sort of "magic" when he/she goes way out with their experiments, although most of those haven't been my protagonists but more so antagonists.

Today’s IWSG is brought to you by these super co-hosts: Kate Larkinsdale, SE White, JS Pailly, Olga Godim, and Natalie Aguirre! IWSG was founded by awesome author Alex Cavanaugh, writer of the Cassa Series of novels!

Until next time . . .

'Bad Apps' Update: Formatting and Book Cover

2026-08-21T01:14:15.667-07:00

Credit: Pixabay

You're probably surprised to see me posting so early in the month. For at least since the beginning of the year, I've been posting at the end of each month. But I thought I should post something now to keep everyone updated on my upcoming book of short fiction, "Bad Apps". Since I'm not a deadline-oriented person, I try to keep people updated as much as possible on my book projects so they can have a sense of how close I am to publishing it. And it is a lot closer yet!

"Bad Apps" Blurb

"Bad Apps" is a collection of techno-horror short stories. They explore mobile device apps that are strange, sinister, and deadly. Many of these stories encounter the weirdly scientific while others go right to the brink of the supernatural. Some of the stories blur the lines between reality and virtual reality, others feature handheld devices that connect to parallel universes and alternative timelines. One story involves a young woman who discovers that her computer’s search engine is reading her mind. In another story, a teenager downloads to his phone a voodoo doll app to use against his enemies. There’s also a story about a streaming music video that conjures up a demon. All of these techno-terror tales show the nightmarish consequences of when technology goes too far on both the programmer's end and the user's.

The book's introduction and stories are now formatted for publication. Now I'm working on front and back matter for the book, front matter being the title and copyright pages and back matter being things such as the author's bio. However, I was held back from doing that a little the other night because I was spending over an hour trying to match the word count between the Kindle Create version of the manuscript and the original Word version to make sure I hadn't lost anything during the formatting process. However, Kindle Create doesn't have a word count tool. So, I had to copy and paste the text from KC to a new Word document and compare the count that way to that of the original Word manuscript. Fortunately, nothing was lost.

The illustration for "Bad Apps"'s book cover is finished. After I upload the manuscript to Kindle Direct Publishing I'll have the cover reveal. I would do the cover reveal before that, but KDP requires the manuscript, along with the front and back matter, to be uploaded before the cover can be made with the platform's Cover Creator tool. So, the reveal will be occurring by next week sometime.

As I've said in past posts, the first ones to see the finished cover will be the beta readers, who will receive a downloadable version, and then the newsletter subscribers, then, finally, the public at my Facebook and Instagram pages. The beta reading is done, but those of you who did not participate in the beta reading or aren't subscribed to my free author's newsletter can be in that second group of people to see the cover reveal early. How can you do that? Simply sign up for the newsletter by this Saturday! Again, it's free!

Because I'm considering this a special post, there's no Book-To-Movie (BTM) review in it. But the monthly BTM post will be here on the last day of the month (August 31), so be sure to be here then!

IWSG: Writer's Exhaustion, Writer's Regret

2026-08-05T22:38:12.468-07:00

It's the first Wednesday of the month, and so it’s time for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) monthly blog hop! In an IWSG post, we writers bring our writing challenges and problems out into the open to share with each other and try to offer solutions. The last few days have been exhausting for me. I've been trying to keep everyone updated here at my blog on the progress of my upcoming book, "Bad Apps", preparing the manuscript for upload to Kindle Direct, and working with the illustrator on the book's cover. Plus it's been in the triple digits here in Sacramento, California which I've had to walk through and wait in for the public transportation that I take to and from my day job of library tech. So, the last couple of days have been so exhausting to the point where I've nearly fallen asleep over the computer and so would end up conking out on the couch for the rest of the night.

Yet I've been working around all that. Even though I was late on getting out the July post of my own monthly series of posts, including the Book-To-Movie review, only yesterday evening and so into August! I'm just barely writing this IWSG installment on the evening that it's due! But I'm glad to post it because it feels so great to talk about our writing challenges to each other.

'Bad Apps' Synopsis (From the My Books page)

I'm going to limit the rest of this post to the optional IWSG question of the month which is As a writer/author, what is something you regret? Or something that you wish you'd done differently in your writing process?

One thing as a writer that I regret is having spent too much time pursuing a post graduate degree and not enough time pursuing my passion for fiction-writing. I feel like I fooled myself into thinking I wanted a Master's in English and to teach at the community college level, when my BA in the subject was plenty. Not that I regret taking the courses, since I was glad to learn the subject of each. However, I was always twisting my own arm to get the papers done and turned in by their deadlines. I didn't receive my degree which I was pissed at the time, but relatively soon after I didn't care. I didn't care because that's when I realized that was not my passion or my job to teach literature but to write it. So, that's what I now do. Maybe it's not the best literature, or even the best writing, but it's the storytelling that I was meant to do and I'm thankful for that.

What do you do when you feel too exhausted to write? Have you ever had a revelation, so to say, that you were meant to write as a career or even just as a side career? Today’s IWSG is brought to you by these super co-hosts: Shannon Lawrence, Diedre Knight, Liza, and Pat Garcia! IWSG was founded by awesome author Alex Cavanaugh, writer of the Cassa Series of novels!

Until next time . . .

Book-To-Movie Review: ‘2001’; ‘Bad Apps’ Updates

2026-08-04T22:59:54.583-07:00

I’m sorry for posting for July so late. (This post serves as the July post, even though it's now August.) I was busy this past Friday filling out my annual fiscal year tax return for my freelance writing which, as easy as it seems considering today’s automation, is always time consuming and a headache. And that was on the due date. I usually don’t wait until then, but this fiscal year of ‘25/’26 has been exceptional. But I wasn’t going to let you go without a Book-To-Movie of the month or the latest on my upcoming book of short fiction, “Bad Apps”!

Book-To-Movie Review: Arthur C. Clarke's '2001: A Space Odyssey'

Credit: Pixabay

Good science fiction makes us wonder about the universe and our place in it, even to the point of terror in certain cases. Both Arthur C. Clarke's short story, "The Sentinel", and the Stanley Kubrick film adaptation, "2001: A Space Odyssey”, definitely do that well. The two works make people think about the possibility of intelligent life in other parts of the universe and that we may not be the highest form of intelligence. Both make us realise just how big the universe is and how little we really are. Clarke’s short story and its movie adaptation convey these ideas using the premise of an artefact from an alien civilization that dates back to before the birth of the human race.

The Short Story: 'The Sentinel'

Clarke wrote "The Sentinel" in 1948, but it wasn't published until 1951 which was in the magazine, "10 Story Fantasy", under the title "Sentinel of Eternity", according to a Wikipedia article. The story is about a geological expedition on the moon where the unnamed protagonist, who serves as the narrator, discovers a pyramid-like structure of alien origin. The structure is a multifaceted, jewel-like object twice as big as an adult male. While the narrator speculates the origin and purpose of the pyramid, he does so in a way that is convincing of the possibility of that origin. First, he attributes the alien artefact to "a lunar civilization" that had died off or disappeared millions of years ago (145).1 However, then he says, "Suddenly, and with overwhelming force, the belief came to me that it was as alien to the Moon as I myself." (147) But the uncanniness of the pyramid isn't the only thing that overwhelms the narrator and astonishes the reader. It's also the artefact’s age.

The narrator jumps ahead in the story to several years later and says that in the course of studying it, the pyramid turns out to have been put on the moon before any lifeform on Earth came out of the sea. He guesses that the alien object is a device that had been used to search for other life in the universe and communicate the discovery to the alien civilization that sent it. It is believed that that civilization is far more advanced than Earth's human civilization and far older. He compares the human race as an infant to the alien civilization that had begun when the universe was relatively young itself.

Because the pyramid is broken into several fragments in the course of studying it, the signals that it supposedly sent out to its extraterrestrial origin stop generating. The narrator fears that this has alerted the aliens and that, as a result, they will be coming to earth and may not be happy with the humans. The story ends with this bit of cosmic horror, giving the impression that something so much bigger than anyone has ever imagined is coming to get us.

The story being "hard science fiction", Clarke emphasizes the scientific phenomenon over the characterization. However, he keeps us intrigued with the subject matter, which is the mysterious origin of the alien pyramid, and the vivid details of the moon’s environment

The Movie: '2001: A Space Odyssey'

"2001: A Space Odyssey" was directed by Stanley Kubrick ("A Clockwork Orange", "The Shining"), the screenplay written in collaboration with Clarke, and was released in 1968. The release was nearly perfect timing since man would be landing on the moon the following year. However, unlike “Sentinel”, only a small portion of the film, during the first half, is set on Earth's moon. The alien artefact is not a jewel-like pyramid but, instead, a huge black slab referred to as “the monolith”. It has been excavated on the moon where Dr. Heywood Floyd (played by William Sylvester) along with a group of other scientists go to examine it at the excavation site.

Later, an expedition is sent on the spaceship, Discovery One, to Jupiter's orbit to trace a signal that the monolith sends there. When the expedition arrives, it discovers a much larger version of the monolith orbiting the planet. It’s there that the monolith opens a doorway to another dimension in which one of the expeditionist, Dr. Frank Poole (Gary Lockwood), by way of a pod enters through and then things get freaky.

Kubrick does a superb job of interpreting the events with his direction and the cinematography under it. Like Clarke captures the moon’s setting in vivid detail, Kubrick captures the visuals of both Earth and moon’s landscapes with panorama. He employs special visual effects that give a psychedelic/surreal depiction of the alien dimension that Poole travels through. A haunting soundtrack in the scenes of the monolith consists of wailing and moaning sounds, giving a sense of menacing, alien origin. This is an effect that seems to interpret the short story’s narrator describing his encounter with the pyramid as “haunting”.

Clarke's "The Sentinel" makes the reader think about how large and old the universe is by involving an advanced technological artefact from an alien civilisation that long preceded the human race. Kubrick's movie adaptation does the same for the viewer. While the first achieves this through the protagonist's speculations, the second does so with its convincing visuals through camera style and soundtrack.

Notes

1. “The Sentinel”. Panther Books/Granada Publishing. 1985.

‘Bad Apps’ Updates

The illustrator is now in working in the final details in the painting stage of the book cover’s illustration. While he’s been working on that, I’ve been formatting the manuscript to upload to Kindle Direct Publishing. KDP requires the manuscript to be formatted and uploaded to the platform before the cover can be made using the Cover Creator tool. As soon as I receive the final product from him, upload the manuscript and make the full cover, I’ll do a cover reveal first to my beta readers (who will also be receiving a downloadable version), then to my newsletter subscribers, and finally to the public. So, I’ll be working on those things this week and am aiming to release “Bad Apps”, finally!, by next week sometime. Look out for a “countdown” to launch at my Facebook page!

Do you want to be one of the first to see the finished book cover for “Bad Apps”? Then subscribe to my free newsletter! Not only will it have the cover reveal, but future issues will have detailed updates on my latest projects such as “Bad Apps”, (including behind the scenes), expanded versions of my blog posts, and more!

Be here this Wednesday for another Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog hop!

IWSG: What Needs to Change in the Publishing Industry

2026-07-01T21:52:11.051-07:00

It's not only the first of the month but the first Wednesday of the month! So it’s time for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) monthly blog hop! In an IWSG post, we writers bring our writing challenges and problems out into the open to share with each other and try to offer solutions.

Challenges

There've been a couple challenges I've had to deal with in my writing, especially in preparing my newest book of short fiction, "Bad Apps", for publication. That's been especially the case with finding a designer for my book's cover, in which I was about to hire one last week until there was a disagreement with the pricing. You can read that in more detail in my latest blog post outside of IWSG which I published (can you believe it?) only last night! So, that was kind of my other writing challenge that I had: my blog posts' schedules got backed up and so I've been trying to cram in both. I think a lot of it had to do with some bad sleep I was getting during the past week although that's improved, fortunately.

My post from yesterday also includes my monthly Book-To-Movie review where I review a work of prose science fiction or fantasy and its movie adaptation. So, you may want to check it out, especially if you're into the speculative genres!

IWSG Question for July

Each month, the IWSG blog hop offers an optional question to answer or for inspiration for writing on a relevant topic. This month's question is: Is there anything you'd like to see changed, added, and/or rearranged about the book publishing industry? What I think can change about it is that, at least in the genres of science fiction and fantasy, big publishing houses can publish better work.

For the last 10 years, it's seemed like major publishing houses have only put out speculative fiction that contains exploitive or shock-disgust scenes in it even when those scenes don't integrate with the story. It's become too much like Hollywood in that it can be great in it's entertaining aspect and, Hollywood aside, even in some cases it's intellectual or philosophical aspects, it wants to drop a stupid shock or disgust bomb on the reader! And why do they do that? Because, at least in my opinion, major publishing houses cater to mass consumerism like most of big business. They seem to have gone the way of profit more than culture and intellect lately.

There are some great writers in the genre today but, in the last decade, it seems like the major publishing houses have been forcing them to their own motives for profit over quality work. I talk about this in an earlier post using a specific example of a Jeff VanderMeer book that I tried reading a few years ago, so you might want to check that out.

The other thing I think can change about the publishing industry for science fiction and fantasy, especially horror, are the quality of book cover design. Major publishing companies need to get away from the over-sophistication of their books' covers and start using serious genre artists to make them. Lately, although this seems to be changing a bit in horror, the publishing industry seems to have been favouring photo-stock-based covers over covers made by hired artists who do their own work specifically for the book. Just as example, I've seen too many horror book cover illustrations that are either minimalist and so just barely reflect the genre with a very light indication of some monster or dark entity; or they depict nothing more than something like a bouquet of flowers against a black background. Come on! What an insult to many of us horror fans!

It's similar with science fiction book covers. Again, just as an example, a science fiction novel's cover will show a farm house instead of a spaceship (or without one, considering the UFO/farm trope), or a human instead of an alien! That's why anytime I read new speculative fiction I try to check it out at the library first, and if no library in reach has a copy, then I may sacrifice 20 bucks and purchase a paperback version of the book. So, I think the publishing industry has to be true to the culture of the speculative genres more and not try to intellectualise their appearances on their covers.

What do you do when you have trouble finding the right designer for your book's cover? What do you think the publishing industry can improve on? Today’s IWSG is brought to you by these super co-hosts: Rebecca Douglass, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Cathrina Constantine, and Jacqui Murray! IWSG was founded by awesome author Alex Cavanaugh, writer of the Cassa Series of novels!

Until next time and, for those of you in the US, have a Happy and Safe Fourth of July and remember to celebrate our freedom to write and read what we want!

Book-To-Movie; Information Wants to Be Free . . . & Frightening

2026-06-30T23:42:29.869-07:00

Credit: Pixabay.com

Update: The Alt text for the illustration at the top of this post has had a slight phrase-change as of 7/3/2026. Whereas the phrase used to read as "a gorilla", it has now been changed to "an ape".

During all of June, I’ve seemed to have been possessed by the Spirit of ’76. I had been staying up nights hunting on internet for and collecting US 250th anniversary commemorative coins and even some American Bicentennial artifacts from a year that celebrated a revolution while social and cultural revolutions were currently going. This Fourth of July here in the US we’ll be celebrating 250 years of our nation’s freedom, or at least some level of freedom. And, like what the many of the computer hobbyists believed in the 1970s, and to quote a 1984 phrase by Stewart Brand, “information wants to be free.” And it’s because of them that information became free, at least to some extent. It’s way more easily accessible than it used to be. We can fit personal computers in our pockets now (smartphones) and, with them, can channel more information than computers could in the 1970s.

Yet, like with any technological innovation, personal computer technology can go too far, and so information can also want to be too free. That’s the kind of thing that has caused concern over AI, especially generative AI. It’s also the kind of concern that’s reflected in the techno terror of “Bad Apps”, my soon-to-be-published book of short fiction. I have the latest on “Bad Apps”, particularly in regards to the book’s cover, and, speaking of countercultural computer hobbyists, I have more rebel action in the book and film that this post’s Book-To-Movie covers. So, keep on readin’!

‘Bad Apps’ Update

I selected an illustrator who I thought was going to work out really well to make the book cover for “Bad Apps”, but I think I was wrong. After I sent her the concept sketch, she quoted me a price for her service but it was way higher than had been advertised, and I cannot afford that boost. I explained to her in a chat message on the seller’s platform how it didn’t seem right that she did that. That was two days ago, and she hasn’t gotten back to me yet. So, it looks like she doesn’t want to do business with me because of what I said in the chat. So, I think So, I think I’m going to have to look for someone else.

I’ll be sharing the concept sketch soon in my social media venues--Facebook and Instagram. I’m just not sure when exactly. However, if you want get an idea of what the book cover illustration will look like now, subscribe to my free author’s newsletter, “Night Creatures’ Call”. The latest issue, which released last week, contains the sketch. If you subscribe now, you won’t only see a red, white and blue digital (or what will be a digital) devil, but you’ll also get a free Blue Devil firework! Okay, that last one was a joke. (There’s not even a brand of fireworks by that name, at least not that I know of, and I don’t even do personal fireworks to begin with.) But you will get a free book containing a story that’ll be a blast of a read!

And now let’s look at the “Book-To-Movie” . . .

Book-To-Movie: 'Damnation Alley'

Promotion poster for the 1977 movie, "Damnation Alley". Credit: 20th Century Fox/Wikipedia

Like a lot of authors when their books have been adapted to film, Roger Zelazny was not too impressed with the movie adaptation of his book, "Damnation Alley". This seems to be regarding both the novel, and the novella he based it on. Because the movie was so much different than the novel, let alone the novella, I can't blame him. I normally prefer movie adaptations that are faithful to the original prose fiction piece. However, there are some books that were not meant to be adapted to film faithfully and "Damnation Alley", whether the novella or full-length novel, is one of them.

'Damnation Alley': the Novella

I haven't read the full-length novel of “Damnation Alley”, but I'm sure it's at least nearly as good as the novella, which I have read. I happened to had found the novella in a vintage copy of Zelazny’s 1980 short fiction collection (which I don't think is any longer in print), "The Last Defender of Camelot", by Pocket Books which is a division of Simon and Schuster. So, I'll be reviewing the novella here, and once I read the novel I'll do a separate review of that. The novella was originally published in 1967 in “Galaxy Magazine”.

The story for "Damnation Alley" is that Hell's Angel convict, Hell Tanner, is offered a pardon on the condition that he drives an armoured vehicle, called a Landmaster, from Los Angeles to Boston to deliver a vaccine to plague victims. The "catch" is that, in the book's post-apocalyptic setting, he must drive a route that goes through a wasteland infested with killer storms and giant mutant monsters, all the result of a past nuclear war. The section he must drive through is referred to as Damnation Alley. He is told that others had traveled the route but never returned alive. However, Tanner takes the offer over life in the pen.

In the beginning, Tanner is very hateful. He's cruel to animals. We learn he has a love for Nazi-ism when a swastika tattoo on him is revealed to the reader. He's also raped and murdered. But he changes to a likeable, much more humane, person throughout the wasteland journey. He befriends people along the way who make him see the humanity in the work that he's doing and so he actually becomes more heroic and less anti-heroic as the story develops.

Besides the character development, another great quality in this novella is the vivid description that Zelazny gives it. This is especially so when he describes the wasteland that Tanner drives through. While the protagonist's character is developed well enough to hold the reader’s interest, there's also plenty of action in "Alley" that does the same.

'Damnation Alley': The Movie

"Damnation Alley", the movie, was directed by Jack Smight and released in 1977, the same year that George Lucas's very first "Star Wars" film (now known as "Star Wars: A New Hope") released. In fact, if it wasn't for "Star Wars", "Damnation" may have been the blockbuster of that year if not all-time. Although the basic plot is the same as the novella, a lot of major details were changed. First of all, the main protagonist’s mission was changed from delivering a vaccine to a plague-stricken Boston, to a mission of helping a group of post-apocalyptic survivors like himself journey through Damnation Alley to find settlement in Albany, NY where the effects of nuclear war have not been as impacting.

Most of the characters were changed as well. Besides Tanner’s first name being changed from Hell to Jake, he is not a Hell's Angel (although he does ride a motorcycle) nor is he a convict. In fact, he’s an ex-military officer. He, like many of the other protagonists, is a much more respectable character from the beginning of the movie to the end, and so is more exclusively heroic than anti-heroic. His, as with the other protagonists', character is likeable all the way through but not believable. While the believability of much of Tanner's character in the novella is lost in the movie, it’s still a likeable character.

In a similar way that the novella's description of the wasteland setting is enriched with details, the movie's cinematography captures vivid imagery of that same setting especially by including panoramic views in several shots. The heroes' perils in the drive through Damnation Alley are similar to the ones of the novella with its giant mutant monsters and deadly storms, even though the movie doesn't contain as many encounters with storms as does the book. Still, these dangers are plenty and keep the viewer wanting to continue watching.

The movie is much more simplified and ideal in that we don't get the brutality of the novella. However, this to me is a good thing. If the movie would have followed the novella too closely, it would have been a more bleak and traumatic film instead of the “all-ages”, fun popcorn one that it was. It would have been another "Dirty Harry" movie, which many of the action films of that time were of that type like many of today’s movies. After the darkness that events such as Watergate and the Vietnam War had caused in the '70s, a more optimistic film was needed. Sadly, "Damnation Alley" didn't get the popular credit for that return to cinematic optimism though; "Star Wars" got that. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing but just the way it worked out.

Zalazny's "Damnation Alley" novella is one of the most well-developed action-packed science fiction stories I've read. It both has a well-developed character and entertaining scenes as well. While the movie doesn’t follow the book faithfully, it's still good in its own right. That’s because it tends to play out for a different purpose than the novella: to make a movie fun and not to be taken too seriously.

Be here Wednesday for another Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog hop! Have you read Roger Zelazny’s novella or novel, “Damnation Alley”? Have you seen the movie adaptation?

Until next time . . .

IWSG: Where My Story Ideas Come From

2026-06-03T21:43:34.694-07:00

My Writing Challenge for the Month

The challenge was a bit of writer's imposter syndrome. I felt like I was playing writer rather than being writer because it seemed like the one-hour time slot that my day job as library technician allows for me each weekday evening hasn't been enough to write and come out with a new book frequently enough. I was even more limited on time to writing fiction because I was working on my monthly Book-To-Movie review. Because of that, I had to take the week off from working on my concept sketch for the illustration to the cover for "Bad Apps", my soon-to-release book of short fiction. I was finally able to return to working on the concept sketch this week. I'm now in the colouring phase. After I'm done with the sketch, I'll send it to an illustrator in which I'll be soon be contacting one out of several I've been considering. Hopefully he can offer me a good deal.

IWSG Question of the Month

Now for the IWSG monthly question. Answering the monthly question is optional. So, the question is Do most of your story ideas come from one place (the news, dreams, etc.) or do they hit from all over the place? They mostly hit from all over the place. That's why when someone ask me the question so many of us writers get tired of hearing, which is "Where do you get your story ideas from?", I simply reply to them, "Life." Everything we write in our stories comes from our life experiences in one way or another. It can be an event that happened to us, such as getting lost for a day in the mountains, or it can be another person's experience told to us which the stories we receive from other people are a part of life themselves.

My ideas for stories are so infused with things that happened to me or that I heard about happening to someone else that I don't even think of them when I write my stories. When I get an idea for a story, I usually jot it down in my journal and then will develop it into a work when I feel enthused enough to. If I don't feel enthused enough, then I'll look for another story idea that I have written down.

Upcoming Author's Newsletter

If you're subscribed to it, look out for my next free author newsletter coming out in the next week or two. In that edition, I'm planning on featuring the concept sketch for the book cover for "Bad Apps". If you're not subscribed to the newsletter, then you can subscribe here.

If you work a day job in addition to your writing career, how do you balance the two? Do your story ideas come from one source or several? Today’s IWSG is brought to you by these super co-hosts: Victoria Marie Lees, Sarah Foster, Natalie Aguirre, and C. Lee McKenzie! IWSG was founded by awesome author Alex Cavanaugh, writer of the Cassa Series of novels!

Until next time . . .

Book-To-Movie Review of ‘Maximum Overdrive’; 'Bad Apps' Update

2026-05-31T00:43:04.927-07:00

To close this month of May, I have another Book-To-Movie review for you and the latest on my upcoming book of sci-fi horror short stories, “Bad Apps”! In case, you’re new to A Far Out Fantastic Site, well, first of all welcome! Second, you should know that a Book-To-Movie is where we review a work of prose fiction and its movie adaptation, usually in the science fiction, horror, or fantasy genres.

Book-To-Movie Review: 'Trucks' / 'Maximum Overdrive'

Credit: Wikipedia

Warning: There are spoilers throughout this review.

Our first Book-To-Movie (BTM) of the year reviewed a bad Stephen King short story and its almost equally bad movie adaptation. (In fact, the movie was worse, even if just by a bit.) Today’s BTM is reviewing another bad film but one based on a way better short story by King. The movie is “Maximum Overdrive”; the story it’s based on is “Trucks”. King’s “Trucks” is concisely written with a prophetic warning against the overuse of technology. However, the 1986 movie adaptation, "Maximum Overdrive", which King himself directed, was not much more than shock entertainment.

The Short Story

"Trucks" was originally published in a 1973 issue of the magazine, "Cavalier". It's about a group of people trapped in a truck stop diner that's surrounded by a convoy of killer, driverless big rigs. They’ve learned that motorised vehicles and other machines are reported to be attacking people all over the country. The protagonist, who is not named like many of the other characters, narrates the story and leads the group in their defence against the murderous vehicles.

While the story’s overall structure is clever, it starts in the middle of the horror. It opens with the trucks already surrounding the diner with the people trapped inside. It would have been more suspenseful and creepier if King had led up to the attack more.

What causes the vehicles and other machines to gain wills of their own is not really explained. However, one of the characters, a trucker, suggests that electrical storms and effects of nuclear testing may have been the cause, which gives the story a science-fictional quality. Towards the end, the narrator suggests that the human race gave the motorized vehicles "mass consciousness". However, because there is no precise explanation, the story tends to have a more mysterious, supernatural element that it’s centred around.

The characters were not that well-developed but many, including the narrator, were likeable in their interactions with each other. King omitting the names of most of the characters and, instead, referring to them by type (such as “the trucker”, or the “counterman”) is a device that makes the story convincing. The terrifying circumstance has brought the characters together so suddenly that they don't have time for introductions.

A scene in “Trucks” gives the impression that the story was written in response to the oil crisis of the time. In this scene, a line of driverless vehicles, mostly freight trucks, is described as going all the way to the horizon, which is what gas station lines in the 1970s often looked like. A bull dozer threatens the people inside the diner into pumping gas into the vehicles. After all other efforts, this is the only way that the people can prevent the trucks from killing them. And the trucks keep coming for gas.

The story basically ends in this very pessimistic way. The narrator does offer a glimpse of hope saying that the vehicles, because they can't reproduce themselves like humans, will eventually wear down and die out. But then it occurs to him that the trucks can enslave people in the auto industry, like the way they’ve enslaved the people in the diner into pumping gas, to manufacture more of them.

So, “Trucks” is kind of a doomsday story, but one that holds a warning of what could happen if we become overdependent on motorized vehicles, a kind of analogy for the global warming that motor pollutants were causing at the time and continue doing so today. This warning is a speculation which makes the story science fiction in addition to its supernatural implications.

The Movie

Ironically, when Stephen King introduced his movie, “Maximum Overdrive”, in its trailer, he said that when you want a movie made right, you have to make it yourself. Well, he was far from making it right. There are parts where it looks like he tried, but they don't add up. Even King himself, as stated in Wikipedia, later downgraded the movie and decided never to direct again. This same Wikipedia article says that the movie eventually developed a cult following for it being "so bad it's good". However, I don't even think it's worthy of that status!

The plot to “Overdrive” is basically the same as its source material, “Trucks”, although it’s very loosely based on it. Too loosely based on it. What I mean by that is that, besides changing almost all the characters, who most of are not likeable, King added too many elements that did not support the plot. The comic relief was mostly shock and crude humour and so was not funny but, instead, very annoying. There was one character who provided true comic relief, a squealy newly-wed wife, but even she got annoying overall. The movie was filled with too many moronic characters like her. The newly-wed husband was the most likeable and sympathetic, but he was only a supporting role.

Also, too many scenes are glossed over, such as the comet that causes the vehicles and other machines to turn on humans. The comet is never shown but only mentioned in the overlaid narrational text at the beginning. The closest that we get to seeing it is the green glowing cloud it leaves behind and that envelops the earth, although the special effects for that were done okay. Then when we learn at the end that aliens may have been the cause of the killer vehicles, as with the comet they are not shown; they are only implied in the overlaid narrational text that concludes the movie saying that a UFO was discovered trailing the comet.

“Overdrive” is almost non-stop chaos and so there's really no suspense leading up to the terrifying situations. However, unlike the short story, the beginning doesn't start with the main terror of the trucks threatening attack on the diner but gradually works its way up to it, although it does so fairly quickly.

The acting, overall, was very poor. Starring-actor Emilio Estevez has done way better in his other movies around that time, such as "The Breakfast Club" (which has no genre-relation, by the way). Actor Pat Hingle who plays the human antagonist was overly villainous to the point of unbelievability and so was campy. Also, the foul language was overdone.

Although I’m in no way a heavy metal fan, the AC/DC soundtrack works in some parts of the film. However, many of the tracks’ Satanic lyrics seem to be juxtaposed with adverse Christian themes as a way to attack biblical religion for no apparent reason.

The way that the characters battle off the killer machines in “Overdrive” is a big but unconvincing step further than in the short story. Whereas in “Trucks” the characters cleverly make bombs out of empty catchup bottles, in “Overdrive” they use illegally obtained military weapons. This showed itself as nothing more than a cash-in on the Rambo-/action movie-craze of the movie’s time.

“Overdrive” doesn’t have the sense of warning against overuse of automobiles that the short story does. However, when the humans finally escape from the killer trucks, they flee to a nearby island knowing that motorized vehicles are not allowed there. The island’s name is Haven, probably punned for “Heaven”, which is ironic due to the soundtrack’s Satanic lyrics mentioned above.

If either Stephen King’s short story, "Trucks", or his movie adaptation of it, "Maximum Overdrive", were made today in the same sense they were in their own times, they probably wouldn't be as creepy because we’re now so familiar with robo cars. (Although those are creepy within themselves.) But both still set up the story to make the killer vehicles terrifying especially by putting the characters in a seemingly inescapable predicament. However, Stephen King does a much better job of it as a short story writer than as a director. In the short story, he gives us minimal details that give an effect of impacting terror. However, in the movie he puts in too many details that, even though it gives the effect of terror, is ruined by the needless crude, shocking humour and chaos that runs throughout. I think King made a wise decision in recognising his own mistake and sticking to writing prose fiction. And that’s not sarcasm.

‘Bad Apps’ Update

I’ve been colouring in the concept sketch of the illustration for the book cover to “Bad Apps”. I’ve also been looking at different artists’ work online to decide who to hire to make the full illustration. I’ve said before that I don’t like digital art, but since the theme of “Bad Apps” is digital technology, I’m going to need an artist who can make an obvious digital illustration (as opposed to a digital illustration that’s made to look handmade).

I’ll be showing the completed concept sketch in my upcoming newsletter, “Night Creatures’ Call”. I’m not sure when I’ll be sharing it here at the Far Out Fantastic Site or in any of my social media venues. So, if you want to be the first to see it, subscribe to the newsletter. It’s free! I’m going to try to release the newsletter in the next week or so.

Be here this Wednesday for another Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog hop! Have you read Stephen King’s short story, “Trucks” (which can be found in his collection, “Night Shift”), or seen its movie adaptation, “Maximum Overdrive”?

Until next time . . .

Credit: Pixabay

IWSG: Marketing 'Bad Apps' Stifles My Fiction Creativity

2026-05-06T04:30:00.000-07:00

It's the first Wednesday of the month and so it’s time for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) blog hop! In an IWSG post, we writers bring our writing challenges and problems out into the open to share with each other and try to offer solutions. I apologise for missing last month. That month kind of got off to a bad start. That week after Easter Sunday I had allergy attacks and a bad cough, the latter which I'm still trying to recover from even though I've been doing way better. I talk more about this in my post from last week, which is also the Book-To-Movie review post for April. So, check that out if you haven't already.

I'm going to skip the optional IWSG question of the month which is What was the most inspiring feedback you received from readers, including agents, editors, and beta readers? I've gotten a lot of helpful and inspiring feedback from people who've read my work that I just can't remember a specific instance at this time.

Book Progress

It was just at the end of last week when I finished double-checking my manuscript for "Bad Apps", my upcoming book of short fiction, for "errors" that the word processor underlined. Most of those words and phrases I had intended to present with certain spellings or certain forms which the programme misunderstood their contexts. Well, it's Word 2019, and so it's pretty old, and so the automatic spelling and grammar check features aren't as efficient as those in today's version of Word. Even if they were, I wouldn't totally rely on the AI and so would still do my own spelling and grammar checks by reading the indicated errors in their surrounding contexts.

Since I'm done double-checking the underlined words and phrases in my "Bad Apps" manuscript, and have fixed any that happened to be actual errors, I'm now focusing on marketing and promoting the book during this pre-publication period. That includes the book cover, specifically the cover's illustration. I've been working on a concept sketch for the cover to send to the illustrator that I'll hire. (Again, beta readers of "Bad Apps" who gave me feedback will be getting a first look at the finished version of the book cover, that includes both text (e.g., title and byline) and illustration.)

Attempts to Write New Fiction

Well, the pre-publication marketing stage has put me behind in writing new fiction. Having to concentrate more on the technical details of marketing "Bad Apps" before it's published has put a stifle on my fiction creativity, and so I just haven't been motivated to write any new stories. I had to stop in the middle of writing one story a month or so ago because I had to put my attention on preparing "Bad Apps" for publication. Now I have to come up with ways to market and promote it. When I do have a little time to write new fiction, I just can't think creatively enough. I was probably putting a little more on myself than I had originally thought, and so for right now I just have to concentrate on announcing "Bad Apps" to people at large and continue making the concept sketch to send to an illustrator. I'll definitely let everyone know here at my blog when I return to writing new fiction regularly.

What was the most inspiring feedback you received about your writing? Have you ever needed to put writing new works on a hiatus while publishing and/or marketing a current book. Or can you do both simultaneously? If so, how do you balance the two out? Today’s IWSG is brought to you by these super co-hosts: Jenni Enzor, Jemima Pett, Jamie of Uniquely Maladjusted but Fun, and Kim Lajevardi! IWSG was founded by awesome author Alex Cavanaugh, writer of the Cassa Series of novels!

Until next time . . .

Book-To-Movie; ‘Bad Apps’ Update

2026-04-29T22:35:00.000-07:00

I want to first apologize for missing last month's Book-To-Movie review and the Insecure Writer's Support Group post earlier this month. I had family over from out of town, and then the week after Easter Sunday I had a bad allergy attack. I was so worn that I only had enough energy to write a little at a time. I’m just now getting back on track. So, I have the BTM for you below—a review of an H.G. Wells short story and its movie adaptation--but first I have the latest progress on my soon-to-release book of short stories, "Bad Apps".

‘Bad Apps’ Progress

Unfortunately, my allergy attack also put me behind on my work on “Bad Apps”, but now I’m at the easiest part of preparing my book for the formatting. I’ve been going through the manuscript to make sure I didn’t overlook any of the words and phrases underlined by the word processor’s editing feature. Many of these are words that either the programme mistakens the context they’re being used in or that I intentionally spelled in British English, even though I’m U.S. American. I’ve also been deleting those passages that I stroke through and so won’t be using.

As soon as I’m done with the above polishing, I’m going to give more attention to making the concept sketch for the book cover. I’m about halfway through drawing it, but I also plan to paint it so the illustrator I send it to will more easily understand the colours and tones that I want. Again, for those people who beta-read and provided feedback, they will be getting a downloadable copy of the book cover. I’m going to try to have the cover reveal by mid-May.

Book-To-Movie: H.G. Wells' 'The Empire of the Ants'

Now for our Book-To-Movie (BTM) for the month! In a BTM we review a work of prose fiction and its movie adaptation, usually in the science fiction, horror, or fantasy genres. Like all good science fiction, H.G. Wells' stories speculate the possibilities of science and the consequences that result when it goes in a dangerous direction. The latter of these two qualities often carries over into movie adaptations of his stories, such as "The Invisible Man" and "The Island of Doctor Moreau". Each of these two have at least one film version that does an effective job conveying the scientific or natural phenomenal terror of the prose works. Not all film adaptations of Wells’ works have done this that well. The 1977 movie adaptation of his short story, "The Empire of the Ants", is one. Wells' short story ends leaving the reader thinking about the consequences of the scientific phenomenon going in a direction unfavourable to humans, whereas the movie adaptation ends having resolved these consequences too much.

‘'The Empire of the Ants': The Short Story

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Wells’ "The Empire of the Ants" first appeared in a 1905 issue of "Strand Magazine". The story: Portuguese-Brazilian captain Gerilleau and British engineer Holroyd take a new gunboat up the Amazon to investigate a swarm of ants that have invaded the town of Badama. The two men soon discover that the ants are a breed that’s members grow as large as two-inches long and sting their victims with a deadly venom. Even worse, the ants turn out to have human-like intelligence and so can strategise and eventually take the human race's place at the top of the animal hierarchy.

Much of this phenomenal situation is based on Darwin's theory of evolution which, being relatively new at the time, must have added considerable plausibility to the story. This makes the story a reflection of society’s fears and concerns, some of which were existential, that the theory resulted in at the time.

"Empire of the Ants" may not only be a response to Darwin's revolutionising theory, though. It may also be a critical commentary on the past colonisation of the Americas and on contemporary British imperialism. The ants are an analogy for these two systems. Ants group together in colonies, have a social hierarchy, and many species are conquering and warlike.

The story has many other strong qualities as well. One is the setting of the Amazonian jungle which enhances the terror of the ant invasion. The jungle in this story is described as a world that’s alien and inhospitable to humans. It is presented as a forbidden land.

Wells’ story also has good character development for science fiction of that time and so characters who are both sympathetic but also fear for their own safety. The problem is, however, difficulty in identifying who the main protagonist is supposed to be. Both Gerilleau and Holroyd seem to give equal weight to the story, and so the plot moves forward mostly by their actions. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it would have brought the reader closer to the protagonist if one of the two characters were emphasised more. However, the story, overall, is well developed and well presented.

'Empire of the Ants': The Movie

A giant ant attacks actress Joan Collins's character in this scene from the 1977 movie, "Empire of the Ants". Credit: Wikimedia Commons/MGM

The 1977 movie adaptation of Wells' short story was directed by Bert I. Gordon and released by American International Pictures (AIP) under the same name, the exception being that the initial article was omitted. It's very loosely based on the short story. Although the core plot is the same, the characters and many of the situations have been changed. One of the biggest changes is that the setting is relocated from the Amazon jungle to Florida’s swamp-dominated Everglades which retains the forbidding atmosphere of the short story. Another major change, one that I feel was needed at the time due to the near-overwhelming nature-strikes-back films and the realism that came along with them, was that the ants were changed from two-inch creatures to horse-size monsters.

The storyline to the movie is that a group of prospective buyers of real estate are given a tour of a housing development on an oceanfront only to find out that it has been invaded by giant, mutated ants. They soon find out that the ants, like in the short story, have the intelligence of human beings and have taken control of the minds of and enslaved the citizens of a nearby town. This is a bit of a step further than the original Wells story where the ants simply kill off or drive out the citizens of the Amazonian town that they take over.

The contemporary fears and anxieties of society that are reflected in this film are more of chemical pollution than evolution. A radioactive leak is the cause of the ants’ unusual size.

Although imperialism isn't the contemporary issue in this film, class society is. The developer, Marilyn Fryser (played by Joan Collins), down-criticises and fires the grounds workers simply for not telling her they were leaving for the day after they finished their work. She also down-talks the skipper (Robert Lansing) of the boat that transports the guests to the development. The skipper is perhaps a stand-in for Capt. Gerilleau of the short story, only instead of a high-ranking military captain he is a working-class transportation boat pilot hired by Fryser. These examples reflect the hierarchy of queen and worker ants, the "queen" in this case being the tyrannical talking Fryser. But Fryser soon finds out that there’s always somebody or, in this case, something higher up.

The movie has both its strong and weak points. While the character interaction makes certain characters likeable, the characterization itself is shallow and typical. Yet, the movie, like many of AIP's science fiction films, was meant to be a popcorn film, and so the producers’ aim was entertainment more than anything else (except maybe profit).

The filming is not bad. The puppetry-creature effects of the giant ants are okay for their time in close-shot scenes of an ant attacking an individual person. However, the longer shots of humans’ encountering swarms of ants have the appearance of stock footage that’s splicing is not hidden well enough. A plus in this film is that we get the ants’ multifaceted perspectives in their attacks on their screaming victims. This visual effect and camera technique increases the bizarreness of the situation.

One of the biggest departures the movie takes from the short story as far as plot goes is its ending. In Wells’ story, the ending is left open in that, regardless of the characters’ efforts, the ant colony cannot be destroyed. This leaves the reader with the impression that the insects are very likely to not only take over the entire South American region and its human occupants, but eventually the world. In the movie, we get the closed Hollywood happy ending trope: the citizens of the town whom the ants have been controlling are set free, the giant insects are destroyed, and the heroes escape. This doesn't leave a lot of speculation for the audience after the movie ends like Wells's story does with readers. It also takes away the terror that the short story results in.

I enjoyed AIP's "Empire of the Ants", mostly because the ants truly were giant and I’ve always been a fan of giant-monster movies. However, I also like it because it reflects the problems of environmental impact of the 1970s and still is relevant during this time of climate change. However, Wells' short story, "The Empire of the Ants", is far from being about a small ant problem even though the ants are tiny compared to the ones in the movie. Even though it doesn't comment on the deadly impact that pollution has on the planet (which was not yet a known issue in Wells’ time) it still involves a change in nature's pattern: the growing population of deadly ants. This natural phenomenon is like climate change in that a threatening change in nature does occur. Even though the movie has its terror and suspense, the story ends with these two and forces readers to think about how they could adapt to a possible change in the animal and intelligence hierarchy.

Be here next Wednesday for another Insecure Writer’s Support Group post! (And this time there will be one!) Have you read H.G. Wells’ short story, “The Empire of the Ants” or seen the 1977 movie adaptation?

Until next time . . .

Revised Blurb for 'Bad Apps', A Book of Techno-Horror

2026-03-20T22:22:00.000-07:00

Credit: Pixabay

The last four or so weeks have been a time of making revisions suggested by beta readers to my upcoming short story collection, "Bad Apps". Those revisions are almost complete. This past week, specifically, has been a time of revising the book’s blurb. The most important change I made to the blurb has to do with genre classification. But first let me mention some of the notable changes to the book itself.

Latest Revisions to 'Bad Apps'

The most notable of the latest revisions I made to "Bad Apps" is actually a small one, yet a very important one. One of the beta readers had suggested that I mention AI in one of the stories. I had already referred to artificial intelligence in the book’s introduction and in a few of the other stories. In fact, in one it’s the deadly antagonist. However, I needed to reflect AI in another story because that one involves a search engine—one that can read the user's mind.

When I had first wrote this story a few years back, artificial intelligence was not a major feature of search engines. Lately, however, it’s become a major feature of them. AI is also a controversial topic right now since it has more people scared that it will exceed human intelligence, and so it goes with the horror in books like "Bad Apps". So, if the beta reader who suggested this addition is reading this, thanks again!

Other revisions suggested by beta readers have to do with cutting out a few needless scenes and details. Lately, I've been re-reading for continuity those stories that I made these latest changes to. So far, the continuity has been looking good, and so the changes haven’t affected it.

Thank You Beta Readers!

I'd like to thank all beta readers who read and commented on the beta version of “Bad Apps” and to remind them they will soon be getting the perks I said they would. The first of these perks is a downloadable image of the book's cover which I'm currently working on the concept sketch for to send to the artist. I'm aiming to have the cover reveal by mid-April and to release the book by the end of that month. I'll definitely keep everyone updated.

Newly Revised 'Bad Apps' Book Blurb

Back in November, I posted the official blurb for "Bad Apps" to My Books page here at the Fantastic Site. I had already known that it was a working blurb, and it still may be. Internet searchable terms for books change all the time. So, I recently did some hunting for the latest searchable terms on Google and Amazon for the science fiction horror subgenre that "Bad Apps" falls under. One of the most notable ones that I found was "techno-horror".

Originally, I had used “techno-terror” as a primary keyword to refer to the more precise subgenre "Bad Apps" falls within, which is science fiction horror that emphasises computer technology. I used it because of its alliteration, especially when putting it before a word such as tales (“techno-terror tales”). However, when I used it in a Google search, too many results came up that had to do with a fandom collection based on the video game, "Apex Legends". So, I did a search using "techno-horror" instead, and that brought up more varied results proving it to be a more generic term. For that reason, I chose to emphasise "techno-horror" in the blurb, instead, by placing it in the earlier portion. However, I liked the alliteration of "techno-terror" too much to delete it, and so I placed that toward the end.

You can see the updated version of the “Bad Apps” blurb at My Books page here at the Far Out Fantastic Site. Let me know what you think of it. If you think it can be improved even more, please let me know in the comments box below or email me at sarellanorose@gmail.com. I'm always open to suggestions!

For more in-depth details and behind-the-scenes looks at "Bad Apps" and other writing projects of mine, be sure to subscribe to my free newsletter, "Night Creatures' Call". I'm going to try to come out with the next edition in April sometime in which I hope to have the most in-depth details on "Bad Apps". By then it will be very close to the book's release! Keep checking back here throughout next week for the next "Book-To-Movie" post! You can also visit my Facebook page for the latest updates.

Until next time . . .

IWSG: What I Put in a Book Launch; Book-To-Movie is Back!

2026-03-04T22:48:00.000-08:00

It's the first Wednesday of the month and so it’s time for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) blog hop! In an IWSG post, we writers bring our writing challenges and problems out into the open to share with each other and try to offer solutions. In this post, you'll find: my answer to the optional question of the month; where you can read my first book-movie review since two years; details on an ebook sale; and more!

IWSG Question of the Month

The question for March 4th is: What elements do you include in your book launch? Or what do you have in mind for your future book launch? Or what advice do you have to offer to others planning to launch a book? I'll just answer the first two parts of that question since the answer for those will also speak for the third. The elements that go into my book launches are mostly the basics: announcements for it on social media and here at my blog; an image of the book cover (image is a primary attraction); sometimes a discount during the initial release of the book; and links to each venue the book is sold at. At least that's what I've put into my past book launches.

My upcoming book launch for my new collection of short stories, "Bad Apps", will have one additional element: free copies of the book for the beta readers! Each reader who volunteered and actually read and commented on the beta version of "Bad Apps" will be getting a free copy of the final version when it releases. For details of my latest progress on "Bad Apps", see my post from February 28!

The Book-To-Movie Review is Back!

Also on my February 28th post, is the Return of the Book-To-Movie series of reviews! At an earlier date, I said that I would be resuming the Book-To-Movie by February and, even though it was cutting it close (this year, February only had 28 days), I made sure to get it out before the month was out. So, in that post, you'll find the first review of a work of prose fiction and its movie adaptation after the series had been on a two year hiatus! Be sure to check it out!

Writing Challenges

I had a little bit of a writing challenge last week. I think I had said a while back that I resumed writing short stories after having taken a break for more than a year to work on "Bad Apps". Well, so far, since the beginning of the year, I've only written one full short story in its rough draft stage, and I've written part of a second one. For a couple of days last week, I was just so burned out with my other writing projects and tasks, and my household chores, that I could just not write any new fiction. But I've been working on that second story little by little at least.

Smashwords Read-An-Ebook Week Sale

This week is Read An Ebook Week and, to celebrate, Smashwords is having a sale going on now through March 7! For this sale, I've discounted all my books. My collection of short fiction, "The Fool's Illusion", has been marked down to half price, and all other books are free! If you don't believe that last one, then see for yourself at my books' page! You'll also find plenty more discounted books by other indie author's at the sale's main page. #ebookweek26 #Smashwords

What elements do you use in your book launches? Have you had any writing difficulties during the past month? Do you plan on checking out the ebook sale at Smashwords? Today’s IWSG is brought to you by these super co-hosts: PJ Colando, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, and Natalie Aguirre! IWSG was founded by awesome author Alex Cavanaugh, writer of the Cassa Series of novels!

Until next time . . .

Return of the Book-To-Movie: Stephen King's 'The Night Flier'

2026-02-28T22:54:00.000-08:00

Credit: Pixabay

Warning: Potential spoilers in this review.

Finally, the Book-To-Movie (BTM) review has returned! As I said in our January 7th post, I had taken a break from the BTM to focus more on my upcoming book of short fiction, "Bad Apps"’, which is nearing more to its release date each day. I have the latest progress on it below. But first let's get into our first BTM since two years ago! In a BTM we review a work of prose fiction and its movie adaptation, usually in the science fiction, horror and fantasy genres. I think I had said last time that I left a clue to what book and movie we would be going over in this post and asked if you could guess what they would be. Well, if you guessed Stephen King's short story, "The Night Flier", and its movie adaptation, then you were right! There have been some movies based on King's fiction that stray far from the original plot. "The Lawn Mower Man" is one. However, the movie adaptation of King's "Night Flier" does a good job staying faithful to the short story, especially since the aim of both is gore exploitation.

'The Night Flier': The Short Story

King's "Night Flier" was originally published in the 1988 anthology, "Prime Evil". In 1994, King included it in his collection, "Nightmares & Dreamscapes". "Night Flier" is about Richard Dees, a tabloid reporter, who is tracking down an aviating serial killer, the titular character, rumoured to be a vampire. Even though Dees is a skeptic, he will, (Spoiler Alert) later learn that the rumours are true. He traces the killer's path by piloting a plane of his own and lands at different airports along the eastern US, hoping to get photos of the killer and eye witnesses' accounts of the murders.

The story reads a bit reminiscent of a "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" episode, which isn't a bad thing and may even be a tribute to that 1970s TV series. However, Dees is more of an anti-hero than a hero, one that we can barely sympathise with. King seems to write him with a sarcastic sense of humour, but it's one that comes so directly from Dee's arrogance that it doesn't come across as funny. The protagonist downgrades the other characters regardless of their morales.

We are not called to sympathise with Dees until the end where we learn why he is so calloused and rude-speaking. He is so calloused to the point that he is overly bent on getting a story and snapshots of the killer even during a big slaughtering of victims at the airport where he finally meets the Night Flier.

Between the beginning and ending scenes, the story's structure is set up as a series of flashbacks of Dees interviews with the victims' relations. The flashbacks occur during his approach to the final airport that he tracks the Night Flier to. This structure of story-telling works for "Night Flier" since if it were structured in a more linear manner, it wouldn’t be a short story; it would probably be a 500-plus page novel, typical of King's long fiction.

It's said by many serious readers of fiction that King is a bad writer. I think that's a bit overstated. However, "Night Flier" is one of those stories that’s exemplary of that statement. The short story is loaded with gore scenes that don't seem to develop the plot which is insulting to hardcore vampire fans like myself.

Of course, blood is strongly associated with vampires. They aren't always the most clean, well-mannered of diners and so often really show their food, but normally that’s limited to their mouth area and victim’s neck. The Night Flier does not only drink his victims’ blood--he tears them apart just to do it. That's an indication that the story was written to appeal to an audience that cares more about sensuality than a well-told story consisting of plausible events. Why would your typical vampire, and so the one that drinks blood via fang punctures, have to mutilate his victims beyond a bite on the neck?

King has always been a writer that describes a lot of gore in his stories. This goes back to his works from the 70s, although his older short stories from that time and the early 80s don't seem to be as graphic. Even in certain novels such as “The Shining”, most of the graphic gore does not outweigh the quality of the plot and even enhances it. Not so with "Night Flier". I've read much better, more integral stories by him than that (including "Shining").

'Night Flier': The Movie

In 1997 director Mark Pavia came out with his movie adaptation of King's "The Night Flier" (using the same title). It starred Miguel Ferrer as Richard Dees and Michael H. Moss as the Night Flier. It featured an additional main character that wasn't in the short story, a rival reporter to Dees, Julie Entwisle, played by Katherine Blair. The plot is extended with Dees' competition with Entwisle, a race to get the story of the Night Flier's killing spree. That's the major twist on the plot, which I felt worked.

Overall, the movie is faithful to the plot of the original short story. Like the short story, it presents Dees as an unlikeable anti-hero, in this case too unlikeable. In the movie there is no call to sympathise with him at all. Many of the minor characters and secondary main characters, such as Entwisle, come across as more likeable.

Like in the short story, Dees is presented as a double or, pardon the expression, mirror to the vampire. Like the vampire lives off of blood, Dees lives off of (financially) robbing his readers of their intelligence by feeding off of their ignorance with sensationalised stories. In addition to that, he steals the Night Flier story from Entwisle, which is an assignment that is originally given to her. In the process of doing that, he is a kind of stalker to her like the Night Flier is to his victims. At the end of the movie, she even straight out identifies Dees with the Night Flier whereas in the short story Dees is mistaken by cops for the vampire.

Devices such as this work for the movie by enhancing the story and characters. What doesn’t work, although it helps the movie stay true to the short story, is the excessive gore. It was poorly thrown in and does not enhance the story in the same way that the gore in the short story doesn’t. Like the short story, the movie culminates in a slaughter scene at the final airport stop, except the Night Flier’s victims rise up as vampires and join in on the blood feast. This horde of vampires I thought was another good twist in the movie, but it is just too gory for the types of creatures it involves and, like with the short story, served an audience that thrives off of these scenes rather than enhance the suspense, character, and story.

When it comes down to it, both "The Night Flier" short story and movie were poorly done. They were both made to please a mass audience of their time, the 1980s and 90s, when there was an obsession with violence and gore (and still is today). It was all in the name of Hollywood and big publishers’ profits made from the masses’ craving for sensationalism which often consisted of shock and extreme gore. For these last two, thought-provoking art and storytelling are sacrificed for. More specifically, what is sacrificed is a lasting impression on the audience that would make them think about the story or film beyond its superficial details such as the violent scenes regardless of how extreme those scenes are. "The Night Flier" short story and movie adaptation, although the former is done a little more integrally than the latter, give not much more than a momentary impression to a reader or viewer. That impression won't last long after a person is done reading the story or watching the movie.

‘Bad Apps’ Progress

I’m getting close to working in revisions suggested by a second beta reader. I did work on a revision suggested by a third beta reader during the past week. I was glancing over his suggestions when I came across one that indicated that the idea of Artificial Intelligence should be reflected in one of the stories, one about a clairvoyant search engine. With AI becoming a major tool in search engines, this advice made sense. Now I’m back to working in the suggested revisions of the second reader. After that, I’ll have the rest of the revisions of the third reader to work in and then I’ll be putting the book through the publishing process.

Be here this Wednesday for another Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog hop post! Have you read Stephen King’s short story, “The Night Flier”, or seen the movie adaptation? What did you think of either?

Until next time . . .

IWSG: Rereading Early Work

2026-02-04T04:30:00.000-08:00

It's the first Wednesday of the month and so it’s time for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) blog hop! In an IWSG post, we writers bring our writing challenges and problems out into the open to share with each other and try to offer solutions. Because my day has been so time-crunched, I'm going to just jump right into the topics and keep the post short.

February 4 question - Many writers have written about the experience of rereading their work years later. Have you reread any of your early works? What was that experience like for you? I've reread very little of my early works, published or unpublished. The former I don't typically reread because I want to get on to writing the next story or book. The latter I don't read because it's so bad that I would get sickened by the poor writing and even the too-far-out-there story ideas. Most of my early unpublished work is buried away somewhere in my parents house. However, if I were to somehow inevitably uncover it, I think I would be tempted to skim through it just to remember how bad I wrote fiction back then and to see how far I've come since.

I've been a little off schedule with my writing this week because of a disruption in the train route that I take to my day job. It takes me as much as an extra hour to get home because of a bus we've had to take on part of the route. Because of that, I've almost had no time to work on my writing projects. I had to write this post on my phone in between buses and trains. But the route is supposed to go back to normal early next week and, as long as it does, then my writing schedule will go back to normal.

Do you reread any of your early writing? Today’s IWSG is brought to you by these super co-hosts: J Lenni Dorner, Victoria Marie Lees, and Sandra Cox! IWSG was founded by awesome author Alex Cavanaugh, writer of the Cassa Series of novels!

Until next time . . .

'Bad Apps' Status; Sneak-Peek of Book-To-Movies Coming in 2026

2026-01-31T23:26:00.000-08:00

Credit: Pixabay

Not counting the monthly IWSG blog hop post (in which the next one will be coming up this Wednesday), this is the first post of the new year here at A Far Out Fantastic Site! I hope everybody's having a good start to 2026. I have. Most of my beta readers have sent me their comments for "Bad Apps", in which I'm currently revising based on that feedback. I've also already started sketching concepts for the book's cover illustration. Below you’ll find out who will get a sneak peek at the book’s cover, and who will get a sneak peek of something else here at A Far Out Fantastic Site. So, keep on readin’!

Who Gets a Sneak Peek at the ‘Bad Apps’ Book Cover?

When the cover to “Bad Apps” is finalised, the beta readers who sent me their comments will be the few to get a sneak peek at it before the official reveal! That's because they will be receiving a free downloadable copy of it for their hard work! For those of you who did not volunteer to beta read "Bad Apps", don't feel too bad. You still have a chance to at least see the cover before the official reveal. That's because I'm also going to show it to my newsletter subscribers before it's officially released. If you’re not subscribed to my free author's newsletter, you can do so here.

Book-To-Movie Reviews Coming in 2026

I also have another sneak peek for you, this one right here, right now in the post! I had said a while back that I will be resuming the monthly Book-To-Movie (BTM) reviews early this year. Well, below you'll find a sample listing of 2026’s upcoming BTMs! Because this is a sample list only, it’s not exhaustive. There will be other books and their movie adaptations reviewed throughout the year, I just don’t know which ones at this time. The books (or short stories) and their film versions listed below will for sure be reviewed in the monthly BTM, I'm just not sure in what order yet.

The Night Flier: I’m currently reading the Stephen King short story. I saw the movie about a year or two ago. The story is that a reporter is tracking down a murderous airplane pilot believed to be a vampire.

Damnation Alley: I've read the novella by Roger Zelazny, but I'd also like to read the full novel by the same author. If I can't read the full novel in time, then I'll probably make two reviews: the first one covering the novella and the second covering the novel (both reviews would cover the movie adaptation, of course). The plot is that in the post-apocalyptic future, a group of people travel across the post-American wasteland in vehicles called Landmasters to help restore civilization.

Empire of the Ants: I've seen the 1977 movie adaptation and will soon be reading the short story by H.G. Wells from a book of his works that I have. The story is about a colony of giant ants threatening to take over the earth.

Maximum Overdrive: This movie is based on Stephen King's short story, "Trucks". I've both seen the 1986 movie and read the short story. Even though I haven't seen the movie since high school, which was over 20 years ago, it had enough disturbing scenes in it where I probably won’t have to watch it a second time. The story: a group of people are trapped in a diner surrounded by murderous trucks and other large vehicles that have minds of their own.

Cat's Eye: This film is from 1985 and consists of three stories by Stephen King, two that were published as short stories in his collection, "Night Shift". The first story, "Quitter's, Inc." involves a chain smoker who goes to a clinic that claims to successfully help people quit smoking. However, it turns out that the methods are torturous. The second story, "The Ledge", is about a gangster who, out of vengeance, terrorises the protagonist into walking the top ledge of a high-rise building.

2001: A Space Odyssey: This is the movie based on Arthur C. Clarke's short story, "The Sentinel". I've both seen the movie and read the story. The plot is that a group of astronauts go to a planetoid to study an alien monolith with mysterious powers. They think it may have played a major part in the earth's evolution.

One of the above books or short stories and its movie adaptation will be reviewed here when the Book-To-Movie series resumes next month! Which book and its movie adaptation will it be? Take another look at the list and you just might see a hint! If you can guess it, let me know in the comments box below. Be here Wednesday for another IWSG blog hop!

Until next time . . .

IWSG: Writing Plans for 2026

2026-01-07T22:21:00.000-08:00

It's the first Wednesday of the month and this new year of 2026! That means it’s time for the first monthly Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) blog hop of the year! In an IWSG post, we writers bring our writing challenges and problems out into the open to share with each other and try to offer solutions. I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday season! I have, although its been a busy one, and so I've had to slow down on the writing projects some but not too much. I'm just now getting back into the routine and that includes finishing up the final touches on my upcoming book of short fiction, "Bad Apps", and that's making way for myself to return to a monthly series here at A Far Out Fantastic Site! So, keep reading to find out the details!

The optional IWSG question for January has been perfect timing for me! The question: Is there anything in your writing plans for 2026 that you are going to do that you couldn't get done in 2025? Yes, two things. First and foremost, I'm going to (self-) publish "Bad Apps", my upcoming collection of short fiction about evil and deadly phone apps. I had not only meant to get it published a year ago but the year prior to that. I'm bad with my timing of things, which my ADD is a cause of, and so didn't get it released last year as planned. However, all the stories have now been written and through several revisions. The only revisions I have left to do are ones based on the beta reader's comments which I've already started.

Two of my beta readers have been doing really good about keeping me informed with the status of their reading. One has been sending me his comments frequently via Google Docs. The other reader hasn’t sent me her comments yet, but has given me a summary of what kinds of problems she’s been looking for in the book which has been really helpful. Thanks to them both!

Keeping in mind working in the revisions based on the beta comments, setting up the cover and doing a reveal of it, I'm aiming to release "Bad Apps" by the end of February.

The other thing in my writing plans for 2026 is to resume the monthly Book-To-Movie (BTM) review series here at the Far Out Fantastic Site! I had put the reviews on hiatus two years ago because I was getting too far behind in revising "Bad Apps" and kept missing the release deadlines that I had set up for myself. Now that I'm getting closer to the publication of "Bad Apps", I have less to work on with the content itself and so that’s freeing up some time to do the monthly BTMs. I shouldn't have a problem looking for books and their movie adaptations to review since I’ve read and watched several during the course of those two years and have them backlogged in notes. Expect a BTM review to come out between this month and next!

What are your writing plans for 2026? Today’s IWSG is brought to you by these super co-hosts: Shannon Lawrence, Olga Godim, Jean Davis, and Jacqui Murray! IWSG was founded by awesome author Alex Cavanaugh, writer of the Cassa Series of novels!

Happy New Year and until next time!

Holiday Horror Reading & Viewing; Year's End Book Sale

2025-12-17T22:18:00.000-08:00

Credit: Pixabay

Can you believe we’ve arrived at another holiday season and the end of the year? It seems like each year goes by so fast! There are all kinds of great stuff to look forward to at this time of year: time with family and friends, good holiday food, gifts. But it's more about the giving than the getting. But the giving can really deplete your bank account, especially if you're like me and have a big family. Well, that's when you look towards the holiday sales. One of many of those is Smashwords' End of Year Book Sale in which my books are participating in! Want something chilling to read during this holiday season? You'll find mine and plenty of other authors' books of science fiction and horror at that sale! And if that's not enough, check out the list of links to holiday horror reading and viewing below!

Smashwords End of Year Sale

Is the holiday shopping making your money vault go low? Well, from now through January 1, you can find my books at promotional prices at Smashwords' 2025 End of Year Sale! That includes my newest science fiction horror tale to date, "The Trespassers", which is half-off the regular price. Also half-off is my full short story collection, "The Fool's Illusion". My two other books participating in the sale, "Circa Sixty Years Dead" and "The Boo Brothers", are 100 percent off! Yes, free!

You'll also find many other science fiction and horror authors' books at super discounts such as those by Nicholas Grabowski and Shannon "The Warrior Muse" Lawrence! The latter is offering two collections of holiday horror tales for free! You can find our and many other indie authors' ebooks at these links:

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Sarellanorose

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/thewarriormuse

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/nicholasgrabowsky

http://smashwords.com/sale (for thousands of books by other indie authors!)

#EOYSale25 #ebook #sale #books2read #indiebooks

5 Links to Holiday Horror Reading and Viewing

Many don't think of this time of year as that of monsters and ghosts that creep throughout the cold, dark, December nights. However, because during this time the days continue to get shorter and the nights longer up until the Winter Solstice, it’s perfect for horror reading and viewing! It definitely was for many of Charles Dickens' readers of his classic novella, "A Christmas Carol", which featured Marley's chain rattling spirit and the Ghosts of Christmas. But that might be too typical for many readers today. (Myself, however, never tire of reading it and watching the movie adaptations each Christmas season). So, I thought it might be useful to put together references to recommendations for holiday horror reading and viewing of other books and films.

Speaking of Marley's chains, below are five links to past posts where I talk about stories and a few movies perfect for consuming during this ghoultide time of year! Just be aware that many of these posts may contain sections that refer to outdated events, including past years' Smashwords' End of Year Sales. So it’s best to go to the End of Year Sale using the links here in our current post instead of the ones in the past posts to avoid ending up at an expired page.

Now, here are the five links to posts that recommend chilling books and films perfect for this holiday season!

Krampus’s List of 6 Tales of Terror Toys, December 24, 2017

Book-To-Movie: ‘The Thing’, December 22, 2019

Book-To-Movie: Edgar Allen Poe's 'The Raven', December 18, 2021

5 Ghost Stories Perfect for the Holidays, December 18, 2023

Book Review of Marion Zimmer Bradley's 'Door Through Space', June 30, 2025

You've probably noticed that, out of all five listings, that last one is the only one that doesn't even date anywhere near December. I don't do Christmases in July (or, in this case, June), but I listed this link to this post from back in the summer because the book I review involves kids' toys that are really killer miniature robots! How would you like one of those under the tree?

'Bad Apps' Beta

I've delivered links to the beta version of my upcoming short story collection, "Bad Apps", to everyone who's volunteered to beta read so far. However, I'm still looking for more readers. If you're interested in volunteering, see the post from November 25 to find out how to sign up and what the rewards for beta reading are!

Upcoming Holiday Edition of 'Night Creatures' Call'

The holiday edition of my free author's newsletter, "Night Creatures' Call", will be releasing within the next week or so. So, look out for it in your in-boxes. If you’re not subscribed to "Night Creatures' Call", you can do so here. In this newsletter, you'll get the latest on my current writing projects and insights that you won't see here at A Far Out Fantastic Site.

This post will probably be the last for the year. Look out for the next post in January of the new year! Everyone have a Happy Holiday Season! Are you planning to shop for ebooks at Smashwords' End of Year Sale? Do you plan to watch or read any holiday horror movies or stories this season?

IWSG: Fan Email? and Beta 'Bad Apps'

2025-12-03T22:13:00.000-08:00

It's the first Wednesday of the month and so it’s time for another Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) blog hop! In an IWSG post, we writers bring our writing challenges and problems out into the open to share with each other and try to offer solutions. So far, this week has been one of letter/email writing in regards to my fiction work and not so much of writing or editing the fiction itself. I did complete the first draft of my first short story in two years over the weekend though. But read on for more about that letter-writing to, supposedly, fans. I also answer the optional question of the month and have the latest on the beta version of my upcoming short story collection, "Bad Apps".

IWSG Question of the Month

Now for the IWSG question for December: As a writer, what was one of the coolest/best gifts you ever received? That's an easy one. The coolest and best gift I've ever gotten as a writer is my talent and inclination to write. Now as far as material gifts go, that's not so easy to answer so I'll just settle for the above.

Author's Fan Email?

I don't get a lot of fan email (much less, fan snail mail), being the obscure writer I am. However, I received a couple of emails over the weekend showing interest in one of my single-short story books, or chapbooks as they used to be called, "Circa Sixty Years Dead". Both emails basically said it should be on top lists in GoodReads and Amazon. The later email seemed legit, especially after I researched the internet for the sender. So, I sent my reply, thanking the sender, in a separate email.

The earlier email, however, did not read so sincere. At first, it struck me as being written by generative AI, but when I put it through Grammerly's AI detector the results indicated that it was written by a live human being. Even so, the email contained far too much flattery and the booklists the sender referred to were almost all non-existent or not known enough to come up on an internet search. So, I didn't respond to that one even in a separate email. If you're not familiar with the fan, you need to take precaution and do your research because there are just too many hackers and scammers from the darkest regions of cyberspace. None of us writers want to end up like Lauren Bacall's character in that '80s movie, "The Fan" or Stephen King’s author protagonist in “Misery”!

'Bad Apps' Beta Release

I started emailing some links to the beta version of "Bad Apps" to some of the people who showed an interest in volunteering to beta read. I'll be sending links to more volunteers. I'm still accepting readers. I'm trying to reach a minimum quota of 10. So, if anyone's interested, please email me at sarellano@gmail.com. For more details on beta reading "Bad Apps", see my post from last week.

Besides distributing links to the "Bad Apps" beta book, I'll be putting together the Holiday Edition of my free author's newsletter, "Night Creatures' Call", which you can subscribe to here if you haven't already. Also, look out for some big discounts on my and hundreds of other indie author's books at the Smashwords End of Year Sale, which starts December 8th!

What was the best or coolest gift you received as a writer? Do you take precaution when responding to an email from a fan you’re not familiar with? Today’s IWSG is brought to you by these super co-hosts: Tara Tyler, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, Liza, and Natalie Aguirre! IWSG was founded by awesome author Alex Cavanaugh, writer of the Cassa Series of novels!

Until next time . . .

'Bad Apps' Beta Book Ready and New Promo!

2025-11-25T23:45:00.000-08:00

Credit: Pixabay

November is often a small month compared to October and December that book-holds it. However, for me it has been a big month. That is, a month loaded with writing tasks. November has been a month of preparing my newest short story collection, "Bad Apps", for its beta release. It’s been a month of formatting the eight short stories into book form and making a clickable table of contents that will make it easier for readers to jump to each story. It's been a month of copying text from each story’s file, pasting it into the book manuscript’s file, and then reformatting those passages that's styles were either lost in the transition or came from a file that I did not think to format properly when I had first typed the story onto the computer. The official book may still be two or three months away, but the beta version of "Bad Apps" is now ready for release! Or, at least ready for release to those who have volunteered to beta read and give me their feedback.

Still Looking for Beta Readers

So far, I have five people who have shown interest in volunteering to beta read "Bad Apps". I can still use more. I'm trying to get a total of 10 beta readers. However, I do have room for a max of 13. To sign up as a volunteer beta reader, email me at sarellanorose@gmaildotcom.

As a beta reader you'll get:

• A free beta version of the book that you can keep forever

• To see the contents of the book before most of the rest of the world

• To help the author edit the book, because when you read a beta version and give your feedback, you're basically contributing to the editing of the work

• A free image of the final version of the front cover before the book’s official release

• A free copy of the official release version of “Bad Apps”!

Originally, I was going to distribute the link to the beta version once the quota for 10 readers was reached. However, I want to get started on revising for the final version of the book as soon as possible and so in the next two or three days will be sending the link to those who have volunteered already. I’ll send the link to others as they volunteer. So, those of you who have already said they would do the beta read, look out for an email with the link.

New ‘Bad Apps’ Promo and Blurb

Did you miss the synopsis for “Bad Apps” in this month’s earlier post where I also announced the need for beta readers? Well, you can go there now and check it out. However, you can also get a fuller synopsis within the book’s blurb that I published just last week on My Books page! It gives a little more detail on a couple of the stories.

Returning to a Very Important Writing Activity After Two Years

For the past two years, I’ve been putting almost all of my effort into getting “Bad Apps” completed and ready for publication. Because of that, I had not been writing any new fiction stories. Now that I've gotten the majority of the work done, I returned to writing new short stories just last week! So, I'm back in the initial creation process! But don't worry, I'm still working towards the publication of "Bad Apps". When I start receiving beta feedback, you can be sure that I'll be considering and working in any suggested revisions which will bring "Bad Apps" that much closer to its official release!

Be back here next Wednesday for an Insecure Writer's Support Group blog hop! Has November been a busy month for those of you who write? Have you been reading anything interesting this month?

For those in the US, have a Happy Thanksgiving!