"A private study is an ideal place for observing facets of a man’s character."
               ---Sherlock Holmes, The Seven-Percent Solution

It seems like every home page I go to has links. No one gets excited about them, but everyone seems to expect them. Instead of creating just another links page, I want to try something a little different. I am posting links to some of my favorite things in hopes that you might get a better picture of who I am.

When I say "things," I don’t mean bright copper kettles or snowflakes on eyelashes. I mean subjects and persons. That would make for a very long list, however, so I narrowed it down by providing links to less-traveled or unexpected websites.

For example, I love music. Many of my favorite musicians are very well known, like Mannheim Steamroller, Neil Diamond, Alan Jackson, Jimmy Buffet, Vangelis, and John Barry (the composer, not the country singer). The same can’t be said for Gordon Giltrap. Also, if you scope out the advertisements in the Famous Monsters of Filmland site, you will find some absolutely terrific motion picture soundtracks that are, to say the least, hard to find.

It’s all good! Enjoy!

Acri Creature Feature
Don't like what I write?  Blame this show!  Just don't do it around me, 'cause dissin' the Acri Creature Feature brings out the fightin' side of me, bud!   Classic horror movies are one of the biggest influences I have had as a writer and in my life, and the ACF is where I got my weekly fix every Friday night back in the pre-VCR early 1970s.  (FYI: I dedicated the second issue of my NIGHTLINGER comic book series to host Chuck Acri, sidekick Berni the Skull, and monsters Vincent Hedges and Beauregard.)  The ACF appeared over several television stations in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa, and forty-something fans of the show are legion in the Midwest. (Another FYI:  You might wonder why "Windmills of My Mind" will start playing when you visit the homepage.   A warped electronic version of this song was used for the ACF's creepy theme song.)

The American Prowler
Fans of The American Spectator magazine can rejoice! If you missed out on TAS during its lengthy run on national magazine racks, it lives at this website! Renamed in honor of the magazine’s fearless Beltway reporter, this website features new articles and editorials every day. Regular offerings include those from long-time TAS contributors as John Corry, Ben Stein and Tom Bethell, and those indispensable TAS book and motion picture reviews are here, too. If you like The American Prowler, be sure to check out Stratfor.com, NewsMax.com and Geostrategy-Direct.com.

Caliber Comics
Gary Reed, Caliber’s founder, has been publishing as well as writing intelligent comics in all genres for over a decade. Sherlock Holmes, Deadworld, The Realm, and Baker Street are just some of the quality comics for mature tastes you will find here.

Ben Chapman, The Reel Gillman
I am an out and out fan of THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON. What a tremendous monster! I have watched the movie maybe 50 times in my life and I have yet to see that zipper Stephen King makes such fun of in DANSE MACABRE. A popular misconception among classic horror movie trivia buffs is that Ricou Browning played Blacky Lagoon, Universal’s last great classic monster. Browning did play the Gillman for most of CREATURE’S swimming sequences, but 6’5" Tahitian Ben Chapman played the monster whenever the Gillman was above water, which make up the bulk of the monster’s appearances in the film. (FYI: The swimming sequences were all filmed in Florida, while Chapman’s scenes were filmed on the Universal lot in California, at a location that would be used a decade later for GILLIGAN’S ISLAND.) The Chaneys, Lugosi, and Karloff have passed on, so Chapman is the last living actor to have originally played one of Universal’s trademark monsters. An extremely friendly man who is honored to have played the Gillman, Chapman’s website is must-see for classic horror fans.

Christopher Jones 
The official website of my long-time pardner in crime and the other half of Jones-squared.  (And, no, we are not related.)  Christopher is the penciller on DC Comics’ BATMAN STRIKES, and he has also worked on DR. BLINK, DISNEY ADVENTURES MAGAZINE, DAY OF JUDGMENT, JUSTICE LEAGUE ADVENTURES, YOUNG HEROES IN LOVE, and a slew of Independent comic books, including STREET HEROES 2005, RE-ANIMATOR, and WORLDS OF H.P. LOVECRAFT with moi.  Christopher is also one of the co-founders of CONVergence.  He is a super-talented comic book artist, and someone I am proud to call my friend.

Clive Cussler and NUMA
Cussler is the author or co-author of over 20 bestselling adventure novels featuring his heroes Dirk Pitt, Kurt Austin, and the crew of the Oregon.  These novels include the classic Raise the Titanic!  He also writes bestselling non-fiction with Craig Dirgo.   All total, Cussler has sold over 125 million copies worldwide, yet most readers seem to have never heard of him!  Cussler is also the chief mucky-muck of NUMA (National Underwater and Marine Agency), a group of volunteers dedicated to locating and on occasion, salvaging lost aircraft and shipwrecks.

CONVergence
The Baby Bear of science fiction and fantasy conventions. Not too big. Not too small. Just right. CONVergence occurs in Minneapolis each year during the first weekend in July that falls closest to Independence Day. It is sponsored and organized by MISFITS (The Minnesota Society for Interest in Science Fiction and Fantasy). If you can only attend one sci-fi/fantasy con this year…if you have never attended a movie screening named after Tyrannosaurus Rex…if you love coffee…then I suggest you check out this site before booking any hotel rooms. And check out CONVergence’s mascot, Connie, while you’re there. Hubba-hubba-hubcap!

Brian Daley
Brian Daley passed away at age 49 in 1996. Like H.P. Lovecraft, Daley’s premature death left a void in the field of imaginative literature. A Vietnam veteran, Daley’s novels are replete with the kind of martial and historical details one expects from a soldier. (Lt.-Col. Michael Lee Lanning, US Army [Ret.], wrote this about Daley’s final series GammaLaw: "From the opening paragraph—perhaps the most skilled lead into any combat story yet written—to the conclusion, this is SF at its best." Ironically Gammalaw’s opening paragraph begins: "Digging his own grave was the most peaceful thing he’d done in a long time.") I was fortunate enough to correspond and speak with Daley a few times, and I rarely have met as gracious or considerate a gentleman. Requiescat in pace.

Famous Monsters of Filmland
Look no further if you love classic monsters. FM was a newsstand mainstay for over 20 years beginning in the late 1950s. FM returned in 1992. Ray Ferry, a classic horror film fan and former fashion photographer, now serves as editor. Each issue is packed with wonderful photographs (many never published before), film books, articles, and new and "lost" interviews with such celebrities as Lon Chaney (Phantom of the Opera), Ben Chapman (the original Creature From the Black Lagoon), Adam West (Batman), and Gary Owens (Space Ghost).

Forry J Ackerman’s Wide Webbed World
Forry J Ackerman is the #1 expert and fan of sci-fi (he coined the term), fantasy, and horror in print, broadcast, film, and art. Forry, or 4E, is the owner and chief haunt of the Ackermansion in Horrorwood, Karloffonia, the largest private collection of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror memorabilia in the world. And he is just the nicest guy! Forry has been friends with, talked to, or influenced such folks as Boris Karloff, Fritz Lang, Ray Bradbury, Ray Harryhausen, Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, Isaac Asimov, Stephen King, Stephen Spielberg, Joe Landis, Rick Baker, Gene Simmons, and 100s more. He is the monster man!

Gateway Monthly
The brainchild of that marvelous Englishman Paul Edmund Norman, GATEWAY MONTHLY is one wicked cool e-magazine!  And best off all…it’s FREE!  You want sci-fi?  Fantasy?  Classic kid lit?  Pulps?  Fan lit?  Galleries featuring the best sci-fi, fantasy, and comic book artists?  Reviews of yesterday and today’s best fiction?  This is the place!  A new “issue” of GM is posted the first of each month, and every issue is better than the last, so be sure to visit often.  You’ll be glad you did!

The Gertz File
Bill Gertz is one of America’s finest journalists. No one covers military and foreign affairs like Gertz. He has contacts you would not believe, much to the chagrin of Beltway insiders and bureaucratic wonks. His weekly Washington Times column, Inside the Ring, co-written with Rowan Scarborough, is must reading for anyone who wants to keep up to date with what is happening at the Pentagon. What Gertz uncovers is occasionally frighteningly and frequently frustrating, but it is also crucial (e.g., see his books Betrayal and The China Threat). This site also has links to several excellent news web sites—I highly recommend The Drudge Report —and intelligence web sites. More than ever, The Gertz File is essential reading for all Americans.

Gordon Giltrap
Back about 1976 I walked into a record shop and heard some awesome instrumental music playing over the speakers. It was Perilous Journey by Gordon Giltrap. I bought it along with the only other Giltrap album in the store, Visionary, and have been hooked ever since. Giltrap, who hails from England, is a gifted and unique guitar stylist whose classical-and-folk-inspired compositions are lush, inspirational, and thought provoking. Giltrap is not a household name in America, but if you love great music you must give him a listen. You will be delighted. (FYI: You can order most of Giltrap’s albums, along with music from a vast variety of other wonderful musicians, from Voiceprint.)

The H.P. Lovecraft Archive
Along with Hemingway and Hammett, Lovecraft was one of the most influential writers of the 20^th century. His novel, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, and short story, "The Colour Out of Space", are seminal weird tales classics. The award-winning H.P. Lovecraft Archive is an excellent site for both Lovecraftians and casual visitors. While we are on the subject, for the best site about Lovecraft in comics as well as a gallery of covers from a variety of Lovecraft comics (including my own Lovecraft in Color and Worlds of H.P. Lovecraft), check out H.P. Lovecraft in the Comics. Sign the guest book and tell Brian Lingard I said, "Dagon is reaching through the window! ARRRRGH!"

Murder Must Advertise
Jeff Marks provides an invaluable resource to new and veteran mystery authors at this site, an e-mail discussion group where mystery writers and publishers can discuss self-promotion. It is no secret that, when it comes to book promotion, big-ticket mystery writers get the biggest slice of publishers’ advertising dollars while mid-level, print-on-demand (POD), and e-book writers pretty much must fend for themselves. Thank goodness for MMA. This site should be bookmarked by all first-time mystery writers. You can learn more here in a month than in a year reading how-to-self-promote books. Marks has written a number of books including Who Was That Lady? and Intent to Sell: Marketing the Genre Novel. MMA’s founder, Katie Derie, sells the annual (and invaluable) Deadly Directory at her home page: www.cluelass.com.

The Peter Cushing Museum & Association
My favorite actor. There are a lot of Cushing sites, most of them excellent, but this is the best one to start with, in my humble opinion. And be sure to check out Cushing’s piquant autobiography, An Autobiography and Past Forgetting, available at most libraries and retail book chains or through Amazon.

The Rush Limbaugh Web Site
If you think you are too liberal for Limbaugh, listen to confirmed liberal and social critic Harry Stein about his experiences with the liberal leadership in America: "Many of us [liberals] were soon startled to find ourselves tagged conservative (and often worse) for holding firm to the values of old-fashioned liberalism: a bedrock commitment to fairness and individual liberty (my emphasis)." If you are a Jeffersonian, Hamiltonian, or even a classical liberal, this site is for you. Ditto all conservatives. You will find news and information here you will not find anywhere else (e.g., Did you know all 10,580 disputed ballots in Miami-Dade County were counted by the middle of January 2001 and George W. Bush picked up six votes?), and the 24/7 subscriber site is a blast!
If you think you are too liberal for Limbaugh, listen to confirmed liberal and social critic Harry Stein about his experiences with the liberal leadership in America: "Many of us [liberals] were soon startled to find ourselves tagged conservative (and often worse) for holding firm to the values of old-fashioned liberalism: a bedrock commitment to fairness and individual liberty (my emphasis)." If you are a Jeffersonian, Hamiltonian, or even a classical liberal, this site is for you. Ditto all conservatives. You will find news and information here you will not find anywhere else (e.g., Did you know all 10,580 disputed ballots in Miami-Dade County were counted by the middle of January 2001 and George W. Bush picked up six votes?), and the 24/7 subscriber site is a blast!

MORE LINKS
(Check out these talents!)

ARTISTS
Sandy Carruthers : Men in Black
Rob Davis : Deep Space Nine
Phil Hester : The Wretch, Green Arrow
Sergio Cariello: DeathStroke The Terminator, Iron Ghost

AUTHORS
Lorie Ham
Pat Harrington
Joyce and Jim Lavene
Barbara W. Klaser
Gary Reed

PUBLISHERS
Actionopolis 
Atlantis Studios
Avalon Books 
Caliber Comics
Mundania Press
Moonstone Comics

REFERENCE SITES
Cubs Central/DieHard Cubs Fan Club
Internet Movie Database
Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune
Official R.C. Harvey Website
Philip Moy’s Powerpuff Girls page

WEB COMICS
ALPHA-SHADE
SLITHER AND FRIENDS
WAR OF THE WINDS
INVERLOCH
SCHOOL SPIRIT
OBSCURED BY SPECIES
EARTHSONG
VALIANT
TOMB OF THE KING
FANTASY REALMS

WEBRINGS

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