New Bloggy Update 5/20/25

It’s done…pretty much.

Draft #8 of In a Corner, Darkly: Volume 3 is finished. The manuscript has been sent to the person who will format it and get it ready for publishing. I’ll get one final chance to look at it (and to make any final edits) and then, it’s go time. I’ve yet to see the cover (which she is working on now), but I expect to see it any day now. We are close, people. Very close.

Normally, I might make mention of my monthly article section All Business, but in this month’s case, I’d like to emphasize its importance. I wrote about scams – and, let me tell you – there are plenty going around. I know many people are looking to sign up for summer and fall events these days. Please, be extra careful before sending in your money to the host or the venue. Make sure they are who they claim to be. Scammers are getting VERY good at faking things, even going so far as to copy/paste/change the host’s name and contact information. Be very wary and do your research!

I’ve also been racking up the events for the rest of the year. Chicago Steampunk is coming up at the end of May. Grayslake Author Fair follows that (on Saturday, June 21). Both events are new to me, so I’m pretty excited. I hope to have my new book for Grayslake (as I doubt it’ll be ready by the end of this month…darn it!) As always, details about upcoming events can be found on the blog under the Events section.

On a personal note, it’s been 3 months since my brother, Bob, has passed. While you never really get over something as devastating as this, I am finding my way through. There’s still fights with the financial institutions who are not convinced that I am who I am and are refusing to disperse funds, but the overall urgency has somewhat lessened. I think about him everyday and wish I could call him like I did before – feelings that I imagine won’t ever go away. But…for what’s it worth, I am able to function more normally as of late.

Okay – what the heck have we been watching?

Companion (2025) – A weekend getaway at a remote cabin turns to chaos when it’s revealed that one of the guests — a subservient android built for human companionship — has gone haywire. (Google) Yeah, it’s sci-fi in a fun and quirky kind of way, but, to my surprise, it was pretty darn entertaining. I’m usually not one for robots and androids, but this worked. Charlie and I BOTH gave it a 7.9.

Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981) – Strange occurrences plague a group of vigilantes who took vengeance on a man wrongly accused of harming a youngster. (Google) This was a re-re-re-watch for me. Loved it then and still love it now. Even though it was made in ’81, it has all the goodness and feels of a 70s made-for-tv horror/thriller. Great cast. Great acting (for what it is). High recommend for those who love old-school horror with a revenge vibe. I came in at 7.9.

Anora (2024) – Anora, a young woman from Brooklyn, gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and marries the son of an oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairytale is threatened as the parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled. (Google) Truth bomb – I thought I would hate this movie. (lol) My expectations were pretty low after reading the above blurb and I was expecting to be bored and full of eye-rolls by the time the credits rolled. I was wrong. What a great movie! Amazing performances, realistic dialogue, gritty feels – everything came together and worked perfectly. If you have any hesitations, ignore them and go watch this. I gave it an 8.6 and Charlie came in at 8.7.

The Bondsman (2025) – Hub Halloran, a murdered bounty hunter, is back from the dead after being resurrected by the Devil to trap and send back demons that have escaped from the prison of Hell; by chasing them down, Hub learns how his own sins got his soul condemned. (Google) There’s only 1 season, people! But, it’s a fun ride, sort of along the lines of Preacher and other similar shows that were/are based on comics. While this particular show is NOT based on anime or a comic, it absolutely could have been. It plays like it, right down to the scene cuts and the camera angles. I shocked myself by giving it a 7.3, whereas Charlie dug it more and gave it an 8.2. Overall, if you liked Preacher, The Umbrella Club, or The Walking Dead (with a sense of humor), you’ll dig this one.

The Four Seasons (2025) – The decades-long friendship between three married couples is tested when one divorces, complicating their tradition of quarterly weekend getaways. (Google) Yes, it’s a remake, but only by a very loose thread. I’ve seen this limited series get rave reviews AND, at the same time, be bashed by online critics. The four episodes follow three couples through one year – their lives, their loves, and their annoying traits and characteristics. I could see why some people are not fans of this revision, but on the whole, it was pretty entertaining. Just don’t take it too seriously and you’ll be fine. I ended up giving it a solid 7.5, but Charlie saw something else and came in at a 9.0.

*We also saw the last season of You (season 5) – Outstanding and creative. If you haven’t seen it, do so. And yes, Season 4 was really a ‘one-off’ – I get why people didn’t like it or couldn’t get into it. Same. But, jump into Season 5 and it’s like ‘coming home again’. I ended up with an 8.4 on this one. High recommend.

Okay, that’s a BIG wrap. Keep an eyeball peeled for Volume #3 of In a Corner, Darkly. It’s coming…for you! 🙂