A Writer's Tale

2. With my own money, I had purchased a full-page advertisement in Fangoria for The Woods Are Dark. (What a waste of money that was. Except that, in preparing the ad, I did gather some terrific quotes from such writers as Dean Koontz, Dan Marlowe, Al Nussbaum, and Gary Brandner.)

3. I had written Fangoria into my novel, Night Show. The magazine actually plays a significant role in the plot. This was my homage to Fangoria, and probably one of the few times that a periodical has ever played such an important part in a work of fiction.

So the publication in Fangoria of several reviews that trashed me and my novels was especially disappointing. I stopped buying the magazine.

Haven’t bought a copy in years.

I’m sure they couldn’t care less.

But I bet they won’t be thrilled to find out what I’ve written about them here.

60 Favorite Horror Films

UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, ANY FILM ON THIS LIST IS THE ORIGINAL, not a remake or a sequel.

1. ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET… (whatever monster they meet, I like the movie.)*

2. ALIEN

3. THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN

4. THE ANGRY RED PLANET

5. THE BLACK CAT

6. BLACK CHRISTMAS

7. THE BLOB

8. CAPE FEAR

9. CARRIE

10. THE CAT PEOPLE (with Nastassia Kinski)

11. DAWN OF THE DEAD

12. DRACULA (including most of its Lugosi sequels)*

13. THE EXORCIST

14. FRANKENSTEIN (including most of its Universal sequels)*

15. FREAKS

16. FRIDAY THE 13TH

17. HALLOWEEN

18. THE HAUNTING

19. THE HILLS HAVE EYES

20. THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (With Basil Rathbone)

21. THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL

22. I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE

23. I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE

24. INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS

25. IT’S ALIVE

26. JAWS

27. KING KONG

28. THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT

29. MAGIC

30. MARATHON MAN

31. MOTEL HELL

32. MOTHER’S DAY

33. THE MUMMY (including most of its Universal sequels)*

34. THE NAKED EDGE

35. NEAR DARK

36. THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER

37. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD

38. THE NIGHT STALKER (made for TV)

39. No WAY TO TREAT A LADY

40. NOSFERATU (silent version)

41. THE OLD, DARK: HOUSE

42. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (silent version)

43. PSYCHO

44. RABID

45. REAR WINDOW

46. ROSEMARY’S BABY

47. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS

48. STRAW DOGS

49. THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE

50. THEM

51. THE THING

52. THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN

53. TREMORS

54. 2000 MANIACS

55. THE UNINVITED

56. WAIT UNTIL DARK

57. THE WEREWOLF OF LONDON

58. WHEN A STRANGER CALLS

59. WOLFEN

60. THE WOLFMAN

‘“Denotes that this listing is for more than one film. So it isn’t a true list of 60, but who’s counting?

My 47 Favorite Non-Horror Films

I. ADVENTURES OF A YOUNG MAN (about Ernest Hemingway)

2. BATTLE CRY

3. THE BLACKBOARD JUNGLE

4. THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI

5. BULLITT

6. BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID

7. CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF

8. DARBY’S RANGERS

9. DIE HARD

10. DR. NO

11. FARGO

12. A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS

13. FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS

14. THE FOUNTAINHEAD

15. FRIED GREEN TOMATOES AT THE WHISTLE STOP CAFE

16. THE GETAWAY

17. GONE WITH THE WIND

18. THE GREAT ESCAPE

19. THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY

20. HONDO

21. HUD

22. INSIDE DAISY CLOVER

23. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA

24. LONELY ARE THE BRAVE

25. LONESOME DOVE (made for TV)

26. THE MAN FROM LARAMIE

27. THE MAN WHO KNEW Too MUCH (James Stewart version)

28. THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE

29. MEMPHIS BELLE

30. NEVADA SMITH

31. NORTHWEST PASSAGE

32. THE PARENT TRAP

33. PETER PAN

34. THE PETRIFIED FOREST

35. PULP FICTION

36. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

37. RESERVOIR DOGS

38. SOLDIER IN THE RAIN

39. THE SUMMER OF ‘42

40. STAND BY ME

41. THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS

42. A THOUSAND CLOWNS

43. To KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

44. TRUE GRIT

45. THE WILD BUNCH

46. THE WILD ONE

47. YOUNGBLOOD HAWKE

The Big Picture

HERE IS A BARE-BONES BREAKDOWN OF WHAT USUALLY HAPPENS TO A writer “me during the entire course of my involvement” with a novel. This is generally the way I’ve been operating during the last few years on the basis of multiple-book contracts.

1. I write about five pages in the course of a day.

2. The next day, I reread them on the computer screen, revise them, then write about five new pages.

3. After finishing a chapter, I carefully read it from start to finish on the screen, making more corrections. Then I print it.

4. I may be asked to provide my publisher with a description of what the book is about.

So I spend a day writing a synopsis.

5. After the entire novel is written and printed up, (about 600 manuscript pages), I read it again from start to finish, marking errors, dog-earing every page that needs to be redone.

6. At my computer again, I make all the changes, reprinting each page that requires a correction.

7. I take the finished manuscript to a photocopy shop and have a single copy made. On white paper with no holes.

8. I pack and mail the copy of the manuscript to my agent. (Keeping my original.) 9. I start working on my next project.