Movie Review – Death Cruise

I took a break from the crazy vampire, gothic and monster movies of the 1960s and watched this made for TV mystery movie entitled Death Cruise which aired in 1974. It was a murder mystery that takes place on a cruise, so like many Agatha Christie stories, it's a "locked door" murder mystery and they are always fun.

I watched this movie for free on YouTube, but in the event it is taken down, here is a link to find the movie on JustWatch.

QUICK PLOT SUMMARY: This is a murder mystery that takes place on a cruise ship. Three couples realize that they all won a free trip on this cruise. Each couple has an issue or two that arises and one by one, the people start showing up dead.

There is a new doctor on board who has to figure out the connection between them all and why they were all brought together.

STORYLINE/PLOTLINE: The plot was a good one. It had a final twist and kept me guessing all the way. Unlike many made-for-tv-movies, it wasn't just a thrown together script with no substance. It was a well-planned out storyline that could have passed for an Agatha Christie movie. It was well executed and the final twist was a surprise.

ACTING: The story moved along and all the actors played good parts. No one was trying to steal the show or hamming it up. They all said their lines and the dialogue and chronology of the story was the meat and potatoes. So no one turned in an academy award winning performance, but they were all convincing and believable.

The acting was good enough where the actors used their entire bodies in acting. This is a good way to learn how to get your characters to move within your book scenes.

ATMOSPHERE/SCENERY: This took place on a cruise ship so the atmosphere was enjoyable. Being a made for tv movie, it was more about the relationships, but there were enough cruising scenes to enjoy the vacation aspect of the story.

COSTUMING: Some of the outfits and gowns were beautiful. Even thought this movie was shot and aired in 1974, the clothing and sets were not that dated. If anything was stuck in the 197os, it was the music. All these movies and shows all had the same type of music. It screams 1970s, but the fashions were not that dated. This made the movie more enjoyable.

MOVING THE STORY ALONG:

When focused on what an author can learn, this was a great story example were the plot is the star of the show. You learned a little bit about each of the three couples, as well as the ship's doctor, but all the information that seemed like passing information was crucial to the ultimate plotline and the twists.

HOW TO DROP CLUES AND HIDE CLUES:

This is a good movie to watch to learn how to drop information and clues and yet not lose sight of there needing to be some romance and intrigue as well. This would be a good movie to watch and then reverse engineer it to see how the clues were dropped. It also shows you how some information is given to the viewer and some is deliberately hidden, but you don't realize it's being hidden at the time you first watch it. So this is a good movie to watch to learn about dropping some clues and hiding others for final revelation.

REVERSE ENGINEERING:

Because there are a few twists and surprises in this plotline, this would be a good movie to watch and then reverse engineer it. It will teach you the mind of an author, how to think about how you want to end a book on a twist and how you will need to plan and plot around that final twist. I have another blog post about reverse engineering a plotline that you can read about here.

AUTHOR TERMINOLOGY:

Above is a list of words an author would need to know to write about a cruise ship. If you click on the puzzle, you will be taken to google drive where you can download the word find with the list of words.

Movie Review – Mystery in the Wax Museum

This movie was billed on YouTube as Mystery in the Wax Museum, but when I tried to get the technical information after viewing it, the proper name is Terror in the Wax Museum.

I saw this on YouTube on a Channel named Robo-Cat Productions. In case you use this link -- which is a free viewing of the movie -- it has a short clip from another movie about a wax museum with Peter Cushing in it. I believe this short clip is from an anthology movie so if you want to get to this movie, you will need to fast forward a bit.

If this movie is taken down for copyright infringement, then you can find the movie on JustWash.com.

ANOTHER BRITISH HORROR MOVIE (MADE IN AMERICA)

This movie was produced in America in 1973 by Bing Crosby, Andrew J. Fenady and Charles A. Pratt. It came around the time the Hammer Production Gothic videos were making a splash, so this one is very similar to any of the other Hammar productions.

The story was written by Andrew J Fenady and the Screenplay was by Jameson Brewer. It was directed by Georg Fenady.

QUICK PLOT SUMMARY:

There is a wax museum owned by Claude Dupree who poured his entire life into creating the museum. All of the figures were notorious murderers, including Jack the Ripper, Marie Antoinette, Lucretia Borgia and others you will recognize. Mr. Dupress has an associate named Harry Flexner who is the sculptor of the figures. Over the years, Mr. Dupree has adopted a local freak named Karkov. I won't tell you much about Karkov other than he's a typical pathetic Dickins-type figure that helps to give the movie it's gothic ambience.

Mr. Dupree meets with a New York businessman who wants to buy his figures to set it up in New York. Suddenly Mr. Dupree is killed and there are now a few suspects. There's his partner Harry Flexner who didn't want to sell. There's also Mr. Dupree's niece who shows up with her legal guardian claiming immediate ownership of the business. And there is Amos Burns who still wants to purchase the exhibit.

WHAT AN AUTHOR CAN LEARN:

This is a great film to learn about character development and a bit about comic relief. Let's focus on character development first. In the scene below, the owner of the museum is talking about how wonderful his figures are and how much Karkov is attached to them. The businessman is hurried and has no emotional attachment to the figures and sees it only as a business proposition. There are several scenes where you can learn about how one character plays off another and how they are both coming from a different place.

This scene shows the different personalities as well as motivations. The businessman is waving his business proposals and trying to hurry Mr. Dupree along. In the previous scene, Mr. Dupree demonstrates how he has to melt down a figure due to imperfections and he's already trying Burns' last nerve. Then upstairs, Dupree goes into more of a bragathon about his business. Both personalities play off of one another and the businessman is also there to give comic relief, which he does very well.

The other character who I love is Julia, the guardian. She is played by Elsa Lanchester. I've never seen her in a movie where she wasn't hysterical. Her role is not a comedy, but her manner and cadence contributes to the continual comic relief that is masterful throughout the movie. The funny moments are peppered all through the movie but the movie itself never collapses into a spoof. It maintains a serious tone all the way to the end. I applaud the actors who played these roles as they were the ones who kept it serious at the same time as delivering a funny line or two.

MOVIE VS. BOOK SCRIPTING:

This movie is a good study in the difference between scriptwriting and novel writing. For example: The singer in the movie doesn't really move the mystery along at all. She is there for sheer entertainment which every movie needs. She plays off of the businessman and there is a tiny subplot about how Karkov the creature fancies her and protects her in one scene. But her entire appearance in the movie could be handled with two lines of background information in a novel.

The longer I watch movies from a scripting and writing perspective, the more I realize that movies need more "action" in terms of things happening on the screen. So it's important to note the difference between which characters are there for sex appeal or character development or putting on a show of some kind. In this movie it was a pub song. But other movies it may be a martial artist going into a performance. Or a fight scene that is choreographed with smashing bar stools and breaking glass.

THREE OR MORE SUSPECTS:

This movie had three suspects -- I won't spoil it and tell you who they are. There was a police investigation as well as hinting at a slow-brewing romance between the young handsome police detective and the niece. This was a good movie to also learn about keeping the script/novel tight. Each scene moved the story along and there were no long acting showcases that they now do in more modern movies. All the actors delivered their lines without any melodrama which made the movie more enjoyable.

GOTHIC ATMOSPHERE

This movie also has great gothic atmosphere. You'll see the carriage and horse in at least one scene which is crucial for all gothic movies. The bar and street scenes are also classic Foggy London.

The best shot of the movie is where Karkov interacts with the beautiful singer through the grates in the sewer. Nothing says gothic like a freak from the sewer pining over a beautiful singer.

What I love about these '60s and '70s gothic movies is the stagecraft. Many of the scenes are shot outside, but you can tell they arrived early and got the lighting right, as well as bringing along all the props needed for the background and foreground to anchor the movie in the proper historical time. The direct also framed each scene and the actors moved in the scene like Broadway actors where they are acting with their whole bodies. In modern movies, it's now a series of closeup shots one another another making sure to change the scene every 20 seconds.

SPOOKY HOUSE:

For those of you who love spook house movies, the museum has bedrooms upstairs and it becomes the proverbial scary house after hours. The niece goes tiptoeing around the house holding a candle and there's a jump scare of two for those of you who like those.

LOW BUDGET WITH HIGH END RESULTS:

You can tell by looking at the movie that it was made on a low budget. However, the costuming and stagecraft didn't lack anything. The wax tableaus were great as was the scene in the basement where one of the wax figures had to be melted down.

The actor who played Karkov was amazing. His character was a mute but he acted with grunts and used his whole body for his portrayal of the wax museum creature. He did an amazing job.

Besides a little facial makeup and a hump for his back, the rest of the character was created by acting talent. It was impressive.

A special note about the singer too. She sang with very little music behind her which is not easy to do. I don't know much about her, other than her name is Shani Wallis, but my guess is that she is a seasoned stage performer.

NO REAL MORAL TALE:

There was no real moral tale in this one other than to showcase what great men the two owners of the museum were that they both took responsibility to look after Karkov who was not able to take care of himself. But the presence of that even that little bit of virtue gave the movie a moral anchor, a positive belief in humanity.

Click here to do the crossword online

Click here to download the crossword with answers.

Movie Review – The Oblong Box

ANOTHER GOTHIC HORROR (FUN)

This is another English gothic horror movie from the 1960s. I have added the word fun into the title because these movies are not particularly scary by today's standards but there is something so charming and fun about them that I cannot resist watching them over and over again.

This movie was uploaded by the Channel entitled New Castle After Dark where two guys present the movie and talk before, at an intermission, and after the movie is over. They are just as charming as the movies. They are movie buffs and share insider information about the movies as well as the actors who appear in their movie choices.

I love their format because it feels like you're not watching the movie alone. They appear just long enough before, during and after to add to the watching experience -- at least for me they do.

If this movie is taken down by YouTube for any reason, here is a link to JustWatch where you can find it somewhere else.

THE MOVIE STATS:

The movie was produced and directed in 1959 by British director Gordono Hessler. This movie stars Vincent Price and Christopher Lee. It is the first movie that stared both actors.

The movie was loosely based on the short story written by Edgar Allan Poe entitled "The Oblong Box". I say loosely because I don't believe voodoo is mentioned in the original Poe story.

Although Vincent Price is often accused of overacting, I think he fits perfect into the Gothic Horror Fun genre! I don't see his acting as anything but great in these films.

Christopher Lee plays a co-star role in this film but as usual he is, deadly serious, but great too! Below is a snapshot from the film from Wikipedia Commons.

QUICK SUMMARY OF THE MOVIE:

I don't want to spoil the story for anyone so I'll just give a very quick summary of what the movie is about. Sir Edward was disfigured in Africa and is now hidden away in an attic room by his guilt-ridden brother Sir Julian.

Sir Edward is tired of being couped up and comes up with a plan that he forces the family lawyer into carrying out with him. If everything went as planned, it would have given Sir Edward his freedom but of course, Julian throws a wrench into the plans and everything goes haywire.

The plot, although a bit crazy as all plots in British gothic horror from the 1960s is, is a good one. It's plausible and easy to follow. This is a great pick for autumn, even Halloween season. It's a great movie for enjoyment but a good one for writers to learn from as I'll go into below.

THE ATMOSPHERE: The movie is anchored in the late 1800s and brief atmospheric scenes support his. This is a good way for authors to learn about anchoring the story in England, in the historical time period and giving it the 'gothic vibe' which I'll be referring to throughout this review.

THE SCENERY: The scenery was beautiful but it played a supportive role in this movie. It was just beautiful enough to give the movie a great look and add to the beauty of the movie in general. Any snapshot still could be a writer's exercise is describing an 1800's historical scene.

SETS/STAGECRAFT: I love the sets used in this film. I also include the lighting in this category. Although it was a gothic movie, it takes place 'with the proper stage lighting'. This means that you can see everything and every scene is well-lit for drama and atmosphere. It adds to the beauty and enjoyment of the film. Is there anything worse than a modern horror film where you're squinting to see scenes shot in the dark with only one Bic lighter?

This is a great place for writers to look and learn from the ways the background scenes and objects support the scene, transmit additional information, and just anchor the scene into the time period.

COSTUMING: The costuming for everyone is great. All of the actors and actresses in this time frame were beautiful, thin and they all looked amazing in their costumes.

GOTHIC ELEMENTS: It wouldn't be a British gothic movie if it didn't have the prerequisite mansion, candelabra, harlots showing their ankles, wild pub scene, cabriolet, mist in the woods, silhouetted horse chase or a sinister 1800s grave-robbing scientist! It's all here and it's all delicious. This one even has a grave-digging scene which I always love!

STORYLINE/PLOTLINE: This is a great movie for beginner writers to learn from as there is a crazy horror plotline that does require the viewers to suspend their modern belief system to watch. For beginner writers, sometimes it's hard to imagine that you can rely on people setting aside their logic and reason to watch, but they do.

This is also a great plotline to learn about 'the plot twist'. The original plan that Sir Edward had, although it was crazy, it could have worked. But the twist is what happens as the result of his brother Julian wanting to do the right thing.

There are also a couple of additional turns in the plotline towards the end that have a lot to teach about keeping the tension and surprises coming. This would even be a good plotline for an author to reverse engineer to see how it all needs to be foreshadowed from the beginning.

FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AND EMOTIONS:

Any movie with Vince Price is a good one to learn about facial expressions for an author. He is often teased about over-acting, but I don't agree. When you watch him from now almost 65 years later, his acting is perfect for this 1960s gothic horror. His face is very expressive and can teach new authors a lot about the raising of eyebrows, eye movement, and more.

Author Writing Exercise Idea: Make a gif of an actor responding to an action and then describe it. Use a thesaurus and see how many new ways to describe the facial movement you can find. Here is a gif from this movie as an example. See if you can write this scene.

And finally, this is a great script and storyline to learn about 'clipping dialogue tightly'. This storyline is a long one, and with the twists and turns, a lot is covered in each scene. Almost every word spoken -- with the exception of the romance scenes with the ladies -- are conveying important story information. It can teach a lot about how to keep scene lean and move the plot along.

Coloring Page – Yorkie Reading a Book

Boxer Dog Coloring page

Saint Peter Claver Color Page

Book Formatting – 6″ x 9″ Manuscripts

In the video below, I did an instructional about how to start out with a blank Microsoft Word document and build an eBook template and then after saving that template, to make a few changes and turn it into a template for the Paperback and Hardcover books.

What makes this possible is choosing the 6" x 9" print size for the paperback and hardcover. At the present time, KDP only allows you to print a hardcover in the 6" x 9" size. So if you choose to create your paperback in the same size, then you can use this same template to make all three books.

EASY FLOW EBOOKS:

What makes it possible to use a 6" x 9" ebook template for the eBook is the easy flow settings that are needed so that eBooks can fit on any size eReader, tablet, or phone.

When you upload an eBook, you are really uploading a series of Chapter Headers and paragraphs. It is converted behind the scenes into the computerized language of ePub, and then delivered like a pitcher pouring a glass of tea. It is delivered one paragraph at a time. Then the reader can adjust the text size and color, the background color and even the font style. So as long as your paragraphs and headings are set up correctly, you won't have any trouble.

PAPERBACKS & HARDBACKS:

If you choose the same size, the manuscripts are the same. The cover dimensions will be off and you will need a different sized book cover for each, but the manuscript will work for both.

SHOULD YOU MAKE THEM ALL THE SAME?

thinking women with question mark on white background

The paperback size should be guided by the genre you publish in. If the books are around about the 6" x 9" size, then you're good to go, but if they are smaller, like 5.06 x 7.81 -- which is the size I use -- then you will have to make thee different templates.

But once you watch this video below, you will be a pro at making templates for whatever size you need.

HERE IS A SNAPSHOT OF THE PAPERBACK & HARDCOVER MARGINS:

Below are the settings for the Paperback & Hardcover.

CHANGES FOR THE eBOOK:

Gutter: change from 0.13" to 0
Change mirror margins to normal margina
Change Section Start to "New Page" (or next page)
Change headers and footers from 0.35" to 0.5"

REMINDERS FOR ALL MANUSCRIPTS:

Be sure to remember to embed fonts into your documents. Go to File > Options > Save > Scroll down until you see this section about Embedding the fonts. Only check the first box. This information is from KDP.

MONTHLY Books Giveaway!

Enter to win a copy of Book 1 & Book 2 in the Newport Vampire Series
Limited Edition of 250 signed-by-the-author hardcover books
Winner receives both books along with custom-made book plates and magnetized bookmarks for the series.

BOOK REVIEWS:

Add book reviews

ABOUT THE SERIES:

The NEWPORT VAMPIRE STORIES SERIES is a contemporary Vampire Story told with a subtle thread of Catholicism running through it.

It is a story about the lengths to which desperation can drive a vampire to possess the one he loves.

For Ciara, who felt unloved and unnoticed in the world all of her life, it’s a story of love and being chosen.

For Darius, it is a story of the power, control and manipulation he developed in his quest for blood, love and loyalty.

Ultimately, Darius must learn to give up up control and manipulation in order to find true love.

Each book can be read separately as each story has a beginning, middle and end. But they are best read in order to follow the full character arcs.

NEWPORT VAMPIRE STORIES SERIES is a different Vampire Series.
❤ Secrets, Lies, Deceit & Desperation
❤ True Love, Need, Sacrifice and Acts of Devotion
❤ Vampiric Obsession, Manipulation & Sabotage
❤ Accidental deaths, Secret Burials, Murder & Kidnapping
❤ Vampires born anew
❤ Being chased by the NY mob
❤ Being investigated by a nosy detective
❤ Being scrutinized by nosy family members
❤ Local Scientist with a blood serum Darius wants
❤ But in the end, it’s about True Love, Family Love and
the human need for Freedom.

ENTER TO WIN:

The form is below to enter the September Books Giveaway. The Rules and Legal stuff is below. I have used red for the important stuff, but please read before entering.

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October 2024 Books Giveaway!

BOOK REVIEWS:

★★★★★ – Enjoyed it!
I wasn’t sure how I felt about this book, as the cadence of the writing is a bit different than I am used to. Did not think I would like it, but was surprised to find myself being sucked in enough to get the next book 🙂 It is an interesting read and I really enjoyed it. – Joan b

★★★★★ – Wanting more.
I loved the story line. How they mashed so well. I can’t wait to read the second book in the coming future!!

ABOUT THE SERIES:

The NEWPORT VAMPIRE STORIES SERIES is a contemporary Vampire Story told with a subtle thread of Catholicism running through it.

It is a story about the lengths to which desperation can drive a vampire to possess the one he loves.

For Ciara, who felt unloved and unnoticed in the world all of her life, it’s a story of love and being chosen.

For Darius, it is a story of the power, control and manipulation he developed in his quest for blood, love and loyalty.

Ultimately, Darius must learn to give up up control and manipulation in order to find true love.

Each book can be read separately as each story has a beginning, middle and end. But they are best read in order to follow the full character arcs.

ENTER TO WIN:

The form is below to enter the September Books Giveaway. The Rules and Legal stuff is below. I have used red for the important stuff, but please read before entering.

Giveaway Rules:

HOW TO ENTER:

PRIZES & APPROXIMATE RETAIL VALUES (“ARV”):

ODDS:

THE LEGAL STUFF:

Limit: one prize per household. Prize is guaranteed to be awarded.

Movie Review and Crossword – The Picture of Dorian Gray

THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY - PRODUCED BY DAN CURTIS - PRODUCER OF DARK SHADOWS:

I discovered this Movie Review channel on YouTube called New Castle After Dark. I love these two guys. They are a riot together. The atmosphere is very unique and the way they talk is very entertaining. It's very rare that you see smokers anymore, but these two are always smoking!

They present the movies on their channel and they begin with a short introduction and quick discussion about the movie and who plays what parts.

Then they return again in the middle of the movie, like an intermission and again participate in a short maybe four minute discussion -- and some more smoking. They always add very interesting trivia about either the actors or the movie itself. They are never boring.

For some reason, watching the movie on their channel with them popping in twice makes it seem like you're watching it with someone else. I really think this makes it even more enjoyable.

OVERALL REVIEW: I LOVED IT RIGHT OFF THE BAT:

The New Castle guys in their commentary said the beginning of the movie was a little slow but it got better. However, it had such a great spooky, gothic, old England feel to it, I loved it right off the bat. It didn't seem too slow to me at all. I absolutely love movies that are shot like Broadway plays and this is one of those. The sets are beautiful although some of the scenes take place in the seedier and darker parts of town and those are not quite as beautiful. Like most movies in the '60s and '70s, everyone in the movie was handsome or good looking -- not just the mediocre-looking sons or daughters of stars of yesteryear like we get today. I miss seeing the best looking people from all over the country!

DIRECTORIAL STYLE: THERE WAS A TOCUH OF SOAP OPERA ABOUT THE MOVIE:

Anyway, because of the play-like atmosphere, no laugh track or crazy 70's music in the background, there was a bit of a TV movie (which I believe it was when it debuted) or soap opera feel to this film but I tend to love this style anyway.

Fairly early on in the movie, I recognized the actor named John Karlen in one scene. He played Willie on the old Dark Shadows soap opera back in the 1970s. I'm a recent but big fan. Once I saw him and saw the style of the movie, I suspected that Dan Curtis was associated with it, and, sure enough, he was. He was the producer. During their intermission chat, the Dark Castle guys confirmed that the movie was a Dan Curtis production. No wonder I loved it. They even mentioned that Dan had reused some of the music from Dark Shadows which I recognized in the second half of the movie.

Although the actual Dark Shadows movies were crazy and terrible, I assumed Dan Curtis was just cashing in on the Dark Shadows craze back then and they were just quickly thrown together. I've seen a few of his other films which he took more time with and they were great, as this one was.

THE QUICKEST SYNOPSIS IN THE WORLD

The story for anyone that doesn't know it is that an artist paints a picture of Dorian Gray while he is in his youth. He wonders out loud that wouldn't it be great if the picture could age and he could stay young, instead of the other way around. Well, that's what happens.

However, the moral tale underlying this concept was done so well in this adaptation that I hope you will take the time to watch this movie.

PRODUCTION STYLE: THE MOVIE WAS SHOT ON SETS EVEN WHEN THEY WERE ON LOCATION:

These movies that are shot almost like plays are very helpful in setting a scene for a book. Nothing is ethereal or being described with shooting camera angles or other MTV style movie effects.

The play-like atmosphere gives each scene a stable setting that is easy to take in and think about "describing" as an author. This is a great exercise for new authors or ones that want to get better at describing castles or cobble stones or whatever. I'm sure you get the point.

The beautiful sets always add so much to the enjoyment of the movie. Beauty raises the spirits and lifts the heart. There's nothing worse than watching a movie in a dirty city being shot live with a hand-held camera. Nothing like that here. This film was an upgrade from watching a play in the front row.

THE CHARACTER ARC:

The main character arc was with Dorian Gray. The production did an excellent job at portraying Dorian's youth and innocence at the beginning of the movie. You saw the one ch

THE MORAL TALE:

I have seen many other movie adaptations of The Picture of Dorian Gray, but this was my favorite because it didn't gloss over the moral tale behind the story. It addressed it head on. The other adaptations didn't really focus on the underlying morality of the story and without it, it was almost like a crazy fantasy movie. This one was done so well because it was guided by the moral tale that was underneath the story.

I also like that the homosexual aspects of the movie were done with discretion. They were unmistakable but not in your face like some of the more modern movies. There's nothing worse than these virtuous lectures that are written into modern movies.

Because the moral tale is handled so well, there is a sense of true justice or true satisfaction at the end.

THE ACTING:

Here was John Karlen who played Willie in Dark Shadows

Because it was shot like a play, the actors had to be really good and they were. Many modern movies shoot back and forth from one to two lines spoken by an actor in a close up to another close up with the actor responding with two lines. There's no real acting so to speak. The older movies and certainly this one showed the actors in action, speaking and moving along the sets interacting with props and each other. It was great.

As an author, it is a great way to learn how to embed dialogue tags into little snippets of movement in a scene. By doing this, it's a way to anchor the reader in the scene and to also create movement on the black and white page.

In a movie shot like a play, there are so many opportunities to see the actors interacting with props and each other, how they stand and face one another, how they turn to add a dramatic effect. There's so much to absorb.

WHERE TO FIND THE MOVIE:

I'm not sure how this YouTube Channel gets to show movies on their channel, so if they take it down anytime soon, here is a link to find just about any movie in the world. It's called Just Watch and it gives you a tiny synopsis and tells you where you can find the movie to watch for free, rent or buy.

Here is a direct link to it on Just Watch.

DISCUSSIONS ON MOVIES ANYONE?

Every now and again I stop into two reddit subgroups where people talk about movies, especially when I find one that I really like:

HorrorLit Reddit Group

Book Discussions

ANY OTHER DARK SHADOWS FANS?

Dark Shadows Reddit Group
Dark Shadows Everyday
Dark Shadows from the Beginning
Dark Shadows Fandom

MOVING THE STORY ALONG:

HOW TO DROP CLUES AND HIDE CLUES:

REVERSE ENGINEERING:

AUTHOR TERMINOLOGY:

ANOTHER BRITISH HORROR MOVIE (MADE IN AMERICA)

QUICK PLOT SUMMARY:

WHAT AN AUTHOR CAN LEARN:

MOVIE VS. BOOK SCRIPTING:

THREE OR MORE SUSPECTS:

GOTHIC ATMOSPHERE

SPOOKY HOUSE:

LOW BUDGET WITH HIGH END RESULTS:

NO REAL MORAL TALE:

THE MOVIE STATS:

QUICK SUMMARY OF THE MOVIE:

FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AND EMOTIONS:

CROSSWORD PUZZLE:

Check out my Book Series!

Check out my Book Series!

Check out my Book Series!

EASY FLOW EBOOKS:

PAPERBACKS & HARDBACKS:

SHOULD YOU MAKE THEM ALL THE SAME?

HERE IS A SNAPSHOT OF THE PAPERBACK & HARDCOVER MARGINS:

CHANGES FOR THE eBOOK:

REMINDERS FOR ALL MANUSCRIPTS:

BOOK REVIEWS:

ABOUT THE SERIES:

ENTER TO WIN:

Giveaway Rules:

HOW TO ENTER:

PRIZES & APPROXIMATE RETAIL VALUES (“ARV”):

ODDS:

THE LEGAL STUFF:

BOOK REVIEWS:

ABOUT THE SERIES:

ENTER TO WIN:

Giveaway Rules:

HOW TO ENTER:

PRIZES & APPROXIMATE RETAIL VALUES (“ARV”):

ODDS:

THE LEGAL STUFF:

THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY - PRODUCED BY DAN CURTIS - PRODUCER OF DARK SHADOWS:

OVERALL REVIEW: I LOVED IT RIGHT OFF THE BAT:

DIRECTORIAL STYLE: THERE WAS A TOCUH OF SOAP OPERA ABOUT THE MOVIE:

THE QUICKEST SYNOPSIS IN THE WORLD

PRODUCTION STYLE: THE MOVIE WAS SHOT ON SETS EVEN WHEN THEY WERE ON LOCATION:

THE CHARACTER ARC:

THE MORAL TALE:

THE ACTING:

WHERE TO FIND THE MOVIE:

DISCUSSIONS ON MOVIES ANYONE?

ANY OTHER DARK SHADOWS FANS?

CROSSWORD BASED ON DAN CURTIS' THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY: