F. P. Dorchak

Speculative Fiction (New Weird) Author

Fun

Merry Christmas, From WestJet!

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Okay, I don’t care what your thoughts on commercialized Christmas or Xmas are, focusing on Santa or on any religious meaning, this was really cool, what the Canadian airline, WestJet, did for some of its passengers. What the people of the company did. Read the story here.

As the article says, it’s nice to know that with all the bad out there, there are still those who try to do some good.

Do I care that it “only” comes at Christmas time?

No.

I care that it happens at all.

We like to bemoan, “Why doesn’t this kind of stuff happen throughout the year,” but do we really believe that, or do we just like to complain? There are all kinds of people and companies who do this kind of thing throughout the year, at differing levels of activity. And, sure, you could complain that it’s a marketing ploy. You could.

Orrr…you could just enjoy the caring and giving spirit of the simple act in and of itself and allow yourself to be swept away by the emotion of people helping people at all. About people trying to make the world a little better at all. About people trying to brighten other people’s lives at all.

And if you still can’t find it within yourself to see the good in people or this wonderful act, then maybe you should look at your own self and outlook on life and how your actions and thoughts contribute to making the world a better place in any way.

Oh, and WestJet says that since they met and exceeded their goal of 200,000 view (they actually got over 27 million views in a week), they are also going to donate holiday flights to charity.

Merry Christmas, everybody!

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Ask Me Out…I'm Available!

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Writer's Stop
Let Me Be Your One-Stop-Writer’s Stop! (“Writer’s Stop,” photo credit: Stephh922)

I’m 52 (and look young for my age; some say even act younger than my age, like, way, waaay younger…),  5′ 10″ (lost 1.5 inches somewhere along the past 2 years…), 197 lbs. I work out, love the outdoors, have a keen sense of humor (and am even kinda funny), answer to anything from “Heeeey, youuuu…,” to “F. P.,” or “Frank,” love hikes through woods and rocky areas, love me some good Black Iced Tea, annnd…

I’m available for speaking engagements!

Yes, that’s right—do you belong to a readers’ group? Writers’ group? A library? Do you run a conference? Well, if you’re looking for an up-and-coming author-speaker-reader, I’m your guy! Get me before I get all famous and stuff, overbooked! I’m available! Just e-mail me, at fpdorchak “at” fpdorchak dot com (you know, make your standard e-mail address out of all that)! I can read passages, we can discuss them, discuss what went wrong inside my head to write those passages, that kinda thing. Or maybe we could discuss the process of writing (let’s not get into grammar, though; I’m not your guy, there, and use multiple reference books), the whole indie-versus-traditional process, or your group can read my work, then invite me to a question-and-answer gig. If you run a conference, I can speak about what I’ve learned about going indie. We could discuss the paranormal and supernatural in everyday lives; reincarnation,  synchronicity. Hey, I’m open, and quite easy to get along with (and, yes, you can end a sentence with a “with”)!

Did I mention I’m available?

Hey, and during any engagements, I’ll give away a book or three (depending on audience size). And if you think you’re too far for me to travel, then, boom!, let’s Skype! Do a phone interview! I’ve spoken at a writer group or two, presented at a writer’s conference on an Indie publishing panel, and have been on local and Internet radio (I’m told I have the perfect face for radio, the perfect voice for print). Click here to see some proof. Click here for more proof. Really, you need more proof?

Blog tour?

I’m your guy!

Arm candy at the Academy Awards?

Well, let me check my schedule….

In short (and hurry up, I seem to be getting shorter as the years go by), I’m open to most writerly gigs. Just e-mail me and let’s see what we can come up with! Let’s have some fun and talk about Indie publishing, writing, or the paranormal! Let me be your One-Stop-Writer’s Shop!

Related articles

Ask Me Out…I’m Available!

by

Writer's Stop
Let Me Be Your One-Stop-Writer’s Stop! (“Writer’s Stop,” photo credit: Stephh922)

I’m 52 (and look young for my age; some say even act younger than my age, like, way, waaay younger…),  5′ 10″ (lost 1.5 inches somewhere along the past 2 years…), 197 lbs. I work out, love the outdoors, have a keen sense of humor (and am even kinda funny), answer to anything from “Heeeey, youuuu…,” to “F. P.,” or “Frank,” love hikes through woods and rocky areas, love me some good Black Iced Tea, annnd…

I’m available for speaking engagements!

Yes, that’s right—do you belong to a readers’ group? Writers’ group? A library? Do you run a conference? Well, if you’re looking for an up-and-coming author-speaker-reader, I’m your guy! Get me before I get all famous and stuff, overbooked! I’m available! Just e-mail me, at fpdorchak “at” fpdorchak dot com (you know, make your standard e-mail address out of all that)! I can read passages, we can discuss them, discuss what went wrong inside my head to write those passages, that kinda thing. Or maybe we could discuss the process of writing (let’s not get into grammar, though; I’m not your guy, there, and use multiple reference books), the whole indie-versus-traditional process, or your group can read my work, then invite me to a question-and-answer gig. If you run a conference, I can speak about what I’ve learned about going indie. We could discuss the paranormal and supernatural in everyday lives; reincarnation,  synchronicity. Hey, I’m open, and quite easy to get along with (and, yes, you can end a sentence with a “with”)!

Did I mention I’m available?

Hey, and during any engagements, I’ll give away a book or three (depending on audience size). And if you think you’re too far for me to travel, then, boom!, let’s Skype! Do a phone interview! I’ve spoken at a writer group or two, presented at a writer’s conference on an Indie publishing panel, and have been on local and Internet radio (I’m told I have the perfect face for radio, the perfect voice for print). Click here to see some proof. Click here for more proof. Really, you need more proof?

Blog tour?

I’m your guy!

Arm candy at the Academy Awards?

Well, let me check my schedule….

In short (and hurry up, I seem to be getting shorter as the years go by), I’m open to most writerly gigs. Just e-mail me and let’s see what we can come up with! Let’s have some fun and talk about Indie publishing, writing, or the paranormal! Let me be your One-Stop-Writer’s Shop!

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Can You Have What It Takes?

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This is the final and updated version of my Renaissance Man-brother’s teaser for his “Code Enforcer” comedy. That’s him as CMCE (Chief Master Code Enforcer) Vern Speiner. He’s still looking for investors, so, please, forward this around if you know anyone who might have an interest and some money they’re looking to invest—or do so yourself, if interested, since anyone can help out (I did, and got a cool T-shirt! Yeah, that’s fight, I got the T-shirt…).

If you think you have what it takes, you, too, can be the proud enforcificationer of such vague HOA guidelines, suggestions, and guesswork as waste container replacification, compulsory grass cuttery, and lawn decoratory practices. And give out citations for code flauting and backsassing.

There is to be no flauting.

And you get a cool patch, to boot.

So…can you have what it takes?

Click Here. Really. Come on….

Pizza Never Weeps

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Hard-Boiled Private Dick Sam Spade mysteriously wakes up 70 years after the case of the Maltese Falcon to a world he’s not quite prepared for…but not afraid of, either. Another short from my Renaissance Man brother, Greg, of Class Clown Pictures.

Pizza never weeps.

My Favorite Horror Movies!

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Come With Us If You Wanna...Eat... (Night of the Living Dead. Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Come With Us If You Wanna…Eat… (Night of the Living Dead. Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I will take you places you have never been…and I will show you things you have never seen….

Well.

I don’t think I’ve yet done a post on my favorite horror movies, I’m quite surprised to say (though I did touch on some last year)! I was inspired for this post by Chiseled in Rock. Thanks, Gusto!

You’ll also note that not many of my favorites involve more recent fares. There’s a reason for that. I just don’t like most of the recent crop. I know my tastes have changed over the years, perhaps the current horror films are too nasty (like the Saw flicks—just cannot bring myself to see any of them, no matter what people try to tell me about how “psychological” they may be), but nearly ever time I go to a new horror flick, I leave disappointed. So, I pretty much have stopped going to them, unless something really grabs me, like The Woman in Black. There are other films I like, but at the time of writing this, they didn’t come to mind. If I think of them, I’ll add. And I am only talking horror/supernatural films, not SF or anything else, like Village of the Damned, which I also really like.

Curiously, I haven’t seen any of Rob Zombie’s films/remakes. I need to do this…but it just doesn’t seem “to happen.” I love his music, his artistry and imagery in his songs, but have heard some of his work is kinda graphic, and (not to be a wimp…), but graphic isn’t usually my thing, though some of those on my list can be graphic. I think the graphic-ness has to be balanced by story and amount…even humor, however black, like Bill Paxton’s killer bar scene in Near Dark (“Finger lickin’ good!”). And there are undoubtably those films, like Gothika or maybe even Ghost Ship (I give them honorable mentions and links, because I do seem to remember really liking them) that I’d seen and really liked at the time, but I just don’t remember that much about them any more….

Also, I must admit, I haven’t seen most of these movies in years. As of a year or so ago (when I last spent some time looking), some are extremely hard to find, like Nomads. I’ve looked for the movie for years and haven’t been able to find it, and I don’t belong to any movie subscriber services beyond our cable provider, so that may be an issue. I hope as time goes on, more and more of these older films will resurface. I’d love to see some of them again, to see if I would still enjoy them in my current mindset, like The Other (I last saw this film when I was a kid, and though I don’t remember a lot about it, the overall feel of the film has stuck with me all these years!).

So, here, in alphabetical order, are a list of my 20 favorite horror films! I’ve linked their trailers to them. Feel free to mention a few of your own! And since it’s early October, there’s still plenty of time to catch these before Hallowe’en!

An American Werewolf in London

Dog Soldiers

Evil Dead (1981)

Ghost Story

Halloween

It

Near Dark

Night of the Living Dead

Nightmare on Elm Street

Nomads

Nosferatu (1922)

Psycho (1960)

The Lost Boys

The Mummy (1932)

The Mummy (1999)

The Mummy’s Curse (1944)

The Other

The Shining

The Sixth Sense

The Woman in Black