So after spending the afternoon making a logo with black construction paper, a pair of sharp scissors and a Perry the Platypus T-shirt to inspire me, I am finally ready to launch this blog. I know, the world was trembling in anticipation.
I am a freelance writer, and those who already know me know that I was the longstanding film critic for the Northwest Herald in McHenry County, as well as other papers in the Shaw chain. Like any film critic to lose his gig, I have been searching for an outlet to foist my opinions on the weary public. When I can’t convince someone to pay me for an idea, I will post my thoughts on movies here. For free. You may now flood me with gratitude.
But I can and will also use this space to share my thoughts on television, books and movies — hence “Culture Spy.” The name was chosen with a twofold purpose. I will be using this blog to share my adventures in trying to get my teenage spy adventure, The Boy Who Knew Too Much, published.
I will leak tidbits about the book, which I conceived as an blend of Ian Fleming and Robert Louis Stevenson, with more than a hint of Elleston Trevor, AKA Adam Hall, thrown in because the Quiller books were a huge influence on my tastes.
That’s right, I am trying to pitch a YA book inspired primarily by the works of two dead authors, one of them gone for more than 100 years and another gone for nearly 50. Am I a marketing genius or what? Got that finger on the pulse of youth culture, I do. Seriously, I think I wrote a great, fast-paced adventure story and the young readers probably won’t suspect or care who inspired me. If contemporary readers enjoy my book as much as Charlie Higson’s Young Bond novels, I will be mightily pleased.
As you may have guessed, I am a huge James Bond fan. So this blog likely will also become a repository of my thoughts on the world of 007. To make things clear up front, I love Roger Moore. Deal with it.
I hope you enjoy this blog. Hell, I hope I enjoy it. We’ll see what happens. I’ll think of a clever closing catchphrase later.
