ACHOOO!  Sorry about that, loyal airmen.  I've been battling a bad head and chest cold for two days now and it seems to be winning out.  Which aggrevates me to no end as I was going to travel down to Conn. tomorrow to attend my grarndson, Logan's, second birthday party.  Considering I am most likely contagious right along about now, that trip is out.  Just lousy timing.  Valerie called the doctor's offiice and he's going to squeeze me in later this afternoon.  Hopefully he can put me on “something” and we can turn this thing around.  All prayers and kind wishes appreciated.

So, feeling the funk I'm in, please forgive me if this entry jumps all over the place.  Of course, that's what they do most of the time, right?  Ha.  So, was Santa good to all you loyal airmen?  I certainly hope so.  He was especially terrific to me this Christmas, in more ways than one.  One of the themes of TV commercials this time of year is that of giving someone an automobile as a Christmas gift.  Every time I see one of these, I look at Val and shrug, unable to comprehend folks with that kind of wealth.  Well, lo and behold, three days before Christmas our local Suburu dealership sent us a notice detailing a very special end of the year sale.  Their goal was to move fifty cars off their lot by Christmas and they offering amazing trade in deals.  Our old Outback Sedan was going on five years old and in need of new breaks and eventually new tires.  Things I was looking at getting some time in Jan or Feb. Although I didn't like the idea of starting to shell out money on keeping it up.  Not when it might be possible for us to trade up to something brand spanking new without changing our payments one penny.  Val called the fellow who had sold us the Outback and suggested we'd be interested in dealing on those terms.  When he found out we only had 28,000 miles on the Outback, he all but begged us to stop by and talk.

So we did.  And lo and behold, for a smaller loan than we had taken five years ago, we were able to drive off the lot with a brand new, 2008 all-wheel drive Tribeca!  Talk about impulse buying.  Sheer insanity.  Of course we did not get it that day, but had to come back the day after Christams to complete the deal.  And then as we were getting ready to leave the dealership, our salesman comes rushing over to us and introduces us to a father and son who had just come in to buy the boy a good, second hand car!  Ha.  We spent the next ten minutes answering the father's questions on our old Outback, how much we truly loved that car, how good it had been to us and what great shape it remained in.  It isn't often you get meet the previous owners of a car you are interested in and this gentlemen took full advantage of the situation.  I hope they were able to make a deal, as it was a good car and I'm sure will be so for a long time to come.  Meanwhile, we drove home wtih our new Tribica.  See below!!

Believe me, we still look at it and shake our heads in disbelief that we did that on the spur of the moment.  Must be something in the air.  Ha.   Now the most precious surprise Santa delivered arrived on Christmas Eve and I need to explain something so that you will fully appreciate all of this.   Back in 1963, I was a junior at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in nearby Dover, NH.  We were the first junior class and that year designed the first ever school rings.  I spent months saving to buy one and when they were presented to us, I couldn't have been happier.  It was the first ring I ever owned and I wore it quite proudly.  Then, not three months later, during the following summer, I went swimming at a local beach, forgot I still had it on my hand, and of course lost it.  It was one of the biggest dissappointments in my life.  Over the years, I've told Valerie the story a few times and never thought anything more about it.  Unbeknownst to me, our granddaughter, Kristi, a few months back, was looking through a ring catalog to pick out her own high school ring.  It was to be a Christmas gift from her parents.  Valerie happened to be over and when she saw what she was doing, asked her if it would be possible to order one for me, with the same details of my original.   Kristi said no sweat and proceeded to help Valerie put in an order for a ring with my school info, colors, logo, etc.etc.

So here we are, the two of us, alone on Christmas Eve, and she tells me to close my eyes and put out my hands.  Then she puts a ring box in them and tells me to open my eyes and look at the last ring I'll ever want to own.  Airmen, I had absolutely no idea what was in that littel black box.  When I opened it and saw it was my high school ring, I misted up fast.  It was by far the most thoughtful, loving gift I have ever received.  But that does not really surprise me, as Valerie is the most beautiful gift in my life, sent by God.  I'm blessed every single day with the gift of her love.  

Well, you have to imagine, I couldn't wait for Christmas morning to arrive so that we could jump in the car (still the old one then…ha) and drive to our daughter's house watch Kristi and her sister, Chelsea, open there gifts.  When we came in the door, I held up my right hand to Kristi to flash the ring and she gave me a big smile and a thumbs up.  About an hour later, she was opening up her own little box and putting on her brand new high school ring.  Val quickly grabbed a camera and had us put our hands together.  Her's is the little gold one, Class of 2010, mine is the blue one, Class of 1964.  Believe me, this is one Christmas Kristi and I will never forget. 

ACHOO…!!!  Got to bring this to a close and go take a long, hot shower.  

Before signing off, I want to let you all know that DAUGHTER OF DRACULA continues to garner some fantastic reviews all over the internet.  The latest of which led to my being interviwed on Mark Justice's terrific mp3 podcast radio show, POD OF HORROR..episode #41.  Go to this link (http://www.horrorworld.org/poh.htm) and when you get to the menu page, click on Download to play the program on your PC.  Note, this is a long episode and Mark interviews two other horror writers before he wraps up the hour with yours truly.  So, if you've ever wondered what I sound like (when my head isn't stuffed up with a cold), please check the show out.  It really is a lot of fun.  And please, if you still haven't ordered a copy of the book, what are you waiting for?  Go to our Air Fare page, click on the cover and order yourself a copy.  You will be glad you did.  You have my word on that.

ACHOO….alright, enoughs, enough.  The dripping nose and aching shoulder blades tell me its time to hang it up for another week.  Take care, loyal airmen.  HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you, and celebrate with common sense.  We want all of you back here for 2008.  It's shaping up to be another great year.

Ron, over and out.   ACHOOOO!

                            
Greetings and good tidiings, Loyal Airmen.  It is a holy time of year.  A time to reflect on the meaning of this day in world history.

                        
The birth of a child in a manger in far away Bethelehem.  A child full of hope and promise for all mankind, his name, Jesus; Emmanuel that translates as God is with Us.  This is truly a time of innocence and peace, as reflected in a baby's smile.

           Welcome into the world, Liam.  You've made it made a better place just by being born into it.

          Welcome into our lives, Lily.  You bring with you the promises of renewal and new miracles daily.

     Born on 31 Dec, 2005.  HAPPY SECOND BIRTHDAY, grandson Logan and thank you for blessing us all with that smile, that laughter, that amazing gift of love.

     To all of you who stop by here every single week, a special message this Christmas time –

LIVE SIMPLY –
   LOVE GENEROUSLY –
      CARE DEEPLY –
         SPEAK KINDLY…&
            LEAVE THE REST TO GOD.

                 FROM VALERIE & THE AIR CHIEF – TO ALL OF YOU & YOURS,

                                              MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Greetings loyal airmen.  Well New England got socked with a fine snowstorm last night.  It started yesterday afternoon and did not let up until close to midnight.  Started with early evening we watched television images of crawling traffic as commuters from Boston to Portland made their way home in the dark and swirling snow.  Not fun for any of them.  Again, the only good thing was that it ended so quickly and sure enough the sun popped up big and yellow this morning.  I managed to get out of bed, share a cup of coffee with Valerie, then gear myself up to do battle.  Once layered with scarf, gloves, boots and a down jacket, I went out and started my trusty-steed, in this case; a snowblowing machine.  Once the 8 horsepower engine was revved up, I charged out of the garage and began shooting that layer of snow skyward.  I've shown you pictures of our home and the rather steep driveway we have to the main road.  The entire job of cleaning this all up, to include the slushy snowbanks provided freed of charge by the city's snow plows is usually between thirty and forty-five minutes.  By the time I was finished, the sun had started melting away at the think layer remaining.

Like cutting the grass in the warm seasons, there is a Zen mental state I go to when snowblowing.  Part of this is my subconscious joy at simply being outdoors and marveling at nature's coating of white.  I've often thought people in New England are even temptered only because nature forces them to slow down five months out of the year.  You simply have to respect roads of ice and slush, or pay the price.  And while I'm pushing this machine up and down the drive, I found myself thinking about my mother, Gabrielle Fortier, and what is going to happen tomorrow afternoon.  At 83, the past couple of years for her have been difficult and she finds she simply cannot do those physical things she did even five years ago.  She's simply slowing down and doesn't possess that much energy any more.  A few weeks ago she suggested that it was time for her to go live in a senior home of some kind.  It was a really remarkable decision on her part and I am very proud of her doing so.  With out help, we found such a place nearby in Dover; a truly marvelous establishment that's been in business caring for the elderly all of eighty-five years.  We called, made an appointment and went to meet the administartor, staff and tour the facility.  Its an old Victorian home and very, very comfy and sociable.  Mom was made to feel welcome the second we walked into the big front foyer.  Here she will be allowed to do as much for herself as he wants, thus maintain her own sense of independence, while those things she can't do will be provided for her.  By the time our tour was over, Mom was very happy a finalized her decision.  Happily there was a room vacancy and after a few weeks of paperwork, etc. she was accepted as a new residence.  All of which beings tomorrow afternoon.  My sister and one of my brothers will be here and the three of us will get her moved from her current condo to the facility.   It will be an emotional time for all of us.  One more and more Americans are having to deal with as today's modern medicine has made it possible for folks to live longer and longer with each new generation.  And with that longivity come these kind of issues.  Fortunately for Mom, this one was not a painful decision at all and its my prayer that once established in her new digs, Mom is going to thrive and live another ten to twenty years.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, as those cowboy heroes use to say, writer/reviewer, Van Allen Plexico recently posted a fantastic review of our graphin novel, DAUGHTER OF DRACULA over at Revolution Science Fiction on the net.  (http://www.revolutionsf.com/article.html?id=3822)  It is one of the finest reviews I've ever had the pleasure of reading.  Please do check it out.   And if any of you have wondered what the entire image of our dramatic cover looks like, wonder no more.  Below is a bookmark made from Mard Maddox's beautiful painting of Marya Dracula.  This is the image we cropped to make out cover.

I thought it was time I let you see it as it was originally completed.  My pal Andrew Salmon did up a bunch of these bookmarks and we gave them out to folks who ordered a copy directly from me.  Our little way of saying thank you for your support.  DAUGHTER OF DRACULA continues to be one of the fastest selling comics I've ever done and I hope by now you've picked up a copy.  If not, you know the drill, go to the Air Fare page and click on the link.   Thanks always for those who have supported us thus far.  Please, keep spreading the word.
Keep in mind, this is the season of gift-giving, and giving any book to your loved ones is always a wonderful idea. Reading is a true joy.

Finally, I hope lots of you arimen caught the Sci-Fi Channel's excellent fantasy adventure mini-series last week, THE TIN MAN.  Inspired by the workds of Frank L. Baum, this was an amazingly well done series with superb acting and direction.  I just learned today it will be available on DVD come the 11th of March, 2008.   I can't wait to own this quality show and view it again.

Okay, loyal airmen, another winter week wrapped up.  Don't get too lost in the Christmas rush, remember the meaning of this Holy Season, and be kind to one another.  Till next week,
Ron – Over and Out.

Greeting loyal airmen.  For the past two weeks artist Rob Davis and I have been beating your heads with the news of our four year labor of love, the graphic novel DAUGHTER OF DRACULA being now available.  This past week it went up for sale at Indy Planet.com – Please, go to our Airfare Page to find the link. Then check it out. They've posted the gorgeous Mark Maddox cover there plus the first six pages.  The book is starting to sell very, very well and feedback has started coming in.

Here are some of those reactions.  “…the cover is awesome, and it was the absolute right choice to not despoil it with any verbiage.  The story and art itself are similarly superb.  I liked the love story, and the ironic ending.  It was completely unexpected to me.”  GLEN DAVIS – Loyal Airman & Reader Extraordinairy.

And another.  “…I finally got around to reading DAUGHTER OF DRACULA and (big surprise) it's great.  Its been entirely too long since I've seen art by Rob Davis and I can honestly say I've never read a vampire story like this before (and that's really saying something).  Well done all around.”  STEVE BENNETT – Writer & CBG Reviewer.

Again, those are just some of the wonderful letters we are starting to receive and we'd very much like to add your comments to this list.  In the comic world today it is unheard of that an independent, print-on-demand can be a major success in the market without the normal distribution channels available to it.  That's the uphill battle we have to overcome with this book and that will only be achieved by your continued support and word-of-mouth promotion to all your friends and families.  Rob and I want this book to create the biggest BUZZ ever created by an independent comic.  Help us make that happen!  Buy a copy and if you agree with Glen and Steve, tell all your friends do the same.  Let's make the impossible possible!

And lest you think Rob and I are merely sitting around twiddling our thumbs while we frantically promote Daughter of Dracula, shame on you.  Ha.  Quite the contrary.  Rob has started working on the interior illustrations for the new Captain Hazzard novel I finished a few weeks ago.  Cavemen of New York is the fourth Hazzard book I've written and Rob will have illustrated.  Soooo…this being the Christams season, I thought I'd offer you all a special early treat, a sneek-peek at his first new illustration for that adventure.  Talk about a picture being worth a thousand words, oh yeah!  Rob is the master.  But that's all folks.  The others you'll have to wait and see in the book itself when it comes out early next year.  We'll keep you posted.

Also keeping in the Christmas spirit, let me add the following.   I have just finished reading, for the very first time, Charles Dickens classic A CHRISTMAS CAROL.  A long time favorite movie of mine (regardless of which version..I like them all), I had never actually read the original novella.  Well this past week I remedied that and am so glad I did.  Its a truly beautifullly written piece and my full review is posted at my Pulp Fiction Review site.  If, like me, you have yet to do so, take some time.  It is a short work and believe me, it will totally get you into the proper spirit of these merry times.

That's it for another week.  Don't let the consumerism of these days overwhelm you, but instead visit with friends and family and truly enjoy them as your greatest gifts of all.

Ron – Over and Out.

Sometimes there is just something about birthdays you simply cannot ignore.  In the past, I've mentioned the fact that my Nov. 5th birthday is the same as Guy Fawkes Day, the British equivalent of Halloween.  Which I think explains my love of the macabre and fantastic.  But there's another strain, one lots more American involved with that same date, that it is the birthday of the King of the Cowboys, Roy Rogers.  Yup, Roy was born Nov.5th. 1911.
       
                         
Which I totally believe explains my love of westerns, be it in films, TV, comics or books.  In fact recently I seem to have been riding along a very comfortable trail filled with icons of this genre, much to my amusement.  For the past few months now, artist Rob Davis and I have been working on a new top secret comic book project that tells the story of a real western hero.  This man was a deputy sheriff and had the most successful career of any lawman who ever pinned on a badge.  Yet sadly history has all but forgotten him and Rob and I hope to correct that misjustice when we bring out our series.   I've attached a snee-peek of our hero below for you to enjoy.

                        
As usual Rob is doing a dynamite job with this project.  This pin-up and another are now in our Art Gallery, check it them out.  At the same time I'm writing this new western comic, I also picked up a huge whopping book recently that contains all (and I do mean ALL) the short western stories written by best-selling writer, Elmore Leonard.  Most folks don't know that during the start of his long career, Leonard did start out as a pulp writer and wrote in practically every genre out there until finally hitting the big time with his odd-ball crime novels.  Many of his westerns shorts, to include several novels, were later turned into movies.  The most recent connection being the remake of 3:10 TO YUMA with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale.

The actual short story is in this collection and it was really fun to see how much was added by the screen writers while adapting it.  This book is a terrific collection and if you love truly good westerns, don't let this one slip by.  It would make a great Christmas gift to any cowboy..or cowgirl, in your family.

And finally my good pal, Duane Spurlock informed earlier this week that he had his first ever western story published in a collection called WHERE LEGENDS RIDE.  Upon closer inspection of the title, I realized it was connected with Black Horse Books, a British publisher that produces some of the finest western novels available today.  In fact another of my hombre amigos, Howard Hopkins (who writes as Lance Howard) is in this anthology and was a big player in getting it produced here in the US.  The book is available right now from the on-line outfit, Lulu.com.   Please, check it out.  You will be glad you did.

So there you go, the Wild West still lives and I for one couldn't be happier.  Take care, and happy trails to all you loyal airmen until next week.

            UPDATE NOTICE!!!  DAUGHTER OF DRACULA ON SALE AT INDY PLANET!!!!
Foot-note – Daughter of Dracula still finally gone on sale at the Indy Planet website and you can order it by going to our Air Fare page right now.  Or you still take advantage of my offer to order a book from me directly for only $13.  Thus far I've had orders for a half dozen of these and was able to ship them all out, autographed, this past week.  Thanks so much, and please, those of you who ordered these, do let us know your thoughts after reading it.

Okay, partners. that's it from Hangar 27.  Ron – Over and out.

Greeting loyal airmen. Here we are the day after Thanksgiving, or as it is known throughout the retail establishment, Black Friday.  It is our hope that all you airmen had a great Thanksgiving yesterday, that you got to share it with friends and family as we did.  Our oldest daugher, Michelle, hosted Valerie, me and her mom.  She put on an amazing spread of such delicious food, I swear we all put on a few extra pounds for sure.  Ha.  Thanksgiving was really the culmination of a truly memorable week around here at Hangar 27.   After four years in devolpment, my graphic novel, DAUGHTER OF DRACULA was finally published by Ka-Blam and will soon be on sale at their store site, (www.indyplanet.com).  And here is the eye-poppoing cover by Mark Maddox that Rob Davis and I have been keeping secret lo these past few months.

And that is exactly how the book appears, without a single letter or logo to mar the beauty of that image.  Check out Rob holding an early copy of the book.

Earlier this week columnist Jen Contino at the Pulse did a really great interview with Rob and about Daughter of Dracula and my good friend Chuck Moore has posted his own new release page over at his Comic Related site.  So the buzz on the book is spreading throughout the comic community.  As soon as Indy Planet has it up for sale, I will be posting that link here on our Air Fare page.   Remeber, for only $13, you can buy an autographed copy directly from either Rob or myself.  Just drop me a letter if you'd like to do so.  Any if by any chance you are an independent publisher who would like to add DAUGHTER OF DRACULA to your company, again, drop me a line.  Rob and I would love to see this picked up through the traditional distribution channels.  This has been a labor of love for us both and we are really anxious for all of you to pick up and copy and read it.  You will not be disappointed.  On that you have my word.

Finally, last week the new Robert Zemeckis action adventure movie, BEOWULF, was released nationwide and Valerie and I caught the first afternoon matinee showing.  Luckly for us, our theater was also showing the 3D version and we opted to see that one.  Well, both of us were blown away by the amazing Computer Graphics in this movie.  That alone, plus a superb story retelling the classic hero myth, would have been enough for us to give it thumbs up.  But then you add the brilliant use of 3D and both of us were oohing and aaghing all through the film. It is hands down the most fun either of us has had at the movies all year.  Do NOT miss seeing BEOWULF on the big screen, and if you are fortunate enough to have a theater playing the 3D version, that's the one you pick.  Note, I made sure both us kept our 3D glasses and took them home for us.  Fingers crossed the studios will release a 3D DVD version.  Oh yeah.  This movie was very much like an early Christmas gift to all us action and adventure junkies.

And there you have it, airmen.  We are officially into the Christmas season.  Hope it is an exciting and fun time for all of you.  And please, do whatever and pick up a copy of DAUGHTER OF DRACULA.  Its a gothic romance that will blow you away.

Ron – Over & Out

Greetings loyal airmen.  I'm very excited about several new items this week so let's get right to them.  Ever since Hangar 27 opened for business several years ago, the one element that was missing was a forum.  Although many of you have written me personally or stopped by our table at conventions, I always wished we could have a permanent place to exchange dialogue about those things near and dear to my heart, and hopefully yours as well.

Just a little over two weeks ago a really terrific comics fan named Chuck Moore was introduced to me via another friend.  Chuch operates one of the most amazing sites devoted to comics books ever put up on the internet and its called just that; COMICS RELATED.  If it has anything to do with comics, be it the books themselves or TV and movies, you are going to find the latest on all hot topics at this truy comprehensive site.  I've added a link to Comics Related up on our Links page.  Check it out.  I guarantee you'll be glad you did and soon find yourself visiting it often.

So here's the thing.  Chuck went and offered to host Ron Fortier's Forums over at Comics Related!  And once he put them up, he quickly broke them down into a half dozen topics all of which cover my range of interests from my new pulp novels to my Pulp Fiction Reviews column and there's even a Baseball section where I, and many of you, can talk about the World Champion Red Sox and other teams of the MLB.  There's link directly to my forums right over this blog block.  Soooo..from now on, after stopping by here on your weekly visit, if you've anything to add, pro or con, please, drop by the forums and post a message.  I check them out several times a day and would love to get many of you loyal airmen on board.  This could be tons of fun for all of us.

Back on Nov. 12, 1991, Valerie and I were working the second shift at the local GE Plant.  On that particular evening we came home and were just going about our routine when the telephone rang.  It being close to midnight we were puzzled at who would be calling.  It turned out to be our son-in-law Chris telling us that he, and our daugther Michelle were at the hospital.  She had gone into labor with their first baby.  Valerie immediately grabbed her hang bag, gave me a kiss and ran out the door.   I made myself a cup of coffee and sat down to watch one of those late night talk shows.  Sometime shortly after midnight the phone rang a second time and I picked it up super fast.  It was Valerie with the awesome news, Michelle had just given birth to a beautiful baby girl and they had named her Kristi.   Thus was our very first grandchild born, the first of six thus far.  This past Monday night, Nov. 13,  that precious little miracle who transformed all our lives that eventful night turned Sweet Sixteen.

                     
She has grown into a beautiful young woman who lights up all our lives still.   Michelle invited us over to for ice cream and cake after dinner for a little informal birthday party.  We brought along Valerie's mother, Lorraine, who would turn 80 the very next day.  Also present were Kristi's friend Asher and her younger sister, Chelsea.  Chelsea turns 13 the start of next year.   At one point during evening when I was alone with Chris, I leaned over and asked softly, “You remember that night 16 years ago?”  He looked at me, nodded and then said almost sadly, “It's going by too fast.”  Amen to that.  Life sometimes just runs away with us.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRISTI and may you be blessed with many, many more.

Tuesday of this week I finished writing my fourth Captain Hazzard pulp novel, CAVEMEN OF NEW YORK.  It is my first solo novel in this series and was quite a challenge to write.  I'd given myself a target of 60,000 words, the average length of most pulp novels in the old magazines and came in a little over 61,000.  Not a bad finale.  Now comes the re-reading/writing and editing.  I hope to have it off to artist Rob Davis with a week.  He will then begin doing interior illustrations and designing the book.  Mark Maddox will be painting the cover.  One of the elements in the plot is a new vehicle Hazzard invents to help him and his team defeat their foes.  He calls it The Pygmy and Rob did up several sketches from my descriptions in the book for Mark to use a reference as it will mostly likely be featured on that cover.  Here's a sneek-peek for all of you.

                    
Hope this sparks your curiosity and wets your appetite for CAVEMEN OF NEW YORK.  With fingers crossed it will be available for sale sometime in Jan or Feb 08.

And that's it for another week, loyal airmen.  Thanks for stopping by.   A HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all of you and your loved ones.  Do take the time to enjoy your families and thank the Good Lord for all your many blessings.  And while you are at it, say a special prayers for all our brave men and women serving overseas in the Armed Forces.  God Bless and protect everyone of them.  See you back here next week.

Ron – Over & Out.

Greetings loyal airmen.  If any of you are wondering what I did for my birthday this past Monday, well I went to the hospital to have blood drawn.  This morning, Friday, I was back there for my annual cat-scan.  This is a routine I am put through so that my lung specialist can examine the two black spots, one on each lung, and determine if they have changed in size since my last scan.  We still don't know what they are, but as long as they remain static and aren't harmful, then they get to stay.  Otherwise…Ha.  Let's not go there.                        

   
My pal Rob lives out in Missouri and wrote earlier in the week to report that the foliage was just starting to change colors.  He then made a comment about imagining how beautiful Fall must be up here in New Hampshire.  And he was so very right.  But there's a hidden curse that comes with that beauty.  As you can see above, this photo of the Fortier homestead was taken a week ago when there were still quite a few leaves on the trees.  Even then that carpet on the ground was starting to rise.  Well now it is twice buried, with most of the leaves down and of course they all have to be picked up and carted elsewhere.  Its the sneaky part of the season the tourist department doesn't tell you about.  Ha.

                                   
Two weeks ago I did an on-line interview with Astonishing Adventures which should appear in their second issue due out some time in December. Somewhere in that list of questions I was asked if any of my children or grand children had picked up the comic-book bug from me.   I answered no honestly.  All five of our kids have their own creative outlets; one plays guitar in a band, another has a marvelous model train collections, etc.etc.  But none of them really ever got into comics.  So no sooner than you can say, Oops, son Scott sends along pictures of Taryn and Logan in their Halloween costumes.  And there's Taryn all decked out like the scarlet whizzer, The Flash!!  I loved it.  Now technically she is not into comics (yet) but apparently Scott and she both watched the WB animated series, Justice League Unlimited and Taryn simply fell in love with the Flash.  Isn't she just adorable in that costume?  Way to go, Tee.  Next time me and Val visit, I'm bringing along a half dozen Flash comics.  Time to educate this girl properly.

Finally an update on projects.  DAUGHTER OF DRACULA is still at the printers.  This waiting is driving me nuts.  Soon, now.  Please.  I'll be able to announce its release and where you can all get copies.  Meanwhile I've been hammering away at the new Captain Hazzard novel.  It will be # 4 and is called CAVEMEN OF NEW YORK and I hope to wrap it up next week.  Then with fingers crossed, we can get the book designed, art assembled and a cover done so that it will be out next Jan.  And of course if you haven't read the first three pulse pounding adventures of the Champion of Justice (see covers above) they are all still available from Wild Cat Books until the end of this year. Go to the Air Fare page.  Reviews have been stellar on all three and for that I thank all of you.

Okay, that's pretty much it for this week.  Thanks as always for stopping by,
Ron Over & Out

Greeting loyal airmen.  Well yesterday was 1 Nov., All Saints Day and as we go into the weekend, I'm looking at yet another birthday, Monday, 5th.  I'll be 61 and once again shaking my head wondering how the hell that happened?  Ha.  The truth people, when you have fun, do for others and simply love, it just whips right along.  Now an example of having all that fun could easily be demonstrated in last weekends events, both public and personal.

               
I spent all of last Sat. afternoon, 27 Oct., as a guest of Nellie Woe's Comic 'N Such located in nearby Dover, NH.  Owned and operated by the very gracious Jason Santo and his partner, Larry Clow.  It was a really fun day for me as I got to me lots of very cool people.  Jason, his wife and his staff were so kind to me and allowed me to bore them half to death with all my career stories.   If you are ever in the Dover area, please, they are located at the top of Central Avenue across the street from the Cafe Shop.  This is a truly great comic shop and I'm hoping they'll invite me back real soon.  Maybe when Daughter of Dracula debuts.

                         
On the following day, the Red Sox, for the second time in four years, won the World Series by sweeping the Colorado Rockies with a Game 4 nail biting victory of 4 to 3.  And the most valuable player award of that entire series went to veteran third basement, Mike Lowell.  Mike was an add-on two years ago in the contract deal that brought pitching ace, Josh Beckett to the Sox from the Marlins.  Not bad for someone the team HAD to take.  In short order, Lowell became one of the guiding leaders of the club, his steady, mature demeanor becoming a mentoring factor to lots of the new, younger players.  This year he drove in more RBIs then any other other Red Sox player and when the play-off season kicked off, so did his bat, hitting well into the 400 average range.  And he's a fan favorite.  Why shouldn't he be?  The guy delivers.  So now all of Red Sox Nation waits anxiously to see if the front office will make a serious effort to keep him in a Red Sox jersey. 

Recently the New York Yankees showed the world what kind of an organization they are by forcing out manager Joe Torre. The same manager to who took them to the play-offs in 14 consecutive seasons.  Oh yeah, that's a class act alright.  Give me a break.  If I were a Yankee ball-player today, I would not have a warm fuzzy feeling about my future.  Let's hope the Red Sox have real class, offer Mike Lowell what he's worth and keep the best third baseman in baseball playing in Fenway!!

All for another week, airmen.  Take care, Ron, Over and Out!

                          UPDATE 29 OCT 2007 – RED SOX WIN WORLD SERIES !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Greeting loyal airman and welcome to another Airship 27 Log Entry for this, the final weekend of October.  Halloween is coming fast and I hope all you airmen have stocked up on candy and gotten your scariest outfits ready to go.  Having been born the week after this colorful holiday, I’ve always been a fall lover.  Watching the leaves change color in New Hampshire is a magnificent grace from God that never fails to amaze me.  That vibrant green leaves should suddenly morph into reds and golds and browns before they tumble to the ground has always seemed a beautiful comfort to me from the Almighty.  His way of telling us passing from one existence to another is not only natural, but beautiful.

A few weeks ago I was asked by the alumni director of my old high school, St. Thomas Aquinas, if I wouldn’t write a short article on my writing career and how much the school influenced me in that vocation.  I loved my four years at STA and the memories of those wonderful days have never left me.  For those of you counting, I graduated a member of the first ever graduating class of 1964.  What follows is the short essay I submitted.  It will appear in the Jan. 08 edition of STA’s REFLECTIONS.

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 By the time I arrived at St. Thomas as part of the first class in the fall of 1960, I knew I wanted to write fantastic fiction.  I was an avid comic book reader and dreamed of one day being able to write them.  Enter Sister Raymunda, both my homeroom and Freshman English teacher.  She recognized that tiny spark of creativity and did everything she could to fan it into a flame. 

One night we had to write an essay on the subject of family life.  I did mine in the form of a short story.  Two days letter, to my utter amazement, Sister Raymunda stood in front of the class and spoke about the weariness teachers’ often endure having to read thousands of student papers during their careers.  Yet every now and then one would cross her desk and make everything worth while.  She then proceeded to read my story aloud, word for word.  It was the first time I realized that I could actually entertain people with my writing.  It was a moment I never forgot.

She would continue to mentor and guide me during the next three years.  Then came our senior year, 1964, and Sister Nora invited me to join the staff of our first ever school paper.  It would eventually be collected as our first yearbook.  I wrote several feature articles for that paper.  It was the first time I ever saw my by-line in print and Sister Nora became my very first editor.  There have been many others since, but none as important to me. 

My writing career now spans thirty five years with well over five hundred comic titles and a half dozen adventure novels published.  I’ve also done a little editing and had a three act play produced.   Today I continue to use my imagination in writing pulp and graphic novels.    My latest novel, WITCHFIRE, co-written with Ardath Mayhar, was recently released by Cornerstone Books.  In Jan. 08 they will release my fourth Captain Hazzard pulp adventure, CAVEMEN OF NEW YORK and a collection of horror tales featuring my newest character entitled, BROTHER BONES.

None of which would have been possible without Sisters Raymunda, Nora and all the other wonderful teachers of STA.   It seems wonderfully serendipitous to be writing for STA once again.  Thanks so much for the opportunity.   
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                                             ME…….SKIPPER….&….CORA

Finally, I cannot end this entry without yelling HALLUJAH; the Red Sox have won their first two games of the World Series against the Colorado Rockies.   Game 3 is tomorrow night at Coors Field in Denver Colorado.  This will be Denver’s first ever World Series.  Good for them.  Let it be known, the Rockies are my granddaughter Cora’s team.  So still a diehard Sox fan, I am still applauding the Rockies and their championship season.   Regardless of the final outcome, both these teams are winners in my book.

Have a HAPPY HALLOWEEN.   Ron – Over & Out.