Are they breaking the rules in Niceville?
Lord, help us: Why should there be any question about religion in school up at Niceville?
The issue was settled 221 years ago by people who, having experienced religious persecutions and selectivism, wisely decided that our government, and every endeavor it supports, would not favor one faith over another.
That means strict neutrality. Any other way is unconstitutional.
I met Chip Woolwine years ago and I know he’s not a bad man. But if he’s breaking the rules, he must be stopped. It’s as simple as that.
Also, some of you have treated our reporter rudely, and have attacked her for shedding light on this situation. Let me remind you it was reporters who revealed the past two meningitis outbreaks, and it was reporters who gave you information to help you cop with the aftermath of Hurricane Opal.
Do not slay the messenger, folks.
Nice in Niceville: Just to show I’m not picking on Niceville, here’s a plug for the fine folks of NHS who are trying to organize a reunion for the Class of ’72.
Seventy-two? Even I graduated later than that!
(OK, it was by one year.)
Enough with the “old” jokes. The Class of ’72 is seeking to reunite, and Tina Slown Faulkner, at 678-3506, is the lady to call. Get off your duffs, if you’re able, and give her a call.
Conspiracy theory: Is downtown Fort Walton Beach a conspiracy by no-growth fanatics to drive away the tourists? That’s the theory of one Destin caller, who lamented the passing of Caffe Italia, and the fact that it has been replaced with a cash-for-car-title loan joint. I dunno … even we no-growthers like to get our fast bucks behind the scenes. It’s probably just somebody’s idea of prosperity.
Headlines that did not work: Teacher Strikes Idle Kids.
This week’s wire weirdness: CLEARWATER (AP) – A pair of state detectives took a break from hunting people to follow a car apparently driven by an iguana.
John Halliday and Tom Colbert had to take a second look Thursday morning when they saw the 3-foot, scaly, green and orange beast at the wheel of a car on a busy road.
The car drove south on the congested highway a couple of miles before it pulled into a service station. There, the plainclothes detectives arrested John Ruppell on a drunken driving charge.
“(Ruppell) was slouched down in the seat, but he could obviously see what was going on,” said Larry Sams of the FDLE, adding that Finley the iguana seemed to keep the car in the lane as well or better than Ruppell.
Finley was taken to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Largo. Ruppell was taken to jail.
Words that should be words: This week’s installment is “telecrastination,” as in: The act of always letting the phone ring at least twice before you pick it up, even when you’re only 6 inches away.
Redneck computer terms: “Cursor,” or what some guys do when they are mad at their wife or girlfriend.
This column was originally published in the Wednesday, June 25, 1997 edition of the Northwest Florida Daily News and is used with permission.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
Image courtesy of Olaf Growald, Wikimedia Commons.
The death penalty? The righteously wrathful were rubbing their palms last week as jurors in the penalty phase of the Timothy McVeigh murder and conspiracy trial decided he should die for his crime.
His crime – the April 19, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people – was undeniably horrible.
But while death penalty advocates declared their satisfaction and pundits hailed the trail as proof the U.S. legal system “works,” some of us held our noses and waited for the stench of sanctimony to pass on by.
Timothy McVeigh’s trail was many things, but it was not a test for the workability of American justice – not when they’re letting convicted felons run free after serving mere fractions of their sentences, and certainly not after O.J.
Also, I’d wonder about a government that could execute Timothy McVeigh while granting diplomatic recognition to a butcher like Yasser Arafat, or proffering most-favored nation trading status to a genocidal autocracy like the People’s Republic of China.
I believe the operative word here is “hypocrisy.”
For a system to “work,” it must work for all.
Charity bowl: Daily News columnist Kelly Humphrey has organized the Bowl for Red Cross fund-raiser, and now that she’s done all the work, we can do the fun part:
Bowl!
The Bowl for Red Cross happens Saturday at Destin Lanes from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The owners will donate 25 percent of the proceeds to the Red Cross, which is helping the flooded folks of Fargo, N.D. mop up after the Red River jumped its banks earlier this year and did an Opal-like number on the while town. What makes this worse for our northern cousins is their unenviable lack of WARM TEMPERATURES and a MOSQUITO-FREE EXISTENCE while cleaning up the mess.
We had ICE in our Cokes, not our debris.
Come out Saturday and bowl a few lines. I’ll need somebody to show me how to use the scoring computers, so bring the kids. It’ll be a good time – you betcha!
This week’s wire weirdness: MIAMI (AP) – The U.S. government has rejected Raul Blanco’s to become a citizen five times. But the 53-year-old Cuban immigrant hasn’t given up.
Ten fingerprints are required from applicants and Blanco only put down seven.
But that’s all he has – seven whole fingers.
The clerks who read Blanco’s application failed to see the explanation: “amputated.”
Years ago, he lost the ring finger and the tips of the index and middle fingers of his right hand after an accident at a Cuban sugar mill.
James Minton, deputy chief of the Immigration and Naturalization Service’s Miami office, acknowledged the agency goofed.
“Our office is going to call him,” Minton said.
Words that should be words: “Pupkus,” as in: The moist residue left on a window after a dog presses its nose to it.
Headlines that did not work: “Lung Cancer in Women Mushrooms.”
Redneck computer terms: “LAN”: To borrow, as in: “Hey Billy Joe, LAN me yore truck.”
This column was previously published in the June 18, 1997 Northwest Florida Daily News and is used with permission.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, Ello and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
Image courtesy of Flickr user lilbluelola.
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Performance Against AIDS: Frankly Scarlett in downtown Fort Walton Beach will again be the venue for Performance Against AIDS V, a fund-raiser for OASIS and its efforts to improve the quality of life for local folks who are living with AIDS.
Expect a variety show, also starring local folks, on June21 at 10 p.m. Ticket prices are $8, with limited VIP tickets going for $50. That’ll get you a reserved seat at the show and two complimentary drinks, but more importantly it’ll sponsor a second ticket for a person living with AIDS or who is HIV-positive and wants to attend the show.
There’ll be hors d’oeuvres, door prizes, and no-show tickets that people who can’t attend but want to help can buy.
It’s all for OASIS, which provides financial assistance and support services to people in Okaloosa and Walton counties affected by HIV and AIDS.
For more info, give Melissa Welch a call at 314-0950, or fax her at 314-0952. Frankly Scarlett is at 217 S.E. Miracle Strip Parkway.
Bay Day in May: Camp Timpoochee was the site for the first Bay Day – a fascinating celebration of science and environmentalism that organizers hope to make a yearly event.
The flora and fauna that make up the bay and its watershed were on display, and Steve Rider of the Department of Environmental Protection even brought his Okaloosa darters, the endangered fish that in the past has stirred up more than just sediment around these parts.
An afternoon thunderstorm swept away brochures and knocked over planters, but everybody crowded under the camp enclosure and waited for Mom Nature to get her act together. It was all part of the scene.
The Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance did a good job with its first festival and they’ve got a year’s preparation time to make the second an even bigger and more elaborate event. Plan on it for ’98.
That coveted Bowlegs loot: The Bowlegs treasure hunt winners are promised $500 in gift certificates from downtown businesses.
That’ll buy a lot of skull tattoos.
And a whole FLOCK of partridges in a pear tree!
Words that should be words: “Phonesia,” as in the affliction of dialing a phone number and forgetting whom you were calling just as they answer.
This week’s wire weirdness: ASSEN, Netherlands (AP) – A pilot dubbed Capt. Flinstone because he insisted pm singing the theme to the popular cartoon series over his small plane’s radio has been sentenced to four months in jail.
Authorities jailed pilot Wim de Nijs because his March 1996 prank tied up a radio frequency used by air traffic controllers at the airport in the northern Dutch city of Groningen.
By bellowing out “Flintstones, meet the Flintsones, they’re a modern stone-age family” for 20 minutes, de Nijs drowned out controllers’ contacts with other aircraft, prosecutors said.
Redneck computer terms: “Mouse,” as in a fuzzy, softy thing you stuff in your beer bottle in order to get a free case.
Headlines that did not work: “British Left Waffles on Falkland Islands.”
This column was originally published in the Wednesday, June 11, 1997 edition of the Northwest Florida Daily News.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, Ello and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
Image courtesy of Pikist by way of a Creative Commons license.
Let the good times roll: Skinny teenagers capered across the stage at Fort Walton Landing as I stood astride my bike, trying to ignite matches by rubbing them between my flab rolls.
It was Saturday night’s Battle of the Bands. I loved the music but I hated the fact that these kids didn’t need sawhorses to hold up their love handles.
Meanwhile, a mother of a friend of a band member tried to help me see the bright side.
“Embrace your flab,” Sally said as she simultaneously demonstrated various crunches and other flab-reducing maneuvers. The contradiction did not escape me.
Another thought that didn’t escape me was my memory of the movie “The Blob,” in which a giant, loogie-type mass of protoplasm devours every single living thing it encounters, including trim, smart-alecky teen-agers. That’d learn ’em. I’m reminded of that movie every time I try on a pair of pants with a 33-inch waistline.
“Be proud of your flab,” Sally declared, striking a New Deal pose with her appraised fist, a firm set to her jaw, and immense spasms of hysterical laughter quivering just beneath the surface of her expression.
OK, Sally. Go ahead and almost laugh. When you see me on David Letterman, shooting fireballs out of the cracks of my flab rolls, you’re gonna say, “To think: I knew him when he almost burned down the judge’s tent at Battle of the Bands.”
Meanwhile, Tracey and her beau, 99 Rock’s Jason, who you almost saw wearing a bikini in this very column, came up with the most logical solution to the entire problem: “Let’s go eat!”
And I really wanted to. Really. The only thing standing between me and a fried oyster sandwich was the absence of Andrew Jackson – that and the fact that the only element missing from my fashion statement was a hockey mask and I’d be tossed out of any restaurant that didn’t have the suffix “cide” in its name.
So me and my flubber rolls pedaled away, but not before holding a visitation with The Mustangs, who serenaded the dark outside The Last Saloon. Those guys were no flat-bellies either, but you could hear the wisdom in their music, and after a moment I didn’t feel so bad.
Headlines that didn’t work: Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over.
Redneck computer terms: “Network,” as in activity meant to provide bait for your trot line.
This week’s wire weirdness: GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) – Throat cancer patient Abraham Mosley couldn’t scream when his pajamas caught fire as he tried to light a cigar.
The silent seconds until the smoke alarm sounded may have cost Mosley his life. Family and friends rescued him from the fire, but the 64-year-old died later … at a hospital.
Mosley, confined to a hospital bed in his kitchen, ignited strips of paper on a stove burner in an attempt to light the cigar because the cancer had degraded his manual coordination. But the paper lit first the gauze bandages around his neck, then his pajamas.
Words that should be words: This week’s offering is: “Petrophobic,” as in, one who is embarrassed to undress in front of a household pet.
This column was originally published in the June 4, 1997 Northwest Florida Daily News and is used with permission.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, Ello and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
Image courtesy of Flickr user Bryan McDonald by way of a Creative Commons license. https://www.flickr.com/people/28155182@N06
Gator growl: One of my long-held suspicions has been confirmed by researchers at the University of Florida.
This will come as good news for Steve Spurrier, and maybe not such good news for the unborn children of Gator fans – who will remain unborn, it seems, if the University of Florida remains in national championship contention.
Here’s a quote from a press release from the UF public affairs department:
“Some would say that for diehard Gator fans, seeing their favorite team in action is better than sex. Now, University of Florida researchers have scientific evidence supporting it.
“Researchers examining how people react to their emotions sowed subjects a variety of photographs while recording their physiological and subjective responses. People categorized as extreme Gator fans showed stronger positive reactions to pictures of Gator sporting events than to erotic pictures.”
Whoa!
Is that not a mouthful or what?
No wonder the stands at Ben Hill Griffith Stadium are always so packed. No wonder the seething, sweaty masses who pack those stands are cheering – and it’s a LUSTY cheering, I might add.
No wonder the seats are so. …
NO! I won’t do that. But NOW I understand why Florida fans chant, “It’s great to be a Florida Gator!” as they leave the stadium, not to mention why so many of them are smoking cigarettes. It IS great to be a Florida Gator.
The news that Florida football is better than sex will force headline writers the land over to rethink their verbs.
BTW, the researcher who made this landmark discovery is a University of Miami grad, a school where football is better than murder.
This brew’s for you: For years I’ve been amassing a collection of American beer cans and bottles. I must have a couple of hundred. Now, I want to get rid of them.
But I know nothing about the collectability of beer cans. Do you? Give me a call at 864-0433, or e-mail me at [email protected].
I’m not looking to make money. In fact, if any charity or kids’ group would to clean up the collection and sell it, they can have whatever money it brings.
Redneck computer terms: “Reboot,” as in: what you do when the first pair gets covered with barnyard stuff.
Say what? Recently a letter arrived from the National Safety Council stamped “Air Enhanced.” Does that mean the letter was almost sent “air mail”? Did the mailman stand behind the airplane, waving the letter as the jet exhaust swooshed over him? Did anybody arrest this man?
I threw it in a receptacle that was “garbage enhanced.”
Headlines that didn’t work: “Prostitutes Appeal to Pope.”
Words that should be words: “Peppier,” as in” The waiter at a fancy restaurant whose sole purpose seems to be walking around asking diners if they want ground pepper.
This column was originally published in the May 28, 1997 Northwest Florida Daily News and is used with permission.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, Ello and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
Image courtesy of the National Hurricane Center.
The list of hurricane names for 1997 is out, and what a sorry list of names it is.
The A storm will be called Ana. I have a friend whose name is Anna, so I will not say anything bad about this name. But just between you, me and the fence post, I would never trust a storm named Ana, which is no reflection on the real Anna, who is entirely trustworthy. Well. Almost.
The B storm will be Bill. It will arrive collect-on-delivery. Ha ha. That’s my only “Bill” joke.
Next we have Claudette. Claudette is too exotic a name. I see French madams prowling the gas lit back alleys of the New Orleans French Quarter – a fearful image of you worry about diseases, not hurricanes.
Then there’s Danny. How could anybody run away from a Hurricane Danny? When I think of Danny, I think of a “Far Side” Irish setter, its tongue lolling, its eyes slightly crossed. Danny is too friendly a name for a hurricane.
For the E storm we have Erika. I like this name. I see a rigid Nordic disciplinarian, one who would deal a devastating blow to a city filled with Bills and Claudettes. Erika would teach them a thing or two.
The F storm will be named Fabian.
You’ve got to be kidding.
Fabian? Do you expect me to take a storm named Fabian seriously? Why not Frankie? Annette? Or, the Hurricane Formerly Known as Fabian?
The G name is excellent. Grace. It embodies an ironic contrast between the naturally violent nature of a tropical cyclone and the gentle, moral forthrightness of forgiveness. Or something like that.
Next we have Henri, pronounced ahn-REE, like the waiter who brings you a platter of snails and sneers at your non-gold Visa card and then slinks away for a rendezvous with Claudette. You can imagine this storm muttering, “I SPIT on your waterfront property” in a French accent.
The I storm will be Isabel, as in the queen of Spain who dispatched Columbus on his journey westward. Not a bad choice, especially if Isabel is a Cape Verde hurricane.
The next two storms are familiar refrains from 1985, Juan and Kate. Juan struck Pensacola. Kate struck Panama City. Hmmm. If there were a letter between J and K, we’d be in big trouble.
The L hurricane will be Larry. I sit in front of a Larry. As I write this, I can feel his eyes boring into the back of my neck, like laser beams. He edits this column, which is why you haven’t been seeing my curse words lately.
I think Larry is a great name.
Forgive me for chortling, but the M storm will be called Mindy. We have a Mindy who works here, but I think I could take her two falls out of three. Therefore, it’s only with a little trepidation that I say Mindy is a terrible name for a hurricane. Na-noo, Na-noo.
The N and O storms have names I don’t really care about, Nicholas and Odette. I think the hurricane center must be growing desperate. Odette? Sorry all you Odettes. I think this name is a 0.
The last name on the list is Peter. I don’t think Hurricane Peter is a good idea. To put it bluntly, I fear the pun potential is too enormous, and every scatologist in the nation will be jeering.
Who would want to be struck by Peter?
This column was published in the Wednesday, May 21, 1997 edition of the Northwest Florida Daily News and is used with permission.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, Ello and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
Image courtesy of Flickr user Joe Ross. https://www.flickr.com/photos/joeross/
Have you visited a Ford lately? Did you know Florida has two cities in the running to become the permanent home of the Mustang Museum?
We’re talking cars, not horses or airplanes.
I spoke to Chris Hoverman, chairman of the museum site selection committee, who told me Orlando and Daytona Beach have made it to a short list of 10 candidate cities after the committee, which met the weekend of April 19-20, whittled down a preliminary list of 25 potential sites.
The committee will meet with representatives from the remaining candidates in early June at a gathering at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich. By late August, the 10 cities will be narrowed to those four that offer the best combination of features sought by museum supporters. A final decision will be made in the first quarter of 1998.
And what kind of features is the museum looking for?
Hoverman answered that question without hesitation: “We need land.”
About 30 acres to be exact – make that 30 affordable acres. “I’ve got cities that’ll sell me land at a million dollars an acre,” Hoverman said sardonically. Obviously a better deal is one of the goals.
But they’re also looking for location location location – with sufficient nearby attractions to draw about 300,000 visitors per year to the museum.
Would a 30-acre parcel in attraction-rich Orlando be a good draw? Hoverman answered with an unqualified maybe. It would depend on where in Orlando that parcel lay, he said. A site that was inaccessible or located in an undesirable area wouldn’t do the museum or Mustang fans any good. Hoverman also expressed a little bit of concern over the fact that Orlando is already glutted with attractions. But the weather in the Southeast is a factor in its favor, he added. And so is Florida’s existing tourist machinery, which brings in tens of thousands of visitors every year.
A deciding factor could be enthusiastic support from Orlando or Daytona Beach – either the cities themselves or local businesses.
Neither Orlando nor Daytona Beach is very close to Okaloosa County, so having the Mustang Museum in one of those cities might not make a huge difference to local folks. But if the museum goes to a California site, not many of the people who would put in a day’s drive could see it either.
Besides, it’s kind of a matter of pride that the museum be located in Florida.
I don’t know what you could do to help, unless you’ve got connections on the Orlando or Daytona Beach economic development councils or chambers of commerce. But we’ll hope for the best. The Corvette museum is out in the middle of nowhere (Kentucky). We’ll hope the Mustang doesn’t suffer the same fate.
Headlines that didn’t work: Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
Redneck computer terms: “Modem,” as in how you got rid of your dandelions.
Words that should be words: This week’s installment is “Frust,” as in the small line of debris that refuses to be swept onto the dust pan and keeps backing a person across the room until he finally decides to give up and sweep it under the rug.
This column was originally published in the April 30, 1997 Northwest Florida Daily News and is used with permission.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, Ello and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
“Space Truckers” Starring Dennis Hopper, Debi Mazar, Stephen Dorff, Charles Dance, George Wendt and others. Directed by Stuart Gordon. 1 hour, 35 minutes. Rated PG-13. Amazon Prime.
Del’s take
“Space Truckers” is Mladen’s revenge for “A Recipe for Seduction.”
He’s been stewing for months about being forced to watch that dreck, and plotting ways to make me pay. Well, he came up with a doozy. “Space Truckers” has a cult following – of kooks with bad taste. Trust me, it’s boring schlock.
Director Stuart Gordon, who captained some pretty good movies like “Reanimator,” intended this to be a lowbrow sci-fi comedy. He succeeded with lowbrow but the comedy part fails, and it fails miserably. I can’t think of a single funny moment in this movie.
It features some real talent – Dennis Hopper, a young Stephen Dorff, Charles Dance and George Wendt – but the problem with “Space Truckers” is the script. It falls flat and I doubt defibrillator paddles could shock some life into this toe-tag of a screenplay.
The story goes like this: Hopper is the last of the independent “space truckers” driving goods and whatnot from one planet to the next. After a late delivery of square pigs and only partial payment, he takes on a sketchy consignment from a shady group headquartered at the Neptunian moon Triton for rapid delivery to Earth. As you might expect, “rapid delivery” becomes anything but after an encounter with space pirates, and then the load itself becomes problematic when it turns out to be a swarm of Terminator-like robots bent on killing all humans.
In theory this kind of movie should work. Ironically, a day or two after I finished “Space Truckers” another comedy – this one very funny – was playing on cable: “Airplane.” I was struck by the differences in the two movies – “Airplane” has a similarly thin plot but that’s OK – the movie is nothing but one rapid-fire joke delivery after another. In “Airplane” some jokes are visual, some physical, and some are embedded in dialogue. “Space Truckers” exhibited none of those qualities. It was an hour and a half of Dennis Hopper glaring and leering at the camera Quint-style with Debi Mazar almost flashing her boobies and Stephen Dorf showing off a not-bad stack of abs.
Comedy relies to a great extent on timing and “Space Truckers,” like its bumbling space truck-driving Hopper, misses delivery time and time again. He could never get a job with intergalactic Fed-Ex. Couple that with nonsensical special effects – I mean you can see the wirework in the scenes of weightlessness – and you get a movie that’s not quite “Plan 9 from Outer Space” but darned close, maybe “Plan 8.”
I expect some folks love this movie and will sniff at my dismissal as the grumpy curmudgeoning of a foul-tempered old man. Maybe Mladen will be one of them. I’m good with that.
I didn’t like “Space Truckers” and I don’t mind saying so. It rates a solid D on my grade scale.
And that’s a 10-4 good buddy.
Mladen’s take
There is absolutely zero wrong with Debi Mazar almost flashing her boobies in “Space Truckers.” If there is a problem, Del, it’s that the “almost” does not become an actual.
“Space Truckers,” despite the way bona fide critics and Del have characterized the movie, is not a comedy.
Yes, it has elements of farce which, I suppose, can be construed as a form of comedy. The space truck space lane approach to Triton is lined with ugly billboards like a U.S. highway. The message? Leave it to mankind to fuck up even deep and beautiful outer space with its garish drive to sell shit.
Yes, cyborg Macanudo (Charles Dance) trying to start his mechanical penis’ erection by pulling a cord as you would do to start an uncooperative chainsaw is clearly intended to be humor and it works.
But this 1996 film – let me say that again – this 1996 film – that’s three years before “The Matrix” hits the big screen – gives it its all to take advantage of emerging computer-generated visual effects and provide an action-adventure joy ride.
To enjoy “Space Truckers” requires a pinch of mercy, a dollop of appreciation for effort and two tablespoons of understanding. Del lacks all three.
Mercy because “Space Truckers” is imbalanced. Set design and costumes are good, as is most of the acting. The special effects – models and electronic visuals – ain’t bad either. The movie is tainted, as Del noted, by the often-visible suspension wires used to make it look like people are floating or tumbling in low gravity. I have no idea why that significant flaw wasn’t disguised in film post‑production.
Appreciation because other movies of that era, “Escape from LA,” for example, directed by the great John Carpenter had crappier computer-driven animation. You have to appreciate “Space Truckers” for what it is: A movie made as the landscape of moviemaking was changing with the introduction of the microchip and graphic arts software to a director’s pallet.
Understanding because … see Mercy and Appreciation above.
I didn’t know that “Space Truckers” had a cult following until Del mentioned it in his review. And, though I’m not a cultist except as it regards Godzilla movies, I can understand why the movie would draw a particular kind of audience. “Space Truckers” is campy, studded with absurd characters, hampered by not infrequent special effects malfunctions, and, if your tolerant of imperfections, fun.
I give “Space Truckers” a B for effort and the likelihood it’ll appeal to 1 out of 7 viewers despite its flaws.
Mladen Rudman is a former journalist and technical writer. Del Stone Jr. is a former journalist and author.
Pitcher plants grow along the grassy shoreline of a slough along the hiking trail that surrounds Bear Lake northwest of Baker, Florida. Image by Del Stone Jr
Unpaved paradise: Just an hour north of here, along State Road 4 between Baker and Munson, lies Bear Lake. It’s smack in the middle of the Blackwater River State Park.
You gotta see this place.
We took the hiking tour of the lake, a four-mile trek that leads you through primeval sloughs and climax pine forest and bogs of flesh-eating plants.
I kid you not. A highlight of the hike is the pitcher plant bog, where thousands of bug-devouring Tubes of Death sprout from the muck to how down on flies and mosquitoes.
The trail is busy with benches for the bushed, bat boxes for our leathery buddies, bridges over the boggy parts – but no bathrooms for the bladder-burdened (that’s what all those woods are for).
Get ready for some serious beauty. We tiptoed through a grotto of overhanging trees that shaded a trickling creek. Within were stunning growths of moss, ferns and an outcropping of lavender, orchid-like flowers.
The hike will take some time, especially if you’re a camera nut who’s trying to learn about f-stops and shutter speeds. But it puts you back in touch with what’s real.
No American Express: We were at a “Destin eatery” and that’s all I’ll say about where it happened.
My friend had the eggs Benedict. I munched a monstrous salad.
When we finished I whipped out my Visa card. The lady shook her head. “We don’t take ANY credit cards.”
A cold chill ran up my spine. I had a fiver. My friend had $5. The bill was $13. How many dishes could we wash to make up the shortfall?
Then I remembered my Emergency Stash in the glove box of the truck. Got it. Paid the bill and had enough change to leave a tip.
No credit cards?
Better have the defibrillators handy.
One of the perks of this job is I get to hang out with cool people. Last week, one of those people was Daily News columnist Julie Nichols, who accompanied me to Cracker Barrel, where we lamented our expanding waistlines – she as she munched, bird-like, at a salad, and I as I pounded down the Brownie Piet and Ice Cream.
It was a great evening. Julie is smart and engaging and funny, and she’s a writer’s writer. If you’re not reading her column, you should be.
But have the salad.
More coolness: Last week brought Tavel Bell nee Cowan and her navigator husband, Major Tom, back to the Emerald Coast for a visit. Tavel was a Daily News copy editor from whom I sponged travel adventures about the slopes at Lake Tahoe.
The recently relocated Wolf Woman and I joined them at the Donut Hole in Destin – Major Tom and I weaseled them into a monster cookie apiece, and they capitulated with barely a mumble about diets. I think Major Tom came back solely for those huge cookies.
Redneck computer terms: “Window,” as in a place in the truck to hang your guns.
Words that should be words: This week’s installment is “Elbonics,” as in: The actions of two people maneuvering for one armrest in a movie theater.
This column was published in the Wednesday, April 16, 1997 edition of the Northwest Florida Daily News and is used with permission.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
Image courtesy of Wallpaper Flare.
—
One a day: Few foods surpass the simple virtues of the apple.
For instance, the shape is sculpted to fit the human hand. It is not round but oval, with a top that is wider than the bottom, which allows it to fit the concavity of the palm, with a largeness above to accommodate the longer fingers and a tapering at the bottom to support the thumb and pinky.
An apple’s shape is a good indicator of the flavor and its texture. What you want is a slight tartness that underlines a moist sweetness. When you bite into an apple, the meat should glisten with an off-white color, leaning to pale yellow. It should be firm, producing a distinctive chomp sound.
Those characteristics are most often found in red delicious apples, which are oval-shaped and have lobes that provide leverage for biting. For those reasons, and others, the red delicious is the apple of choice.
I wouldn’t trust a round apple. The rounder the apple, the more bitter the taste, which hits you at the back of your jaw, just below your ears. Also, round apples can be very hard, which makes biting them a test. Will I or will I not chip that front tooth? Better to avoid round apples.
Another important apple characteristic is color. The best tasting apples have skins that are deeply red and streaked with shallow threads of yellow.
The red delicious apples we get at local grocery stores have sometimes passed the red stage to become a plum-like purple. While this color makes for a fine-looking specimen to display in a produce case, the applies inside may be soft and dry.
Since you cannot wander the grocery aisle taking bites to choose apples that have reached the correct stage of ripeness, you must use your best judgment. Go with the apple that appears not to have reached a reddish-purple hue.
I have found a supply of apples that are consistently sized and ripened to perfection. I won’t tell you where they are, because you will take them away from me. But know that I’m enjoying them greatly.
When it comes to apples, I’m a selfish, possessive man.
Redneck computer terms: “Keyboard,” as in: a place to hang your truck keys.
This week’s word that should be a word: “Eiffelites,” as in: gangly people sitting in front of you at the movies who, no matter what direction you lean in, follow suit.
This week’s weirdness from the wires: BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) – A pet peacock mauled his master, killing him in a freak attack, hospital officials and relatives say.
Vichai Thongto, 30, was feeding his family’s four caged peacocks in the western province of Ratchaburi on Sunday when a male bird hurled itself at him, clawing his head.
Vichai soon began suffering headaches and fell into a coma by the time relatives got him to a hospital.
A nurse at Ratchaburi Hospital’s neurological department said doctors found a tiny puncture wound above Vichai’s left ear, and that a CAT scan revealed a blood clot in his brain.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, Ello and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .