Terry Estep

A screen grab from The African Queen shows a wall with "1st Methodist Church - Kungdu" written on it, but wooden sticks cross in front of the D in "Kungdu."

The African Queen is playing on my tablet while I work. I glanced down at it and for a second I thought it said "1st Methodist Church of Kung Fu." That would've been a very different movie.

I was in the unusual position Sunday of finishing my book and audiobook on the same day with nothing specific planned next. I ended up starting Lindy Ryan's new slasher novel DOLLFACE (ebook ARC) and Stephen King's THE DEAD ZONE (audiobook). #books

I finished T.J. Newman’s WORST CASE SCENARIO. The woman knows how to craft a compulsive page-turner. This solidified her space on my list of writers whose #books are automatic purchases.

On my dinner break, I finished reading the fourth chapter of T.J. Newman's WORST CASE SCENARIO – a jet airliner crashing into a nuclear power plant – and realized I'm probably going to be awake all night reading this thing. It's Michael Crichton-levels of disaster fun. #books

Picturing Trump trying to say "Black suede and velvet with a Manolo Blahnik slides with a rhinestone and mother of pearl toe buckle."

It's time for my #FridayReads update...
I finished Christian Klaver's SHERLOCK HOLMES AND COUNT DRACULA. This morning I'm starting T.J. Newman's WORST CASE SCENARIO (ebook). I'm about halfway through Laurie R. King's THE BEEKEEPER'S APPRENTICE (audiobook). #books

The Little Free Library down the street was a bust for a few weeks while ice and snow kept people from using it, but now the street is clear and there's some turnover. Today I found a nice hardcover of T.J. Newman's disaster thriller WORST CASE SCENARIO, which I've been wanting to read. #books

John Grisham's "The Chamber" is the 1994 selection for the My Novel Life reading challenge. The task: Read a novel from every year of your life in chronological order with no author represented more than once. The book is rated four stars out of five. Challenge created by author Mark Hodder.

THE CHAMBER was a gut punch of a legal thriller, following a young lawyer as tries to save his racist grandfather from execution in the gas chamber. It was a solid choice for 1994 in the #MyNovelLife challenge. Up next for 1995 will be Robin Hobb's ASSASSIN'S APPRENTICE. #books

One of the guys at the office has been after me to read William Least Heat-Moon's BLUE HIGHWAYS. His tiny pitch today was "He really knows how to turn a phrase, and he's not afraid to talk to scary people in bars." #books

Robert Duvall, indelible actor from 'The Godfather' and 'Apocalypse Now,' dies at 95 The renowned actor died peacefully in his home in Middleburg, Virginia, with his wife at his side, according to a statement from his family.

Well, hell. Robert Duvall was one of my favorite actors.

YouTube video by Alpha Audiobooks H.P. Lovecraft: The Shadow Over Innsmouth - read by Mike Bennett

The guy reading H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Shadow Over Innsmouth” does an amazing job, especially the section narrated by that old drunk Zadok. I listened to it this morning, which was good timing because the second case in SHERLOCK HOLMES AND COUNT DRACULA is an Innsmouth crossover. #books

My #FridayReads update: I’m about a third of the way though Christian Klaver’s SHERLOCK HOLMES & COUNT DRACULA (ebook) and a third through John Grisham’s THE CHAMBER (audiobook). I need to read Lindy Ryan’s DOLLFACE and might start it this weekend. #books

I participate in a lot of reading events, but this year I’m going to start one of my own. I have a stack of unread Anne Rivers Siddons novels, so call it My Summer of Siddons. I’m going to read one each month. I might stretch into October as an excuse to read THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR again. #books

I want to read more short stories this year, at least one each week. I started Poe’s “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” The language is convoluted as hell, but easier for me to decipher now than it would’ve been ten years ago. #books #shortstories

There's a BookTube event in March called March of the Mammoths, dedicated to reading something at least 800 pages long. Stephen King & Peter's Straub's THE TALISMAN clocks in at 784 pages. As long as nobody call the library police on me, it should work. #books

In Pokemon, the player poses for a selfie with a large frog-like Venusaur.

There's a rumor Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen may be getting a Switch release as standalone games with Home support. I would buy them all over again. My Venusaur started out on the Game Boy Advance 20+ years ago and has transferred up with each generation to my Switch. #gaming

I kinda love that Friday the 13th is right before Valentine's Day this year. It opens the door for a great horror movie marathon.

Mike Flanagan & Stephen King Back In Business With ‘The Mist’ Movie For Warner Bros Warner Bros is reuniting frequent collaborators Mike Flanagan and Stephen King on a new adaptation of The Mist, based on King's 1980 novella.

Frank Darabont nailed "The Mist" on the first try, but Mike Flanagan is one of the few writer/directors who make me think "Okay, I'm curious to see where he goes with this."

Exclusive: The First Excerpt from Stephen King and Peter Straub’s Ending to ‘The Talisman’ Trilogy King tells us about ‘Other Worlds Than These,’ where he’ll finish the saga after Straub’s death—and how his late friend’s ideas were resurrected for this epic goodbye.

I need to read THE TALISMAN and BLACK HOUSE again before this comes out. #books

After two weeks of freezing temperatures and snow everywhere, today feels great. I wore a hoodie instead of my big coat. Temperatures are in the lower 50s and the snow is melting off at last. It'll be wet slushy mess until it all drains off, but it's a vast improvement to my mood.

Of all the conquering armies that had tramped the streets of Zeal down the centuries, it was finally the mild tread of the Sunday tripper that brought the village to its knees. It had suffered Roman legions, and the Norman Conquest, it had survived the agonies of civil war, all without losing its identity to the occupying forces. But after centuries of boot and blade it was to be the tourists—the new barbarians—that bested Zeal, their weapons courtesy and hard cash.

Reading Clive Barker’s short story “Rawhead Rex,” and it has one of my favorite opening paragraphs. #books

I started reading Christian Klaver's SHERLOCK HOLMES & COUNT DRACULA during my dinner break. It's the first of a trilogy that also sees Holmes getting involved with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as well as Dorian Gray. It sounds like geeky pastiche fun. #books

William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone’s “Preacher’s Hell” is rated four stars out of five. It is to be published by Pinnacle Books on Feb. 24, 2026. It is 285 pages.

William W. Johnstone’s PREACHER’S HELL was more fun than I thought it would be. Sometimes you just need some western action and adventure full of badass mountain men doing badass things while rescuing twin infants from an evil outlaw. #books

The big BookTube reading event for February is Holmes is Where the Heart Is, dedicated to reading Sherlock Holmes fiction. I’m curled up in bed and reading “The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire” as a sort of prelude to Loren D. Estleman’s SHERLOCK HOLMES VS. DRACULA. #books

As someone who uses puns in headlines all the time, I tip my hat to author Jim Butcher for the Basil-based pun in Chapter 36 of TWELVE MONTHS. Well played, sir. Well played. #books

My #FridayReads report… I’m 62% of the way through Willliam W. & J.A. Johnstone’s PREACHER’S HELL (ebook ARC) and 64% though Jim Butcher’s TWELVE MONTHS (audiobook). There’s a good chance I’ll finish both this weekend. It’s still snowy and gross, so not much else to do but read. #books

Today I learned I could get an Ohio library card to use on Libby along with my West Virginia card. I think their system has all of Louis L’Amour’s novels, so I may be in love. I’ll spend half my weekend just exploring their catalog. #books

YouTube video by Zapp Rowsdower MST3K S03E09 The Amazing Colossal Man

In honor of the #MST3K news, here’s “The Amazing Colossal Man.” I’d never watched MST3K before, but I remembered this movie from Chiller Theater when I was a kid and thought I’d settle in for some nostalgia. I was howling with laughter by the end. It’s still my favorite episode. It made me a fan.

There's no mechanism for him to interfere the way he'd love to, but at this point I kinda wish he'd try because I never get tired of watching him fail.

A group of newspaper employees stand in a newsroom and talk in a scene from The Wire's fifth-season episode "More With Less."

This has definitely felt like a "fifth season of The Wire" kind of day.