Remembering Tim Curry

By Michael McCarty

I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Tim Curry on August 25, 2026.

Watching “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” at the Duck Creek Cinemas was a pivotal part of my teenage years. I even won first place in a Brad Majors look-a-like contest there. The movie had a huge impact on me; I wrote an article about it and “Mr. Bill’s Midnight Movies” that made the front page of the Bettendorf News. Later, during my college years in Iowa City, I wrote another piece on “Rocky Horror” for the Daily Iowan.

Beyond “Rocky Horror,” I always appreciated Curry’s broader filmography, including his roles in “Times Square,” “Clue,” “The Hunt for Red October,” and even “Congo.” He was terrific as Pennywise in the mini series “It!” And it was also wonderful to see him return for the live TV adaptation of “Rocky Horror.”

He was a remarkable talent and will be greatly missed.

Photo of Tim Curry

I mentioned the Daily Iowan.

Here is a reprint of that story

The Daily Iowan

Thursday, November 7, 1985

Arts / Entertainment:

“Audience participation preserves Rocky Horror tradition at Astro”

By Michael McCarty

Special to The Daily Iowan

“Lips, Lips, Lips ….” the members of the audience chant.

It’s midnight at the Astro Theatre in Iowa.

As the light dim, attention focus on an enormous pair of ruby lips. The chanting accelerates, people start clapping and the lips start signing.

The Rock Horror Picture Show is part of a series of midnight movies shown at local theaters and sponsored by Iowa City radio station KRNA.

In the past, the series featured such films as The Blues Brothers, My Bloody Valentine, The Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense, Heavy Metal and A Nightmare on Elm Street.

(The Blues Brothers movie)

CULT MOVIES can range from comedies to horror movies.

“When you speak of cult movies, you speak of extremes,” wrote Danny Peary in the book Cult Movies, Dell Publishing Co., 1981.

Movies such as Rocky Horror Picture Show “characteristically feature atypical heroes and heroines, offbeat dialogue, surprising plot resolutions, outstanding special effects, spectacular camera work, highly original story lines, brave themes, often of a social or political nature, definitive performances by stars who have cult status, the novel handling of popular but stale genre,” according to Cult Movies.

Rocky Horror Picture Show is one of the Astro’s most successful midnight movies. This weekend marks the tenth anniversary of its first showing. The picture made for $1.5 million has grossed more than $60 million. (Author’s note, since the publication of this article, “Rocky Horror,” has made over $160 million).

Part of Rocky Horror Picture Show’s success has been due to audiences participation. While costume audience members recite the dialogue, other audience members throw toast, paper, rice, toilet paper and water balloons at the screen.

Because the Astro prohibits outsides objects from being brought in, they sell kits before each performance of the show. Anton Koach, assistant manager said. “There were some eggs thrown at the screen and it was ruined.” The kits include rice and playing cards, among other things, and cost 50 cents.

THE AUDIENCE antics take time to clean up, according to one employee; however, according to Astro employee Christy Wildebour, “it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”

Rocky Horror Picture Show “was loads of fun,” said Wildebour. “The clean up wasn’t bad they check people’s pockets before letting them in.”

Vickie Schleif, Astro manager, said the typical cult films audience ranges from age 17 to 30. with usually more than 100 people showing up.

Schleif gets a list of films to distribute from Des Moines. From that list she picks what to show as part of the midnight movie series. “We show the films about every four months.”

Rocky Horror Picture Show will be shown again Nov. 8 and 9 and Pink Floyd’s The Wall will be show Nov. 15.

The Wall is about Pink, played by Bob Geldof, a rock ‘n’ roll performer who sits locked in a hotel room in Los Angeles, victim of another music burn out.

(Want to read a review of Pink Floyd’s The Wall …

Pink Floyd “The Wall” (The Movie)

After The Wall Koach said, “Anything could be shown.” The midnight movie cost $3.00

If you like this blog or any of my other blogs, please check this book out:

ESOTERIA-LAND by Michael McCarty

Ebook is only .99 cents

(Nonfiction)

Interviews with Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues, Tommy Chong of Cheech & Chong, Terry Pratchett, Mojo Nixon, Bobcat Goldthwait and many more…

Top 25 Road Songs

By Michael McCarty & Cindy McCarty

1.   “On The Road Again”  – Willie Nelson
2.     “Must Have Gotten Lost” – J. Geils Band
3.     (Tie)  “Pink Cadillac” – Bruce Springsteen & Aretha Franklin
4.     “Long Way Home” – Supertramp
5.     “Back on the Road Again” – REO Speedwagon
6.     “Helen Wheels” – Paul McCartney & Wings
7.     “Mama, I’m Coming Home” – Ozzy Osbourne
8.     “Drive” – The Cars
9. “Road To Nowhere” – The Talking Heads  
10.     “Drive My Car” – The Beatles
11.     “Traveling Band” – Creedence Clearwater Revival  
12.     (Tie)  “Route 66” – Rolling Stones, Depeche Mode & Bobby Troup
13.     “Crossroads” – Cream
14.     “Cars” – Randy Neuman
15.     “Highway 61 Revisited” – Bob Dylan
16.    “Cross Town Traffic” – Jimi Hendrix
17.    “Home Sweet Home” – Motley Crue
18.    “Fast Car” – Tracy Chapman
19.    “Little Deuce Coupe” – The Beach Boys
20.    “Little Red Corvette” – Prince
21.    “Long Way Home” – Norah Jones
22. . “Panama” – Van Halen
23. “They Call Me The Breeze” – Lynyrd Skynyrd
24. “Running On Empty” – Jackson Brown
25. “I Can’t Drive 55” – Sammy Hager

Honorable Mentions:

“Midnight Cruiser” – Steely Dan, “Heavy Metal, (Takin’ a Ride)” – Don Felder, “Born To Run” – Bruce Springsteen, “Life is a Highway” – Tom Cochrane, “Ventura Highway” – America and “She Loves My Automobile” – ZZ Top

Photo by Bruce Walters

If you like this blog or any of my blogs, please check these books:

ESOTERIA-LAND by Michael McCarty

Ebook is only .99 cents

(Nonfiction)

Interviews with Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues, Tommy Chong of Cheech & Chong, Terry Pratchett, Mojo Nixon, Bobcat Goldthwait and many more…

LOST GIRL OF THE LAKE by Joe McKinney & Michael McCarty

(novella)

Lost Girl of the Lake by 2-time Bram Stoker Winner Joe McKinney & Five Time Bram Stoker Finalist Michael McCarty

Lake Livingston: August, 1961.

Mark Gaitlin is 15, the son of one of the wealthiest men in Texas, and on the most boring summer vacation of his life. His days are filled with the pomp and circumstance of country club life, while his nights are a parade of one embarrassment after another at the hands of giggling teenage girls.

But the piney woods above Lake Livingston are dark at night, and hold many secrets for an impressionable youngster on the cusp of becoming a man. And one night, after skinny dipping in the lake with a mysterious local girl, Mark Gaitlin’s life takes a crazy turn into the fire and brimstone religion of backwoods snake handlers and abandoned villages haunted by old family secrets. If he can survive the snakes and the ghosts and his own family’s dark history, he just might make it out of the woods alive

See less

The First Kiss: Or the first time I saw the band KISS

by Michael McCarty

A fan recently asked me about the first time I saw the band KISS and heard their song “I Was Made for Lovin’ You.”

Back in junior high school, KISS was the bomb. They were the talk of the school. My friend Tim McLarnan talked about them constantly and kept bugging me to watch the HBO KISS concert. He had just seen them perform in Davenport at the RKO, I think the summer before.

Curious, I finally watched the KISS concert Tim told me about:

The music was loud. They shot fireballs into the air, spit blood, and rocked… and rocked… and rocked.

Photo edit: Mike McCarty & ChatGPT (OpenAI)

I can’t say I was a fan of their music at the time. That would come much later.

But I was a teenage horror nerd, and I loved the show.

Eventually, I watched KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park, which I thought was a lot of fun. I also discovered Gene Simmons as a villain in Runaway—a film I highly recommend horror and sci-fi fans to check out.

Looking back, I think that was the appeal. Before I was a KISS fan, I was a fan of their spectacle. They were part rock band, part horror show, and part comic book come to life.

Interesting side note, the Quad Cities is mentioned a couple of times on the 1975 “Alive! Album. First with the “Live from Davenport” announcement as part of the show’s opening segment. And then Gene Simmons shouts, “C’mon Quad Cities on “Let Me Go, Rock N Roll.” It was from July 20, 1975, concert at the RKO Orpheum Theatre (now the Adler Theater) in Davenport, Iowa

As for the song, “I Was Made For Lovin’ You.” I liked it when it first came out. I know a lot of KISS fans may hate this cover, but
the French band Les Enfoires “Si on S’aimait” (sung of course in French), always makes me smile.

If you like this blog, please consider getting:

ESOTERIA-LAND by Michael McCarty

Ebook is only .99 cents

(Nonfiction)

Interviews with Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues, Tommy Chong of Cheech & Chong, Terry Pratchett, Mojo Nixon, Bobcat Goldthwait, Koko Taylor and many more…

Coyote Ugly

By Michael McCarty

I received an email from a fan who had read WAITING FOR THE NIGHT.

“Hey Mike, I really enjoyed WAITING FOR THE NIGHT, especially the story ‘Red Rain.’ There are a couple of chapters with coyotes in them. What was the inspiration for that? And are you a fan of Wile E. Coyote?”

(Wile E. Coyote From The Road Runner Cartoons)

I glad you enjoyed the book. To answer the questions, I am going to start with second part. Yes, I am a fan of Wile E. Coyote of Chuck Jones’ Road Runner cartoons.

Many years ago, in the original publication of LAUGHING IN THE DARK by Michael McCarty (published by Damnation Books which is now out of print). Not to be confused with LAUGHING IN THE DARK by Michael McCarty (published by Evil Cookie, which is in print)

Anyway, the out of print edition had a story called “Wile E. Wanker and The Death by Chocolate Manufacturing Plant,” by Michael McCarty and Mark McLaughlin. It was our spoof of “Willy Wonka” movies, plus a nod at the Road Runner cartoons.

The first part of your question is a little more complex. I will try my best …..

(A photo of the coyote on the road)

Up to a few years ago, I never really had an opinion of coyotes one way or another. That changed when I was doing pest control. I was on the outsides of Davenport on a country road, the road was coming down really hard. There was a sign ahead, but the rain was so fierce, I couldn’t read.

The sign said something like

“Don’t drive when heavy rains”

This reason why, the dirt road quickly turns to mud you’ll get stuck. Which I did….

I had to call three tow trucks, because my truck was heavy and I was deep in the mud. I was stuck there for almost three hours.

But I was not alone.I had seen about half a dozen coyotes running out in the outskirts each had different animals in their mouths:

squirrels

rabbits

chickens

As a rabbit pet owner, I didn’t particularly like this. I didn’t feel I was in any danger myself. But I felt the neighborhood animals were.

When I was working on my short story collection WAITING FOR THE NIGHT with Terrie Leigh Relf.

I wrote a story called “Red Rain,” and since the edge of Davenport isn’t too far from Park View, I included coyotes in it.

So besides getting stuck in the mud, I got stuck with an idea about coyotes which I ended up using in “Red Rain.”

WAITING FOR THE NIGHT

by Michael L McCarty & Terrie Leigh Relf

Waiting for the Night is a short story collection with 12 terror tales featuring vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and skinwalkers written by Michael L McCarty & Terrie Leigh Relf

In the tale “Red Rain,” it’s raining in Iowa. There is nothing unusual about a deluge in the Hawkeye State, except this time the rain is as red as blood, and if a raindrop lands on your skin, the flesh is eaten away. The small town of Park View is stranded from the outside world and the red rain cuts off all communication from the rest of the world. Cell phones, landlines, and the internet all stop working. Then the power. It seems like doom. It seems like the end of the world. But then the rain stops and a sinister red fog creeps into town, and that is when the real terror begins. Stand-up comedians, bikers, pest control technicians, convenience store clerks, a retired wrestler, moms, students, and others try to survive the night from the red rain.

https://www.amazon.com/Waiting-Night-Michael-McCarty-ebook/dp/B0F4V9CDM

The Raven Revisited

By Edgar Allan Poe (with additional material by Bruce Walters & Michael McCarty)

(Edgar Allan Poe, born 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts – Photo by Bruce Walters)

CAST

 EDGAR ALLAN POE — solemn, dramatic, every word dipped in candlelight and tragedy.
 MICHAEL McCARTY — energetic, sly, with the timing of a stand-up comic and the twinkle of the undead.
THE RAVEN — silent, except for one croak at the end.

SETTING
A dim Victorian study. A single flickering candle on a desk.
A raven’s shadow looms above the door. Thunder murmurs faintly.

SOUND CUE:
Soft wind. Pages flutter. A low “tapping.”

POE
(Startled; rising from his chair)
Once upon a midnight dreary,
While I pondered—weak and weary—
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—
Came a tapping—softly mocking—
Like a jester grimly knocking—
Knocking at my chamber door!

(He pauses. Another, louder knock.)
’Tis some critic, I reflected—
Come to wound my soul once more…

(He opens the “door” theatrically.)

The door swings wide —revealing!
by moonlight parted—
A spectral Michael McCarty
Bearing sixty books—perhaps a dozen more!

POE:
(Recoiling in dignified horror)
Sixty? Sixty!—Good heavens, man!
That’s more than anyone reads in a lifetime!
What unholy muse compels such output?

McCARTY:
Caffeine. Deadlines. And a few restless spirits.

(After a sigh, he continues with a grand gesture, a little puffed up)
Oh, I was once a stand-up comedian….

The Horror, the horror…

And here is one of my jokes. (Pulls out a notecard out of his jacket)

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Oops wrong notecard (throws it across the room. Pulls another notecard)

Why did the raven cross the road?

POE:

(Shrugs)

(Edgar Allen Poe Square in Boston – photo by Bruce Walters)

McCARTY:

To eat the carcass of a dead racoon.

POE:

That isn’t funny.

McCARTY:

No. But delicious eats for the raven. Although eating crow is funnier.

POE:
(Disbelieving, interrupts)
A comedian? In the company of ghosts?
Surely, sir, you jest!

McCARTY:
Always. Nothing scares Death more than a good punchline.

POE:
My dear McCarty… your tales—
Are they dreadful? Are they grim?
Do they curl the blood and chill the soul?

McCARTY:
Blood-curdling? My dear Poe—
They’re more blood-curdling
Than anything you or Lovecraft have written in decades!

POE:
(Archly)
Indeed… though we have been somewhat indisposed.

 Still—your words, I sense, conceal a truth.
The laugh and the scream… are twin-born things.

McCARTY:
I make them laugh while they scream—
and scream while they laugh.

POE:
(softly, with reluctant admiration)
A paradox most profound.
The macabre… made merry.
The dreadful… made divine.

(He turns to the audience.)
Attend, dear friends, and mark this art—
For here beneath the Raven that sits, still beguiling
above my chamber door…
Its eyes gleam red, though now smiling—

 The laughter echoes… evermore.

(Thunder rolls. Poe bows. The Raven croaks once—then silence.)

LIGHTING:
Both men freeze beneath the Raven’s silhouette.
Candle flickers out. Silence.

CURTAIN.

(Bruce Walters and Michael McCarty photos by Cindy McCarty)

EERIE IOWA
By Michael L McCarty & Bruce Walters.

The farmlands and rural areas of Iowa are no stranger to the weird, dark and mysterious. Learn about a terrestrial sighting from 1903, a creepy cryptid that terrorized the town of Van Meter. Find out about Bigfoot sightings in Calhoun County. Peer under the waters of Lake Okoboji to find a huge lake monster. Read the history of a frightening sculpture based on a story by Franz Kafka and hear a premonition that predicted a devastating fire. Five-time Bram Stoker Finalist author Michael McCarty and Professor Emeritus Bruce Walters forge a twisted path through shadowy, Gothic Iowa. Do you dare follow?

WAITING FOR THE NIGHT

By Michael McCarty & Terrie Leigh Relf

(Front & Back cover by Bruce Walters)

Waiting for the Night is a short story collection with 12 terror tales featuring vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and skinwalkers written by Michael L McCarty & Terrie Leigh Relf

In the tale “Red Rain,” it’s raining in Iowa. There is nothing unusual about a deluge in the Hawkeye State, except this time the rain is as red as blood, and if a raindrop lands on your skin, the flesh is eaten away. The small town of Park View is stranded from the outside world and the red rain cuts off all communication from the rest of the world. Cell phones, landlines, and the internet all stop working. Then the power. It seems like doom. It seems like the end of the world. But then the rain stops and a sinister red fog creeps into town, and that is when the real terror begins. Stand-up comedians, bikers, pest control technicians, convenience store clerks, a retired wrestler, moms, students, and others try to survive the night from the red rain.

INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE WRITER: OR THE INSPIRATION BEHIND MY FIRST NOVEL

By Michael McCarty

I worked on my first novel for 10 years. I read over 100 vampire books from the classics to contemporaries. I leaned on 4 books very heavily and kept going back to them over and over…. Interview With The Vampire and Tale of the Body Thief by Anne Rice, Shade by David Darke and I, Vampire by Michael Romkey.

All those and other books had a huge impact on my writing.

Strangely enough, the two people that really launched my novel inspiration into the stratosphere were David Baker and the great, late Randy Popp who let me host “KALA Presents The Arts.” I had interviewed people for years via newspapers or magazines … but live on air interviews was like walking on a tightrope without a net.

I took my year long stint of radio host and used it for the plotline of LIQUID DIET, where a vampire writer and vampire is interviewed on an all-night radio show.

LIQUID DIET & MIDNIGHT SNACK owes so much to Anne Rice, David Darke, Michael Romkey, David Baker and Randy Popp. Many thanks to everyone!!!!

LIQUID DIET & MIDNIGHT SNACK

by Michael McCarty

INTERLUDE WITH THE VAMPIRE …. OR INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE WRITER As the blood-red sun sets over the Chicago skyline real-life vampire, Andrew Bloodsworth makes his way into WOLF 99.9 FM, an all-night radio station hosted by the beautiful Bella Donna, Goth queen of the airwaves. As Bloodsworth reveals how he first became a vampire and the dark secrets and desires of the undead, listeners call in to talk to the undead writer. Most of the listeners are vampire and horror enthusiasts who are overjoyed to talk to a real life vampire, but OTTO-the Opposition To The Occult, a religious right-wing organization-is also listening to the radio show, and they’re not amused. If that wasn’t enough, tabloid TV host, Harry Winger, who features equally outrageous guests on his program, wants Bloodsworth to appear on his show. Plus, the Amazing Kreskin, the world’s foremost mentalist, has just had a premonition of imminent disaster. What will happen next? Tune in to find out!

Also check out my other vampire books ….

BITERS: Tales of Zombies & Vampires by Michael McCarty

They thrive in the shadows, hungry for blood, hungry for human flesh. BITERS, from 5-time Bram Stoker Finalist Michael McCarty, is a thrilling collection of 4 zombie stories and 4 vampire tales by a veteran author of over fifty books and numerous stories and works of nonfiction since the 1980s. Within these pages you will find excitingly original and macabre tales of biters of all sorts to make you shiver and even question your own sanity, featuring incredible special guest co-authors! Dare, if you will to enter the world of….BITERS! Stories include “The Glowing Dead,” “Dracula’s Daughter,” “Buried with Children,” “Wanted Dead or Alive,” and more. This collection presents author McCarty’s seasoned talent in a showcase of terror enough to thrill the most devout horror fan, as well as fans of the author!

THE BLOODLES TRILOGY by Michael L McCarty & Jody R. LaGreca
3 Books, 1 Price

Bloodless
Bloodlust
& Bloodline

Five-time Bram Stoker Award Finalist Michael McCarty and multi‑genre novelist Jody R. LaGreca join forces to create a dark, addictive vampire saga infused with horror, history, romance, and wickedly original twists. Together they bring you THE BLOODLESS TRILOGY—a series that spans decades, disasters, forbidden love, and the unbreakable bonds of an undead family.

BLOODLESS (Book 1)
Daniel Peck, a modern-day vampire over a century old, begins his cursed existence aboard the doomed Lusitania when the ancient and seductive Veronica—Queen of the Undead—claims him as her own. After surviving both the Lusitania and the Hindenburg, Daniel hides in plain sight as a middle school substitute teacher, feeding off the energy of four students and turning them into zombie-like thralls.

His lonely existence shifts when he meets Annie Julliard, a charming motel owner. Enchanted, Daniel transforms her into a rare white vampire and brings her—and his four thralls—into his strange, makeshift family. But with love comes chaos, and Daniel soon discovers that immortality only complicates everything…

BLOODLUST (Book 2)
The saga deepens as Daniel’s thirst for vengeance collides with secrets that stretch from Hollywood to the underworld. Bloodlust unveils the hidden truth behind Marilyn Monroe’s death, the mysteries of the Stardust Inn, and the volatile love triangle between Daniel, Annie, and Annie’s sister Vicki.

Meanwhile, FBI agent Ronald Barrett has spent over thirty years hunting Daniel for the murder of his mother. As Veronica pursues her own sinister agenda, Daniel is forced into a deadly game of loyalty, passion, and survival. This is no cookie‑cutter vampire tale—the Bloodless Series blends horror, history, and romantic suspense into a world unlike any other.

BLOODLINE (Book 3)
The swinging 1960s bring new temptations and old ghosts. Daniel rekindles a fiery romance with Georgia “Gigi” Carrington, a young artist whose blood—and beauty—are irresistible. Their affair burns hot, then collapses in a storm of heartbreak.

Now settled with Annie at the Stardust Inn, Daniel faces a new crisis when Annie’s infamous house—“Vampire Ville”—is threatened with repossession. Determined to save her home, Annie vows to turn “Wall Street into Blood Street,” even if it tears the family apart.

When Annie forces Daniel out, he reunites with Gigi after half a century apart, igniting a connection that leads to a shocking, blood‑soaked finale. The trilogy races toward an explosive conclusion that cements the Bloodless Series as a bold, unforgettable vampire saga.

Ebook:
https://www.amazon.com/BLOODLESS-TRILOGY-Vampire-Michael-McCarty-ebook/dp/B0GKFDJYWB/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0

Trade Paperback:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GKVMKN7K?ref=sp_email

Hardcover:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GKY8H9JS?

And Audio book too:

https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/the-bloodless-trilogy/id1890129883

DRACULA TRANSFORMED

Co-written by Michael McCarty

Throughout history, people have been fascinated by the seductive allure of vampires. We read about them in books, watch stories about them on television and in movies — but do we know all there is to know about them? Of course not. These creatures of the shadows have kept their most shocking secrets hidden . . . until now.
Dracula Transformed & Other Bloodthirsty Tales features eleven vampire stories by Bram Stoker Award-winning author Mark McLaughlin and Bram Stoker Award finalist Michael McCarty. In these stories, they have unearthed many of the secrets of the bloodthirsty dead.

In the novella Dracula Transformed, Dracula is brought back from beyond the grave in a manner that gives him startling new powers. Using these powers, he begins a bloody campaign of vengeance. In Lucy Transformed, you will learn of the relationship between Dracula and his daughter Zaleska, as well as his growing fondness for Lucy Westenra — a fondness that will seal Lucy’s doom. Even more vampiric horror awaits you in the remaining nine tales.

RETURN OF THE SCREAM QUEEN by Michael L McCarty, Linnea Quigley & Stan Swanson

A profound and highly entertaining horror adventure and tribute to B-movies of a lost age.

Scream Queen Desiree Starr is tired of starring in one low budget horror movie after another, and with each passing film her wardrobe becomes skimpier and skimpier. Zyana, an Aztec queen who has returned from death for vengeance against those who deprived and decimated her long-ago empire, cares not who gets in her way.

Horror film cinema personality Desiree returns to Florida to film another horror movie, only to face the perilous ordeal of confronting the Aztec Queen. Mayhem, gore, sex, and an unimaginable assortment of carnage ensues, the likes of which only authors Michael McCarty, Scream Queen herself Linnea Quigley (Return of the Living Dead), and Stan Swanson can write into a mind-blowing story that will totally mess you up!

“McCarty, Quigley, Swanson make one helluva good team. Their voices blend seamlessly to form a madcap romp through the B movie horrors we all love so much. Their plotting is as tight as a scream queen’s bikini, and their story every bit as titillating.” – Joe McKinney, legendary Bram Stoker award winner.

Bruce Walters on KALA FM

By Michael McCarty

Bruce Walters went on KALA FM to talk about EERIE IOWA by Michael McCarty and Bruce Walters. It runs for 30 minutes. A lot of ground is covered, fascinating interview.

Check it out at:

Bruce Walters holding the other EERIE book EERIE QUAD CITIES by Michael McCarty and John Brassard Jr. Bruce took some great photos in that book too

Eerie Iowa
By Michael L McCarty & Bruce Walters

Witness the Darker Side of the Hawkeye State

The farmlands and rural areas of Iowa are no stranger to the weird, dark and mysterious. Learn about a terrestrial sighting from 1903, a creepy cryptid that terrorized the town of Van Meter. Find out about Bigfoot sightings in Calhoun County. Peer under the waters of Lake Okoboji to find a huge lake monster. Read the history of a frightening sculpture based on a story by Franz Kafka and hear a premonition that predicted a devastating fire. Five-time Bram Stoker Finalist author Michael McCarty and Professor Emeritus Bruce Walters forge a twisted path through shadowy, Gothic Iowa. Do you dare follow?

I Like Big Blogs I Cannot Lie

14 Years of Blogging

by Michael McCarty

Actually this is a small blog. So I guess I am lying…

LOL

(A photo of me by Charles Dickens’ sons grave at Riverside Cemetery in Moline, Illinois. Photo by Joyce Godwin Grubbs. I was going to use it originally for my book GHOSTS OF THE QUAD CITIES. But couldn’t find it in time for the deadline)

I’ve been blogging on this blogsite now for 14 years, May 2012 is when this all began …

Here is the link to to my blog about blogs, it tells the complete story …..  

10 Years Of Blogging

(Tristan Tapscott and Michael McCarty on Living Local’s ‘Creepy Quad Cities,’ a 4-part series that featured EERIE QUAD CITIES by Michael McCarty and John Brassard Jr.)

If you read the 10 years of blogging blog, I went into the blogs kicking and screaming. But ended up loving doing them.

As of date:

260 blogs (I actually published something like 270, but accidentally deleted 10 of them because I didn’t know what the hell I was doing)

My blogs were viewed in 120 countries, a lot of the countries, I haven’t even heard of, the top 10 are:

United States

United Kingdom

Canada

Ireland

Australia

Germany

Brazil

France

Sweden

Spain

(Michael McCarty researching QUAD CITIES BEER: A HISTORY with Kristin DeMarr. Photo by Kristin DeMarr)

To date:

36,000 views

from 28,000 visitors

200 likes

88 comments

39 subscribers. I wish I had more subscribers. If you want to pay, that is great. But all 39 are freebies. Pay or freebie … it is all good with me.

Lastly at first, I only had a few people who read my blogs on a regularly — my mother, Joyce Godwin Grubbs and Brad Heden. My mom and Joyce passed away. And Brad just dropped off the radar.

Anyway, I’d like to thank all of your for reading these blogs. I’ve had many, many other authors and publishers say, “why waste your time writing blogs, people don’t buy your books from blogs.”

I write to keep in touch with my fans, family and friends.

But if you want to buy a book too:

ESOTERIA-LAND

by Michael McCarty

The reason I’ve kept these blogs alive. The book hasn’t sold that well, but it also a few. Here is the info:

ESOTERIA-LAND by Michael McCarty

Ebook is only .99 cents

(Nonfiction)

The Stock Market Vs. The Arts: a true story

By Michael McCarty

When I was in 7th or 8th grade, every Friday for one month, this businessman from Alcoa visited our Junior High School classroom. He was representing Junior Achievement and he talked about business, local business, the stock market, etc. The assignment he gave us was this, you can buy up to 100 shares in any company or companies – one hundred shares in one company or one hundred one shares in a hundred companies. And for the next month, Monday through Friday, check the stock market listing of your companies and write down what the shares are worth for that day.

I came home and told my mom about this assignment and she asked what companies I wanted and I said I had no idea. She suggested Alcoa for brownie points and I said okay. We looked at the listing of companies and said, “You like the Quad City Times, they are owned by Lee Enterprises” and I said okay. And then she said, “Your uncle works for IBM, why not IBM?” and I said okay. 

Last Friday, the gentleman from Alcoa would evaluate the stocks and tell you how much you made. He looked at my companies and said, “Unfortunately Lee Enterprises and Alcoa didn’t do that well this month. But IBM did, you actually made money on IBM.”

That stuck with me.

In High School (West High, Davenport, Iowa), a couple representatives from Junior Achievement did a presentation about JA and handed out a paper to fill out if you wanted to join. And said, “There however are three companies with very limited openings: The Quad City Times, KSTT (radio) and WQAD. If you want to join any of those three, you have to write why you’d be a good candidate.”

It was my first resume of sorts. I wrote, I had worked for the sixth grade newspaper and the Junior High School newspaper.

About a couple weeks later, I got a letter in the mail saying I could join the Quad City Times Junior Achievement newspaper. That newspaper published as an insert in the Times was the first time they did. I’d written that paper for all three years I was in high school.

After I graduated college, I looked for employment at a newspaper. I sent my resume to hundreds of newspapers in the Chicago and suburban areas. I ended up with a few job interviews, but didn’t get hired by one paper.

However after about six weeks of looking, I ended up getting hired by IBM in Oak Brook.

My uncle Bill and aunt Audrey said I could live with them, rent free, to save up money until I had enough to move out on my own.

After about two months, I saved up about $1000 dollars (which would probably be worth around $2,500 in today’s dollars).

My aunt and uncle didn’t mind me staying at their place and said I could stay a few more months if I wanted to.

In the meantime, although I was hired as a supplemental employee at IBM (which meant I had a year contract to work, but I was only granted employment for 12 months) I still had the option to buy IBM stock.

I thought about it. I could invest my $1000 in IBM stock and when my job ended, I could cash the stocks out, and that would make unemployment keep me afloat until I landed another job.

It seemed like a good idea.

Around the time I was plotting to invest in the stock market, I saw an article about a John Lennon art exhibit opening at an Oak Brook mall, not that far from where I worked. I couldn’t make it the first day of the opening, but the following day I went.

What I was really surprised at with the lithography art show was most of them were made when John Lennon and his son Sean went to Jamaica and they were all really very happy and joyful artwork. This was just a few weeks before he was murdered.

A pretty lady who worked at the art gallery asked me what I thought and I told her, I was really impressed that Lennon was so happy when he spent time with son before he was killed. She asked if I wanted to buy any of the lithographs.

I said one had caught my eye, “Self Portrait.” The image was used for the Lennon documentary Imagine and also on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine as well.

She said, the list price was $800 and it had a great number too which made it even more collectible. I thought about it and asked, could I think about it. She said, if I wanted the gallery to hold a bid, they would until Friday night. I told them to hold a bid.

Over the next two days, I really seriously considered buying the artwork over the IBM stock market.

But in the end, I did neither. I called up the art dealer and told her not to hold my bid. I was going to use the money to move out on my own.

She thought it was a good idea, wished me luck and thanked me for getting back to her before the deadline.

When the contract came to an end, I was really worried. I didn’t have any prospects or such. IBM did the nicest thing possible, they gave me a three month extension of my contract. And after that, they gave me another three month extension. I was given another half a year of employment.

When my original contract was coming to an end, I did look at the IBM stocks and realized that it didn’t really go up that much over a year.

I made a good choice after all.

Fast forward to now. I asked a friend who knows the arts, how much does the John Lennon “Self-Portrait” lithograph go for these days. She said, didn’t really know, but if I was to hazard a guess, somewhere between $3000 – 10,000.

The moral of the story is this:

Invest in the arts. Support your local arts: buy a budding artist’s painting, buy a CD of your favorite local band … and my favorite, support your local authors by purchasing their books.

And thank you.

If you liked this blog, please consider buying: Michael McCarty’s Esoteria-Land:

ESOTERIA-LAND by Michael McCarty

Ebook is only .99 cents

Introduction by Horror Actress /Scream Queen Linnea Quigley and Afterword by The Amazing Kreskin …. plus some cool interviews, reviews and articles too

Interviews with Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues, Tommy Chong of Cheech & Chong, Terry Pratchett, Mojo Nixon, Bobcat Goldthwait, Alan Dean Foster, Famous Monsters editor Forry Ackerman and many more..

Michael McCarty on Living Local (The Bloodless Trilogy)

Looking for your next page‑turning obsession? 📚
Get sucked into a brand‑new book series—Michael McCarty’s The Bloodless Trilogy.
Our next guest has written a sweeping saga where immortality, forbidden love, and real‑world history collide with the undead. 🩸✨

(Tristan Tapscott, Brandy Auterson-Hurst and Michael McCarty on Living Local)

Today, Michael McCarty joins us to talk about his newest series, The Bloodless Trilogy, and what inspired this dark, captivating story.
If you love epic storytelling with a supernatural twist, this is one you won’t want to miss!

Here is the link:

https://www.ourquadcities.com/uncategorized/get-sucked-into-a-brand-new-book-series-michael-mccartys-the-bloodless-trilogy

Jody LaGreca

Michael McCarty with the novel LIQUID DIET & MIDNIGHT SNACK

THE BLOODLES TRILOGY by Michael L McCarty & Jody R. LaGreca
3 Books, 1 Price

Bloodless
Bloodlust
& Bloodline

Five-time Bram Stoker Award Finalist Michael McCarty and multi‑genre novelist Jody R. LaGreca join forces to create a dark, addictive vampire saga infused with horror, history, romance, and wickedly original twists. Together they bring you THE BLOODLESS TRILOGY—a series that spans decades, disasters, forbidden love, and the unbreakable bonds of an undead family.

BLOODLESS (Book 1)
Daniel Peck, a modern-day vampire over a century old, begins his cursed existence aboard the doomed Lusitania when the ancient and seductive Veronica—Queen of the Undead—claims him as her own. After surviving both the Lusitania and the Hindenburg, Daniel hides in plain sight as a middle school substitute teacher, feeding off the energy of four students and turning them into zombie-like thralls.

His lonely existence shifts when he meets Annie Julliard, a charming motel owner. Enchanted, Daniel transforms her into a rare white vampire and brings her—and his four thralls—into his strange, makeshift family. But with love comes chaos, and Daniel soon discovers that immortality only complicates everything…

BLOODLUST (Book 2)
The saga deepens as Daniel’s thirst for vengeance collides with secrets that stretch from Hollywood to the underworld. Bloodlust unveils the hidden truth behind Marilyn Monroe’s death, the mysteries of the Stardust Inn, and the volatile love triangle between Daniel, Annie, and Annie’s sister Vicki.

Meanwhile, FBI agent Ronald Barrett has spent over thirty years hunting Daniel for the murder of his mother. As Veronica pursues her own sinister agenda, Daniel is forced into a deadly game of loyalty, passion, and survival. This is no cookie‑cutter vampire tale—the Bloodless Series blends horror, history, and romantic suspense into a world unlike any other.

BLOODLINE (Book 3)
The swinging 1960s bring new temptations and old ghosts. Daniel rekindles a fiery romance with Georgia “Gigi” Carrington, a young artist whose blood—and beauty—are irresistible. Their affair burns hot, then collapses in a storm of heartbreak.

Now settled with Annie at the Stardust Inn, Daniel faces a new crisis when Annie’s infamous house—“Vampire Ville”—is threatened with repossession. Determined to save her home, Annie vows to turn “Wall Street into Blood Street,” even if it tears the family apart.

When Annie forces Daniel out, he reunites with Gigi after half a century apart, igniting a connection that leads to a shocking, blood‑soaked finale. The trilogy races toward an explosive conclusion that cements the Bloodless Series as a bold, unforgettable vampire saga.

Ebook:
https://www.amazon.com/BLOODLESS-TRILOGY-Vampire-Michael-McCarty-ebook/dp/B0GKFDJYWB/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0

Trade Paperback:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GKVMKN7K?ref=sp_email

Hardcover:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GKY8H9JS?

Also on Audio Book:

https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/the-bloodless-trilogy/id1890129883