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I have begun to earliest work on my next novel. Another horror, this one a bit of a period piece, but a period I know well, San Diego the summer of 1984. This one will be a ghost story centered on an arthouse/revival house movie theater in the Kensington area of the city. For people who know San Diego, yes, I am crafting a fictional version of the beloved Ken Cinema that ceased operations at the start of the pandemic. The Ken was part of the Landmark chain of theaters that once thrived here and now no theaters of that illustrious chain remain open in San Diego.

The summer of ’84 was an eventful summer for the nation and the city. Los Angeles hosted the Olympics, which the Soviets boycotted. Our mayor was embroiled in a scandal that seems so small and quaint by today’s degenerated politics. Ronald Reagan was riding to a massive electoral victory and San Diego erupted on the map with for a while the largest mass-murder event in the country’s history. Sadly, America has broken that record repeatedly.

That was the year I still performed as part of the fans that attended The Rocky Horror Picture Show midnight screenings, made lifelong friends, and discovered some of my favorite films in class at college.

Amid all this crisis and confusion, I plan to play with ghosts and cinema. It should be a lot of fun.