Ann Patchett, on writing:

 

I'm very comfortable writing.

- Ann Patchett.

Recommended reading - Dark City: The Film Noir (1984)

 

Dark City: The Film Noir (1984).

by Spencer Selby.

 
Published by McFarland Classics.
Paperback.
 
ISBN-10: 0786404787
ISBN-13: 978-0786404780
 
Description:
 

The most complete reference to the dark 40s and 50s stylistic dramas. The first section has a lengthy analytical essay as well as detailed plot descriptions and credits for 25 classics – such as The Maltese Falcon, Laura, and Detective Story. The second section is an annotated filmography including major credits and short descriptions of nearly 500 films. Also included are appendices listing every film noir by both director and chronological order, off-genre noirs, and other films bearing important relationships to the noir cycle.

 

San Francisco’s Spencer Selby spent over five years researching and writing Dark City. This acclaimed work was called “a first-rate reference” by Booklist, while American Reference Books Annual called the book “Brilliant … both valuable and informative.”

Recommended reading - Nothing Lasts Forever (1979)

 

Nothing Lasts Forever (1979).

by Roderick Thorp.

 
Filmed as Die Hard (1988).
 
Published by Graymalkin Media.
Paperback.
 
ISBN-10: 1935169181
ISBN-13: 978-1935169185
 
Description:
 
The pulse pounding bestseller that started it all.
 
Inspiration for the film Die Hard.
 
The greatest action film of all time. – Entertainment Weekly.
 
A ferocious, bloody, raging book so single-mindedly brilliant in concept and execution it should be read at a single sitting. – Los Angeles Times.
 
Keeps us in a state of almost unequaled suspense and excitement! – The New Yorker.
 
High atop a Los Angeles skyscraper, an office Christmas party turns into a deadly cage-match between a lone New York City cop and a gang of international terrorists. Every action fan knows it could only be the explosive big-screen blockbuster Die Hard. But before Bruce Willis blew away audiences as unstoppable hero John McClane, author Roderick Thorp knocked out thriller readers with the bestseller that started it all.
 
A dozen heavily armed terrorists have taken hostages, issued demands, and promised bloodshed – all according to plan. But they haven't counted on a death-defying, one-man cavalry with no shoes, no backup, and no intention of going down easily. As hot-headed cops swarm outside, and cold-blooded killers wield machine guns and rocket launchers inside, the stage is set for the ultimate showdown between anti-hero and uber-villains. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good fight … to the death. Ho ho ho!

Born on this day – Edgar Rice Burroughs:

Writer

September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950

Credits:

Books:

6 Of The Best Ever Classic Sci Fi Stories (2012); A Fighting Man of Mars (1930); A Princess of Mars / aka Under The Moons Of Mars (1917); Apache Devil (1933); At the Earth's Core (1922); Back to the Stone Age (1937); Beyond the Farthest Star (1941); Black Cat Weekly #62 (2022); Black Cat Weekly #76 (2023); Black Cat Weekly #86 (2023); Black Cat Weekly #88 (2023); Brother Men (2005); Captive of the Centaurianess / A Princess of Mars (2012); Carson of Venus (1937); Deputy Sheriff of Commanche County (1940); Dreams and Wonders (2010); Escape on Venus (1946); Farewell, Fantastic Venus! (1968); I Am A Barbarian (1967); Jane: The Women Who Loved Tarzan / Tarzan of the Apes (2016); John Carter of Mars (1941); Journeys Through Time & Space (2017); Jungle Tales Of Tarzan / aka Tarzan's Jungle Tales (1917); Land of Terror (1944); Llana of Gathol (1948); Lost on Venus (1933); Marcia of the Doorstep (1924); Mars, We Love You (1973); Mother Was a Lovely Beast (1974); Out of Time's Abyss (1918); Pellucidar (1923); Pirate Blood (1970); Pirates of Venus (1934); Savage Pellucidar (1941); Science Fiction Classics (2001); Sense of Wonder (2023); Swords of Mars (1934); Synthetic Men of Mars (1938); Tales Of Three Planets (1964); Tanar of Pellucidar (1929); Tarzan and the Ant Men (1924); Tarzan and the Castaways (1965); Tarzan and the City of Gold (1933); Tarzan and the Forbidden City (1938); Tarzan and the Foreign Legion (1947); Tarzan and the Golden Lion (1923); Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar (1916); Tarzan and the Leopard Men (1935); Tarzan and the Lion Man (1933); Tarzan and the Lost Empire (1929); Tarzan and the Madman (1964); Tarzan and the Tarzan Twins, with Jad-bal-ja, the Golden Lion (1936); Tarzan at the Earth's Core (1930); Tarzan of the Apes (1912); Tarzan of the Apes / Prisoner of Zenda (2006); Tarzan the Invincible (1931); Tarzan the Magnificent (1939); Tarzan the Terrible (1921); Tarzan the Untamed (1920); Tarzan Triumphant (1932); Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle (1928); Tarzan's Quest (1935); The Bandit of Hell's Bend (1926); The Beasts of Tarzan (1914); The Big Book of Adventure Stories (2011); The Big Book of Classic Fantasy (2019); The Cave Girl (1925); The Chessmen of Mars (1922); The Edgar Rice Burroughs Western MEGAPACK (2015); The Efficiency Expert (1921); The Eternal Savage / aka The Eternal Lover (1925); The Girl From Farris's (1916); The Girl from Hollywood (1922); The Gods of Mars (1918); The Lad and the Lion (1938); The Land of Hidden Men / aka Jungle Girl (1932); The Land That Time Forgot (1924); The Lost Adventure (1995); The Lost Continent / aka Beyond Thirty (1915); The Mad King (1926); The Man Eater (1955); The Master Mind of Mars (1927); The Monster Men (1929); The Moon Maid (1923); The Moon Men (1925); The Mucker (1921); The Oakdale Affair (1917); The Outlaw of Torn (1927); The People That Time Forgot (1918); The Red Hawk (1925); The Return of Tarzan (1913); The Return of the Mucker / aka The Man without a Soul (1921); The Rider (1937); The Road to Science Fiction 2 (1979); The Son of Tarzan (1915); The Tarzan Twins (1926); The War Chief (1927); The Warlord of Mars (1919); The Wizard of Venus (1970); Thuvia, Maid of Mars (1920); Under the Moons of Mars (1970); You Lucky Girl (1999).

Movies and television:

Adventures of Tarzan (1921); At the Earth's Core (1976); Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984); John Carter (2012); John Carter: 100 Years in the Making (2012); Jungle Girl (1941); Kaj og Andrea (2000); Per una manciata d'oro (1965); Princess of Mars (2009); Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 6 (1922); Tarzan & Jane (2002); Tarzan (1967 / 1984 / 1999 / 2003 / 2013); Tarzán / TV series (1991–1995); Tarzan 2: The Legend Begins (2005); Tarzan Activity Center (1999); Tarzan and His Mate (1934); Tarzan and Jane (2017); Tarzan and the Amazons (1945); Tarzan and the Golden Lion (1927); Tarzan and the Great River (1967); Tarzan and the Green Goddess (1938); Tarzan and the Huntress (1947); Tarzan and the Jungle Boy (1968); Tarzan and the Leopard Woman (1946); Tarzan and the Lost City (1998); Tarzan and the Lost Safari (1957); Tarzan and the Mermaids (1948); Tarzan and the She-Devil (1953); Tarzan and the Slave Girl (1950); Tarzan and the Trappers (1960); Tarzan and the Valley of Gold (1966); Tarzan Escapes (1936); Tarzan Finds a Son! (1939); Tarzan Goes to India (1962); Tarzan in King Solomon's Mines (1973); Tarzan in Manhattan (1989); Tarzan of the Apes (1918 / 1998); Tarzan the Ape Man (1932 / 1981); Tarzan the Fearless (1933); Tarzan the Magnificent (1960); Tarzan the Mighty (1928); Tarzan the Tiger (1929); Tarzan Triumphs (1943); Tarzan van George (2023); Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle (1976–1978); Tarzan, the Ape Man (1959); Tarzan: Terk's Tree Surfing Challenge (2005); Tarzan: The Epic Adventures (1996–2000); Tarzan's Deadly Silence (1970); Tarzan's Desert Mystery (1943); Tarzan's Fight for Life (1958); Tarzan's Greatest Adventure (1959); Tarzan's Hidden Jungle (1955); Tarzan's Jungle Rebellion (1967); Tarzan's Magic Fountain (1949); Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942); Tarzan's Peril (1951); Tarzan's Revenge (1938); Tarzan's Savage Fury (1952); Tarzan's Secret Treasure (1941); Tarzan's Three Challenges (1963); The Lad and the Lion (1917); The Land That Time Forgot (1974 / 2009); The Legend of Tarzan (2001–2002 / 2016); The Lion Man (1936); The New Adventures of Tarzan (1935); The Oakdale Affair (1919); The People That Time Forgot (1977); The Revenge of Tarzan (1920); The Romance of Tarzan (1918); The Son of Tarzan (1920); The Tarzan/Lone Ranger/Zorro Adventure Hour (1980–1982); The Underground World (1943); Wish (2023).

Born on this day – Eleanor Alice Hibbert:

 

Writer

September 1, 1906 – January 18, 1993

Credits:

Books:

A Favorite of the Queen (1955); A Gothic Treasure Trove (1987); A Health Unto His Majesty (1956); A Time for Silence (1991); Alexa (1948); Begin to Live (1956); Believe the Heart (1950); Beyond the Blue Mountains (1947); Blaze of Noon (1958); Bride of Pendorric (1963); Bright Tomorrow (1952); Call of the Blood (1956); Caroline, the Queen (1968); Castile for Isabella (1960); Castles in Spain (1954); Charles II: Trilogy (1972); Courting Her Highness (1966); Danse Macabre (1952); Daughter of Anna (1941); Daughter of Deceit (1991); Daughter of Satan (1952); Daughters of England (1995); Daughters of Spain (1961); Dear Chance (1947); Dear Delusion (1952); Defenders of the Faith (1956); Epitaph for Three Women (1981); Evergreen Gallant (1965); Evil in the House / aka Such Bitter Business (1953); Flaunting, Extravagant Queen (1957); For a Queen's Love (1954); Goddess of the Green Room (1971); Hammer of the Scots aka Edward Longshanks (1979); Heart's Afire (1954); Here Lies Our Sovereign Lord (1957); In the Shadow of the Crown (1988); Indiscretions of the Queen (1970); It Began in Vauxhall Gardens / aka Melisande (1955); Katharine, the Virgin Widow (1961); Kirkland Revels (1962); Lament for a Lost Lover (1977); Last of the Stuarts (1977); Leave Me My Love (1953); Light on Lucrezia (1958); Lilith (1954); Lord of the Far Island (1975); Louis the Well Beloved (1959); Loyal in Love (1983); Lucrezia Borgia: Madonna of the Seven Hills and Light on Lucrezia (1976); Madame du Barry (1959); Madame Serpent (1951); Madonna of the Seven Hills (1958); Married in Haste (1956); Mary, Queen of France (1964); Mary, Queen of Scots (1975); Meg Roper (1961); Menfreya in the Morning / aka Menfreya (1966); Midsummer's Eve (1986); Milady Charlotte (1959); Miracle At St. Brunos (1972); Mistress of Mellyn (1960); Murder Most Royal / aka King's Pleasure (1949); My Enemy, the Queen (1978); Night of Stars (1960); Not in Our Stars (1945); Now That April's Gone (1961); On the Night of the Seventh Moon (1972); Passage to Pontefract (1981); Passionate Witness (1941); Perdita's Prince (1969); Poison in Pimlico (1950); Pride of the Morning (1958); Queen in Waiting (1967); Queen Jezebel (1953); Queen of This Realm (1985); Red Rose of Anjou (1982); Red Sky At Night (1959); Rochester (1957); Rooms at Mrs. Oliver's (1952); Royal Sisters (1966); Saint Or Sinner? (1951); Saraband for Two Sisters (1976); Secret for a Nightingale (1986); Selected Works (1979); Seven for a Secret (1992); Snare of Serpents (1990); So the Dreams Depart (1944); Spain for the Sovereigns (1960); Story of Elizabeth I (1984); Sweet Lass of Richmond Hill (1970); The Adulteress (1982); The Bastard King (1974); The Battle of the Queens (1978); The Bed Disturbed (1952); The Black Opal (1993); The Black Swan (1990); The Brides of Lanlory (1960); The Captive (1988); The Captive of Kensington Palace (1972); The Captive Queen of Scots (1963); The Changeling (1989); The Complete Tudors (2010); The Courts of Love (1987); The Curse of the Kings (1973); The Dawn Chorus (1959); The Demon Lover (1982); The Devil on Horseback (1977); The Drop of the Dice / aka Will You Love Me in September? (1981); The End of the Spanish Inquisition (1961); The Flesh and the Devil (1950); The Follies of the King (1980); The Goldsmith's Wife / aka The King's Mistress (1950); The Gossamer Cord (1992); The Growth of the Spanish Inquisition (1960); The Heart of the Lion (1977); The House At Cupid's Cross (1949); The House of a Thousand Lanterns (1974); The India Fan (1988); The Italian Woman / aka The Unholy Woman (1952); The Judas Kiss (1981); The King of the Castle (1967); The King's Confidante (1954); The King's Secret Matter (1962); The Lady in the Tower (1986); The Landower Legacy (1984); The Legend of the Seventh Virgin (1964); The Lion of Justice (1975); The Lion Triumphant (1973); The Love Child (1978); The Married Lover (1942); The Mask of the Enchantress (1980); The Merry Monarch's Wife / aka The Pleasures of Love (1991); The Murder in the Tower (1964); The Passionate Enemies (1976); The Plantagenet Prelude (1976); The Pool of Saint Branok (1987); The Pride of the Peacock (1976); The Prince and the Quakeress (1968); The Prince of Darkness (1978); The Princess of Celle (1967); The Queen and Lord M (1973); The Queen from Provence (1979); The Queen of Diamonds (1958); The Queen's Confession (1968); The Queen's Devotion / aka William's Wife (1992); The Queen's Husband (1973); The Queen's Secret (1989); The Regent's Daughter (1971); The Reluctant Queen (1990); The Return of the Gypsy (1985); The Revolt of the Eaglets (1977); The Rise of the Spanish Inquisition (1959); The Road to Compiegne (1959); The Road to Paradise Island (1985); The Rose Without a Thorn (1992); The Royal Road to Fotheringhay / aka Mary, Queen of Scotland: The Triumphant Year (1955); The Scarlet Cloak (1957); The Secret Woman (1970); The Shadow of the Lynx (1971); The Shadow of the Pomegranate (1962); The Shivering Sands (1969); The Silk Vendetta (1987); The Sixth Wife (1953); The Song of the Siren (1980); The Spanish Inquisition (1978); The Spring of the Tiger (1979); The Star of Lancaster (1981); The Sun in Splendour (1982); The Third George (1969); The Thistle and the Rose (1963); The Three Crowns (1965); The Time of the Hunter's Moon (1983); The Vow on the Heron (1980); The Wandering Prince (1956); The Widow of Windsor (1974); The Witch from the Sea (1975); The World's a Stage (1960); The Young Elizabeth (1961); The Young Mary Queen of Scots (1962); This Was a Man / aka The King's Adventurer: Captain John Smith And Pocahontas (1961); Three Great Romantic Stories (1972); To Hold the Crown (1982); To Meet a Stranger (1957); Together They Ride (1945); Triptych of Poisoners (1970); Two Loves in Her Life (1955); Victoria in the Wings (1972); Victoria Victorious (1985); Voices in a Haunted Room (1984); We'll Meet Again (1993); When Other Hearts (1955); When the Entire World Is Young (1943); When We Are Married (1953); Who's Calling? (1962); Zipporah's Daughter / aka The Knave of Hearts (1983).

Born on this day – Miriam Seegar:

 

Actress

September 1, 1907 – January 2, 2011

Credits:

Big Money (1930); Clancy in Wall Street (1930); False Faces (1932); Fashion News (1930); Fashions in Love (1929); I Used to Be in Pictures (2000); New Movietone Follies of 1930 (1930); Out of Singapore (1932); Seven Keys to Baldpate (1929); Strangers of the Evening (1932); Such Is the Law (1930); TCM Remembers (2011); The Dawn Trail (1930); The Famous Ferguson Case (1932); The Lion and the Lamb (1931); The Love Doctor (1929); The Price of Divorce (1928); The Valley of Ghosts (1930); The Woman Between (1931); What a Man (1930); When Knights Were Bold (1929).

Born on this day – Arleen Whelan:

Actress

September 1, 1916 – April 7, 1993

Credits:

Bill Slater Show (1950); Boy Friend (1939); Casablanca (1955); Castle in the Desert (1942); Charley's Aunt (1941); Charter Pilot (1940); Compression (2019); Dear Wife (1949); Flaming Feather (1952); Gateway (1938); General Electric Theater (1962); Kidnapped (1938); Lux Video Theatre (1953–1955); Matinee Theatre (1958); Never Wave at a WAC (1953); On Again-Off Again (1937); Passage West (1951); Playwrights '56 (1955); Raiders of Old California (1957); Ramrod (1947); Rhumba Rhythm at the Hollywood La Conga (1939); Sabotage (1939); San Antone (1953); Schlitz Playhouse (1954); Science Fiction Theatre (1955); Stage Door Canteen (1943); Suddenly It's Spring (1947); Sundown Jim (1942); Thanks for Everything (1938); That Wonderful Urge (1948); The Badge of Marshal Brennan (1957); The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre (1950); The Ken Murray Show (1950); The Republic Pictures Story (1991); The Senator Was Indiscreet (1947); The Sun Shines Bright (1953); The Women of Pitcairn Island (1956); Variety Girl (1947); Young Mr. Lincoln (1939); Young People (1940); Your Show of Shows (1953).