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YA Pioneers Richie Tankersley Cusick was a staple of the YA boom of the late 80's/early 90's.  A new book was constantly coming out from the author with eye-catching slasher titles that propelled several of her books to the bestseller lists.  According to her author site , Cusick grew up in the South and was inspired by the Gothic environment to write horror.  She worked for Hallmark until her first book was published, Evil on the Bayou , which was published in 1984 by Laurel Leaf, as book 21 in the Twilight: Where Darkness Begins series. Cusick really took off when she began publishing books for Scholastic's Point Horror line, a hugely popular YA line that is known for launching the career of R.L. Stine.  When Cusick published The Lifeguard as book #3 in the series in 1988, she unwittingly became one of the elite YA authors of the time.  She would go on to publish several more books under the Point Horror line over the next four years, including Trick...

2017 was another great year in music.  Here are my favorites... 10 Best Albums of 2017 1. Hopeless Romantic by Michelle Branch - There are so many amazing songs on this album that it's hard to pick a favorite.  After struggling to get new music out from her label (her last effort West Coast Time was never released), Branch get s real winner out there that's hard to ignore.  Fresh pop sounds, full of themes of love, loss and regret, this is an album for everyone, and proves how much Branch has matured as a songwriter.  Easily the best album of the year. Key Tracks: Hopeless Romantic, Best You Ever , Fault Line, Heartbreak Now , Temporary Feeling , Carry Me Home 2. reputation by Taylor Swift - People may love dragging her name through the mud and debating her personal life, but Swift is one of those artists who knows how to adapt to survive, much like Madonna did throughout her career.  Shedding any trace of the pure country artist, Taylor e...

Dark Genesis is now available in print!  You can get it at Amazon  or  Barnes & Noble .

Here are some new concepts I would like to see for Marvel's next MCU Movies, after Avengers 4: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was already announced, the film will wrap up Gunn's trilogy of "this iteration" of the Guardians, as well as sequel for Spider-Man: Homecoming.  Other sequels to established characters like Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Captain Marvel and Ant-Man are inevitable.  But let's get some new franchise blood in there, right? 1) Nova - With the Avengers' foray into space and expanding the universe, and with the nova corps seen prominently in the first Guardians of the Galaxy film, this is only a matter of time. 2) Black Widow - Marvel is sorely lacking female-led superhero movies, and this fan-favorite character is in desperate need of a solo spy adventure.  I would expect this to come out very shortly after Avengers 4. 3) All-New Guardians of the Galaxy - A new team of outer space misfits for a new generation.  Adam Warlock, Moond...