Based on a true story.

While writing today’s missive, I felt like Keith Morrison reporting on NBC’s “Dateline.” (Or did I…?) I was thinking back on some of the true crime shows I’ve watched and how they helped influence a couple of the stories in my tarnished Tinsel Town anthology CITY OF DEVILS.

There is one in particular, which is called Based on a true story. It’s about what goes into the making of those heart-wrenching reenactments. I’m not an actor—I don’t have what it takes to really let myself go and disappear into someone else—but I can imagine how draining it must be to play the roles of killers and victims. Some amazing performances come to mind, such as Farrah Fawcett in The Burning Bed (the true tale of a battered woman who set her abusive husband on fire) or Shane Meier in The Matthew Shepard Story (about the young man who was cruelly slain because of his homosexuality).

What kind of headspace do actors have to get into, to put in such convincing performances? And what if some of those actors are Method? So, that’s how I came up with my main character in Based on a true story.

CITY OF DEVILS is out now on Amazon (paperback and kindle) or you can get an autographed copy directly through me.

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Music notes…

On a more personal note, we are nearing the homestretch in the production portion of the (untitled) documentary feature on THE VENTURES. The most-recent interviewee is Waddy Wachtel (his resumé includes playing guitar for Keith Richards, Warren Zevon [he co-wrote "Werewolves of London"], Jackson Browne and Stevie Nicks), and we also got my dad (Don Wilson, co-founder of The Ventures) performing onstage just last week. Check out the video!

The characters in my scary books aren’t the only blood donors…

Last but not least, if you’re in the L.A. area and you want to do a good deed, please give blood for Evie Swierczynski, a lovely and brave 12-year-old girl who is undergoing treatment for Leukemia.