An open letter to the residents of Broken Bow, Nebraska.

Dear Broken Bow, Nebraska...

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STOP obsessing over my LAWN and START obsessing over my BOOKS! 

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Sincerely,

John L. Harmon  

I survived the library author event!

Speaking in front of an audience of more than 3 people wasn’t as difficult as I imagined.  I didn’t wear my Mad Scientist Glasses, which I regret after seeing the photos, so not being able to clearly see the watching faces helped me relax.  Wearing my power colors, orange & purple, gave me some emotional strength.  Mainly though, I took a breath and was just myself.  Perhaps a little too much myself.

Photo courtesy of the broken bow public library

When asked if we write with our audience in mind, I answered, “I totally write for myself and then hope other freaks like me will find and understand my words.”  Then, when asked how we deal with reviews, I admitted I take good reviews with a grain of salt because I wonder if the reviewer actually read my book.  As for negative reviews, I explained how disappointed I was when a reader left a 1-star rating for DARKENING STURGEONS but failed to leave a review explaining what they didn’t like about my ebook.  I mentioned how I wanted to use a bad review as advertisement because I am more likely to read a book that is hated.  I also bragged how two local readers stopped talking to me after reading my books, which meant my words got a reaction and that made me feel proud.  The moral of my lengthy answer was turn negative reviews into positive ones. 

Photo courtesy of the broken bow public library

My answers might be why only 2 new readers dared to approach my table after the panel.  Thankfully, 2 return readers came back for more.  Plus, it was very nice when a couple of my emotional support humans swung by and said hi.

I regret not having someone take a photo of me with my books.

One of the new readers picked up DARK EXCURSIONS for herself, after a return reader recommended it, and VISION BENT for someone else.  The new reader, who shared a first name with my grandmother, explained she was buying VISION BENT for a friend who is dealing with a health scare involving the eyes.  This made the night for me.  I may not have wrote VISION BENT as an inspirational book, but it feels good to imagine my half-blind words helping someone find comfort or strength when dealing with vision loss. 

Another good experience from the event is when I first entered the room.  One of the other authors, whom I had never met, said he had something for me.  This seriously intrigued me and I was not disappointed.  He was asked to pass a flyer along to me from a writer in Chadron, Nebraska.  The flyer is for an upcoming Pride event, which I’m definitely interested in.  As of this writing, I offered a signed set of my queer books for a raffle/auction.  Hopefully, I’ll figure out a way to get more involved.  This is when I wish Nebraska had a regular train or bus system that traveled all over the state. 

In conclusion…
It’s a good thing to put yourself out there, even if the audience is predominately not for you. 

Freak Out, 
JLH 

P.S.  Pride Month is literally around the corner, so pick up my queer books at an Amazon near you! 
🏳️‍🌈
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Goodbye, 2025!

I allowed negativity to overwhelm me this year.  Negativity from the world, from my country, from my town and from the voices in my head.  

My poetry and some of my reviews reflect this negative vibe slithering beneath my skin.  Even my most viewed post is a bad review of a new film.  In my defense, WEAPONS really isn’t very good.  

However, 2025 wasn’t all doom & gloom.  I released the DARK EXCURSIONS ebook series and STURGEONS (the complete serials) as audiobooks through Audible. 

There was also a new e-book, paperback and truly amusing audiobook release!  I wrote Whasome’s Dreck (a short parody) a long time ago.  After unearthing this gem, I felt the world needed my satirical take on Dawson’s Creek.  Not sure if the world agrees. 

I also managed to release a few videos for The FreakOptic Files.  They still make me laugh, which is my ultimate goal.

As for the coming year, I hope to write more.  There are poems to compose and crazy films to review, including a couple of recently found lost Andy Milligan titles, if Severin releases them in 2026. 

Thank you to anyone who has read or listened to my words in 2025.  I am forever grateful for your encouragement and support! 

Freak Out, 
JLH

P.S.  After releasing Whasome’s Dreck, I decided to give the John L. Harmon literary completists a gift by finally releasing Bubba’s Truck (a short story) as a paperback.   

ONE LOVE vs. TOPS, BOTTOMS AND SIDEPOCKETS

My literary habit of late is reading two books at the same time.  Typically, this involves two very different books, such as one from an indie author and one of the generally tepid and often hetero-centric New York Times bestsellers from the lunchtime book group.  However, in this hot month of July, fate sandwiched me between two queer books.  

The interesting thing is the two books were published 60 years apart.  What are the differences?  Are there similarities?  Let’s find out…

ONE LOVE by Matt Cain(2025) 

Danny and Guy have been best friends since meeting at uni.  Now, a couple of decades later, these two men, who have drifted in and out of each other’s lives over the years, have reunited for the Manchester Pride celebration, but Danny has a mission.  He wants to confess his decades long love for Guy and hopefully transform their friendship into a deeper emotional and physical connection.  Will these friends become lovers or will the past bubbling up around them tear the two apart? 

Author Matt Cain cuts & pastes Danny and Guy’s story together by bouncing the reader back and forth through their present and past.  This plot device started out interesting, but I struggled to finish ONE LOVE.  I found it difficult to embrace the characters and the plot became rather repetitive.  Then the ultimate message of loving yourself is bashed into our brains again and again and again.  By the end, it just made me want to scream, “Ok, I f***ing get it already !” 

TOPS, BOTTOMS AND SIDEPOCKETS by Robin Versage and Leland Garner(1965) 

This is an allegedly true account of one gay man’s life from mid-teens to early thirties.  Robin learns at a young age that he might be homosexual, struggling and exploring this possibility in his final years of high school.  As soon as he graduates, Robin skips college and leaves Portland for Los Angeles.  There he meets a $5 hooker named Sandy.  She and Robin form a curious bond.  Sandy pimps Robin out to men at first, but then, after Robin finds more socially acceptable work, they get married.  All the while, Robin is searching for the man of his dreams.  Sandy is fully aware, but perhaps wishes she could be enough for him.  Eventually, Robin’s growing success as an art dealer allows Sandy to give up her sex work and this unconventional duo can finally live comfortably in a classy neighborhood.  In this top shelf suburbia, Robin meets Joseph, a married psychologist.  Has Robin found the man of his dreams?  Will Sandy’s past and Robin’s sexuality destroy their fancy tea party life?  Are Robin & Sandy the Will & Grace of the ‘60’s? 

I guess that explains sidepockets.

I’ve read enough Vintage Gay Pulp Fiction to question whether or not this is a true story.  Robin’s life contains all the scandalous elements to cause a reader to devour each sordid page.  However, it does have an unapologetic attitude by the end.  Robin looks back on his life up to that point without making excuses or having regrets.  He also points out his life doesn’t represent every gay man’s experience and even touches upon how homosexuals are just as emotionally and physically diverse as heterosexuals.  So, maybe TOPS, BOTTOMS AND SIDEPOCKETS is a true story or at least the author is queer or an open-minded ally. 

While these two books have differences, I was struck by their similarities.  For starters, they both explore a functionally dysfunctional relationship over the course of many years, whether it be Danny and Guy or Robin and Sandy.  Another thing I found fascinating is that each book has at least one character worried that if they admit to being homosexual, they will transform into a swishy stereotype.  For better or for worse, there is a lot of focus on physical appearance in both stories.  Finally, and this may be the most amazing similarity, the shared moral is one of self-acceptance and bravely being yourself, no matter what the world thinks.  Such a concept is beyond progressive for 1965 and is thankfully pretty common in 2025. 

In conclusion…
I obviously enjoyed TOPS, BOTTOMS AND SIDEPOCKETS way more than ONE LOVE.  The former moves along at a brisk pace with vivid characters and wild situations, while the latter drags with unlikable characters and repetitive situations.  Perhaps I get such an electric, non-p.c. thrill in taking a peek behind the lavender curtain at pre-Stonewall queer life that some modern day queer fiction bores me.  Either that, or I just love trashy novels! 

Freak Out, 
JLH 

P.S.  click the pic ⤵️ to pray for my literary salvation! 🙏 

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While not as lurid as Jacqueline Susann or Vintage Gay Pulp Fiction, DARK EXCURSIONS skirts the trashy edges of sordid craziness with its soap opera twists and turns! 

2015

freakboy on film: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980)

WARNING! 
May the spoilers be with you!  

The Death Star has been blown to smithereens.  The Rebel Alliance has triumphed over the Galactic Empire.  Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia Organa and Han Solo have become BFFs.  C-3PO, R2-D2 and Chewbacca should be bonding over not receiving medals for their roles in rescuing Leia and blowing up the Death Star.  Oh, and that pesky Darth Vader escaped in his super fashionable bent-winged Tie-Fighter. 

Where does the story from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away go from there? 

Darth Vader spends his free time and not-so-defeated Empire money stalking Luke Skywalker across the galaxy and killing off underlings who disappoint him.  Luke takes spiritual advice from the ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi and goes way off grid on Dagobah for some Jedi training from Yoda.   Han Solo sexually harasses General Leia Organa as they take forever to evade the pursuing Empire.  Eventually, Han and Leia make their way to Cloud City and meet up with Han’s best frenemy Lando Calrissian.  However, it’s all a trap by Darth Vader to lure Luke to the Dark Side and give him to the Emperor.  All of this culminates in Leia confessing her love for Han right before he is frozen in carbonate and shipped to Jabba the Hutt by badass bounty hunter Boba Fett, Luke losing his hand and nearly his mind when it’s revealed Darth Vader is his daddy, Leia and Luke sharing a psychic Force connection and finally, Lando and Chewbacca heading off to Luke’s home planet to save Han Solo. 

Confused?

Will they save Han?  Will Leia regret telling Han she loves him?  Will Luke and Leia discuss the rather intense kiss they shared on the ice planet Hoth?  Will C-3PO and R2-D2 accept their diminished status as supporting comic relief?  Will Darth Vader expect a tie and a bottle of Old Spice cologne from his son on Father’s Day?  Find out next time on As the Jedi Turns! 

Only Yoda knows!

I hate to burst the sci-fi epic wet dream bubble of all the early 1980’s hetero-centric male nerds, but George Lucas conned you into watching a daytime soap opera!  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK isn’t entertaining, it’s just the space equivalent of GENERAL HOSPITAL, especially with the “Who’s your daddy?” moment between Vader and Luke!  My love of sudsy dramas may explain why, for many years, I considered Episode V the best of the Original Trilogy.  Now, my feelings need to be reconsidered.  

I mean, I still enjoy EMPIRE, but the years, prequels and sequels may have tarnished its luster.  Darth Vader rocks as he Force-strangles anyone who fails him.  Yoda still manages to be more than a muppet and it’s great to watch him knock Luke’s ego down a notch or two.  Lando Calrissian (a smooth Billy Dee Williams) remains a new breath of roguish charm, especially since Han Solo has misplaced his somewhere.  Boba Fett continues to win the Best Badass Bounty Hunter award.  Oh, and the AT-AT’s are still cool.  

Who’s a good AT-AT?

For me, at least this time around, the romance irritated me.  I know, I know!  Call me a hypocrite since I tend to write romance into my books, and even included a version of the infamous “I love you!  I know.” Leia and Han exchange in DARK EXCURSIONS.  After the end of A NEW HOPE, when Luke and Han return from blowing up the Death Star, I got the impression that Luke, Leia and Han were best friends, nothing more.  So, Han and Leia’s “Will they or won’t they?” routine gets really old really quick.  Plus, don’t get me started on Leia’s deep, passionate kiss on Luke’s lips!  I’ll save that uncomfortable conversation for Episode VI! 

Don’t jump, my son!  The Dark Side will forgive you for frenching your sister!

I must add that the story is by George Lucas, but the screenplay for EMPIRE is credited to Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan.  Also, Lucas gave the director’s chair to Irvin Kershner.  Would STAR WARS Episode V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK be a different film if George Lucas had stayed behind the helm?  After all, A NEW HOPE is the superior film, but the Prequel Trilogy is reason enough to question his creative choices.  As for the acting, the cast still has some residual 1970s naturalness about them, but there is a slightly forced, pun intended, style with some of their dialogue delivery.  The superb score by John Williams elevates the entire production, with a huge shout-out to The Imperial March, easily one of the most memorable pieces of film music ever! 

The coolest Barbershop Quartet in the galaxy!

In conclusion… 
There is a lot to enjoy in Episode V of the original STAR WARS trilogy.  Even the not-so “Special Edition” isn’t so bad since they got rid of Luke’s horrendously stupid electronic scream as he chooses self-destruction over joining the Dark Side with Daddy Darth, which was needlessly added for the 1997 “Special Edition” theatrical release.  I’ll even confess to loving how they made Cloud City look like the tourist trap destination we always knew it was!  Anyhoo, I re-watched the original 1980 theatrical version for this review.  So, if you’re in the mood for some outer space soap bubble action, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK may be the sudsy episode for you! 

Freak Out, 
JLH 

P.S.  Lando Calrissian was my favorite EMPIRE Kenner action figure growing up.  Remove his cape and Lando was ready to boogie on down to Cloud City’s version of Studio 54! 🪩

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Visit the town of STURGEONS for a modern take on 1950s sci-fi horror, films!
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DARK EXCURSIONS (the audiobook series)

Why haven’t you experienced…

? 

Are you hesitant to get swept up in the romance between the one-armed gardener and the former stable boy? 
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Are you afraid you’ll see yourself in the manipulative matriarch and feel proud? 
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Are you worried you’ll get turned on as the Russian tennis instructor smacks his balls around the court? 
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Are you skittish to discover what wretchedly ugly thing is buried beneath the beautiful hollyhock garden? 
🪦 

Cast aside all fears and experience the DARK EXCURSIONS series as  4 audiobooks from Audible! 

👉Click to listen👈

👉Click to listen👈

👉Click to listen👈

👉Click to listen👈

Yes, you can still experience DARK EXCURSIONS as an ebook series or a 4-in-1 paperback at an Amazon near you! 

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VISION BENT (half-blind poems) is also available as an Audible audiobook! 

👉Click to listen👈

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P.S.  “Hhhmmm..." 🤔 
An audiobook outtake from editing DARK EXCURSIONS: first set… 
🤣

Caturday Vibes!

That’ll do, X-Ray.

That’ll do. 

😼

👉 viewAuthor.at/JohnLHarmon👈 

freakboy on film: The Films of Doris Wishman: THE MOONLIGHT YEARS (1965-1969)

Here we are again in the wondrously weird world of Doris Wishman!  This time we are taking a step back from the colorful hyper-reality of her Twilight Years to take a walk through the black & white Roughies of her Moonlight Years.  Never heard of a Roughie?  Between the early innocence of the ”Nudie Cuties” and the later hardcore adult films, there was the Roughie.  A Roughie contains some skin, simulated sex and violence, typically aimed at women.  

Doris Wishman obviously had her creative finger on the pulse of the eager theater goers, but what do I think of these 9 forays into her take on the Roughie?  

BAD GIRLS GO TO HELL (1965) 

written & directed by Doris Wishman 

Meg Kelton is disappointed when nagging and shower sex fails to prevent her husband Ted from going to work on a Saturday.  Instead of brooding in bed, she tidies up her apartment and takes out the trash.  This is when Meg’s day goes to hell.  The building’s janitor attacks her on the stairs and then rapes her in his apartment.  Meg bashes his head in with a large bowl, but fears no one will believe her.  So, she flees Boston for New York City, calls herself “Ellen Green” and finds herself in a slew of “hellish” situations.  Just when Meg/Ellen can stop and think by taking a job as an invalid’s companion, her employer’s detective son is coming for a visit from Boston, where he is working on a murder case!  This film may be in black & white and doesn’t contain direct nudity, but it is all Doris Wishman.  Dubbed dialogue, constant music and a story that pulls you in because you don’t know what’ the hell is gonna happen next! 

INDECENT DESIRES (1968) 

written & directed by Doris Wishman 

Zeb is a loner who appears to spend his days walking around and finding treasures in the trash.  When he finds a discarded ring and a doll, and spots someone who resembles the doll, Zeb’s life is about to change.  Ann is a nice office worker whose life is also about to change when she begins experiencing a strange phenomenon.  An invisible force is touching her and controlling her movements.  Unbeknownst to Ann, Zeb is somehow using the ring and doll like a puppeteer.  How far will Zeb go and what will happen if Ann makes him angry?  Well, I’ll just say this stalker Twilight Zone fantasy ends with a real twist, but it takes its time getting there. 

A TASTE OF FLESH (1967) 

written by C. Davis Smith  and Doris Wishman/directed by Doris Wishman 

Bobi and Carol are roommates in for a different kind of evening.  It starts with Bobi bringing home Hannah, a woman she met in Europe, who shows much interest in a visiting foreign dignitary.  Then two phone company representatives stop by and hold the women hostage because the two men are there to assassinate the dignitary staying at the hotel next door.  The plot takes a bit to reach its conclusion, but it all makes sense, I think.  In my opinion, the highlight is a dream sequence where Bobi, dressed in traditionally male attire, dines and dances with Hannah.  It’s a beautifully shot 1960’s lesbian/trans romantic scene that is unfortunately ruined by a hetero-centric cis man, of course.

  
ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER MAN (1966) 

written & directed by Doris Wishman 

Ann is a woman with secrets.  Her boss doesn’t know she’s married to Steve.  Steve doesn’t know Ann’s roommate Tess is a prostitute for a pimp named Bert.  After Steve gets a promotion, Ann leaves her job and fulfills her dream of being a housewife because it’s 1966.  Tragedy strikes when Steve is laid up in bed with a mysterious illness, but Ann has a plan to bring home the bacon by becoming one of Bert’s working girls.  Weird enough to hold my attention, with an ending that surprised me! 

MY BROTHER’S WIFE (1966)

 written & directed by Doris Wishman 

Bob and Mary have a marriage that is easily torn asunder when Bob’s drifter brother Frankie turns up at their door.  Frankie immediately seduces Mary but he is also reigniting his past flame with Zena.  Which woman is Frankie serious about and which one is he playing, or is he playing both?  This feels like a sexier version of a daytime soap opera, so I obviously appreciate the sudsy scheming and dreaming. 

PASSION FEVER (1969) 

written & directed by Stelios Jackson and Doris Wishman 

Yarkos is a gigolo, picking up women here, there and everywhere, until he falls in love.  Will love triumph or will one of his past conquests throw a wrench in his happily ever after?  I knew nothing about PASSION FEVER when I sat down to watch, so I was confused how sometimes it seemed like a Doris Wishman film and sometimes it really didn’t.  According to IMDb, Wishman purchased a Greek film called PYRETOS but lost the English dub.  Being who she was, Doris edited the original film down, wrote her own English dub and filmed a few nude insert shots.  The result is a disjointed, entertaining mess. 

THE SEX PERILS OF PAULETTE (1965) 

written & directed by Doris Wishman 

Paulette feels she must confess everything to her boyfriend Allen.  She came to New York to become a famous actress but has just been taken advantage of by big city users.  Her first mistake was renting a room from Tracy, a loose and easy woman who drinks too much.  Then Paulette shouldn’t have listened to Tracey about Sam.  Sam won’t hell Paulette’s acting career, unless the role is that of a prostitute.  For having such an incendiary title, THE SEX PERILS OF PAULETTE is the tamest of this Wishman batch, but the plot as a flashback kept things interesting. 

THE HOT MONTH OF AUGUST (1966) 

written by Sokrates Kapsaskis/directed by Sokrates Kapsaskis and Doris Wishman 

Jason meets a gigolo on a ship but is repulsed when the man suggests they team up to coerce older women into having sex with them for a price.  However, Jason has an affair with Alexis, a married woman, while simultaneously falling in love with a younger woman named Hope.  To complicate matters even further, Alexis and the gigolo are in cahoots to murder her husband.  This is yet another film from Greece (O zestos minas Avgoustos) dubbed and edited by Doris Wishman.  It’s interesting, with a couple of surprises, but it can’t compare to her own films.  

TOO MUCH TOO OFTEN! (1968) 

written & directed by Doris Wishman 

Whether he is getting paid to whip a middle-aged man and then blackmailing him for a job at an advertising company or he is seducing any willing woman, Mike Torson is all about playing fast and loose, causing destruction before moving on.  His past might catch up with him when he seduces his blackmailed boss’ secretary Midge and daughter Sara!  TOO MUCH TOO OFTEN is the perfect way to end this box set.  It’s all Doris Wishman with a crazy plot, unbridled characters and will ultimately leave you wondering what the hell you just watched! 

So, I blew through Doris Wishman’s Twilight Years, but I struggled with her Moonlight Years despite, according to the liner notes and audio commentaries, this era being hailed as Wishman’s best.  Even when I thoroughly enjoyed the films, they often dragged a bit for me.  I think one of the reasons is the plots are slim and very similar to each other in theme.  Another reason might be lengthy scenes of naked women without equally naked men.  At least Doris was an equal opportunity exploitation director in her Twilight Years, but that might have more to do with the still somewhat repressed time of these Roughies. 

 
In conclusion… 

While this AGFA/Something Weird box set didn’t WOW me like my initial experience, these films still provided an entertaining second helping in my anachronistically reverse Doris Wishman feast.  So, pull a chair up to the table for 9 crisply shot, black & white time capsules which must be seen to be believed!  

Now I must step out of the shadowy moonlight and into the colorful, sun-drenched atmosphere of Doris Wishman’s THE DAYLIGHT YEARS…

Freak Out, 

JLH 

The hot month of August is the best time to grab DARK EXCURSIONS!