We’ve come to the final stop on the WordCrafter Double Visions Book Blog Tour, where we’re sending off Book 2 in the Time Travel Adventure Series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Double Visions. Today, we will be looking at the character of Catalina, a Time Travel Regulator Agent from the year 2030 with a guest post and a reading from me, author Kaye Lynne Booth. Be sure to leave a comment to enter for a chance at a free digital copy or a signed print copy of the book.
I’ve included the Universal Book Link which leads to retail sites for purchase, but there’s still time to visit the Kickstarter campaign at the link below to get discounted digital copies and signed print copies and merchandise only available there. I’m happy to say we are fully funded! But there’s still time to get your discounted digital copies, signed print copies and exclusive merchandise before it ends. It will run through the 29th, so get your orders in now.
Follow the tour and leave a comment to let me know you were here and be entered
for a chance at one of three free digital copies or one signed print copy of
The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Double Visions.
Winners are chosen in a random drawing from my hat. You can visit any stops you missed through the links in the tour schedule at the end of this post. So, get your comments in now.
The Character of Catalina and Writing with Multiple P.O.V.s
Time travel is thought provoking. One of my favorite time travel movies is Time Cop, starring Jean Claude Van Dam, where Van Dam plays an agent for a group of time regulators who are threatened by a villainous politician with the ability to go back and change things so that the agency will never exist and Van Dam has to stop him before he erases him from existence.
In book 1, we had Nick Umbridge, who worked for an agency, something like Van Dams, but his job was to test a prototype, not regulate time to prevent time loops, or ripples, or paradoxes. But even as I wrote that story, I felt there had to be a time cop somewhere, leaving the implication that Umbridge was going to be in big trouble when he returned to his own time. And then he didn’t, setting everything else in that story into play.
In that first book, Nick set a time loop into motion, so we see him again, but he turns out to be a villain of sorts, or at least a mild annoyance to our hero and heroine, as he is determined to fix what he messed up by taking Rock Star back to her own time, and it seems he is destined to die in 1887.
In Double Visions, Amaryllis makes some loops of her own, and so is Nick, but I felt we needed a time cop to add to the fray, chasing Nick down, because they know in the future what Nick did in the past. Hence, Catalina Duncan was created along with her partner agent, Reginald Thompson. These two were created to complement one another. Where Reginald is by the book, riding on formality, and is stiff and stand-offish, Catalina is more of a free spirit, who only believes in following the rules when the rules make sense, allowing for some clever banter between them as they disagree on almost everything. It also makes her an equal adversary for Amaryllis, who now has the time module prototype, but like almost everything else in this story, it has multiplied and she has two of them.
Because of the additional characters, and additional timelines that loop through one another, there was so much going on simultaneously in different whens, this story required there to be more than just the two perspectives from the first story. For one thing, there are two, (or more), of both Amaryllis and LeRoy, making it necessary to have the POVs of each; the characters they are now, and who they were in the first story, designated as Rock Star and Cowboy. Amaryllis’ bff, Monique goes along for the ride this time around, but she is a different version from her original Shaman Woman self, and the time cops are on their own trajectory through time, requiring Catalina’s POV, and of course, there’s Nick, still trying to make it back to the future.
With a total of eight different POVs, running over three different timelines, things got a little crazy at times. It was interesting trying to make sure each character only knew things that they were supposed to know at that particular moment in time, especially when time ripples keep changing what they remembered as the past and affecting the future. At times, it was quite the juggling act keeping them all straight.
The question posed for Catalina’s character: Will she be able to break through her partners straightlaced demeanor to find the human being inside?
About The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Double Visions
In 1887, LeRoy is stuck, bringing trouble down on those around him. Sissy is kidnapped and he’s the only one who can save her.
She wakes up in 2030, in a future very different to the one she knows, one in which she may not have been born. Amaryllis will stop at nothing to find LeRoy fix what she messed up in the past.
She and a version of Monique which is different from the one she grew up with travel back to 1887 to try and make things right.
Add two time travel regulators from the future who are after the time module, and things begin to get wild.
When the time loops are crossed, things change, but not the way Amaryllis intended and pretty soon, everybody is seeing doubles.
Reading from The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Double Visions – Meet Catalina
This reading is the introductory chapter for the character of Catalina, in the year 2030.
About Kaye Lynne Booth
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and Book 1 in her Time-Travel Adventure series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw, as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders.
Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press, where she edits and publishes two short fiction anthologies and one poetry anthology every year amidst her many writing projects. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
That wraps up today’s tour stop and the WordCrafter Double Visions Book Blog Tour. If you missed a stop, you can go back through the links in the schedule below to leave a comment and get an entry in the giveaway for a chance at a free digital copy or a signed print copy of The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Double Visions. Thank you for joining us.
Tour Schedule
March 23-27 – The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Double Visions, by Kaye Lynne Booth
The Kickstarter campaign runs through tomorrow, so don’t forget to pop in with the link below to get your copy of The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Double Visions and support the author (me 🙂 ).
Today is Day 4 of the WordCrafter Double Visions Book Blog Tour and we’re over at Carla Loves to Read, where I’m introducing the character of Nick Umbridge, the time travel tester who started this whole adventure by traveling back to 1887 and dying there. But he lives again in each time loop created, so he’s back again. Join us in sending off The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Double Visions and learn more about this amazing Time Travel Adventure. Today’s stop also includes a review from our host, Carla Johnson-Hicks.
Note: The Kickstarter campaign has funded, but there is still time to get discounted digital copies, signed print copies, posters and goodie bags. Thanks goes out to all those who backed this project.
For Day 3 of the WordCrafter Double Visions Book Blog Tour, we’re over at Bookplaces with host, Kay Castenada. You’ve met Amaryllis (Rock Star) and Leroy (Cowboy), and today I will reintroduce you to Monique, or Shaman Woman, a supporting character who was surprisingly popular in the first book. We have a great giveaway and we’re in the final stretch of the Kickstarter campaign and still need additional support. Join us now in sending off The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Double Visions and get your copy today!
For Day 2 of the WordCrafter Double Visions Book Blog Tour, we’re over at Poetry by Mich (below), Hotel Masticadores, and Masticadores Phillipines, so you can find us wherever you prefer to stop in.
Yesterday, on Writing to be Read, I re-introduced you to my main character, Amaryllis Maria Sanchez, or Rock Star, and talked about how the story was inspired by the music of The Pretty Reckless. Today, I’m re-introducing to her male counterpart, LeRoy, or Cowboy, talk about writing with music. Each stop offers a reading from the character viewpoint, so hopefully you will at least be entertained.
I do hope you will join us in sending off book 2 of my time Travel Adventure Series – The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Double Visions.
Welcome to the WordCrafter Double Visions Book Blog Tour, where we’re sending off Book 2 of the Time Travel Adventure Series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Double Visions. Today is a double tour stop, and in addition to this post, I will be doing an interview with DL Mullan over at Undawnted, so be sure and pop over there when you’ve finished here.
Tour Schedule
March 23-27 – The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Double Visions, by Kaye Lynne Booth
We have a great tour planned with guest posts and readings by the author, Kaye Lynne Booth, (that’s me 🙂 ), and a great giveaway of three digital copies and one signed print copy, (U.S. residents only), of Double Visions.
The Giveaway
Follow the tour and leave a comment to let me know you were here and be entered
for a chance at three free digital copies or one signed print copy of
The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Double Visions.
About The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Double Visions
In 1887, LeRoy is stuck, bringing trouble down on those around him. Sissy is kidnapped and he’s the only one who can save her.
She wakes up in 2030, in a future very different to the one she knows, one in which she may not have been born. Amaryllis will stop at nothing to find LeRoy fix what she messed up in the past.
She and a version of Monique which is different from the one she grew up with travel back to 1887 to try and make things right.
Add two time travel regulators from the future who are after the time module, and things begin to get wild.
When the time loops are crossed, things change, but not the way Amaryllis intended and pretty soon, everybody is seeing doubles.
Book Trailer
This tour will be a little different, because I’m running a Kickstarter campaign for this launch which is in effect now and will be going on throughout the tour, since it doesn’t end until the 28th. So, instead of giving you a purchase link for retailers, we’ll be using the Kickstarter URL, so you can get digital copies at a discount from the retail price, or signed print copies and merchandise that is not available anywhere else. You can support the Kickstarter campaign and receive a digital copy for as little as $5, so I hope you’ll join in on sending Double Visions off right. Remember after the 28th, you’ll have to pay full price at retailers, so get your copies now.
Support the Kickstarter and get your books at the link below.
(Author note: I started this post for the tour for book 1, so some of it may be familiar if you’re a fan of the series. I added to it for the second book, so bear with me for new information. Same character stars in both books, you see?)
Amaryllis Maria Sanchez is a composite character. She’s a cross between Sharon Stone’s character in Basic Instinct and Taylor Momsen of The Pretty Reckless. She’s an adrenaline junkie, who likes to tempt death and lives life to the extremes. She’s a rock star who is at the top of her game when she’s on stage. After she kills her drug dealing, domineering boyfriend to save herself from his wrath, she figures she’s already damned herself, she figures she might as well ride out the storm that’s headed her way. But, when she crosses paths with a time-traveling cowboy, LeRoy Mc Allister, who offers a way to stay ahead of the game and a place to run to where she won’t ever be found, she sees the potential for a whole new life of adventures.
Amaryllis began as a character like Sharon Stones character in Basic Instincts – a daring woman who plays a deadly game. I like Sharon Stone in just about anything, but I admired the way she played this character in particular. I challenged myself to create a character with that same adventuresome nature, and that self-confident, ‘on top of the world’ attitude.
The idea for her method for killing Claude came from an actual murder case I heard about on the news. I thought it was unique, and I knew I wanted to use it in a story. Murder by high heel. It just happened to be a perfect method for Amaryllis to defend herself.
My son introduced me to the music of The Pretty Reckless, and I fell in love with the voice of Taylor Momsen. I bought their CDs and played them on my commute to work, and a story about a female rock singer began to form in my head, and the Sharon Stone-like character somehow merged with the woman who emerged in my mind from their music. That woman was a lot like my image of Taylor Momsen. And so, Amaryllis Maria Sanchez emerged on the page.
In the first book, she and LeRoy travel back to 1887 for a wild ride in the old west. But, when they try to go back to the future, something goes terribly wrong and only Amaryllis arrives in 2030, and things are very different from how Amaryllis remembers them. In the second book, Double Visions, Amaryllis and her friend Monique go back in time to try and put things back the way they were and restore time as Amaryllis remembers it. That means finding and reuniting with LeRoy, and making sure her grandparents meet and marry, so she will be born in 1999.
In book 2, Amaryllis changed things in the past that weren’t intended, and as time loops cross and ripples occur, our characters are all seeing double, or in one case, triple, as all hell breaks loose. Of course, Amaryllis is also ‘Rock Star’ in the earlier time loop from the first book. They are the same woman, Rock Star is the younger version, if only by about six months, but Amaryllis, her older self tries to fix the future in the past, but in doing so, changes things which happened the first time around.
It’s a ride even wilder than the first time around, with multiple character POVs, which add to the playlist for this one, including a couple of new characters, Time Regulator Agent Catalina Duncan and her partner Agent Reginald Thompson to stir things up and keep it interesting.
The question posed for Amaryllis’ character: Will Amaryllis be able to change the right thing in the past to correct the future?
Reading from The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Double Visions
About Kaye Lynne Booth
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and Book 1 in her Time-Travel Adventure series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw, as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders.
Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press, where she edits and publishes two short fiction anthologies and one poetry anthology every year amidst her many writing projects. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
That wraps up this stop on the opening day of the WordCrafter Double Visions Book Blog Tour. Thank you for joining us. Don’t forget to pop onto Undawnted for my interview with DL Mullan.
Tomorrow’s stop will find us over at Poetry by Mich, Hotel by Mastcadores, and Masticadores Phillipines with Michelle Ayon Navajas, where we’ll explore the character of LeRoy and Cowboy, and writing with music in a guest post and reading from me and a review. I hope to see you there, but until then, don’t forget to pop into the Kickstarter campaign to get your copy of The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Double Visions.
From Hollywood, California, to Heywood, Arizona, trouble follows her…
After her husband’s brutal killing and her fall from the Hollywood elite, the disgraced Samantha Rathbone moves to Heywood hoping to forget her past and live a quiet life of anonymity as Sam Jones.
When she takes a job at the local herbal shop, Sage Advice, and the owner is found murdered, Sam is pushed back into the unwanted spotlight when she becomes the number one suspect. As she wades through ugly family drama, the questionable business practices of others, and the lies embroiled in a small town, she searches for the true killer, hoping to save herself.
Will Samantha be able to find the murderer before she’s put away for a crime she didn’t commit?
Enjoy this free cozy mystery featuring a middle-aged sleuth staring her life over again!
I purchased an audiobook copy of Herbs and Homicide, by Carly Winter, and narrated by Nicole Scott from a Chirp Friday Freebie Deal. I’m offering an honest review. All opinions stated here are my own.
I chose this book because of the clever title. It turned out to be a cute cozy mystery which helped to lighten the mood following a series of thrillers and horror stories, and it was just what I needed. Nicole Scott does an excellent job of narration, making it easy to listen to.
Samantha Rathbone came to Heywood and became Sam Jones to escape all the Hollywood drama after her ex-husband’s murder, when his illegal activities spilled over onto her reputation and she became a pariah in Hollywood circles. But, when her employer and friend, the owner of Sage Advice herbal shop, is murdered, it threatens to throw her right back into the public eye, when she becomes the prime suspect. The only way to clear her name and stay out of the press is to solve the murder herself, so she turns into an amateur sleuth, digging up family and the community’s twisted histories to discover the true murderer, calling on her Samantha Rathbone Hollywood persona to handle anyone who steps out of line. The suspects are many, and Sam isn’t sure which way to point her finger, but she must get it right or she may pay the price for a murder she didn’t commit.
Easy listening and a clever storyline make this one cozy mystery you won’t want to miss. I give Herbs and Homicide five quills.
About Kaye Lynne Booth
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and Book 1 in her Time-Travel Adventure series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw, as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders.
Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press, where she edits and publishes two short fiction anthologies and one poetry anthology every year amidst her many writing projects. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARC digital copies, (she also accepts print copies). Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review on the Book Review tab above.
Ice Palace – Cripple Creek, Colorado – February 2026
The Ice Festival is an annual event in Cripple Creek, Colorado, where ice carvers sculpt spectacular figures from huge blocks of solid ice, competing for a $1,000.00 prize. The main thoroughfare, Bennett Street is closed off to vehicle traffic, leaving it open only to the foot traffic of visitors as the carvers sculpt their masterpieces. The sculptures are amazing, and viewing them at night, when they are all lit up with different colors creates an amazing walk through a fantasy world.
Each year has a different theme. I don’t make it to visit the Ice Festival every year, but I have made it a few times. I first visited the Ice Festival in 2015, when the theme was Story Time, but I was unprepared with no camera to photograph the amazing fantasy figures carved by these talented artists. I loved the Old West theme from 2016, (view them here), and in 2023, the theme was the Carver’s Choice, (view them here).
For the last three years, Cripple Creek has had an added winter feature to compliment the Ice Festival which is celebrated every February. Opening sometime each January, depending on the weather, Cripple Creek hosts the added attraction of a magnificent Ice Palace, with tunnels and slides and even a fire feature. 2026 hasn’t had a lot of snowfall, so the Ice Castle above may seem out of place. Tickets are a bit pricey and must be purchased ahead of time, for a specific time, and my trips to Cripple Creek are pretty spur of the moment, so I’ve never actually visited the Ice Castle, but have contented myself with photos from afar, which look like a huge snow blob from the outside. I will say, although difficult to photograph because of the glaring street lights, it does look pretty cool at night. But the real action lies within. Maybe someday.
The 2026 Ice Festival
This year’s theme was artist choice, I believe, so the subject of each sculpture varied. They had sculptures at both ends of Bennett Ave, with vendors of every kind in between on the main thoroughfare. At the far end, in front of the Double Eagle Casino, they had the traditional ice slide, but this old gal wasn’t doing it this year.
That end of the street didn’t have as many as the lower end, but some of them were pretty darned cool.
The signs you see tell the sponsoring business and you can scan them with your phone to vote for the sculpture you feel is best. Me, I just liked them all.
Down on the lower end of Bennett Avenue in front of the Triple Crown Casinos is where the majority of the sculptures were found. This is a competition and the artists compete for a cash purse prize.
Starting out with gigantic blocks of ice, these talented artists sculpt their amazing works with hand tools and chainsaws. Below is a photo of one master ice wizard adding finishing touches to his Sphynx face to finish up the Egyptian display. I visited on the last day of the competition, and he was about the only one still working his magic, creating icy desert images.
About Kaye Lynne Booth
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and Book 1 in her Time-Travel Adventure series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw, as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders.
Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press, where she edits and publishes two short fiction anthologies and one poetry anthology every year amidst her many writing projects. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
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Did you know you can sponsor your favorite blog series or even a single post with an advertisement for your book? Stop by the WtbR Sponsor Page and let me advertise your book, or you can make a donation to Writing to be Read for as little as a cup of coffee, If you’d like to show your support for this author and WordCrafter Press.
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This post is sponsored by the Time Travel Adventure Series and WordCrafter Press, spotlighting the upcoming release of The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Double Visions.
The Kickstarter campaign offers digital copies for less than retail price and exclusive signed copies, posters, goodie bags and more. We’re halfway through and almost 60% funded, so we need your help to reach the funding goal of $500. Support the Kickstarter and get your discounted and exclusive merchandise through the link below.
About Bewilderness – To be released August 11, 2026
Dr. Abby Corman has a bold idea: open a stable doorway between our world and an uninhabited parallel Earth. A new world we can use to mine resources to end poverty, grow enough food to end all hunger, and allow for population growth to end overcrowding. What could be a more noble aspiration for a brilliant young scientist?
But the path to hell is paved with good intentions…
The Gateway is in a secure lab in a huge office building in New York. Ultra-modern, totally secure, impenetrable by industrial spies or foreign agents. Once it goes into lockdown for the Gateway test firing, it becomes the world’s largest and most unbreakable vault.
Locked doors, though, can do more than keep bad things out. They can trap bad things in.
The Gateway spins completely out of control, sending infinite Earths onto a collision course with ours. Now, our reality is cracking apart, allowing creatures from Earth’s distant past and monsters from parallel worlds to emerge, turning New York into a hellscape.
Abby Corman did not open the Gateway, but she is the only one who knows how to close it. But an alien Hunter and her pack of deadly hellcats have stepped into our world, and they will stop at nothing to kill Abby. Because in a universe of parallel worlds, one Earth’s savior can be the worst criminal other Earths have ever known.
I received a digital copy of Bewilderness, by Jonathan Maberry from the publisher, WordFire Press, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions stated here are my own.
I chose to review Bewilderness because Jonathan Maberry is the author, and I know his stories are of a quality to be admired. In this, I was not disappointed. Mayberry has created a first-rate science fiction novel and a situation where literally anything is possible. This story has cinematic potential, and I wouldn’t be surprised to find it in theaters in the future. The book is a solid, well written, well thought out story with fleshed-out characters and almost non-stop action to keep those pages turning.
Abby Corman is a scientist of the highest caliber, assigned to a top-secret government funded project, called Gateway. Only, she’s not just assigned to it, she created it. They are preparing for the test run of the Gateway machine, which cab tap into uninhabited parallel worlds, offering unlimited resources to replenish Earth’s dwindling supplies, and ending world hunger. But when their funding is threatened and her partner panics and fires her, locking her out and bringing in another scientific mind, who may understand the project, but has no regard for safety protocols, and they fire the Gateway, bypassing the test run. Something goes terribly wrong, leaving the Gateway cycling through thousands of strange parallel worlds, and allowing creatures from those worlds to enter this one, turning New York into a pre-historic disaster zone. It’s up to Abby to set things right, making her way through a veritably impenetrable fortress turned upside down, and running from an alien huntress and her pack of hell cats, who is determined to stop her.
Cutting-edge suspense will keep you on the edge of your seat as you follow Abby in her quest to save the world. I give Bewilderness five quills.
About Kaye Lynne Booth
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and book 1 in her Time-Travel Adventure series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw, as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders and The D.I.Y. Author writing resource.
Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press, where she edits and publishes two short fiction anthologies and one poetry anthology every year amidst her many writing projects. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARC digital copies, (she also accepts print copies). Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review on the Book Review tab above.
Today we’re going to take a look at two versions of the same movie: The Running Man, based on the novel by Stephen King, writing as Richard Bachman. It’s been a long time since I read this book, since it was released back in the 1980s, but I can tell you now that the movie which just came out with Glen Powell and Josh Brolin is definitely closer to the original story line of the book. That puts it higher in my opinion than the 1987 movie with Arnold Swarzenhegger and Richard Dawson, although the first movie is a good story in its own right.
In the reality TV show The Running Man, the only objective is to stay alive.
This “slam-bang action suspense” (Gilbert Cruz, Vulture) from Stephen King is now a major motion picture from Paramount.
Ben Richards has no job, no money, and a young daughter who urgently needs medical attention. Desperate, out of options, he signs up for The Running Man, “the biggest show in the country.” It’s an ultraviolent competition where the stakes could not be higher. Ben must stay alive for thirty days while an elite strike force, trained to kill, hunts for him. If he can survive for a month, he wins a billion dollars. No contestant has ever lasted longer than eight days. Can Ben Richards win this ultimate game of life and death?
The Running Man (2025) with Glen Powell and Josh Brolin
Ben Richards is a man with a conscience and a family, and when he speaks out against the networks in this futuristic world where the networks run the show, he falls from the group of haves, into the category of the have nots. Blackballed from working for the networks, with a sick child to care for, he tries out for the reality shows as a way to earn the money for the much-needed medicine to save his daughter’s life, and is cast in a spot on the deadliest game of all: The Running Man. Contestants must survive for thirty days, evading the Network Hunters, with everyone in the city out to collect the bounty. The running man has no friends because to help him is to risk their own livelihood. The Network is everywhere and ratings are everything.
If you read my descriptions of these two films it may sound like the big difference between these two films is the fact that Richards is a willing contestant in one and is forced to play on the other. While this is one big difference, the 1987 film also differs in the game playing field. While the book and the 2025 movie play the game out in the real world and members of society may earn prizes by reporting contestants’ whereabouts, the 1987 film veers from the plotline with a contained playing field and sensational hunter characters to be cheered by members of the audience.
“Arnold didn’t look like somebody who had been missing many meals. He was ripped,” King says. Also, “he doesn’t seem like an Everyman. He seems like Arnold. And Glen seems like a regular guy: You would believe him in this part. He’s handsome, but he’s not a Clark Gable, big movie star kind of guy. He’s a regular guy who’s just better looking than most of us.”
The Running Man (1987) with Arnold Swartzenhagger and Richard Dawson
Ben Richards (Arnold Swarzenhegger) is an ex-military good guy who defied orders and refused to kill innocent, unarmed people. When he is sent to prison for his alleged crimes and makes a spectacular escape, he catches the attention of Network Executive Damien Killian (Richard Dawson), who sees his rating potential. In this futuristic world, where the Networks run the show, (pun intended), you don’t sign up to be a contestant on the reality shows, and after his recapture, Richards is forced to play The Running Man, a reality game show, where the hunters play for keeps, and the networks will do anything for ratings.
I think the 2025 movie actually has more nonstop action than the 2005 film, each has its own merits.
Both versions are good stories. Both are entertaining. And both are full of surprises. As a huge fan of the story’s original author, I lean more toward the version that is closer to the storyline in the book.
About Kaye Lynne Booth
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and Book 1 in her Time-Travel Adventure series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw, as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders.
Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press, where she edits and publishes two short fiction anthologies and one poetry anthology every year amidst her many writing projects. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
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Did you know you can sponsor your favorite blog series or even a single post with an advertisement for your book? Stop by the WtbR Sponsor Page and let me advertise your book, or you can make a donation to Writing to be Read for as little as a cup of coffee, If you’d like to show your support for this author and WordCrafter Press.
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This segment of “Everyone is a Critic” is sponsored by the Time Travel Adventure Series and WordCrafter Press.
When a Girl with a Guitar Meets a Man with a Gun, It’s Time to Travel
It’s that time of year again. Time for the annual sponsor drive on Writing to be Read.
I offer sponsorship for this blogsite to help support the time and effort required to assure we can continue to bring you great content. Sponsorship money helps cover the costs of the annual hosting fee, and other services required to keep our content going. Right now, the WtbR blog team contributes not only content, but time and effort without any kind of much deserved compensation. My goal is to be able me to compensate the members of the team for the content they contribute.
Don’t just click ‘like’ on those blog posts you enjoy so much. You can be a sponsor for as little as $5 for a single segment, or you can sponsor your favorite blog series for a full year, (12 segments), for only $50. Advertise your blog, your website, or your book right here on Writing to be Read. When you become a sponsor, your ad, with a direct link to your blog or website appears at the bottom of the Writing to be Read post, and you pick which blog series you’d like to sponsor:
“Writer’s Corner”, with Kaye Lynne Booth
“Everyone is a Critic”, with Kaye Lynne Booth
“WordCrafter News”, with Kaye Lynne Booth
“Poetry Treasures”, with Robbie Cheadle
“In Touch With Nature”, with Robbie Cheadle
“Read and Cook”, with Robbie Cheadle
“Undawntech”, with DL Mullan
“Lindsey’s Writing Practice”, with Lindsey Martin-Bowen
“Mind Fields”, with Arthur Rosch
You find out more about sponsoring for Writing to be Read by visiting the Writing to be Read Sponsor Page. Sponsorships are first come, first serve, so hurry to be sure you can sponsor the blog series of your choice.
We can’t do it without you, so help us keep all the great content of Writing to be Read coming strong.
