P T Lacy
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ptlacy.bsky.social
P T Lacy
@ptlacy.bsky.social
230 followers 830 following 140 posts
Author seeking representation. EFL Teacher. Englishman in Poland (he/him). Cat dad. Movie lover. Blogger. All shall worship me and despair?

Debut novel: https://books2read.com/unregistered

Blog: https://from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io
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ptlacy.bsky.social
P T Lacy @ptlacy.bsky.social · Apr 2
Do you like movies? Do you like bad movies? Obscure bad movies from Hollywood A-listers?
You do?
Then I have the blog for you!
from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io
Every Wednesday and Saturday, my blog explores the movies nobody watches. Sign up now - it's always free!
ptlacy.bsky.social
When I was ten, The Goonies was an all-time classic kids movie. I'm 48 now. Join me as I discover just how rosy-tinted the glasses of nostalgia are...

#MovieSky #FilmSky #Nostalgia

www.fromthesmallestdesk.link/the-goonies/
The Goonies
All the lads in my class loved this film when we were ten. The Goonies was the first and last word in pre-teen adventure comedy nonsense...in 1985. Forty years on...how does it compare?
www.fromthesmallestdesk.link
November 26, 2025 at 1:06 PM
ptlacy.bsky.social
Convincing you to read my novel with the first paragraph. Share yours if you want.

(From UNREGISTERED)
Chapter One July 28, 2000 Four scumbags ride in an estate car, fleeing the scene of a robbery in the first glimmerings of the late July dawn, flushed with success. I know them, or at least I know the types. Some mother's sons, her hopes and dreams, the same sad old story of good boys become bad men thanks to the whims of a cruel or indifferent society, or that's what they'd have you believe. I can't sing you the songs of their lives, but I can hum the tune.
November 12, 2025 at 2:08 PM
ptlacy.bsky.social
Oh hey look! It's the Illuminati Brotherhood again with another offer of membership.

Wait...hmmm...hm. No, it's the dollar store version. The Illuminate Botherhood. I wonder what they do instead of secretly ruling the world? Should I blame them for the traffic lights turning red a moment too soon?
September 26, 2025 at 12:11 PM
ptlacy.bsky.social
#WIPSnips #WriteSky

Sometimes in Unforgiven, Ricky can't do right for doing wrong, like when he goes, unwillingly, to his alcohol support group...
“Guys, do you remember Richard?” “Yes,” Jeremy said. “I remember.” Alec’s eyes flicked over to me for a second and he nodded once. Disdain rang in Jeremy’s voice. He’d never liked me and I didn’t blame him. Right now, I didn’t much like me either. He’d spoken with quiet dignity about the pressure of his rank and role and the culture of drinking among his peers and superiors. He’d found himself in a trap not of his own making, much the same as Alec. Once Alec had described how he drank to forget all the dilemmas his job had brought him; about all of the false choices with bad outcomes at either end. Next to them, I was just a tourist. Martyn crossed the ring and settled in the chair beside me. “I’m glad you came back,” he said. “Genuinely, I am.” This was what I’d been desperate to avoid. All along, I’d planned to sit through the session and murmur approvingly at all of the positive process and put on a sad face at the bad news. I’d sit silent and sad-faced and gut it out. Martyn had other ideas. His open, hopeful expression begged for a response. “Well, mate,” I said, a fake smile plastered across my face. “One day at a time.”
September 9, 2025 at 6:57 PM
ptlacy.bsky.social
#WIPSnips #WriteSky

For a change, how about the first two paragraphs of the manuscript of Unforgiven? Trigger warning if you happen to come from Stogursey. Anyway, looks like Ricky might be in trouble again...
They were waiting for me when I got back to the home after school. A jam sandwich sat in the driveway, a Ford Granada bearing a strip of red between two layers of white, its occupants nowhere to be seen. They’d be here for me. A pub had burned down a few days earlier and they’d probably run out of leads to follow. So, as usual, when the pigs had nothing they resorted to rootling around in the trash for the bad apples. The front door was open as I approached. People were talking inside. Two voices I didn’t know, low and male, plus one I did. It had to be him. His throaty chuckle gave him away. Even by Somerset standards, Coombes sounded like a yokel with a mouth full of mash. The child of cousins, that’s what we told ourselves, one of those shit-kickers from out Stogursey way.
September 7, 2025 at 4:13 PM
ptlacy.bsky.social
#WIPSnips #WriteSky

From the very last chapter of Unforgiven, Ricky is really paying attention to the world around him for...reasons.
People bustled past me in the Underground. The blue of denim, flecked with molecules of white, golden thread laddering up and down the seams. The rotten fruit reek of a stranger’s grey shirt, dark rings of sweat leaking out from his armpits. The hiss and screech of the tracks when the train approached. The rumble as it drew into the station. The yellow of the lights in the carriage was a poor imitation of the sun. I clung to a handhold and the train shook me to and fro. Two women next to me chattered away in a language I didn’t recognise. I drank in the liquid vowels and the crisp consonants. I rode the escalator up from the platform, climbed the stairs from the concourse. A pigeon eyed me and the feathers at the nape of his neck glowed with an iridescent purple which flipped to green when he turned his head. A wave of freshly roasted coffee aroma washed over me, warm and earthy. And then I was at the door to the offices. I pushed them open, went in.
September 4, 2025 at 9:14 AM
ptlacy.bsky.social
#WIPSnips #WriteSky

After a long summer, I am also tired. But not as tired as the police having to deal with Ricky's nonsense, or Ricky with theirs. From chapter 1 of Unforgiven.
“We’re investigating the fire at the Red Hart pub at the weekend,” Jones went on. “We’re going to ask you some questions. Mr. Coombes is here as your representative.” As if that meant something. Press a tenner into Coombes’s hand, and he’d turn a blind eye to just about anything. Make it a twenty and he’d hold your coat while it happened. “It wasn’t me,” I said. “You’re Talented, aren’t you?” Long asked. Jones uncapped the pen with a pop and scratched it over the paper. His writing was an ugly scrawl, all undisciplined loops and whorls. “You know, if I wrote like that my teachers would give me lines.” The scratching halted and Jones stared at me, as though I’d just shat on his shoes. Long exchanged a glance with Jones and then Coombes. “Answer the question, please, Richard,” Jones said. “Yes, I am Talented. As you know. It’s why I’m here.” “What’s the nature of your Talent?” Long asked. A minute in, and he already sounded bone-tired. “Like you don’t know.” Long released a hiss of breath. Coombes shifted in his seat.
September 2, 2025 at 12:31 PM
ptlacy.bsky.social
#WriteSky #FlashFiction #ShortFiction

Back in February, I took part in a flash fiction competition. The brief: write a story in which something important is missing.

Like the Chosen One, I thought.

And lo, I had an idea. Enjoy.

from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io/a-beautiful-...
It was a beautiful day for the end of the world. In a sapphire sky, the sun beat down on Torgo Ebonheart in his armour of black iron, forged from the heart of a fallen star. His helmet bore a crown of wicked spikes. His plate, scarred by the blades of his fallen foes, was ringed with razor-sharp flanges. He held his flamberge, The Blade of Xalphon, upright in front of him, an accusing finger pointed at the heavens. Above him, the Trolltooth mountains glowered like a broken smile. Beneath them marched a gloomy expanse of firs, haunted by wolf, kobold and bandit. Behind him stood his army, a hundred thousand men, orcs and dark elves. Infantry. Cavalry astride fell mounts. Howling beasts of war. A decade they had followed Torgo. Down from the Maw of Fate, across plain and field, forest and mountain. Together they had burned the villages and pillaged the towns and raped the cities which lay on the path to this greenswarded vale, to be here, this day, this hour.
August 29, 2025 at 6:06 PM
ptlacy.bsky.social
A new dispatch From The Smallest Desk!

There was a brief window in time when Eddie Murphy forgot what it was that made him a star, and it's 95 minutes long and took $7 million dollars globally.

#FilmSky #MovieSky

from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io/the-adventur...
The Adventures of Pluto Nash
You might remember Eddie Murphy from lowbrow comedies like The Nutty Professor or Norbit. You might remember him from action comedy capers like 48 Hrs. Let's look at the window in time when he almost ...
from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io
August 6, 2025 at 10:24 AM
ptlacy.bsky.social
You're Peter Jackson. You're the guy who gave Kate Winslet her big break. You'd later be the guy who'd turn Andy Serkis into a household name. In between, though, we all forgot this one...

#FilmSky #MovieSky

from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io/peter-jackson/
Peter Jackson
When Peter Jackson made his first movie, he could only dream of winning it all at the Oscars before blowing all of his cred with nine hours of Bilbo Baggins. In between, though...
from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io
July 30, 2025 at 1:39 PM
ptlacy.bsky.social
Are you a real cinema lover if you've never seen Rebecca? And is it worth it? Shameful: the greatest films I've never seen.

#FilmSky #MovieSky

from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io/rebecca/
Rebecca
Can you really call yourself a movie lover if you've never seen Rebecca?
from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io
July 23, 2025 at 10:09 AM
ptlacy.bsky.social
Even good film-makers suffer failures from time to time. Maybe the state of the art moved past them, or they were hamstrung by their company, or they aimed a little too high. Or maybe all three at once...

#FilmSky #MovieSky

from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io/titan-a-e/
Titan A.E.
Toy Story changed the landscape of animated movies forever. The bar was raised by Pixar and even Disney struggled to get over it. But what about veteran animator Don Bluth? How would he respond?
from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io
July 16, 2025 at 10:25 AM
ptlacy.bsky.social
Chris Hemsworth as a hacker, directed by Michael Mann? What could possibly go wrong? Oh, I have such sights to show you...

#MovieSky #FilmSky

from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io/chris-hemswo...
Chris Hemsworth
He's the handsomest, hunkiest hacker to ever write a line of code! Thrills as he phishes the director of the NSA! Spills as he fights like John Wick on a PCP jag! Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Hemsworth...
from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io
July 9, 2025 at 2:36 PM
ptlacy.bsky.social
From The Smallest Desk and straight into the phantom zone...not even George Clooney could save Disney this time. But who wants grumpy George Clooney?

#FilmSky #MovieSky

from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io/tomorrowland/
Tomorrowland
Disney do it again! Millions spent! Big names recruited! Wonderful production design! And the viewing public said "meh".
from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io
June 18, 2025 at 12:36 PM
ptlacy.bsky.social
Today, From The Smallest Desk!

Possibly the A-listiest female A-lister of the 1990s and 2000s! America's Sweetheart! And the film where she learned to despise Nick Nolte.

#FilmSky #MovieSky

from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io/julia-roberts/
Julia Roberts
She's America's sweetheart and arguably the Queen of Hollywood! She was Erin Brockovich! She was a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her!
from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io
June 7, 2025 at 10:08 AM
ptlacy.bsky.social
Breadcrumbs led me From The Smallest Desk to reflect on why voice matters in fiction...

#WriteSky

from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io/voice/
Voice
It's one of the things which pulls a reader deep into a story, or maybe forces them all the way out.
from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io
June 4, 2025 at 3:57 PM
ptlacy.bsky.social
My Lord! A message From The Smallest Desk! It says... "Lock, Stock and a Smoking Excalibur - the cinematic universe we all secretly wanted."

#FilmSky #MovieSky

from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io/king-arthur-...
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
Warner Brothers decided they had to get on the cinematic universe train - yes, a King Arthur cinematic universe - only for it to derail itself in the messiest way.
from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io
May 31, 2025 at 1:04 PM
ptlacy.bsky.social
Broadcasting live From The Smallest Desk!

Once upon a time there was a boy, who dreamed amazing things and made people swoon with his dark and devious tales. And one day, he dun went and soiled himself.

#FilmSky #MovieSky

from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io/the-next-spi...
The Next Spielberg - M Night Shyamalan
If you don't remember the days when M Night Shyamalan was the hot director, I do - and I was there when it all came tumbling down, starting here.
from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io
May 28, 2025 at 10:54 AM
ptlacy.bsky.social
Somewhere at the intersection of Plot Convenience Street and Believeability Boulevard is where you'll find all the characters who are just a little too stupid. Of course, your mileage may vary.

#WriteSky

from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io/what-did-you...
What did you go and do that for?
You need a really good reason to write characters whose decisions show them to be as dumb as a box of rocks....
from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io
May 24, 2025 at 10:43 AM
ptlacy.bsky.social
you versus your tbr in gif form.

go.
May 23, 2025 at 8:04 AM
ptlacy.bsky.social
I sent it From The Smallest Desk!

Would you believe me if I told you a respected film director made a film from a script off the Black List about the grimdark origins of Peter Pan? You'd better.

from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io/pan/

#FilmSky #MovieSky
Pan
Alright, which one of you lot ordered the Peter Pan origin story? Well, you'd better clean it up, it's starting to stink the place out.
from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io
May 21, 2025 at 4:52 PM
ptlacy.bsky.social
Freshly baked From The Smallest Desk...

He's the one true master of Nouveau Shamanism! He's been wild at heart! He's a national treasure! And once upon a time he made Top Gun with helicopters. Nicolas Cage!

#FilmSky #MovieSky

from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io/nicolas-cage/
Nicolas Cage
He's the actor that launched a thousand memes, bought a dinosaur, went broke and is now beloved by all. Let's open up his movie closet to expose the skeleton rattling around inside it...
from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io
May 17, 2025 at 12:45 PM
ptlacy.bsky.social
post a robot that is not from star wars or transformers
May 15, 2025 at 8:36 PM
ptlacy.bsky.social
It came From The Smallest Desk!

Nobody likes exposition. I asked myself, are there ways to do it well?

#WriteSky

from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io/in-the-shado...
In the Shadow of the Info Bomb
"So, Captain, as you know, we've recently arrived in the Cygnus sector..."
from-the-smallest-desk.ghost.io
May 14, 2025 at 10:48 AM
ptlacy.bsky.social
#WIPSnips #WriteSky

Mr Coombes is in for a difficult night
He opened the door and shuffled into the porch and out into the yard. He'd gotten old in the eight years I'd been away. I hadn't seen it in the pub, but it was clear now. He walked with a stoop and the beginnings of a limp in his left leg, as though his knee or hip were griping him. "Turn right," I said and we headed along the pavement, past the parked cars, down the deserted pavement. Coombes had lost his fitness, too, puffing and panting a little. Maybe it was fear. I hoped it was. We reached the bridge at the end of the street. It wasn't built for cars, being more of an adjustable drain for the river, having a stile set into the metal fence. "Over the bridge."
May 11, 2025 at 4:55 PM