Monday, May 15, 2017

Lost Hero Movies, MST3K Robots Tackle NetFlix, Ayreon: The Source Review, RiffTrax: Live, and New Releases

Hero Lost Movie Heroes

I’m hosting the Hero Lost authors today and I had just one question for them.

What movie or movies inspired your hero and why?

Jen Chandler:
This is a great question! When the story came to me, it came with the very first line. I had no idea at first who Gaston was or who the narrator was. Then it hit me: The Angel of Death. The very first thought I had after that was of the Shinigami (god of death) Ryuk from the movie Death Note. It was originally a manga series of the same name and turned into an anime series then a movie in 2006. I definitely picture Gaston looking differently, though, because I don't believe Death should be frightening. I love the idea of Death being a beautiful being, not at all terrifying. Still, it was Ryuk that popped in my head and I went with the Angel/God of Death theme because of Death Note!

Ellen Jacobson:
Hmm...good question. I think I'll have to go with the classic Star Wars movies and Hans Solo's character. He hesitates to join in with the rebellion, but in the end he does the right thing and helps save the day. The hero of my story is reluctant to join the fight against the powers that be, preferring a simple, ordinary life, but in the end he conquers his fears and summons the courage to join in with others like him who are different.

Renee Chung:
When I was envisioning Cormac, I started a very traditional knight, so if I had to relate to a movie, it would be A Knight’s Tale (because come on, Heath Ledger). Although the story differs greatly from the movie, I’d like to think that Cormac came from the same place as William Thatcher with their humble beginnings and their desire to embody the values and honour of a knight. And despite facing different foes, William with the villainous knight and Cormac with a dragon, they both do end up testing their mettle, with varying outcomes.

Roland D. Yeomans:
My mysterious Caretaker was inspired by a book that became a movie: American Gods by Neil Gaiman.

Erika Beebe:
Star Wars. I’m thinking Ethan closely resembles Hans Solo, a man with great character who doesn’t use it. Life has hardened his skin and he’s crawled into himself as a defense mechanism. Like Solo, Ethan thinks first about himself “and what can I get out this?” Love transformed Solo in the end and maybe the new purpose of noble cause did too. It’s the lost soul idea. They often need something profound to shake them out of their inner worlds.

Sarah Foster:
Star Wars: The Force Awakens was a big influence on me for the early stages of “The Last Dragon.” It kind of all started with this idea of someone who once was a hero and now is gone, and we don’t know why, kind of like Luke Skywalker in the movie. In my story, Raynor and his sister are in search of their uncle not only to find out why he left, but so that he can help defeat a new evil that has risen in his absence.

Elizabeth Seckman:
King Arthur—but without the cheating queen.

Olga Godim:
No movie inspired my protagonist. I’m not a big fan of movies in general, so no movie ever inspired any of my characters. When I first wrote about my heroine, Altenay, in another story altogether, she came to me as a non-white, some kind of an eastern girl or maybe a Gypsy. I started looking for a name for her and came up with a real woman I admired. Her name, with a slight change in vowels, became the name of my heroine. The real life inspiration for my Altenay’s name was a prima ballerina with the Marriinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, Altynai Asylmuratova. Ethnically she is a Kazakh, and like many women of that nation, very pretty, with a breathtakingly beautiful body lines. A superb ballerina too, she was very popular in the Western world while she performed in the 1980s and 1990s. She doesn’t perform anymore. Since 2000, she has been the artistic director of the Vaganova Ballet Academy, a teacher of many young ballerinas.

Yvonne Ventresca:
The Handmaid’s Tale, based on the novel by Margaret Atwood. Sylvia in “The Art of Remaining Bitter” questions society’s values and beliefs the same way that Offred does. They both have to face insurmountable forces to attempt to retain their individuality.

Tyrean Martinson:
A movie that inspired my hero? Hmm. I didn’t think of one before I wrote the story, but I guess that my character Maud reminds me a bit of Mal in the Firefly series – he has lost his sense of purpose and thinks that his highest calling is to serve his own sense of freedom, but a heroic spark still flickers on the inside.

Lots of Star Wars influences. (It also influenced my first book.) Do you have a movie hero that inspired one of your stories?

Review – Ayreon: The Source

This is the ninth Ayreon album and an incredible prog rock effort. As with all other double discs, this is a concept album, and not only does it lead into the album 01011001, it ties together with all of the others.

The storyline: The Alphas’ world is dying and the President gives the supercomputer known as The Frame total control to find a solution. It does – exterminate all of the humans. The race is on to select a group to voyage into the stars to a new planet. A drug called The Source will enable them to live underwater on the new planet, although due to the drug, they begin to forget what happened on Alpha. They take one robot with them, who at the end predicts he will become the new Frame. Thus it leads into the first song on 01011001, Age of Shadows.

Arjen Anthony Lucassen is the brainchild and anchor – a true musical genius and legend in prog rock. He has consistently pulled storylines, music, and musicians together to make cohesive albums over the years, no small feat indeed.

The music harkens back to earlier Ayreon albums. The music is both complex and accessible, and the musical harmonies and talents incredible. James LaBrie, Tommy Karevik, Simone Simmons, Tobias Sammet, Russell Allen, and Floor Jansen are among the voice talent, not to mention a slew of great musicians.

The Source is a prog lover’s dream album! There’s also a bonus DVD. Highly recommended.

New Releases

The Connective by Pat Hatt
Find it on Amazon


An Artful Animal Alphabet by Mary Montague Sikes
This is a collection of the animal paintings she did a couple years ago for the A to Z Challenge.





MST3K and NetFlix

Tom Servo and Crow took their ideas to NetFlix this week with this video - Tom Servo and Crow Pitch Shows to Netflix.



Then JoBlo posted the results. Now, we can see them doing what they do best: riff on other movies, or in this case, other Netflix shows:



There’s a couple other videos to watch at JoBlo’s site.

RiffTrax: Live

Don’t forget, RiffTrax: Live has two shows this summer.
Summer Shorts Beach Party is on June 15 and features the guys along with Bridget Nelson, Mary Jo Pehl, and a couple special guests.
Then on August 17, Mike, Kevin and Bill riff the legendary 1983 feature-length Doctor Who episode "The Five Doctors."
You don’t want to miss either!


Do you have a movie hero that inspired one of your stories? Have you listened to The Source yet? (I’d featured two videos from the album earlier this year.) Excited Tom Servo and Crow are tackling NetFlix shows? And who’s catching the RiffTrax: Live shows this summer?

My wife found these notebooks and insisted I take a photo...



109 comments:

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Star Wars definitely helped influence a lot of heroes, I think (and a couple in the post today).

My characters were more influenced by The Wind in the Willows and Frog and Toad, I think, ha!

RiffTrax on the road! Sounds like fun.

Erika Beebe said...

I mac really excited about Tom Servo and Crow. They are hilarious! Thank you for featuring Hero Lost today. Star Wars will always be a big influence for me. I think Empire Strikes Back was the first movie I ever saw in the theater. Have a great week Alex :)

Erika Beebe said...

Am not mac...lol

Cindy said...

It's interesting how many were influenced by Star Wars. It's probably the one series where I have seen all the movies.

The Cynical Sailor said...

How funny to see that other people picked Star Wars as well :-) Thanks for featuring us on your blog today. Cheers - Ellen

Nilanjana Bose said...

Fascinated by the Stars Wars, King Arthur and Neil Gaiman inspired heroes! Also by Olga's non-filmy, ballerina inspired heroine. That pretty much covers all the writers now, doesn't it? :) Great question and very interesting answers. This is earmarked for my summer reading in India.

Shady Del Knight said...

Hi Alex!

I got a kick out of the first Servo & Crow Netflix bit. It's interesting how the names of SNL alums Adam Sandler, Rob "Making copies" Schneider and David Spade, three white hot comic actors a couple of decades ago, are now used in a facetious manner in a bogus pitch for new Netflix programming. I think the idea for an investigative report on why people are dying on the sun is a worthy concept. Netflix might also consider the merits of "a show about nothing." :)

Sandra Ulbrich Almazan said...

Interesting to see how many people are influenced by Han Solo in particular, not just Star Wars. My Catalyst Chronicles and Season Avatar series are inspired by the Beatles.

Arlee Bird said...

I'm probably more inspired by movie plots, settings, and overall moods if I were to be inspired by a movie when writing a story. I'd likely be more apt to be inspired by a character actor in a film or somebody from real life. Once I wrote a story where I imagined the Uncle Charley character from the TV show My Three Sons as a main character in my story. Kind of weird, but I always liked his character or maybe more precisely the actor who played him.


Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out

Natalie Aguirre said...

Loved hearing from the anthology authors. Hans Solo is the type of hero that inspires me too. I like the reluctant hero who really is one when he's needed.

Pat Hatt said...

Some good picks there. Not sure I have any that truly inspired a character, but I'm sure, as there always are to anything, some similarities to many creep in.

What? No news on Psych coming back? Thought you'd have that right up there haha

Thanks for the shout too!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Erika, you're welcome!

Cindy, unfortunately I've seen them all, including the three bad ones.

Ellen, happy to!

Shady, RiffTrax once tackled a short about nothing, so why not?

Pat, you're welcome! And I ran out of room.

Tonja Drecker said...

Coraline influenced one story I wrote. Okay, she's an odd heroine but fits :). Tom Servo and Crow are new to me... love them! I really need to dive into that anthology. With a nice cool drink in the sun outside--yeah, I'm dreaming.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I don't believe any of my characters were inspired by those in a movie.

Tom and Crow are so funny.

Bish Denham said...

I can't think of any movies that have inspired characters, but books certainly have. The Oz books for one. Strong influence.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Alex - love Monti's book ... great idea for kids. I'm afraid I can't think of any heroes .. there must be something wrong with me - but don't please say what! The only story I've written was based on Cluedo -and then the detective was based on Columbo for some reason ... he bemuses me and gives me the creeps! Cheers Hilary

Truedessa said...

Happy Monday to you Alex,

A wonderful idea to host "Hero Lost"I still need to purchase the anthology. I bought the first anthology and enjoyed it.

Def will pick up Pat's book as well, the storyline and cover has me curious.

I think I've listened to a bit of this music before, perhaps I need to revisit the sound.

Have a great week!

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

Love the photo! Looks like Mini Alex has whole herds of ninjas with him. :)

Sarah Foster said...

Thanks for featuring us, Alex! I thought it was funny how many of us were influenced by Star Wars.

Truedessa said...

Psych is coming back? I didn't hear about that! Oh I did like that show and was sad to see it go!

Stacy McKitrick said...

If a hero from ANY movie influenced me, it had to be subconsciously. Even looking back, I don't see it. But I have been known to picture ACTORS as my heroes. Sometimes after the book was finished. :)

Andrew Leon said...

It would be a lie to say that Star Wars hasn't influenced my life, but I haven't based any characters or stories on it.

Tara Tyler said...

i enjoyed the movie character inspirations - congrats on the anthology, looks great!
and Pat Hatt's book didn't have a blurb - so of course I'm intrigued to know more about it! ha!

happy Monday!

Tara Tyler Talks

Tyrean Martinson said...

Star Wars is usually a big influence on my writing (I dig glowing swords), but this time Maud was definitely a little more Mal than Han, except he wanted to be a poet which I'm pretty sure that Mal and Han might chuckle over.

Thanks for sharing Hero Lost today!
Happy Monday!

Anonymous said...

No movies have inspired my writing, but I did get a story idea thanks to Legend of Zelda.

Shadow said...

Always a good time-out to visit here *smiles* it's been said we shouldn't take life so seriously, fiction does it for me.

Sandra Cox said...

Great interviews. Congrats to the authors.

kaykuala said...

Star wars fascinate greatly. Not surprising many others find it so. Especially with the recent remake that grossed big money.

Hank

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

T, you'll enjoy it!

Hilary, first time I've ever heard someone say Columbo gave them the creeps.

Truedessa, I'd featured two songs back in March.

Madeline, his has his Ninja army now!

Sarah, you're welcome.

Truedessa, it's coming back as a television movie.

Tyrean, Mal was a cool choice.

Fundy Blue said...

Happy Monday, Alex! I really enjoyed reading about the inspiration the Heroes authors drew from, and I look forward to reading their stories. The album "Ayreon The Source" sounds interesting, and I think I will order it. Do you buy CDS or vinyl? I'm also going to get Pat's new book. I hope you have an enjoyable week!

cleemckenzie said...

Movies do provide powerful influence. I've just finished Cormac's tale. What a fun story twist! Looking forward to the other anthology stories.

Fundy Blue said...

Okay ~ I took the plunge and ordered the Ayreon album. Decided to push myself to try something different!

John Wiswell said...

I adore Death Note! Jen has a darned fine inspiration.

Okay, I cracked up at the bots watching Netflix. That's more self-awareness than I thought Netflix would have! I'd totally prefer OA with their commentary.

The Happy Whisk said...

I laughed at the coco part. That was good. And then the laugh he had at one point, looked real. I like when we see real laughs.

Yes, to Guardians 2. Up next Wonder Woman, though I am thinking about Alien but it might be too soon to go again but for sure, Wonder Woman next.

Happy New Week, Alex :-)

Cherie Reich said...

Congrats to the authors of Hero Lost! It was fun to read how movies could inspire their main character.

A Beer for the Shower said...

That album sounds insane. Storylines, tie-ins... that's really cool how much thought was put into it. Definitely not like mainstream music, where, you know, they can't even write their own basic songs.

Fullest House... bodies just pouring out the doors and windows. Not only is that hilarious, but I would watch the crap out of that.

Elizabeth Seckman said...

I totally did not answer the why part of the question. Oh well, I win for shortest answer.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Fundy, I usually buy from iTunes, but the DVD and booklet made this one a CD purchase. Glad you bought it!

John, hope they have a whole series of thsoe.

Ivy, I think we're going to risk Alien this week.

Brandon and Bryan, exactly!!

Elizabeth, no worries.

Barbara In Caneyhead said...

I enjoyed learning from where the writers drew their inspiration. The Ninja is "purfect" for you!
Caneyhead: My Handsome Man

Jenni said...

I can't think of any character of mine that was inspired by a movie...but I do have some that were inspired by books. But mostly my characters are based on people I know (or a compilation of people).
It was interesting reading about other people's inspirations!
Love the guitar playing ninja~

Karen Lange said...

Now this is a great question! And a good idea for a blogpost too. Fun to see their answers. Have a great week!

H. R. Sinclair said...

I loved reading the answers. Something to ponder for my own MCs. :)

mail4rosey said...

How fun that the Artful Alphabet was published. And yes... I do love Heath Ledger's acting.

I don't write, so no way to answer the question.

Speaking of movies though, we saw Snatched this weekend. meh
My daughter and her friend loved it though (18 and 19 yrs. old). Maybe it's for a younger crowd than me. :)

Suzanne Furness said...

Not sure I have written anything inspired by a movie, interesting to read that many others do though! Love the notebooks, Alex.

Carrie-Anne said...

I can't think of any movie characters who inspired an entire story off the top of my head, though I was inspired to create the orphanage girls, and the Lebedev(a) family in my Russian historicals, because of the storyline with Katya Gubermann in The Inner Circle. It's a 1991 historical drama based on the memoirs of Stalin's film projectionist, and one of the secondary characters is a young girl who's taken into the orphanage system following her parents' arrests during the Great Terror in 1937. The adult Katya's devotion to Stalin, even at his funeral, inspired another of my characters, who also spent some time in the orphanage system.

Olga Godim said...

It's fascinating how far-flung the influences of the anthology authors were: from Star Wars to King Arthur.

Rawknrobyn.blogspot.com said...

I'm with Olga - not a movie person. Movies don't inspire my writing. Real life and off-screen beings do.
Wish I could dance with Mini Alex. He knows how to have a good time.
Be well, Alex.

J E Oneil said...

I suppose everything I've seen and read has inspired me in some way, but I can't think of anything that I've consciously chose to emulate. Also, your wife was right to insist. I love those notebooks.

Notes Along the Way with Mary Montague Sikes said...

Thanks for the An Artful Animal Alphabet promo. It's not available quite yet but will be soon. I hope the University of Mary Washington bookstore will have it in time for my signing on June 3!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Barbara, thanks!

Jenni, Mini-Alex might be cooler than I am...

Rosey, it might be.

Robyn, he's probably more fun than me. Definitely a better dancer.

JE, I'll let her know.

Mary, you're welcome!

Murees Dupè said...

Congrats to the Hero anthology authors and those with new releases. Cool notebooks. Have a good week, Alex.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

That's a lot of Star Wars influence. I like the Stargate universe better myself and Firefly. It's very cool to hear where the hero ideas came from.

DMS said...

How fun to learn about the movie heroes who inspired the stories. Lots of variety and some commonalities. :) I have been inspired by book heroes, but I am not sure if I have been inspired by movie heroes. Have to think on that a bit more. :)
~Jess

Liz A. said...

Movies often inspire my stories, but more along the lines of "if this happened instead..."

Tom Servo and Crow on NetFlix... I heard something about that video, but I haven't seen it yet. Good times.

Birgit said...

Star Wars seems to be popular for inspiration. I think of the film Roman Holiday and the princess played by Audrey Hepburn was brilliant and sad. I'd like to think how she may have progressed but thankfully there was never a remake or sequel

Helena said...

I'm so glad to see Roland Yeoman's quote for his story in the Hero Lost anthology. May great sales and praise be granted to all the authors!

dolorah said...

Everything seems to inspire my stories. I have to really focus to get once sense of influence. I'm kinda like Olga and Tyrean: I don't know that something has influenced me until I'm in the editing and revision stages.

nashvillecats2 said...

A good question to the wonderful authors of the Anthology,
There were some varied answers. Wonderful and great to read.
Sorry for being late.

Yvonne.

Nicola said...

Great question. Firstly, congrats again to the authors of the Anthology!
I'm inspired by strong women who aren't afraid to show their vulnerabilities - living and fictional.
Have a lovely week.

J.H. Moncrieff said...

Congrats to all the anthology winners! I'm excited to read your stories.

Mason Canyon said...

Interesting to see how much Star Wars was an influence. Glad Mal got a mention too. Congrats to those with releases. Cute notebooks, glad your wife insisted on the photo.

Rhonda Albom said...

I hadn't realised how influential Star Wars was. As for the other things, I remember Mary's alphabet paintings from a few years ago. I am sure it will do well.

Patricia Stoltey said...

This is the first I've heard of Tom Servo and Crow. Am I hopelessly behind the times?

Charles Gramlich said...

gonna have to give Ayreon a try.

Yvonne Ventresca said...

Now I feel like re-watching Star Wars! Thanks for featuring the anthology.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Susan, both of those rock! I agree.

Donna, I sometimes don't see it until later either.

Mason, she even took the photo.

Patricia, well, they have been around since 1990...

Charles, it's an amazing project band.

Sandra Cox said...

Congrats to Pat and Mary. How many is this for Pat now?

Have a great one, Alex.

Sherry Ellis said...

That's interesting that so many of the heroes from the anthology were inspired by movie heroes. Mine wasn't. Probably watching movies serves as inspiration for a lot of writers.

Juneta key said...

Congrats Authors! Good Job. Loved the post and insight to inspiration.

Nick Wilford said...

I'll be looking out for those Star Wars influences in the anthology!

LynNerdKelley said...

Tom Servo and Crow are a riot! The Hero Lost Movie Heroes interviews are interesting. Congrats to everyone with new titles out. An Artful Animal Alphabet by Mary Montague Sikes looks like a cute book for kids. Hope you're doing well, Alex. Take care!

Joanne said...

Can't contribute much to this post with my comment. But always glad to see Pat Hatt in the author queue. The man is phenomenal!!!

Toi Thomas said...

Reluctant heroes always seem to be the best.
That Ayreon album cover is a little creepy, but it sounds like an interesting album.
That's cool that Tom Servo and Crow got to rip a few Netflix shows.
I literally did a whole series about other heroes who influenced some of my characters. I won't bore you with that now.

Beverly Stowe McClure said...

Interesting answers to the question. I'm working hard to catch up so I can read the anthology. But I'm so slow. Maybe soon. I can't think of any heroes that have inspired me to write a story. That may be in the future.
Congratulations to the new books.
Have a great week.

Donna K. Weaver said...

What a great idea, to have the authors talk a little about their inspirations for the anthology. Love this kind of insight.

Stephanie Faris said...

Those questions are always tough for me because I write about 7- and 13-year-olds!!! So no movie characters/actors really inspire me at all. When I wrote romance, I could have had a good answer for most of those questions. Well, that and the fact that back then I watched a TON of movies!!!

Jennifer Lane said...

Sounds like Han Solo is quite the inspiration. Harrison Ford, yummy.

Christine Rains said...

Great question and answers from the anthology authors! :) Netflix should totally listen to Tom Servo and Crow. Wish I had more time to go see live shows. I'll have to bring my son into the Rifftrax circle when he's a little older so we all can go!

T. Powell Coltrin said...

Whatever I write, Star Trek and Star Wars have influenced me.

Great new books. Love when our people have a new book out. Woot.

The Happy Whisk said...

Very cool on going to see Alien's. Decided I would wait to see how I feel because I really, really, REALLY don't want to muck up my chances to see Wonder Woman.

Have a groovy week.

PS: Making new bread today for more Cinnamon French Toast, tomorrow.

Loni Townsend said...

Looks like there are a lot of Star Wars fans! I have to agree with A Knight's Tale though. Heath Ledger. Enough said. :)

Computer Tutor said...

I just lost ten minutes watching the Tom and Crow videos. Sigh.

Crystal Collier said...

Yay for A Knight's Tale and Firefly! Not that the others aren't good movies, but well, those are my favorites.

My hubby was so excited when he found Mystery Science Theater on Amazon Prime. He wanted to watch all the movies. I reminded him (stick in the mud that I am) we only have so much time each evening. *sigh*

Anonymous said...

Before I forget: I love what Jen said about not wanting death to look ugly. Very good point. Why can't death look pretty, like an angel?

I forgot how funny MST is. I think I found the next series to binge watch on Netflix. Thanks, Alex!

Elsie Amata

Blue Grumpster said...

Betray us, and I will fong you!!!

Remember that one?

Sandra Cox said...

Ha! Love the notebooks:)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Sherry, it does for me.

Lynn, always good to hear from you!

Joanne, he is a writing machine.

Christine, considering there is some language at the live shows, definitely wait until he is older.

Ivy, I am seeing both!

Jacqui, but you got a good laugh, didn't you?

Crystal, it's easy to binge-watch now.

Elsie, go for it!

Blue, yes!

Shah Wharton said...

My heroines are normal people who must deal terrifying experiences, although the first was supernatural and influenced heavily by Charlaine Harris's heroines. I was reading a lot of her work at the time of writing.

C.D. Gallant-King said...

Some cool insight into the background of the various stories, and the influence of Star Wars on pop culture can't be understated.

I can't think of any specific instances of movie characters inspiring my work, though I am dabbling with something now that has some major homages to Seven Samurai...

Sandra Cox said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Julie Flanders said...

Fun to hear from the Anthology authors! I am looking forward to reading all of their stories.
How cool that Mary released a book of her A-Z animal paintings! I remember those. Will have to go congratulate her. :)

debi o'neille said...

Mine weren't inspired by any movie, but there's a great book--The Wizard of Earthsea--that got my imagination hopping. :-)

Sheena-kay Graham said...

Listened to a sample of Ayreon on Amazon and they sound amazing. I can see why you like their music and love the story line move.

Lynda Dietz said...

How interesting that so many of them got their influences from Star Wars. I think so many of us can relate to that: wanting to do something for ourselves and yet knowing we'll ultimately do the right thing whether it benefits us or not. Having A Knight's Tale referenced made me want to watch that one all over again.

I'll have to tell my hubby and sons about Ayreon's new album. They love any new music and prog rock is one of their many genres of interest.

On a completely unrelated note, I finally saw Guardians of the Galaxy last night! Go, me! Of course I loved it.

Michelle Wallace said...

Interesting to read the movie or movies that inspired the hero/heroine for the anthology stories.
Death as a beautiful being? Mmm. Now that's something to consider...why not?

Tamara Narayan said...

I think my historical novel was influenced, in part, by characters from The Patriot, but it's a stretch--and probably better that way.

I've read three of the anthology tales--all entertaining.

Unknown said...

I try hard to keep my characters and plots original and unlike anything else.

What a great tale behind Ayreon!! Except for Floyd's The Wall, I've never heard of anything so ambitious.

Congrats to Pat and Mary for their releases and for the MST3K on Netflix!

Lowcarb team member said...

An Artful Animal Alphabet sounds interesting ...it's sure to be a colourful book.

All the best Jan

H.R. Bennett said...

Oh Firefly...I can definitely agree with having some inspiration from that series. However, I think anyone who's read my stuff has figured out Aliens had more than a touch of influence on my style. haha

Unknown said...

Knight's Tale is my fav movie! Great post Alex :)

Sandra Cox said...

Looks like Star Wars had an affect on several of the stories.

Sandra Cox said...

PS Enjoy the weekend, Alex:)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Julie, I think it's cool she did.

Sheena-kay, they are the complete package when it comes to music.

Lynda, glad you caught it! And your husband and sons will dig the new Ayreon.

Lexa, Arjen's music is far beyond The Wall or any other concept album since it spans so many years and albums.

Robert, I can see that.

Sandra, I am enjoying hiding! Too damn hot.

Magic Love Crow said...

Hi Alex!
Love the notebooks!!!
Great interviews! That was really interesting about the Angel Of Death!
Tom Servo and Crow are so funny!
Take Care!

Anonymous said...

I'm still mourning the loss of the original Mystery Science Theater! But, then again, I still mourn Creature Feature too. :)

Leovi said...

My first great hero was Tarzan

kimlajevardi.com said...

Star Wars is definitely up there as influences, but I also took a lot from the Harry Potter books. I love the hero's journey aspect of both franchises. Good versus evil and life-altering choices in the darkest of moments are grist for both my heroine and world building.

Barbara said...

I’m far more likely to be inspired by characters from children’s books than from movies. Somehow written words stay with me whereas movies quickly fade from my memory.

Deniz Bevan said...

Love the notebook photo!

Ooh, I'd like to see that Five Doctors RiffTrax show!