A to Z Challenge – Near Dark and No Excuses, Plus Ninja News and Ship My Pants

My theme for the A to Z Challenge is Favorite Movies, Bloggers, and Music! I’ll name a favorite movie that corresponds with the letter, and then select a character from the film. I will then name a favorite blogger who reminds me of that character, and then dedicate a song to him. (Also corresponding with the alphabet.) I’ll wrap it all up with trivia and/or fun facts about the movie, the blogger, or the music!

In addition, two lucky commenters this month will receive a review copy of CassaStorm! One comment per day and each is worth one entry except – the first and one hundredth comments on each day will receive ten entries!

Near Dark

A gritty and very original take on the vampire lore. (In fact, the word vampire is never uttered.) Moments of quiet atmosphere are followed by intense action. The cast is great and obviously had fun in their roles.

Mae is a quiet girl holding a secret. Her gentle spirit offsets the crass behavior of those around her. She’s consistent and devoted, doing what she can for the others.

Who is Mae?

Michelle at Writer-In-Transit!

She keeps her personal life and appearance hidden, but that doesn’t stop her spirit from shining through. Michelle is always there, quietly supporting in the background. If she were to leave though, it would leave a big hole in the blogging world.

Michelle is a writer, flash fiction master, and one awesome Ninja Minion.

To you I dedicate No Excuses by Alice in Chains. (Song title leads to YouTube.)

For the simple fact you don’t allow excuses – you are always there, always trying, always believing!

Trivia and Facts:

Near Dark was Bigelow’s directorial debut, but it was also the last film ever produced by this major studio, often symbolized by three letters – name it.

M’s trivia answer – Switchfoot is a surfing term. (The members are from California and big time surfer dudes.)

Ninja News

Anne R. Allen had an informative post this weekend about Amazon algorithms.

This weekend I received a sweet photo of Jennifer Hillier and Nancy Thompson out causing trouble. But they’re both cute, so they can get away with it.


Rachel Schieffelbein is hosting the Secondary Characters Blogfest on May 22 in honor of the release of her upcoming book.

Thanks to everyone who signed up for the Best/Worst Movie Remake Blogfest on May 17!


And I wanted to share commercial with you guys. Yes, this is a real Internet commercial.

'Ship My Pants' Kmart Ad: For The 12-Year-Old In All Of Us



Ever seen the movie Near Dark? Following the awesome Michelle? Any Alice in Chains fans? Know the trivia today? Excited about the blogfests? And after watching that commercial, what word did you hear besides ship…?