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!
Ocean’s Eleven
It’s the ultimate caper movie. (As are both sequels.) Ensemble casts sometimes fall flat, but not here. The actors are on top of their game and the direction is sharp. This film is both classy and fun.
Rusty Ryan is Danny Ocean’s best friend. He’s clever, sly, and very witty. He’s calculating and confident as he works the steps of the plan, and Rusty makes it look easy.
Who is Rusty Ryan?
She exhibits poise and confidence as she moves down the author trail. Annalisa possesses the perfect balance and is always taking action. It may not be easy, but she leads the way with such style and grace that we believe we can do the same.
Annalisa Crawford is the author of The Cat and the Dreamer and That Sadie Thing.
To you I dedicate Opticon by Orgy. (Song title leads to YouTube)
“Let’s fake it for all the fame, They’ll think delivering it was easy…” You don’t need to fake it though, Annalisa!
Trivia and Facts:
Where does Annalisa live?
Orgy’s first hit was a cover of this New Order song – name it.
N’s trivia answer – Near Dark was the last movie produced by DEG (DeLaurentis Entertainment Group)
Great Challenge Themes!
Diane at Spunk on a Stick’s Tips has been offering great publishing and promoting tips from her book.
Gillian at A Daft Scots Lass is providing (humorous) definitions for Scottish terms, plus highlighting an awesome place in Scotland.
Joy Campbell at The Character Depot has been giving blog tour tips.
Jay Noel is giving us a trip down memory lane – all thing s80’s.
JA Bennett has been offering up some awesome blogging tips.
And Leovi is blogging the most amazing abstract photos you will ever see.
Defiance
Defiance debuted on SyFy Monday night and I sacrificed sleep to see the two hour premier. (11:00 pm is WAY past my bedtime!)
It was good!
I went into this series with high hopes. The creator is Rockne S. Bannon, the man behind Farscape. That series was so incredibly original and fresh, and I’d hoped he’d bring his genius to Defiance. I was not disappointed.
After so many failed attempts at a successful science fiction series, I think SyFy has finally scored a big one. Not once did I think that what a character was doing was stupid, nor was any of it over-the-top melodramatic. The storyline was great (hints of Road Warrior, but that’s all right), the alien creatures unique but realistic, and the special effects really damn impressive. The interesting mix of characters guarantees something new every week.
All right, SyFy – don’t mess it up now!!
Book Trailer News
I received word from my publisher that they are working on a trailer for CassaStorm. It will be shorter than the others, but with a voice over similar to CassaFire.
And since I can’t share the video with you just yet, here is the animated book trailer for CassaFire:
Fan of The Ocean’s Eleven series? Following the awesome Annalisa? Remember the band Orgy? Know the trivia? Keeping up with those awesome themes? Did you watch Defiance? And I’m stoked to see the next book trailer – think it will top the one for CassaFire?
144 comments:
I love Ocean's 11- it's one of those movies where I find myself really enjoying rooting for the underdog.
I'm so looking forward to Defiance. I hope it's good--despite your top review I'm worried because it's on late. There isn't enough new scfi on tv at the moment.
Hooray for Annalisa! :)
I hope Defiance worth a try. Maybe the SyFy will back to the old road, and start screening new sci-fi series again? It would be good.
I wouldn't mind being compared to Bead Pitt in any way. Yay for Annalisa! Can't wait to see the newest trailer. Squeeee!!!
I look forward to seeing Annalisa. I'm also excited about your upcoming trailer!
Julie
I am looking forward to watching Defiance, sounds great!
Cant wait to watch the CassaStorm video, I am sure it will be good.
Yes, I follow Annalisa.
I actually didn't enjoy that movie. There were some noisy kids in the audience and I couldn't focus on it.
Annalisa is a great pick! And thank you for mentioning a movie that I've seen and love. :)
She's from Devon, England, I believe. I'll take a stab at the song and say Blue Monday.
I'm going to check out Defiance!!
Great picks. I love all the Oceans. Your video looks cool.
Excellent trailer really enjoyed it.
Also another good choice of follower/music. Very popular theme.I see she lives at Devon UK....the next county to where I live so will look her up.
Yvonne.
Lots of great sounding themes. I'm going to have to go and check some of them out when I have a moment.
Oooo new trailer!
What a lovely surprise to see my name up there today, thank you Alex! The song is great.
The only New Order song I know is Blue Monday, and it's usually the answer because I think it's the only song anyone knows!
Love Ocean's Eleven! I could watch that movie again.
Love Ocean's Eleven! Great book trailer too - I hadn't seen it! Very cool. ;)
We love Ocean Eleven at our house. My husband and daughter have watched it many times.
And I'll have to check out Defiance if I can get a bit more TV time in. It's hard because I have so many books to read for my blog.
I liked Farscape, might give Defiance a go. Sounds like it has potential.
mood
Moody Writing
Ocean's 11 is a great movie!
Wow, those are some great themes. I'm in awe that y'all are able to blog on themes with this challenge (and keep up with visiting others, too!)
I enjoyed the Ocean's 11, haven't seen the other ones. Annalisa is a great choice!
Yay for the new trailer coming out! Can't wait to see it.
I say bring back Farscape!!! Yay!! Take care
x
Congrats ANNALISA!
Congrats on your new trailer .... Your writing life seems to be moving right along.
Can't believe we're half way through another week in the challenge.... and we are still alive.. YAY for that LOL.
All the Ocean's were enjoyable and the cast really MADE the movies.
Cannot wait for the new trailer AND book. The CassaFire trailer is still good!
Wow! I actually am #25 today.
http://apackalipsnow.blogspot.com/2013/01/guns-and-control.html
Been following Annalisa for a while, and she's a regular reader of mine. Great pick! Loved all those movies, though I will have to admit that I do need to watch them again...I don't always stay completely awake...so I know I miss important stuff...
I've been telling people about your third book (and of course the first two) and I've got several people who just finished CassaStar and want MORE! My mom for example...who hates sci-fi. "But it's got relationships Tina, that's what makes it good!"
Tina @ Life is Good
Co-host, April 2013 A-Z Challenge Blog
@TinaLifeisGood, #atozchallenge
I made a note of Defiance, have That Sadie Thing on my Kindle app, and been reading Jay's blog, which is a total hoot. :)
I am loving some of the awesome themes out there. I have met a lot of new people along the way as well.
I liked all of 'The Oceans'.
I know and follow Annalisa.
Don't know Orgy.
Trivia - Ha, ha, ha!
Yes! Let's see that trailer.
Lots of wonderful bloggers giving great advice/tips about blogging, writing, and publishing. I haven't seen Leovi's site but will check it out. And YAY for Annalisa. Ocean's 11 was such a good movie.
Will try to get around to the bloggers you highlighted. Another wonderful post!
http://agutandabutt.blogspot.com/
Lynda, I certainly can't stay up to eleven every time.
Zoltan, science fiction on the SyFy channel would be nice.
Medeia, you need to try again.
Nick, very good!
Yvonne, you should if you are so close.
Annalisa, you are welcome! And you are correct.
Thanks, Kimberly.
Elizabeth, I'm trying!
Kitty, that would be cool.
Chuck, you did good today!
Tina, thank you!!! Yes, I've been surprised by how many people who don't like the genre have enjoyed my books.
You know I don't remember if I've seen Ocean 11. I know my hubby rented it, but I can't remember if I watched it with him or wrote instead.
Off to check out the blog tour tips posts. JA has done a great job with her theme.
Joy's link isn't working for me. :(
I loved the first and third Ocean's movie. The second one mostly made me tired.
And I can't believe I missed Defiance's premiere. I totally meant to watch it!
If Defiance makes it to cult hit status I'll end up owning the DVDs in a few years after not watching it while I could. Keep me posted. ;)
Congrats to Annalisa!
Never seen Ocean 11...naturally.
I'm looking forward to your new trailer!
I powered through Defiance. I liked it enough to want to watch another episode but I was a bit... I don't know... I just felt like it was a bit paint by numbers. The FX were amazing sometimes and horrid in others. One scene in particular might have had the worst CG I've ever witnessed in any movie or tv show.
I LOVE Annalisa! I totally would have picked her too :)
Annalisa is a stellar lady who's down-to-earth nice. Thanks for highlighting a few blog themes. I'll be making visits. Your trailers keep getting better, so I think the next one will top CF's.
PS Sorry about my posts. I knew when you weren't at my blog that the problem continues. Frustrating!
xoRobyn
Definite Ocean's Eleven fan here. Really liked each movie.
So SyFy has a new series. I'll have to wait and check it out when it makes it to Netflix :-)
I've seen Annalisa's name before but haven't had a chance to make her a blog stop. Seems I'll need to rectify that.
I missed Defiance. Like you said, I was afraid of disappointment so I decided to let the rest of you suffer through it first and give a report. Heh. Glad to know it's safe to watch. :P
And I love the Ocean 11 remakes. Fun movies.
Great tribute to Annalisa. I cheated and googled the song, because I adore New Order and have since high school. Nick was right. Blue Monday. What a great band. Good luck with the new trailer! I'm going to check out that 80's A-Z, too.
Already following Annalisa.
I liked Ocean 11 so much I thought on forming Dragon 11. I could form Dragon 151 with the dwarves but I would prefer actually bright individuals.
I think the trailers of your books are great, honestly. I wonder what does it feel to see your characters animated like that. It must be incredible.
Stina, I will fix that.
MJ, hopefully you can catch it.
Robyn, maybe you should email me right before you post!
LG, safe to watch.
Best con movie ever. Definitely made my list. And I really enjoy Annalisa's blog.
I saw Oceans 11 and can't say I liked it much though. I LOVE George Clooney but not so much Brad Pitt in movies. I feel bad about this since Brad grew up not far from me.
Great news from other bloggers.
Lots of good tips today, Alex. You are a blogging icon! Was Orgy's first hit Blue Monday?
Heading over to Annalisa's blog to experience her awesomeness...
With the track record SyFy has, I'm not holding my breath.
Hey, Alex, I've actually seen the Ocean's 11 movies. I preferred the Sinatra one of course.
What a shame, really thought I had the trivia yesterday. Oh well.
JO ON FOOD, MY TRAVELS AND A SCENT OF CHOCOLATE
I'm going to have to give 'Defiance' a shot as I have heard quite a few good things about it.
Here's hoping 'Sy-Fy' can pull one off :)
I only watched the first Ocean's movie. I liked it well enough, but not enough to seek out the others. I guess I'm not the market for a caper movie.
I loved Ocean's 11, both versions. (Hmm, that's a possibility for the Remake blogfest.)
I DVR'd Defiance. Hope to watch it tonight.
Was the Orgy song Blue Monday? I choreographed a dance number to it for my and another high school's dance team. It was awesome! I used to have it on film. I tell ya, when the high school gymn started blasting Orgy through the speakers, I didn't have to fake the grin on my face. :)
Looking forward to your trailer! I liked Ocean's Eleven. Congrats to Annalisa.
Wow. That is not the reaction to Defiance I expected, and now I'll have to catch a rerun. Not once was a character being stupid...? On Syfy...?
John at The Bathroom Monologues
So much news!!!
Ocean's 11 was a great remake. Loved Rusty's character and that all he did was eat. All the time. Eat.
Annalisa is way cool and I'm enjoying Diane's posts this challenge as well.
Heather
SyFY has such terrible movies and series, I gave DEFIANCE a pass. But because of you, I may see if it is on HULU or offered by Kindle Fire HD. Have a great day!
I enjoyed Oceans Eleven.
I'll check on Defiance. Thx.
Yay for Annalisa-- she's one of my favorites!
I definitely enjoyed Oceans Eleven. But then it had George Clooney in it, who I like a WHOLE lot more than Brad Pitt. But two the two of them in the same movie made for some nice eye candy.
Yay, Annalisa! Lovely words in her honor.
I'm curious to find out the New Order cover and, of course, am also looking forward to the CassaStorm trailer.
Very sadly, I've not seen any of the Ocean's Eleven movies...I should fix that. I've heard they are really good.
Oh! I've heard about Defiance and have considered watching it. I might, since you gave it such a high review...but I have so many other TV shows I'm watching I shall have to think about it. Maybe after I finish Firefly.
Oooo!!! Book trailer!!! Can't wait!!! I shall have to look the others up, I didn't know there were any. (Also, I've been reading book one and LOVING it!)
Annalisa is awesome. I loved her Cat and the Dreamer book!
No clue on the New Order cover. Bizarre Love Triangle, maybe?
Yay, book trailer!!!!! Congrats!
I can't wait to see your new book trailer. The one for "Fire" was really well done.
I think SyFy's Defiance is my new addiction for Monday night. I've been incredibly disappointed with Revolution and will not be watching it anymore.
I'm also looking forward to season 3 of Falling Skies, which should be coming out soon.
Also just saw the third trailer for Man of Steel yesterday. I'm so excited! We got MoS, Pacific Rim, Iron Man 3 all this summer. Wow. Just wow.
Entertaining Ocean's Eleven. Somehow reminds me of The 7 Magnígicos, in this case 11.
Great movie...off to visit Annalisa
ooh, new book trailer-NICE!
Oh, I wanna see Defiance-thanks for sharing!
Happy Wednesday Captain :D
I haven't seen Ocean's Eleven, but I love good caper movies, so this might be one I'll enjoy.
Congrats to Annalisa. The title is fascinating.
Enjoyed the animated trailer for Cassa Fire. You must be so excited to see what they come up with for Cassa Storm.
I forgot to watch Defiance even though I was looking forward to it. I'm going to catch it on demand. Not a big fan of Oceans Eleven but I've seen it.
I don't remember the group Orgy and like others have said the only New Order song I can think of is "Blue Monday". And I own a few New Order albums! Shows how much I was paying attention.
Lee
An A to Z Co-Host
Tossing It Out
Hooray for Annalisa!!!
I have been trouble keeping up with A to Z, so some themes yes, and some no . . .
Defiance sounds great! Haven't seen it yet, but I will.
Hi, I love the Ocean movies too. They are so funny and daring.
I will check out those other blogs to.
In the meantime, I have issued a challenge to honor Martin, the little boy who died Monday in the bombing. Read my blog at
http://mary-anderingcreatively.blogspot.com/
to find out more. Please participate if you have the time or stop by and comment your support. Thanks.
Alex, your creativity at bringing the writing community together, mixing and mingling is so inspiring!
I love Oceans 11. I'm also a George Clooney fan.
Congrats on the trailer! I'm sure it will stoke the reader's fire!
I'm AWOL because we've begun the first stage for the move to NC.
Amazing Trailer for CassaFire. I'm all the more intrigued now!
I need to watch the original Ocean's 11. But I do enjoy the remake. It has a phenomenal cast. Love it!
I loved Ocean's Eleven. I like the third much better than the second personallu. I need to see if I can catch a re-airing of the Defiance premiere.
I'm so out of the loop when it comes to modern movies.
Congratulations on your trailer!
Amazing trailer!!! That is totally rocking. Heck with watching Defiance. If I had a trailer like that, I'd be watching it over and over until I was blind.
Love Annalisa!! Such a smartie and a sweetie!
I've been intrigued by Defiance, but didn't know if I'd be disappointed as well. Glad to know you give it two thumbs up. I'll put it on DVR, right along with everything else so I can watch when my little man is sound asleep.
Al, Dragon 11 - make it so! And it's really awesome. Wish they were actual movies.
Amy, yes!
LD, yes it is.
Emily, correct! And you rock.
John, hard to imagine, isn't it?
Jack, thank you!
Julie, sorry.
Michael, so many good movies coming...
Lee, I can't wait!
Lee, you still got it though.
Mary, I will.
Kittie, good luck with the move.
Elizabeth, that made me laugh.
I think its Blue Monday? I love it. Ocean's Eleven is a great movie, I love it too
And you know what else I loved? your animated trailer, can't wait for the other version ;)
Matt Damon?
I love the way Jay is reminding me of all things 80's. Even things I never knew about. He's the coolest!
I was just watching an episode of Firefly and thinking, hey, this is just like Ocean's Eleven. :) I think Annalisa is from the UK.
I've met Annalisa. She's awesome!
I did swing by the links of bloggers mentioned above. Joy's link doesn't work properly.
Writer In Transit
I need to check out Defiance!
Congratulations to Annalisa!
The reason I love Oceans Eleven is because it is the first crime movie I've ever seen where they don't turn on each other.
Your trailer is amazing; can't wait to see the next one.
I love the Opticon song. I can't think of the song they did a cover for. I just listened to that album the other day. Grrrr.
You are so good at this, Alex. Your choices are brilliant!
I know one song by Orgy. I think it's called Blue Monday? With lyrics like "how do I feel." Could that be the trivia answers?
I am a fan of the Ocean Eleven series and it has nothing to do with the HOT actors... really it doesn't (she keeps telling herself).
I wish I could've watched Defiance. Glad scifi put out something decent for a change; it's been a while.
Oceans 11 is AWESOME! Great pick.
SK, correct, and thank you!
Michelle, I'll try to fix it again.
PTM, sorry!
Alexandra, you are correct.
Jenn, not buying it...
Hi, Alex! Sorry I haven't been by to visit your blog in awhile. I've never seen Ocean Eleven's series. I have heard of it, just never seen it.
Bizarre Love Triangle??
A lovely tribute to the hard working & graceful Annalissa!
I love Annalisa Crawford as well! She's an incredible friend to have! Yep, I definitely follow Annalisa! Good choice, Alex!
I'm loving J.A. Bennett's theme. It's been very helpful!
Ocean's Eleven is a good one....
Yay for Annalisa! She lives not all that far from me in the South West of England.
Looking forward to your book trailer, Alex.
Ocean's 11 is a fun film and I like it better than the original. You can tell they seemd to all have a lot of fun making this film. Have to see Defiance when i can and kudo's to all the bloiggers you mentioned/ Trailer looks great!
Well that would be Blue Monday, of course. Those are great movies by the way.
I'm not a fan of it but the hubby likes Oceans! Congrats also to Analissa! The song is fitting! Can't wait to see the release of your new book trailer!
I liked Ocean 11!
Awesome book trailer. Wow!
Love Oceans 11, and of course Rusty Ryan gets me all flustered. lol
Annalisa is awesome. And that new series sounds great. Maybe it'll be on Netflix in a year or two....
I liked the Ocean's Eleven movies, but have not seen the series. We taped Defiance and hope to watch it this weekend. My husband is a huge sci-fi fan and I usually just go along for the ride. Sometimes, however, I start liking a show. (smile)
Annalisa is indeed a wonderful lady!
I've been following Diane and I've been to Joy's - I'll go check out the other ones:)
Ocean's 11 is a great movie! I'm glad to hear Defiance is good. I don't think it's been shown here yet but we're often a week or 2 behind.
Thank you very much Alex for the reference you make of me in your post today. For me it is a great honor and I am very happy. A hug.
Oceans 11!!! love it!
Have a great day!
I'm a fan of Annalisa's. I loved Cat & The Dreamer.
I stayed up past my bedtime to watch Defiance, too. I'm holding judgement, but was happy to see sci-fi back on TV. I have hope since the Farscape guy is involved with it.
Nicki, not that song.
Suzanne, that's very cool.
David, very good!
PK, I'm sure it will.
Maryann, I hope you both enjoy it.
Leovi, you are welcome! You have the most original theme.
Mary, hoping it follows the same path as Farscape.
Oceans Eleven is a fun movie. It looks like there are some pretty good A-Z themes going around in the blogosphere.
Yay for another book trailer:-) Love the Ocean Eleven series. Thought it was so funny when you posted the Ship My Pants video yesterday--my hubs and 9yo watch it nonstop!
I know the first part of the trivia--Annalisa lives in the UK. (Unless you're looking for a specific city . . .)
I might watch Defiance online later. It sounds really good.
Can't wait to see your next trailer!
Great another sci fi show to get stuck into, I bet Defiance blasts off.
Yay for Annalisa! Lots of great blogs participating in the Challenge this year. I watched Defiance too and I liked it. It's original and I'm really in need of a good sci-fi show.
Ah, such a great band - nice to see them recognized for something other than their Blue Monday cover.
Thank you, Alex.
I love the band Orgy.
Great choices! Love the movie and song both.
#atozchallenge, Kristen's blog: kristenhead.blogspot.com
Hi Alex! :) How are you? I liked Ocean's Eleven and I loved the cast. Very good movie. Will head over to say hi to Annalisa. I didn't see Defiance, but had heard a lot about it and had really wanted to see it...I might have to see if it is on demand or streamed online. Take care and see you tomorrow! Looking forward to your next picks. :)
Did I ever mention that I went to Uni with Brad Pitt, even to some of the same parties. Of course he wasn't famous yet, so I only know this from my friends who figured it out. Not related to the fact that I loved Ocean's Eleven. Great picks for today.
Definitely Blue Monday! Thanks for the tip on Defiance, and I'll be looking forward to the CassaStorm trailer. :)
I'm off to check out Opticon ...
Defiance ran way past my bedtime!
I am ashamed to say that I've never seen the Ocean's movies. I know, I know. I'm the worst.
Poor Jay. He is determined to find an 80's reference that I'll understand :P
Jamie, that's funny.
Christine, we do need a good show. Been too many bad ones.
Bob, their first two albums had some great songs.
Rhonda, that's really wild.
Kirsten, you got it.
I did love Ocean's 11 - much better than the sequels. And I watched most of Defiance, missed the first 10 mins. Will see the beginning later. I enjoyed it. It was done pretty well. I'll hold my full comments til I see the beginning of the pilot episode. :)
I think I knew the band Orgy. And congrats again on those big plans for your book. Very exciting. Writer’s Mark
I hadn't heard of Defiance. :) I love caper movies but I haven't seen the Ocean 11 ones in a while to remember if I loved them or not. :)
I first saw Ocean's Eleven in Vegas Alex , which was perfect. It's a fun movie! I think SyFy has a winner with Defiance
I love how you introduce the other blogs, Ninja Captain. I love to go and visit them with a bit of knowledge about them. Thanks. God bless, Maria Delight Directed Living
I LOVE the Ocean's 11 movies. The downfall of watching them is that I always want to go do something illegal afterwards. haha
Love Ocean's Eleven movies. Annalisa is a wonderful choice.
Awww thanx for the shout out, Ninjalex. You're the shizzle!
I hope that Defiance will find the way to German TV.
I look forward to the CassStorM trailer.
I heard a lot of hype about Defiance, but completely missed the premiere - I'll have to give it a proper look in.
Jamie @ Mithril Wisdom
Dude,
I'm backtracking, can barely keep up with all of you doing the alternate alphabet challenge. I think my challenge is very outnumbered :)
And in Ocean's 12, Julia Roberts, I believe, plays a role pretending to be Julia Roberts.
Annalisa is a superb choice. And I'm linked into her site. We really have to find another word for "follower". It bugs me.
Happy alphabeting,
Gary
Ocean's 11 is cool! Left a comment for Annalisa too. Best of the rest of the day to you, Alex:)
Darn, I hadn't heard about Defiance. It sounds good.
I'm very happy that Definace was good. I can't wait to watch it now. Annalisa is an awesome Ocean's woman. I love her.
Love, love the trailer. Congratulations!!
Hi Alex .. Annalisa lives down west from here in a beautiful part of the world.
Loved your CassaStar - yes I read it .. more anon! I gather CassaFire is better ... so that's in my mental reading list .. delighted to read CassaStorm is well on its way with the videobooktrailer etc ...
Congratulations - cheers Hilary
I dare admit it...the only Oceans movie I have seen is Oceans Thirteen. I keep meaning to get around to the other two but just haven't had time. Love thirteen though...great flick! I'll get to the others soon :)
I tried to test out Defiance with my mom and sister, but they weren't up for it. =\ I need friends. lol
I'll try to catch reruns.
Great choices! I'm so glad to see "Defiance" on here! I get to write about the first four minutes of the show before it airs each week. I love it!
#atozchallenge, Kristen's blog: kristenhead.blogspot.com
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