It’s time for another group posting of the
Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic. If you’d like to join us, click on the tab above and sign up. We post the first Wednesday of every month. I encourage everyone to visit at least a dozen new blogs and leave a comment. Your words might be the encouragement someone needs.
My awesome co-hosts today are
Sandra Hoover, Mark Koopmans, Doreen McGettigan, Megan Morgan, and
Melodie Campbell!
First, I have to announce -
CassaStar on sale! The first book in my Cassa Amazon best-selling trilogy is only .99 this week at
Amazon. If you can help spread the word, that would be awesome.
Tweet:
Amazon Best-Seller CassaStar by Alex J. Cavanaugh on sale for .99 cents http://www.amazon.com/CassaStar-Alex-J-Cavanaugh-ebook/dp/B0045Y261I/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= #99cents #scifi
I’ve been tossing around my next story idea. I’d like to take on a couple more short stories, starting with one set in either universe I’ve created. I could continue with stories about the Dragon or follow one of the many secondary characters in the Cassa universe. (Any requests?)
After that, I just might try a little fantasy…
Be sure to visit other
IWSG members and be watching January 6 when we announce the winners of the IWSG Anthology Contest!
The Wizard of Oz: Book vs. Movie
Hello all! We’re the DMS¬ Fairday Morrow, Lizzy Mackerville, and Marcus “aka
Brocket the Rocket” from the new middle grade book THE SECRET FILES OF
FAIRDAY MORROW, and we’re here to talk about The Wizard of Oz, the movie
vs. the book. There are a lot of differences between them. The slippers are the most
obvious. Everyone thinks of them as ruby slippers, because that’s how they’re
portrayed in the movie, but in the book, they’re silver. Isn’t that crazy! All this
time you thought of them as red. ;)
FAIRDAY: I have my grandma’s copy of The Wizard of Oz, which is very special
to me. I remember her reading me the story when I was little, and how she did the
characters voices perfectly. I will always cherish the book, BUT I also really like
the movie. I mean, it’s just so fun! Plus, my little sister, Margo, belts out the lyrics
to the movie soundtrack when it’s playing in the Morrow family cruiser.
LIZZY: I like the movie more than the book. The power of the ruby slippers being
divided between each shoe in the book was cool, but I loved the Emerald City in
the movie. I thought that part was awesome when they first walk in and the horses
change colors and everything is sparkly green.
MARCUS: I haven’t read the book, so I can only talk about the movie, and it’s the
best! The flying monkeys are AWESOME, and so is the part when Dorothy throws
the water on the wicked witch and she melts. You have to wonder what the witch
was made of to fall to pieces just by getting wet.
DMS top 10 favorite things about The Wizard of Oz/ the movie
1. Ruby Slippers
2. Flying Monkeys
3. Awesome music
4. Munchkin Land
5. Toto
6. Flying over a rainbow in general
7. Hot air balloons and wizards
8. The Emerald City
9. The wicked witch¬ needs a shout out.
10.Traveling in a bubble like Glinda.
- Jessica Haight and Stephanie Robinson
Find The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow at
Penguin Random House
Find Jessica and Stephanie:
website, blog, and on Twitter - @DMSfiles and @mrsrobinson229
Ninja News
Don’t forget
RiffTrax Live is December 3 with an encore on December 15!
Santa and The Ice Cream Bunny is one of the most bizarre and popular RiffTrax titles of all time and a cheesy holiday classic. This rare version of the film includes a never before seen Jack and the Beanstalk story as told by Santa for an as yet unknown reason. Join Mike, Kevin, and Bill as they present it live on the big screen for the very first time!
New Releases:
Lovelorn Spirits by Christine Rains
Find it on
Ellora’s Cave, Amazon, and
Goodreads
She also has a short story in the just released
9 Tales Told in the Dark. #7
The Reader, Rifters Book 3 by M. Pax
With the rift closed for the season and no more monsters to fight, Daelin Long gets bored as librarian in the podunk town of Settler, Oregon.
Find it on
Amazon,
iBook, Barnes and Noble, and more!
Guardians of Telesma by River Fairchild
Find it on
Amazon
Aced (Blocked #2) by Jennifer Lane
Find it on
Amazon
A Clueless Woman by T.B. Markinson
Find it on
Amazon US, Amazon UK,
Amazon CA, Amazon AU, and
Goodreads
The Water Holds No Scars: Fly Fishing Stories of Rivers & Rejuvenation
Edited by
Dean K. Miller
Find it at
Tulip Tree Publishing
Beverly Stowe McClure’s story, A Tiger-Sized Heart, will appear in an upcoming anthology.
Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Very Good, Very Bad Cat will be published February 9, 2016.
Movie Trivia Answers
All have been riffed by MST3K:
1 – 1975, eight legged creatures, Alan Hale Jr. in the cast –
The Giant Spider Invasion
2 – 1955, sequel to fish man hit, Clint Eastwood’s first role –
Revenge of the Creature
3 – 1959, starring James Best of Dukes of Hazzard fame, featuring giant rodents that were actually just dogs with carpets draped over their backs –
The Killer Shrews
4 – 1957, directed by Bert I. Gordon, and featuring a really big bald guy –
The Amazing Colossal Man
5 – 1965, first in a series of many, this Japanese monster gave Godzilla a run for his money -
Gamera
6 – 1957, another Bert I. Gordon classic, starred Peter Graves, featured really large insects –
The Beginning of the End
December Movie Preview
Here are the upcoming theatrical releases for December! As always, descriptions courtesy of the
IMDB. Snarky comments by me.
11 -
The Big Short
Four outsiders in the world of high-finance who predicted the credit and housing bubble collapse of the mid-2000s decide to take on the big banks for their lack of foresight and greed.
Director: Adam McKay
Stars: Brad Pitt, Christian Bale, Finn Wittrock, Karen Gillan
If you’re not already disgusted by our lending institutions, then just watch this film.
In the Heart of the Sea
Based on the 1820 event, a whaling ship is preyed upon by a sperm whale, stranding its crew at sea for 90 days, thousands of miles from home.
Director: Ron Howard
Stars: Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson, Ben Whishaw
Man versus Dick – the Real Story.
18 –
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
A continuation of the saga created by George Lucas and set thirty years after Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983).
Director: J.J. Abrams
Stars: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver
Wait, there’s a new Star Wars film? Why haven’t I seen any advertising for it?
25 –
The Revenant
In the 1820s, a frontiersman, Hugh Glass, sets out on a path of vengeance against those who left him for dead after a bear mauling.
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Stars: Tom Hardy, Leonardo DiCaprio, Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter
The director of Birdman is at it again to bring you a fascinating yet most likely bizarre film spectacle.
The Hateful Eight
In post-Civil War Wyoming, bounty hunters try to find shelter during a blizzard but get involved in a plot of betrayal and deception. Will they survive?
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Stars: Channing Tatum, Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Tarantino on Christmas Day! Give the gift of gallons of bloodshed.
Concussion
In Pittsburgh, accomplished pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu uncovers the truth about brain damage in football players who suffer repeated concussions in the course of normal play.
Director: Peter Landesman
Stars: Will Smith, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Alec Baldwin, Stephen Moyer
I bumped my head on a cabinet and I honestly can’t remember what this movie’s about…
Whoa! So, what should I write next? Grateful for any help I can get promoting CassaStar’s sale. Which do you prefer - Wizard of Oz book or movie? Seeing RiffTrax: Live? Picking up some awesome new books? How’d you do on the trivia? And what movies perk your interest this month?