The awesome co-hosts today are Patricia Lynne, Lisa Buie-Collard, Kim Lajevardi, and Fundy Blue!
Today’s question - What are your favorite and least favorite questions people ask you about your writing?
Hundreds of agents and publishers will be checking the hashtag that day.
For rules and list of genre hashtags, visit the #IWSGPit page.
The IWSG Admins will be monitoring the feed. Get those Twitter pitches ready – you have two weeks!
IWSG Anthology Contest Winners
Here are the stories and authors that have been selected for our fourth anthology:
Sea of Sorrows by AV Brown
Behind the Catcher’s Mask by Jennifer Lane
A Diver’s Ball by Angela Brown
Fearless Heart by Deborah Solice
The Dark Charade by CD Gallant-King
The Cog Prince by Elizabeth Mueller
Flower of Ronda by Myles Christensen
Remedy by Chelsea Ballard
Charleston Masquerade by Carrie-Anne Brownian
The top story has the honors of being included in the title. LG Keltner’s story came out on top! The official title of our next anthology – Masquerade: Oddly Suited. Congratulations, LG. (She was also in the top spot for our first anthology, Parallels: Felix Was Here.)
The IWSG Admins spent many hours reading the entries and fourteen were sent to our special judges. We certainly wish to thank them for taking time away from their own work to read the entries:
Elizabeth S. Craig, author
Kelly Van Sant, agent at Red Sofa Literary Agency
Elana Johnson, author
DL Hammons, Write Club founder
S.A. Larsen,author
Kristin Smith, author
Gwen Gardner, author and previous IWSG anthology winner
Look for Masquerade: Oddly Suited late spring!
Aquaman Review
Taking place after Justice League, it serves as an origins story.
The director went for it and the result is an incredibly fun film. It delves further into the mythos than I thought it would. It’s a little corny at times, but not in a bad way. Some of it, especially the dialogue, is intended and it works.
The special effects – again, wow! The creatures, the underwater world – just breathtaking.
Jason Momoa is perfect as Aquaman. He brings swagger, humor, and strength to the role.
All of the characters are played well, with standouts from Nicole Kidman as his mother, Willem Dafoe as Vulko, and Dolph Lundgren as King Nereus. I really liked the relationship between Aquaman and Mera, played by Amber Heard.
It also introduced my favorite Aquaman villain, the Black Manta. He will be back!
Just a fun, incredibly entertaining film and a great direction for the DC universe.
Highly recommended!
Bumblebee Review
Directed by Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings), it’s heartfelt and very character driven. It’s a great movie that just happens to have some Transformers in it.
It takes place in the 80’s and is loaded with 80’s songs, but it also feels like it was made in the 80’s. The family elements have a very Steven Spielberg feel. Less is definitely more in this movie and the focus is on the wonder and the mayhem.
If you’ve been burned by the Michael Bay movies, rest assured – this one is nothing like any of those films. It has heart, characters with depth, and a compelling and moving story.
Highly recommended.
January Movie Preview
Here are the upcoming theatrical releases for January! As always, descriptions courtesy of the IMDB. Snark provided by me.
Replicas
A scientist becomes obsessed with bringing back his family members who died in a traffic accident.
Director: Jeffrey Nachmanoff
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Alice Eve, Thomas Middleditch, Emily Alyn Lind
Reminds me of a hundred other science fiction films I’ve already seen…
Glass
Security guard David Dunn uses his supernatural abilities to track Kevin Wendell Crumb, a disturbed man who has twenty-four personalities.
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Stars: Bruce Willis, Luke Kirby, Anya Taylor-Joy, James McAvoy, Samuel L. Jackson
Still not sure of Shyamalan is back although I’m not hoping he will fail…again.
And since there are so few releases in January, let me end with the trailer for the Hellboy reboot:
Are you ready for #IWSGPit? What genre should we tackle next for the IWSG Anthology Contest? (We’ve had science fiction, fantasy, mystery/crime/thriller, and young adult.) Excited about Masquerade: Oddly Suited? Did you catch Aquaman or Bumblebee? What’s the next film on your radar?
Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and you're ready for 2019!
127 comments:
Once again Alex an excellent insight what is going on in the entrtainment world from your point of view.
Cingrats to all the winners in the Anthology.
Happt New Year to you.
Yvonne.
Good to know Bumblebee is as good as they say, after all those crap ones. Congrats to all the winners. We'll see if Glass holds up. When was the last time Willis made a good movie?
Congratulations to the Anthology winners.!It is fun to be part of a group of authors to promote each other's work.
I'd go to Aquaman with my boys. They're still home on winter break.
Happy New Year, Alex! Thanks for all you do.
Happy New Year, Alex. Wishing you a great year.
Congratulations to all of the winners for the fourth Anthology. Great Job.
Wishing every member of the IWSG a successful 2019.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat G
Congratulations to the anthology winners and especially LG! So many good stories.
Bumblebee is such an odd name for a Transformers movie!
Congrats to all of the anthology winners! Can't wait to read it when it's released.
How about historical fiction for the next anthology?
Aquaman seems to be getting a lot of buzz. It might be one to keep an eye out for when it comes to the small screen.
Cheers - Ellen
Congratulations to all the Anthology Winners!!
I did see Aquaman. It was a fun movie and Jason Momoa was perfect for the role.
Congrats to the anthology winners! I really really want to do IWSGpit but I'm not sure if I'm ready (my whole post today is about that, actually!)
Really looking forward to Glass. I hope it's good.
Pat, he's been slumming it for a while, hasn't he?
Mary, go and enjoy!
Elizabeth, hopefully the name is different enough that people realize it's not like the other Transformers movies.
Ellen, good suggestion.
Cathrina, he was!
We'd like to see both Aquaman and Bumblebee. Is the Hellboy one connected to the first two films but later?
Congratulations to all the anthology winners!
I don't think I'll be able to see Aquaman any time soon - just finished re-watching the first season of GoT and Momoa will be Drogo in my mind for a long time. :)
Re-watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and Die Hard. Also saw A Simple Favor - twisted and fun. :)
Oh, I forgot - we also saw Bird Box on Netflix. I read the book years ago and loved it, and the movie did not disappoint!
congrats to anthology selection winners - excellent way to start 2019. Ray and I saw Aquaman - my review will be Friday. Big thumbs up. We agree as we kick into 2019. Hope it's off to a good start for you.
Congratulations to the anthology winners!!!! Plus I love the title. I can't wait to read the stories.
I also can't wait to watch those movies.
Teresa
Congratulations to the winners.
So... is Glass a sequel to Unbreakable?
Congrats to the anthology winners! Fantastic stories all.
Aquaman looks really good. This is my first experience of him looking "cool"!
We got some great entries this year. I love the stories that won.
Aquaman was fun and fun to look at. LOL
Congratulations to all the winners.
I'm excited for IWSGPit. Getting my books ready for it and hoping to write some great pitches.
Congrats to all the winners of the Anthology! The upcoming movies look appealing, but I'm sticking to writing more this year. I hope some of our members find agents with the upcoming twitter pitch contest.
I saw Aquaman and loved the movie. Stunning visuals and a story packed with mythology, fantasy and romanticism and a touch of humor. It captured my attention and held it throughout the movie. The few quirky parts were easily forgiven. Did I say I loved this movie?
Congrats to all the winners and happy writing to all in ‘2019’
How about romance for a theme?
Happy New Year Alex!
How is your writing going?
I'm thrilled to be part of your anthology's making! And major WOOT! goes out to LG and all the authors that were chosen. It was super, super hard. You all are so talented! The Twitter pitch is so exciting! Good luck to everyone! Alas, I have nothing to pitch; I mean, I just finished another MG manuscript, but that's promised to my current pub and editor. I've been thinking of writing something out of my normal spooky realm. Not sure if I can, though. haha!
Hi, Alex!
Happy new year to you, good buddy! Every film you reviewed this week interests me. When it works, corny dialogue amuses me, and I am down with seeing the special FX depicting an underwater world in Aquaman. Films and TV series set in the 80s, with 80s music in the soundtrack and Steven Spielberg touches are always on my list of must see. I am a fan of Emily Alyn Lind and of her mother Barbara Alyn Woods, and therefore I would like to catch Replicas. I can't wait to see a man with not one, but 24 personalities in Glass, and Hellboy looks hellishly good, too.
Have a great year, Alex!
Congratulations to the winners of places in the Anthology.
I like your comment about Replicas reminding you of a hundred other science fiction movies you've seen. That's the way I've been feeling about a lot of movies lately. Often I've asked my wife as we start getting into a movie: "Have we seen this before?"
I wish you a fantastic 2019!
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
Oh, by the way, the film that has caught my attention of late is that bio-pic about Laurel and Hardy. The make-up artists did an amazing job of making the new actors look like the original classic comics.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
Congrats to all the anthology winners. Glass sounds interesting. Can't imagine having so many personalities.
Hope you had a wonderful holiday and break, Alex. Happy, Happy New Year!
Have yet to see Aquaman or Bumblebee. Can't wait to see the former. And was hesitant to watch the latter but just might try it after reading your review. Definitely looking forward to Avengers Endgame. And after seeing the poster for the third season of Stranger Things, I wish it was 4th of July already.
And they're rebooting Hellboy?! What's with all the reboots? Charmed? Roswell?
Congratulations to the winners. And Happy 2019!
I want to see Glass. I read a recent article about M. Knight and it gave me hope.
Congrats to the anthology winners!
I'm looking forward to Glass because Split was awesome. Still haven't seen the new Harry Potter film. Looking forward to the reboot of Pet Semetery in the spring.
I've been wanting to see Aquaman, now I'm sure. Not to mention, which I will, that Jason Momoa is pretty nice eye-candy.
I'm so excited to be a part of the anthology, and I can't wait to read the rest of the winning stories! I plan on seeing Glass when I get the chance. Hoping it will be good.
I enjoyed Aquaman, but boy is he powered up WAY beyond the character he was in the comics I read back when I was a kid. Oh well, superhero inflation just seems to be the norm this millennium.
Have a great 2019, Alex.
Donna, it's a reboot.
Madeline, I'll look for that one then.
Jennifer, it's a sequel to that movie and Split.
Rachna, excellent!
Truedessa, you said it!
Sheri, thanks for being a judge.
Shady, they handled the underwater scenes so well.
Lee, haven't seen that one.
Lidy, Bumblebee will pleasantly surprise you. And can't wait for the next season of Stranger Things.
Congratulations to the anthology winners! What a great group. And I'm making it a goal to have a story ready to pitch by next year's Twitter party. Hope this year's event is a huge success.
Happy New Year, Alex!
Congratulations to all those selected for the Masquerade anthology. I am super honored.
My daughter wanted to see Aquaman as her Christmas present so we watched and thoroughly enjoyed it. I discussed it with a few peeps and we all agreed upon its awesomeness 😀
Bumblebee is on our radar, maybe for this upcoming weekend.
Daughter is stoked for the third installment of How to Train Your Dragon and we're both excited for Avengers: Endgame.
Looking forward to seeing Aquaman but I'm not sure about Hellboy, Ron Perlman will be a hard act to follow!
Congrats to all the anthology folks! Behind the Catcher's Mask sounds like a story I want to read right now! Would an anthology that is open for genre but all centered around one theme work? Or a wider spec fic genre?
I nearly once bought a yellow Camaro because of Bumblebee. Must see movie.
Congratulations to the anthology winners. Hat's off to the judges. Anyone who's worked behind the scenes on a writing contest knows it's labor-intensive work. And good luck to all those who are pitching this month. Happy New Year to you, Alex!
Happy New Year, Alex. Here's to another great year with the IWSG.
I can't wait to read the new anthology in the spring. It's a great theme. Congrats to all the winners.
I really enjoyed the Aquaman movie. Missed Bumblebee in the theater where I live.
I liked Unbreakable but missed Split. Still, Glass sounds interesting.
Congratulations to the Anthology winners. Looking forward to reading the book. I know very little about the movies. Still watch GRIT channel on TV. Enjoy the old westerns. What can I say?
Aquaman and Bumblebee are both movies I never thought I'd want to see, yet here we are. I am especially pleased that for Bumblebee they actually hired a director experienced in animation (particularly stop-motion animation) who understands how to tell a story and create emotion with inanimate objects. Instead of the previous Transformers movies who only cared about, you know, tits and explosions.
Happy New Year and congrats to all the anthology winners!
I don't know what movie I want to see next. Nothing's really caught my eye (or at least Hubby's eye--I don't go to the theatre alone).
Tamara, we still need to see Split.
LG, glad you're a part of it as well!
Ken, he was very close to the comics I read. He has powers almost as strong as Wonder Woman.
Fran, he was a great Hellboy.
Raimey, the publisher wants to keep it to one genre.
CV, do you want a yellow VW now?
CD, Bumblebee's director was perfect for the film.
Congrats to all the winners! I'm really happy to see Carrie-Anne Brownian listed there. :)
Congrats to the winners.
I want to see Aquaman. I'm happy to hear it's worth it! And it's good news for the Transformer series. I may watch that too.
Bumblebee was always my son's favorite, so I pretty sure he'll want to see the movie. Happy New Year, Alex.
Congrats to the anthology winners! It will be such a great experience for them all!
I can't wait for Aquaman - sounds fun!
Hubs and I loooooved Aquaman! Congratulations to the anthology authors. Wishing you happy writing in the new year.
Congrats to all of the anthology winners and a huge thanks to all of the judges!!!
Good to hear reviews of both Aquaman and Bumblebee!
I've actually been urged to watch a "choose your own ending" film/episode on Netflix - called Bandersnatch - by my teen-adult daughters. I used to watch so many kid/family based films my daughters taste surprise me sometimes. What happened to Tangled? Now, they want to watch Mrs. Maisel, Stranger Things, and Bandersnatch.
I'm glad you got two movies you enjoyed during one go! I'd love to try Aquaman whenever finances and health allow it.
Meanwhile that new Hellboy... yeesh, we were promised a faithful take on the comics and instead that trailer is a pale imitation of the previous movies.
Congratulations to the anthology winners and Happy New Year!
I'm so glad 2019 is finally here. Maybe this year I can get a new 2019 Rav 4, which I've been watching for some time now (new body style and all).
I loved Aquaman. My favorite scene was the trench scene with Aquaman descending with the princess into the depths with a red flare that highlights the swarm around them. That was just awesome.
I haven't seen Bumblebee but your review here makes me think I should go and see it asap, especially since I have a free movie ticket through Cinemark.
Have a Happy New Year.
Huge congratulations to the ISWG anthology winners.
Congratulations to the winners! happy new year, everyone!
(I believe I posted my original comment on your previous post.) It's a Monday according to my brain. Ack!!!
Wait, did you review Mary Poppins? LOL--Happy New Year! Looking forward to the new anthology. What a great service you have for writers.
JQ Rose
Happy New Year, Captain!
I've not yet had the opportunity to see Aquaman, though it's practically a resolution. My daughter has seen it twice. Probably because she can't yet own it ;-)
Congratulations to all Anthology contest winners! Tantalizing titles too.
It will be interesting to hear how Replicas holds up against Pet Sematary in the, ah, skin-crawling category.
Have a wonderful beginning!
I want to see Aquaman, but I'm hesitant since Wonder Woman is the only good DC movie I've seen so far. I didn't hate Justice League, but it was just okay.
Ian, they did the character right. Go see it.
Tyrean, they are growing up, that's what happened.
Michael, if you have a free ticket, definitely go check it out. It was really good. Almost enough to make me forget the other films existed.
JQ, sorry, didn't see that one.
Diedre, you have to see it then.
Patricia, go see it! Very fun movie.
I'm liking the sound of Glass, I do like a Bruce Willis film or two!
My hubby loved Aquaman. I'm so excited for Glass. I can't wait to see what they do with Willis' character and of course, I've watched Split three times already because I just love how he can transform seamlessly from one character to the next. Yes!!
Elsie
Congrats to tall the ISWG anthology winners. As for your question - as a travel writer, my least favourite question people ask all the time, wow, how did you get so lucky to be able to travel and play all the time? People don't realize just how hard I work, or how many hours a day it takes.
Hi Alex,
Happy New Year! Hope you and your wife enjoyed the holidays!
Thanks for the reviews. I wasn't sure if I'd want to see Aquaman, but I just may now. Bumblebee certainly looks awesome. Glad it had an 80's feel ..... and I LOVE 80's music... my generation. Lol.
Congrats to L.G and the other winners of the Anthology contest. So cool!
ALL the best for the new year, Alex!
Congratulations to the Anthology winners - and may they never be insecuree again via this accolade!
Happy New Year! May all the best slogging and blogging begin!
Congrats to all the anthology winners!
"Bumblebee" sounds like a movie to see.
Happy New Year, Alex!
Bravo to all IWSG writers who won a place in the new anthology. More power to you! It is such an honor to be amongst such celebrated writers. Thank you!
Alex, my daughter LOVES all these movies you write about. Thanks for all you do to assist IWSG writers. All best to you in 2019, sir!
I'm still skeptical about the idea of there being a "good" Transformers movie. The Aquaman movie at least looks better than Justice League.
Congrats to all of the Anthology winners!
This year's line-up of challenges looks like a lot of fun. We're going to have a great year!
Congrats to all the winners! Happy new year and hope you had a wonderful Christmas and a New Year's eve. What about horror/fantasy..mix the 2 up..sort of like Tinker Bell meets Dracula, fall in love and have a kid...Tinkula. I am surprised for all the love of Bumblebee movie. There are so many films I do want to see and the one by M. Night sounds good but I am wary of him despite the good actors reprising their roles from his previous films. Who is the new Hellboy? This looks like a good movie to watch. I bet many writers hate it when they are asked if they are finished yet.
Bumblebee and Aquaman...I still need to see both of these. Hopefully they will be On Demand soon.
I honestly forgot that I had submitted a piece for consideration in the anthology. I'm not surprised that it didn't get chosen, it was rather dark, and I'm a bit of an acquired taste anyway. I may try again this year.
I love your reviews Alex. I can't wait to see Aquaman. I meant to see it opening weekend, but my plans got blown away by an unexpected visitor. So hopefully this weekend! Bumblebee reminded of the old cartoons, not the new crazy action packed, too action packed past releases. I loved every single minute and every single song :)
I want to make Bumblebee in the theater, but I'm not sure I'm going to make it.
Unless I have to take my daughter, I'm waiting for dvd to Aquaman. Mostly, I've heard bad things about it and, if it can't even rise to the level of Wonder Woman, it's not worth a theater trip.
Hi, Alex! I'll be back to read your post later ~ just giving you an update on my progress which is slow. I take way to long writing comments. So far I've hit the last 23 members on the list. This time I decided to write a comment even if there wasn't an IWSG post for today. I wrote one on whatever their most recent post want. Duh! I finally realized that that might make them see that IWSG members respond regardless. Can I whine briefly and say I hate Wordpress and Google+. Sometimes it's so hard to figure out where to comment and make it work! One guy I finally just liked his post and one person I emailed after repeatedly having my comment kicked out as spam. But whining aside it's always fun to visit people. I probably should have emailed this, but what the hey? I hope you're having a good day. I'm going to break for a while and then I'll be back! Happy IWSG Day, my inspiring friend!
Congratulations to the anthology winners! I can't believe the twitter pitch party is already around the corner. Guess I'll have to wait for the next one (since I need more time). I'm determined to see Aquaman, but forces unknown have kept me away every time I drove toward the theater. Have a wonderful 2019!
Elsie, we want to watch it, but it's not on NetFlix, only Cinemax.
Rhonda, you actually have to write about where you go!
Michael, tons of 80's music.
Thanks, Victoria.
Birgit, we haven't done horror yet. And Hellboy is David Harbour, the sheriff in Stranger Things.
Cara, please do!
Erika, glad you got to enjoy Bumblebee.
Andrew, you must be seeking out those bad things - I've only heard good.
Fundy, Google+ is going away, so no one will be commenting on those blogs soon...
I wanna see all those movies so bad but probably won't until they are released on digital. I love they are doing Hellboy again another fave of the past. Same actor playing him, Ron Pearlman. That is too cool! I have loved watching him since he played the beast with Linda Hamilton-1987. Yeah, that is telling my age.
I have not heard good things about the Aquaman movie. Glad you liked it.
Congrats to the anthology winners. How about next time a romance theme?
I"m going to wait to see Aquaman and Bumblebee onDemand. My home is so much cheaper and comfortable than the theater. No new movies on my radar until Captain Marvel.
I'm back and read your post. Congratulations to all the anthology winners! I can't wait to read the new anthology! My new year's resolution is to see more movies. Aquaman looks good!
First a big congratulations to all the winners of the newest IWSG anthology! And, respect and thank you to the judges! Fun, compelling, yet hard work I'm sure.
With that rave review of Aquaman, I might have to venture into new territory. Nicole Kidman should be a draw. Glass looks like a good cast as well. Thanks for the previews!
Yes, I'm (almost) ready for the IWSG Twitter Pitch Party. I'll be in exactly the same location as six months ago (the library in Newburyport, MA) for this event. hopefully, I'll have more traction (dare I call it luck?) this time.
As for a genre for the next anthology contest, how about creative non-fiction with an adventurous theme? :-)
Have a fantastic 2019 and thanks for being an awesome host as always, Alex!
Congrats to the new anthology winners!
For the next anthology: another mystery/thriller round? Or something ghostly? Or dystopian?
Congrats to all the anthology winners! I'm excited to see you hosting another Twitter pitch, even if I'm going to ride the sidelines. I finished visiting my group of blogs. Thanks for the chance to co-host, Alex!
I'm glad you liked Aquaman:) I completely agree: the effects were awesome and Jason and Nicole....purrfect for their respective roles.
Congrats to the anthology winners!
Happy New Year Alex! Thanks for the movie reviews! I want to see them both! Congrats to the anthology winners! Take Care!
Liz, I've not heard anything bad!
Liesbet, good suggestion. And glad you are participating in #IWSGPit.
Yvonne, someone else mentioned horror...
Kim, thank you for co-hosting.
Sandra, yes they were.
Gah! I meant to post but the day got away from me so I posted late. Thank you SO MUCH, Alex, for taking the time to coordinate and judge the anthology entries!
Can't wait to see Glass and I'll see Aquaman again and again. I loved it. I've seen the preview for Bumblebee and now, after your review, I'll go see it! Happy new year!!!
Congrats to the winners! I'm excited to see Glass. We're planning family movie night. So far the boys haven't asked to see Aquaman but the youngest does want to see Bumblebee.
Happy New Year
It's always exciting to see who is chosen for the anthologies. Many congratulations to the winners.
Hooray for the anthology winners. I'm so glad Aquaman is fun! I've been anxious to see it. Happy New Year, Alex.
I'm hoping to see Aquaman tomorrow, and from your review, I'll put Bumblebee on my list too.
I’ve heard good things about Aquaman. Thanks for the review.
Congratulations to all the anthology winners!
Aquaman sounds interesting, even though I'm not that big on Superheroes. I always like your take on movies. Hope you have a great month. Congrats to the winners!
Congratulations to the anthology winners - looking forward to reading the stories and learning how to write a short story. It's tough and I admire those that can.
Looking forward to the new anthology. Aquaman received mixed reviews. Will have to check it out for myself. I enjoyed this month's optional writing prompt. Cathartic. Posting at the beginning of the month propels me through the next 25 to 30 days. Happy New Year!
Jennifer, no worries!
Lisa, glad you liked it that much.
Lynda, go see both!
Adrienne, we try to come up with good questions.
It seems like Shayamalan's Unbreakable series are his best movies so far, so I hope Glass does well. I do want to see Bumblebee also. Escape Room comes out tomorrow, though, so I may be at the theater for that! :D
Happy New Year!
We won't see Glass. Saw the first movie and wife and I hated it. i'll have to see Bumblebee by myself.
Happy New year and health peace and prosperity to you and yours!
Thanks so much for stopping by me new blog. I've decided that moving forward I will make all my posts and comments as Carnie the Bookworm. It'll help keep me from mixing up my posts and replies.
Thanks, as always, for this wonderful opportunity and support system you've created for bloggers.
I hate it when people say, not as a question but as a statement of fact, "Writers make a lot of money." Yeah, sure we do. Oy vey.
Happy New Year, Alex.
Happy New Year, Alex! Congrats to the IWSG anthology winners!
I loved Aquaman, even though my new Fitbit thought I was asleep during it. Hehe!
Congrats to the anthology winners.
Have a productive day and pleasant evening, Alex.
I was wondering if Aquaman or Bumblebee would be any good, so thanks for those reviews. Either/both of these ok for kids you think? My boys love all the superheroes!
My least favorite question is: Who Were the Authors Who Influenced You as a Writer?
The reason that question vexes me is because my influences come from such diverse influences over time and because most of the ask-ers (contemporary kids) won't recognize the names even if I list them.
In middle school my influences were Mary Roberts Rinehart, Mary Stewart, Victoria Holt, Shirley Jackson, and Agatha Christie.
In high school, my influences were Douglas Adams, Harry Harrison, Roger Zelazny, and CJ Cherryh (whom I'm now Facebook friends with!!!).
None of those names mean anything to the kids who ask me that question, and replacing those names with JK Rowling, Rick Riordan, and R.L. Stine would be a lie.
Congrats to all the winners! Way cool to be chosen, and especially congrats to LG for her 2nd win.
I will definitely be seeing Aquaman!
Happy New Year Alex.
Congratulations to all the anthology winners! Thanks for the movie reviews. Glad you loved Aquaman. I saw Jason Mamoa on SNL and I agree that he has a great sense of humor and is very likable. He’s certainly shaping up to be the next Rock. Happy New Year, Alex!
Julie
Hi Alex!
My son went to see Bumblebee and he agrees with you that it was a very entertaining movie!
I will wait to see Aquaman, but I'm looking forward to Captain Marvel and the next Avengers!
Heather
Thanks, Toi!
Robyn, that's right - we're rolling in dough.
Cherie, that's funny!
Melanie, yes. Bumblebee does have some mature themes though.
Dianne, that is a very good point!
Julie, he seems like a nice guy.
Aquaman and Bumblebee are both on my movie To-Watch list. I did get to take the kids to Into the Spider-Verse over the holiday. It was surprisingly scary at a few moments, and my little 5yo had to snuggle closer. But it was fun!
Grats to all the anthology winners!
I saw Aquaman this weekend and loved it. The only problem (and the word "problem" is wayyyyyyyy exaggerated) with it...
SPOILER for those who haven't seen it.
Why was Stephen Curry declared to be the rightful king of Atlantis?
If "Game of Thrones" has taught us anything, is that the son of the king is the rightful heir and not a half-breed bastard of the Queen (he WAS the eldest, but...). Hey, don't me wrong. Orm was a douchebag and Aquaman is a good choice. Still....
But, we nerds have our line of succession/primogeniture rules down, ya know.
HAPPY NEW YEAR! We're still playing catch-up after our holiday travels, so we haven't seen "Aquaman" yet, but I still want to see it. Maybe next week.
Congrats to all of the winners selected for the next IWSG anthology. I'm looking forward to reading it. I'm sure it'll be another terrific collection of stories.
I don't mind what people ask about my writing – I'm just pleased they're showing an interest.
Haven't seen Aqua Man yet but wow on the ten years. I got you beat though, I've waited WAY longer than that for a good Wonder Woman movie. LOVED IT! Can't wait for the second.
Happy 2019 and boogie boogie.
Happy New Year!
I hate to say it, but I completely forgot about the post for IWSG and the anthology announcement. Totally off my radar this last week. :)
Congratulations to all the winners, especially Laura for getting title story again. It rocks!
I love the movie reviews! Who knows, maybe this year I'll even get to one or two. :)
I saw Aquaman and I loved it. My son did too. We haven't seen Bumblebee yet, and I wasn't overly interested, but since your review is so positive, I'm now considering it.
I loved Auquaman. I was avoiding Bumblebee, but after your review, I will be reconsidering it.
WOW! So much to catch up on! And hey, you didn't answer this month's question. I'd like to know your answers to that one.
I've heard only good things about Aquaman. And I'm still trying to check off my list of all the other movies people have told me to see (big surprise there), so I probably won't get around to Bumblebee, but it's good to know the Transformers movies have had some redemption to their awfulness.
Happy New Year!
Duh.....it's ARTHUR Curry, not Stephen. I knew that. Geez a lou...wtf. I realized this last night as I was cleaning a toilet (the two are unrelated). Please forgive. I'm getting old and sometimes absent-minded. Speaking of...how long should I leave my pants in the microwave?
Loni, glad you saw that one!
Al, perhaps being the son of the queen held more sway.
Ivy, it was the movie the ten-year-old me wanted to see, so that's about forty-five years of waiting...
Yolanda, no worries.
Rosey and Elizabeth, it will really surprise you - go see it.
Lynda, I think I like most questions as that shows they know I write...
Al, no more than five minutes.
Congratulations to the anthology winners! I'm looking forward to the next contest, I may decide enter again (it's been a couple years).
I'm behind on my DC movies, but I'm planning on watching Aquaman eventually. Thanks for the Bumblebee review. I didn't know it was a different director, so I wasn't even considering watching it until now. Glass looks intriguing, but you never really know what you're in for with M. Night Shyamalan.
I keep missing out on the IWSG!
Congratulations to all the anthology winners--look forward to reading the book once it is out!
I watched Bumblebee last weekend and liked it---will look up Glass---sounds interesting.
Congrats to the anthology winners! The titles of their stories leave me so intrigued.
And glad to hear Aquaman and Bumblebee were such fun films for you! I remember how much people would complain about past Transformer movies, so that's great how your expectations were exceeded for this one, with the new director.
I'm looking forward to the 2019 WEP+IWSG Challenges!
Another great anthology to add to the collection!
My blog is up and running now.
Congrats to all the anthology winners! :) Love that title. My fingers are crossed that Glass will be better. Does Hellboy save a box of kittens in that movie? Nothing will be better than Hellboy saving those kittens!
How about horror?
Happy to say I'll be able to sit out this edition of the Twitter pitch, as the last one I participated in landed me an agent! But I'll be cheering on the participants.
I do not like when people ask me how many books I have sold or how much money I make as an author. I do get both questions a lot. I wouldn't actually mind the questions as much from other authors- but I usually get the questions from friends and or family who seem to think authors make a lot more money and sell more books. :)
~Jess
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