My awesome co-hosts today are Tamara Narayan, Pat Hatt, Patricia Lynne, Juneta Key, and Doreen McGettigan!
Today’s optional question - What is one valuable lesson you've learned since you started writing?
Never underestimate my actual readers – or who they are. My books appeal to as many women as men, something I never foresaw happening, especially with science fiction stories. But I accepted it and wrote to please my actual fan base, both men and women.
We have a lot of agents and publishers lined up who will be watching the Twitter feed that day.
You don’t want to miss it! Details HERE.
What are we looking for?
Anything writing related – books, journalism, articles, whatever.
What have you tried that was successful?
What have you tried that didn’t result in sales or making money? We need to know what doesn’t work as well!
Submissions are open to all IWSG members – monthly blog post members, Facebook, and Goodreads. Details here.
And in case you missed it - the Insecure Writers Support Group site made the Writer’s Digest 19th Annual 101 Best Websites for Writers! This has been a goal of mine for the past several year and we finally made it. Thanks to all of YOU for making the group and the site awesome. We couldn’t have done it without you.
Audio Book Giveaway
My publisher, Dancing Lemur Press, has been giving away an audio book every week since the beginning of May.
Today is the last day you can enter to win a copy of CassaStorm.
Just go to @DancingLemurPre and click the pinned Tweet to enter.
Thanks for helping me spread the word!
Movie Reviews
After being coerced into working for a crime boss, a young getaway driver finds himself taking part in a heist doomed to fail. Staring Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, and Jamie Foxx.
This film is classy and stylish, slick but casual in its execution. It takes you on a ride that is both exhilarating and laid-back.
One of the coolest things about this film is how the music and action line up perfectly. From Baby lining up music for a getaway scene to the overall score, it is in perfect harmony.
The car chases and driving are amazing. Your jaw will drop at some of the tricks and stunts.
Baby is a sympathetic character. He’s a good person caught in a bad situation. He loves his foster father and cares about people in general. He and Debora (Lily James) have real chemistry on screen and make a good couple.
Reviews for this film have it at near-perfect. While I wouldn’t give it an A+, it was an excellent film.
Gru meets his long-lost charming, cheerful, and more successful twin brother Dru who wants to team up with him for one last criminal heist.
In a nutshell – silly and fun.
The Minions and Gru end up parting ways, so there becomes two storylines. Three if you count Judy’s efforts to find her place as Mom to three young girls. That's probably the movie's biggest fault - too much going on.
Dru – the twin brother – could’ve been annoying, but he’s not. He’s a good balance with the more dour Gru.
The animation is stunning. Some of the best I’ve ever seen. Some of the scenes were so real, it was incredible.
Fans of the 80’s will also get a kick out of the villain, Balthazar Bratt. Or you’ll have horrible 80’s flashbacks – one of the two.
While not the best animated flick I’ve ever seen, it was entertaining. If you enjoyed the other films, go for it. If not, then Minions in prison will not change your mind…
July Movie Preview
Here are the upcoming theatrical releases for July! As always, descriptions courtesy of the IMDB. Snark provided by me.
Spiderman: Homecoming
Following the events of Captain America: Civil War (2016), Peter Parker attempts to balance his life in high school with his career as the web-slinging superhero Spider-Man.
Director: Jon Watts
Stars: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr., Marisa Tomei
It’s getting great review and buzz- and it’s not an origins story! Ninja happy.
War for the Planet of the Apes
After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind.
Director: Matt Reeves
Stars: Toby Kebbell, Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Judy Greer
This could be the movie of the year. Advanced word – amazing and heart wrenching all at once.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
A dark force threatens Alpha, a vast metropolis and home to species from a thousand planets. Special operatives Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.
Director: Luc Besson
Stars: Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne, Clive Owen, Elizabeth Debicki
Pray it’s The Fifth Element and not Jupiter Rising…
Allied soldiers from Belgium, the British Empire, Canada, and France are surrounded by the German army and evacuated during a fierce battle in World War II.
Director: Christopher Nolan
Stars: Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Kenneth Branagh, Mark Rylance
Batman loses his short term memory and moves to Alaska to tap into people’s dreams…oh wait, I’m mixing up my Nolan films…
What have you learned since you started writing? Sending an entry for the IWSG anthology? Entering #IWSGPit? Want to win a copy of CassaStorm on audio? And what movie catches your eye for July?
