News, Reviews, Blogfests, Books, and the Kitchen Sink!

NEWS FIRST!

For those who missed it earlier this week, Cassie put together the most incredible special feature for me at Falling For Fiction. Morgan, Mark, David, and Leigh all contributed and I felt like a celebrity. Thank you all – this Ninja was very honored by your words!

I also had a special interview/feature with Callie Leuck this week, and she was so creative the way she put it together. Thanks, Callie!

Don’t forget the First Loves Blogfest is Monday, May 14! For details and to sign up, go HERE.

The A to Z Challenge Reflections List will be open through Saturday if you’ve not added a link to your post yet. Lee will be compiling participant's thoughts, ideas, and concerns at the main A to Z Blog in the coming weeks.

I’ve been trying to update both my blogroll and the Awesome Authors page. If you are a blogger buddy (regular commenter) and you do not see your blog or current book listed, please let me know!

REVIEWS

The Avengers
One word – awesome! Joss Whedon masterfully worked together storyline, action scenes, and character development to bring us the perfect super hero ensemble movie. For me, the Hulk stole the show. “Puny God!” I rarely see films twice in the theater, but this will be an exception. 3D BluRay DVD purchase for sure! (And currently it is $702+ million world wide – almost $100 million ahead of The Hunger Games.)

Handling Negative Reviews
I learned a new trick for handling negative book reviews this week and thought I’d share it with you guys.
Another blogger/soon-to-be author posted a one star rating of CassaStar on Goodreads this past weekend. At first it bothered me, and then I remembered the movie Good Will Hunting. There’s a scene where Matt Damon’s character says something awful about Robin Williams’ deceased wife, and the next time they meet, Williams tells him that at first it bothered him – and then he though, “He’s just a stupid kid.” And that’s how you should view reviews like that, because one star with no explanation is meaningless. Maybe that person didn’t like your book. Or maybe he just doesn’t like you or anyone else. Or maybe he gives out one star reviews to almost everyone. Regardless, it’s not worth stressing over.
Maybe I’ve just coined a new term for meaningless, crappy ratings – “He’s just a stupid kid!”

BOOKS!

I’m not through reading it yet, so I can’t offer a review, but hopefully everyone has picked up M. Pax’s new book, The Backworlds!
Here’s the synopsis:

After the war with Earth, bioengineered humans scatter across the Backworlds. Competition is fierce and pickings are scant. Scant enough that Craze’s father decides to hoard his fortune by destroying his son. Cut off from family and friends, with little money, and even less knowledge of the worlds beyond his own, Craze heads into an uncertain future. Boarding the transport to Elstwhere, he vows to make his father regret this day.

Available from: Amazon Smashwords and Feedbooks

Lynn Rush’s new book, Awaited, is now available. Congratulations, Lynn!

And Laura Pauling is currently on tour for her new book, A Spy Like Me. Congratulations, Laura!

Wow! See what happens when I take a day off? Ready for Monday’s First Loves Blogfest? Have you seen The Avengers – again? Seeing Dark Shadows? Prepared now for the “just a stupid kid” reviews? Reading M. Pax’s book? Is there anything I missed????

A to Z Reflections and Ninja News!

Today is the A to Z Challenge Reflections Post! We invite everyone who took part in the Challenge to share your thoughts and concerns. Once your post is live, add the direct link to the list below. DO NOT ADD YOUR BLOG'S GENERAL ADDRESS - ONLY THE LINK TO YOUR ACTUAL POST.

NINJA NEWS!

But first, I have a special feature at Falling For Fiction. I hope it’s special, because I’m not sure what Cassie has in store for me. I think it involves what others say about me, and that could be scary!

On Tuesday, May 8, I also have a feature/interview with Callie Leuck. And it's up NOW! Yes, a guest post Monday AND Tuesday this week!

A couple sites were hit with malware this weekend, and blogs such as mine, Sia's, and Tracy's had warnings because we were linked to these sites. We have removed the links. We are not the ones infected with malware!

My good blogger buddy M. Pax’s new book, Backworlds, comes out today! I’ve enjoyed everything she’s written so far and looking forward to this book. Full information HERE and later this week I’ll give you more details. (Too much for one Monday!)

Glynis Smy’s new book, Ripper, My Love, comes out today – congratulations, Glynis!

And - The Avengers rocked! Saw the first showing Friday at lunch and can't wait to go see it again. AWESOME!

MY CHALLENGE THOUGHTS

This was my third Challenge and my second time as a co-host. I am still a big believer in the Challenge, as it stretches you and connects you to other bloggers. There were only a hundred of us for that first Challenge, but it made a huge impact on me.

I wish I’d had more time to visit new blogs. Many of my blogger buddies also signed up for the Challenge, and I soon discovered that a hundred and fifty blogs a day was the most I could visit on a regular basis. So I have a lot of new followers I need to visit!

Only Stephen Tremp and I were returning co-hosts, and several of the new co-hosts really jumped in with some good ideas. I feel we were much more organized this year with the blog, Twitter hashtag and newsletter, Facebook page, and Triberr.

The suggestion to break up the list into several smaller lists has come up, but I hope it never comes to that. My followers, and those I follow, are an eclectic bunch, reflecting many interests, and I like that. I’ve enjoyed finding bloggers who are neither authors nor writers.

Several people commented that they followed a lot of new blogs but the follow wasn’t returned. Some of the blogs I followed that didn’t return the follow were newer bloggers, so I wonder if they didn’t understand the concept. Of course, I know some were just following to build their own followers without ever commenting or interacting, and that wasn’t in the spirit of the Challenge either. Just one of those things no one can control. (Except go back and do some unfollowing.)

Finally, I was pleased with the response to my theme for this year, which was a variation on last year’s theme. I’m happy it gave me a chance to give back to the community and that you guys enjoyed it. And the amount of comments rocked! I usually post every other day and average 140+ comments, but even with daily posting I was still getting 110+ comments per post. Wow!

Lee, thanks again for creating this Challenge. It continues to be the most awesome thing in the blogging world, beyond any campaign or blogfest, and I was honored to be a part of it for the third straight year. Count me in as a co-host for next year!

What did YOU think about the Challenge? (Whether you participated or not.) What can we do better next year? What can I do better next year? Ready to visit Cassie on Monday and Callie on Tuesday? I aim to amuse…

Remember, enter the LINK to your Reflections post once it is live: