NETWORKER/NAKED - A to Z Challenge

It’s the third A to Z Challenge! Blog the letters of the alphabet in order every day except Sundays The participation list is HERE – start with the blog after yours and visit at least five blogs a day. Mostly, make new friends and have fun!

My theme – I have selected a word for each day and will present to you blogger buddies who fit that description, along with movies, music, etc. My theme is to give back, highlight some awesome bloggers, and have fun in the process.

NETWORKER/NAKED

Golden at The Eagle’s Aerial Perspective
No one knows how to network like Golden. She is everywhere, learning and soaking in what the blogging world has to offer. Golden is also one of the sharpest young ladies I have ever met, and it’s easy to forget she is a teenager. With her sharp mind and excellent skills with people, Golden will go very far in life!

Hart at Confessions of a Watery Tart
The Watery Tart is very sharp, but those of us who know her realize it’s all about one thing – Naked World Domination! Hart wants to do away with clothes because they are so restricting. She even writes while in the bathtub. (And I can only assume naked – she hasn’t confirmed this though.) While I’m not about to wander my own house naked, I admit certain pieces of clothing need to be banned. Now, if all this naked stuff has you nervous, let me assure you – Hart is one of the most awesome bloggers I have ever met. And in two months, her first book will be unleashed onto the world!

Kate Beckinsale
Okay, I admit when I hear the word naked I think of my wife and then Kate Beckinsale. (Yes, in that order.) She has appeared nude in many movies but has since sworn off nudity in deference to her child (I applaud that decision, and yet, it makes me sad.)

NINJA NEWS!

We’ve been working hard to clear all ad sites and non-participating blogs on the Challenge list. Hopefully you are encountering fewer of these sites.

Don’t forget May 7 is the Challenge Reflections post. On that day, we want to hear from you – what you liked, what you didn’t like, did you enjoy it, etc. A sign-up list will be available that day at the A to Z Blog and host sites. Once you’ve posted your reflections, add your post link to the sign up list.

If anyone would like to host a blogfest but you don’t have a Linky Tools subscription, let me know and I’d be glad to create a Linky List for you.

Following Golden and Hart? Part of the Naked World Domination movement? Anyone see The Cabin in the Woods this weekend? (Freaky movie, wasn’t it?) Who do you know who is a networker? (Or into being naked?) And I’m almost to 1500 followers – what should I do to celebrate?

A to Z Challenge - O - and Blog Happenings

For the A to Z Challenge, I am featuring some awesome bloggers. These individuals have offered so much support of my book, CassaStar, and me on my blogger journey. Of course, I’ll be keeping up with the world of movies, music, and pop culture stuff as well! Ninjas are just talented that way...


One Significant Moment at a Time
Nicole is a diversified writer with a wonderful heart. She’s received awards, had short stories published, and is working on a novel. She’s traveled extensively, learned foreign languages, and describes herself as free-spirited. Spend a few moments with Nicole - you’ll be glad you did!

Big announcement from Jo at Shoveling in a Jo Storm! Her husband is in the film industry (and has worked on films such as Iron Man 2 and 127 Hours) and now he’s finally making his own movie. There’s a contest for those who help spread the word (including a face plate from Iron Man 2) so check out Jo’s site for details!

Hart at Confessions of a Watery Tart hit 500 followers this weekend! She’s now closer to naked world domination.

Sorry, no nakedness here. That should come as a great relief to my followers!

Movies, Fests, and Stuff!

Thanks everyone for your awesome comments on Jeffrey’s guest post Monday! And thank you to Geof at The Man Cave for hosting me as well.

A couple movies for you…

Vanishing on 7th Street
Caught this on HDNet last week. It had some tense moments and an interesting premise but with no place to go. “Stay in the light” reminded me of Pitch Black. It could’ve (and should’ve) been so much more and I was a little frustrated in the end. The idea of a force so strong it can control the sun just made the plight of the characters seem hopeless. It wasn’t if they would vanish, it was when. Worth a watch, but Anderson’s Session 9 (filmed in a real abandoned insane asylum) is a far better film.

The A-Team
NetFlix rental. It’s preposterous, silly, over-the-top, ridiculous, noisy – and those are its good points! Let’s face it – if you went in expecting realistic action and drama, you chose the wrong movie. This movie is all about fun over-the-top action, a nonsensical plot, and the interaction of its four leads. And that’s where the movie really shines, as the four actors eat up the campy one-liners and buddy-buddy dialogue. A fun film and if the actors are willing, there will be a sequel.

Blogfests!

A to Z Challenge! You know I have to mention that one. We’re closing in on 300 participants.

Larry at DiscConnected is hosting the Super 8 Debut Albums Blogfest on February 28. I’ve signed up, so join the fun!

Hart at Confessions of a Watery Tart is hosting the Delusional Doom Blogfest! And you know Hart doesn’t do anything halfway. Not even naked.


Any other cool events? Movies? Nakedness?

Spunk, NaNo, and SUCK

Bet that post title makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

Today’s tour stop – Spunk on a Stick’s Tips - with a post entitled “Window into the Soul.”

Thanks again to those who commented at yesterday’s post at Confessions of a Watery Tart. If you didn't, feel free to add your snark to the rather long list.

And I need a little help with this NaNoWri Mo thing. Everyone is talking about NaNo and ‘buddy me’ – but most of you aren’t using your names! So, I’m having trouble finding everyone. If you are participating, please leave your NaNo name in the comments so I can find you. I am listed under AlexJCavanaugh

I still hope to see RED at some point! In the meantime, I leave you with this review, courtesy of NetFlix.

SUCK

A band finds their popularity growing as members turn into vampires.

Rob Stefaniuk wrote, directs, and stars as the lead singer. He even wrote the band’s music, which is actually not bad. Malcolm McDowell is Eddie Van Helsing, and all sorts of musicians make appearances in this film, including Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop, and Henry Rollins. Alex Lifeson (from the awesome band RUSH) is a Canadian border officer and Moby is a headbanger who enjoys raw meat thrown at his band during performances. (I guarantee you've never seen this side of Moby. Ever!)

With an 80’s vibe, SUCK is very quirky and original – and a lot of fun!

Getting Naked!!

Today’s tour stop – you get to laugh at my writing mistakes! Come snark at my naked confessions to Hart at Confessions of a Watery Tart. Meanwhile, Hart will entertain you here! (I won’t be naked, but I make no promises regarding Hart.)

(Thanks again to those who commented at yesterday’s post at John Ottinger III's Grasping for the Wind!)

Take it away, Hart!

Lessons from TV for Writing

So first off, I want to congratulate Alex on KICKING BUTT with this book release thing! He's done an amazing job of being everywhere which HAS to be paying off. Alex—You're the DUDE! (And you only have to take that like the Big Labowski if that pleases you).

And NEXT, for your reading pleasure and/or mockery content... How Television Series Can Inform Our Writing Plan

The BIG PICTURE

Movies all have a large underlying plot or they lose us, yes? And it seems a no-brainer that a book would need the same. But when you start planning a SERIES, it is a little more like a television series... let's take a good one that BOTH has episodes that are self contained AND themes that continue week to week. A show like Castle is easiest to talk about, or maybe, because this is Alex's blog, and I still get to picture Nathan Fillion, we will talk Firefly...

Each episode introduces a new conflict that is URGENT. It needs to be resolved or... the evil guys will catch them, or Serenity will float off into a war zone with no way to breathe, or... you get the picture... URGENT. And that emergency is resolved through the cleverness and cooperation of the crew within the one hour epidsode, while still leaving loose ends... like say some sexual tension with a certain ESCORT! The characters are appealing enough that we come back every week, and those of us who DO have a better idea of some BROADER plot that does NOT get resolved within each hour... we know WHY the bad guys are the bad guys... we have a CLUE as to where the story has been and where it might ultimately go (to Nathan standing naked on a random planet! Or maybe that was just the ultimate moment for yours truly).

I really prefer shows that DO have those points of continuity over shows that it doesn't matter from episode to episode...

Why Does that Matter to Me?

IT'S A CONSPIRACY!!! Think emotions here, and how we tap into them... The deep feeling of EVIL and FEAR actually takes a while to develop. If the show (or BOOK) is to show us, instead of TELLING us how horrible some force is, then the moments of proof need to be sprinkled... I mean SURE, you can dive in and start with a bang... and get away—YAY! But the insidious evil that keeps coming back, ever worse... supported by something larger... How scary is THAT by comparison?! To realize you thought you'd won, but he was really just a minion compared to the force behind him?! Twin Peaks has some good examples here... you have the monster that is Shelly's husband in the immediate forefront... resolved relatively quickly... but the hints about the one-armed man.... those were dropped slowly... and while Shelly's husband was awful and scare... he doesn't pack NEARLY the fearful punch as that 'one hint a week' build...

RELATIONSHIPS!!! And I don't only mean romantic... Oh, sure... I love sexual tension (and BOTH Nathan's series have plenty of that... with PROMISE but the line is almost never crossed (I keep tweeting him that I'll scratch that itch, but he doesn't answer me *cough*) But also other kinds of relationships... I love complicated frenemy-type relationships... rivals or people who should be opposed, but grudgingly help each other now and then. There are a TON of these in the series Veronica Mars... My favorite relationship in the series is actually the once between Veronica and Weevil—he is a gangster... but she helps him, and then manages to have a 'friend in low places' when she needs one.

Veronica Mars, in fact, also does a great job getting at my NEXT important point...

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!!! How boring is a hero who never learns from his mistakes? (or worse, never MAKES ANY?) Life (and drama, both visual and literary) has some hard lessons... and any character who can't grow and CHANGE from those lessons is going to lose our interest eventually unless it's a sitcom.

Okay... so I didn't go into great detail on how we draw on that for books, but I guess my point is that in a book series, each should definitely be able to stand alone... you don't want a reader to pick up a random one of your books and not be able to follow... but how much more interesting is a series if there is some logical flow underneath? Isn't it nice to reward long-term readers with a little something extra?

Hart Johnson writes mostly suspense and is in process of cleaning up to query. She has two alter egos: Alyse Carlson has a Cozy Mystery contract with Berkeley Prime Crime, and The Watery Tart is trying to achieve Naked World Domination. All of them make appearances at
Confessions of a Watery Tart and would love to see you at the party.

The End is Near!!

Chuck at Apocalypse Now gave me the End of Days Award! Chuck blogs about signs of the apocalypse using news and graphs, so if you need a good laugh, be sure to visit his blog daily.

What would I do if I knew the end was coming on 12-21-2012?

Make sure I finished playing Starcraft II!
Watch all the movies I haven’t seen yet. Oh, wait, I’ve already done that.
Watch all my favorite movies again! One can never get enough Serenity or Aliens.
Finish the sequel to CassaStar and soon! (Hey, we don’t have much time.)
Take all my money and buy a fast sports car and drive around like a maniac – speed limits be damned!
And last but not least – lots of sex! Okay, that one would be on my list whether the world was ending or not.

Now, I pass this on to Cheesboy, Mr. Stupid, and Confessions of a Watery Tart! What would you do with your final days?

Big News!!!

Okay, I’m about to geek out with excitement, but first – the winner of Hart at Confessions of a Watery Tart’s 50 page manuscript critique:

Ted Cross !!!!

Congratulations! Hart has been notified and will contact you soon.

And now, before I come undone…

My book trailer!!!

My publisher is posting it online sometime today and I will debut it for all to see on Thursday! I haven’t watched it yet, but I am so stoked. I hope it’s good!

This will be in the place of the review I’d hoped to post on The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. The reviews on Rotten Tomatoes are dismal. Think I’ll skip this one. But I will be posting a review of Inception this weekend. That movie has near perfect reviews right now!

And I did make some minor changes to my blog as per the Blog Book Tour critiques. The instructor, Dani, posted her review HERE . Let me know – did I make it better?

Tell all your friends - party here tomorrow!

The Secret and the Prize

First, the prize.

Hart at Confessions of a Watery Tart was giving away a prize – the critique of fifty pages of a manuscript. Much to my surprise, I won! Hart informed me I could use it in September (when she has time to do the critique) or pass it on to another writer. Since I won’t be ready with my manuscript until the end of the year (as in, I won’t feel comfortable letting anyone read it until it’s complete and I’ve had a chance to do some editing) I’ve decided to pass this prize on to another deserving writer.

I can think of several fellow writers who will have a manuscript ready by September. However, I don’t want to volunteer someone and cause that person to panic as well! So, I am offering this prize to anyone who desires a critique of his or her work. Please leave a comment if you are interested and I will draw names from a hat.

Hart’s an awesome writer and this is a great opportunity for some constructive feedback!

Now, the secret. The secret to successful blogging with lots of comments and followers.

Hate to disappoint you, but I’ve no idea!

I realized I’m about to hit 200 followers and that simply floors me. Around the end of March, approximately 100 days ago, I had thirty. That was it! Somewhere along the way, I did something right, and since I’ve no idea exactly what I did, all I can do is recap what I’ve been doing the past three months.

In searching for blog topics, I decided to focus on my profile description. I didn’t set up a schedule, just selected a few topics of passion. I blog about movies. I blog about books, music, games, and tech stuff. My theme is science fiction and fantasy, so all of these elements center around that subject. Yes, geek and fanboy stuff! Marvin Wilson commented that there seems to be a correlation between science fiction and heavy metal music, so I will explore that in depth one day.

I signed up for Arlee Bird’s April A-Z Challenge, in which we were to blog the letters of the alphabet every day except Sunday. (Good math work there, Lee!) I think a hundred bloggers participated, and I made a lot of great friends along the way.

Arlee Bird also hosted a Fifteen Fantasy Island Favorites in May, so I met even more bloggers when I posted my favorite albums.

Last month I hosted my own blogfest, The Movie Dirty Dozen – twelve favorite movies. I was stunned when sixty people participated in this event, and I met even more new bloggers. The real pleasure came from the response of those who participated, though – they had a great time, met new bloggers, and some received the most comments on a post ever. That is awesome!

I’ve met so many amazing people and learned so much about writing, movies, books, and life experiences. My blogroll is LONG, but I visit those people every day and there’s more I need to add. (Yes, I really need to organize it before it scrolls off the page!)

So, what’s the secret? Well, if you can glean something from my ramblings, then I hope you’ll discover it. In the meantime, I thank every person who follows and comments. I am humbled. You’ve made this an incredible experience!