Insecure Writer’s Support Group, November Movie Preview, and Damyanti Biswas with Some Bollywood Horror!

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.

The awesome co-hosts for the November 1 posting of the IWSG are PJ Colando, Jean Davis, Lisa Buie Collard, and Diedre Knight!

Today’s question: November is National Novel Writing Month. Have you ever participated? If not, why not?

I have, twice. Won the first time, came close the second. (Second time was a June event, but it was the same principle.) I'm a slow writer, so an event like NaNo is the kick in the butt I need to get it done. I go in with a detailed plan though. Can't imagine just writing with no plan!

We need hosts for December, January, and February!!! These are tough months so if you can help, we will be most grateful. If you have never co-hosted, please volunteer. It’s a lot more fun on the co-host side. Really! You get a ton more visitors, meet a lot of new people, and get to showcase yourself as a writer/author.

A Little Bollywood Horror

Please welcome my longtime friend and author, Damyanti Biswas!

Halloween is a relatively new celebration in India, more a marketing gimmick for eateries and costume shops than anything else.

The concept of horror movies though is pretty well established in Bollywood, and it is these traditions that have inspired some of the scenes in my latest book, The Blue Monsoon.

The Blue Monsoon is a literary thriller, but I wanted to incorporate horror/ cult elements in it, especially from the Bollywood movie tradition, which often features witches with long hair. Hair is a recurring theme in the book.

Here’s an excerpt:
Hair. So much hair hanging from long ropes strung across the open roof, like witches slung up in some medieval ritual against a gloomy sky, threatening rain. Even in broad daylight though, the thick clusters of dripping hair made her think of watching eyes, of dark, fetid places. Her skin crawled at the sight of all that shiny black, swaying gently in the wind, sinister, assessing, as if ready to rise in the air and surround her.

Since this book is set during the dark monsoons, I hope the use of movie-inspired scene props gives it that creepy, gothic air.

What kind of horror tropes and props have you seen in books and movies? Which are your favorites?

Find Damyanti Biswas at her blog.

Pick up The Blue Monsoon here.

November Movie Preview

Here are the theatrical releases for November. Descriptions courtesy of the IMDB. Snark provided by me.

10 –

The Marvels
Director: Nia DaCosta
Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Brie Larson, Iman Vellani
Carol Danvers gets her powers entangled with those of Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau, forcing them to work together to save the universe.
Superheroes, right? Not the 50’s R&B group?

22 –

Napoleon
Director: Ridley Scott
Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby, Ludivine Sagnier
The film takes a personal look at Napoleon Bonaparte's origins, and his swift, ruthless climb to emperor viewed through the prism of his addictive, and often volatile, relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine.
Phoenix was so method, he never took his hand out of his shirt…

December 1 –

Godzilla Minus One
Director: Takashi Yamazaki
Stars: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Yûki Yamada
Godzilla appears in post-World-War-II Japan, which is at its low point at zero, and knocks the country down one to the negatives.
Let’s hope that’s the title and not the average score on Rotten Tomatoes…

Have you participated in NaNo? Like the Blue Monsoon excerpt? Any of those movies strike your fancy? And can you co-host in the coming months? Please leave a comment or send me an email!

And Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends.

#IWSGPit, Bollywood with Damyanti, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio Review, and the Best Shows of 2022

#IWSGPit is this Wednesday, January 25 from 9:00 am - 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time!

Create a Twitter-length pitch for your completed and polished manuscript and leave room for genre, age, and the hashtag. On January 25, 2023, Tweet your pitch. If your pitch receives a favorite/heart from a publisher/agent check their submission guidelines and send your requested query. 

Many writers have seen their books published from a Twitter pitch - it’s a quick and easy way to put your manuscript in front of publishers and agents.

Get the full details here.

Bollywood! By Damyanti Biswas

In my literary noir set in Mumbai, THE BLUE BAR, Bollywood plays a significant role.

Bollywood originates from two words, Bombay and Hollywood. As the name of the city has changed from Bombay to Mumbai, so have the movies in a burgeoning Indian economy.

Bollywood influences more than 1.4 billion Indians, and Bollywood songs form a major part of that. Unlike in Hollywood movies, songs play a huge role in the success of a movie in India—in terms of downloads, YouTube hits, as well as selling movie and dance show tickets to the sprawling Indian diaspora.

Songs are not just about glitz, glamor, and humming quotient, they also move the plot along. They can swallow up to half the movie budget. Characters can fall in and out of love, become rich or poor, or travel to several countries all in the space of a five-minute song, in montages that resemble Tiktok sensations.

In THE BLUE BAR, Bollywood songs bring atmosphere and commentary to the story, just as in any Bollywood movie, and in some ways, it is a small homage to a storytelling culture that has been the background to so many of my childhood memories.

Find Damyanti and her books HERE.

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio Review

This won the Golden Globe for best animation, so I had to check it out.
I will preface this by stating I have never cared for the story of Pinocchio. I find it dark and disturbing. This version is also a bit dark and disturbing just in different ways.
The stop-motion animation is just stunning. And at two hours long, a lot of work went into that animation.
The outstanding voice cast includes Ewan McGregor (as Sebastian J. Cricket, the narrator), David Bradley, Gregory Mann, Ron Perlman, Finn Wolfhard, Cate Blanchette (as the spazzy monkey!), Christoph Waltz, and Tilda Swinton.
This is certainly the best version of Pinocchio I have ever seen and there are several big differences between this and the Disney version. For one, the boys don’t turn into donkeys – they are sent to Nazi Youth Camp! (The story is set in Italy during WWII.) It’s also the only animated film I can think of that features Mussolini. There are also these skeletal death rabbits. Definitely unique to this version.
If you like Pinocchio or just want to see an amazing animated film, definitely check it out. However, I would say it’s not for kids – probably twelve and older.
Recommended

Best 2022 Shows

Two weeks ago, I rounded out the top movies and albums of 2022. Now for the shows. And there were some good ones last year!

Wednesday
My favorite of the year! Most shows have issues with pacing, but this series had perfect pacing. Add to that the perfect young lady playing Wednesday – she had the best lines and I wish I’d said most of them!

1899
Season two was cancelled (hiss!) but that should not stop you from watching this inventive, bizarre, creative show.

House of the Dragon
Second best fantasy soap opera with dragons. I hated almost every character, but it was the most fascinating train wreck to watch.

The Rings of Power
Started out strong, dragged a bit in the middle, but had a solid finish.

The Sandman
I’m partial to the graphic novel, however it seemed to capture the spirit of the book better than most.

What We Do in the Shadows
Season three a bit better than season two and still one of the silliest things on television.

Love Death and Robots
Season three was the strongest season yet, and the Jibaro episode was the most stunning animation I’ve ever seen.

Outer Range
If you like your shows trippy, this is the second trippiest (behind 1899) from last year.

Resident Alien
Continues to be the most consistently hilarious show with characters you wouldn’t mind spending time with. Alan Tudyk and Corey Reynolds (the sheriff) steal the show – they are hilarious!

Raised by Wolves
Sadly there will be no season three. Watch it for the bat-crap craziness but be warned, season two ended on a cliffhanger. (Such a crappy thing to do fans!)

Tokyo Vice
Fascinating show that really delves into the culture of Japan and the influence of the Yakuza.

Mystery Science Theater 3000
With three hosts (and I’m partial to Jonah Ray), it was a little inconsistent but still funny and put a huge smile on my face.

Reacher
They finally did Jack Reacher right and gave him the show and the actor the character deserved.

Book of Boba Fett
Die-hard fans weren't impressed but I enjoyed it. We got to learn about Tusken Raiders!

Peacemaker
Crude, rude, but completely hilarious!

Clarkson’s Farm
I learned so much about farming by watching Clarkson do it oh-so wrong and laughed my ass off.

Are you participating in #IWSGPit? Have you read The Blue Bar? Have you seen Pinocchio? And did you watch any of those shows last year?
I’ll be back on February 1 for Insecure Writer’s Support Group day! But be sure to check out the site today as we are honored to have Janice Hardy visiting.

Short Stories Make Awesome Movies, 1899 Review, Best Movies and Albums of 2022, and New Releases

Today I am kicking it off with a special guest and longtime friend, author Annalisa Crawford!

Short Stories Make Awesome Movies

If you’re hanging around Alex’s blog, there’s a good chance you love movies. And, as you probably already know, the best literary adaptations come from short stories rather than novels!
Why? Well, there’s just too much stuff in a novel – just compare Keira Knightley’s Pride & Prejudice with the 1995 BBC adaptation of ultimate perfection, and you get my drift.

(Note: when researching for this I realised ‘short story’ can be a very loose term, occasionally used for stories up to 50,000 words long—I have no idea what people are thinking, because my most recent novel was only a little longer than that!!)

Personally, I think there are at least two stories in my new short story collection, The Clocks in My Mother’s House that would make great films, in the very best of gritty British film tradition (Ken Loach, call me!), so to celebrate the launch, I thought I’d share some short stories which have already been there and done that.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Birds by Daphne du Maurier
The Sentinel by Arthur C. Clark (2001: A Space Odessey)
Memento Mori by Jonathan Nolan (inspired his brother’s Memento)
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (so many films, but obviously A Muppets Christmas Carol is the best)
What are your favourite short story inspired movies?

The Clock in My Mother’s House
(Pub date: 10 January 2023 – tomorrow, eek!)

Life can change in an instant, but that’s not always a bad thing.

A hotel explodes leaving staff and guests in peril; a woman retrieves an old clock from the attic with disturbing consequences; one man leaves heart break behind him, and another arrives to bring adventure.

In this haunting collection, Annalisa Crawford creates characters who will charm, captivate and intrigue you.

Buy The Clock in My Mother’s House here.
Annalisa Crawford lives in Cornwall, UK, with a good supply of moorland and beaches to keep her inspired. She lives with her husband, and canine writing partner, Artoo. She is the author of four short story collections, and two novels.
Find Annalisa at her website, Facebook, and Twitter

New Releases

25 Impossible Tales of Survivors, Flawed Heroes, and Annoyed Villains: A Science Fiction and Fantasy Collection by Tyrean Martinson
No matter how hard circumstances are, there is hope for survival, even if it means making one simple choice in the right direction or standing up in the face of impossible odds.
But the question remains: What is the right direction and which way is up?
Find it at Amazon and Smashwords

The Blue Bar by Damyanti Biswas
A serial killer. A missing dancer. A Mumbai inspector on their trail.
Cold-case murders in Mumbai are unearthing decades of dark secrets.
Dead or alive, he must find her. He can’t put the past to rest until he solves it.

And she will be a guest here in just two weeks to tell you more about her second release!

1899 Review

A ship encounters a ship that's been missing for four months and strange things begin to happen.
Ramps the weirdness to eleven.
They do a great job slowly unveiling the mystery.
It’s a very complex cast of characters and the actors portray them with believability.
It’s a quality production – the ship, scenery, everything looks amazing.
Unfortunately, I can’t say much because then it would get into spoiler territory and ruin the experience for everyone.
And sadly, this was to be three seasons, but Netflix has cancelled this popular show. However, do not let that deter you from watching it – there is some resolution.
Highly recommended!

Top 2022 Movies and Albums

In two weeks I’ll cover the best shows, but for now, here are the best movies and albums this past year.

Top 2022 Albums (Taking into account my taste in music, which leans toward prog rock and Scandinavian metal.)

Wilderun – Epigone -Best album of the year. It encompasses everything I love about music.

Megadeth – The Sick, the Dying, and the Dead – Another solid effort from Dave and a bit heavier than recent albums.

Muse – Will of the People – One of the most varied and entertaining albums of the year. There is something for everyone.

Dynazty – Final Advent – Almost every song is an earworm. It’s a metal album with pop sensibilities.

Star One – Revel in Time – Super fun album. Really corny and cool at the same time.

Devin Townsend – Lightwork – Coming after Empath, this is a more restrained effort. It’s mellow and relaxing.

Threshold – Dividing Lines – After many, many albums these guys are still putting out great music. A solid album.

Visions of Atlantis – Pirates – My vote for most surprising album of the year. Very catchy and entertaining all the way through.

Amorphis – Halo – Great at times although it falls just short of their previous, brilliant effort.

Top 2022 movies

The Batman – My favorite film of the year. It’s not a Bruce Wayne film – it’s a Batman movie wrapped around a mystery and totally brilliant.

Avatar: The Way of Water – My second favorite. (I must have a thing for three hour movies.) Fans of the first will adore this one, and it's breathtaking in 3D.

Black Adam – Really solid DC film. It was great to see the Justice Society on the big screen.

Prey – Another favorite and the surprise of the year. The concept and setting are stellar.

Minions: The Rise of Gru – Super entertaining and fun film. It’s what you’d expect although they keep it fresh.

The Northman – When art house film meets violent action movie, it’s very entertaining. Plus the cinematography is amazing.

The Adam Project – One of the better direct to NetFlix films. Reynolds plays Reynolds but it’s a fun science fiction romp.

Spiderhead – Another direct to streaming. The story was intriguing and the leads did a great job.

What are your favorite short stories to movies? Did you watch 1899? What were your favorite movies and albums of 2022? Don’t forget #IWSGPit is January 25.
I will be back in two weeks with Damyanti Biswas, some more reviews, and the bets shows of 2022!

Insecure Writer’s Support Group, May Movie Preview, Series Influencer, Star One Answers, and Ninja News

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.

The awesome co-hosts for the May 4 posting of the IWSG are Kim Elliott, Melissa Maygrove, Chemist Ken, Lee Lowery, and Nancy Gideon!

Big news today! We are welcoming a new IWSG Admin to the team - Sandra Cox!
She will take on the Publications/Conferences page.
Please stop by her site and thank her for donating her time to this awesome group!

May 4 question - It's the best of times; it's the worst of times. What are your writer highs (the good times)? And what are your writer lows (the crappy times)?

Writer highs include the first draft done, cruising through edits and hearing from readers who enjoyed my books. Lows are when I a out of story ideas or slogging through the first draft.

CassaDark tour continues! Today I am visiting Damyanti Biswas and Christine Rains
On May 11, I’m visiting Shannon Lawrence

A Series Influencer by Sandra Cox

I’ll watch nearly any series, any genre, if the characters pull me in. Three of my favorites that have strong characters are: Black List, Reacher and Longmire. All different but all with protagonists that stick around a long time after the television is flicked off. Since I write Westerns, Longmire particularly stuck with me. The two main characters, Walt Longmire performed by Robert Taylor and ‘Vic’ Moretti performed by Katie Sackhoff, played well off each other. Their amazing chemistry strengthened the acting of the other in this modern-day police thriller set in the wilds of Wyoming.

Those two personas influenced two of my main characters in the Mateo series. One of the primary differences between Mateo and Walt: Mateo is a shifter. Somehow, I don’t see Walt Longmire shifting, do you? 😊

MATEO’S BLOOD BROTHER by Sandra Cox
Behind the amicable façade is a man who’s tough and determined. He’s Mateo’s Blood Brother.
They were friends, close as brothers. Then they weren’t.
Mateo and Jesse are cautiously working their way back to friendship when Jesse discovers the unthinkable. Delilah, the sultry shifter who’d had affairs with both men, is still alive. The tumble she took over a mountain ridge—a fall that nearly killed Mateo—should have finished her.
Now, there’s no choice but for the two men to work together to take down a she-devil straight from hell. As the stakes escalate and the hunt becomes more intense, another wolf appears on the scene. Always where Jesse’s at. Always when he’s in trouble. Jesse is divided between ending Delilah, a new love interest, discovering the identity of a certain brown wolf and staying alive.

Available at Amazon

A funky little giveaway:
Commenters names will go into the proverbial hat and one name will be drawn to win an I Heart Books stretch bracelet.

And happy to say I was the winner on another site and soon my wife will be enjoying the bracelet. Thanks, Sandra!

Ninja News

New release:

Revenge of the Space-Surfing Butt Monkeys (Gale Harbour Book Two) by C.D. Gallant-King
Newfoundland, Canada, 1993.
It's been a year since a handful of kids defeated the Psycho Hose Beast in the sleepy town of Gale Harbour, Newfoundland. Our heroes have entered into the era of rollerblades, Super Nintendo and oversized plaid shirts… unless you’re a goth, then it’s the era of Maybelline eyeliner, boots with too many buckles, and infected safety-pin piercings.
Thirteen-year-old Niall O'Neil is navigating a blossoming relationship with his crush, Harper Jeddore. Unfortunately, the power that allowed them to defeat the monster from the deep is still within them, and they are no closer to understanding or controlling it. When just touching your girlfriend can kill innocent bystanders, it complicates the already precarious practice of teenage dating.
But lurking in the backdrop of teenage romance, a sinister power is growing in Gale Harbour, and dangerous people are turning up in the small town with possibly deadly intentions.
Will the kids defeat this new threat? What did the US Air Force leave in the abandoned Hansen Air Force base? What is a space-surfing butt monkey? And most importantly—will anyone get to touch a boob?
Horror / Science fiction / Comedy
Print ISBN 9798542434674 $13.99 USD
eBook ASIN B09RKG6772 $3.99 USD
Find it on Amazon, Amazon CA, and Amazon UK

C.D. Gallant-King is a comic fantasy and horror writer currently based in Ottawa, Ontario, though he was born and raised in Newfoundland, in a town eerily similar to Gale Harbour. He has self-published four novels, including HELL COMES TO HOGTOWN, which was a semi-finalist in Mark Lawrence’s 2018 Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off. His short fiction has appeared in multiple anthologies by Mystery & Horror LLC and Dancing Lemur Press, as well as in The Weird and Whatnot magazine.
Find CD here - website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, and Goodreads

Star One Lyric Answers

Knowing no fear, feeling no pain
No grief, no compassion, no guilt and no shame
The Terminator, song title – Fate of Man.

He lost his aim, each day the same
He's had enough of this boring game
Groundhog Day, song title – Today is Yesterday.

May Movie Preview

Here are the theatrical releases for May. Descriptions courtesy of the IMDB. Snark provided by me.

6 –

Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness
Dr. Stephen Strange casts a forbidden spell that opens the doorway to the multiverse, including alternate versions of himself, whose threat to humanity is too great for the combined forces of Strange, Wong, and Wanda Maximoff.
Director: Sam Raimi
Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel McAdams, Elizabeth Olsen, Michael Stuhlbarg
Multiverse of Madness – sure it’s Dr. Strange and not Dr. Fauci?

13 –

Firestarter
A young girl tries to understand how she mysteriously gained the power to set things on fire with her mind.
Director: Keith Thomas
Stars: Zac Efron, Kurtwood Smith, Gloria Reuben, Ryan Kiera Armstrong
A remake because fire has come such a long way since 1984…

27 –

Top Gun: Maverick
After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy's top aviators, Pete Mitchell is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him.
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Stars: Tom Cruise, Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller, Val Kilmer
Who does Maverick fight this time? His age.

What are your writer highs and lows? Your writing influences? Get the Star One songs right? And what movies interest you this month?
Be sure to visit Damyanti Biswas and Christine Rains!

Insecure Writer’s Support Group, October Movie Preview, CassaSeries Tour, Screen Rights, and New Releases

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 Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Mary Aalgaard, Madeline Mora-Summonte, and Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor!

October 2 question – It's been said that the benefits of becoming a writer who does not read is that all your ideas are new and original. Everything you do is an extension of yourself, instead of a mixture of you and another author. On the other hand, how can you expect other people to want your writing, if you don't enjoy reading? What are your thoughts?

We need to read to see how it’s done – both well and poorly –we just can’t adopt another author’s style as our own.
Of course, if you’re reading a genre outside your own and a style very different from yours, then it’s cool. But if your sweet love interests suddenly turn maniacal killers, then there’s a bigger problem…

Important dates:

This month’s Write…Edit…Publish challenge:
As you sow so shall you reap. What will your character sow - dragon's teeth, elven bones, gouged eyes from tormented souls? Most of our members go with horror or speculative for October. But that's not written in stone ... or blood.

January’s IWSG post day will be on January 8, the second Wednesday. The first Wednesday is New Year’s Day – do not post that day! Note it in your calendars now – January 8.

The next #IWSGPit - our Twitter pitch event – is January 15, the third Wednesday. This will be our fifth one and last year there were thousands of agents and publishers watching, ten thousand Tweets sent out, and #IWSGPit became a trending topic. Polish your pitches and check the site for full details.

CassaSeries Tour

Silver Dagger Tours is hosting a month-long tour for me that includes a giveaway for an Amazon gift card and swag.
Here are the final dates:

Monday – Guest post at Daily (w)rite and stops at Valerie Ullmer | Romance Author and 4covert2overt-A Place In The Spotlight
Tuesday – Guest post at Inside the Insanity and stops at Defining Ways and Speculative Fiction Spot
Wednesday – Stops at Better Read Than Undead, Stormy Nights Reviewing & Bloggin', and Sylv.net
Thursday – Stops at Casey's Corner, Taryn Jameson, and Teatime and Books
Friday – Guest post at Introspective Press and stops at The Book Dragon and Twisted Book Ramblings
Monday October 7 – Stops at The Bookshelf Fairy, Word Processor, Romance, Cats, Kids and Creed, and Yearwood La Novela

Screen Rights by Damyanti Biswas!

Thank you Alex for the support on my debut novel, You Beneath Your Skin. It is a literary crime novel—a story that raises various social issues within the framework of a crime thriller. A woman from Delhi upper classes suffers an acid attack, and this case is investigated amid the backdrop of a crime spree. Unclad bodies of slum women are found stuffed in trash bags, their faces disfigured with acid.

This story is now being represented for screen rights by a top agent in Bollywood, and I’m writing a summary for adaptation pitches. It is so very different from a literary summary.
More pacey, more sensationalised, some literary parts suppressed. I’ve been at it for the past two days but am not even close to finishing.

I’m told that I need:
· a better logline,
· a short character sketch of the main voices
· less setting and characterization, and more action
· good handle on the beginning middle and end.

To the audience of this blog, and to Alex, my question and request would be for advice. Has anyone written a screen treatment? How do you go about it? Do you have any advice for me? Have you read You Beneath YourSkin?

Damy, here’s hoping you get those screen rights!

New Releases

One Good Catch by Heather Gardner
The next book in the Maguire’s Corner series
Find it on Amazon

A Sampler of Shadows by Roland Yeomans
Find it on Amazon

For a great laugh, visit Roland’s IWSG post today – he has some fun with me.




And here is the main character in Roland’s Dark Hollywood Cycle who's spoken of in several stories and appears in the last one in this collection:

September Movie Preview

Here are the upcoming theatrical releases for September! As always, descriptions courtesy of the IMDB. Snark provided by me.

4 –

Joker
A gritty character study of Arthur Fleck, a man disregarded by society.
Director: Todd Phillips
Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Jolie Chan
Yes, I’ll go see it. No, I don’t think I’ll like it. (And have to add after seeing it, while I'll never watch it again, the film was brilliant. Set in DC's Detective Comics world. Phoenix will get an Oscar nod.)




11 –

Gemini Man
An over-the-hill hitman faces off against a younger clone of himself.
Director: Ang Lee
Stars: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Will Smith, Clive Owen, Benedict Wong
Didn’t we see this already and it was called Looper?

The Addams Family
An animated version of Charles Addams' series of cartoons about a peculiar, ghoulish family.
Directors: Greg Tiernan | Conrad Vernon
Stars: Catherine O'Hara, Charlize Theron, Finn Wolfhard, Chloë Grace Moretz
From television show to movie to television show to animated movie – what next, Claymation?

Parasite
All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.
Director: Joon-ho Bong
Stars: Kang-ho Song, Sun-kyun Lee, Yeo-jeong Jo, Woo-sik Choi
The true story of kimchi gone bad…




18 –

Zombieland: Double Tap
Columbus, Tallahasse, Wichita, and Little Rock move to the American heartland as they face off against evolved zombies, fellow survivors, and the growing pains of the snarky makeshift family.
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Stars: Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, Zoey Deutch, Bill Murray
Zombieland Two – Electric Twinkieloo

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Maleficent and her goddaughter Aurora begin to question the complex family ties that bind them as they are pulled in different directions by impending nuptials, unexpected allies, and dark new forces at play.
Director: Joachim Rønning
Stars: Angelina Jolie, David Gyasi, Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer
Are we sure this isn’t just an Angelina Jolie biopic?

25 –

The Aeronauts
Pilot Amelia Wren (Felicity Jones) and scientist James Glaisher (Eddie Redmayne) find themselves in an epic fight for survival while attempting to make discoveries in a hot air balloon.
Director: Tom Harper
Stars: Felicity Jones, Eddie Redmayne, Himesh Patel, Tim McInnerny
Rogue One meets Harry Potter meets Jason and the Argonauts.

What do you think about writers who don’t read? Participating in WEP this month? The CassaSeries tour coming to an end – have you visited a stop or two and entered to win? And what movies catch your attention this month?

We are going on a family vacation, leaving next Monday and coming back the following Monday. So I won’t be posting those two weeks or visiting anyone next week. See you on October Twenty-first!

CassaSeries Tour, What Worries Me When I Write, New Releases, and Movie Trailers

The CassaSeries tour continues!
Silver Dagger Tours is hosting a month-long tour for me that includes a giveaway for an Amazon gift card and swag. Full list at their site.

Monday – stops at Chapters through life, Books all things paranormal and romance, books are love, and Luv Saving Money

Tuesday – guest post at Maiden of the Pages and stops at Tome Tender, Books, Authors, Blogs, and Craving Lovely Books

Wednesday – stops at Dragon's Den, A Wonderful World of Words, and Breanna Hayse Romance

Thursday – stops at TNT Book Promotions, A Blend of Sass and Class Blog, and T.L. Gray Blog

Friday - stops at Drako's Den, eBook Addicts, and Girl with Pen

What Worries Me When I Write by Jacqui Murray

Six years ago, when I prepared to publish my first book, I shared my worst fears with blogging buddies. Now as I publish my seventh book, The Quest for Home, I still don't feel like I have my shine on. Here's the list now:

That I'll get a bad review on Amazon. You can't unring that bell. It ruins your averages.
That I'll over-think what I'm writing, take myself too seriously. I have to shake it out and start over.
That my characters come across as shallow--people even I wouldn't want to know.
Anton Chekov once warned: "Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass." What if I miss that? What if I miss it twice?
That I'll spell 'siesta' with an 'f'--or 'Freud' with an 'a'. How about 'luck' with an 'f'? So much to worry about.
That I'll use 'was' twelve times on one page and drain the energy out of my story like a leaky boat.
That I'll 'tell' not 'show'.
That my novel will have so many problems, when new ones come along, it'll take me two weeks before I have time to worry about them.
That agents will say, 'There's a story that didn't live up to its query letter'.
That I've written a Goldilocks story--not too fast, not too slow, just boring.
That my writing has more enthusiasm than expertise.
That my novel will reach a climax and I won't notice. The corollary to that: I won't know where the beginning is.
That I'll think 'seriousism' is a perfectly good noun to use.

As if this list isn't bad enough, I found a bunch more on Twitter that sounded like me:

That I'll start to believe statistics like 83% of new writers don't get published, or the average American has one testicle and one ovary.
That I will bury my voice in the effort to 'follow the right rules'
That I will turn a world class ending into a mediocre one.
That my muse will abandon me.
That even now, the fat lady is singing.
That my lips will get tired before I finish all the writer's how-to books I need to read.
That my woke story will come out stupid.

And here's my #1 fear and it's a bit of a conundrum: If I write from my heart and no one reads it, have I really written anything?

How about you? What's your worst fear?

Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy, the Rowe-Delamagente thrillers, and the Man vs. Nature saga. She is also the author/editor of over a hundred books on integrating tech into education, adjunct professor of technology in education, blog webmaster, an Amazon Vine Voice, a columnist for NEA Today, and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics. Look for her next prehistoric fiction, In the Footsteps of Giants, Winter 2021.

New Releases

This one is from a very dear blogger buddy of mine and I am so happy for her!

You Beneath Your Skin by Damyanti Biswas
From Simon and Schuster IN

LIES. AMBITION. FAMILY.
It’s a dark, smog-choked new Delhi winter. Indian American single mother Anjali Morgan juggles her job as a psychiatrist with caring for her autistic teenage son. She is in a long-standing affair with ambitious police commissioner Jatin Bhatt – An irresistible attraction that could destroy both their lives.
Jatin’s home life is falling apart: his handsome and charming son is not all he appears to be, and his wife has too much on her plate to pay attention to either husband or son. But Jatin refuses to listen to anyone, not even the sister to whom he is deeply attached.
Across the city there is a crime spree: slum women found stuffed in trash bags, faces and bodies disfigured by acid. And as events spiral out of control Anjali is horrifyingly at the centre of it all …
In a sordid world of poverty, misogyny, and political corruption, Jatin must make some hard choices. But what he unearths is only the tip of the iceberg. Together with Anjali he must confront old wounds and uncover long-held secrets before it is too late.

Buy it on Amazon

Re-release!

Already Home by Heather Gardner
A Maguire's Corner novel
Book 1 in the Maguire's Corner series

Find it on Amazon

New cover. Completely rebranded. Same corpse-raising middle grade adventure.
MOTLEY EDUCATION: The Urd Saga, book I by S. A. Larsen

"A deftly crafted ... and entertaining read!" - Midwest Book Reviews - Children's Watch 2017

Motley Junior High: School for the Psychically and Celestially Gifted Terms of Enrollment
Order signed books from The Children’s Book Cellar via Facebook message.
Find it online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Kobo, and Smashwords There’s also a Twitter Giveaway.

New Trailers

Some interesting looking movies and shows coming soon…

What are your writing worries? Picking up some new books? Do those trailers look enticing? And are you following any of the CassaSeries tour?