Insecure Writer’s Support Group, IWSG Anthology Contest, Really Great Villains, Bad Adaptations and New Stories, and New Releases

The awesome co-hosts for the April 1 posting of the IWSG are Diane Burton, JH Moncrieff, Anna @ Emaginette, Erika Beebe, Karen @ Reprobate Typewriter, and Lisa Buie-Collard!

Today’s question -
The IWSG’s focus is on our writers. Each month, from all over the globe, we are a united group sharing our insecurities, our troubles, and our pain. So, in this time when our world is in crisis with the covid-19 pandemic, our optional question this month is: how are things in your world?

We’re blessed there aren’t a lot of cases in our area. I’m still going to work! (Apparently I am essential.) But with most businesses now shut down and a stay at home order in place, there is a lot less traffic on the road.

I have faith we will survive this and my heart goes out to those who’ve been affected, either through the virus or the shut downs. Until it’s over, I’ll just keep praying and doing my part to keep me, my family, and everyone around me safe.

We’re revving up for the annual IWSG Anthology Contest!

It doesn’t open until May 6, but here’s a sneak peek.

The genre – science fiction!

And the amazing judges –

Dan Koboldt, author and #SFFpit founder

Lynda R. Young, author

Colleen Oefelein, agent, The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency

Damien Larkin, author

Ion Newcombe, editor and publisher

Julie Gwinn, agent, The Seymour Agency

David Powers King, author

The IWSG Instagram prompts for April:

Really Great Villains by Jemi Frasier

Alex and I share a love of SF & Fantasy movies and books. Among my favourites are LotR, HP, Firefly, BSG, McCaffrey’s PERN, and of course Star Wars & Star Trek.

One of the commonalities we find in these stories is a really great villain. Sauron. Voldemort & the Death Eaters. Reavers. Thread. 1st Order/Vader/Palpatine. Cylons. The Borg.

Some adjectives for those great villains might be: subversive, sneaky, vile, insidious, unscrupulous, relentless. Great villains made for good reading and good watching, but aren’t so great in real life.

My book, Dancing With Dementia, deals with real life and a real life villain. Dementia. Like Thread from PERN, our villain isn’t human or alien, it’s not sentient. But it is a villain nonetheless and those adjectives apply.

Like any good story, Dancing With Dementia showcases our battle against our villain. We may not have lightsabers, wands, or phasers, but we do have our own weapons. Patience and a sense of humour are probably the most effective for us.

Having the Force on our side would be a good thing though!

It’s a pleasure to be participating in author Jemi Fraser’s DANCING WITH DEMENTIA, Recognizing and Coping with the Early Stages of Dementia MC Book Tours Blog Tour through today.
The author is offering a tour-wide international giveaway of an Amazon Gift Card. More information on the giveaway is listed below.

Recognizing and Coping with the Early Stages of Dementia by Jemi Fraser
ISBN-13: 978-1-9991258-1-3

Dementia and Alzheimer’s touch the lives of millions around the world, but so much is still unknown.
As first-generation Canadians, we didn’t recognize the early warning signs. We didn’t know the differences between regular aging and the early stages of dementia. We’ve made mistakes but we’ve learned a lot.
DANCING WITH DEMENTIA will help you:
•Identify those early warning signs
•Use visuals to improve communication
•Choose your words wisely
•Redirect and reassure
•Stay calm and cope with your own emotions
•Consider nursing home options
•Improve caregiver self-care
We’ve learned to dance the early steps of the disease with our love and laughter intact. If you are looking for help recognizing early signposts along with practical ways to cope with early Dementia and Alzheimer’s, this book is for you.

DANCING WITH DEMENTIA buy links:
Amazon.com              Amazon.ca          Apple Books       Barnes & Noble          Kobo

Add DANCING WITH DEMENTIA to your Goodreads shelf

Jemi Fraser writes both fiction and nonfiction. Her nonfiction work focuses on the ways that dementia has impacted her family. Her fiction work varies from contemporary romance to suspense and flash fiction. Years as a teacher have taught Jemi that life is short and that happy endings are a must.
Jemi lives in Northern Ontario, Canada where snow is always a topic of conversation and the autumn leaves make everything better.

For more on Jemi and her writing, visit her following sites:

Website          Just Jemi Blog       Dancing With Dementia blog 

Amazon Page        BookBub      Goodreads       Facebook       Twitter       Quick Tips Videos

This tour-wide giveaway is for a $20 Amazon Gift Card. The giveaway is open internationally. To enter the giveaway, just click on this LINK and follow the instructions.

When Bad Movie Adaptations Inspire New Stories

About 12 years ago, when my wife and I were still newlyweds, we spent many a weekend watching a ton of movies (her favorites and mine). Then one Friday night, we watched an adaptation of one of her favorite fantasy books. It seemed weird to me. Maybe something you’d see on the Disney channel, but not in theaters. So then we discussed movie adaptations, and why it seems so difficult for Hollywood to stick with the source material. Then, out of the blue, my wife gave me a challenge: “write something I would like”. You see, until that point, I was a fledgling writer who had only written a Sci Fi trilogy. She’s more into fantasy, especially of the fairytale persuasion. I thought about it. I took her up on it, but not as a rewrite of other fairy tales. That’s been done over and over to death. Something different. A discovery novel. It would star a princess. It would need magical creatures. Oh, and a dragon! Definitely needs a dragon. In six months, I drafted my first fantasy novel with my wife’s interests in mind. Luckily for me, she loved it, and she still loves it to this day. I’m curious how an adaptation of it would turn out?

If you want in on this magical goodness, The Dragon’s Heart is available now in paperback and ebook, on Amazon. Also, it’s free with Kindle Unlimited. Free is good.

A princess. A dragon. Their quest.
Terrible things happen whenever Princess Celesia falls in love—she blacks out and attacks her suitors, which makes an alliance with a more powerful nation impossible. Believing that she’s cursed, Celesia is given two choices: marry without love, or be responsible for her kingdom’s demise. Instead, she sneaks off in search of a remedy. She doesn’t make it far when she encounters a dragon who bears a curse of his own—he is a prince, desperate to reclaim his humanity before the dragon takes over. He's heard of a stone that can lift both of their curses, but neither of them can find it alone, and they’re not the only ones after it. An evil alchemist is intent on using it to steal the land’s magic and dominate the realm. Only together, with the help of an even greater magic, can Celesia and the dragon stop this evil, or be bound forever by their curses.

David was born in beautiful downtown Burbank, California where his love for film inspired him to write. His works include the internationally published YA Fantasy Woven and The Undead Road: My Zombie Summer. An avid fan of science fiction and fantasy, David also has a soft spot for zombies and the paranormal. He now lives in the mountain West with his wife and four children. Find David - Blog, Twitter, and Amazon

Find The Dragon's Heart on Amazon and Goodreads

New Releases!

Finding the Perfect Mate by Stacy McKitrick

Finding the Perfect Mate just got way more complicated.

Find it at iTunes, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Google Play, Smashwords, and Goodreads

The Elusive by Pat Hatt

After thinking their long struggle had come to an end, Sally, Travis, and the others are thrust into more danger than ever before.

Find it on Amazon

How are you coping? Think you’ll enter the IWSG Anthology Contest? (Many of you have time to write now.) Who do you consider to be a really great villain? Has a bad movie adaptation ever inspired you? And if you’re doing the A to Z Challenge, good luck.

Special thanks to Tara Tyler for this badge and the prize in the mail:

The A to Z Challenge List Opens! Plus David Powers King and Zombies, RiffTrax, Baroness-Purple Review, New Book Releases, and Ninja News

A lot happening today, including sign-ups for the 2016 A to Z Challenge!

But first, David Powers King is here to talk zombies with you.

The Wild and Varied World of Zombies

Thanks for having me, Alex! I think something needs to be said about what has become of the zombie state of things. There’s so many different kinds of ghouls nowadays that it’s hard to keep track of them all. I mean, the mindless monsters got their start with voodoo magic, but the people under that spell weren’t actually dead. Still, the idea spawned into a new kind of creature when George Romero combined the voodoo zombie with vampires in Night of the Living Dead.

Since then, we’ve had all kind of interesting freaks! Resident Evil brought us mutating zombies, 28 Days Later brought us the Rage zombie, and The Last of Us gave us fungal, bat-like zombies (no wings, though—maybe it’s time to give zombies their wings!). Thanks to The Walking Dead, zombies are now more mainstream than ever, and it’s picking up new fans. What kind of zombie have I produced in The Undead Road? You’re invited to learn more about Vectors on Amazon, where you can find the ebook free on KindleUnlimited. It’s also available now as a paperback!

Thanks again for having me, Alex. Be safe out there, my friends!


The Undead Road: My Zombie Summer: Part One by David Powers King
Nothing brings the family together like a zombie apocalypse…
Find The Undead Road: Amazon, Amazon CA, Amazon UK, and Amazon AU

RiffTrax!

RiffTrax is rebroadcasting one of its films from last year, The Room, this Thursday night! Check the site for details and for a theater near you.
It’s supposed to be one of the worst films ever, and since I missed this one last year, I’m looking forward to seeing the guys destroy it with snarky humor.

Album Review

Baroness – Purple
This album came out in 2015. This band had fallen off the radar for me until I read an article about a bus accident…
The tour bus was between two English towns when it left the road and fell thirty feet. Two of the members fractured their vertebrae and were forced to leave the band.
The lead singer used his lengthy rehab time to rededicate himself to this album, and the results are amazing.
They’ve compacted their work – it’s less prog and more just great rock songs. The sound is stripped down, and every song is accessible and catchy as hell. I can’t pick a favorite because it changes from listen to listen.
One of the best rock albums I’ve heard in a long time. Highly recommended!

The Thing That Turned Me Anthology

Due out later this year, this anthology is about turning points and those things in life that motivate us to change. You can find a list of contributing authors at Stay Classy Publishing.

And yes! I am one of the contributing authors. I decided to go back, before CassaStar, and write about a turning point in Byron’s early life. So, if you enjoyed my Cassa series, you’ll get a chance to revisit…

Ninja News

C. Hope Clark, founder of the site Funds For Writers, is visiting the Insecure Writer’s Support Group today!

If you haven’t already (or you are already part of the monthly blog posting), don’t forget to sign up for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group’s newsletter! Our new admin, Chrys Fey, has some amazing guests and articles lined up for the first issue, due out February 24. Sign up HERE.

Don’t forget - the Lost and Found: Valentine’s Edition Blogfest takes place February 1. For details and to sign up, go HERE.

TF Walsh and a few other others put together a group called Romance Addicts Anonymous. If you are a lover of the romance genre, an author needing a place to share your work, or a reader looking for a new read, go HERE for details on this Facebook/Twitter/ Instagram group.

Sarah Foster is hosting the Muse Party Blogfest – Anti-Valentine’s Day Edition on February 15. Visit her POST for details.

New Releases:

The Galactic Outlaws Book One: The Outlaw's Prize by Susan (Gourley) Kelley
Find it at New Concepts Publishing

A Whale of a Tale by Pat Hatt
Find it at Amazon

The Morrigan’s Curse by Dianne Salerni
Comes out Tuesday, January 26!

A to Z List opens!

Welcome to the seventh annual A to Z Blogging Challenge!

Please read and follow the sign-up instructions outlined below so you sign onto the list correctly!

The brainchild of Arlee Bird, at Tossing it Out, the A to Z Challenge is posting every day in April except Sundays (we get those off for good behavior.) And since there are 26 days, that matches the 26 letters of the alphabet. On April 1, blog about something that begins with the letter “A.” April 2 is “B,” April 4 is “C,” and so on. You can use a theme for the month or go random – just as long as it matches the letter of the alphabet for the day.

The A to Z Challenge is a great way to get into the blogging habit and make new friends. For more details and its history, go HERE

We recommend short posts, turn off Word Verification, and visit five blogs (or more) a day beginning with the one after yours on the list.

Blogs must be on an open platform – no Tumblr, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. – and comments enabled. Please make it easy for visitors to comment on your blog.

To streamline legitimate blogs from advertisement blogs, the Co-Hosts will be visiting each blog on this list throughout the Challenge. Once the Challenge begins, blogs showing no activity or those that miss five days in a row will be removed.

Please note your blog name and number in all correspondences. Remember that as blogs are removed, your number WILL change.

There are categories for those looking for like-minded blogs. Select ONE category code and enter it after your blog’s title/name. The code applies to your blog, not your theme for the Challenge and is purely optional. See the first few blogs on the list for examples. However, if your blog has adult content, you MUST mark it (AC) or it will be removed from the list. Codes are as follows:

ANIMALS: (AN)
BOOKS/REVIEWS: (BO)
CRAFTS/ART: (CT)
CULINARY: (CU)
EDUCATION/SCIENCE: (ES)
ENTERTAINMENT: (ET)
GAMING: (GA)
HISTORY/MYTHOLOGY: (HM)
HUMOR: (HU)
LIFESTYLE/SOCIAL: (LS )
PERSONAL: (PR)
PHOTOGRAPHY: (PH)
POETRY: (PO)
TRAVEL: (TR)
WRITING/STORYTELLING/MEMOIR: (WR)
ADULT CONTENT: (AC)

Be sure to grab the badge and display it in your sidebar so we know you are participating and link to the A to Z Challenge Blog.

For more information we recommend you follow the A to Z Challenge Blog and the hosts:

Arlee Bird @ Tossing it Out
Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh
Heather M. Gardner
Jeremy @ Hollywood Nuts
AJ Lauer
Pam @ An Unconventional Librarian
Damyanti Biswas @ Daily Write
Zalka Csenge Virág @ The Multicolored Diary
Joy Campbell @ The Character Depot
John Holton @The Sound of One Hand Typing

We also have a Facebook Page and Pinterest Site
Email address is contactatozteam@gmail.com
Twitter hashtag is #AtoZChallenge and Twitter id is @AprilA2Z

I’d also like to announce my awesome Ninja Minions - Rhonda Albom, Nicola Burggraf, Nilanjana Bose, Susan Gourley, Mason Canyon, Stephanie Faris, Yolanda Renee, Ann Bennett, Patricia Lynne, Donna McDine, JA Scott, and Melanie Schultz. Thanks, you guys rock!

Sign up below and join us for a month of alphabet fun!
(When you sign up, you agree to receive A to Z related emails.)



Who’s ready to hit the Undead Road? Willing to give Baroness a try? Signed up for the IWSG newsletter? Ready for next Monday’s blogfest? Picking up some new books? And are you joining us for the 2016 A to Z Challenge…?
Next week, I have some great guests, plus reviews for a couple cool television shows. (Sorry, too late Sunday night to write a review on the new X-Files mini-series. Way past my bedtime!) And don’t forget, next Wednesday is IWSG post day.

A to Z Challenge – G – Cult Classics: Galaxy Quest, Ginger Snaps, Guns N Roses, and More! Plus the Scavenger Hunt is On…

Today my tour stop is with author David Powers King as I help him out with one of the characters from his book, Woven!

A to Z Challenge – Cult Classics – G

Movies-Music-Sci-fi Book-Bloggers-Dragon Term

Movies –

Ginger Snaps
A small, low budget film with a unique twist on the werewolf theme. This 2000 film won several awards and spawned two sequels.

Galaxy Quest
The perfect parody of Star Trek and its fans, done with love and humor. This 1999 film starred Tim Allen and Sigourney Weaver and won both Hugo and Nebula awards.

Music –

Guns N Roses - Appetite For Destruction
This album put them on the map and almost a year after its release. Topping the charts in 1988, this album went eighteen-times Platinum and was ranked as one of the best albums ever by many.

Science Fiction Book –

Gateway by Frederik Pohl
Serialized in Galaxy before being published as a book in 1977. It won the Hugo, Locus, Nebula, and John W. Campbell Memorial Award.

Bloggers –

GB Miller at Father Nature’s Corner
You want an author with snark and attitude? One with a twisted sense of humor and not afraid to tell it like it is? Then GB is your guy.

Deniz Bevan at Girdle of Melian
Want to know what it’s like to live in Switzerland? Want to follow an author’s account of life abroad, writing, blogging, and everything in between? Then Deniz is that author! (She also made Mini-Alex's awesome scarf!)

Dragon of the Stars Term –

Graham –
The father of Aden, Graham Pendar is a Duke and the owner of numerous processing plants that turn sea kelp into food, energy, and Ceteroll. He has hopes his son will one day follow in his footsteps in business and perhaps become a member of the Council.

Dragon of the Stars is out now!
Check out the site What Are the Kargrandes? for clues as to how they tie into the story.

And there is a Scavenger Hunt! An autographed copy of the book, bookmarks and swag, and $20.00 iTunes gift cards to the winner. Just visit the sites below and leave a comment – where do you think Mini-Alex is in the photo? Open until midnight April 11 – winner announced here April 13. 

Now go!

Melissa Maygrove * Eva Solar * Father Dragon Al * Suzanne Furness * Karen Walker * Dianne Salerni * Christine Rains * Nick Wilford * EE Giorgi * Murees Dupe * L Diane Wolfe * Helena * Tyrean Martinson * Robin * Heather Gardner * Jo * Lynda Young * SL Hennessy * Toi Thomas * Lori MacLaughlin * Jess at Author Tracker, * Truedessa, * Annalisa Crawford, * Patricia Lynne, * Lisa at Flash Fiction, * Julie Flanders, * Julie Kemp Pick, * Nicki Elson, * Mark Koopmans, * Sydney Aaliyah!

Ninja News

Truedessa, who is participating in the Scavenger Hunt, posted the most amazing science fiction poem for Dragon of the Stars. She’s an awesome person, so please check it out. Thanks, Truedessa – that rocked my world.

Released last week:
A Body at Bunco, Myrtle Clover #8
By Elizabeth Spann Craig

Shannon Lawrence’s short story, Know Thy Neighbor, was just published in Under the Bed Magazine, Volume 3, Number 7






Fan of either movie? (We have to get out of here before those creatures kill Guy!) Like old school Guns ‘n’ Roses? Following those awesome bloggers? Did you read Truedessa’s poem? And have you found all of the Mini-Alexes yet?

Don’t forget to visit David Powers King!

Fantasy and Ghosts, Fantasy Movie Trivia, More or Less Science in Sci-Fi, Movie Reviews – Automata and Stonehearst Asylum, and Ninja News

Today I welcome authors David Powers King and Michael Jensen!

Fantasy and Ghosts: Combining Our Favorite Genres

Hello everyone, and thank you Alex for letting us “possess” your blog for a moment.

The top question we get asked is “Where did you come up with the idea for Woven?” It started as a dream Michael had years ago, getting crushed by a tree and becoming a ghost. When he shared this idea with me, I caught his vision right awake and asked if we could write a story together.

But we needed more than one idea. Thankfully we’re both super nerdy and had a wealth of inspiration behind us with such favorite movies/books like Stardust, Ghostbusters, The Princess Bride, Lord of the Rings, and then some, like one of my favorite ghost novels When Marnie Was There (btw, Studio Ghibli made a movie of it—geeking out—release it in the US already!).

We had to go even deeper than what we knew, so Michael and I researched everything we could find about fantasy stories that feature ghosts. We truly wanted to create something special that we had never experienced before, which manifested as an unlikely pair who set out on a journey to thwart death itself—besides playing a game of chess with him, of course (he cheats anyway).

If you’re writing, don’t just read/watch the latest, most popular story today and start writing in that genre. Read up on all you can find in that genre. Many gems and much inspiration awaits.

Mind your eggs, watch your threads, and get yourself Woven. It’s now available at any major bookseller. Thank you again for having us, Alex! You’re the best Ninja Captain ever.

Find David – Blog - Twitter - Goodreads
Find Michael – Facebook - Goodreads
Find Woven at Website - Amazon - Barnes and Noble - iTunes

Movie reviews

Automata
Antonio Banderas is an insurance agent investigating robots altering themselves and discovers a whole lot more.
You’ll see bits of Blade Runner and I Robot in this film. It’s a dystopian future and the outlook isn’t good.
Banderas is good in his role, but Melanie Griffin an odd choice in her part.
It all meshed together to make an interesting yet not great science fiction story.
Not quite recommended.

Stonehearst Asylum
A medical school graduate starts working at a mental institution and finds a horrifying situation.
Director Brad Anderson leads a stellar cast through an obscure Poe story.
This should’ve been spectacular, but it ended up just being interesting. (Seems I’ve seen a lot of ‘interesting’ movies lately.)
Watch for the great cast, and of course, for Kate Beckinsale.
But for a really great Anderson film, watch Session 9 instead.
Not recommened

Ninja News

Today at the Insecure Writer’s Support Group site we have none other than literary agent, Alexander Slater talking about foreign rights!

And thanks to everyone who visited my post on pros and cons of small publishers at the IWSG on Monday – and special thanks to all the authors who contributed.

Found this site courtesy of Medeia Sharif - Awful Library Books. It’s old, odd, and just plain bad books discovered at libraries.

New Releases:

Of Mist and Magic, the product of another collaborative music and words project put together by Samantha Redstreake Geary.
It features a lot of authors you know, so check it out on Amazon!

It's Not Just a Job by Al Penswasser
Find it on Amazon



And thanks for all of the Minion volunteers last week! Due to the fact I have a book coming out in the middle of the Challenge in addition to all the other insanity of the month, the co-hosts graciously excused me from tending a section of the list. In return, I promised to help them find Minions, so hopefully if you wanted to be a Minion, one of the co-hosts has already contacted you.

Heavy or Light Science in Your Science Fiction?

Susan Gourley had a guest post on Christine Rains’ site where she talked about balancing the elements in her romantic science fiction series.

Susan said:
Romance readers don’t want a long explanation of the physics needed for my hero and heroine to travel between solar systems and galaxies at warp speed.

You know what? I don’t think all science fiction fans want that either.

Now, there is high tech and hard science fiction that goes into the scientific details. And then there’s the other end of the spectrum, like space opera and adventure, that is very light on the science.

Since I write space opera, you can pretty much guess how much science I want in my science fiction. I don’t care how something works, I only want to know that it does. That doesn’t mean it’s not plausible or the author didn’t do his research. I just don’t want to read it.

How about you?

Movie Trivia

In honor of David and Michael’s Woven, we’re going for fantasy movie trivia. Name the actor or actress.

1 – Who played Erik in Erik the Viking? (1989)
2 – What comedian voiced Reepicheep the mouse in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian? (2008)
3 – Who voiced Hiccup’s father, Stoick, in How to Train Your Dragon? (2010)
4 – Who played Gimli In LOTR: Return of the King? (2003)
5 – Who voiced Draco the dragon in Dragonheart? (1996)

Answers Monday!

How many fantasy books have your read that feature ghosts? Seen Automata or Stonehearst Asylum? Want to learn about foreign rights? Know any of the trivia? And how much science you enjoy in your science fiction?

2015 A to Z Challenge List Open, What Are the Kargrandes, Share Your Thoughts Bloghop, and Ninja News

If you are a self-published author, you need to check out a new site called Reedsy. They connect authors with professional editors, illustrators, etc. They also have a blog packed with tips and information, and today I am visiting that site as a guest of Ricardo Fayet, co-founder of Reedsy. Please drop by!

Special thanks to those of you who took the time to listen to my guitar piece last week. You are greatly appreciated! If you missed it, I posted a snippet of me playing Marillion’s Easter.

Kargrandes Update!

New clue today at What Are the Kargrandes? Every Monday is a new piece of information about the Kargrandes from my upcoming book, Dragon of the Stars. Any ideas yet? Know how they are connected to the Dragon?

Sample Tweets for this week:

What are the Kargrandes? Third clue up this week- http://whatarethekargrandes.com/ #whatarethekargrandes @alexjcavanaugh

Can you solve the mystery – what are the Kargrandes? http://whatarethekargrandes.com/ #whatarethekargrandes #scifi @alexjcavanaugh

And in other book news, I’d like to thank Lily Eva Blake for her wonderful review of CassaFire!

Ninja News – New Releases

This Wednesday at the Insecure Writer’s Support Group site is none other than author Medeia Sharif! Want to know how she went from parting from her agent to four books in one year? Check it out Wednesday and find out.


Ashes Burn Season 1: Ashes Away by Tyrean Martinson
Comes out January 28 and you can pre-order it at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords.

Fade Into Me by Charity Bradford
Charity will be a guest here on February 9.

Woven by David Powers King and Michael Jenson
Comes out January 27!
David will be a guest here on February 11.

The Seventh Man by Lisa-Buie Collard
And you can enter to win a free book!

Evening of the Dragonfly by Mary Montagues Sikes

Twice in a Blue Moon by Cate Masters

Share Your Thoughts Bloghop

Hosted by Jamie Ayres to celebrate the release of 18 Thoughts, the third installment in the My So-Called Afterlife trilogy.

Each person participating will post a thought (belief) that has defined their life, their way of thinking. Post up to 18 if you’re feeling adventurous and post any time between Jan. 21 and Jan. 28. I’ll pick 2-3 winners each day.

I’m going to give you the one belief I live my life by:

I believe God rules and God reigns, His son Jesus Christ died for my sins, and I live under the tenets of grace, love, mercy, and forgiveness.

(And on a lighter note, I also believe speed limit signs are merely suggestions!)

The 2015 A to Z Challenge List is Open!

Please read and follow the sign-up instructions outlined below so you sign onto the list correctly!

The brainchild of Arlee Bird, at Tossing it Out, the A to Z Challenge is posting every day in April except Sundays (we get those off for good behavior.) And since there are 26 days, that matches the 26 letters of the alphabet. On April 1, blog about something that begins with the letter “A.” April 2 is “B,” April 3 is “C,” and so on. You can use a theme for the month or go random – just as long as it matches the letter of the alphabet for the day.

The A to Z Challenge is a great way to get into the blogging habit and make new friends. For more details and its history, go HERE

We recommend short posts, turn off Word Verification, and visit five blogs (or more) a day beginning with the one after yours on the list.

Blogs must be on an open platform – no Tumblr, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. – and comments enabled.

To streamline legitimate blogs from advertisement blogs, the Co-Hosts will be visiting each blog on this list throughout the Challenge. Blogs on the list showing no activity once the Challenge starts or miss five days in a row will be removed.

Please note your blog name and number in all correspondences. Remember that as blogs are removed, your number will change.

There are categories for those looking for like-minded blogs. Select ONE category code and enter it after your blog’s title/name. The code applies to your blog, not your theme for the Challenge and is purely optional. See the first few blogs on the list for examples. However, if your blog has adult content, you MUST mark it (AC) or it will be removed from the list. Codes are as follows:

ANIMALS: (AN)
ART: (AR)
BOOKS/REVIEWS: (BO)
CRAFTS: (CR)
CULINARY: (CU)
EDUCATION: (ED)
FASHION: (FA)
FILM/MOVIES: (FM)
GAMING: (GA)
GARDENING: (GR)
HISTORY: (HI)
HUMOR: (HU)
LIFESTYLE: (LI )
MEMOIR: (ME)
MUSIC: (MU)
MYTHOLOGY: (MY)
PERSONAL: (PR)
PHOTOGRAPHY: (PH)
POLITICS: (PO)
SCIENCE: (SC)
SOCIAL MEDIA: (SO)
SPORTS: (SP)
TRAVEL: (TR)
WRITING/STORYTELLING: (WR)
ADULT CONTENT: (AC)

Be sure to grab the badge and display it in your sidebar so we know you are participating and link to the A to Z Challenge Blog.

For more information we recommend you follow the A to Z Challenge Blog and the hosts:

Arlee Bird @ Tossing it Out
Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh
Jeremy @ Hollywood Nuts
Nicole Ayers @ The Madlab Post
Author Stephen Tremp
Heather M. Gardner
AJ @ Naturally Sweet
Pam @ An Unconventional Librarian
Matthew MacNish @ The QQQE
Zalka Csenge Virág @ The Multicolored Diary
S. L. Hennessy @ Pensuasion
C. Lee McKenzie @ The Write Game
Joy Campbell @ The Character Depot
Susan Gourley @ Susan Says
John Holton @The Sound of One Hand Typing
Lisa Buie-Collard, Author

We also have a Facebook Page
Email address is contactatozteam@gmail.com
Twitter hashtag is #AtoZChallenge and Twitter id is @AprilA2Z

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Dawn of the Apes Movie Review, Sharknado 2, Traditional Publishing Defined, and Ninja News!

Movie Review

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Amazing!

First, I have to address the special effects. This film blows away all competition. I completely forgot I was watching CGI apes. Expressions, movement, eyes – all beyond real.

As for the story, it is one intense ride! Every scene adds a new layer of intensity. No, it’s not a feel-good film. There are moments of great sorrow and anger. You can see both sides clearly and there are mistakes made by both.

The film sets a good pace. It invites you to discover and explore the world of the apes. And the world of the humans. You won’t be rushed through the action, nor will you be bored by the personal moments. And you will come to realize all it takes is one misguided idiot on each side to send the situation into a nosedive.

Andy Serkis deserves an Oscar for his performance. Yes, Caesar is CGI, but Serkis provided all of the facial and physical movements. It’s incredible what he achieves and conveys through the character.

If you want smart science fiction, powerful drama, or just a great story, this is your film. Highly recommended!

And - finally saw Snowpiercer Sunday night! Review coming. Also recommended!

Traditional Publishing Defined by an Expert

Anne R. Allen had sent me some great stuff regarding traditional publishers. But rather than post it here, I am going to send you to her POST from yesterday. Here’s a sample:

But most people in today's real-world publishing industry—on both sides of the self-publishing fence—agree on the definition of traditional/legacy publishing.

Here's a version of that from Writer's Digest: "Traditional book publishing is when a publisher offers the author a contract and, in turn, prints, publishes, and sells your book through booksellers and other retailers. The publisher essentially buys the right to publish your book and pays you royalties from the sales."

She also has a warning every writer should read about the activities of some subsidy presses. Check it out HERE

Ninja News

I’m over at the Insecure Writer’s Support Group Site today - Nine Great Tools and Programs to Help You Edit

Today’s Themes that Rocked the Challenge features Chrys Fey. Check it out at the A to Z Blog.

Available now - Lazy Worm Goes on a Journey by Rachna Chhabria

Elizabeth Seckman is hosting a blog challenge from July 15-31:
Write something readers want to read. No word limit, no guidelines. Your only prompt is: The year was 1865....

Sean McLachlan’s second book in his Toxic World post-apocalyptic series is now out - Refugees from the Righteous Horde.

Kyra Lennon is putting together a charity cat anthology on September 5. See here site for details.



Leovi is an abstract photographer, and his photos are just incredible. If you’ve never visited his site, you are in for a treat. He posted this one last week – it would be so cool to write a story based on the image.

“I want to be the explorer of your universe”

Cover Reveals!

SOULLESS (Book 2 in the Maiden of Time trilogy)
By Crystal Collier
Coming October 13, 2014

Alexia manipulated time to save the man of her dreams, and lost her best friend to red-eyed wraiths. Still grieving, she struggles to reconcile her loss with what was gained: her impending marriage. But when her wedding is destroyed by the Soulless—who then steal the only protection her people have—she's forced to unleash her true power.

And risk losing everything.

Woven
By David Powers King and Michael Jensen
Coming January 27, 2015

Sharknado 2

Yes, the rumors are true – Sharknado 2 is coming soon!



Anyone else see Dawn of the Apes? Read Anne’s post yesterday? Excited about the new books? And who’s up for a play-by-play of Sharknado 2…?

Be sure to check out my post at the IWSG site and the post at Anne R. Allen’s!