Showing posts with label Dragon’s Destiny. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dragon’s Destiny. Show all posts

Monday, September 14, 2015

The Martian Reviewed, Godzilla and King Kong, America’s Got Talent, Iron Maiden and Muse Album Reviews, and Ninja News!

Entertainment News

The upcoming film, The Martian, was just reviewed at the Toronto International Film Festival.
According to JoBlo’s site -
As such, The Martian really is terrific family entertainment. There's plenty of action – including excellent use of 3D and tons of humor, but the absolute best thing is how inspiring a tale it winds up being. It's nice to see a big studio flick that aims for optimism and certainly it feels like a crowd-pleasing hit waiting to happen. Even if you're burnt out on space movies – this is a trip to Mars well-worth taking.
That’s good to know!


Caught this on several sites, including Deadline. Godzilla and King Kong might appear in a movie together.
Blastr had this to say -
Studio shake-up bringing Godzilla and King Kong together for eventual face off According to the report, the eventual team-up film will follow after Godzilla 2 and Skull Island, and everyone involved is working quickly to lock up all the necessary rights and contracts. Agreements are also being worked up with Japan-based Toho, rightsholder for Godzilla. For what it’s worth, Skull Island is set to open in March 2017 and Godzilla 2 is slated for July 2018. Following that trend, we’d imagine Godzilla vs. King Kong (or whatever they call it) will hit the big screen around 2019(?)
My thoughts?
First, they talk as if this will be a first. Um, anyone else remember 1962’s King Kong vs. Godzilla? (Note the image there.)
Second, it should be a short film. Godzilla has atomic breath. Gorilla flambé in three, two, one…


America’s Got Talent
The show is heading into the final week of its tenth season. What’s amazing is there are six comedian and/or magicians remaining out of ten acts. Obviously, people are wanting to laugh more than anything.
While I’m still surprised Siro-A didn’t make the final cut, I’m placing my bets on Paul Zerdin, the ventriloquist. The dude is talented and hilariously funny!

Face Off
In its ninth season, Face Off is nearing the halfway point. If you’ve never watched an episode, check it out at least once. It’s fascinating how the contestants go from concept to finished creation in just three days.
Hard to tell who will win this one, as none of the contestants really stand out yet…

Music Reviews

Iron Maiden – The Book of Souls
Whoever thought Iron Maiden wasn’t relevant anymore hasn’t heard this new album. These guys have released one of their best albums in the twilight of their career.
There are many stand out tracks, including Speed of Light, The Great Unknown, and Tears of a Clown. (The last one is about Robin Williams and those who suffer from depression.)
If you don’t like Maiden, this won’t change your mind. If you do like Maiden, then rock on!

Muse – Drones
Here’s a band that I’ve always dug, but their pop and electronic influences never hooked me enough to buy an album. Drones definitely changed that for me.
Whatever you thought of Muse in the past, this is a rock album. Produced by the great Mutt Lang, this album has influences from Radiohead, Queen, Pink Floyd, and about a hundred other bands, all blended together to make a great record.
Check it out!


Ninja News

At the Insecure Writer’s Support Group site today, we are honored to have special guest, New York Times best-selling author, Ruth Harris! She’s discussing The Creative Habit, so stop by.

Today’s Themes That Rocked the Challenge feature at the A to Z Blog is on Elizabeth Mueller and her art, flower, and My Little Pony theme. Those three things together? You bet – go check it out.

If you missed it, Shady Dell posted Shawn and Gus from Psych competing in Rock Jeopardy – with Alex J. Cavanaugh Trebek hosting. And it’s hilarious!

Don’t forget the IWSG Anthology Contest is open until November 1! The theme is Alternate History/Parallel Universe and any member of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group is encouraged to enter – blogging (must post for the IWSG at least once in September or October) or Facebook member. Winners will be published in a royalty-paying anthology next year.

I’ve been asked to contribute to an anthology with the theme of ‘turning points.’ Still working on an idea and hope to plot it and begin writing by next weekend. Yeah, wish me luck…

And those of you who’ve read Dragon of the Stars, don’t forget the follow-up short story, Dragon’s Destiny, is yours for free. Just email me and tell me what happens to Aden at the then of Dragon of the Stars and which eBook version you need – ePub, Mobi, or a PDF.

Awesome new release!
The Amaranthine by Murees Dupé
Find it on Amazon (paperback), Amazon Kindle, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Scribed, Inktera, Oyster, Tolino, and Goodreads

The Affected BOGO is Upon Us…
Author Randi Lee is running a buy one, get one promotion for two of her books: purchase a copy of Randi Lee’s “Affected” between September 14—22, 2015 and receive a free eBook version of “Snap! A Quite Quick Collection.” To receive your free eBook, e-mail a copy of your receipt for the purchase of “Affected” to: randi.leeATmail.com.
Find Affected on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Powell’s, and Kobo

Anyone excited to see The Martian this fall? Think Godzilla vs. King Kong is a good idea? Watching Face Off? Fan of either Maiden or Muse? Entering the anthology contest? Read Dragon of the Stars yet? See a book you want? And who’s your favorite on America’s Got Talent…?

Monday, August 17, 2015

Dragon’s Destiny! Plus Movie News, War Movie Trivia Answers, Ninja News, Box Social Winner, and Internet Questions for Everyone…

Movie News

World Wide Box Office –
Jurassic World is now number three:
1 Avatar - $2,788.0 million
2 Titanic - $2,186.8
3 Jurassic World - $1,582.4
4 Marvel's The Avengers - $1,519.6
5 Furious 7 - $1,511.7
6 Avengers: Age of Ultron - $1,398.8
Other noteables:
34 Minions - $920.3
234 Mad Max: Fury Road - $373.1
299 Ant-Man - $332.5
333 Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation - $310.6

Only two movies have been number one at the box office this year for four weeks straight – Furious 7 and American Sniper.

A remake that should never be made…

Production continues to flounder on the remake of The Crow. According to the AV Club, yet another lead man departed this summer:
It was nearly four years ago that Bradley Cooper exited the project, after which the lead role was reportedly offered to notorious goths like Mark Wahlberg, James McAvoy, and Channing Tatum. Since then, the project drifted from Tom Hiddleston to Luke Evans to, finally, Boardwalk Empire‘s Jack Huston. Now, Variety reports, Huston is out too, the result of a “scheduling conflict.”

My wife and I recently watched the original film. There is absolutely no reason to remake it.

There is no way to recapture the mystical quality of the film. Ever. The creator of the graphic novel, James O’Barr, wrote it as a way to deal with the death of his girlfriend due to a drunk driver. That Brandon Lee would die on the set, and while engaged to be married, amplifies the powerful emotions this film captures.

Alex Proyas, who also directed Dark City, did an amazing job with the film. It contains so much atmosphere and the effects hold up well after over twenty years. Not to mention that the soundtrack is kick-butt.

I can only hope that this project continues to be sidetracked…

Box Social Contest Winner!

It's time to announce the winner of the box social contest!

Last week, I asked you to guess which box--red, blue or brown--contained the lizard. Everyone who guessed the correct box was entered into a drawing for a free e-copy of my new book, Precious Atonement.


The lizard was in the brown box!
For the record, I accepted brown, tan, bronze, cream, gold. If you didn't say red or blue, you got added to the list. ;)

*drumroll* And the winner chosen by Random.org is... J. E. Oneil!
Congratulations, Jeanne!!! :D

Thanks to everyone who played, and a big thanks goes to Alex for hosting me. Melissa Maygrove


Ninja News

Dianne Salerni is holding a cool giveaway! Win a Transitioner’s 16 Month Calendar — complete with 8 days a week! Open until August 31.

Denise Covey and Yolanda Renee have started up Write...Edit...Publish again. This month, it’s Spectacular Settings. See their sites for details.

Charity Bradford is hosting the Bold New Worlds Contest again for high school students. See her site for details.



Liesel K. Hill is hosting a great giveaway that includes a Kindle Fire HD.

New Releases!

The Box of Souls by Tanya Miranda
Available at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, iTunes, Smashwords, and CreateSpace
You can also enter the Goodreads giveaway.

Beyond Space Opera
Featuring Milo James Fowler


Movie Trivia Answers

War movies:

1 – Hugo Weaving, Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones 2011 – Captain America
2 – Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland 1967 – The Dirty Dozen
3 – Jude Law, Joseph Finnes, Rachel Weisz 2001 – Enemy at the Gate
4 – Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan 1995 - Braveheart
5 – Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender 2009 Inglourious Basterds

Dragon’s Destiny!

At the request of Truedessa, I have written a short story that takes place after Dragon of the Stars.

This short story is available for free to anyone who has read Dragon of the Stars! Just send me an email (alexjcavanaugh AT earthlink.com), tell me what happens to Aden at the end of Dragon of the Stars, and tell me what format you want – ePub, Mobi, or PDF file.

Thanks to everyone who has read Dragon of the Stars! It still amazes and humbles me. To think I never even wanted to be an author...



Questions!

And finally, just some Internet questions that really have me curious…

What compels you to put someone in your sidebar?
(I update mine once a month or so, and anyone who visits me every week, and I visit them, goes in my sidebar.)

Are you ever intimidated to leave a blog comment?
(I don’t think I’ve ever been afraid to leave a comment. We’re all just people after all…)

What other social platform would you recommend?
(I’m considering either Tumblr or Pinterest. Not sure which one.)

What’s the worst thing about Twitter?
(For me, it’s a toss-up between people who claim that can get you thousands of followers and those who constantly Tweet ‘Buy my book.’)

For those who have been around a while, what’s an aspect of blogging you really miss?
(I miss the variety. I used to have the most eclectic followers, and now it’s almost all writers and authors. I love you guys, but where did everyone else go?)


Do you think they should remake The Crow? Did you guess the brown box? Are you participating in Write...Edit...Publish? Get the movie trivia right? Want to read Dragon’s Destiny? And what is your opinion on the questions…?
And I will be visiting with friends later this week, so I won't be around Thursday through Saturday.