Just the Facts, Ma'am!

Lots of news today!

For those of you following or participating in the Rule of Three Blogfest this month, my book is one of the prizes. And today I have a short, Rule of Three interview at JC Martin’s site AND at Flash Fiction! They apologize the interview didn't go up sooner.I’d be honored if you popped over there after catching up on all the news…

Arlee Bird is preparing for next year’s A to Z Challenge and set up a blog for participants. If you intend to participate again next April, hop over to The A to Z Challenge and follow to receive all the latest updates.

Dave at Dave Wrote This is hosting The Noughties Blogfest on November 14. “List something from each year (2000-2009) that you loved.” Short and easy! yes, I’ve signed up for this one.

My extremely talented critique partner, Anne Gallagher, set up an author web page for her Regency romance books. The Lady’s Fate is her latest. I was given the honor of reading an excerpt from this book, and it was excellent. Yes, that’s right – this tough Ninja Captain read part of a Regency romance novel!


Susan Kaye Quinn’s new book, Open Minds (Book One of the Mindjack Trilogy), comes out on November 1, 2011.

Laura at the Daily Dodo is giving a away a signed copy of 21st Century Dodos – but you must answer a question first.

The Internet Book Fair is October 25 and Jessica Bell is on a mission to sell your books!



My buddy TS recently started a new job selling cabinets. He’s never been in sales before, so if you are in the market for cabinets, support a fellow blogger and visit The Non Review first.

I haven’t talked about movies in a while, so here’s a couple for you. Watched Green Lantern again this past week on DVD. As a fan of DC Comics, I still say it’s a lot of fun and a true comic book film. Also watched Insidious and it was very creepy and effective. However, (spoiler!) why do all horror films have to have a bad ending these days? It lost me at that point…

Wednesday I’ll have a special guest here to entertain you. He’s pure genius when it comes to writing and storytelling, so you don’t want to miss it!

And by popular request, I now present to you another creepy Chewbacca movie poster, courtesy of FreakingNews!
(Isis, just don’t look…)

Any great news I missed? Does that image creep you out? See a good movie recently?

Now you may visit JC Martin’s site or Flash Fiction for my short and fun interview!

GL, SyFy's SS, and Awesome Guest on Critiquing!

Before I unleash my awesome guest, I need to give you a movie update.

Green Lantern – It was fun! Glad I went. Dialogue was a bit cheesy at times, but hey – it’s a comic book. The film wasn’t Shakespeare, but thank God it wasn’t Catwoman, either. So while it wasn’t the perfection of either of Nolan’s Batman films, I still had a good time.

Swamp Shark – Entertainment Weekly gave it an F. Can’t imagine why. Oh wait, that’s because it SUCKED! At least Sharktopus was cheesy bad fun. I suffered through long enough to give you a short play-by-play this coming Friday. I better get some Hot Tamales for my effort…

Now to my awesome guest, Rusty Webb!

Rusty’s blog is The Blutonian Death Egg and he’s one of my amazing critique partners. The dude also has a great sense of humor. His critique comments are snarky, random, and sometimes go off on wild tangents – and fused with humor, they’re perfect! I couldn’t ask for a better critique partner.

I asked Rusty to share his thoughts on critiques…

Alex, the nicest guy on the internet, gave me the opportunity to talk for a few minutes about the art of critique. Funny that he would ask me, since the notes I sent to him after reading his most excellent sequel to CassaStar were rants about why I think Stargate ruined the SciFi (SyFy) channel and attempts to draw him into a debate about the physics of a fictional energy source. But ask me he did, and if there is anything I've learned in life, it’s to never turn down an opportunity, even if it’ll only serve to expose me as a fraud.


Once, earlier in my life, after much blood and pain, tears and heartache, I produced the greatest piece of written fiction the world had ever known. Still aglow with the glory of my achievement, I delivered it by hand to a friend to read and sat back to wait for the praise to come. They took a glance and said, “This is a mess.”


A piece of me died then. Right there, at that moment.


It wasn’t possible. I worked so hard, so long. How could they not see the brilliance? Did they even read it? Well, no. In fact, they said it was so bad they couldn’t get past the first page.


The first page? But the first page was awesome. Geez.

In the years since, I’ve managed to come to terms with the need for a critical eye – maybe not one so crushing as my first experience. But in the hands of someone you trust, someone who wants to help you make the story be the masterpiece you know it is, and not someone who wants to turn it into their story, or is venting because they’re frustrated by their own issues, then it doesn’t have to hurt so much.


Because here is the truth of it: Almost all the stories out there that any of us feel compelled to write are great, it’s just that sometimes the way we choose to tell the tale gets in the way. We emphasize the wrong parts, or forget to tell about why a character behaves the way he does. Writing is how we translate the story from the mind to the page – and sometimes it can lose something in the translation.


So here's to critiquing, the art of helping understand the human mind.

Rusty, if you understand Byron’s mind, you’re light years ahead of me.
Thanks, dude!

Any questions? Comments? Snarking? Thoughts on SyFy Craptastic movies?

Bowing to Pressure and MC Blogfest

First, I have succumbed to the pressure – I’m going to see Green Lantern this weekend! So many of you were disappointed not to get the Alex review – didn’t realize I was such a go-to guy for movies. Anyway, Cars 2 is not receiving great reviews over at Rotten Tomatoes (it was at 38% last I looked – really low for Pixar film) and since Cars was not one of my favorites, I decided to just go enjoy Green Lantern. Expectations set to low, brain dropped at the door, and ready for eye candy.

Don’t forget SyFy’s craptastic Swamp Shark this Saturday. I hope to have a play-by-play for you next Friday.

Will at Fatherhood and Other Common Terrors posted a review of CassaStar this week – thanks, dude!

And Monday expect an AWESOME guest to appear here! An uber-cool rocker. Okay, not a real rocker. Don’t expect John Sykes or Joe Satriani. But he is cool and here for your amusement!

Today is Elizabeth Mueller’s Getting to Know Your MC Blogfest. With prizes and everything!

Three questions for my main character, Byron. Three questions as he prepares to embark on another adventure. (The as-of-yet unnamed sequel to my first book, although I recently dubbed it CassaStar II: Electric Boogaloo. That probably won’t fly with my publisher though.) Three questions – and for once, he refrained from snarking:

1 What is your greatest fear?

Cassans like to refer to it as disconnected, although you might call it a fear of intimacy. I’ve been alone all of my life. I like my privacy. Always felt letting someone in was a sign of weakness. But now I feel a bit empty and alone. I’d consider letting someone into my life if I only knew how.

2 What is your biggest accomplishment?

Most would say it was my contribution toward ending the Vindicarn War, but that brings up too many painful memories for me. I would choose becoming a pilot instead. Few of my instructors thought I’d amount to anything and I was determined to prove them wrong. Now, not only am I one of the best pilots in the fleet, I’m one of the few who can teleport multiple times.

3 What is your biggest regret?

Losing my friend and navigator during the Vindicarn War. The crash wasn’t my fault, but I replay that scene over and over in my head, wondering if I could’ve done anything different. Considering where we landed, I should’ve died as well. Sometimes I wish I had. Bassa was my first real friend. He was like a brother to me. I miss his guidance and wish he could’ve joined me in exploration. At least I’m living his dream for him. But I'll never find another friend like Bassa...


Who’s watching movies this weekend? I know Melissa has some lined up! Taking the kids to see Cars II? Suffering through Swamp Shark? Or do you just have to check out the bat-shit crazy girl in Black Swan now?

June Movie Preview Extravaganza!

It's June First and time for a preview of films hitting the theater this month! (I know, where the heck did May go? No clue.)

All plot descriptions courtesy of the IMDB

June 3

X-Men: First Class
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Stars: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence
The Plot: Charles Xavier (aka Professor X) and Erik Lensherr (aka Magneto) are two young men discovering their powers. Banding together with fellow mutants to stop a threat to the world, a rift grows between the two forces, leading to the founding of Professor X's X-MEN and Magneto's Brotherhood, and the beginning of their eternal war.
I’ve enjoyed the X-Men films and look forward to this one. Early review say it’s one of the best superhero movies ever!


June 10

Super 8
Director: J.J. Abrams
Stars: Elle Fanning, Amanda Michalka, Kyle Chandler
The Plot: Ohio, 1979: when kids shooting a super 8 movie witness a train crash, their shock soon turns to feelings of suspicion and horror after disappearances and inexplicable events begin to take place in town.
Have you seen all the sneak previews? Extended previews? This looks awesome! Abrams is at it again.

The Troll Hunter - limited
Director: André Øvredal
Stars: Otto Jespersen, Robert Stoltenberg, Knut Nærum
The Plot: After learning that real-life trolls exist after years of being covered up by a government conspiracy, a group of Norwegian film students set out to catch the creatures on camera.
CineMarvellous gave this an awesome review and the trailer looks amazing. Plus, it’s showing next Wenesday June 8 on HDNet - I get to see it early!


June 17

Green Lantern
Director: Martin Campbell
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard
The Plot: When he's granted a mystical green ring that bestows him with otherworldly powers, test pilot Hal Jordan (Reynolds) becomes the first human to earn membership into an intergalactic squadron tasked with keeping peace within the universe. His mission: to combat an enemy called Parallax, which threatens to destroy the universe's balance of power.
I am a BIG DC Comics fan - can’t wait for this movie!


June 24

Cars 2
Director: John Lasseter Brad Lewis
Stars: Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Michael Caine
Studio: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The Plot: Lightning McQueen, pit boss Mater, and the rest of Lightning's crew enter the Race of Champions, a multi-national event taking place in Japan, Germany, Italy, France, and England.
It’s Pixar. It’s Cars. What else can I say? Pixar trailers never look great, but the movies always deliver.

What movie has your attention? Are you all geeked-out for superheroes and giant trolls?