Finding Dory and Conjuring 2 Reviews, New IWSG Feature, New Releases, and Movie Trivia

I am posting about world building at the Insecure Writer’s Support Group today!

And if you missed the sad news this weekend, actor Anton Yelchin was killed in a freak car accident. He was Chekov in the Star Trek reboot, Kyle Reese in Terminator Salvation, and Charlie Brewster in the Fright Night remake. Details at Blastr.

Movie Reviews

Finding Dory
Dory’s memory starts to come back and she takes Marlin and Nemo off to find her parents.
If the movie has a downside, it’s in the familiarity. The plot is similar to Finding Nemo and many of the elements are repeated.
That said, it’s still very engaging and funny. Lots of new characters, including Destiny the whale shark, Bailey the beluga whale, and Hank the octopus – who has the funniest lines and moments.
The short before the film – The Piper – has some of the most amazing animation I’ve seen since the movie Rango. Stunningly realistic.
Family fun – recommended.

The Conjuring 2
It falls just a little short of the first one, but it’s still a creepy good horror film.
The movie begins with the Warrens in the Amityville house, but soon they are off to England to evaluate a claim of possession and haunting.
The performances are what ground the film, especially that of the actors playing Ed and Lorraine Warren. The whole family did great, especially the young lady who played Janet, the one possessed.
The nun demon is one of the creepiest figures you will ever see.
One thing I really like about these films is that it’s the power of God that defeats the evil. I had a couple minor quibbles with the film, and one CGI moment pulled me out of the story, but overall it’s very effective and creepy.
And at least you’ll leave the theater feeling good!
Recommended.

New IWSG Day Feature!

We’re revving up IWSG Day to make it more fun and interactive.

Every month, we'll announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG Day post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.

Don’t forget to visit others that day to see their answers - Sign-up List.

The July 6 question - What's the best thing someone has ever said about your writing?

New Releases!

Murder Has A Price by Pat Hatt
Detective Hollerin has received his badge after a few short years with only one thing in mind, find the real person who was behind the murder of Torrie and Kurt Price and put them in the ground.
Find it on Amazon

And a big congratulations to Pat – this marks book number one hundred!

Paranormal Attractions boxed set
Featuring Phantasm by J.L. Campbell

A Faerie’s Secret by Rachel Morgan
Amazon, iTunes, and Barnes and Noble

Heart Stopper and Other Stories by Tamara Narayan
Find it on Amazon

When it Hooks You by Nicki Elson
Find it at Amazon

Movie Trivia Answers

1 – V.I.N.C.E.N.T. and B.O.B., 1978 – The Black Hole
2 – Evil Robot Us-es and Good Robot Us-es, 1991 – Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey
3 – Bishop, 1986 - Aliens
4 – Hector, 1980 – Saturn 3
5 – Gunslinger, 1973 - Westworld
6 – Dot Matrix, 1987 - Spaceballs
7 – Bubo, 1981 – Clash of the Titans
8 – Huey, Dewey, and Louie, 1972 – Silent Running

Have you seen Finding Dory or The Conjuring 2? Picking up some new books? Get any of the trivia right? And what do you think of the new IWSG feature?

Don’t forget to visit the Insecure Writer’s Support Group!

Christine Overcomes Challenges, Frostbite, CassaStorm and Mini-Alex, Wednesday Movie Quote, and the April Movie Preview

Overcoming Challenges – Christine’s Odyssey

Howdy. I’m glad you’ve stopped in. My name is Christine and although I’m only eleven, I’m what some adults might call precocious. A lot has happened in my life, some of it bad, but like my dad used to say, good things can result from the bad stuff that happens to us.

To help me celebrate overcoming my challenges, a great gang of authors have teamed up and will be giving away copies of their books. Sweet, yes?

For a chance to win a pair of the books listed, you can do anything included on the Rafflecopter on Joy’s SITE site or on Facebook. However, for those who’d like to win a $10.00 Amazon Gift Voucher, hop on over to the Jamaican Kid Lit Blog to enter for that. And you can find Christine's Odyssey on Amazon US

Anyway, I tend to talk a lot, so before I carried away, here’s my story:

Raised in a hotbed of arguments and fights, eleven-year-old Christine Simms is the victim of her mother's cruelty. A domestic dispute ends in tragedy, sending the family into a tailspin.

A shocking discovery sends Christine on a quest to find the stranger who left her behind in Jamaica. Determined to unravel the mystery of her birth, Christine uses every tool at her disposal and treads with courage where no child should.

Thanks so much for dropping in! I hope you win the novels of your choice. I should tell you that you get to choose books based on how the Rafflecopter does the drawing of the winners. So, if your name comes up first, you get to say which pack you want.

J.L. Campbell is a proud Jamaican, who is always on the hunt for story-making material.She writes romantic suspense, women's fiction and young adult novels. She is the also the author of Contraband, Dissolution, Distraction, Don't Get Mad...Get Even, Giving up the Dream, Retribution and Hardware (written under the pen name Jayda McTyson.)

Cover Reveal!

And this is so cool because it comes out the same day as CassaStorm!

Frostbite (Touch of Frost #1) by Lynn Rush
Date of Release: September 17th, 2013

Amanda gives a whole new meaning to cool…

Driven to write, Lynn Rush often sees her characters by closing her eyes watching their story unfold in her mind. Lynn Rush is a pen name that is a combination of two sources – Lynn, the first name of her mother-in-law, who passed away and Rush – since the author is a former inline speed skater and mountain biker. All of Rush’s books are dedicated to Lynn, her namesake, and a portion of the proceeds benefits cancer research and awareness.
Find Lynn and Frostbite - Website, Goodreads, and Amazon.

The Storm Has Hit!

And Mini-Alex is excited!

You just don’t know how amazing it is to hold all three books and realize they are mine. I never intended to write more than one book. I never intended to be an author! That the first two books are Amazon Best Sellers just blows me away. I really hope CassaStorm sends the series out with a bang.

Big thanks to all of you who’ve added it to Goodreads!

And very special thanks to Robyn for her post on looking for a few good men. Mini-Alex was stoked!

Wednesday Movie Quote

Today’s genre – horror.

So many great horror lines. I decided to go with a couple classics from Evil Dead II:

“Who’s laughing now?”

“Groovy!”

The Wednesday Movie Quote will be on hiatus through the A to Z Challenge.

April Movie Preview

Here are the upcoming movies for April! As always, descriptions courtesy of the IMDB. Snarky comments by me.

5 –

Evil Dead
Five friends head to a remote cabin, where the discovery of a Book of the Dead leads them to unwittingly summon up demons living in the nearby woods. The evil presence possesses them until only one is left to fight for survival.
Director: Fede Alvarez
Stars: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Jessica Lucas, Lou Taylor Pucci
The first one isn’t a classic like the second, but did we really need a remake?

Jurassic Park 3D
During a preview tour, a theme park suffers a major power breakdown that allows its cloned dinosaur exhibits to run amok.
Director: Steven Spielberg
Stars: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough
How can it possibly look more awesome???



12 –

Oblivion
A veteran assigned to extract Earth's remaining resources begins to question what he knows about his mission and himself.
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Stars: Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Andrea Riseborough, Olga Kurylenko
Fingers crossed, this looks like the winner for April.

42
The life story of Jackie Robinson and his history-making signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers under the guidance of team executive Branch Rickey.
Director: Brian Helgeland
Stars: Chadwick Boseman, Harrison Ford, Alan Tudyk, Ryan Merriman
Such a powerful story…



26 –

Pain and Gain
A trio of bodybuilders in Florida get caught up in an extortion ring and a kidnapping scheme that goes terribly wrong.
Director: Michael Bay
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Rebel Wilson, Mindy Robinson
Over-the-top Michael Bay and The Rock? I think you can see where this one is going…

Picking up Christine’s Odyssey? Looking forward to Frostbite? Marked CassaStorm “To Read” on Goodreads? (Mini-Alex would be so happy!) What’s your favorite horror movie quote? And what movies are you planning to see in April?

Friday will be last minute A to Z Challenge tips and the big reveal of my theme. Just might be my most ambitious one yet…