Ninjas vs. Decendants – Jessica Therrien, Mini-Alex and Kate, How to Date a Nerd, and Ninja News

Today I welcome author Jessica Therrien! We became friends last year when we discovered her first book, Oppression, was to be released on the same day as my second, CassaFire. She’s here to talk about her second book, Uprising, and Ninjas!

Ninjas vs. Descendants – Why they’re both cool.

Let’s start with the facts.

Facts about ninjas (per Real Ultimate Power)
1. Ninjas are Mammals
2. Ninjas fight all the time
3. The purpose of a ninja is to flip out and kill people (only the bad guys of course)

Facts about Descendants
1. Descendants are also mammals
2. Descendants live 500 years and are descendants of the Greek gods
3. The purpose of a Descendant is to be super badass

Weapons:

Ninjas use swords and ninja stars to fight.
Descendants use their supernatural powers.

My point is, just like ninjas, Elyse and her fellow Descendants are super awesome.

Okay, okay… in all seriousness, one of the best parts about writing a paranormal romance is writing about characters with super powers. Nothing is too impossible, which makes for fun writing. Descendants don’t have your everyday super powers, though. Each ability is derived from the Greek god’s bloodline they’re descendant of. Sometimes it’s a bit of a challenge to come up with abilities for certain “gods.” Whenever I’m feeling uninspired, I do a little digging and try to come up with creative power ideas for my characters. Below is a list of some of my characters and their abilities. The complete reference guide will be published in the back of Uprising.

Thanks for having me on your blog, Alex! Here’s to Ninjas & Descendants joining forces
 

Name               Bloodline    Ability

Iosif                   Metis           The ability of intuition

Nics                 Nix             Ability to manipulate light & create darkness/invisibility

Sam                  Dionysus     The ability to change liquid to wine

Paul                  Hermes        Messenger—Flight

Rachel               Iris              Messenger—Flight (changes form)

Officer Gomez    Pasithea      The ability to make others feel relaxed

Cearno              Comus         The ability to make food and drink with extraordinary flavor

Christine            Hegemone   The ability to conjure plants and trees from the earth

Mr. Williamson   Helios          The ability to mimic daylight/sunlight

Unnamed           Tethys         The ability to draw water from the ground

Unnamed           Astraeus     The ability to create the illusion of stars

Mr. Gransky       Hecate        The ability to move objects using telekinesis

Helen

(Ms. Stanzic)     Chronos      The ability to stop time

Aaron                Clotho         The ability to revive the dead before the spirit transcends

Ian                    Homados     The ability to amplify or impair hearing

Hannah             Mnemosyne The ability to erase memories with her blood

Uprising (Children of the Gods #2)
Paranormal Romance

Elyse has been in hiding for most of her life. Only now she’s hiding with William, and she knows who she’s hiding from. The Council wants a child Elyse and William have yet to conceive, a child who will be the next oracle, and who will provide the final piece to a plan Christoph has been organizing for years…

Find Uprising - Amazon Barnes and Noble Goodreads
Find Jessica - Website-Blog Twitter Facebook Goodreads

Cover Reveal

How to Date a Nerd by Cassie Mae (An awesome nerd herself!)

Zoe has a great pair of legs, perky boobs, and wears exactly what she needs to show it all off. She works hard for the easy sleazy ‘you only wish you were me’ reputation, burying who she really is—an all-out nerd…

Add to Goodreads HERE

Ninja News

Saw this at Jeff Hargett’s site – maps that show the difference in pronounciations and word usage in America at Business Insider. How do you pronounce pajamas or crayons?

The final book in Lyyn Rush’s trilogy is out – Violet Storm. Congratulations, Lynn!


It was suggested that the name Insecure Writer’s Support Group has a negative connotation, and perhaps I could change it to something more positive. The group is almost two years old now, and we’d have to change the logo, hashtag, links, etc. It was established for insecure writers – would it be weird to say Secure Writers? (Like Non-Alcoholics Anonymous?) What does everyone think? Come up with something new or stay the course?

Milo James Fowler is the featured poet in Scifaikuest. Congratulations, Milo!

Chocolate lovers! Saw this over at Edi’s Book Lighthouse - Awesome and Weird Chocolate. Dark chocolate everything, from steampunk to skulls and shoes to clothes!

And thanks for all the supportive and kinds words Friday – you guys rock!

Mini-Alex

Mini-Alex wanted to show his appreciation to Roland Yeomans for sending the autographed picture of Kate Beckinsale.



He’s in Heaven! 



Think Ninjas and Descendants are both cool? Picked up Jessica’s second book? Do you know how to date a nerd? Do you say soda, pop, or Coke? In the mood for chocolate? Or are you just counting down the days to Man of Steel…?

And I’ll be gone the middle of this week on business. (Yeah! No, not really.) Since my Internet time will be limited, I’ve elected not to post on Wednesday since I won’t be able to visit everyone who would visit me. Friday it will be business as usual though. And you won’t want to miss my guest – she’s sold 300,000 of her self-published books!

Ninja News, Book Announcements, November Movie Preview, and I’m in Southern Writers Magazine!!!

Ninja News

I’ve been sitting on this news for a while, but I was interviewed by Sylvia Ney for Southern Writers Magazine - and the November issue came out yesterday!! My first major magazine. Whoa. Nope, never planned ANY of this when I started writing. Thank you again, Sylvia! If you’re interested, you can check it out HERE.

Cherie Reich has two books available now – her novella Nightmare Ever After and a short story in Spells: Ten Tales of Magic. That book also features a story from Jeff Hargett. Congratulations, both of you!

Susan Oloier’s new book is now out – Outcast. Congratulations, Susan!

Don't forget next Wednesday is the next posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group!

L. Blankenship has a new book available today – Disciple: Part I!

The saints favor her, else-wise a peasant girl like Kate Carpenter would never be apprenticed to the kingdom’s master healer. But her patron saint also marks her ready for the duty of tending to a mission that must cross the ice-bound mountains…

Find the book here: Official Blog, Amazon Kindle, Amazon Paperback, Kobo, and Goodreads.

Congratulations, L. Blankenship!

Laura Diamond has a new book out – New Pride!

“NEW PRIDE was born from my upcoming novel, SHIFTING PRIDE (coming December 7, 2012!). In SHIFTING PRIDE, the main character, Nickie, searches for her missing father, Richard…and NEW PRIDE is all about Richard’s journey to independence and new love.”

A shape-shifter without a pride, Richard Leone strikes a tenuous friendship with power hungry, Derek, from an unstable, rogue group…

Find Laura: Blog, Website, Twitter, Facebook, and Amazon.

Congratulations, Laura!

And for those of you still wondering about the big event that will take place December 10-12 – trust me, it’s like nothing you’ve seen before. Be watching November 19 for the announcement. 

 November Movie Releases

Here are the upcoming movies for November! I’ve thrown in a few DVD releases as well. As always, descriptions courtesy of the IMDB. Snarky comments by me.

6 - DVD - Arthur Christmas – Fun and cute.

9 -

Skyfall
Bond's loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.
Director: Sam Mendes
Stars: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Naomie Harris, Judi Dench
It’s already shattered records in the UK – this is a MUST see!

Lincoln
As the Civil War continues to rage, America's president struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield and as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on the decision to emancipate the slaves.
Director: Steven Spielberg
Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tommy Lee Jones, John Hawkes
Every month has a Gordon-Levitt movie – he’s one hard working dude!

DVD - The Amazing Spiderman – a MUST purchase on Bluray 3D!

13 - DVD – Brave – Looking forward to finally seeing this one.

20 - DVD - The Expendables II – Stupid fun and I have to see just how stupid!

23 -

Life of Pi
The story of an Indian boy named Pi, a zookeeper's son who finds himself in the company of a hyena, zebra, orangutan, and a Bengal tiger after a shipwreck sets them adrift in the Pacific Ocean.
Director: Ang Lee
Stars: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Adil Hussain, Tabu
I’ve never read the book, but it explores spirituality in way that can be appreciated by any faith. Coupled with the amazing visuals in the trailer, that’s all I need to know! Another must-see.

30 -

Killing Them Softly
Jackie Cogan is a professional enforcer who investigates a heist that went down during a mob-protected poker game.
Director: Andrew Dominik
Stars: Brad Pitt, Ray Liotta, Richard Jenkins, Scoot McNairy
A good cast. Will wait for reviews…


Excited about the new releases? Still wondering about December 10-12? As surprised as I am about Southern Writers Magazine? And what movies are you looking forward to this month?

IWSG Reflections – One Year, Comments, & Interesting Topics; Ninja News; Ninja Answers; and Music Trivia

Wednesday’s participation in the Insecure Writer’s Support Group one year anniversary post was incredible! Just when I think it can’t get any better, you guys blow me away with your posts and comments. I managed to visit almost two hundred blogs on Wednesday (thanks to my weekly work meetings being moved to Tuesday) and hit many more on Thursday.

I never imagined the IWSG growing into something so awesome. Your comments of appreciation mean a lot to me.

There were some great topics, a couple of which I’ll share here and you can add your thoughts.

Author branding for marketing purposes
Crap, do I have a brand? Is it like a platform? Consistency in my blog or my writing? I’m the Ninja Captain and I write science fiction–space opera. I am here to entertain you. Beyond that, no clue what it means.
Do you have a brand? Any idea what mine is?

Writing for posterity, prosperity, or something else
I doubt many of us really write for the second item, although it’s a nice bonus sometimes. Writing for posterity? Sure it would be cool if my books became epic movies and were around for years. But I won’t kid myself. I write to entertain. If you enjoy the ride, then that’s all that matters.
Why do you write?

When your work is compared to others
I’m all right with that. My books remind you of Star Wars, one of the biggest science fiction movies of all time? Yes, I was influenced by that film – I’ll take it! (I still remember Clarissa’s review of my first book – “I was expecting Dune and I got Star Wars – and I love Star Wars!” Yeah, that put a big smile on my face.) Some people have said my first book has the same essence as Ender’s Game. Considering the popularity of that book and the upcoming movie, that is really awesome. And no, I’ve never read it. (Although CassaStar was right below it for a while on the Amazon best seller chart, which was really cool.) To me that just means more people will relate to and enjoy my books, so I’m good with it.
Is your work compared to other things?

You know, I just realized my answer to all three is that I’m here to entertain and amuse…

Ninja News!

Big thank you to everyone who left words of encouragement for Roland Yeomans and/or purchased his books. You guys rock!!!

Jeremy Bates’ new book, The Taste of Fear, is due out October 23 – but you can download it from Amazon for the Kindle now. Congratulations, Jeremy!

Nick Wilford is trying to raise awareness of the lack of adequate provision of specialist further education in Scotland. He’s working on a campaign to get his stepson, Andrew, who has cerebral palsy, in a specialist college. He’s offering critiques in exchange for items donated for the auction. Check out the auction HERE, like the Facebook page HERE, or visit his stepson’s BLOG for more information. Good luck, Nick and Andrew!

Since Wednesday’s post was already overflowing, I didn’t get a chance to thank Jeff at Strands of Pattern for featuring my guest post on blogging last Friday and for all of you who left a comment. You guys are awesome.

And finally, we have another billion dollar movie! The Dark Knight Rises now resides at 1.01 billion dollars and just ahead of The Dark Knight. Anyone care to guess what the grand total will be?

Ninja Questions

A couple more for you…

Tracy Jo asked: .Alex, how about how old are you?
I was born in 1964. You guys do the math.

Nancy asked: Do you have children?
No and not a chance it’s happening now!

Tyrean asked: Do you spend more time writing or playing guitar?
When I’m not working on a book, I definitely play my guitar more often.

Music Trivia!

Lead singer edition!

1 – Three singers have fronted Van Halen – name them.

2 – Joe Satriani, one of the best guitarists in the world, is known for his guitar instrumental albums, but he actually sang lead vocals for several songs on which of his albums?

3 – Care to take a stab at naming all the lead singers for the band Rainbow?

4 – In 1999 the band Fear Factory did a cover of the 1980 song, Cars, and it featured a guest appearance by the original singer/songwriter – name him.

5 – And now here’s an easy one! Name the lead singer of Rush.

Did you enjoy Wednesday’s posting for the IWSG? Do you understand branding? Know why you write? Mind comparisons? Believe my answers? And do you know any of the movie trivia?

Ninja News, Movie Trivia, and Giving up Blogging

Jeff Hargett at Strands of Pattern has been featuring an August is Awesome series. And guess what? I have a guest post with Jeff today! Jump over to Strands of Pattern for my take on blogging.

Ninja News!

Don’t forget, next Wednesday is post day for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group.
 
Prayers for Roland Yeomans and others who live in and around New Orleans.

Big thank you to Jeremy Bates for his awesome review of CassaFire!

I was tagged by Michael Offutt for the Be Inspired meme. I think this is the third time I’ve been tagged. As you’ve probably noticed, I don’t do memes, but I will answer one of the questions:

Tell us anything that might pique our interest in your book.

CassaStorm - Twenty years have passed, and now Byron's struggles include intergalactic war, ancient aliens, and his own son.
Yeah, that last one really messes with his head. Heck, it would mess with MY head!

With Labor Day on Monday, I won’t be posting until next Wednesday. But the Ninja will be lurking…

More Ninja answers:

From Rusty Webb - How about, what's your hat size? No, that's too lame of a question. I need something more grand. What's your favorite Flinstone? Still no. Lessee, could you ever dunk a basketball?
Hat size – no idea. Favorite Flintstone – Betty. Dunk a basketball – yes!

From Karen Walker - And yes, I'd love to learn a bit more about Alex, the man. What I know so far is so wonderful.
Thank you, Karen! Well, to keep in line with the wonderful part, I’ll tell you that I adore my wife. She is smarter, sexier, and more amazing now than the day I met her. I am one lucky dude.

Giving up Blogging

Recently I saw a post about bloggers quitting due to negative response. They were book bloggers, dealing with angry authors, trolls, and a general dissatisfaction with what they were doing.

The question – have you ever thought about quitting?

While this Ninja has thought about the day I won’t be able to maintain the same pace I do now, I’ve never thought about quitting. And not just because I’m an author with at least one more book in me.

I refuse to quit on my blogger buddies.

Why you keep coming here, I don’t know. But you do! And to quote the original Spiderman – “With much power comes much responsibility.”

Why do I continue to blog? Because of YOU.

Some of you go through things that just amaze me. You persevere. You don’t give up. And eventually, you succeed.

I want to be here when you succeed. To share your triumphs with the world. And since the Ninja Army is so huge now, I know I can share it with a lot of people.

This blog long ago ceased being about me. It’s about YOU. Someone this week commented that I was Superman and that I needed to reveal Clark Kent. But neither really matters. What matters to me is YOU.

I never set out to be an author. I never thought I’d have an online presence, let alone that it would grow to its current state. I am humbled by the amount of people who leave comments here every week. You keep me going. You make me want to do better. You are a great blessing in my lfe.

So this is to let you know, this Ninja is NOT quitting!

Movie Trivia!

Two actors – name the movie!

1 – Sylvester Stallone – John Lithgow

2 – Kevin Costner – Gene Hackman (two answers)

3 – John Cleese – Jamie Lee Curtis

4 – Emma Thompson – Andy Garcia

5 – Andrew Dice Clay – Wayne Newton

6 – Alec Baldwin – James Earl Jones

Ready for the IWSG? Have you been tagged? Know the answers to the movie trivia? And have you ever thought about quitting? What keeps you going?

Don’t forget to visit Strands of Pattern!