Curiosity Quills and the IWSG, Ninja News, Just the Right Time, Personal Values in Writing, and the December Movie Preview

I have the greatest honor of a guest post at Curiosity Quills today. Sharon Bayliss asked me to write a piece on the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Those of you familiar with Curiosity Quills know this is a big thing, so stop by there today for some history and to learn more about the IWSG.

It's up now!

And thanks for all the cheers for CassaStorm's acceptance by my publisher and schedulded release next September. You guys rock!

Ninja News

Jeremy Bates is holding a Christmas giveaway – twenty eBook copies of The Taste of Fear

Visit Roland Yeomans’ SITE to find out how you can win an autographed Ray Bradbury book! He also has this CONTEST going on with so much cool, signed stuff, it will blow your mind!

Sean McLachlan is giving away two copies of his book, A Fine Likeness. Sign up to win one at Goodreads.

Next Wednesday, December 5, is the next posting for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Livia and Tasha are helping with co-host duties that day. Thank you ladies! If you’re a writer and you’ve not yet joined the IWSG, I recommend joining us – it’s the most supportive, encouraging group you will ever find.

Just the Right Time

I am very stoked to announce that my dear blogger buddy, Robyn Alana Engel at Life by Chocolate, has a book out!

“It's Just the Right Time: a magical mixture of poetry and paintings for folks of all ages. It's not too late It's not too soon To watch the stars dance towards the moon. So begins this little jewel, featuring Robyn Engel's poetry and Robin Mead's artwork. "Just the Right Time is a blessing, a loving embrace with colorful, whimsical pictures and words. I can't wait to read these poems to my grandson and show him the beautiful, twinkly illustrations. You'll want to visit these pages again and again." -Susan Wooldridge, author of poemcrazy: freeing your life with words.

Buy it now at Amazon.

Robyn, congratulations!!! I am very excited for you.

Does Your Writing Reflect Your Morals and Values?

I don’t talk writing often (and with good reason) but a few posts lately got me to thinking about this one.

Does your writing reflect your morals and values?

Now, I’ll watch movies and read books with all sorts of vile characters in them. If the character redeems himself at the end, I’m good with it. But as far as my own writing, I can’t write characters like that. My moral compass won’t let me.

For example:

In CassaStar, Bassa comments that the women of Spaceport 89 are “pretty fast.” Let’s be real – thousands of men on a flagship get a day to relax on a spaceport. Think wild west – of course there are brothels! However, I was not about to show Bassa and Byron visiting one.

In CassaFire, you learn more about “bonding.” Cassan and Tgren women have the ability to “bond,” which means a permanent mental connection to their mate. Once a man and woman are bonded as mates, they are in effect “married.”

So yes, my own moral compass appears in my work, as I place great value on the sanctity of marriage.

(And I'd like to note that Byron does do things I would never do, and there are some immoral secondary characters. It isn't all pure!)

How about you?

December Movie Releases

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

7 -

Deadfall
A thriller that follows two siblings who decide to fend for themselves in the wake of a botched casino heist, and their unlikely reunion during another family's Thanksgiving celebration.
Director: Stefan Ruzowitzky
Stars: Eric Bana, Olivia Wilde, Charlie Hunnam, Sissy Spacek
Could be intense and Olivia Wilde is a bonus.


14-

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
A curious Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, journeys to the Lonely Mountain with a vigorous group of Dwarves to reclaim a treasure stolen from them by the dragon Smaug.
Director: Peter Jackson
Stars: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Andy Serkis
Are you kidding? I’m hitting the first showing! 


21 -

Jack Reacher
A homicide investigator digs deeper into a case involving a trained military sniper who shot five random victims.
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Stars: Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins, Robert Duvall
I’ve never read the books, but the preview was funny.


28 -

Django Unchained
With the help of his mentor, a slave-turned-bounty hunter sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner.
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Stars: Jamie Foxx, Don Johnson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington
Tarantino can do no wrong… And it’s a Western!



Any contests entice you? Ready for the IWSG next week? Do your values wind up in your work? And what movies look good to you?

Don’t forget to visit the awesome Curiosity Quills website!

Did I Notice Your Book Blogfest, Ninja News, and Are You A Depressed Writer?

Today is the Did I Notice Your Book Blogfest!

But before we dive into all the great new reads…

Ninja News

Today’s Special Challenge Participant Feature at the A to Z Blog is one of my very best friends on the Internet, the incredibly talented writer and artist – Rusty Webb! He posted a new illustration every day for the Challenge. Be sure to check out his awesome work and learn more about the man behind the insanity of an illustration a day…

Jeremy Bates is hosting the Halloween Hop Blogfest October 28-31. See his site for details and to sign up.

Kyra Lennon just revealed the cover for her next book, Blindsided!


Great news for Roland Yeomans! Second Avenue Second Hand Shop Anthology accepted his short story, PICTURE IMPERFECT and Open Doors 2 Anthology accepted his short story, THREE GOLDILOCKS AND A BEAR.

From Jeremy at Retro Zombie:

Howlin' Wolf Records & Jason Comerford present a 3rd season of 13 CHILLS: Commentary, PRIZES, and good ole October Mayhem. Leave a comment, read a little something interesting and win some prizes!

Lynn Rush’s new novel came out this week!

Violet Midnight, by Lynn Rush

New Adult Paranormal Romance

Let the Hunt begin…

Find it on Amazon Barnes and Noble, and Goodreads.


Congratulations, Lynn!

The Depressed Writer

Elise Fallson had an interesting post on Tuesday – “Writing: A Vocation of Unhappiness.” She asked “Do you think it's possible to become a good writer without enduring the bouts of internal turmoil and depression?”

I supposed authors are always portrayed as tortured souls, but are they all miserable? I won’t ever claim to be a really good writer, but I’ve enjoyed a pretty good life. I’ve always been even-keeled and right now I’m at peace with every aspect of my world. I don’t have high highs or low lows, so I’ve never sunk to the depths of depression. I’ll grumble through a first draft (as that’s my least favorite aspect) but nothing about my writing makes me miserable.

Am I the only one? Does that make me really odd? Or just really blessed? (Or is it a sign I really should pursue music instead? Wait, those people are supposed to be tortured as well. Crap.)

Did I Notice Your Book Blogfest!

Post about a book you’ve noticed. You can choose a book that you’ve read, something you saw on a blog or social media site, Goodreads, or a sales website. Anything that caught your eye because of a great cover, blurb or reviews, but DON’T tell the author that their book has been noticed. Instead, shout out on social media sites, and encourage others to do the same, until the author finds his/her book.

Leave a blog comment at Ninja Captain Alex’s BLOG or Ciara Knight’s BLOG when the author finds their book.

Only two rules:
1) You can’t post about your own book.
2) The book shouldn’t be on the New York Times or USA Today bestseller list.
This is your chance to shout out about a book that might not have been noticed by others.

Since I’m always checking Amazon rankings (especially Amazon UK, as both of my books have been bouncing around the top one hundred of science fiction for six months now) I decided to check out the books my readers have also purchased. That’s when I found this book:

Ep.#1 - "Aurora: CV-01" (The Frontiers Saga) by Ryk Brown

Description:

Episode 1

A world recovering from a devastating plague…
A brutal enemy threatening invasion…
A young man seeking to escape the shadow of his father…
A ship manned by a crew of fresh academy graduates…
A top-secret experimental propulsion system…
A questionable alliance with a mysterious green-eyed woman…

What destiny has in store for the crew of the UES Aurora, is far greater than any of them could ever imagine. And this is only the beginning…

All of the episodes have a four star rating and sound like great reads. The book can also be found at Amazon and Goodreads.

I noticed your book, Ryk! Now, will you notice that I noticed…?

Don’t forget to visit others participating in the blogfest:



Some great new books, news, and contests – anything strike your fancy? Are you a depressed or happy writer? (And if I’m the only happy writer then we need to throw a party or something!) Have you discovered any great books lately? Don’t forget – if the author notices that you posted about his book, leave a comment and let us know!

And don’t forget to visit Rusty at the A to Z Blog!

And come back on Friday for a very special HUGE party and celebration!

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, Eureka, WV, and How Do You Want to be Remembered?

Ninja News!

Today is another Special Participant Feature at the A to Z Blog. This time I interviewed author Marta Szemik. Her theme for the Challenge was “Changes Throughout History” and it was very cool.

Christine Rains is hosting a blogfest to celebrate her upcoming release, Fearless. Those of you who followed her during the A to Z Challenge know it’s an awesome story. For the blogfest, which runs August 7-9, she’s asking – What was Your Childhood Monster?

Jeremy Bates is hosting the Dog Days of Summer Blogfest from August 10-12. Visit his site for details and to sign up!

David Powers King hit seven hundred followers this weekend and he’s hosting a Magnificent Seven Giveaway! Congratulations, David!

Tips on acting professional as an indie author (or as a human being!) from Mel at Writings, Musings, and Other Such Nonsense.

Don’t forget the giveaway for CassaStar and CassaFire at The Writing Nut ends on July 31.

And since it is the last Wednesday of the month, you know what that means! Next Wednesday is another posting for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, and we have many new bloggers joining us.

No More Eureka

I’d failed to mention this last week, but after watching Warehouse 13 Monday night, I was reminded that another great series is gone – Eureka. It was one of my favorite shows and now it’s finished. No more mishaps at Global Dynamics. No more Fargoisms. And no more one-liners from Sheriff Carter, like the classic “Yeah, that can’t be good.” Soon the SyFy Channel will be nothing but wrestling…

Word Verification

I’m running into this a lot again, mostly on the sites of new bloggers. I believe word verification must be the default setting for comments. Unfortunately, the blog owner never sees it on his own blog. If you’re not sure or you want to turn it off, go to your dashboard, click on settings, and then click on posts and comments.

And on a serious note… (Because it’s not always about the snark)

How do you want to be remembered?

Many of us are writers and authors, and we want to be remembered through our books.

But when I really thought about it, my books don’t rate that high on my list.

I want to be remembered for being genuine. For being genuine in my support, attitude, and love for my fellow human being. I want to know I made a genuine, positive impact on this world, even if it’s just a little bit. I won’t always succeed, but it's what I strive to achieve. I want to get to Heaven and hear the words “Well done my good and faithful servant.”

How about you?

Ready for some blogfests and giveaways? Ready for the IWSG next week? Were you a fan of Eureka? Is your word verification on by accident? And how do you want to be remembered?

Be sure to visit Marta at the A to Z Blog!

Features, Ninja News, RaShelle Workman Rocks, Movie Trivia, and a Question

Continuing my special feature week at The Writing Nut - today is the interview! Want to know more about the Ninja Captain? Want to see why I claim to be a man of few words? Then visit Nutschell!

Double treat today – I’ve interviewed my buddy Andrew Leon of Strange Pegs at the A to Z Blog. Every other Wednesday is a challenge participant feature and Andrew poured so much into his theme of Fiction to Reality. Fascinating stuff so check it out!

Ninja News!

Win a print or eBook copy of Jeremy Bates’ latest, White Lies – go HERE for details or visit Goodreads. Giveaway open until July 24.

Carol Kilgore’s first book, In Name Only, launched Tuesday. Congratulations, Carol! Hope you are still on a high from all the excitement. May your sales go through the roof. You rock!

Rachel Schieffelbein revealed the cover art of an anthology coming out soon that features one of her stories. Congratulations, Rachel!

Nicole Zoltack’s short story, "A Land without Zombies," is going to be included in Spencer Hill's Holiday Magick anthology. Congratulations, Nicole!

Carrie Butler’s post on Writer Superpowers at Thirsty Thursday claims that Elana Johnson and I are the only writers to possess the superpower of Duplication. Thanks for the smile, Carrie! (And for the record, I really don’t have clones.)

Special Feature - RasShelle ROCKS!

You may have read RaShelle Workman's first novel in the Immortal Essence series entitled "Exiled." If not, check it out, it's free on amazon. If you have read it, and are anxiously awaiting book 2, "Beguiled,"or haven't read it, that's okay. She has a new series out. Blood and Snow.

 






The Blood and Snow series Summary:

"Lips red as rubies, hair dark as night. Drink your true love's blood, become the Vampire, Snow White." Every thousand years the Vampire Queen selects a new body, always the fairest in the land, and this time she's chosen Snow White. *******

Each volume is novelette length. Book 1 is "Blood and Snow," book 2 is "Revenant in Training," and book 3 is entitled "The Vampire Christopher." All three are now available.

Today is the big reveal day for book 3...

Ready! Set!
                    Here it is!!!

To purchase Blood and Snow, click HERE.

Revenant in Training (book 2), is FREE from July 11th through the 13th. Pick it up by clicking HERE. 

And, The Vampire Christopher (book 3), click HERE.

Twitter: @RaShelleWorkman

Facebook: RaShelle Workman Author

Website

About the author:  Lover of books, baking, and toffee-making. The author of Aligned: An Immortal Essence Short Story, Exiled, Sleeping Roses, and the BLOOD AND SNOW series. Honorary nerd with attitude.

Question of the Day

Anyone have an answer for this? There are two blogs that way back when I followed them, they had GFC in the sidebar. That has since been removed and no matter how many times I unsubscribe in Google Reader, they keep appearing again. (And in case you’re wondering, they are science fiction bloggers who never returned my follow and pump out blog posts like there’s no tomorrow.) Any other tricks I can try to permanently remove them from my Google Reader?

Movie Trivia!

Just a couple easy questions this time!

What is the highest grossing animated film of all time?

Three films are tied for most Academy Awards at eleven Oscars each – name them.

What song has unofficially been used in the most movies?

Whoa! So many cool new books. Which ones are you picking up? Any idea how to unsubscribe permanently? Know the movie trivia answers? Think my Writer Superpower really is Duplication?

Don’t forget to visit The Writing Nut.

It’s All About the Movies – Author Jeremy Bates, Battleship Review, and Movie Trivia Answers

Triple movie threat for you today! First off, I have the awesome Jeremy Bates visiting. (Yes, I know a lot of awesome Jeremys – must be the name!) Jeremy’s new book, White Lies, is now available in hardback, paperback, and eBook formats. He’s here today to talk movies and plot contrivances. Take it, Jeremy!

First off, I’d like to thank Alex for getting me a spot on his blog! This place was one of the first blogs I found when I started blogging last year, and it’s my number one go-to for some good laughs and an update on anything happening in the writer’s blogosphere!

I love movies—a theme on this blog—and it kills me when I see idiotic plot contrivances. I mean, if a writer writes something screwy, I can forgive him or her because it’s one person on a budget of zero dollars putting thoughts to paper. Nevertheless, it’s mind boggling when Hollywood can’t put together a coherent script. Seriously, if you have a budget of fifty million dollars, splurge a hundred grand on a couple ambitious writers to proof read the script and brainstorm ways to iron out the wrinkles. Anyway, here are my top three movie idiocies of 2012!

· The Cold Light of Day: the protagonist and sidekick are chasing the rogue CIA woman in a massively long car chase to get a suitcase. They finally crash into her to get her to stop. She says something like “Now I’ve had it!” and pulls out her gun and begins to chase them in an equally long car chase! I actually laughed out loud in the theater at this disastrous lapse of logic. 

· Dark Shadows: Right at the end, the little girl turns into a werewolf and quips: “I'm a werewolf, let's not make a big deal out of it...woof.” No lead up, not even a hint; a complete deus ex machina. Come on, Tim, you can do better than this! 

· ATM: Three people trapped in an ATM booth. One crazy guy. There’s only one thing I can say about the entire premise here: It’s three against one! Attack him!

Wow. It actually feels good to get that rant off my chest! If you have can think of any ridiculous plot contrivances, post ‘em below! Would love to read some good ones!

Thanks, Jeremy!

Check out his Website and purchase his book on Amazon

Movie Review

Battleship
This is nothing more than a B movie with a massive budget. It out-does Michael Bay for over-the-top everything. The storyline is dumb. When they are calling out the locations of alien ships (B-19) I about lost it. And the missiles the aliens fire look like Battleship pegs – I kid you not! But you know what? It is a hell of a lot of fun! Acting not required, although everyone did all right in his or her part. The ships and the aliens are cool and the special effects nothing short of impressive. Watching large destroyers blow up is really impressive. It’s not art. It’s just a fun ride. I enjoyed it! Leave brain at door before entering theater and you will enjoy!

Movie Trivia Answers

“The night is darkest just before the dawn. And I promise you, the dawn is coming.” – Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight

“You know, I used to think it was benign neglect, but now I see that you are intentionally screwing me.” – Dr. Grace Augustine, Avatar

“C'mon. Let's go see how much we're going for on eBay.” – Hamm, Toy Story III

“Certainty of death, *small* chance of success... What are we waiting for?” – Gimli, LOTR: Return of the King

“I may have had... briefly, mind you... stirrings.” – Jack Sparrow, POTC: On Stranger Tides

And I keep an eye on the Amazon.con rankings, but I totally missed the Amazon.UK rankings for CassaStar and CassaFire, both of which are in several top one hundred lists. Whoa! Thanks to Laura at the Daily Dodo, author of 100 Blog Prompts, for directing me to her review on Amazon.UK.

Following Jeremy or picked up his book, White Lies? Can you name any ridiculous plot contrivances? (He wants to know!) Have you seen Battleship? More likely to see it now? And did you know any of the movies? There were only ten possible answers not counting the Avengers…

Ninja News, March Movies, and an Interview

I was honored to do an interview with Bryan Thomas Schmidt, award-winning author of The Worker Prince. Bryan runs his own blog here, but my interview today is at Ray Gun Revival. He also read and reviewed CassaFire, giving it four stars. Thank you, Bryan!

For those of you who need help turning off word verification, J A Bennett posted very easy directions.

Laura Josephsen’s new book came out – Rising, Book I: Resistance – congratulations, Laura! She’s currently doing a blog tour so check her site for details.

Jeremy Bates has a book coming out in May and his publisher has twenty copies up for grabs at Goodreads. Congratulations on White Lies, Jeremy!

And now, here are your March movies! As always, descriptions courtesy of the IMDB. Snarky comments by me.

2 –

Dr. Seuss' The Lorax
Animation | Family | Fantasy
A 12-year-old boy searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams. To find it he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world.
Directors: Chris Renaud | Kyle Balda
Stars: Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Danny DeVito, Ed Helms

They veered away from the original story – why does that not surprise me?

9 –

John Carter
Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi
Transplanted to Mars, a Civil War vet discovers a lush planet inhabited by 12-foot tall barbarians. Finding himself a prisoner of these creatures, he escapes, only to encounter a princess who is in desperate need of a savior.
Director: Andrew Stanton
Stars: Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Willem Dafoe, Bryan Cranston

Please don’t let Disney mess it up…

19 –
DVD – Tintin

20 –
DVD – The Muppets

23 –

The Hunger Games
Action | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller
Set in a future where the Capitol selects a boy and girl from the twelve districts to fight to the death on live television, Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her younger sister's place for the latest match.
Director: Gary Ross
Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks

Not high on my list but I think a few people here are excited about this one…

30 –

Wrath of the Titans
Action | Adventure | Fantasy
Perseus embarks on a treacherous quest into the underworld to rescue Zeus, who has been targeted for capture by his traitorous son, Ares, and his brother, Hades.
Director: Jonathan Liebesman
Stars: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Rosamund Pike, Ralph Fiennes
It can’t suck as bad as Clash of the Titans. Can it?


Any of those movies strike your fancy? Still holding out for next month? More excited about The Muppets? Any other exciting news? (Yes, I am well aware of what happens next Tuesday!)

Don’t forget to check out my interview at Ray Gun Revival!