Insecure Writer’s Support Group, My Magic Summer, and Jeremy Hawkins Tribute

It’s time for another group posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic. If you’d like to join us, click on the tab above and sign up. We post the first Wednesday of every month. I encourage everyone to visit at least a dozen new blogs and leave a comment. Your words might be the encouragement someone needs.

The awesome co-hosts for the February 2 posting of the IWSG are Joylene Nowell Butler, Jacqui Murray, Sandra Cox, and Lee Lowery!

February 2 question - Is there someone who supported or influenced you that perhaps isn't around anymore? Anyone you miss?

My answer to that lies in the dedication today to Jeremy.

Thanks to everyone who participated in #IWSGPit – we were a trending topic!

We still need a couple more co-hosts for March and April – let me know if you are up to the challenge.

My Magic Summer Movie Influences

Today I welcome fellow author Brian Carmody as he discusses movies that influenced his new release, My Magic Summer: With the Moon Maidens.

Historically, I’m a screenwriter. It is only in recent years I’ve managed, extraordinarily, to actually start finishing novels, and, even more miraculously, find someone willing to publish them. But it’s hard for a zebra to change his spots, so I will acknowledge the cinematic influences on My Magic Summer with the Moon Maidens.

Summer of ‘42
Both Herman Raucher’s Summer and my own are bittersweet stories of first love steeped in nostalgia. I can’t condone the consumption of the former’s relationship, but nor can I deny the influence as a whole, and Michel Legran’s score is endlessly evocative.

Twilight
For the immersive romantic imagery and compelling portrayal of how frightening and fantastic a romance with a higher being can be.

Lady in the Water
M. Night Shyamalan's misunderstood fairy tale is a bedtime story, and you’re either on board or not. Personally, I found it very powerful, and the catharsis of The Healing was a big influence on my lunar climax.

A Monster Calls
In both our stories, a boy coping with his mother’s imminent demise receives guidance and wisdom from a supernatural source. But is it imaginary? Read our books and find out.

Finally, there is A Ring of Endless Light by Madeline L'Engle. This was adapted into a TV movie starring Mischa Barton and Jared Padalecki, but I have yet to see it for myself, so I cite the novel alone as an influence. Why the fantastical element of my Moon Maidens is more explicitly supernatural than Vicky’s possible ESP with the dolphins, both stories I would call magical realism that deal deeply with themes of faith, grief, and hope over the course of a very special season.

My Magic Summer
With the Moon Maidens
By Brian Carmody
Young Adult – Fantasy-Contemporary / Coming of Age / Boys & Men
Print ISBN 9781939844804 / EBook ISBN 9781939844811

Who are these moon maidens?

Summer of ’94 and Connor Whelan is excited to spend the last three months before his senior year with his uncle in Texas. Aware this trip is due to his mom’s cancer treatments, he still hopes this will be a season of magic.

He gets his wish when he encounters three magical women one night. Claiming to be from the moon itself, bewitching Iluna, flighty Eiru, and motherly Cassiopeia are about to make Connor’s last summer of childhood one to remember.

However, his interest in local girl Laura puts him in hot water with her tough boyfriend. His fascination with Iluna also confuses him. Will the moon maidens’ lessons about joy, wonder, and hope get him through this crazy summer?

An award-winning screenwriter and author, Brian Carmody is a dreamer, a wisher, a hoper, a prayer, a pretender and a magic bean buyer. He’s had moondreams from Texas to Virginia, and now California, where he has plenty of other flax golden tales to spin by his fire

Find My Magic Summer at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Kobo, Scribed, and Goodreads

Jeremy Hawkins Tribute

On January 3, we lost an amazing guy – Jeremy Hawkins.
On February 2, we are paying tribute and give back to one who was so giving and involved in our community.
To honor his life and support the family he leaves behind, on that day:
• Post a story or memory about Jeremy.
• Post photos of Jeremy.
• Share some of the graphics he made for you.
• Post a photo of you wearing one of the t-shirts he designed.
• And to support his family, purchase one of his t-shirt designs, one of his books, or one of his prints. (He also created the IWSG t-shirt.)

There are not words for how I felt when I found out Jeremy was gone. I’d known him over twelve years and he was one of my best blogger buds. Jeremy was the person who would do anything to help his fellow man, and here online that meant he did a lot of free graphics and featured his friends whenever possible. I had several guest spots and ads in the Six Strings magazine, and he made a ton of graphics for my books, for the IWSG, and for the A to Z Challenge. He was a very caring soul, and I remember when we lost Tina several years ago, that really hurt him.

Jeremy, I will miss you, more than you will ever know. You doubted yourself sometimes, but I never did. And you were always there, encouraging me with writing and blogging. God bless you.

I’d like to share some of the designs he did:

Is there someone who supported you? Able to help co-host the IWSG? Seen any of those movies? Picking up My Magic Summer? And what do you remember best about Jeremy?

Crazy, Jeremy Hawkins Tribute, and Movie and Series Reviews

Crazy!

Thank you, Alex, for your support, and for boldly trusting me with the spotlight today. You’re brave. You’re also as sane and as stable as they get. Me? Not so much. In fact, I’ve been called “crazy” multiple times—by myself alone, hourly.
Scarier still, I’m a mental health clinician. I know. There are many…“unhinged” (shall we say?) people in the helping profession. That’s one point I playfully underscore in InSanity.
Meanwhile, I ponder the terms “insane” and “crazy.” I’m perplexed by this antiquated yet still mainstream lingo. “Crazy” is used to stigmatize people. It’s not good to be crazy. That’s understood.
Wait, what about Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train,” Alex? It’s a fabulous song! I know this because, um, you mentioned it. (I then listened to it.) Of course you’re right. It’s crazy good, much like the man himself. He practically boasts about his craziness.
There are countless other songs with “crazy” in the title: “Still Crazy After All These Years” (Paul Simon), “She Drives Me Crazy” (Fine Young Cannibals), “Crazy in Love” (Beyoncé), “Let’s Go Crazy” (Prince). Thus, crazy is good, thrilling, sexy, and exciting, right?
It seems there’s a good crazy and a bad crazy.
By the same token, perhaps there’s a good sane and a bad sane. A sane person like you makes for a loyal, dependable friend.
Yet according to R.A. Salvator, “Sane is boring.” We don’t like mundane predictability all the time.
Then again, you’re not at all boring, Alex. You’re a good sane. I’ve proven my point.
Me? Um, well I’ve rambled too long already. * Crazed smile*

Insanity by Robyn Alana Engel
Author of International Award-Winning memoir, Woman on the Verge of Paradise, delivers another hearty dose of optimistic love, painful heartache, and all the feels for which words don't suffice. In this refreshingly intimate search for the line between "sanity" and "insanity", a sassy seductress encounters human grit, benevolence, and one man who isn't weird.
"Never before has a book so completely changed my viewpoint on mental illness and suicide (with the exception of Moby Dick). InSanity has really sunk its teeth in me."-Ken Lynch, Author of a series of books based loosely on his childhood and not-so-loosely on his service in the Navy
Find Insanity on Amazon

Movie and Series Reviews

Descriptions courtesy of the IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes.

Encanto
In theaters and free on Disney+
A young Colombian girl has to face the frustration of being the only member of her family without magical powers.
This stunning animated film is set in Columbia but not sure if it’s based on Columbian folklore.
It is beautiful to look at and very charming. The colors, the animation – it all comes alive.
Could’ve used a little bit more editing and development, but overall very entertaining.
Recommended.

The Matrix Resurrections
In theaters and free on HBO Max
To find out if his reality is a construct, to truly know himself, Mr. Anderson will have to choose to follow the white rabbit once more.
Wait, Neo isn’t dead? Nope! They have brought him back to cash-grab for mor money.
The film’s story line is very similar to the first, albeit done a little differently. But you do watch the movie thinking you’ve seen it all before.
A couple stars return, but it’s mostly a new cast. They also shaved some money on special effects – now they aren’t quite as good as the first film (which came out twenty years ago). The action scene weren’t quite up to snuff, either.
It was nice to see Neo and Trinity again, and the movie was entertaining – but completely pointless.
Watch if you’re curious.

Ron’s Gone Wrong
The story of Barney, a socially awkward middle-schooler and Ron, his new walking, talking, digitally-connected device, which is supposed to be his 'Best Friend out of the Box.'
This is a thoroughly charming and fun adventure!
B-bot is the device every kid must have and it was originally designed to help kids make friends – which now the bots do through social media instead of in person. But Ron isn’t connected or upgraded, so he bumblingly but sweetly tries to make friends for Barney. Of course, the top of the company doesn’t like Ron’s malfunction (independence) and wants to eliminate him. (Using other bots to spy – so much commentary on Bill Gates and other big-tech guys!) This is a great film for kids and adults alike.
Highly recommended!

Hawkeye
Series based on the Marvel Comics superhero Hawkeye, centering on the adventures of Young Avenger, Kate Bishop, who took on the role after the original Avenger, Clint Barton.
Absolutely the funniest of the Avenger series. It also kept everything fun and never grew too dark.
There are some great surprises and call-backs to previous NetFlix series. It also ties in with Black Widow and there are a lot of surprises.
Renner and Steinfeld play well off each other in a father-daughter/reluctant mentor-protegee kind of way.
At only six episodes, it’s the perfect length.
Highly recommended!

The Witcher – Season Two
Geralt of Rivia, a solitary monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts.
And of course for season two, he has a partner – Ciri!
The first season was a bit confusing as it jumped around in time. Season two offers a straighter narrative and is much easier to follow.
Season two is also far superior. The cast and writers have found their footing. If you are a fantasy buff, this is a much-watch.
Highly recommended!

The Wheel of Time
Set in a high fantasy world where magic exists, but only some can access it, a woman named Moiraine crosses paths with five young men and women. This sparks a dangerous, world-spanning journey. Based on the book series by Robert Jordan.
I started this series despite a few negative reviews. I’m not sure why any reviewers had issues though – I found the show to be spectacular.
I haven’t read all the books (they were a bit over-stuffed and I wasn’t sure the series would ever end) but the show follows them closely. It does eliminate a lot of the books’ minor characters that are just there for padding, which is a bonus.
It’s a hundred percent entertaining and engaging and another must for fantasy fans.
Highly recommended! 

 

Jeremy Hawkins Tribute

On January 3, we lost an amazing guy – Jeremy Hawkins.
On February 2, we are going to pay tribute and give back to one who was so giving and involved in our community.
To honor his life and support the family he leaves behind, on that day:
• Post a story or memory about Jeremy.
• Post photos of Jeremy.
• Share some of the graphics he made for you.
• Post a photo of you wearing one of the t-shirts he designed.
• And to support his family, between now and then, purchase one of his t-shirt designs, one of his books, or one of his prints. (He also created the IWSG t-shirt.)
Spread the word and let’s pay tribute to one of the most supportive and loyal guys ever to cross our paths, Jeremy Hawkins.

Any other crazy songs you can think of? Seen any of those movies or series? Will you join us on February 2 in honoring Jeremy Hawkins?

We need IWSG co-hosts for March, and April! If you can help, please leave a comment. We need three to four more for each month.

Next Monday is a holiday so I will be back on January 24 with two awesome guests!

IWSG, Solo and Annihilation Movie Reviews, IWSG Anthology Contest, Movie Trivia Answers, Retro Images, Write With Fey, and More!

It’s time for another group posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic. If you’d like to join us, click on the tab above and sign up. We post the first Wednesday of every month. I encourage everyone to visit at least a dozen new blogs and leave a comment. Your words might be the encouragement someone needs.

The awesome co-hosts for the June 6 posting of the IWSG are Beverly Stowe McClure, Tyrean Martinson, Tonja Drecker, and Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor!

Please note - the July posting will be on July 3, a Tuesday, due to the US Fourth of July holiday.

Today’s optional question:
What's harder for you to come up with, book titles or character names?

Definitely titles! Characters are easy. Thirty minutes brainstorming simple alien sounding names and I’m done.
But titles? Forget it. My publisher had to name two of my books.
And people wonder why I don’t name my chapter titles…

Announcing the IWSG Anthology Contest genre and dates!

Young adult romance is the genre.
The theme will be revealed on September 5, along with the judges and other details.
Our previous anthologies were Parallels: Felix Was Here, Hero Lost: The Mysteries of Death and Life, and Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime.
Your short story might be included in the fourth anthology!

The next #IWSGPit is Thursday, July 19, 2018, 8:00 am - 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time
Over a thousand agents and publishers have been invited to tune in that day.
Polish your story and your Twitter pitch and be ready!

Movie Reviews

Solo
I caught it opening night and to my surprise, it was more enjoyable than expected. Solo takes place ten years before Rogue One and A New Hope and follows Solo’s quest to get his own ship.
The beginning seemed a bit off. It was similar in tone to Rogue One but not in a good way and perhaps a bit generic. However, by the train heist scene, it all started to change. I started to care about the characters and the action picked up. (Perhaps that is where director Ron Howard took over.) The movie grew on me from that point.
It was fun to see everything fall into place – Chewbacca, Lando, the Millennium Falcon, the rebellion… Of course, this meant less suspense wince you knew the key characters survived and how it would end. (As opposed to Rogue One where you didn’t know the fate of the characters, only the final outcome.)
It is a fun adventure ride. A science fiction Western like Firefly, although not on the same level as Firefly and Serenity. And not as memorable, either. It might end up being the first Star Wars failure. But the cast does their part well and gives you everything they can. It was a fun movie.
If you’re a Star Wars fan, it’s worth it to see this film on the big screen. Recommended.

Annihilation
Came out earlier this year – rental.
I give it credit for being very unique. If you need all the answers in a film, this one will frustrate you. Much is left to interpretation, including the conclusion. And I don’t think there are any wrong answers.
It starts with a feeling of unease that never lets up. It has a similar odd tone as the movie 2001, plus many what-the-heck moments.
I wasn’t invested in the main character (either in the movie or my attempt to read the book) despite the brief flashbacks filling in her past. Or maybe it was because of those?
However, it’s a fascinating and intriguing piece of science fiction. I wouldn’t watch it again, but I was hooked on the eerie and unique storyline. It’s a really distinctive take on alien invasion.
Be warned it is rated R and there are some very disturbing and gory scenes. However, they won’t be what you’d normally expect.
I’d recommend it to someone looking for something really different in science fiction.

Ninja News

My buddy Jeremy Hawkins has started a new business.
He’s offering mini 8x10 files from non-copy-written images from films, ads, etc. [prior 1931] but instead of selling prints, the customer gets the file .pdf/jpeg. Then they can print the images for themselves.
He’s done all the work finding these images and cleaning them up. Now, Jeremy has thousands of them!
Images are just $3.00 each.
Jeremy has gone through a rough year, mentally and emotionally, and is struggling. Please check out his Being Retro shop on Etsy and pick out a cool image that speaks to you.

The next Strangely Funny anthology was released.
It features a story by CD Gallant-King - The New Job.
Pick it up on Amazon







Released this week:
Write with Fey: 10 Sparks to Guide You from Idea to Publication by Chrys Fey
Catch the sparks you need to write, edit, publish, and market your book!
Write with Fey: 10 Sparks to Guide You from Idea to Publication offers an abundance of data in one handy book. From writing your novel to prepping for publication and beyond, you’ll find sparks on every page, including 100 bonus marketing tips. You’ll also discover how to write specific scenes and characters, adding depth to your work.
Find it at Amazon US, Amazon CA, Amazon UK, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and iTunes
GIVEAWAY! Open to all from June 4th 2018 – July 6th 2018. Click HERE to enter.

The WEP – (Write...Edit...Publish) team, consisting of those much-loved bloggers, Denise Covey, Yolanda Renée, Nilanjana Bose and Olga Godim, are open for submissions for their June 1 challenge – UNRAVELED YARN.
We’re not necessarily talking knitting and crochet, but if that's what you want, fine! A yarn is a long and rambling, often improbable, story. But we’re not talking long and improbable - a crisp and convincing flash or non-fiction, or poem, or photo essay, whatever genre you choose, is what we’re after.
Serenity, meet Disaster. A lie found out, the unpicking of a tall tale. A crime taking an unexpected turn. A bad-hair day. An ordinary walk spiraling into a crisis. A romantic encounter ending in chaos. Take your pick with the unpicking!
The Top Three entries receive prizes!
Give us your yarn! Let your imagination unravel!

Movie Trivia Answers

The trivia was about R-rated films that made a ton of money.


1 – This is the second-highest grossing superhero film behind Deadpool. (At the moment.) Logan
2 – When he said ‘I’ll be back,’ he wasn’t kidding and the movie made over half a billion dollars. Terminator 2: Judgement Day
3 – Based on a book, this is the highest-ever grossing horror film. It
4 – This is the highest-grossing R film based on faith. The Passion of the Christ
5 – Director Quentin Tarantino’s highest-grossing movie. Django Unchained
6 – This Oscar winner is the highest-grossing war film. Saving Private Ryan
7 – George Miller’s highest-grossing movie. Mad Max: Fury Road

What’s easier for you – titles or names? Excited about the anthology contest and #IWSGPit? Did you catch Solo? Picking up some books or trying your hand at WEP? And did you get the trivia right?

Be sure to explore Jeremy’s Being Retro shop on Etsy and hopefully buy an image. You’ll make his day!

MST3K Reunion Show Review! Plus Cassa in Audio, Fates Warning, Giveaway, and Ninja News

MST3K Reunion Review

This was by far the best RiffTrax show ever!

As a celebration of ten years of RiffTrax, this was perfect. They riffed a series of shorts rather than a whole movie, and the format worked very well. Mike, Bill, and Kevin had a couple segments. They also turned it over to RiffTrax regulars, Bridget Nelson (Mike’s wife) and Mary Jo Pehl, for a segment.

Then it got even better. Trace Beaulieu and Frank Conniff did a short together. (Dr. Forrester and TV’s Frank together again!) The crowd really got into it when creator Joel Hodgson came out and did a segment with Jonah Ray, who will head up the new version of MST3K. Then it went all out and the entire cast riffed a couple shorts together.

The shorts really ranged in topics and decades. The one Trace and Frank tackled involved a girl who couldn’t get a date so she made herself available for everyone and got involved. It was set in the 50’s, so the motive was innocent, but as my wife said, in this day and age it was a film on how to be easy and... Well, I won’t say it!

Mike, Bill, and Kevin did a segment from the very early 70’s on large equipment safety called Shake Hands with Danger. Let’s just say that the short Blood Flows Red on the Highway came to mind...

The whole crew came out to riff an old Superman short about federal stamps and Lois being held hostage. (Awful short – which meant it was very funny.)

The show wrapped up with a hilarious short on the creative things one can do with grass. Yes, grass. The kind you mow. (Although the writers obviously smoked the other kind.) Everything from hats to braids to etchings. The latter prompted this comment from Mary Jo - ‘Nothing says I forgot Father’s Day like a grass etching.’

And it was a packed show - two hours and twenty minutes!

That this was the hardest I have ever laughed in the theater is an understatement. My face and sides hurt so bad when I left. I nearly fell out of my seat on several occasions. Bringing everyone together was not only brilliant but the funniest show they have ever put together. I wish they could do it every time.

There is an encore showing on Tuesday, July 12. I recommend you go. My wife and I just might go for another showing - it was that good!

And the next RiffTrax: Live show after that? August 18 - Mothra!

Now for some awesome screen shots:

Fates Warning – Theories of Flight Review

Released July 1, this is the band’s twelfth studio album.
For a band that’s been around for thirty-two years, you’d think they’d run out of fresh ideas. But this album might very well be their best – ever!
Great prog elements, mixed with catchy choruses and amazing musicianship, makes for a well-rounded musical experience.
If you listen to prog, you’ve probably heard the band members elsewhere – guitarist Jim Matheos in OSI; vocalist Ray Alder with Redemption; bassist Joey Vera with Armored Saint; and drummer Bobby Jarzombeck with Halford and Riot. If you’ve never given these guys a spin, I recommend checking out Theories of Flight.

Ninja News

Today’s Themes That Rocked the Challenge feature at the A to Z Blog is Jeremy Hawkins and his awesome theme of old, retro ads.

The votes are in! The genre of the next Insecure Writer’s Support Group Anthology Contest will be fantasy.
The theme will be announced the day the contest opens – September 7.

Dan Antion, Sharukh Bamboat, Damyanti Biswas, Mary Giese, Peter Nena, Cheryl Pennington, and Kate Powell invite you to share the story of one of your cherished objects. Talk about what it is and why you cherish it. Post a picture of it if you like. Max 500 words, the Cherished Blogfest post can go up on your blog any day between 29th and 31st of July 2016. Hashtag ‪#‎CBF16‬.
More info HERE. Sign up HERE on the Cherished Linky List.‬‬

Father Dragon Al put out a call for angels to help! This is for a person many of you know and involves a simple, caring gesture. See Al’s BLOG for details.

Don’t forget the CassaSeries playing cards to giveaway! You can enter to win by commenting, Tweeting, or reviewing one of the books. Winner will be drawn July 17. Cards will be shipped from my publisher.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Audio Books!

I’ve been waiting for the official word and it finally came last week – my Cassa books are being made into audio books!

My publisher is venturing into audio and selected my trilogy for the initial test. I got to hear a sample of the narrator they chose and he did a really good job, so I’m looking forward to hearing all of the books.

CassaStar on audio should be out by the end of August!


Who else saw the MST3K Reunion Show? (And if you missed it, you can still see it July 12.) Fan of Fates Warning? Can you help Al? Think you might be able to write a fantasy story for the IWSG Anthology? Signed up to win the Cassa playing cards? And how would/do you feel about hearing your books read by someone else?

And today I am visiting Tyrean Martinson with Five Reasons to Write to Music!

MST3K/RiffTrax Fanboy, BattleBots, You Rock Awards, and Ninja News!

Why This Fanboy Loves MST3K/RiffTrax

Back in the early 90’s, I was flipping through the channels when I came upon Invasion USA on what was the Comedy Channel. Only this wasn’t just the crappy 1950’s film – there were three people silhouetted in the right bottom corner. A guy and two robots were making fun of the movie.

At first, I thought it was weird but interesting. Slowly, I realized just how hilarious the jokes were. About twenty minutes, I got into the vibe and was hooked. The humor was right up my alley – bad puns, snarky observations, and tons of pop culture references.

The premise of this silly show that made fun of movies – evil scientists had shot an employee into space so they could experiment on him by making him watch bad movies. Trapped on the Satellite of Love, he created robots to keep him company – Crow T. Robot, Tom Servo, Gypsy, and CamBot.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 went through many changes. The creator, Joel Hodgson, envisioned it more as a kid’s show. When he left, Mike stepped into the role as the man trapped on the Satellite of Love. Coupled with Kevin (Tom Servo) Murphy’s sense of humor, this led to more adult stuff.

When Trace Beaulieu left, there was cause for concern. Not only was he the main evil scientist, he was the voice of Crow T. Robot. However, the very first show with Bill Corbett as Crow started with this line – ‘Screw you, Greenland!’ And all was right with the world.

It won many awards but was eventually cancelled in 1999. Since then, the core MST3K guys started with Film Crew and then moved on to RiffTrax. It’s not quite the same as MST3K, but it’s the same guys telling the jokes and therefore awesome. They provide tracks to hundreds of popular films – all you do is sync them up with the actual movie. They then moved on to riffing older films, some of which they’d done as MST3K, and selling the videos.

It really became awesome when they moved to live events. The first one I saw was Jack the Giant Killer. I’d seen the MST3K Movie in the theater and there’s something magical about being surrounded by geeks who get you – and the RiffTrax experience was no different. That is why I am now a big fan and refuse to miss any RiffTrax event!

Including June’s MST3K Reunion show…

For more information, visit:
RiffTrax
MST3K
MST3K Reunion Show Tickets
MST3K on Twitter
RiffTrax on Twitter

BattleBots

That’s right – it’s back! Last week was the play-in round and on June 23 on ABC, season two of the BattleBots reboot begins!

The homemade robots are back for season two, where they will battle against each other in a single elimination tournament until there is one champion. The ten episode series will feature next generation robots – bigger, faster and stronger than ever before. The show will continue to emphasize the design and build elements of each robot, the bot builder back stories, their intense pursuit of the championship and the spectacle of the event. While there’s only one weight-class, there are a huge variety of deadly weapons. Forty-eight robots will enter, but, in the end, only one will win the Giant Nut.


Yes, it’s giant BattleBot robots destroying each other – what could be more awesome?

Ninja News

The Last Hotel Room by Sean McLachlan is competing in the Kindle Scout program.
This book is important to me because I've been working a bit with refugees and wrote an article a while back about one young refugee I met in Iraq who became the inspiration for this novel. If I win, $500 of my advance will go to a charity helping refugees from the war zone there.
Vote for the Last Hotel Room HERE

Available now!

Seismic Crimes by Chrys Fey
Buy it at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and The Wild Rose Press

The Haunted Stepsister by Medeia Sharif
Amazon and Barnes and Noble

Cloaked in Blood by TF Walsh
Find it at Amazon, iTunes, and Barnes and Noble

And if you are looking for something cool in t-shirts, check out the creations of Jeremy Hawkins!

He produced the awesome IWSG T-Shirt.

And he designed the A to Z Challenge Survivor T-Shirt

Get yours now!!!

You Rock Awards

I started this six years ago, right after the very first A to Z Challenge. This is to honor blogger buddies who have come to mean so much to me over the years.

Past recipients include Arlee, Yvonne, RaShelle, Hannah, Jeffrey, Gail, Rusty, Chuck, George, Jeremy, Matthew, Old Kitty, Ella, M Pax, Roland, Melissa, Robyn, Lynda, Michael, Heather, Stephen, Father Dragon Al, the late Tina, Damyanti, Edi, Karen, Elizabeth, Suze, Susan, Pat, Jo, Michelle, Brandon and Bryan, Christine, and Truedessa.

This is always such a difficult choice! I’ve made so many friends over the years. But certain people have really stuck with me and come to mean a lot to me.

So, this year’s You Rock recipients are…

Rachna Chhabria at Rachna’s Scriptorium
She is just about the sweetest person I know online. A talented author who possesses a wonderful way with words, her weekly offerings will make you think. She is also a huge supporter and cheerleader. We’ll never meet in person, but we’ve met in spirit. Rachna, you have made a difference to this Ninja – and you rock!

Liza at Middle Passages
We’ve been blogger buddies for years. I remember when she wasn’t working and all the things she’s gone through since then. She continues to write and take amazing photos of her beautiful coastal town. She’s always been there for me and I appreciate her friendship and support. Liza, you rock!

Yolanda Renee at Defending the Pen
Another friend who’s been around for a while. I still remember when her first book came out. She knows how to put a twist on a story like nobody’s business. She defends not only the pen, but her friends. And she’s a Ninja Minion above and beyond! I hope she’ll always be there. Yolanda, you rock.

Nilanjana Bose at Madly-in-Verse
We met through the Challenge, so only fitting she was one of my Minions this year. She writes amazing poetry and prose and really does her research. Nila is always there and something about her presence is reassuring. I imagine she’s always smiling, her joy contagious! She’s a whisper on the wind – and she rocks!

Fundy Blue at Standing Into Danger
You want someone down to earth and genuine? Fundy is that and more. A traveler by heart, she’s working on a book based on the letters her father wrote while teaching Indian children in the far, far north. And the posts about these letters are fascinating. What’s amazing is that no matter what, Fundy shows up online all bubbly and excited. Your excitement is contagious, Fundy – and you rock!

Hank Kaykuala at Rainbow
Yes, I like the ladies! But there are a few cool dudes out there as well. Hank is one of them. I remember visiting Pat Hatt’s site and wondered – who is this dude who has to be number one all the time? Eventually, we became friends, and I realized the cultural diversity Hank offered in his poetry and prose posts. I can always count on him. Hank, you’re number one and you rock!

JH Moncrieff 
If you’ve not met JH, you are missing out. This great horror writer looks like she stepped right out from her own goth pages. She knows all about the supernatural and the unknown, and she tantalizes us with unique events and unsolved mysteries. Don’t let the dark fool you, though. She is a bright light of genuine appreciation and friendship. JH, you rock!

Anyone else a longtime fan of MST3K? Been to a RiffTrax event? Excited for the next BattleBots? Picking up some new books? Have you got your t-shirt yet? And are you following those awesome, rocking bloggers?