Movies Based on YA Books, TV Trivia, Space Opera, Ninja News, and More!

Today I’m making an appearance at the blog of Kim Van Sickler! find out why the Space Opera genre isn't just for science fiction fans.

To entertain you here with movies and books is Nutschell from The Writing Nut!

5 Movies Based on YA Books to Look Forward to This 2014

I’m looking forward to seeing tons of awesome new movies this year. Most of them are Sci-Fi/Fantasy movies and I’ll run out of space if I list all of them. So I thought I narrow down it down to movies based on YA (Young Adult) books, which I’m looking forward to watching.

Here they are in no particular order:

Divergent
Divergent is the first book in Veronica Roth’s best-selling trilogy. The books are all about a dystopian Chicago, where teenagers are forced to make a choice between five factions: Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless and Erudite. Each faction is meant to play a particular role in society based on their most distinguishing virtue. On her Choosing Day, 16 year-old Beatrice Prior chooses another faction over her family’s and discovers a dark truth behind their seemingly perfect society.

Mockingjay Part 1
Mockingjay is the final book in Suzanne Collins’s Hunger Games Trilogy. As with all big hits, the final book was broken into two parts. In this first installment, we’ll see how Katniss and the rebels begin the war against President Snow and the rest of the Capitol.

The Giver
Bases on Lois Lowry’s classic novel, “The Giver” tells of a future society that appears perfect—until the twelve year old protagonist Jonas uncovers its dark side. Jeff Bridges is set to play the Giver in this film adaptation.

The Maze Runner
The Maze Runner is the first book in James Dashner’s dystopian series. In this story, 12 year-old Thomas wakes up with no knowledge of his past. He finds himself in the Glades, an encampment at the center of a strange and frightening maze. Surrounded by other boys with memories of their previous lives, Thomas learns to survive, and soon finds out what lies beyond the walls of the maze.

The Fault in Our Stars
Shailene Woodley, who plays the lead in the YA blockbuster movie Divergent, also stars in this film adaptation based on John Green’s best-selling novel, The Fault in Our Stars. In this story, Hazel, a sixteen year-old with terminal cancer, falls in love with Augustus, a former basketball player whose right leg had to be amputated due to bone cancer. The two meet in a support group and quickly begin a relationship that is both heart-warming and heart-wrenching.

If you’re a fan of Young Adult books (or good stories, in general), add these movies to your “must-watch list.” You’ll be sure to enjoy all of them!

Super thanks for having me on your blog, Alex!

STORY SPROUTS: CBW-LA WRITING DAY EXERCISES & ANTHOLOGY 2013
19 authors – 10 writing exercises – 38 combined anthology entries!

Find it on Amazon
Learn more about Story Sprouts HERE
Join the Children’s Book Writers of Los Angeles HERE
And find Nutschell at Blog, Twitter, Linked In, and Pinterest

Ninja News

Today at the Insecure Writer’s Support Group we are featuring are very first guest, the super-talented and awesome Elizabeth S. Craig! She’s sharing the best practices for self-publishers – you don’t want to miss it.

Catherina Constantine revealed the cover for her upcoming book, Tallas.

Isn’t it awesome?

Road to Somewhere by Kelley Lynn and Jenny Morris
New! From Bloomsbury Spark, a sunny heartwarming story of discovery and sisterhood.

A road trip. A singing competition. And super-hot cowboys.

What could be better?

Available now – visit their sites for a giveaway!

Don’t forget the Online Marketing Symposium is on January 20! Sign up and let us know what has worked (or didn’t) with your online promotions. Open to everyone, not just authors. Hosted by Arlee Bird, Yolanda Renee, Jeremy Hawkins, and Alex J. Cavanaugh.

Cat Trivia Answers

Although some of your answers were awesome!

1 – How fast can a housecat run? 31 mph
2 – True or false – cats can drink seawater. True – their livers filter out the salt
3 – What’s the technical term for a hairball? Bezoar
4 – How many different sounds do cats make? One hundred
5 – Which pet is more popular in North America – the dog or the cat? The cat – 73 million cats compared to 63 million dogs

TV Trivia!

Random questions!

1 -On The X-Files, what's Mulder's nickname?
2 -What show starred Michael Landon as an angel?
3 -On The Simpsons, who shot Mr. Burns?
4 -What was the name of the charter boat that shipwrecked in the 1960s show "Gilligan's Island"?
5 -What 80s show is Frasier a spinoff of?

What movie based off of a young adult novel are you looking forward to? Have you picked up Story Sprouts? Excited about the new books? Signed up for the Online Marketing Symposium? Get any of the cat trivia correct? And do you know any of the TV trivia…?

Don’t forget to visit Kim Van Sickler!

Cindy Borgne Discusses Wormholes, Ninja News, Celebrating Small Things, Mini-Alex and his Peeps, Special Thanks, and Movie Quotes Trivia

Today I welcome fellow science fiction author, Cindy Borgne!

Wormholes:

In my first book “Seer of Mars”, the main reason for mankind coming to Mars is a long-term project to reach an Earth-like planet called Hinun in the Cancri fifty-five system, which is almost identical to our solar system. Someone told me that it sounded so Star Wars-ish like the Dagobah system.

However, Mars and Cancri 55 are real places, and for the sequel “Visionary of Peace”, I needed to answer a question. How do they plan to reach Hinun? Finally, I settled on using a wormhole for travel purposes - maybe because they’re more artistic.

Although a wormhole has never been created, they aren’t just something from science fiction. The theory for them is based in physics. This led to the challenge of my characters creating the first wormhole in the most difficult of circumstances. Early attempts were less than impressive. At first, my physicists ended up generating small, unpredictable wormholes only capable of lasting for a few seconds in a lab.

No such thing as a small wormhole you say? According to astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, “wormholes may exist in quantum foam, the smallest environment in the universe. Here, tiny tunnels constantly blink in and out of existence, momentarily linking separate places and time.”

Yet even small wormholes don’t run on thin air and need something to generate them. I needed exotic matter – another conceptual aspect of physics. Where could I get this stuff? When reading the definitions for exotic matter.

Exotic Matter: Any kind of matter that is not made up of baryons (protons and neutrons) and has both negative energy density and negative pressure or tension that exceeds the energy density.

How rambling is that?

However, the biggest problem with the small, short-term wormhole is that it has no use in reaching Hinun. Still, I couldn’t let the dream of reaching Hinun die for my long suffering characters. I needed something more and I found it.

Thanks for having me today, Alex.

Find Cindy - Blog, Website, Twitter, Goodreads, and Amazon
And her books - Visionary of Peace and Seer of Mars

Ninja News

Angela Brown’s book, Frailties of the Bond, is now available – congratulations, Angela!

Kelley Lynn’s book, Fraction of Stone, was released on Thursday! Congratulations, Kelley.
She’s on her blog tour right now and you can win a copy of her book. Check her site for details.


Misha Gericke announced the categories for this month’s Paying it Forward Awards:
Blogger Who Makes the Bloggosphere Amazing
Blogger With Unrivaled Determination
Blogger With Amazing Team Spirit
Blogger Who Brightens Every Day
Visit her blog to cast your nominations now!

And for VikLit’s “Celebrating the Small Things,” I have two things I'm celebrating!
First, this is post number 600. Whoa!
Second, I have over 1800 followers now. Double whoa!!

Mini-Alex and His Peeps

Mini-Alex may not get out much, but he does have friends!

Here he is hanging with his peeps, admiring Robyn Alana Engel’s book, Just the Right Time!

And it’s really cold today, so he hopes his scarf arrives soon.

Special Peeps

I want to mention two special ladies.

As I’ve noted before, my guest post guidelines state that I only allow blogger buddies.

I get requests every week, and I’m polite when I explain my guidelines and why. Most I never hear from again. One guy unfollowed me immediately.

However, two ladies, once I explained how it works, decided to become my blogger buddies. Two out of hundreds.

Joylene Nowell Butler and Sandra Ulbrich Almazan, I want to thank you for taking that step. You two can guest post anytime you like!

Movie Trivia

Movie quotes today – all science fiction! Name the movie – and the actor/character if you can:

1 – “If this is foreplay, I’m a dead man.”

2 – “The Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day when the world declared in one voice, ‘We will not go quietly into the night…’”

3 – “His pattern indicates two-dimensional thinking.”

4 – “Can I ask you a personal question? Have you ever retired a human by mistake?”

5 - “I just want to know that it’s really happening.”

Ready to read Cindy's books? Nominating someone for the Paying it Forward Awards? Ready to hang with Mini-Alex and his Peeps? And know any of the trivia answers?