Dawn of the Apes Movie Review, Sharknado 2, Traditional Publishing Defined, and Ninja News!

Movie Review

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Amazing!

First, I have to address the special effects. This film blows away all competition. I completely forgot I was watching CGI apes. Expressions, movement, eyes – all beyond real.

As for the story, it is one intense ride! Every scene adds a new layer of intensity. No, it’s not a feel-good film. There are moments of great sorrow and anger. You can see both sides clearly and there are mistakes made by both.

The film sets a good pace. It invites you to discover and explore the world of the apes. And the world of the humans. You won’t be rushed through the action, nor will you be bored by the personal moments. And you will come to realize all it takes is one misguided idiot on each side to send the situation into a nosedive.

Andy Serkis deserves an Oscar for his performance. Yes, Caesar is CGI, but Serkis provided all of the facial and physical movements. It’s incredible what he achieves and conveys through the character.

If you want smart science fiction, powerful drama, or just a great story, this is your film. Highly recommended!

And - finally saw Snowpiercer Sunday night! Review coming. Also recommended!

Traditional Publishing Defined by an Expert

Anne R. Allen had sent me some great stuff regarding traditional publishers. But rather than post it here, I am going to send you to her POST from yesterday. Here’s a sample:

But most people in today's real-world publishing industry—on both sides of the self-publishing fence—agree on the definition of traditional/legacy publishing.

Here's a version of that from Writer's Digest: "Traditional book publishing is when a publisher offers the author a contract and, in turn, prints, publishes, and sells your book through booksellers and other retailers. The publisher essentially buys the right to publish your book and pays you royalties from the sales."

She also has a warning every writer should read about the activities of some subsidy presses. Check it out HERE

Ninja News

I’m over at the Insecure Writer’s Support Group Site today - Nine Great Tools and Programs to Help You Edit

Today’s Themes that Rocked the Challenge features Chrys Fey. Check it out at the A to Z Blog.

Available now - Lazy Worm Goes on a Journey by Rachna Chhabria

Elizabeth Seckman is hosting a blog challenge from July 15-31:
Write something readers want to read. No word limit, no guidelines. Your only prompt is: The year was 1865....

Sean McLachlan’s second book in his Toxic World post-apocalyptic series is now out - Refugees from the Righteous Horde.

Kyra Lennon is putting together a charity cat anthology on September 5. See here site for details.



Leovi is an abstract photographer, and his photos are just incredible. If you’ve never visited his site, you are in for a treat. He posted this one last week – it would be so cool to write a story based on the image.

“I want to be the explorer of your universe”

Cover Reveals!

SOULLESS (Book 2 in the Maiden of Time trilogy)
By Crystal Collier
Coming October 13, 2014

Alexia manipulated time to save the man of her dreams, and lost her best friend to red-eyed wraiths. Still grieving, she struggles to reconcile her loss with what was gained: her impending marriage. But when her wedding is destroyed by the Soulless—who then steal the only protection her people have—she's forced to unleash her true power.

And risk losing everything.

Woven
By David Powers King and Michael Jensen
Coming January 27, 2015

Sharknado 2

Yes, the rumors are true – Sharknado 2 is coming soon!



Anyone else see Dawn of the Apes? Read Anne’s post yesterday? Excited about the new books? And who’s up for a play-by-play of Sharknado 2…?

Be sure to check out my post at the IWSG site and the post at Anne R. Allen’s!

RESOURCEFUL/REFRESHING - A to Z Challenge

It’s the third A to Z Challenge! Blog the letters of the alphabet in order every day except Sundays The participation list is HERE – start with the blog after yours and visit at least five blogs a day. Mostly, make new friends and have fun!

My theme – I have selected a word for each day and will present to you blogger buddies who fit that description, along with movies, music, etc. My theme is to give back, highlight some awesome bloggers, and have fun in the process.

RESOURCEFUL/REFRESHING

Leovi at La Fotografía Efectista Abstracta
I follow a wide variety of blogs, including a few photographers. Leovi is without a doubt the best. His focus is abstract, and what he accomplishes with just a few key items is astonishing. Every day we are treated to a visual masterpiece. For the most amazing and resourceful photographer on the Internet, you need to check out Leovi’s site.

Jeremy at Geeky Tendencies
He’s a new blogger, but there is something just so refreshing about his style. He’s young and yet not jaded or angry, which is so wonderful to witness. And he can juggle! As a fellow science fiction geek, I probably see a lot of a younger me in Jeremy. Dude, no matter what happens, remain true to YOU!

Col. Jack O’Neill
If resourceful person uses all of the resources at his disposal, than hat’s off to Jack (played by Richard Dean Anderson) for gathering the best SG team. He had the warrior Teal’c, the science genius Samantha Carter and the history genius Daniel Jackson. When Jack pulled them all together he had all the resources to complete any mission.

NINJA NEWS!

Susan Roebuck’s new book, Hewhay Hall, comes out today. Congratulations, Susan!!

Vic Caswell and Emily White will be hosting their own Podcast next month, focusing on young adult books. Way to go, ladies!

Nothing coming out at the theater catches my eye this weekend, but to my wife’s delight, Real Steel came in the mail Thursday courtesy of NetFlix. Hopefully I can throw a review at you by Monday. I also purchased MI: Ghost Protocol this week, so I won’t be lacking for movies.

Sad that legendary coach Pat Summitt is retiring due to early-onset Alzheimer’s. President Obama announced she will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, calling her an inspiration.

And as soon as I hit that damned elusive 1500 followers, I’m doing a giveaway. I think forces have been at work against me this week…


Following Leovi and Jeremy? Fan of Col Jack O’Neill and the Stargate series? (Rusty, don’t answer that.) Seeing any good movies this weekend? Care to send some good vibes my way? (Or followers – I only need a couple!) And who do you know who’s resourceful or refreshing? 
And this is two mornings in a row my scheduled post has not posted - anyone else having issues?

Pay It Forward!

Matthew at the QQQE and I are proud to present the Pay it Forward blogfest!

I have thank everyone who commented on the book trailer for CassaFire! I am just blown awayby what my publisher created.

Now to the blogfest! The purpose is to introduce others to three bloggers you find awesome. Then attack the Linky List and explore! Find some cool new friends. Take the whole weekend to discover some great bloggers.

Narrowing it down to three was next to impossible. With close to a thousand followers now (yeah, that blows my mind!) I know so many cool people. So, I decided to give you a variety today.

The Writer-Author
Jeffrey Beesler at World of the Scribe has been a blogger buddy of mine for well over a year. He’s now one of my critique partners as well! Jeffrey is a careful planner when it comes to his blog and will map out theme weeks a month in advance. He pours so much into his posts and everyone would benefit from his advice and proddings. If you don’t already follow Jeffrey, jump on over and visit this most excellent Ninja!

The Photographer-Artist
Leovi is an amazing photographer! All images are abstract and close up, and it’s just amazing. Leovi is a true master. And despite the huge number of people who follow Leovi, I can always expect a comment here from this most excellent photographer. If you want to be amazed, visit Leovi today!

The Book Reviewer/Speculative Fiction Expert
Edi lives in Germany and runs Edi’s Book Lighthouse. I met him last year when seeking speculative fiction reviewers and we’ve been good friends ever since. He’s been a big encourager and supporter as well. His weekend posts hold so much information about books and movies it will make your head swim. He really should have a thousand followers. You want to know what’s going on in the speculative world? Visit Edi today!

Special Mention (Because I can!)
Eve is a new follower of mine. She seemed close to giving up the whole blogging scene when she latched on to the Pay it Forward blogfest. She needs to know what an awesome bunch of people are out there in the blogging world! Visit Eve today and tell her – I’m with you!

The list of participants is below, but before I go, I must share this image with you…

The folks over at FreakingNews, a Photoshop news site, held a contest for Star Wars mashups. This was my favorite:


Now, go discover some cool blogs!