Insecure Writer’s Support Group, Upcoming Movie Releases, New Book Releases, 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 today are PJ Colando, J Lenni Dorner, Deniz Bevan, Kim Lajevardi, Natalie Aguirre, and Louise - Fundy Blue!

September 2 question - If you could choose one author, living or dead, to be your beta partner, who would it be and why?

I’d want to go with someone who writes what I enjoy and who aspire to write like, so it would be either Timothy Zahn or Terry Brooks. Zahn’s Star Wars books are excellent and Sword of Shannara is the book that formed my love of fantasy.


Author Jacqui Murray read and loved CassaStar the feature is up now!. Please be sure to visit her!

Katherine’s Corner is hosting a Tell Me a Story series through September.

Every Tuesday is a new author and excerpt.

On September 8, she will be featuring me and Dragon of the Stars. And it's live now!

Please visit her site for my Tell Me a Story feature.

Don’t forget today, September 2, is the last day to enter the IWSG Anthology Contest!

Guidelines and rules:
Word count: 4500-6000
Genre: Science Fiction
Theme: Dark Matter
Submissions accepted: May 6 - September 2, 2020
How to enter: Send your polished, formatted (double-spaced, no footers or headers), previously unpublished story to admin @ insecurewriterssupportgroup.com before the deadline passes. Please include your full contact details, your social links, and if you are part of the Blogging, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter IWSG group. (MUST be a member to enter.)
Judging: The IWSG admins will create a shortlist of the best stories. The shortlist will then be sent to our official judges.
Our judges: Dan Koboldt, Lynda R. Young, Colleen Oefelein, Damien Larkin, Ion Newcombe, Julie Gwinn, and David Powers King

The next #IWSGPit Twitter pitch event is January 20!
Will you be ready?

When’s the last time we had a blog hop outside of the IWSG? We need one!
Sherry Ellis is hosting the Latin Flavors blog hop September 14-18 in celebration of the release of her next book, Bubba and Squirt’s Mayan Adventure.
Join us!

New Releases

Love and Other Lies by MJ Fifield

For years, Lavinia Kelly has gone through the motions, content to let life pass her by…

Find it on Amazon

Wielder’s Storm trilogy by Lynda R. Young

The Wielder's Storm Trilogy is an action-packed epic fantasy that will sweep you across the high seas on a thrilling adventure full of exciting twists.
This complete box set contains Wielder’s Prize, Wielder’s Curse and Wielder’s Fire.

I’ve read the first book and it’s awesome!

Find it on Amazon

I Am a Quarantine Survivor by PJ Colando

All proceeds will be donated to a food bank that helps people survive despite the COVID-culture that surrounds us…

Find it on Amazon

Upcoming Movie Releases

Here are the upcoming theatrical releases! As always, descriptions courtesy of the IMDB. Snark provided by me.

September 3 -

Tenet
Director: Christopher Nolan
Stars: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki
Armed with only one word, Tenet, and fighting for the survival of the entire world, a Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real time.
Yes, this comes out tomorrow. No, I will not be able to see it because our theaters are still closed!!! I hate my state.

September 25 –

Ava
Ava is a deadly assassin who works for a black ops organization, traveling the globe specializing in high profile hits. When a job goes dangerously wrong she is forced to fight for her own survival.
Director: Tate Taylor
Stars: Jessica Chastain, John Malkovich, Common
If more theaters are open, this one might have a chance.

October 2 –

Wonder Woman 1984
Fast forward to the 1980s as Wonder Woman's next big screen adventure finds her facing two all-new foes: Max Lord and The Cheetah.
Director: Patty Jenkins
Stars: Gal Gadot, Connie Nielsen, Pedro Pascal, Chris Pine
Our theaters damn well better be open for this one! Or it’s road trip time.

What author would be your beta partner? Entering the IWSG Anthology Contest last minute? Joining the Latin Flavors Blog Hop? Picking up some new books? What movies will you miss in the theater over the next month?
Monday is Labor Day, so I will be offline. I will be back on September 14 with movie reviews (including Bill and Ted Face the Music) and more!

Insecure Writer’s Support Group, IWSG Anthology Contest, Favorite Sci-Fi Songs with Scott Coon, and New Releases

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 today are Pat Garcia, J.Q. Rose, and Natalie Aguirre!

We need co-hosts!! July 1, August 5, and September 2. If you can help, leave a comment or send me an email. At the moment, we have no one scheduled.

Today’s question - Writers have secrets! What are one or two of yours, something readers would never know from your work?

Well, before all this virus stuff went down, I was already really good at two things – washing my hands and social distancing. I am a compulsive hand washer and I’ve been social distancing my whole life. (No touchie!)

Don’t forget the IWSG Anthology Contest is open!

Guidelines and rules:
Word count: 4500-6000
Genre: Science Fiction
Theme: Dark Matter
Submissions accepted: May 6 - September 2, 2020
How to enter: Send your polished, formatted (double-spaced, no footers or headers), previously unpublished story to admin @ insecurewriterssupportgroup.com before the deadline passes. Please include your full contact details, your social links, and if you are part of the Blogging, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter IWSG group.
Judging: The IWSG admins will create a shortlist of the best stories. The shortlist will then be sent to our official judges.
Our judges: Dan Koboldt, Lynda R. Young, Colleen Oefelein, Damien Larkin, Ion Newcombe, Julie Gwinn, and David Powers King

Top Ten Sci-fi Songs by Scott Coon

I am Scott Coon, author of Lost Helix, a story about DJ and an encrypted file, and these are my top ten favorite sci-fi songs:

#10
Pets, Porno for Pyros
A simple but fun song that always reminds me of the 1973 film Fantastic Planet.

#9
Fire Coming Out of The Monkey's Head, Gorillaz
A quirky spooky sci-fi fantasy story told over quirky spooky music.

#8
No Missing Link, Dan Bern
Based on his singing, I'd say he feels very strongly about his theory on this.

#7
Sci-Fi Wasabi, Cibo Mato
The lyrics don't make sense to me, but they include a shout out to Obi-Wan Kenobi. What more can you ask for?

#6
Destroy Puny Earthlings, Famous Monsters
I want someone to create a 1950s style sci-fi movie around having this song playing over the climactic scene.

#5
Astro Zombies, Misfits
A melodic call for the extermination of the whole human race.

#4
Rapture, Blondie
Who doesn't love the man from mars who eats guitars, and sometime cars, or even bars?

#3
UFOs, Big Rigs, and BBQ, Mojo Nixon & The Toadliquors
It's punkabilly and it's the best song you'll ever hear about space truck drivers.

#2
Space Oddity, David Bowie
It's THE classic, ground control to Major Tom.

And My #1
Nothing but Flowers, Talking Heads
An ironic sci-fi vignette and my favorite sci-fi song. I strongly recommend hearing this, or at least reading the lyrics.

Scott Coon has been published in various magazines and has won accolades for his short stories. He served for six years in the U.S. Army as an Intelligence Analyst, including a tour in Kuwait where he received the Joint Service Achievement Award. Now a software developer for a major bank, Scott brings his computer and military experience into his work, along with a sense of spectacle. See his website for links to his published shorts and his papers on the art and business of writing. Scot Coon SciFi

LOST HELIX
When his dad goes missing, DJ finds a file containing evidence of a secret war of industrial sabotage, a file encrypted by his dad using DJ's song Lost Helix. Caught in a crossfire of lies, DJ must find his father and the mother he never knew.
Find it on Amazon Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and iTunes

New Releases!

Wielder’s Fire by Elle Cardy – Lynda R. Young

Wielder’s Fire is the thrilling conclusion to the sweeping Wielder’s Storm trilogy. Lose yourself in this epic fantasy adventure set on the high seas. 

I read the first book and it’s excellent! 

Find it on Amazon

Walking with Jesus: Stories from One Hope Church is an anthology of stories, poetry, and scripture, edited by Tyrean Martinson

Read to discover how ordinary lives become extraordinary in the light of God’s love.
Real people. Real dilemmas. Real Jesus. 

Find it on Amazon and Smashwords

Mateos Law by Sandra Cox

A modern day, shapeshifting sheriff.

Find it on Amazon

The Medusa Effect: A Tomorrow News Network Novella by J.S. Pailly
 
Litho is a peaceful, isolated colony world on the frontier of space. Nothing bad ever happens there. So when a reporter from the Tomorrow News Network shows up, nobody takes much notice. Nobody except a young colonist named Milo. 

Find it on Amazon



And big thanks to Tara Tyler for sending the cool swag!

What are some of your writer secrets? Entering the IWSG Anthology Contest? What are your favorite sci-fi songs? (I’d pick either My House on Mars by Ayreon or When Worlds Collide by Powerman 5000.) See some new books to pick up? And who can help co-host?
I'm on a blogging break this week - see you June 15.