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How to enter: Send your polished, formatted (double-spaced, no footers or headers), previously unpublished story to admin @ insecurewriterssupportgroup.com before the deadline passes.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!

Underrated Treasures Blogfest! Plus Dragon and Ninja, BOTB Results, and Ninja News

Time for the Underrated Treasures Blogfest!

But first…

Ninja News

At the A to Z Blog today is Mina Burrows, who rocked the Challenge with her theme – classic monsters!


This Wednesday at the IWSG Site is the awesome Jennifer Hillier!

Don’t forget to either submit your work or post on October 1 for the IWSG Guide to Publishing and Beyond!
We’ve received a lot of writing pieces and need more publishing and marketing.
Also, please do not include quotes, as there may be a copyright issue with them.

How I Found the Write Path is available now!
Put together by Carrie Butler and PK Hrezo, many of us posted for the book blogfest earlier this year, and now the book is available.
It’s on Amazon and other sites – check it out!




Thanks to these two wonderful ladies for also featuring one of my books in their entry for the Shelfie Bloghop. (Tara, is there a prize for the most features?)

CD Coffelt

MJ Fifield

Battle of the Bands Results

It was really close!! Sadly, even with my vote, Stream of Passion did not win the Street Spirit battle. Shame, because the lead singer has what I call a voice of glass. But that’s all right, it’s still my favorite (the singer is amazing) and the inspiration for CassaStar.

Radiohead -20

Stream of Passion - 18

Dragon and Ninja

I’d like to share some images of a very special gift that is coming my way soon.
I am part of a special private blog group called Fellowship of the Dragon, founded by Father Dragon Al. He started creating the dragon (made in his own image) as a reward for the person who achieved their goals on a consistent basis.
I was honored to be named that person.
But even more, I was blown away by the talent and generosity of my friend, who not only spent countless hours making the dragon, but made a Ninja to go with him.
Al, I will treasure it always. You are an amazing Dragon friend.

 

Underrated Treasures Blogfest! 

Everyone has a favorite movie or band that no one else has ever heard about. For whatever reason, they remain undiscovered and underrated. Now is your chance to tell the world about this obscure treasure!

Today, September 22, post about your favorite unknown –

MOVIE – BAND/ARTIST – TV SHOW – BOOK

Post about one or all four – dealer’s choice!

Here are my recommendations of underrated treasures:

BOOK –
The Light at the End by John Skipp and Craig Spector
It’s been many years since I read this one, but it’s a really intense horror/suspense story. It follows vampire Rudy Pasko and the man who wants to kill him, Joseph Hunter. It was extreme back in the day (published almost thirty years ago) although a bit tamer now by today’s standards. But the vampire is nasty, as he should be! Was out of print for years, but now available as an eBook.

TV SHOW –
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.
Set in the Wild West, the show possessed the same humor as Firefly. It was a mix of Wild West, Indiana Jones, and James Bond. Bruce Campbell rocked in the title role and the show was a lot of fun. It only ran two seasons, 1993 to 1994, and unfortunately is not available on NetFlix yet, just DVD.

MUSIC –
7th Wonder – Mercy Falls
A progressive rock band, Mercy Falls is their best album and probably one of the greatest albums ever. It’s a concept album – a man in a coma is trying to escape and come back to reality. The music is so amazing and catchy. I highly recommend checking out all of their albums. (And the lead singer also now sings in Kamelot.)

MOVIE –
Edge of Tomorrow
I decided to select a film from this year because this movie just didn’t find an audience, especially in America. And it deserved one – the movie is brilliant, smart science fiction. Beyond that genre, it possesses incredible special effects, a clever storyline, solid acting, intense action and moving drama, and is a complete package. Despite what you may think of Tom Cruise, this film is awesome – watch it!

What underrated treasures would you recommend? And have you read/listened to/seen any of those?


Contributing to the IWSG book? Picking up How I Found the Write Path? BOTB results surprise you? Do you want your own Dragon and Ninja? And what are your underrated treasures…?

Guardians of the Galaxy Review, Interstellar Trailer, Marvel Movie Trivia, Music to Write By with MJ Fifield, and Ninja News

I have an interview with Richard P. Hughes for his “What I like about where I live” feature today!

Movie Review

Guardians of the Galaxy

Best movie of the summer!

The Guardians are part of the Marvel universe, but this felt more like Indiana Jones meets Serenity rather than a superhero film. It harkens back to those fun 80’s movies and I sported a big grin for the duration of the film.

The movie hits all the right notes. The action is well paced, the humor spread evenly, and the sentiment shines at the right moments. The five characters come from troubled backgrounds (well, we assume Groot does – he only speaks four words) and grow as they learn to come together as a team.

The banter between the characters is priceless. Think Serenity and Firefly. Each has numerous funny lines and humorous situations. Rocket (the raccoon) pulls off some of the best one-liners. (But the funniest scene involves the interior condition of Peter Quill’s ship. And fortunately, it will go right over kids’ heads.)

They are backed by a great supporting cast. Stan Lee has his cameo, Del Toro returns as The Collector, and even Rob Zombie has a role. And – we finally get to see Thanos!

Overall, it’s one fun and satisfying ride and now my second favorite Marvel film. And from the setup, I predict we will see the Guardians in the third Avengers film.

Highly Recommended!

Music To Write By

Please welcome the awesome MJ Fifield!

I like creating playlists for my WIPs. I know I’m getting serious about a WIP when I start compiling a playlist for it. But I have one playlist that isn’t WIP-specific. It’s called “Mood Music” and when people have seen that particular CD lying around, their minds immediately go somewhere they shouldn’t.

It’s not that kind of mood music. What it is is instrumental music in which I get lost, melodies that make me see and feel my characters. It’s what I listen to when I need to find that deep, often elusive, writing zone.

Today, I thought I would share with you some of the soundtracks which help me do that.

—The Lord of the Rings (composed by Howard Shore)—Sweeping and epic, and everything a fantasy soundtrack should be. From the very first track to the last, this is perfect music to get me in the mindset to write. Standout tracks include: The Bridge of Khazad Dum and The Riders of Rohan.

—Battlestar Galactica (composed by Bear McCreary)—Unless Joss Whedon is involved, I’m not much for shows set in space. The Battlestar Galactica reboot became the exception—and the music was part of the reason why. The main title music is gorgeous, but my standout track here is Passacaglia.

—The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (composed by Jeremy Soule)—A video game soundtrack to a game I’ve never played. Fortunately, Pandora Radio introduced it to me, and I knew instantly that I had to have it. Standout track is From Past To Present.

—Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Score (composed by Christophe Beck)—From the television show. I particularly love Slayer’s Elegy, Sacrifice, and The Loneliness of Six. There’s another track not on this collection, though, and that’s The Final Fight by Rob Duncan, which appears in the series finale. That track always helps me with—you guessed it—fight scenes.

—Game of Thrones (composed by Ramin Djawadi)—The newest addition to my Mood Music collection. I can’t deny how it makes me feel. Just beautiful, inspirational music. Standout track: Winterfell from season two.

Have any music you like to write to? Please let me know because I’m always on the hunt for new additions to my playlists.

Thanks for having me here today, Alex!
Pick up Effigy on Amazon

Ninja News

Rereleased! Snapshops by Patricia Lynne
Find it at Amazon, Goodreads, and Smashwords



Ali Cross announced the date and location for Indie ReCon Live - Sandy Utah, October 10-11th. Get all the details at Indie ReCon Live


George from Cinemarvellous now has a Facebook Page. If you are on Facebook, please ‘like’ his page.

Shag Carpet Toilet by Al Penwasser now available in print!

Had to share this picture Ellie Garratt posted of Ninja Alex with Beaker!




And don’t forget that Wednesday is Insecure Writer’s Support Group post day!

Interstellar Trailer

In case you missed it last week – an awesome new trailer for Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar. Now I’m getting excited for this film!

Movie trivia

Marvel movies – easy trivia! (All answers are Marvel movies.)

1 – Vampire trilogy

2 – Actor who started in one series and then hit it big with another series

3 – Blind superhero

4 – In X-Men 3, Jean Grey becomes…

5 – Worst rated Marvel film of the past twenty years

Answers on Wednesday!

What music inspires you to write? Any news strike your fancy? Excited for Interstellar? Know the trivia answers? Ready for Wednesday’s IWSG post? And who else saw Guardians of the Galaxy…?

Be sure to visit Richard P. Hughes!

Star Wars Director News, Box Office, Movie Reviews, Writing Progress, and Ninja News

The awesome Charity Bradford interviewed me and you can read it today. Short and to the point, plus I reveal the best compliment I’ve ever received regarding my writing.

Science Fiction Movie News

Big announcement last Friday – Rian Johnson will write and direct Star Wars VIII and possibly IX.
Jo Blo posted that while J.J. Abrams will direct Star Wars VII, the reins are being turned over to Johnson after that. (Johnson directed Looper and Brick.)
Gareth Edwards (Godzilla and Monsters) is directing the first standalone film, which comes out December 16, 2016. Josh Trank (Fantastic Four and Chronicle) will direct the standalone film that comes out in 2018.

This is how recent science fiction films have fared at the overall world-wide box office:
#61 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier - $710.7 million
#64 - The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - $702.8 million
#69 - X-Men: Days of Future Past - $677.8 million
#160 - Godzilla (2014) - $443.2 million
#418 - Edge of Tomorrow - $255.5 million

Book Progress

On the writing front, I’m now on round three of edits. I like editing SO much more than writing the first draft! Anyone else weird that way?

I had to add quite a few scenes after the first draft was finished, beyond just adding description. (I’m a bare bones writer.) The word count is over 70,000, which stuns me because when I hit the midway point of writing in my outline, it looked like I’d be lucky to hit 50,000 words. So I’m really happy with the current word count. I know, most writers have to cut stuff to hit a word count. Just how I roll.

Maybe some of you roll that way as well…

Ninja News

Today’s Themes That Rocked feature at the A to Z Blog is Bob Miline and his speculative fiction book covers.

Pat Hatt’s latest is out - Cassie and The Wild Cat: A Ball At Cat Hall! Buy it on Amazon

Donna Weaver’s Torn Canvas is also available! Pick it up on Amazon

Carrie-Anne Brownian’s Little Ragdoll is out! If you like epic historical fiction, check it out.

Tara Tyler’s Broken Branch Falls comes out June 24!!

Cover reveal –

Effigy by M.J. Fifield
Release date: July 22, 2014
Cover art by Ravven

The survival of a once-mighty kingdom rests in the hands of its young queen, Haleine Coileáin, as it slowly succumbs to an ancient evil fueled by her husband’s cruelty.

Add it on Goodreads now.


Mark Noce’s story at Every Day Fiction got so many hits, they are doing a special feature on him this week. They also accepted another story of his last week at Every Day Fiction. Congratulations, Mark!

Songs of Summer Blogfest
Armchair Squid, Suze, and Cygnus
On Friday July 11, post your top five favorite summer songs – and why.
(I’ll be posting mine on Monday of that week.)

Don’t forget Heroes of PHENOMENA is now available for free at Amazon, Kobo, and Smashwords. It includes my short story, CassaFate, along with stories from a dozen other authors.



And finally, has anyone heard from Fanny Barnes Thornton? She was taking a break at the end of May, but failed to return for the June IWSG as promised. Several bloggers have emailed her with no response. If you’ve heard from her, please let me know!

Quick NetFlix Movie Reviews

The Art of the Steal
Starring Kurt Russell, Matt Dillon, and Jay Baruchel
I’d never heard of this film until it showed up on NetFlix. It turned out to be a surprisingly entertaining film! Good heist caper movie that features twists and turns similar to an episode of Leverage.

Anchorman 2
Sorry to say, I didn’t laugh that much. As a character, Ron Burgundy works best in five minute spurts or less. However, if you liked the first one, you’ll like this one.





Picking up some new books or signing up for the blogfest? Heard from Fanny recently? How’s your writing progressing? Seen either of those movies? And what do you think about the Star Wars VIII director choice?

Don’t forget to visit Charity Bradford!