Insecure Writer’s Support Group, Movie Review – Coco, WEP and New Releases, and Mini-Alex!

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.

My awesome co-hosts today are Julie Flanders, Shannon Lawrence, Fundy Blue, and Heather Gardner!

December 6 question - As you look back on 2017, with all its successes/failures, if you could backtrack, what would you do differently?

I could certainly have written more (I bet that will be everyone’s answer) and at least cranked out a story or two.

I also could’ve done more with the IWSG. Yes, we are now a Writer’s Digest Top 101site, but we need to keep moving forward. We tried a few new things, some that worked better than others. The ones that didn’t work well – hey, at least we know not to do that again!

But we are brainstorming some new ways to better reach writers and give them the support they need.

Overall, it was a good year, so I wouldn't want to go back and mess anything up.

We need co-hosts for next year! If you can co-host on January 3, February 7, or March 7, please leave a comment below. (And January co-hosts will be announcing the winners of the IWSG Anthology contest!)

Coco Movie Review

We didn’t get out to this one the weekend it came out due to a busy Thanksgiving holiday. It’s rare we see a film on anything but opening night, but I’m glad we made an effort to see this one.
Miguel is an aspiring musician but his family has banned it for generations. An incident on the evening of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) sends Miguel to the Land of the Dead in search of answers.
This is probably one of the most visually stunning computer animated films ever made. Every scene is rich with colors and textures.
The story is very moving. (Sensitive souls, take Kleenex.) It’s all about family and its importance. Miguel’s struggle between his passion for music and his family is genuine and touching. It carries a positive message for everyone. And it pays great respect to the Mexican holiday.
Miguel’s whole family is loaded with personality, especially those he encounters in the Land of the Dead. Along for the journey is a pathetic but happy Mexican Hairless dog and a man named Hector who is determined to visit the land of the living again before he’s forgotten.

After a few years of hits and near misses for Pixar, they knock it out of the park with Coco.

Highly recommended!

Ninja News

Last week’s IWSG Newsletter was truly amazing! If you’ve not signed up for it, you can do so HERE and you’ll even get a free eBook with some outstanding articles.

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 December challenge – The End is the Beginning.
Heading into the holiday season, our minds often focus on year's end and perhaps look forward to new beginnings. At WEP, we dedicate December to musing about life, taking stock, thinking about where we're at at this point in time.
Perhaps you'll be inspired to write a flashback, perhaps there's a change you're going through or one approaching, perhaps there's a branching off point that could be either an end or a beginning. Whatever strikes you, you have a choice in the way you submit – flash fiction, non-fiction, poetry, a photo essay or get your feelings onto a canvas and show us some artwork...The Top Three entries receive prizes!
The End is the Beginning has any number of possibilities! Let your imagination run riot!

Available now –
Dark Winds Rising by Mark Noce
Three years after uniting the Welsh to defeat the Saxons and settling down with her true love, Artagan, Queen Branwen finds her world once again turned upside down as Pictish raiders harry the shores of her kingdom…
Find it on Amazon

Available now-
Summer Fire by Deniz Bevan
Find it on Amazon

What would you do differently if you could? Have you seen Coco? Getting the IWSG newsletter? Ready for WEP? And can you co-host next year?

One more post this year! Monday, December 18 will feature another movie review, some Christmas music, and maybe more mini-Alex…

#SupporttheGeeks, Chevelle and Secret Life of Pets Reviews, and Ninja News

Last Wednesday, I was at guest of Tyrean Martinson’s as part of her Five Reasons to Write series. Mine involved music!

Thanks to everyone who entered to win the CassaSeries playing cards giveaway! There were a lot of you, but there can be only one winner:

Mason Canyon at Thought in Progress!

Congratulations and enjoy!

#Support the Geeks

Geekdom House is running a campaign over the summer called Support the Geeks. There are some great articles, features, and giveaways being posted over July and August, and they are encouraging the use of the hashtag #SupporttheGeeks to support geek creatives—content producers, actors, artists, and writers. Some people are tweeting at their favourite artists to say thanks, some are making daily blog or Facebook posts about geek stories that have changed their lives. Check out Geekdom House (and their current art giveaway) and join the fun!

Here’s my geek story that changed my life:

Spurred by science fiction like Star Wars and fantasy like Terry Brooks, I began writing as a teen. Then, just before this series debuted, the image below image appeared in TV Guide:

Drawn by Frank Frazetta, that black and white image with the downed ship on the barren planet and other ships overhead sparked an idea. I began writing and soon had a mostly complete story. I stuck it in a drawer and worked on other things and eventually forgot it.

Around eight years ago, I found that crappy early story and decided to rewrite it. In 2010, it became my first published book, CassaStar.

And my life has never been the same since!

Chevelle – The North Corridor Review

After the success of the last album, I wasn’t sure this one would be as tight. Fears unfounded – this is a very solid album.
With the exception of the song Punchline, it’s a really heavy album from start to finish. The music is fierce and a couple songs have an almost punk edge to them.
There are several standout tracks, including Joyride, Rivers, and Warhol’s Showbiz.
If you dig Chevelle, you’ll love this album.
They are also on tour right now and put on a great show.

Movie Review

The Secret Life of Pets

Max has the perfect life until his owner brings home another dog and the two get lost in New York.
For whatever reason, I didn’t find this film all that funny. In fact, it had some mean-spiritedness to it. The best parts were the beginning and the ending where the pets were interacting with their owners. When the animals were on their own, it just wasn’t that engaging. It also wasn’t particularly memorable.
My wife didn’t think it was a great movie, but she laughed a lot and called the film cute.
There was a short before the film that involved the Minions on a quest to make money to buy a blender for juicing bananas. It was very funny.
Kids and pet owners will probably enjoy this film. Everyone else, you are on your own.

Ninja News

Mark Noce set up a Thunderclap campaign for the release of his first fantasy book, Between Two Fires. You can sign up HERE.

Karen Walker is putting together an anthology on aging. If you are fifty or older, visit her blog for details on how you can contribute.

Special thanks –

I want to thank Truedessa for her poem about Aden and Tamsin, the main characters in my Dragon of the Stars. I was honored to finally see some of the fanfiction she is writing!

And thanks to Pat Hatt and the Cat for a funny poem involving Mini-Alex. At least he is out of the litter box now…

Finally, don’t forget – Star Trek: Beyond comes out Friday, July 22! Already getting great reviews. And last week, Blastr featured some amazing artwork celebrating not just Beyond, but fifty years of Star Trek. Live long and prosper!

Any Chevelle fans? See Secret Life of Pets? Can you contribute to Karen’s anthology? (Sadly, I’m old enough I can.) Seeing Star Trek: Beyond this weekend? And do you have a geek story?

My wife and I are taking a short vacation and I’ll be mostly offline Thursday through Saturday. I will return comments though!

Sidelined with Kyra Lennon! Plus Summer Songs Blogfest, Ninja News, and Traditional Update

Sidelined - The Soundtrack

Sidelined is probably the first book I’ve ever written that I didn’t have a soundtrack in mind for when I started. Possibly because a lot of the time, books I write come to me within the lyrics of a song!

Sidelined wasn’t that way for me. Sidelined was born because of the characters I’d already written, and even when I got to the end of the story, I still found it difficult to nail down a playlist. But then I heard this song:.


 If you happen to read Sidelined, you’ll know exactly at which point to press “play” on this song, and why it so perfectly sums up the entire story. I challenge you to read the book, listen to the song, and not bawl your eyes out – I still can’t do it, and I know what’s coming! I actually think this song really sums up the whole of the Game On Series – because love is what it’s all about.

 Thanks for having me over, Alex!

 
At the age of twenty-one, Bree Collinson has more than she ever dreamed of. A handsome husband, a fancy house, and more shoes than Carrie Bradshaw and Imelda Marcos combined. But having everything handed to her isn’t the way Bree wants to live the rest of her life. When an idea to better herself pops into her head, she doesn’t expect her husband to question her, and keep her tied by her apron strings to the kitchen...

Buy Links: Amazon UK/ Amazon US/B&N/iBookstore

Kyra is a self-confessed book-a-holic, and has been since she first learned to read. When she's not reading, you'll usually find her hanging out in coffee shops with her trusty laptop and/or her friends, or girling it up at the nearest shopping mall.

Kyra grew up on the South Coast of England and refuses to move away from the seaside which provides massive inspiration for her novels. Her debut novel, Game On (New Adult Contemporary Romance), was released in July 2012, and she scored her first Amazon Top 20 listing with her New Adult novella, If I Let You Go.

Find Kyra online: Website/Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest/Goodreads/Join My Mailing List

Ninja News

Thanks for all the critique partner offers! You guys are so generous. In addition to Rusty (who is not only the best, but the funniest critique partner on the planet) I am honored to have the awesome Lynda Young and Misha Gericke helping me!

Cate Masters’ Goddess Awakened is out today!

Nigel Mitchell’s latest is out - The New Adventures of Couch Potato! Find it on Amazon


Mark Noce just signed a contract with Rena Tossner of the Deborah Harris Literary Agency for his novel, Between Two Fires!

I got my copy of PHENOMENA last week, autographed by the composer! (Plus some other awesome gifts from Samantha Redstreake Geary.) After listening to the music again, I know I couldn’t have picked a better song, Drakon’s Empire, for my HEROES OF PHENOMENA story, CassaFate.
And there was a formatting issue with the dialogue in my story (which has since been fixed) so if you downloaded HEROES early, let me know and I’ll email you a PDF of the correct version of CassaFate.

Thanks to everyone who has voted for CassaStorm at the eFestival of Words Awards. I forgot to mention that you have to register with the site to vote first. Sorry for the confusion!

Traditional Publisher Definition

Thanks to everyone who got involved in the discussion last week. Most were familiar with the definition I’d posted from several different sources.

GB Miller, who has been on all three sides of the equation, said there was traditional, self-published indie, and subsidy.

Cynthia wins for funniest comment:
I strongly disagree with the assessment that you need to be with one of the big fives to be considered traditionally published. That's like saying that you must own one of the top five brands of cars to be considered a driver.

And of course, ultimately, do readers really care?

However, publishing industry guru Anne R. Allen read the post and comments and sent me another expert source to back up the definitions. In the interest of space, I will post that next Monday.

Songs of Summer Blogfest

Hosted by Armchair Squid, Suze, and Cygnus
On Friday July 11, post your top five favorite summer songs – and why.

I don’t tend to associate seasons with songs, in part because I can never remember when they were released. So instead, I’ve posted my favorite songs with Summer in the title. (And sorry, I could only think of four.)

Y&T – Summertime Girls
Cheesy 80’s metal, but what guy doesn’t appreciate the video?


Type O Negative – Summer Breeze
If Seals and Croft were dead, this remake would cause them to roll over in their graves.


Joe Satriani – Summer Song
Classic instrumental from the Satch Man!


King’s X – Summerland
Another great song from a talented band.


Picking up Kyra’s new book or any of the others? Do you have great critique partners? Picked up PHENOMENA? And what are your favorite songs of summer…?