My awesome co-hosts for the May 1 posting of the IWSG are Lee Lowery, Juneta Key, Yvonne Ventresca, and T. Powell Coltrin!
May 1 question: What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?
Probably the first time I read a book by myself. Nothing could stop me then.
We have two amazing announcements today!
Masquerade: Oddly Suited - An Insecure Writer’s Support Group Anthology
Young Adult Fiction: Romance - General/Paranormal/Contemporary
Print ISBN 9781939844644 $14.95
EBook ISBN 9781939844651 $4.99
Find love at the ball…
Can a fake dating game show lead to love? Will a missing key free a clock-bound prince? Can a softball pitcher and a baseball catcher work together? Is there a vampire living in Paradise, Newfoundland? What’s more important—a virtual companion or a date to the ball?
Ten authors explore young love in all its facets, from heartbreak to budding passion. Featuring the talents of L.G. Keltner, Jennifer Lane, C.D. Gallant-King, Elizabeth Mueller, Angela Brown, Myles Christensen, Deborah Solice, Carrie-Anne Brownian, Anstice Brown, and Chelsea Marie Ballard.
Hand-picked by a panel of agents and authors, these ten tales will mystify and surprise even as they touch your heart. Don your mask and join the party…
Find Masquerade: Oddly Suited here - Barnes and Noble, Amazon, iTunes, Kobo, and Kobo
You can find out more about the authors of Masquerade: Oddly Suited here.
And the authors of Masquerade: Oddly Suited are hosting a live Q & A session on Discord! Join them on Sat 11th May from 1:00 pm EST / 6:00 pm GMT to find out more about the anthology and the contributing authors and ask any burning questions you may have.
The Q & A will be held on Discord. Please follow the invite link: HERE
The 2019 Annual IWSG Anthology Contest is now open for submissions!
Guidelines and rules:
Word count: 3500-5000
Genre: Middle Grade Historical – Adventure/Fantasy
Theme: Voyagers
Submissions accepted: May 1 - September 4, 2019
How to enter: Send your polished, formatted (double-spaced, no page numbers), previously unpublished story to admin @ insecurewriterssupportgroup dot com before the deadline passes.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:
Elizabeth S. Craig, author and honorary judge
Dianne K. Salerni, author
Lindsay Davis Auld, agent - Writers House
S.A. Larsen, author
Rachna Chhabria, author
Lynda Dietz, editor
Tonja Drecker, author
David Powers King, author
Prizes: The winning stories will be edited and published by Freedom Fox Press next year in the IWSG anthology. Authors will receive royalties on books sold, both print and eBook. The top story will have the honor of giving the anthology its title.
Our previous IWSG anthologies:
Masquerade: Oddly Suited
Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime
Hero Lost: The Mysteries of Death and Life
Parallels: Felix Was Here
Avengers: Endgame Review
This movie is more about the human element than action. (Although don’t worry, plenty of that as well, especially in the last part.) It picks up five years after Thanos snapped his fingers and those who remain are trying to cope and move on. Many of those moments are quite touching.
Sparked by an idea, the remaining team sets about to change what has happened and bring everyone back. I can’t tell you how, but it involves more touching moments and some wild twists. There are some really clever moments and laughs, but you also need to bring Kleenex with you.
And the ending battle – that’s where the kid in me geeked out with joy!
This is twenty-two Marvel movies to date and not a dud in the bunch and they are so well woven together. What other franchise can boast that? Not Star Wars. Not Star Trek or Doctor Who. It’s an incredible achievement.
Highly recommended!
So what are you waiting for? Go see it! (Don’t forget the Kleenex.) I’ll be seeing it again to catch everything I missed the first time.
Strange Blood, edited by Vanessa Morgan
This is an overview of the most offbeat and underrated vampire movies spanning nine decades and 23 countries. (Featuring a piece by me on the film Near Dark!)
Pick it up at Amazon US and Amazon UK
May Movie Preview
Here are the upcoming theatrical releases for May! As always, descriptions courtesy of the IMDB. Snark provided by me.
10-
A look at the final days in the life of renowned playwright William Shakespeare.
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Lolita Chakrabarti, Jack Colgrave Hirst, Doug Colling
This might be much ado about nothing…
Explores the formative years of the orphaned author as he finds friendship, love and artistic inspiration among a group of fellow outcasts at school.
Director: Dome Karukoski
Stars: Lily Collins, Nicholas Hoult, Patrick Gibson, Pam Ferris
Tolkien and Shakespeare on the same day? I smell a cage match!
17 –
Super-Assassin John Wick is on the run after killing a member of the international assassin's guild, and with a $14 million price tag on his head - he is the target of hit men and women everywhere.
Director: Chad Stahelski
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Asia Kate Dillon, Jerome Flynn
If less that a hundred people aren’t shot in the head at close range, I’ll demand my money back.
24 –
A kindhearted street urchin and a power-hungry Grand Vizier vie for a magic lamp that has the power to make their deepest wishes come true.
Director: Guy Ritchie
Stars: Will Smith, Naomi Scott, Alan Tudyk, Billy Magnussen
Starring Will Smith as the Fresh Genie of Bel-Air.
31 –
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
The crypto-zoological agency Monarch faces off against a battery of god-sized monsters, including the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan, and his ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah.
Director: Michael Dougherty
Stars: Millie Bobby Brown, Vera Farmiga, Charles Dance, Bradley Whitford
This could be Stranger Things on a whole new level. (And yes, very stoked for this film!)
Picking up Masquerade? Entering the next IWSG Anthology Contest? Can you co-host? Did you see Avengers Endgame? And what movies catch your eye this month?
