Insecure Writer’s Support Group, After Appomattox by Melissa Maygrove, Zootopia 2 Review, and April Movie Preview

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 for the April 1 posting of the IWSG are Melissa Maygrove, Cathrina Constantine, Kate Larkinsdale, and Rebecca Douglass!

April 1 question - If you have a playlist (or could put one together) that either gets you in the groove to write or fits with one of your books, what is it? What type of music or what songs?

I listen to metal and prog rock, so my playlists feature artists in those categories – Rush, Dream Theater, Amorphis, Ayeron, Omnium Gathering, Insomnium, Symphony X, Megadeth, Haken, Voyager, Dynazty, etc. Anything with a pounding beat, intricate music, and high energy.

We would like to welcome Cathrina Constantine as our new IWSG Admin! Please visit her site (she is also co-hosting today) and say hello.

After Appomattox: The Stories That Begin When the War Ends by Melissa Maygrove

On April 9, 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House. The brutal war that had divided the country for four long years was finally over. For the soldiers who laid down their weapons that day, however, the story was only beginning. They still had to go home.

Weary, wounded men returned to farms that had fallen into ruin and towns that had changed in ways they never expected. Not only did families grieve lost husbands, fathers, and sons, former enemies had to learn how to live in the same communities again. Those are the kinds of stories that inspired my Sagebrush Springs series.

In the latest book, The Rebel’s Redemption, Union widow Rosalie Reed loses her husband at Appomattox and is left to run their Nebraska farm alone. She’s aided by Major Charles Avendon—the former Confederate surgeon who operated on her husband when he died. Once Rosalie discovers Charles’s real identity, she must decide whether to forgive him and whether to risk love again.

The Rebel’s Redemption is a poignant tale of second chances. History highlights the battles, but the rebuilding was just as powerful. And those are the stories that make the best romances.

Alex loves movies, so here’s a list:
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
Glory (1989)
Gettysburg (1993)
Shane (1953)
Gone with the Wind (1939)

Thank you for hosting me on your blog!

The series is currently available on Amazon in e-book, paperback, and via Kindle Unlimited. Sagebrush Springs series: universal link
Book 2, The Rebel’s Redemption, is available now here
Book 3, The Widower’s Heart, is available for pre-order here

Hannah Keegan travels west to marry widower Eli Owens and become the mother to his children, only to discover his dying wife is the one who summoned her—and is still very much alive. When a young suitor offers Hannah the future of her dreams, she must choose whether to walk away or stay and risk loving a man who might never love her in return.

Zootopia 2 Review

Picking up after the first film ended, Judy and Nick try to crack a case and everything goes awry.
The film is both fun and funny with laugh-out-loud moments. The regulars return with several new characters including Gary De’Snake (Ke Huy Quan), Mayor Winddancer (Patrick Warburton), and Jesus (Danny Trejo).
This is light entertainment the whole family will enjoy. You’ll have fun until the movie ends, after which you really won’t remember much of it.
Recommended.

April Movie Preview

Here are the theatrical releases for April. Descriptions courtesy of the IMDB. Snark provided by me.

10 –

The Beast
Director: Tyler Atkins
Stars: Daniel MacPherson, Luke Helmsworth, Russell Crowe
MMA legend Patton James, now a commercial fisherman, is pulled back into the cage when his brother is in danger. Reuniting with his old coach Sammy, he commits to one final fight in ONE Championship against its brutal champion Xavier Grau.
Remember when Crowe actually was the fighter in the movie?

17 –

Lee Cronin’s the Mummy
Director: Lee Cronin
Stars: Jack Reynor, Laia Costa, Natalie Grace
The young daughter of a journalist disappears into the desert without a trace. Eight years later, the broken family is shocked when she is returned to them, as what should be a joyful reunion turns into a living nightmare.
Trailer looks interesting, but…who the heck is Lee Cronin?

Do you make playlists? Do you like after war stories? Seen Zootopia 2? Any movies catch your interest for April?
Happy April Fool’s Day, happy Easter, and good luck to all doing the A to Z Challenge this month!

Pioneer Movies with Melissa Maygrove and Movie Reviews

Pioneer Movies

Thanks for hosting me today!

Alex asked me to list some movies that have a similar feel to my book—movies set in the same era with Native American characters, etc. I’m more of a reader than a movie buff, so it wasn’t an easy task. And I’m going to show my age before it’s over. You might not have been born when some of these were released.

The first movie that came to mind was the obvious Dances With Wolves (1990).

A Civil War soldier develops a relationship with a band of Lakota Indians. Attracted by the simplicity of their lifestyle, he chooses to leave his former life behind to be with them. Tragedy results when Union soldiers arrive with designs on the land.

Second is a movie that will always stand out in my memory, Against a Crooked Sky (1975). I watched it when I was a kid, around the same time that Where the Red Fern Grows was popular.

The daughter of a pioneer family is kidnapped by a mysterious Indian tribe, and their eldest son risks his life to track down and rescue his sister.

Last, I came across a TV movie from 1997, titled Stolen Women, Captured Hearts.

In 1868 Kansas, a Lakota Sioux warrior stubbornly refuses to free the two white women he kidnapped, triggering a war between his tribe and General Custer's rescuing troops. One of the women falls in love with him. Now she must choose between the world she lost and the love she found.

I haven’t watched it, but it looks interesting—and romantically intense. I envision the MCs in Battered Pride looking at each other the same way as the actors in the trailer. LOL

My novel Battered Pride pits a half-Mojave hero against a white heroine whose late husband was found scalped and murdered in his field. Conflict and (in the beginning, at least) outright hatred abound. It is most definitely an enemies-to-lovers story.

It was fun to write, but a lot of research went into this one. Not only am I picky about getting details right in my historicals, I wanted to be able to write authentically from the POV of a hero who was half Native American, without perpetuating stereotypes. As I say in the ‘Notes from the author’ section of the book, I hope I succeeded.

Battered Pride (Forging America Book 4) by Melissa Maygrove
When a Mojave clansman insists on helping a struggling widow whose husband was scalped and murdered, survival isn’t the only battle on the frontier.
Amazon - book series page on Amazon

Show and Movie Reviews

Rings of Power season two

I enjoyed it more than season one. It moved at a much faster pace.
I will say it does seem to follow too many characters and plot threads though. We’d go several episodes without seeing some characters at all. But it’s still a great ride and beautiful to look at.
Prequels are odd sometimes because we know how it ends…

Night Shift

A horror film set at a run-down motel with just a handful of actors.
Draw your own conclusions regarding the gaping plot holes at the beginning and end.
There were some decent spooky moments though. Setting was great – a motel in the middle of nowhere. But again, some pesky plot holes.

The Watchers

Horror film starring Dakota Fanning and directed by Ishana Shyamalan. (Yes, M. Night’s daughter.)
It was an interesting idea, trapped in a building in the forest with creatures that stalk them at night. But it was poorly executed. Gaping plot holes. (Like how the building was constructed when the creatures killed all the workers every night?)
The acting was good, and the idea was novel and interesting. Just…huge, huge plot holes.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

Directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Henry Cavill, this follows a British strike force going behind enemy lines during World War II.
If you are a big history fact, it’s probably not accurate, just loosely based on something that might’ve happened.
However, it’s a great deal of fun! Ritchie does a good job unspooling the story. The good guys are witty and droll, the Nazis cruel and evil. Felt like a throwback to movies like Wild Geese and Shout at the Devil.
Great World War II action-adventure film.

Have you seen any of the movies Melissa mentioned? Picking up her new book? Seen any of those movies or shows? Any you can recommend?

I'll be back November 6 for IWSG day.
And quick note – the first IWSG post day of 2025 will be January 8. (Since first Wednesday falls on New Year’s Day. I don’t know about you, but I’m not even going to turn on my computer that day!)

CassaDark Tour Ends and New Releases

The last stop of the CassaDark tour on May 29, Sunday - Armed With a Book!

New Releases!!

Spine Tingling by Elizabeth S. Craig
The Village Library Mysteries | Book 7
Unintended snooping can mean getting into someone's bad books.
Links to purchase o all platforms can be found here.

Fool’s Iron by Melissa Maygrove
The way to a man's heart is through his ego.
The way to a woman's heart is through her child.
Find it on Amazon

Chaos in the Jungle and Other Stories by Rachna Chhabria
Enter a forest, a garden, a meadow, a field, and a classroom, where the birds, insects and animals are all too human.
Find it on Amazon

Visit Armed With a Book on Sunday and I will see you Wednesday, June 1 for Insecure Writer’s Support Group day!

MST3K – The Gauntlet Review, Aquaman News, Endgame Trailer, Literary Book Gifts, New Releases, Mini-Alex, and More!

Mystery Science Theater 3000 – The Gauntlet

On Thanksgiving Day, the next season of MST3K dropped on Netflix. Turkey Day had returned!

While only six episodes, it was presented as The Gauntlet – a challenge for Jonah and the bots to sit through six movies back-to-back. (Fortunately, we managed to spread them out over three days.)

Mac and Me – 1988 film where a lost alien befriends a boy in a wheelchair. Why no, it’s not an E.T. rip-off…
The actors gave it their best, but this one suffers from a lot of nonsense (why is the alien drilling a hole in the wall?) and placing characters in mortal danger many times. Too dark for kids, too dumb for anyone over the age of eight.
However, thanks to Jonah and the bots, it has one of the best lines ever – “This film is exactly like a Pixar movie in that they both exist.”

Atlantic Rim – Exactly what it sounds like – an Asylum Films rip-off of Pacific Rim.
The robots are almost passable, but the monster is beyond horrible and the characters shallow and over-dramatic.
The folks at Asylum aren’t even trying to make a decent film. They must be stopped.

Lords of the Deep – A rip-off of The Abyss filmed in an office building.
Strange creatures surround an underwater office – I mean, research facility – while the characters do their best to be bland and boring.
Almost unwatchable if not for Jonah and the bots.

The Day Time Ended - A solar-powered desert home is visited by aliens and thrust into a time warp.
This is one of those cheap 70’s science fiction films that’s a bit of a drug-induced mind trip. Interesting idea but all over the map in story focus and effects.
You will believe a tiny alien can dance. Well, maybe not…

Killer Fish – Lee Majors, Karen Black, jewel thieves, and piranhas in this campy 70’s film.
Produced by Fawcett-Majors Productions, this was obviously a little pet project for Lee Majors. Over the top characters and a stupid title don’t help though.
According to the film, piranhas eat a hundred times their weight and never stop eating. Ever!

Ator, Fighting Eagle – Before The Blade Master/Cave Dwellers, there was Ator…
The son of Torren goes to avenge…oh, who cares? It’s a terrible Conan rip-off. Plus Ator wants to marry his sister. And there are explosions!
If spiders creep you out, don’t worry – the giant spider in this film is in no way convincing at all.

Will you survive The Gauntlet…?

Aquaman News

Early screenings of the film are coming in and people love it! Not perfect, but a lot of fun, great effects, and the second best DC film ever.
You can read some of the reviewer’s tweets at Screen Rant.

I also caught this on JoBlo:

Aquaman's Jason Momoa takes on Jimmy Fallon in trident throwing challenge.

Avengers: Endgame Trailer

The next Avengers’ movie trailer dropped last week! It doesn’t give us much, but the ending is funny. Watch it here or on YouTube.

Christmas Gifts for Writers

Literary Book Gifts is an online store devoted to showcasing unique literary designs on shirts and totes.
Authors range from Henry David Thoreau to Jane Austen.
There is truly something for every book lover in the collection.

And, as a special treat for my readers, a discount code of 20% off!
The code ALEXJCAVANAUGH20 can be entered at checkout for 20% off your order. No minimum, no expiry.
So go check out Literary Book Gifts!

New Book Releases

Beware the Jade Christmas by Roland Yeomans
Your past sins had teeth. This Christmas Eve, they bite back.
And while the Jade Christmas ghost isn’t real, the rest of the spirits in the book come from French Quarter legends!
Find it on print and eBook on Amazon

To Have & To Hold by Scarlet Knight (Melissa Maygrove)
True love is worth sacrifice.
Find it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble

Are We Nearly Famous? by Patsy Collins, Sheila Crosby, Rosemary Kind, and Lynne Pardoe
This collection of short stories is about journeys; literal, metaphorical and literary. Those both of the characters and the authors.
Pick it up for free at Amazon

Finding the Magic by Jack Lewis Baillot
Belle is sent to the countryside to escape the London bombings during WWII.
Find it on Amazon

Ninja News

Another great posting for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group!

It was interesting to see what everyone had in their writing areas.

The next posting is January 2 – the day after New Year’s Day. We’ll be announcing the winners of the IWSG Anthology Contest that day, so don’t miss it.

We also need co-hosts for next year – February, March, and April. All you have to do is visit twenty blogs within a section of the list. Leave a comment if you can co-host any of those months. It really is more fun on the host side…

Here are the prompts for IWSG Instagram this month:

Google+ is going away in January! If your icon, comment box, or follow widget is connected to Google+, go in and change it back to Blogger or Wordpress. Or no one will find you through your icon. Or comment on your site. (Sorry, all of your older comments will vanish...)

And finally, since so many commented that they had no idea Hot Tamales were a candy, here is Mini-Alex posing with some of my stash. They are chewy hot cinnamon bites of total delight!

Anyone else watch the new season of MST3K? Excited for Aquaman? (I think half of you commented last week that you were!) Looking for a gift for a writer? Some new books? Ready to try Hot Tamales? And can you co-host next year?

Dragon’s Destiny! Plus Movie News, War Movie Trivia Answers, Ninja News, Box Social Winner, and Internet Questions for Everyone…

Movie News

World Wide Box Office –
Jurassic World is now number three:
1 Avatar - $2,788.0 million
2 Titanic - $2,186.8
3 Jurassic World - $1,582.4
4 Marvel's The Avengers - $1,519.6
5 Furious 7 - $1,511.7
6 Avengers: Age of Ultron - $1,398.8
Other noteables:
34 Minions - $920.3
234 Mad Max: Fury Road - $373.1
299 Ant-Man - $332.5
333 Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation - $310.6

Only two movies have been number one at the box office this year for four weeks straight – Furious 7 and American Sniper.

A remake that should never be made…

Production continues to flounder on the remake of The Crow. According to the AV Club, yet another lead man departed this summer:
It was nearly four years ago that Bradley Cooper exited the project, after which the lead role was reportedly offered to notorious goths like Mark Wahlberg, James McAvoy, and Channing Tatum. Since then, the project drifted from Tom Hiddleston to Luke Evans to, finally, Boardwalk Empire‘s Jack Huston. Now, Variety reports, Huston is out too, the result of a “scheduling conflict.”

My wife and I recently watched the original film. There is absolutely no reason to remake it.

There is no way to recapture the mystical quality of the film. Ever. The creator of the graphic novel, James O’Barr, wrote it as a way to deal with the death of his girlfriend due to a drunk driver. That Brandon Lee would die on the set, and while engaged to be married, amplifies the powerful emotions this film captures.

Alex Proyas, who also directed Dark City, did an amazing job with the film. It contains so much atmosphere and the effects hold up well after over twenty years. Not to mention that the soundtrack is kick-butt.

I can only hope that this project continues to be sidetracked…

Box Social Contest Winner!

It's time to announce the winner of the box social contest!

Last week, I asked you to guess which box--red, blue or brown--contained the lizard. Everyone who guessed the correct box was entered into a drawing for a free e-copy of my new book, Precious Atonement.

The lizard was in the brown box!
For the record, I accepted brown, tan, bronze, cream, gold. If you didn't say red or blue, you got added to the list. ;)

*drumroll* And the winner chosen by Random.org is... J. E. Oneil!
Congratulations, Jeanne!!! :D

Thanks to everyone who played, and a big thanks goes to Alex for hosting me. Melissa Maygrove

Ninja News

Dianne Salerni is holding a cool giveaway! Win a Transitioner’s 16 Month Calendar — complete with 8 days a week! Open until August 31.

Denise Covey and Yolanda Renee have started up Write...Edit...Publish again. This month, it’s Spectacular Settings. See their sites for details.

Charity Bradford is hosting the Bold New Worlds Contest again for high school students. See her site for details.



Liesel K. Hill is hosting a great giveaway that includes a Kindle Fire HD.

New Releases!

The Box of Souls by Tanya Miranda
Available at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, iTunes, Smashwords, and CreateSpace
You can also enter the Goodreads giveaway.

Beyond Space Opera
Featuring Milo James Fowler

Movie Trivia Answers

War movies:

1 – Hugo Weaving, Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones 2011 – Captain America
2 – Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland 1967 – The Dirty Dozen
3 – Jude Law, Joseph Finnes, Rachel Weisz 2001 – Enemy at the Gate
4 – Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan 1995 - Braveheart
5 – Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender 2009 Inglourious Basterds

Dragon’s Destiny!

At the request of Truedessa, I have written a short story that takes place after Dragon of the Stars.

This short story is available for free to anyone who has read Dragon of the Stars! Just send me an email (alexjcavanaugh AT earthlink.com), tell me what happens to Aden at the end of Dragon of the Stars, and tell me what format you want – ePub, Mobi, or PDF file.

Thanks to everyone who has read Dragon of the Stars! It still amazes and humbles me. To think I never even wanted to be an author...

Questions!

And finally, just some Internet questions that really have me curious…

What compels you to put someone in your sidebar?
(I update mine once a month or so, and anyone who visits me every week, and I visit them, goes in my sidebar.)

Are you ever intimidated to leave a blog comment?
(I don’t think I’ve ever been afraid to leave a comment. We’re all just people after all…)

What other social platform would you recommend?
(I’m considering either Tumblr or Pinterest. Not sure which one.)

What’s the worst thing about Twitter?
(For me, it’s a toss-up between people who claim that can get you thousands of followers and those who constantly Tweet ‘Buy my book.’)

For those who have been around a while, what’s an aspect of blogging you really miss?
(I miss the variety. I used to have the most eclectic followers, and now it’s almost all writers and authors. I love you guys, but where did everyone else go?)

Do you think they should remake The Crow? Did you guess the brown box? Are you participating in Write...Edit...Publish? Get the movie trivia right? Want to read Dragon’s Destiny? And what is your opinion on the questions…?
And I will be visiting with friends later this week, so I won't be around Thursday through Saturday.

Melissa Maygrove: Boxes and Lizards, Book Trailers Still Relevant, Movie Review, Symphony X Underworld Review, War Movie Trivia, IWSG Updates, and Ninja News

The wonderful Melissa Maygrove joins us today to discuss history, boxes, and lizards.

I’m grateful to Alex for offering to host me today, but I wasn’t sure what to write about. After pondering possible topics, I decided to give you a brief history lesson.

C’mon, c’mon. I promise it won’t be that bad. There’s even a giveaway!

The box social was the Match.com of our ancestors. Young ladies would each box up a homemade meal, and young men would bid on them. The winner got to share the meal with the lady who brought the box.

In Precious Atonement, the boxes contain desserts, and the men joke about hiding a lizard inside of one of them. That scene was the inspiration for this post.

Below are three boxes. One of them contains a lizard. (Humor me and engage your suspension of disbelief. *grin*) Leave a comment by midnight, central ‘Texas’ time Friday, August 14, saying which box you think it is. All visitors who have the correct answer will be entered in a drawing for a free e-book of Precious Atonement. The winner will be announced on Monday, August 17.

Who says history can’t be fun. :)

Find Melissa at her blog and website.

Find Precious Atonement at Amazon and Barnes and Noble

Ninja News

Today’s Themes That Rocked the Challenge feature at the A to Z Blog is Jenn from Scribbles From Jenn. She dared to enter… The Twilight Zone!

Out now!

Black Magic and Mojitos: A Zyan Star Novelette by A.A. Chamberlynn

Find it on Amazon

Find Alexia: blog Twitter, and Amazon page.

Available now!

The Rat Killer and other Weird War Tales by Sean McLachlan

Find it on Amazon and Smashwords

And sorry, no Fantastic Four review. Did you see the reviews? It’s 9% on Rotten Tomatoes and the reviews have been less than kind:
Much of Josh Trank's abysmal "Fantastic Four" is set in a barren place called Planet Zero - and you may feel stranded there yourself for all 100 minutes of this plodding, joyless and stillborn Marvel reboot. - Lou Lumenick
Fantastic Four feels like a 100-minute trailer for a movie that never happens. – Todd McCarthy
A movie so dull and awkwardly structured that you wonder why anyone would dare telegraph a sequel at the end. – Kurt Loder
Yes, a sequel is scheduled, but I doubt it will happen now. Fox, just sell it to Disney. Three strikes and you’re out.

And the results of last week’s Battle of the Banned, hosted by Shady Del Knight, featuring covers of Ballroom Blitz by The Sweet:
Krokus – fourteen votes (including mine)
The Offspring – six
Nuclear Assault - eight

IWSG

Thanks again for another awesome posting day for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group!

There were so many awesome posts and my co-hosts rocked.

Those of you who’ve never co-hosted before don’t know what you are missing. It’s ten times better on the host side. Here are some of the comments I received from my co-hosts this month:

I had a fabulous time visiting the sites and was amazed by the outpouring of comments on my blog.

I have been having a blast co-hosting the #IWSG, thank you for the opportunity.

I was surprised by the variety of posts, from humorous to thoughtful to very personal and tried to leave thoughtful and/or helpful comments.

It was fun and I got the most comments ever!

I’ll be looking for co-hosts for the last three months of the year soon. Plus, we are announcing the most awesome contest and opportunity ever on September 2. You don’t want to miss it.

I cull the list every month, removing as many non-participants as possible. I feel bad removing people, but it’s not fair to those who are posting and looking for other IWSG posts on the list. If you are cut, you can always sign back up when you’re ready.

Chemist Ken posted about perseverance last Wednesday and used Melissa Maygrove’s climb up the IWSG list as an example – and it’s hilarious!

Especially the graph.

You have to check it out.


Finally, this was something I created for Karen Lange. It was one of my guest posts for my Dragon of the Stars tour, and she asked if I could create a graphic that highlighted each point I covered. Karen shared it recently, and now I am sharing it with you.

Are Book Trailers Still Relevant?

I haven’t noticed as many book trailers being released lately, which is a bit of a bummer. I know they require money and time (my publisher created trailers for my first three books, but didn’t have time to produce one for Dragon of the Stars) but I’ve always enjoyed watching them.

What do you think? Book trailers still cool? Require too much effort? Do you enjoy them?

And since I have a lot of new followers who may not have seen any of my trailers, here is the very first one for CassaStar:

Movie Review

From The Dark
This Irish film finds a couple stranded in the countryside after a farmer has awakened a vampire-like creature.
This was a simple film that certainly had promise. But that was utterly destroyed by the use of every bad horror cliché known to man – characters splitting up, car stuck, cell phones don’t work, flashlight dies, etc. Not to mention the characters do some of the dumbest things throughout the film. (Example – the creature is afraid of light, yet the woman walks around with a box of matches, lighting them one by one. My wife spent the final third of the film screaming at the woman, ‘Light something on fire. Anything!’)
The one thing the film had going for it was atmosphere. Too bad it’s not enough to save the film.
Not recommended.

Music Review

Symphony X – Underworld

I am a long-time fan of the band, and this is one of their most accomplished albums yet. Conceptually, the album deals with Dante’s Inferno. (Or, what would you go to hell and back for?)
As a fan of hard rock and metal, this is some of the craziest guitar work I’ve ever heard. (Yes, this novice is in total awe.)
If you like progressive rock and want to hear some of the greatest shreddings ever, don’t hesitate to pick up this album.

Movie Trivia!

It’s been a while! The theme is war movies or those that take place during a war. Name the movie from the actors listed:

1 – Hugo Weaving, Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones 2011

2 – Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland 1967

3 – Jude Law, Joseph Finnes, Rachel Weisz 2001

4 – Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan 1995

5 – Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender 2009

Answers next Monday!

Which box holds the lizard? Anyone have the misfortune of seeing Fantastic Four? Or From the Dark? Enjoy last week’s IWSG? If you’ve been a co-host, would you agree it was even more fun than just posting? Fan of Symphony X or prog rock? What’s your opinion on book trailers? And can you get any of the trivia right?

Breaking Epic Fantasy Rules, RiffTrax Images, Cherished Blogfest, Movie Review, New Releases, and Ninja News

Today I welcome author Misha Gerrick!

Top Ten Reasons to Love and/or Hate My YA Epic Fantasy Series

Thanks so much for having me over, Alex!

My books break a lot of YA Epic Fantasy “rules”, so after a bad review from someone who didn’t get the book, I’m telling everyone which rules I broke. This way can decide whether you’ll take a chance on the series or not after I warned you/told you why this series is uniquely awesome.

Reason One: My book starts with a dream. Pretty much because everyone kept saying “DON’T START BOOKS WITH DREAMS.” Actually that’s not true. Callan’s dreams are actually vitally important.

Reason Two: You read that right. Dreams. As in plural.

Reason Three: You know how the chosen one or high king never seems to be a girl? I have five guys and one girl telling the story, but the girl tells more than half of it for two books.

Reason Four: There is no chosen one.

Reason Five: My main characters are teenagers in some highly stressful situations. They neither speak nor act like they’re in church.

Reason Six: I used a lot of tropes

Reason Seven: And turned most of them on their heads.

Reason Eight: The story-line in The Vanished Knight might not feel quite as epic as you might be used to, and the things that tie everything together are very subtle.

Reason Nine: The Vanished Knight ends on a HUGE cliffhanger. Some might argue it makes you have to buy The Heir’s Choice. Which is why I was nice enough to publish the two simultaneously.

Reason Ten: I worked under the assumption that Young Adult Epic Fantasy readers are smart enough to keep up with the story, which has (without my intending it) been compared to Game of Thrones by three quarters of my beta readers.

Bonus Reason: I’m not sorry about any of it.

The Vanished Knight
The entity living inside Callan’s soul orphaned her at age eleven…
Find it here: Goodreads, Amazon, Apple, and Barnes and Noble

The Heir’s Choice
After discovering her parents had kept a whole world secret, Callan races to discover her past…
Find it here: Goodreads, Amazon, Apple, and Barnes and Noble

Misha Gerrick has been creating stories long before she could write and is currently going after her dream of making a living as a writer.
Blog Tumblr Twitter Google+

New Releases!

I had the honor of reading this first book before its release and I promise you, Robyn does not disappoint, both with her humor and her raw honesty.

Available today –
Woman on the Verge of Paradise by Robyn Alana Engel

Though offered a contract on her first attempt at publication, this rogue new author decided to do it her way.

“It’s a powerful glimpse into one woman’s quest for happiness. Robyn will yank on your heartstrings one moment and then tickle your funny bone the next. Hang on for the ride!”
-Alex J. Cavanaugh, Author of the best-selling Cassa series and Dragon of the Stars

She’s 4 feet, 8 inches of heartfelt ferocity, and nothing can stop this post-pubescent spitfire from claiming her fairytale—not jarring tragedy, not penile incompetence, not even the explosive demise of a new marriage. Not until Robyn finds her happily ever after…alone.

Buy it now at Amazon!

Precious Atonement by Melissa Maygrove
Western Historical Romance

Ruined women don’t hope, killers don’t dream, and the dead don’t feel pain.

Find it here: Kindle, Amazon paperback, Nook, and Goodreads

Gabriel (Path of Angels Book 4) by Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine

The end is in sight...

Find it on Amazon and Goodreads

Ninja News and Movie Stuff

Liz at Laws of Gravity posted a link to a perception test online. I’m not the most perceptive person in the world, so I was stunned when I scored Flawless Perception! Try it yourself HERE.

Movie Review – The House at the End of Time
After strange things start happening in the house, Dulce’s husband is killed and her son taken by supernatural forces. Imprisoned for the crime, she returns to the house many years later and strange things begin again.
From Venezuela, this film was four and a half stars on NetFlix (stunning since NetFlix reviewers are harsh), so I gave it a shot. And I was impressed!
This film is a blend of horror, drama, science fiction, and mystery. Told in flashbacks between the two timelines, we see the mystery both unfold and deepen as connections are made to the house and the family. It’s an atmospheric piece with unnerving horror elements as opposed to shocking ones.
I can’t say too much without revealing the story. But I thought this was an excellent film and truly unique. If you’re looking for a film with atmosphere, intrigue, and light on horror, rent it.
Highly recommended!

And just because I wanted to share some more RiffTrax shots with you:

The Cherished Blogfest

Hosted by Damyanti, and Dan Antion, Paul Ruddock, Peter Nena, and Sharukh Bamboat.

I’m going to give you three things:

My most cherished in this world is my Lord and Savior.

Next most cherished is my wife. She’s my best friend, a great supporter, and keeps me very happy.

After that, I will go with an item. Several in fact – my guitar collection. I own several high-end guitars and they are a joy to play. I’m blessed I had the opportunity to learn guitar and can now play in a Christian band.

(And I’ll add a fourth thing – my friends, including you guys!)

What do you think about breaking all those fantasy rules? Picking up any of the cool new releases? Have you seen The House at the End of Time? And what is your most cherished thing?