Melissa Bradley’s Favorite Lady Badasses, CassaStorm Winners, Friday Night Alibi, and Ninja News

Special treat for you today! Melissa Bradley is here to share her favorite bad ass ladies, and this Ninja highly approves of her choices!

My Fave Lady Badasses

"Thanks Captain, for letting me take over your ninja fortress for a little bit. Yes, I promise I'll be brief.Wait, what's that? Watch out for Mini Alex. Okay." Smiles and nods as Alex walks away, then looks around quickly for any sign of the little guy.

"Alright, coast clear. Now where was I? Oh yeah, I love strong women, love to read about them, love to watch them in the movies and of course, love to write about them. Growing up I was caught between the women's equality movement and old school, conservative relatives who wanted to me to start planning my wedding my junior year of high school. It was my dad who first introduced me to badass women. He took me to see movies like Alien and Star Wars and talked about his admiration for Ellen and for Princess Leia as leaders.

Anyway without further ado, here are my fave badass ladies of the movies

Ellen Ripley (The Alien films)
She was the first woman I ever saw in a command position on a space ship, going toe to toe with her mostly male crew, but also a nine-foot acid for blood alien. She wielded a flame-thrower and a pulse rifle with skill and I was dazzled.

Selene (Underworld)
Female vampires had always been slinky, slutty characters relegated to the background, but here was a badass who wielded guns, blades and had mad hand to hand skills. What is not to love?

Alice (Resident Evil)
Growing up, it was the guys who always racked up the zombie kills and the ladies only got one in on occasion and usually because the guys were not around or already dead. Here was a woman highly skilled in hand to hand and any other weaponry you could think of. She took charge of the situation and waded in to kill every ghoul in the room.

Zoe Washburne (Serenity, Firefly)
Zoe is in a whole class by herself. Second in command of a squad of rebel soldiers, then a crew of smugglers, she is one of my fave characters of all time. She is brilliant in hand to hand, but nothing compares to her skills with firearms and her uncanny ability to assess a situation and size up the odds.

I have lots more, but I don't want the Captain to cut me off using one of his ninja techniques. Besides I think I hear those little feet and I am such a klutz, I don't want to fall on the poor fellow. But before I go, I love to hear from people so feel free to drop by my blog, Melissa's Imaginarium anytime. Or hit me up onTwitter or Facebook.

About Melissa:
She grew up on the Southeast Side of Chicago, a land steel mills and churches right at the bottom of Lake Michigan. It's not found on many maps, but it shaped her passion for writing and storytelling. When she's not writing or working her day job, Melissa can be found at the library or parked in front of her TV indulging her other big passion, movies.

Her latest books: NATHAN'S ANGEL and BYZANTINE PROVOCATEUR

Thanks, Melissa – you rock!

Ninja News

Voting is open at Michelle’s BLOG for favorite funny A to Z Challenge definitions. Prizes are involved, so check it out.

Annie Walls is hosting the May Monster Madness next week. “How does May Monster Madness work? Well, it's a blog hop featuring posts about monsters! Anything you can think of as long as it has something to do with monsters... crafts, lists, movies, funnies (a personal favorite)... anything!”

The A to Z Challenge Reflections list will be open through Friday. Remember, it’s not a sign up! Add the link to your Reflections post after you have posted. (Sorry, we had to delete a few who signed up but hadn’t posted yet.)

The Best/Worst Movie Remakes Blogfest is a week from Friday – don’t miss it!

My review of Iron Man III (it was good!) will be up on Wednesday, along with a review of what I saw Friday night. (And yes, it was even better.)

Cover Reveal – Friday Night Alibi

Friday Night Alibi
By Cassie Mae
Available July 29, 2013

Rising star Cassie Mae introduces New Adult readers to a practical soon-to-be college freshman who seems to have everything—until a special guy shows her what she’s been missing.

In the wealthy town of Sundale, Kelli Pinkins has hatched the perfect plan to capitalize on her sweet reputation…

“Totally entertaining with as many swoon-worthy moments as hilarious ones, Friday Night Alibi is a must-read.”—Jolene Perry, co-author of Out of Play

“A fun, funny, and fantastic story, this is one you will read in a day, and pick up to re-read again the next.”—Kelley Lynn, author of Fraction of Stone

Pre-order Friday Night Alibi: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, and Random House

Challenge Winners of CassaStorm

Thanks to everyone who left a comment last month. (All 4100+ of you!) Random.org selected the following winners of a review copy of CassaStorm:

Jemi Fraser

Mark Koopmans

Congratulations you two!

Following the awesome Melissa? Who would make your list of badass ladies? Signed up for the blogfests? Excited to pick up Cassie’s book in July? And who else saw Iron Man III this weekend…?

A to Z Challenge – Near Dark and No Excuses, Plus Ninja News and Ship My Pants

My theme for the A to Z Challenge is Favorite Movies, Bloggers, and Music! I’ll name a favorite movie that corresponds with the letter, and then select a character from the film. I will then name a favorite blogger who reminds me of that character, and then dedicate a song to him. (Also corresponding with the alphabet.) I’ll wrap it all up with trivia and/or fun facts about the movie, the blogger, or the music!

In addition, two lucky commenters this month will receive a review copy of CassaStorm! One comment per day and each is worth one entry except – the first and one hundredth comments on each day will receive ten entries!

Near Dark

A gritty and very original take on the vampire lore. (In fact, the word vampire is never uttered.) Moments of quiet atmosphere are followed by intense action. The cast is great and obviously had fun in their roles.

Mae is a quiet girl holding a secret. Her gentle spirit offsets the crass behavior of those around her. She’s consistent and devoted, doing what she can for the others.

Who is Mae?

Michelle at Writer-In-Transit!

She keeps her personal life and appearance hidden, but that doesn’t stop her spirit from shining through. Michelle is always there, quietly supporting in the background. If she were to leave though, it would leave a big hole in the blogging world.

Michelle is a writer, flash fiction master, and one awesome Ninja Minion.

To you I dedicate No Excuses by Alice in Chains. (Song title leads to YouTube.)

For the simple fact you don’t allow excuses – you are always there, always trying, always believing!

Trivia and Facts:

Near Dark was Bigelow’s directorial debut, but it was also the last film ever produced by this major studio, often symbolized by three letters – name it.

M’s trivia answer – Switchfoot is a surfing term. (The members are from California and big time surfer dudes.)

Ninja News

Anne R. Allen had an informative post this weekend about Amazon algorithms.

This weekend I received a sweet photo of Jennifer Hillier and Nancy Thompson out causing trouble. But they’re both cute, so they can get away with it.


Rachel Schieffelbein is hosting the Secondary Characters Blogfest on May 22 in honor of the release of her upcoming book.

Thanks to everyone who signed up for the Best/Worst Movie Remake Blogfest on May 17!


And I wanted to share commercial with you guys. Yes, this is a real Internet commercial.

'Ship My Pants' Kmart Ad: For The 12-Year-Old In All Of Us



Ever seen the movie Near Dark? Following the awesome Michelle? Any Alice in Chains fans? Know the trivia today? Excited about the blogfests? And after watching that commercial, what word did you hear besides ship…?

Top Ten Movie Countdown Blogfest, Google Reader Alternative, and Ninja News

Are you ready for the Top Ten Movie Countdown Blogfest?

First, some news and a Google Reader alternative.

Ninja News

SC Write is holding a query contest! Want to know if your query will get attention? Check out his site for details.

Writers4Writers is promoting Angela Brown and Kyra Lennon today!

Still on the fence about the A to Z Challenge? You need to visit Michelle at Writer-in-Transit! This awesome Ninja Minion posted a fun and creative piece on the benefits of the Challenge, and did it in true alphabet form.

Google Reader Alternative – Feedly!

After checking out several options this weekend, I went with the highly recommended Feedly. Go to the site and download the program. Once it’s complete and the main page comes up, click on the magnifying glass on the far right. You can click on Google Reader and it will import all of your feeds and folders directly into Feedly. (Note image at left.) From there, you can organize and adjust the view.

And even if you don’t use Google Reader, the blogs you’ve followed through your Dashboard are still listed in Google Reader and will be imported into Feedly.

Simple and easy to use – I like it!

Top Ten Movie Blogfest! 

List your ten favorite movies!

I’m counting down to mine…

10. Inception – Another film that proves Nolan is a genius. Original science fiction is so rare that you should treasure it when you find it. The cast is stellar and the storyline intricately perplexing.

9. Super 8 - Take one part E.T., a dash of Jaws, a pinch of Cloverfield, and toss in a bit of Stand By Me and you have the ingredients for a great film filled with nostalgia. This movie made me feel like a kid again - that wide-eyed sense of wonderment. J.J. Abrams’ movie is a tribute to the great works of Steven Spielberg.

8. Jurassic Park - I remember reading the novel by Michael Crichton and thinking there was no way they could turn this into a movie. Fortunately, Steven Spielberg picked up the gauntlet and ushered in a new age of summer blockbuster. So many jaw-dropping moments and amazing action set pieces. This movie took my inner child out for a two hour+ romp.

7. The Avengers - One of the greatest superhero films ever. It really captures the feel of the comic book. It was amazing to see all the heroes come to life on the big screen. Whedon did a great job creating a cohesive, engaging story.

6. Serenity – It was like Christmas when one of my favorite science fiction shows of all time ("Firefly") got the big-screen treatment. The characters are great, the dialogue crackles with energy and wit, and the show was given a wonderful send-off. This finally gave the fans closure. (Curse you FOX!!)

5. Raiders of the Lost Ark - This is as close as it gets to the perfect movie. Great pacing, amazing set pieces, and wonderful characters. This movie had me grinning from ear to ear and remains one of my all-time favorites. This should be required film school viewing when it comes to pacing and editing.

4. Aliens - James Cameron took a creepy, slow-paced, brooding film (Alien) and turned it into a non-stop roller coaster ride of action and excitement. If you’re a fan of this film, you quote lines from it all the time. This film is a non-stop juggernaut of action that keeps ramping up the excitement and tension. I'm a huge fan of all of Cameron's work but this one is truly epic.

3. Memento - Christopher Nolan burst on to the movie scene with this amazing, mind-bending film. Memento requires your entire brain to remain focused on the events unfolding as you are asked to follow a narrative playing in reverse. Every time you think you know what is going on, the next scene deconstructs every notion in your head. A masterpiece.

2. Mystery Science Theater 3000 The Movie - I am a huge fan of this great cult series. Joel, Mike and the bots have been like family since the show’s inception. Watching MST3K in the theater was such an amazing experience. The cinematic stinker that the crew skewers is "This Island Earth" and it is played up for big, big laughs.

1 - LOTR Trilogy - What an amazing piece of work from Peter Jackson and the team from Weta. Every frame has been lovingly crafted with intricate detail and care. It's quite apparent that Peter Jackson loved the LOTR books and he made films that appeal to the broad masses as well as the fanboys..

Visit other participants for a fun day filled with great movies!



Ready for a query pitch contest? Part of Writers4Writers? Ready for the A to Z Challenge in two weeks? Tried Feedly? And what are your favorite movies?