Reflections, Explanations, and Congratulations

Once again, a huge thanks to everyone who participated in the Pay it Forward blogfest!

There were so many comments and emails of thanks. Many of you found new blogger buddies, which was cool. The list is still posted (less those who didn’t participate and ad sites) so feel free to keep exploring. Like the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, many of you connected.

Special thanks to those who visited Edi and Eve and blew their minds! I appreciate that.

And a huge thanks to my co-host Matthew! The Pay it Forward blogfest was his idea, and a damned good one at that. So, if for some odd reason you’ve never visited Matthew’s site, The QQQE, then you need to jump over there and tell him thanks.

For those of you new to my blog, let me explain. Wait, there is too much – let me sum up!

I am Ninja Captain Alex. Yes, I am an author. My second book comes out next February. I don’t talk much about writing here though. (You really don’t want writing tips from me anyway.) My focus is movies, music, books, games, some tech toys, blogfests, and promoting my blogger buddies. However, I do host the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, which posts the first Wednesday of every month – feel free to join us. And do not let the amount of blog followers scare you. I really try to visit and support everyone who visits me.

And yes, I’m almost to a thousand followers. Be nice to hit that number by Wednesday when I have a really special post planned.

Now, some congratulations are in order!

Milo James Fowler at In Media Res just had a short story released by Mindflights - I Am FanFare. And I want to mention it for two reasons – it took Milo many tries to achieve success with this short story, and he deserves recognition for his accomplishments as a short story writer. It just blows my mind!

Next big shout-out is for Melissa Bradley at Melissa’s Imaginarium - her book, Nathan’s Angel, was released yesterday! Way to go, Melissa! (She is just one of the coolest geek chicks I have ever met.)


So, did everyone have a good time with the blogfest? What was the coolest new blog you discovered? Any questions for the Ninja Captain? Anyone still creeped out by Chewbacca’s picture last Friday…?

Hope you’ll return on Wednesday. Like I said, special day.

Pay It Forward!

Matthew at the QQQE and I are proud to present the Pay it Forward blogfest!

I have thank everyone who commented on the book trailer for CassaFire! I am just blown awayby what my publisher created.

Now to the blogfest! The purpose is to introduce others to three bloggers you find awesome. Then attack the Linky List and explore! Find some cool new friends. Take the whole weekend to discover some great bloggers.

Narrowing it down to three was next to impossible. With close to a thousand followers now (yeah, that blows my mind!) I know so many cool people. So, I decided to give you a variety today.

The Writer-Author
Jeffrey Beesler at World of the Scribe has been a blogger buddy of mine for well over a year. He’s now one of my critique partners as well! Jeffrey is a careful planner when it comes to his blog and will map out theme weeks a month in advance. He pours so much into his posts and everyone would benefit from his advice and proddings. If you don’t already follow Jeffrey, jump on over and visit this most excellent Ninja!

The Photographer-Artist
Leovi is an amazing photographer! All images are abstract and close up, and it’s just amazing. Leovi is a true master. And despite the huge number of people who follow Leovi, I can always expect a comment here from this most excellent photographer. If you want to be amazed, visit Leovi today!

The Book Reviewer/Speculative Fiction Expert
Edi lives in Germany and runs Edi’s Book Lighthouse. I met him last year when seeking speculative fiction reviewers and we’ve been good friends ever since. He’s been a big encourager and supporter as well. His weekend posts hold so much information about books and movies it will make your head swim. He really should have a thousand followers. You want to know what’s going on in the speculative world? Visit Edi today!

Special Mention (Because I can!)
Eve is a new follower of mine. She seemed close to giving up the whole blogging scene when she latched on to the Pay it Forward blogfest. She needs to know what an awesome bunch of people are out there in the blogging world! Visit Eve today and tell her – I’m with you!

The list of participants is below, but before I go, I must share this image with you…

The folks over at FreakingNews, a Photoshop news site, held a contest for Star Wars mashups. This was my favorite:


Now, go discover some cool blogs!

Paying it Forward!

Cool stuff and big announcement today!

Don’t forget the next posting of Insecure Writer’s Support Group is Wednesday October 5. If you haven’t signed up to participate in this awesome monthly event, click on the tab below my blog header for details.

The very beautiful and talented Elizabeth Mueller is hosting a blogfest to celebrate the release of her first novel! “I'd love to christen Darkspell by brewing up an online "If I had all the magic in the world, I'd ..." spookfesta. On Halloween day, share with me what you'd do if you discovered that you had all the magic in the world at your fingertips.”

Oh, and did anyone see the comments on Blastr about Terra Nova? The good, the bad, and the funny! My favorite was:
“I’m watching Terra Nova on Tivo delay. Someone let me know if Fox cancels it before it ends.”

Now for the big announcement!

This is the brainchild of Matthew at the QQQE. I’m helping with this awesome blogfest.(Okay, I just made the button for it.)

Pay it Forward! October 14, 2011 The idea is to introduce all of us to everyone else. We want this to be easy - meet and follow as many other bloggers as you like. In your post, we would like you to please list, describe, and link to three blogs that you enjoy reading and know that others would enjoy as well. And what’s cool, is this can be part of your regular Friday blogging.

Visit those who’s signed up. Visit those they recommend! If you don’t have time to comment, just follow. Take the weekend to go through the list. You might find some really cool blogs out there, just like you did during the first post of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group or last April during the A to Z Challenge. (Or during any of my odd blogfests. Really, I am a writer and an author! Just a little movie obsessed…)

Now, who’s with us???

And did you watch Tucker & Dale vs. Evil Wednesday night? (It was fun and a really good movie. Very gory, so be prepared.) Seeing it this weekend? Seeing anything? Back of your eyelids perhaps…?