The A to Z Challenge List Opens! Plus David Powers King and Zombies, RiffTrax, Baroness-Purple Review, New Book Releases, and Ninja News

A lot happening today, including sign-ups for the 2016 A to Z Challenge!

But first, David Powers King is here to talk zombies with you.

The Wild and Varied World of Zombies

Thanks for having me, Alex! I think something needs to be said about what has become of the zombie state of things. There’s so many different kinds of ghouls nowadays that it’s hard to keep track of them all. I mean, the mindless monsters got their start with voodoo magic, but the people under that spell weren’t actually dead. Still, the idea spawned into a new kind of creature when George Romero combined the voodoo zombie with vampires in Night of the Living Dead.

Since then, we’ve had all kind of interesting freaks! Resident Evil brought us mutating zombies, 28 Days Later brought us the Rage zombie, and The Last of Us gave us fungal, bat-like zombies (no wings, though—maybe it’s time to give zombies their wings!). Thanks to The Walking Dead, zombies are now more mainstream than ever, and it’s picking up new fans. What kind of zombie have I produced in The Undead Road? You’re invited to learn more about Vectors on Amazon, where you can find the ebook free on KindleUnlimited. It’s also available now as a paperback!

Thanks again for having me, Alex. Be safe out there, my friends!


The Undead Road: My Zombie Summer: Part One by David Powers King
Nothing brings the family together like a zombie apocalypse…
Find The Undead Road: Amazon, Amazon CA, Amazon UK, and Amazon AU

RiffTrax!

RiffTrax is rebroadcasting one of its films from last year, The Room, this Thursday night! Check the site for details and for a theater near you.
It’s supposed to be one of the worst films ever, and since I missed this one last year, I’m looking forward to seeing the guys destroy it with snarky humor.

Album Review

Baroness – Purple
This album came out in 2015. This band had fallen off the radar for me until I read an article about a bus accident…
The tour bus was between two English towns when it left the road and fell thirty feet. Two of the members fractured their vertebrae and were forced to leave the band.
The lead singer used his lengthy rehab time to rededicate himself to this album, and the results are amazing.
They’ve compacted their work – it’s less prog and more just great rock songs. The sound is stripped down, and every song is accessible and catchy as hell. I can’t pick a favorite because it changes from listen to listen.
One of the best rock albums I’ve heard in a long time. Highly recommended!

The Thing That Turned Me Anthology

Due out later this year, this anthology is about turning points and those things in life that motivate us to change. You can find a list of contributing authors at Stay Classy Publishing.

And yes! I am one of the contributing authors. I decided to go back, before CassaStar, and write about a turning point in Byron’s early life. So, if you enjoyed my Cassa series, you’ll get a chance to revisit…

Ninja News

C. Hope Clark, founder of the site Funds For Writers, is visiting the Insecure Writer’s Support Group today!

If you haven’t already (or you are already part of the monthly blog posting), don’t forget to sign up for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group’s newsletter! Our new admin, Chrys Fey, has some amazing guests and articles lined up for the first issue, due out February 24. Sign up HERE.

Don’t forget - the Lost and Found: Valentine’s Edition Blogfest takes place February 1. For details and to sign up, go HERE.

TF Walsh and a few other others put together a group called Romance Addicts Anonymous. If you are a lover of the romance genre, an author needing a place to share your work, or a reader looking for a new read, go HERE for details on this Facebook/Twitter/ Instagram group.

Sarah Foster is hosting the Muse Party Blogfest – Anti-Valentine’s Day Edition on February 15. Visit her POST for details.

New Releases:

The Galactic Outlaws Book One: The Outlaw's Prize by Susan (Gourley) Kelley
Find it at New Concepts Publishing

A Whale of a Tale by Pat Hatt
Find it at Amazon

The Morrigan’s Curse by Dianne Salerni
Comes out Tuesday, January 26!

A to Z List opens!

Welcome to the seventh annual A to Z Blogging Challenge!

Please read and follow the sign-up instructions outlined below so you sign onto the list correctly!

The brainchild of Arlee Bird, at Tossing it Out, the A to Z Challenge is posting every day in April except Sundays (we get those off for good behavior.) And since there are 26 days, that matches the 26 letters of the alphabet. On April 1, blog about something that begins with the letter “A.” April 2 is “B,” April 4 is “C,” and so on. You can use a theme for the month or go random – just as long as it matches the letter of the alphabet for the day.

The A to Z Challenge is a great way to get into the blogging habit and make new friends. For more details and its history, go HERE

We recommend short posts, turn off Word Verification, and visit five blogs (or more) a day beginning with the one after yours on the list.

Blogs must be on an open platform – no Tumblr, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. – and comments enabled. Please make it easy for visitors to comment on your blog.

To streamline legitimate blogs from advertisement blogs, the Co-Hosts will be visiting each blog on this list throughout the Challenge. Once the Challenge begins, blogs showing no activity or those that miss five days in a row will be removed.

Please note your blog name and number in all correspondences. Remember that as blogs are removed, your number WILL change.

There are categories for those looking for like-minded blogs. Select ONE category code and enter it after your blog’s title/name. The code applies to your blog, not your theme for the Challenge and is purely optional. See the first few blogs on the list for examples. However, if your blog has adult content, you MUST mark it (AC) or it will be removed from the list. Codes are as follows:

ANIMALS: (AN)
BOOKS/REVIEWS: (BO)
CRAFTS/ART: (CT)
CULINARY: (CU)
EDUCATION/SCIENCE: (ES)
ENTERTAINMENT: (ET)
GAMING: (GA)
HISTORY/MYTHOLOGY: (HM)
HUMOR: (HU)
LIFESTYLE/SOCIAL: (LS )
PERSONAL: (PR)
PHOTOGRAPHY: (PH)
POETRY: (PO)
TRAVEL: (TR)
WRITING/STORYTELLING/MEMOIR: (WR)
ADULT CONTENT: (AC)

Be sure to grab the badge and display it in your sidebar so we know you are participating and link to the A to Z Challenge Blog.

For more information we recommend you follow the A to Z Challenge Blog and the hosts:

Arlee Bird @ Tossing it Out
Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh
Heather M. Gardner
Jeremy @ Hollywood Nuts
AJ Lauer
Pam @ An Unconventional Librarian
Damyanti Biswas @ Daily Write
Zalka Csenge Virág @ The Multicolored Diary
Joy Campbell @ The Character Depot
John Holton @The Sound of One Hand Typing

We also have a Facebook Page and Pinterest Site
Email address is contactatozteam@gmail.com
Twitter hashtag is #AtoZChallenge and Twitter id is @AprilA2Z

I’d also like to announce my awesome Ninja Minions - Rhonda Albom, Nicola Burggraf, Nilanjana Bose, Susan Gourley, Mason Canyon, Stephanie Faris, Yolanda Renee, Ann Bennett, Patricia Lynne, Donna McDine, JA Scott, and Melanie Schultz. Thanks, you guys rock!

Sign up below and join us for a month of alphabet fun!
(When you sign up, you agree to receive A to Z related emails.)



Who’s ready to hit the Undead Road? Willing to give Baroness a try? Signed up for the IWSG newsletter? Ready for next Monday’s blogfest? Picking up some new books? And are you joining us for the 2016 A to Z Challenge…?
Next week, I have some great guests, plus reviews for a couple cool television shows. (Sorry, too late Sunday night to write a review on the new X-Files mini-series. Way past my bedtime!) And don’t forget, next Wednesday is IWSG post day.

Metal Band Name Generator, Muse Party Blogfest, Bee Shortage, Movie Review, and New Releases

Today I am visiting Tyrean Martinson and discussing writing influences. And there's trivia!

Thanks again to everyone who participated in the Blood, Boobs, and Carnage Blogfest!

Heavy Metal Band Name Generator

In need of a metal band name or just a good laugh? Check out Heavy Metal Band Name Generator – one press of the button randomly generates a suitable metal name.
So far, my favorite has been Boob Holocaust.

Movie Review

Probably seeing Tomorrowland today, so will post review next week. In the meantime…

White House Down
Directed by Roland Emmerich, the story is ridiculous and very unrealistic. It’s full of gaping plot holes.
However, the leads are very likeable and manage to pull some entertainment out of the flick.
Watch if you’re really bored.

New Releases

Fixation by J. L. Campbell
Find on Amazon and Smashwords

A Change of Mind and Other Stories by Nick Wilford
A Change of Mind and Other Stories consists of a novella, four short stories and one flash fiction piece. This collection puts the extremes of human behaviour under the microscope with the help of lashings of dark humour, and includes four pieces previously published in Writer’s Muse magazine.
Find it here: Amazon US, Amazon UK, and Goodreads

Ten Zany Birds by Sherry Ellis
Find it on Amazon

Bees in Danger by Jo

Jo on Food, Life and a Scent of Chocolate mentioned a shocking report she had read on honey bees and how they were declining in numbers. A report featured on IFLScience described how in recent decades honey bee numbers in the US had declined by 60%. This is shocking in itself but the latest report by the Bee Informed Partnership together with the Apiary Inspectors of America, which surveyed over 6,000 apiarists, indicates that there has been a further loss of 42% of honey bee colonies in the United States. Some of this has been caused by the destructive varroa mite, a lot of the problem is related to toxic chemicals used by humans, but some is totally unexplainable. While the bulk of the cereal crops (which are wind pollinated) would survive, many fruit and vegetable crops would disappear. Australia has been protected from pests like the varroa by their very strict quarantine laws but, even if they end up with the only healthy honey bee population, that won't save the world's food crops. We need the honey bee. If it dies out, we are in serious danger of dying out too. Visit the blog of Helen Venn for more information.

The Muse Party Blogfest

Hosted by Sarah Foster.

I don’t really have a muse, so I decided to bring along one of my characters instead.

Who is your muse (or character)? Tell us a little bit about him/her and why you brought them. I’m bringing Athee from my Cassa series. She’s beautiful, strong-willed, outgoing, and will offset the fact I’m not really a party guy.

What are you guys wearing? Dressing up or keeping it casual? I’m always dashing in a tux and I hope she’s wearing something low cut.

It's a potluck! Did you bring something yummy? She would bring a traditional Tgren dish with all the trimmings and I would bring a traditional snarky guy dish of Hot Tamales and Gummy Worms over rice.

Open bar! What are you both drinking (booze or otherwise)? I’m drinking whatever makes me not care about the awkward words coming out of my mouth.

Wallflowers or social butterflies? I’m the wallflower of the two.

What song(s) will you and your muse sing for karaoke? She opts for a traditional Tgren song and I opt for Cowboys From Hell by Pantera.

What's your favorite party game? Whatever gets my date naked the fastest. (Hey, you asked!)

Which one of you is more likely to end up dancing on a table top? Definitely Athee. I will be sleeping under the table at that point.

Has your muse been a good date and would you ever hang out with them again? Excellent date… reminds me a lot of my wife!

What heavy metal band names did you get? Seen White House Down? Picking up some new books? Have you seen a decrease in bees in your area? And what would your muse or character be like at a party?

Don’t forget to visit Tyrean Martinson!

And happy Memorial Day.

Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Plus NetFlix’s Daredevil, Ninja News, and New Releases

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 Eva Solar Melanie Schulz, Lisa-Buie Collard, and Stephen Tremp!

Dragon of the Stars came out last month in the middle of the A to Z Challenge. It was a struggle to balance my blog tour, marketing for Dragon, and the Challenge. The book has sold well and promotion efforts continue. My publisher is working with a lot of science fiction conventions and my blog tour continues. (My stop this week was at Teresa’s Journaling Woman site.)

Anne R. Allen posted this week reasons why authors should write short stories. I’ve contributed to four anthologies, and since my novels are all really short, short stories might be something I pursue. I do have an idea for an adventure involving Bassan…

But the one thing I really want to focus on now is the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. I want to bring in some awesome guests, add many more sites to the database, and elevate the site to Writer’s Digest level quality.

Writing is tough business. Maybe that’s one of the reasons I’m hesitant to continue. (I didn’t sign on to do more than one book anyway.) I know the bad reviews on Amazon were inevitable, but it always sucks. I’ve been through some incredible highs and lows, and I want to do my part to help other writers going through the same stuff. I’m not a great writer, but maybe I can be a great supporter.

Ninja News

If you’re looking for my A to Z Challenge Reflections post, it is HERE.
 

Sarah Foster is hosting The Muse Party Blogfest on May 25 2015 – visit her site for details.


Cherie Reich’s book Reborn is a finalist in the Rone Awards – please help her by voting HERE.

Michael G D'Agostino just started a monthly hop - Question of the Month. It’s on the first Monday of the month, so sign up at his site for June.


Ray at Don’t Throw a 1 is hosting a mega 500 posts giveaway. If you are a gamer or a painter, you definitely want to check it out.

The Blood, Boobs, and Carnage Blogfest is May18 - movie/show/book that exemplifies the theme. (Or part of theme.) Hosted by me and Heather Gardner.

Just Released!

Titanic: Newly Discovered Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Holy Ghost Writer

The Bear Who Wouldn’t Leave by J.H. Moncrieff

The Botanist by Liesel K. Hill

Melissa Maygrove announced the release of Romance and Mystery Authors on Writing. She and many other contributed to the book, which was edited by JQ Rose.

Daredevil Review

If you’ve not been watching this series on NetFlix, you are missing out!
This is one of the finest shows I have ever seen. It not only sets the standard for comic book series, but for any series.
It’s not a candy-coated comic book show. It’s real and sometimes brutal – part character study, part serious drama, and part amazing action sequences. It’s built for people who love comics and those who’ve never read one in their life.
All of the characters, good and bad, and fully fleshed out and real people. You sympathize not only with Matt as Daredevil but with Wilson Fisk as the villain.
This is an event series – and they don’t come around often.
Highly recommended!


Joining any of those blogfests? Picking up some new books? Have you been watching Daredevil? And what are your writing insecurities this month?

Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Plus Minions Trailer, Tomorrowland Concept Art, A to Z Challenge Minions, and Ninja News

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 Gwen Gardner, Dolorah, Sarah Foster, and M. Pax!

I’m an even-keeled kind of guy, so I don’t have real highs or lows. With my fourth book coming out in April, there have been some shifts in these past few months, swinging back and forth.

The early reviews have been great–better than for any other book. I’d worried about this one since it branches away from the familiar Cassa universe and characters. It’s also told in third person from only one character’s point of view. Yeah, who does that? So far, so good though.

Of course, I see reviews for other books that talk about lush world building, intricate plot twists, and rich details in a multifaceted storyline. Crap. Yeah, no one will ever accuse me of deep, vivid storylines bursting with symbolism and Tolkien level world building. I’m the fast paced, adventure-style, and unfortunately more simple in my storytelling…

I’ve also read a lot of books in the past six months. Now, usually as writers, we start noticing our own flaws when seeing someone’s polished work. Which I have, but I’ve also noted some areas where I do well. I’m much better now at showing rather than telling; I’m good with character and relationship building; and I don’t overdo the details. Hmm, maybe I shouldn’t worry about the concern above…

My book comes out April 7, right in full swing of the A to Z Challenge. I’m a Challenge Co-host. I have duties and will be posting at the A to Z Blog. I’ll also be posting at the IWSG site. Plus my own daily posts. (Which are going to take about four hours each to put together.) And my blog tour. Will I survive?

Then my mood is back up again with the support and response concerning the What Are the Kargrandes? website. Thanks to those of you who’ve Tweeted about the site and spread the word. The site was a joint effort with my publisher and I enjoyed coming up with a new teaser fact for every Monday. We’re working hard to establish a grass roots effort and hope it pays off.

So there you have it. The ups and the downs. And what I am dealing with right now…

Minions Wanted!

The A to Z Challenge co-hosts need your help!

We are looking for Minions to assist with visiting participants on the list. Duties include visiting a small assigned portion of the list once a week and reporting back to the co-host any blogs that aren’t participating.

If you would like to be a Minion (you get your own A to Z Challenge Minion badge) leave a comment.

And if you’ve not joined the A to Z Challenge, please join us.

Ninja News

February 2 isn’t just Groundhog Day. It’s Lung Leaving Day. What is that? It’s the celebration of one woman’s incredible triumph over death. Learn about Heather’s incredible journey HERE. You can also watch a video about her life HERE.

Out now!
A Not So Humane World by Pat Hatt








Some really cool concept art for Tomorrowland from Blastr:

And just to make you smile, JoBlo featured the brand new trailer for Minions:

Can you help out and be an A to Z Minion? Like the Minions trailer? Think Tomorrowland will be good? What are the Kargrandes – figured it out yet? And who else goes up and down for similar reasons?
Plus - for some reason, not all blog posts are appearing in my Feedly reader. Some are showing up the next day even. Anyone else having issues?

Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Plus January Movie Preview, American Hustle Movie Review, and Ninja News

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 Bob Milne, River Fairchild, Julie Dao, and Sarah Foster! Please be sure to thank them for their time and effort to make all IWSG members feel welcome.

I’m about seven thousand words into the new manuscript and it’s starting to come together. There will be rewrites of the first several pages, but I’ve hit a good spot now.

The most difficult thing is creating everything new from scratch. My last two books were easier because I knew the universe and I knew the main character. But for this story, it’s a brand new part of the galaxy, a more complex world and political scene, and a new character.

The last one is probably the most difficult. I’m still not a hundred percent sure of Aden’s voice. I found some character exercises online and the one that was the most helpful was writing what the characters thought of one another. At first it was odd, as I don’t write in first person, but it helped to see what the characters were like based on how they viewed everyone else.

Still hope I can pull it off. The whole story came from one song, and expanding it to fill a whole novel has proved to be a challenge!

Anyone else work on a story that wasn’t part of your previous work? What helped you get into that world?

Be sure to visit the Insecure Writer’s Support Group site and other members on the list!

Ninja News

Don’t forget our Online Marketing Symposium is on January 20! Sign up and let us know what has worked (or didn’t) with your online promotions. Open to everyone, not just authors.

Hart Johnson released episodes 6 and 7 of Shot in the Light today!

SA Larson posted the Writer’s Creed for 2014 – sign up at her site.

Charity Bradford is now in charge of blogfests at the Unicorn Bell, and she announced their first one this year - Love is in the Air Blogfest, which runs January 20-24.

Movie Reviews

American Hustle
A fictional retelling of the real life Abscam, which took place in the late 70s. A con man and his partner are forced to work for an FBI agent who wants to take down politicians and the mob.
It had a slow beginning, but once it got going, it was a game of who is hustling who. Similar in tone to Silver Linings Playbook, all of the characters are very odd but likeable. (Typical for a David O Russell film.) The leads were all amazing – Bale, Adams, Renner, Lawrence, and Cooper. Lawrence’s character in particular was just plain crazy but brilliant.
The theme was reinventing yourself if you don’t like who you are and doing whatever it takes to survive.
Definitely an Oscar contender – highly recommended!

Escape From Planet Earth
Had no idea what to expect from this small 2013 release, but it was actually entertaining.
Scorch is the daring hero brother and Gary the nerdy, smart brother who always gets him out of trouble. When Scorch is held captive at Area 51, Gary comes to free him. The animation was good and the characters funny. It’s a simple story that’s just a step below the top animated films out today.
If you liked films like Megamind, you’ll enjoy this one.

January Movie Preview

Here are the upcoming movies for January! Such a sad offering that I included some DVD releases as well. As always, descriptions courtesy of the IMDB. Snarky comments by me.

14 – DVD – Riddick

17 –

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Jack Ryan, as a young covert CIA analyst, uncovers a Russian plot to crash the U.S. economy with a terrorist attack.
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Stars: Chris Pine, Kevin Costner, Keira Knightley, Kenneth Branagh
Excellent cast and director – this one has potential.



21 – DVD - Captain Phillips

24 –

I, Frankenstein
Frankenstein's creature finds himself caught in an all-out, centuries old war between two immortal clans.
Director: Stuart Beattie
Stars: Aaron Eckhart, Bill Nighy, Miranda Otto, Virginie Le Brun
It’s either going to be really cool or really bad, not sure which…


28 – DVD – Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs II

Some awesome things coming next week!

Monday, I have a special guest with a wit that can’t be beat!
Wednesday is huge – another awesome guest, I have a guest post about space opera, and the IWSG is hosting its very first guest!
And coming soon – one epic contest!

Signed up for the Online Marketing Symposium? Taken the Writer’s Creed? Seen American Hustle? Any movies look good to you this month? And what are your writer insecurities…?