A to Z Challenge – Z – Cult Classics: Rob Zombie, Zap Gun, and More! Plus may Preview – San Andreas, Challenge Reflection Post, IWSG, and Ninja News

Last day of the Challenge – we did it!

A to Z Challenge– Cult Classics –Z

Movies-Music-Sci-fi Book-Bloggers-Dragon Term

Movie –

Zardoz
This bizarre post-apocalyptic film was written, produced, and directed by John Boorman in 1974. It features star Sean Connery in the worst outfit ever.

Music –

Rob Zombie – Hellbilly Deluxe
His best-selling album to date, Rob’s first solo album away from White Zombie went Triple Platinum. Giving homage to horror films, the album featured such hits as Dragula and Living Dead Girl.

Science Fiction Book –

The Zap Gun by Philip K. Dick
This 1967 novel was originally published as a serial and was one of his earliest works.

Blogger –

PK Hrezo
Want to follow someone who is multi-talented in writing and in art? Follow someone with a genuine heart, compassion, and passion for what is right? Then you need to be following author PK!

Dragon of the Stars Term –

Zeal
Defined at ‘great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective.’ While Aden’s pursuit of a command and the queen’s daughter is more dogged and methodical, Ensign Pavott’s pursuits are more heartfelt and passionate.

Dragon of the Stars is out now!
Check out the site What Are the Kargrandes? for clues as to how they tie into the story.

Ninja News

Next week will be the A to Z Challenge Reflections posts. Post your thoughts on this year’s Challenge anytime Monday-Friday and then add your direct link over at the A to Z Blog.

Don’t forget next Wednesday is Insecure Writer’s Support Group post day!


Reedsy is a great site for authors with tips and more, connecting writers with other industry professionals. They just started a new feature for authors to create a profile and integrate their social media, goodreads, amazon and blogging platform in one place. Get the details HERE.

Available today!
The Dragon Chronicles
Featuring a short story by Ted Cross - Dragon Play.


Cindy Borgne, who blogs at Dreamer’s Perch, has another blog called Good Book Alert. They are looking for indie authors to guest post, plus reviewers. If interested, see the site for details.

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.

May Movie Preview

Here is the final upcoming theatrical release for May. As always, descriptions courtesy of the IMDB. Snarky comments by me.

May 29 -

San Andreas
In the aftermath of a massive earthquake in California, a rescue-chopper pilot makes a dangerous journey across the state in order to rescue his estranged daughter.
Director: Brad Peyton
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Alexandra Daddario, Carla Gugino, Colton Haynes
Fissures will open, buildings will crumble, and pecs will jiggle.

Have you suffered through Zardoz? Fan of Rob Zombie? Ready for the IWSG next week? Signed up for the blogfest? Going to see San Andreas? And how do you feel about the end of the Challenge…?

(I am BEAT! I’ll be taking Friday OFF and enjoying Avengers: Age of Ultron and some time with my wife. Catch up with comments on Saturday.)

And if you missed it, yesterday I visited Janice Hardy’s Fiction University and discussed the pros and cons of small presses.

Big Hero 6 Movie Review, Robot Movie Trivia, the Power of Friendship, and Ninja News

Big Hero 6 Movie Review

Five geeks and one personal medical assistant robot make for an unlikely bunch of heroes.

This film is all heart. It has a very gentle spirit and solid relationships among the characters. Love your family and stick by your friends is a great message.

The animation is the best so far this year. You don’t want to miss it in 3D.

The humor is spot on. Robot Baymax steals the show, both with his actions and words. (‘We jumped out a window!’ is one of the best.) Fred the fanboy also has some great lines.

The story is fresh, fun, and original. (Except for a device that looks like the Stargate, but we can let that slide.) Set in San Fransokyo, it’s a blend of high tech, America, and the Orient, and it’s dazzling to behold.

Considering the lack of competition this year, Big Hero 6 will likely win the Oscar for best animated film. Take the family and enjoy. Highly recommended!

Ninja News

The Realms Faire continues!! My official joust was Monday, but you can visit M. Pax every single day to cheer for the Ninja Knight – Ninja Army Rocks!! Prizes daily and there is a review copy of Dragon of the Stars up for grabs.
And don’t forget you can add Dragon of the Stars on Goodreads now!



Today at the IWSG site is rhyme master and prolific author, Pat Hatt! He’s as skillful as the Ninja when it comes to juggling many obligations – read how he does it.


Thursday, at the A to Z Blog - we are officially announcing the 2015 A to Z Challenge Team!!

MJ Joachim wants your writing and author tips! Visit her site if you are interested in a guest post.

Tuesday saw the release of How to Train Your Dragon 2 on DVD and Pink Floyd’s The Endless River on CD.

Out now - Captured Love by Juliana Haygert

Ted Cross’ first book was just released - sci-fi thriller, The Immortality Game.
Awesome cover, Ted!

Be sure to sign up for the Miss You Blogfest - those bloggers you miss and those you would miss the most. Coming November 24.

Movie Trivia

In honor of Big Hero 6 – robots!
Robots listed – name the films.

1 - Hector (1980)
2 - Fembots (1997)
3 - Johnny 5 (1986)
4 - Pris (1980)
5 - Dot Matrix (1987)
6 - Huey, Dewey, and Louie (1972)
7 - EVE (2008)
8 - V.I.N.C.E.N.T. (1980)

Answers on Monday!

The Power of Friends

I’m part of a special group of people, the Fellowship of the Dragon. We have a private blog where we keep one another on track with our goals and we email daily quotes of encouragement. (There is also a fair amount of good-natured bantering that goes back and forth.)

One of our members was in need recently. The rest of us conspired to help and came up with a plan. In secret (and with the help of two other bloggers) we pooled money together to help this person. It was a complete surprise and from what I understand, will cover the cost of what this person needed.

The power of friendship is amazing. I feel blessed to be a part of this group. Most of us have never met, but we pulled together to help another member and trusted one person to send the money. And we did it without question because the person in need had touched all of us and been an amazing friend.

And that’s what it takes sometimes – one person to pull together many. One friend who has everyone’s back, who stands against the enemies, who is the champion, and who goes above and beyond every time.

I’m blessed to have the Fellowship of the Dragon, along with the A to Z Co-Host Team, the IWSG Admins and members, and a great group of blogging friends. (Along with a couple great groups of friends offline.)

Do you have friends like that?

Have you seen Big Hero 6? Participating in the Realms Faire? Fan of the awesome Pat Hatt? Know any of the trivia? And do you have a group of friends that pull together for one another…?

Z-End - A to Z Challenge

Last day of the A to Z Challenge!

My theme – I have selected a word for each day and will present to you blogger buddies who fit that description, along with movies, music, etc. My theme is to give back, highlight some awesome bloggers, and have fun in the process.

Z-END!

And today is for those that need to know it’s not the end, it’s the beginning!

Angela Brown
A single mom trying to fit writing into her busy day. Do not give up on that dream, Angela!

Katie at Creepy Query Girl
She’s had some setbacks and been at this query thing a long time. Katie, you are so close – don’t doubt who you are!

Liza at Middle Passages
She began her blog after suddenly finding herself unemployed. Liza, we’ve grown with you on this journey – keep moving forward!

Ted Cross 
An epic fantasy writer trying to find a fit. Ted, don’t give up on that book!

EPIC NINJA THANKS!

A big thanks to everyone who visited and commented during the Challenge! At over a hundred comments a day, I know I couldn’t keep up with all the new people. Thanks to those who visited the bloggers I highlighted – it was awesome to see those people with new followers from the Ninja Army.

Special thanks to the A to Z Team, starting with Arlee Bird. Lee, two years ago you invited your followers to join you on this wild ride, and a hundred of us fumbled our way through the letters. But that first Challenge changed my blog forever and I am in your debt!

It took one heck of a team to pull off the Challenge this year. Jeremy Hawkins created many of the badges and banners, and he jumped in several times to help with emails and such. Tina Downey managed the Challenge email and kept us straight with posts. Damyanti Biswas was our Twitter Master. And everyone else who helped with the project - Stephen Tremp, Jenny Pearson, Matthew McNish, DL Hammons, Shannon Lawrence, Konstanz Silverbow, Karen Gowen, and Elizabeth Mueller. You guys rock!

NINJA NEWS!

This Wednesday, May 2, is the next posting for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! I was able to clean up the list so we have a good core group of participants now. If you haven’t signed up, please join us!

Next Monday is the A to Z Challenge Reflection post. Let us know what you thought of the Challenge – the good, the bad, and the surprising.

The following Monday is my First Loves Blogfest!

And the winner of my Epic Ninja 1500 Followers Giveaway is...Arlee Bird!
Congratulations, Lee! Now is that not fitting?

Whew! We made it. Feeling sad that it’s over? Ready for a nap? Going to share your thoughts on the Challenge during the Reflections post? Ready for Wednesday’s IWSG post? (Hey, you get Tuesday off! You can do it.)

Blogging Idiosyncrasies III and Final Awards

Final round with the blogging junk, I promise! Comments from the first two posts spurred new ideas though.

Blog-whoring
Dezz at HOLLYWOOD SPY coined this term. It refers to those who leave quick, short, meaningless comments just to get you to comment on their blog. It also puts me in mind of those who follow you, and you to follow back. but then no matter how many times you comment on that person’s blog, he or she never comments back. I have several of those right now. Now I admit, I’m not overly interesting and not every post appeals to every person, but did you follow just to get me to follow you? Do you have followers like that? Or ones who leave short or odd comments?

Mechanics of comment box
Judging from last week’s comments, this is a sore spot for many. Is the comment box embedded or separate? There appears to be numerous ways to set up one’s comment box – separate small box (like mine), entirely new page, or the main page reloads. Sometimes the latter occurs, only you don’t realize it also has word verification – and when it refreshes the page, it returns to the top of the page. I wonder how many comments never go through because the commenter doesn’t realize he needs to do the word verification? What are your thoughts on the placement of the comment box?

Okay, I’m officially done with that mess!

On to the awards! Of which there are many…

Yvonne at Welcome to my World of Poetry gave me the Creative Writing Award! Yvonne, I am truly honored. I shall pass this on to just one person:

Ted Cross - don’t you dare give up on The Shard, dude!



Powdered Toast Man at Just the Cheese gave me the Super Commenter Award! I pass this on to:

Rayna at Coffee Rings Everywhere





iZombie gave me the Zombie Rabbit Award! Okay, I have to pass this on to someone who will appreciate it…

Rogue at The Roads of Autumn Dusk

Jules at Trying to Get Over the Rainbow gave me the Circle of Friends Award. Thanks, Jules! And Kate at The Scribbling Sea Serpent gave me the One Lovely Blog Award. Thanks, Kate! I’ve received both of these before, so won’t pass them on again.

You Guys ROCK!!

My review of Centurion will have to wait, because you guys rock – and I have great news!

My publisher informed me of some early reviews for CassaStar, including one from Library Journal that will appear in their September 15 issue. Is that cool, or what? Okay, it could be or what if they didn’t like it. Dear Lord, I hope they didn’t think it sucked!! I'll have to change my name...

You guys have been so supportive of a newbie author and blogger and I wanted to do something nice for my friends. You visit and leave comments, you’ve posted my book trailer and video – I’m just overwhelmed by the generosity. So, this is officially Alex’s You Rock! Award, signifying that you are one cool dude – or dudette. (Is that a word?)

Since it would be crazy to give it out to just everybody – and I’d like to see the recipients pass it on to others – I’m going to limit myself to just four people. Yes, that will be nearly impossible! But the first four recipients of this award are:

Hannah at Musings of a Palindrome She eventually put her real name on her blog, but I still affectionately call her Palin. I think she was one of my first blogger buddies and never fails to stop by and comment. My favorite Palin chick – you rock! (And you have such a cute smile.)

Lee at Tossing it Out Dude, had it not been for you’re A-Z Challenge, I would’ve never found my blogging rhythm – or gained so many followers! Dude, you really made a big difference with that challenge, and I know most of those who participated will agree. You’ve kept me going strong, too – even helped me launch my own blogfest with The Movie Dirty Dozen. Lee, you rock!!

Yvonne at Welcome to my World of Poetry We met during the A-Z Challenge and continued to visit each other’s blogs. It’s funny – I’m not usually a poetry guy and she’s not familiar with my movies, music, or book genre, but that hasn't stopped us one bit. And if Yvonne doesn’t visit my blog on a given day, I feel ready to send out a search party, because she’s so faithful to her blogging friends! Yvonne, you are a dear, sweet lady – and you rock!

And finally, RaShelle at A No. 2 Pencil Stat! RaShelle is just such a sweet lady. She never fails to stop by and has such a caring spirit. I grin when I see my book cover in her side bar – right below Dezz’s elephant photo! RaShelle, you are generosity in action. You rock, chick!!

I could’ve named about fifty more people – Rayna, Stephen, Cruella, Simon, Hart, Bryan, Ted (I still want to read your book, dude!)… just about everyone in my blogroll. I’m sure this award will arrive at your blog soon!

And the awards keep on rolling…

Award from Rayna at Coffee Rings Everywhere – the Sweet Blog Award. And she made sure all of her recipients were men. (That’s right – we’re sweeter!) Thank you, Rayna and I am passing it to:

Gail at Familiar Spirit
Holly Ruggiero
Jules at Trying to Get Over the Rainbow

Award from Mel at Writings, Musings, and Other Such Nonsense – One Lovely Blog. This is the second time I’ve received it, so thanks, Mel! She also gave me permission to rename it the Frilly Beer Award! Sounds more manly…

Big News!!!

Okay, I’m about to geek out with excitement, but first – the winner of Hart at Confessions of a Watery Tart’s 50 page manuscript critique:

Ted Cross !!!!

Congratulations! Hart has been notified and will contact you soon.

And now, before I come undone…

My book trailer!!!

My publisher is posting it online sometime today and I will debut it for all to see on Thursday! I haven’t watched it yet, but I am so stoked. I hope it’s good!

This will be in the place of the review I’d hoped to post on The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. The reviews on Rotten Tomatoes are dismal. Think I’ll skip this one. But I will be posting a review of Inception this weekend. That movie has near perfect reviews right now!

And I did make some minor changes to my blog as per the Blog Book Tour critiques. The instructor, Dani, posted her review HERE . Let me know – did I make it better?

Tell all your friends - party here tomorrow!