Ninja News, Amazing Spiderman Review, and Best Directors

Ninja News!

Today I have a guest post with Gabi at The Write Connexion.. She wanted to know more about organizing a blog tour. Not an expert, but I gave it my best shot!

Thanks again to everyone who posted for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Welcome new members and appreciate all the support you guys give one another. I even received an email from a member who stated that not only has the group helped him to be a better writer, it had helped him to be a better person. Now that is just awesome! Special thanks also to Laura Eno for her post on Writer Etiquette. I also spent some time cleaning up the list of non-participants, so it should be much better next month.

Milo James Fowler at In Medias Res has a new book available - maikro - haiku and microfiction. Congratulations, Milo! (He’s also the most successful short story writer I know.)

DL Hammons at Cruising Altitude just had a short story accepting for Open Heart Publishing’s An Honest Lie anthology. Congratulations, DL!!

Cathy at Life on the Muskoka River is raising money for the YMCA Literacy Services in her area. This involves a marathon with writers locked in a room. Intrigued? Visit Cathy’s SITE for more details!

Beginning Thursday, July 26, 9 PM EST, EJ at The Open Vein will be hosting an all new regular Twitter chat focusing on New Adult literature. (Hashtag #NALitChat) Check out his site for details.

Jade Hart at Dream, Write, Publish just signed a book deal with Curiosity Quills. Congratulations, Jade!

And special thanks to Allison at Geek Banter and Rek at A Chronicle of Dreams for their wonderful reviews of CassaStar this week. You ladies rock!

Movie Review!

The Amazing Spiderman
We didn’t need a reboot of this franchise so soon, but with so many great reviews I had to check it out – and I wasn’t disappointed. Handing over this reboot to an unknown director was a risk but it paid off. Marc Webb handled the action scenes and character development well, adding a humorous edge that was missing before. I really liked the new Spiderman – the kid was the master of snark. As much as I like Sam Raimi and Spiderman 2, this movie was better. It’s not The Avengers, but it’s really good. (And you should’ve seen all the little kids dressed as Spiderman at the show!)

Best Directors

Matthew at FilmMattic recently posted a list of top one hundred directors, so I decided to do my own list of top ten. My list is what I consider the best (and my most favorite) directors.

1 - Steven Spielberg – Jurassic Park, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Close Encounters (Because of his huge body of work.)

2 - James Cameron – Aliens, The Terminator, Avatar (The man’s never made a bad film.)

3 - Christopher Nolan – Memento, Inception, The Dark Knight (He hasn’t made a bad film either.)
4 - Peter Jackson – LOTR trilogy, Dead Alive, The Frighteners

5 - Guillermo del Toro – Blade II, Hellboy, The Devil’s Backbone

6 - Michael Mann – Last of the Mohicans, Heat, Manhunter

7 - Joss Whedon – Serenity, The Avengers

8 - Quentin Tarantino – Reservoir Dogs, Inglorious Basterds, Pulp Fiction

9 - Rob Reiner – The Princess Bride, This is Spinal Tap, A Few Good Men

10 - JJ Abrams – Super 8, Star Trek

Enjoy this week’s IWSG posts? Excited about the news? Did you see The Amazing Spiderman? (It made 35 million on Tuesday alone!) And who are your favorite directors?

Don’t forget to check out Gabi's site!

SUPPORTIVE/SPIRITED - A to Z Challenge

It’s the third A to Z Challenge! Blog the letters of the alphabet in order every day except Sundays The participation list is HERE – start with the blog after yours and visit at least five blogs a day. Mostly, make new friends and have fun!

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.

SUPPORTIVE/SPIRITED

M. Pax at Wistful Nebulae
I’m not sure when I discovered Mary’s site. I think it was during one of her Pine Mountain Observatory stints. But here was a woman who was totally a science fiction geek! More than that, I quickly discovered that Mary was incredibly dedicated and supportive of her friends. And in return, she is someone I would go out of my way to champion and defend. Shame she lives on the other side of the USA, as I would love to meet Mary in person.

EJ at The Open Vein
EJ is everything – supportive, spirited, steadfast, and any other S word I could imagine. EJ’s spirit is honest and open to any who will listen. His motives are pure and words so true. EJ, don’t change your style for anything!

Jen at Widdershins and Skeleton Keys
The moment you see Jen’s icon, you know you have a spirited individual on the other side! She is a breath of fresh air. Jen, you may not think you are making a difference here in the blogging world, but your words have a big impact on me!

My wife fits both of these words perfectly. She stuck with me through all the writing, rejection letters, and frustration. Her motivation and spirit gave me fuel to achieve all my hopes and dreams.

NINJA NEWS!

First, a HUGE thanks to Michael at In Time for devoting his R post to me. I was humbled by his words and first attempt at science fiction writing, which was really good. Michael, you rock!

One of my most devoted commenters is Natalie Aguirre. She helps run Literary Rambles, which just made Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers for May/June. Congratulations, Natalie! That is just mindblowing.

Cherie Reich’s Flashes of Foxwick is available as an eBook! If you haven’t been following her A to Z posts, you need to check out these fantasy flashes.

And a HUGE thanks to everyone who has followed the bloggers I've featured. My greatest joy has been checking their sites and seeing all the new followers and comments. Thanks - you guys rock!

Following M. Pax, EJ, and Jen? Is Michael not just the most awesome friend? Do you have friends that just amaze you sometimes? Who do you know who is supportive or spirited? I know how much I appreciate those who’ve supported me - how about you?