Dream Theater in Concert, New Apes and Spiderman Movie Trailers, Devon Townsend, Christmas Music, When Animals Attack, and Ninja News

I have an interview today at Karen’s site, Write Now.

Dream Theater in Concert

Dream Theater did a special tour where they played the entire concept album, The Astonishing. (Which is two and a half hours long!) And I was fortunate to catch the last night of the tour.

Backed by large multi-media screens and a great light display, the show was less a concert and more of a production. Obviously my review is biased, as I am a lifetime fan, but I thought the concert was…dare I say it…astonishing.

The show ran like the double CD with an Act I and an Act II. Since it was the end of the tour, they finished with an encore of earlier material – As I Am, The Spirit Carries On, and the song that established them, Pull Me Under.

Watching five musicians with such masterful skills was both amazing and humbling.

Photos were not allowed (yes, we were all sneaking shots at the very end) but fortunately there will be a DVD released soon!

War for the Planet of the Apes/Spiderman Homecoming Trailers

In case you missed them!

Monday’s Music Moves Me

Hosted by Xmas Dolly, it’s all about Christmas music this month. So, enjoy a little Trans Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Eve/ Sarajevo while you read the rest of the post. There’s kittens!

Ninja News

We have a special guest at the Insecure Writer’s Support Group site today - Christine Frazier, founder of the Better Novel Project!


I recently redid the What Are The Kargrandes site, transferring it to Blogger and composing all of the slides into a video instead. Now I only need to keep up with the domain costs.

The Deja-Vu Blogfest is back!
December 16-18
Hosted by DL Hammons

New Releases

When Animals Attack is now available!
Edited by Vanessa Morgan
The definitive horror movie guide for fans of killer animals and “revenge of nature” films. When Animals Attack: The 70 Best Horror Movies with Killer Animals provides a fascinating and entertaining insight into the cinematographic world of animals on the rampage.
My piece is on the giant crocodile flick, Lake Placid, and Christine Rains covers Snakes on a Plane.
Find it at Amazon, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, and Goodreads

Six Strings Issue #9
Edited by Jeremy Hawkins
It features: RETRO [INTERVIEW] with actor Chris Sarandon from Days of the Dead [Chicago]
Our FRIGHT NIGHT [REUNION] at Days of the Dead
Thank You, Zack Snyder for BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE!!! by: Jason Lee Knight [KNIGHT at the MOVIES]
BLUE ROOM [INTERVIEW] - with Composer... David Schwartz - Netflix’s “Lady Dynamite” [2016]
“Getting” Weird: When a Subgenre is a Subgenre and its Shadow is Over More Than Innsmouth (Part Two) - By: KC Redding-Gonzalez
The Side-Effects of Special Effects in Horror - by: By: Christina Persaud
RED ROOM [INTERVIEW] - with Musical artists... King Llama “RETURN TO OX” [2016]
Sixth Annual Maleficium Dark Art Exhibition. Westmont, Illinois
Download your free issues HERE

As We Know It by Carrie Butler

Deep beneath the ocean, stretching hundreds of miles alongside the Pacific Northwest coastline, lies the Cascadia subduction zone—a fault on the verge of unleashing a catastrophic earthquake, thirty times more powerful than the San Andreas. Unfortunately, like most tourists, Elena Cordova is oblivious.

Find it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, and check out the trailer on YouTube

Devon Townsend Project

Recently I blogged about the new Devon Townsend Project album. At the time, the official video was only on Vimeo, but now it’s on YouTube, so you can now see this epic video performance of Stormbending:

Now, just to give you a comparison, here is Devon Townsend’s first big singing gig twenty-three years ago in Steve Vai’s band. While the song might not appeal to you, I have to ask – does Townsend not look like a cenobite from Hellraiser?

Anyone seen a concert that was more like a production? Excited for the next Apes movie? TSO put you in the Christmas spirit? Ever seen Lake Placid? And did Townsend not look like a cenobite in that clip?

Don’t forget to visit Karen Lange!

Television Rating System is Flawed, Oscar Nods, Seventh Son Review, IWSG Newsletter, A to Z Challenge and Minions, Movie Trivia Answers, and Ninja News!

What’s Up With the Television Rating System?

Ever since the rating system emerged, shows have really pushed the boundaries. But sometimes, the ratings make no sense.

The Walking Dead has gotten flack over the years due to its brutal and graphic violence – and mere TV14 rating. Numerous groups have lobbied to get it labeled TVMA.

Into the Badlands also has a TV14 rating. However, it is far less violent and graphic than the Walking Dead.

What really puzzles me is the rating for the show Fargo. It’s TVMA – for mature audiences only. What? Yes, there is violence and language, but it’s nowhere near as graphic as the Walking Dead.

Any idea why Fargo is deemed more extreme than the Walking Dead? Think there are flaws in the system?

Oscar Nods

Everyone’s now seen the Oscar nominations for 2016. They are rather spread out with no clear-cut winner.

I’d like to note that Mad Max: Fury Road is nominated for ten awards. Ten! It won’t win Best Picture or Best Director, but with that many nominations, it should go home with several Oscars.

Although wouldn’t that be just batcrap crazy if the batcrap crazy movie won?

Seventh Son Review

Based on a book, The Spook’s Apprentice, it deviates a bit from the young adult story. (In the book, Tom is twelve; in the movie, he’s an adult and played by a thirty year old actor.)
This is your standard medieval sword and sorcery film, nothing terrible, but nothing notable, either.
Jeff Bridges plays the lead spook, and he hams it up and overacts the entire time. However, this isn’t a bad thing as it makes the film entertaining. (Although it was really hard to understand him in the beginning. The film almost needs closed captioning at that point.)
Julianne Moore does a good job playing the witch queen. You’ll recognize Ben Barnes, who plays Tom, as Caspian from the Narnia movies.
The effects are good (there are dragons) and the plot moves at a decent pace. But everything just seems so familiar.
If you’re in the mood for some sword and sorcery, it’s definitely worth a rental.

IWSG Newsletter!

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group will be launching a newsletter next month! And we got someone awesome to put it together – please welcome the newest IWSG Admin, Chrys Fey. (And wait until you see how awesome she’s made our newsletter.)

Here’s the official scoop on our monthly newsletter:

The Insecure Writer's Support Group Newsletter will feature articles by industry experts, IWSG members, and administrators. There will also be a dozen links to helpful articles for writers in each edition, as well as a special Member Spotlight. Even if you're not a member of the blogging group, you'll greatly benefit from these FREE monthly newsletters.

First issue goes out on February 24!

Sign up HERE. (If you are a member of the monthly blogging group, you are already signed up. Now you’ll get an awesome newsletter instead of a lame email from me!)

Ninja News

I recently made some changes to the WhatAreTheKargrandes? site. It now runs through all thirteen clues before ending with my book, Dragon of the Stars, and some reviews. If you’ve never seen the site, check it out. (And you can click on the images to make them scroll through faster.)

From Howling Wolf Records and the genius that is Jeremy Hawkins comes Six Strings, a magazine about movie soundtracks, scores, and more. Check out the site and download it for free! And watch for upcoming issues–there just might be an interview with yours truly…



DL Hammons is looking for volunteers to read the entries for this year’s Write Club. See his site for details.

A to Z Challenge Approaches!

The A to Z Challenge list opens in one week on January 25! See the site for details if you don’t know about the Challenge. (Or come back in one week, and I’ll explain it.)

This will be my seventh Challenge (I was one of the original one hundred in 2010) and my sixth as a co-host. Last year, Dragon of the Stars released in the middle of the April Challenge, and my fellow co-hosts were nice enough to relieve me of managing a section of the list. (I still manage the entire list behind the scenes, making adjustments to the Linky List.) But this year, I am back in full swing.

And I need help! I need some Ninja Minions. A group of people who will help me check on participants within a section of the list. (Much like co-hosting the IWSG.) Doesn’t matter if you are participating in the Challenge or not. You’ll get a cool Minion badge and special mentions.

So, if you can help me this year, please leave a comment!

Movie Trivia Answers

Fantasy films centered around a forest:
1 – The first in a series that should’ve been seven films, the adventure begins in the snowy winter woods. 2005  The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
2 – A trip to this forest turned out to be a game to feed an ancient beast. 2011  Cabin in the Woods
3 – This fable involved a tower and naïve young woman who wants to explore the world. 2010  Tangled
4 – This epic tale has man joining a dozen others to battle a mysterious enemy that descends from a mountain lair. 1999  The 13th Warrior
5 – The first of three films has an unlikely hero setting off with a group of dwarves. 2012  The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Do you think the television rating system is screwy? Have an Oscar favorite? Seen Seventh Son? Excited about the IWSG newsletter? Ready for the Challenge? Get any of the trivia right? (Pat Hatt did!) And who wants to be a Ninja Minion…?

And since today (Monday) is a holiday in the US, I might not get to everyone today, but I will return all comments this week. Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!

2015 A to Z Challenge List Open, What Are the Kargrandes, Share Your Thoughts Bloghop, and Ninja News

If you are a self-published author, you need to check out a new site called Reedsy. They connect authors with professional editors, illustrators, etc. They also have a blog packed with tips and information, and today I am visiting that site as a guest of Ricardo Fayet, co-founder of Reedsy. Please drop by!

Special thanks to those of you who took the time to listen to my guitar piece last week. You are greatly appreciated! If you missed it, I posted a snippet of me playing Marillion’s Easter.

Kargrandes Update!

New clue today at What Are the Kargrandes? Every Monday is a new piece of information about the Kargrandes from my upcoming book, Dragon of the Stars. Any ideas yet? Know how they are connected to the Dragon?

Sample Tweets for this week:

What are the Kargrandes? Third clue up this week- http://whatarethekargrandes.com/ #whatarethekargrandes @alexjcavanaugh

Can you solve the mystery – what are the Kargrandes? http://whatarethekargrandes.com/ #whatarethekargrandes #scifi @alexjcavanaugh

And in other book news, I’d like to thank Lily Eva Blake for her wonderful review of CassaFire!

Ninja News – New Releases

This Wednesday at the Insecure Writer’s Support Group site is none other than author Medeia Sharif! Want to know how she went from parting from her agent to four books in one year? Check it out Wednesday and find out.


Ashes Burn Season 1: Ashes Away by Tyrean Martinson
Comes out January 28 and you can pre-order it at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords.

Fade Into Me by Charity Bradford
Charity will be a guest here on February 9.

Woven by David Powers King and Michael Jenson
Comes out January 27!
David will be a guest here on February 11.

The Seventh Man by Lisa-Buie Collard
And you can enter to win a free book!

Evening of the Dragonfly by Mary Montagues Sikes

Twice in a Blue Moon by Cate Masters

Share Your Thoughts Bloghop

Hosted by Jamie Ayres to celebrate the release of 18 Thoughts, the third installment in the My So-Called Afterlife trilogy.

Each person participating will post a thought (belief) that has defined their life, their way of thinking. Post up to 18 if you’re feeling adventurous and post any time between Jan. 21 and Jan. 28. I’ll pick 2-3 winners each day.

I’m going to give you the one belief I live my life by:

I believe God rules and God reigns, His son Jesus Christ died for my sins, and I live under the tenets of grace, love, mercy, and forgiveness.

(And on a lighter note, I also believe speed limit signs are merely suggestions!)

The 2015 A to Z Challenge List is Open!

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 3 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.

To streamline legitimate blogs from advertisement blogs, the Co-Hosts will be visiting each blog on this list throughout the Challenge. Blogs on the list showing no activity once the Challenge starts or 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)
ART: (AR)
BOOKS/REVIEWS: (BO)
CRAFTS: (CR)
CULINARY: (CU)
EDUCATION: (ED)
FASHION: (FA)
FILM/MOVIES: (FM)
GAMING: (GA)
GARDENING: (GR)
HISTORY: (HI)
HUMOR: (HU)
LIFESTYLE: (LI )
MEMOIR: (ME)
MUSIC: (MU)
MYTHOLOGY: (MY)
PERSONAL: (PR)
PHOTOGRAPHY: (PH)
POLITICS: (PO)
SCIENCE: (SC)
SOCIAL MEDIA: (SO)
SPORTS: (SP)
TRAVEL: (TR)
WRITING/STORYTELLING: (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
Jeremy @ Hollywood Nuts
Nicole Ayers @ The Madlab Post
Author Stephen Tremp
Heather M. Gardner
AJ @ Naturally Sweet
Pam @ An Unconventional Librarian
Matthew MacNish @ The QQQE
Zalka Csenge Virág @ The Multicolored Diary
S. L. Hennessy @ Pensuasion
C. Lee McKenzie @ The Write Game
Joy Campbell @ The Character Depot
Susan Gourley @ Susan Says
John Holton @The Sound of One Hand Typing
Lisa Buie-Collard, Author

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

Sign up at the A to Z Challenge Blog and join us for a month of alphabet fun!


Know What Are the Kargrandes? See some new books you want? What thought or believe do you live by? And are you joining us for the A to Z Challenge, the most awesome blogging event of the year? (Please do – it’s a lot of fun!)

Don’t forget to visit Reedsy’s blog.