Curiosity Quills and the IWSG, Ninja News, Just the Right Time, Personal Values in Writing, and the December Movie Preview

I have the greatest honor of a guest post at Curiosity Quills today. Sharon Bayliss asked me to write a piece on the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Those of you familiar with Curiosity Quills know this is a big thing, so stop by there today for some history and to learn more about the IWSG.

It's up now!

And thanks for all the cheers for CassaStorm's acceptance by my publisher and schedulded release next September. You guys rock!

Ninja News

Jeremy Bates is holding a Christmas giveaway – twenty eBook copies of The Taste of Fear

Visit Roland Yeomans’ SITE to find out how you can win an autographed Ray Bradbury book! He also has this CONTEST going on with so much cool, signed stuff, it will blow your mind!

Sean McLachlan is giving away two copies of his book, A Fine Likeness. Sign up to win one at Goodreads.

Next Wednesday, December 5, is the next posting for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Livia and Tasha are helping with co-host duties that day. Thank you ladies! If you’re a writer and you’ve not yet joined the IWSG, I recommend joining us – it’s the most supportive, encouraging group you will ever find.

Just the Right Time

I am very stoked to announce that my dear blogger buddy, Robyn Alana Engel at Life by Chocolate, has a book out!

“It's Just the Right Time: a magical mixture of poetry and paintings for folks of all ages. It's not too late It's not too soon To watch the stars dance towards the moon. So begins this little jewel, featuring Robyn Engel's poetry and Robin Mead's artwork. "Just the Right Time is a blessing, a loving embrace with colorful, whimsical pictures and words. I can't wait to read these poems to my grandson and show him the beautiful, twinkly illustrations. You'll want to visit these pages again and again." -Susan Wooldridge, author of poemcrazy: freeing your life with words.

Buy it now at Amazon.

Robyn, congratulations!!! I am very excited for you.

Does Your Writing Reflect Your Morals and Values?

I don’t talk writing often (and with good reason) but a few posts lately got me to thinking about this one.

Does your writing reflect your morals and values?

Now, I’ll watch movies and read books with all sorts of vile characters in them. If the character redeems himself at the end, I’m good with it. But as far as my own writing, I can’t write characters like that. My moral compass won’t let me.

For example:

In CassaStar, Bassa comments that the women of Spaceport 89 are “pretty fast.” Let’s be real – thousands of men on a flagship get a day to relax on a spaceport. Think wild west – of course there are brothels! However, I was not about to show Bassa and Byron visiting one.

In CassaFire, you learn more about “bonding.” Cassan and Tgren women have the ability to “bond,” which means a permanent mental connection to their mate. Once a man and woman are bonded as mates, they are in effect “married.”

So yes, my own moral compass appears in my work, as I place great value on the sanctity of marriage.

(And I'd like to note that Byron does do things I would never do, and there are some immoral secondary characters. It isn't all pure!)

How about you?

December Movie Releases

Here are the upcoming movies for December! As always, descriptions courtesy of the IMDB. Snarky comments by me.

7 -

Deadfall
A thriller that follows two siblings who decide to fend for themselves in the wake of a botched casino heist, and their unlikely reunion during another family's Thanksgiving celebration.
Director: Stefan Ruzowitzky
Stars: Eric Bana, Olivia Wilde, Charlie Hunnam, Sissy Spacek
Could be intense and Olivia Wilde is a bonus.


14-

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
A curious Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, journeys to the Lonely Mountain with a vigorous group of Dwarves to reclaim a treasure stolen from them by the dragon Smaug.
Director: Peter Jackson
Stars: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Andy Serkis
Are you kidding? I’m hitting the first showing! 


21 -

Jack Reacher
A homicide investigator digs deeper into a case involving a trained military sniper who shot five random victims.
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Stars: Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins, Robert Duvall
I’ve never read the books, but the preview was funny.


28 -

Django Unchained
With the help of his mentor, a slave-turned-bounty hunter sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner.
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Stars: Jamie Foxx, Don Johnson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington
Tarantino can do no wrong… And it’s a Western!



Any contests entice you? Ready for the IWSG next week? Do your values wind up in your work? And what movies look good to you?

Don’t forget to visit the awesome Curiosity Quills website!

Kyra and Christmas Movies, Ninja News, Author Book Page, and Awesome News – CassaStorm is a Go!

Today I welcome the wonderful Kyra Lennon! She’s going to talk to you about Christmas movies. (We’re past Thanksgiving now, so bring it on!)

So … Christmas movies. There are so many out there, it can be hard to pinpoint a favourite. I know I have a list a mile long, but I want to talk about Christmas movie memories. Those movies that remind you of being a kid, or the ones that make you think of a particular Christmas. Ones that, when you see them, take you back to another time.

For me, it’s The BFG. I know that sounds ridiculous because it’s not even a Christmas movie. I can’t recall why it makes me think of Christmas, all I know is that whenever it’s on TV, I see myself surrounded by coloured wrapping paper, gifts, and … just feeling excited. My guess is that The BFG was on TV one Christmas, and that’s what makes my brain go to that happy place. Even if it doesn’t make any real sense to me, I love the feeling I get from that film.

The other movie that sparks Christmas memories for me is Elf. It had been out for quite a few years before I saw it for the first time, and I stumbled over it by chance one evening when there was nothing on TV. I clearly remember crying with laughter over Elf’s antics, and saying out loud, “I think everyone should have an Elf in their life!” It’s the one Christmas movie I MUST watch every year, just because it brings a smile to my face. Who wouldn’t love a movie that gets even the most cynical people believing in Santa?

So tell me, what are your favourite Christmas movie memories?

Blindsided Synopsis:
After a successful first soccer season in L.A, Jesse Shaw heads to London with his best buddy, Hunter, but his world is turned upside down when a dangerous prank threatens his career and his blossoming relationship with Hunter’s cousin, Isabelle.
Isabelle Mills lives in Notting Hill with her parents and her twin sister, Georgia. When she finds out her cousin is coming to stay, along with his famous soccer player friend, her first instinct is to hibernate until they’ve gone. However, once she meets Jesse, everything changes. He’s everything she ever wanted, but with so many obstacles in their path, can she really risk putting her heart on the line?

Author Bio:
Kyra Lennon was born on the South coast of England, and to this day, still lives by the sea. After years spent working in retail, where she met enough versatile characters to write hundreds of books, she finally took the plunge and quit her day job. Kyra's debut novel, Game On, was released in July 2012. While fiction writing has always been her passion, she also has numerous articles on a variety of topics published on prolific websites.

Find Kyra’s books on Amazon US and Amazon UK
Find Kyra here: Blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.

Thanks, Kyra – you rock!

Ninja News

Today’s Special Challenge Participant Feature at the A to Z Blog is Sydney Aaliyah! Her Challenge theme was “Traveling in Australia.” So if you’ve ever wanted to explore the land down under, check out the highlights from Sydney.

Karen announced the 2012 Blog Award Semi-Finalists - and I’m up for Blog of the Year! And quite a few of my blogger buddies are nominated as well. Be sure to stop by and vote.

Laura Pauling has TWO new releases – a children’s book and the sequel to A Spy Like Me. Congratulations, Laura!

Hildie McQueen’s latest is now available – Highlander’s Captive – and she’s holding a giveaway for five copies at her blog. Congratulations, Hildie!

Stephen Tremp just launched E. T. Registry where you can Own A Piece Of The Universe! You can buy extra-terrestrial real estate for a friend, family member, or that certain person you are not quite sure what to buy for Christmas. E. T. Registry gives fully fifty percent of all proceeds to four organizations that benefit the youth of today in math and science so they can develop into our leaders of tomorrow.

Lynn Rush is just one of twenty authors who contributed to Christmas Lites II – and all proceeds are donated to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. That’s awesome, Lynn!

HM Sinclair has a new cookbook – 365 Nights: Menus & Recipes for Every Night of the Year. Congratulations, Holly!

Patsy Collins’ book, Escape to the Country, is a free download Wednesday and Thursday! Find it on Amazon US and Amazon UK.

Author Books!

I updated my Awesome Authors and Books page this week. If you are one of my blogger buddies, one of your books should be listed on that page. Please check to be sure yours is listed, as I’m sure I forgot someone!

The Awesome News!!!!!

Yes, I’m going to overuse the exclamation point! I got a call from my publisher yesterday afternoon – CassaStorm is a go!!!!

They’d asked me to change one thing Monday morning and I’d worked on it that night, sending the new version the moment I was finished. Tuesday afternoon the call came – they were emailing me the contract and wanted to publish CassaStorm. There was even a signing bonus. (Is that what it’s called? Sorry, resorting to sports terms here.) Of course I signed that bad boy!

Projected release date – September 2013.

Whoa…

My third book is coming out next year. I never envisioned any of this when I wrote the first one. NEVER! One book – what the hell, let’s see what happens. I never even wanted to be a writer…

Thanks to everyone who has supported me and purchased my books. I am truly blessed.

So what is your favorite Christmas movie? See any new books to add to your collection? Did you vote for the 2012 Blog Awards? Ready to buy some space real estate through E. T. Registry? Blogger buddies, did you find your book on my Authors and Books page? And how many think September is a long ways away…?

Don’t forget to visit Sydney at the A to Z Blog!

Ninja News, Peaches D. Ledwidge, Novel Pimping, Lincoln and Life of Pi Movie Reviews, and CassaStorm Update

Gossip Girl is pimping my blog and books today! Thank you so much for the honor. See what she has to say at her site, Whatever.

Ninja News

Thanks to the almost hundred people who signed up to embarrass the snot out of me on December 10. You rock, my friends! (And in case you missed it - The Day the Ninja Died.)


Trisha at WORD and STUFF is hosting the Baby Faces Blogfest on December 2-3.

Mary Montague Sikes’ new book, Daddy's Christmas Angel, came out last week, and her publisher's designer created the cover using one of her art images. Congratulations, Monti!

Julie Luek at A Thought Grows had an awesome proposition – Writers for Readers. FirstBook is an organization that donates books to children, and she put out the call for others to make a donation. Good stuff, Julie!

Cindy Borgne runs a book review site called Good Book Alert, and for a very limited time she has opened up submissions to her fellow authors and bloggers. So if you need a book review, check out Good Book Alert.

Authors Angela Orlowski-Peart, Angela Brown, and Gwen Gardner are all part of Black Friday-Cyber Monday Indie Deals It ends today, so visit their sites for a list of books on sale.

CassaFire is up for Goodreads’ Best YA Covers for 2012. (And it’s not even young adult!!)

Special Feature

Peaches D. Ledwidge recently launched her website and her book, Day Laughs, Night Cries: Fifteen.


Peaches is currently on a blog tour giving bloggers a glimpse of her past in this amusing and sad mother-daughter story, so check it out. Congratulations, Peaches!

Movie Reviews

Life of Pi
Based on the novel (which I haven’t read), a man recounts to a writer his tale of being the only survivor of a shipwreck, trapped on a lifeboat with a tiger.
There is so much going on with this movie. At its heart, it’s the story of a young man finding God. It will wrench every emotion out of you by the end as you watch Pi struggle to survive while taking care of a tiger named Richard Parker. That he finds God after losing everything is a true testament to faith.
The visuals are stunning beyond words. I can imagine the challenge of the author trying to bring those to life in the book. On the screen, everything possesses depth – the power of the storms, the vastness of the sea and sky, and the beauty of the Bengal tiger. Not to mention the wide range of emotions.
In the end, we are asked which story we believe – the one of God and love or the one of the devil and hate. I believe the former.
Highly recommended!

Lincoln
The film focuses on Lincoln’s attempt to pass the 13th Amendment and a race to abolish slavery before the war ends.
And it’s not only likely to win Best Picture, but Daniel Day-Lewis is a shoe-in for Best Actor at the 2013 Academy Awards.
Watching all of the events unfold as the day to vote on the Amendment approaches is incredibly tense. So many driving forces, political dances, and turn of events - we know the outcome, but still sit on the edge of our seats. Most of this is achieved in quiet moments of reflection and discussion, which is no small feat.
Day-Lewis nailed Lincoln. He’s perfect. Sally Field is great as his wife and Tommy Lee Jones chews up scenery. The cast is huge – Hal Holbrook, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader – and everyone is outstanding.
Directed by Steven Spielberg, it’s an incredible piece of historical fiction and highly recommended!

CassaStorm Update

I forgot to mention last Monday – I send the finished manuscript to my publisher! Just waiting to hear back…

Hope my American buddies had a great Thanksgiving! Lots of news this week – see any enticing books or blogfests or need a book review? Donating to FirstBook? Anyone else see Life of Pi or Lincoln this weekend? (Or another movie? I’m still considering Wreck it Ralph.) And how are you NaNo people doing?

Don’t forget to visit Gossip Girl!

The Big Reveal and the Day the Ninja Died…

You’ve been waiting for this moment for months. I’d like to say I was coerced, but nay, I was TOLD this blogfest event was happening. Hosted by Mark “The Madman” Koopman, ”Marvelous” Morgan Shamy, Stephen “Breakthrough” Tremp, and David “Kingpin” Powers King, here it is:

Or as Mark has nicknamed it, the "Hi, my-name-is-Alex-and-I'm-squirming-with-embarrassment" blogfest.

I’ve dubbed it the Day the Ninja Died blogfest.

I’m going to let Mark tell you about it in his own words:

Aloha,

Ever attended a Christmas party where you bump into the person who was always there for you during the last year. You’d thank them for being such a RockStar, right?

If there’s one person in the Blogisfear who you want to say cheers to, who would it be?

For us, it was a no-brainer: Alex “no hyperlink needed” Cavanaugh.

Alex is an awesome blogger who’s helped hundreds of us via book releases, guest posts, guest interviews and always positive comments. While we can’t have a live part-ay for the Ninja Captain, we can host a BlogFest:

Welcome to the “Cheers, Cavanaugh BlogFest.”

Hosted by Mark “The Madman” Koopman, ”Marvelous” Morgan Shamy, Stephen “Breakthrough” Tremp, and David “Kingpin” Powers King, the BlogFest runs from December 10 - 12.

While Alex is an awesome blogger, he’s also an enigma. J

So, here’s four questions: 

In +/- 20 words, what does Alex look like?

In +/- 20 words, who could play Alex in a documentary? (Living or dead.)

In +/- 20 words, who does Alex remind you of?

In +/- 100 words, (excluding the title) write flash fiction using all these prompts:

Cavanaugh
Ninja
IWSG
Cosbolt
Guitar

For Bonus Points:
In +/- 40 words, leave a comment for Mrs. Cavanaugh - thanking her for sharing J

Rules:
Join the Linky List
Be a follower.
Post your 200 (total) word contribution Monday, Dec. 10.
Have Fun!

Two winners – chosen by Alex – will each win one prize:

FIRST PLACE: A signed copy of CassaStar. (Or CassaFire)

GRAND PRIZE*: A picture of Alex and a download of him playing the guitar. (There might be another prize… all depends!)

(*One caveat: Alex asks the picture or download NOT be shared online.J)

The Linky is open until Dec. 12, 2012.

Now the dead Ninja’s thoughts…

When Mark informed me of this blogfest back in September, I was speechless. Literally. (You can ask him.) I NEVER expected anything like this. I’m not co-hosting this blogfest – I AM the blogfest! I’m humbled beyond words.

When I began this journey, I had no idea what would happen. I was just establishing my author platform. I had no idea I would make so many good friends along the way. I couldn’t see more than one book in me, but you encouraged me to keep writing. I didn’t foresee the IWSG taking off and bringing so many writers and authors together. I never imagined I would be so blessed to be a part of this community.

That is why I am so driven to give back to you guys. It took all of you to get me here, and here is far beyond my expectations. I am here before you now as a servant, ready and willing to do whatever it takes to help all of you achieve your dreams.

Thank you Mark, Morgan, Stephen, and David for thinking enough of me to put this blogfest together.

And I want to mention last Friday’s I Miss You Blogfest. I was stunned at the number of people who mentioned me. That meant a lot to me. Julie had a wonderful poem – “A special thanks to our Fearless Leader, Who tends to his devoted ducklings, Like Father Goose on speed reader.” Lisa created an amazing video. Nancy, your words were the most touching. Thank you. And thanks to all who participated. (The links all lead directly to the blogfest posts, so feel free to keep browsing.)

So yes, this is the day the Ninja dies – of embarrassment. (Thanks, Madman Mark!)

Of course, if no one signs up, that would be even more embarrassing…


And if you weren’t expecting this, trust me – neither was I!