Review, Psych, and Stardate Christmas

Yesterday I received the most awesome surprise – a review of CassaStar by Tessa! I am truly at a loss for words. She read it all in one day! Go check out the best review so far - HERE (After you read this post of course!) Thanks so much, Tessa!

One of these days, studios will learn that they can’t wait to release a movie for reviews. When Thursday night rolled around and there were still no reviews for The Warrior’s Way, we opted not to see it. Spent Friday night putting up the tree and Christmas decorations. Which was fun. (At the moment, the movie is split fifty-fifty, so we might still go see it.)

Instead I offer you Psych!

Thanks to NetFlix, I recently discovered this USA Network show, which airs Wednesdays at 10pm. It followers slacker Shawn (James Roday) and his partner Gus (Dule Hill) as they work with the local police to solve crimes. Shawn has a gift. He’s not psychic – he possesses amazing powers of observation, learned from his former police officer father, played by Corbin Bernsen.

The show is incredibly funny! The two leads are a great combo and ping well off each other. The writing is clever and the pop culture references fly fast. Last week was a take on Twin Peaks, complete with former members of that show, including Sherilyn Fenn. The upcoming episode promises more laughs as they take on Police Academy.

If you’re looking for a feel-good show that will put a smile on your face, Psych is a must watch!

Saw this at Ellie Garratt’s site - Which Science Fiction Writer Are You?

I am: E.E. "Doc" Smith The inventor of space opera. His purple space war tales remain well-read generations later.

Which science fiction writer are you?

And finally, the first of the Stardate Christmas Twitter updates!

Stardate Christmas 1.9 Eggnog is made from Nog. As in, the real Nog! Dear Lord, I've been drinking Ferengi all this time...

Stardate Christmas 3.2 Data discovered mistletoe. Somehow, I don't think the Vulcan Ambassador appreciated the kiss though!

Stardate Christmas 3.9 Santa's bloated corpse just floated by the window in TenForward. Now that's something we don't see every day in space

Fantastic Friday - For Many Reasons!

Today is another edition of Fantastic Friday Writers! I invite your to check out my Fantastic Friday Writers partners - Elizabeth Mueller, Anastasia V. Pergakis, J. D. Brown, and Deirdra Eden Coppel - for their take on this subject. And I’m sure they will all be delighted I came up with more than one paragraph this time!

How do you connect with your MC on a personal level?

The easiest thing would be to create a character similar to me. I think I know myself fairly well! Instead, I created Byron, and while he shares a couple of my traits, he’s very different. Yeah, smart move! Now, how do I relate to this guy?

Connecting with a character implies you have to know them – well. I liken it to making a new friend. We start with facts, then opinions, and then feelings. We take it in layers, like an onion. Guess Shrek was right!

With Byron, I had to discover and embrace his background. What led him to where the story begins? Everything that happened in his past had an impact on his life. I watched him develop as a person. It helped me to understand who he was and why he chose his path. I began to see things from his point of view.

I think that’s where I connected. Byron became real. No, not like the Velveteen Rabbit or anything! He gained dimension. I could feel his frustrations, struggles, and drive to succeed. I respected his desire for privacy and often annoying attitude. I knew that as I wrote the story, I’d be able to properly portray his behavior, thought process, and desires. He was difficult sometimes, but I discovered I really liked Byron.

Which is good, because I’m almost done writing the sequel to CassaStar!

How do you connect with your characters?

In other news…

I won second place in Jessica’s 400 Followers giveaway! A $40 Amazon gift certificate. Thanks, Jessica!

Don’t forget - I’ve been nominated for the Best Sci-Fi Blog Award at The Movie 411! Never thought I’d be so excited about an award, but I’m currently in the lead! If you haven’t voted, please do so now. (And don’t vote twice, or both are eliminated.)

And for those of you following me on Twitter, I’m doing Stardate Christmas updates every day until Christmas! Yes, I will repost them here next week.

Sofia's Dream and Two Giggly Girls

This month I’m featuring some cool Christmas ideas! This one is for my followers who are parents (God Bless you!) – a charming new children’s book called Sofia’s Dream by Land Wilson. Why is this an excellent choice for Christmas? I’ll let the author’s daughters explain…

Anyone who reads sci-fi knows there are plenty of books in which the hero has left Planet Earth because humans have destroyed her. That explains why we’re writing about a kid lit book called Sofia’s Dream, in which a little girl visits the Moon and after seeing the planet from the Moon’s point of view, is inspired to do what she can to protect the world. We asked author, Land Wilson’s daughter (whose best little friend IS the Sofia in the title) to tell us why we should all buy the book. Between giggles, here’s what the girls have to say:

Ten Reasons You Should Buy Sofia's Dream:

10.Because my Dad wrote it!
9. Because it has an important message for everybody!
8. Because we like the pictures!
7. Because it will make you smarter! (giggle)
6. Because the Moon will be glad you read about him!
5. Because Sofia is my best friend! (more giggles)
4. Because dreaming can be fun!
3. Because it will help the Earth!
2. Because astronauts think it is important to us!
1. Because it would make my Dad very happy if you buy the book!

Here’s a picture of the two giggly girls. How can you resist that?



There’s something else to make all you readers smile. We have a drawing for the book so leave your name and email in a comment here.

There is also a special drawing for an iPod shuffle so you can listen to the original songs Little Pickle Press has for their books at iTunes. Click over to the Little Pickle Press blog and sign up for that contest there.

The Little Pickle Press website is at Little Pickle Press and you can follow them at Twitter, too, [@LPP_Media] for all the latest news about their environmentally conscious children’s literature and other media.

And just for the record, I was not involved in the giggling. Captain Ninja Alex does NOT giggle!

It's Talli Time!!

Help Talli Roland's debut novel THE HATING GAME hit the Kindle bestseller list at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk by spreading the word today. Even a few sales in a short period of time on Amazon helps push the book up the rankings, making it more visible to other readers.


Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.com

No Kindle? Download a free app at Amazon for Mac, iPhone, PC, Android and more.

Coming soon in paperback. Keep up with the latest at Talli Roland or at her Blog

About THE HATING GAME:

When man-eater Mattie Johns agrees to star on a dating game show to save her ailing recruitment business, she's confident she'll sail through to the end without letting down the perma-guard she's perfected from years of her love 'em and leave 'em dating strategy. After all, what can go wrong with dating a few losers and hanging out long enough to pick up a juicy £2000,000 prize? Plenty, Mattie discovers, when it's revealed that the contestants are four of her very unhappy exes. Can Mattie confront her past to get the prize money she so desperately needs, or will her exes finally wreak their long-awaited revenge? And what about the ambitious TV producer whose career depends on stopping her from making it to the end?

'I really found myself blown away with Talli's debut novel The Hating Game. She's a fantastic story-teller and I really can't wait to see what's next as she has the potential to become a huge chick lit star.'
- Chick Lit Reviews

'Talli Roland's The Hating Game is a superb debut - an original, hilarious take on the world of reality TV! An addictive read.about money, less-than-happy ex-partners and of course, revenge...'
- Trashionista

'The premise of the book is so brilliant and is one of the few books where from the minute I started to read it, I wished that I'd thought of the idea first. What a funny thing to happen, dating your exes, how awful could that be?'
- High Heels and Book Deals

If you do buy The Hating Game and you like it, a review on Amazon would be greatly appreciated! If you don't have an Amazon account, you can also post reviews on Goodreads. Thank you!

If you are on Amazon and in a clicking sort of mood, it would be fantastic if you could click on a few tags ('Tags Customers Associate with this Product' - located underneath the Product Description). Cheers!

Come on, guys – do it for Talli, the cutest Canadian English girl you’ll ever meet!