Friday Awesome Sauce

It's Friday, yeah,yeah,yeah!!! It occurred to me that there is a lot of good things happening around the blogging community so I'm going to give a little shout out to my fellow writers and friends.

Julia Phillips Smith has a new story out, Bound By Dragonsfyre, Book 1 of the Dragonsfyre trilogy. A fantasy epic that you so do not want to miss. I'll be posting my review here soon.

My friend Jeremy from Retro-Zombie has his incredible artwork available on T-Shirts now. Go on and check them out. I collect tee shirts and I can't wait to get some. Yay Jeremy!!

K.C. Kendricks, author of some of the best erotica out there has a new book out, River Walk. It's the third in a series about a shapeshifter named Sundown and his lover, Fallon, a detective. I am addicted to the series.

Need help marketing your books? I know I do. We should head right on over to Gail M. Baugniet's blog. She is hosting author and marketing guru, Phyllis Z. Miller. Phyllis is talking about  tips for using Amazon and Facebook to spread the word out about our stories.

You Should Know

I've been so neglectful of this lately, but I'll be getting back to this more frequently. Today's You Should Know is Mina over at Some Dark Romantic. I've just started getting to know her and she is incredibly fun, outspoken and smart. Her tag line is brilliant "...middle-aged Goth Mom whose dreams haven't quite breathed their last." Mina blogs on Mondays and Thursdays. She is very supportive of her fellow writers and dreamers. Go one and check her out, she's fantastic.

Have a great weekend and don't forget to come back tomorrow when I post my 50 Favorite Movies in a She Said He Said dual post with Brent at Criminal Movies. And you know there is going to be a whole host of creatures on this list...Werewolves, Elves, Ax Murderers...LOL

TGIF

It's the end of the week and I am slap happy. It's been a while since I've been this enthusiastic about a weekend, but there you go. I'm planning on hanging with some friends, go to my writers group and pack for my big move on April 14. I do not want to be one of those up all night, last minute packers. I'm also going to be purging things. Donating clothes, books and other things I don't need any more.

To kick things off, I want to wish my dear friend George from the awesomely cool Cinemarvellous, a huge Happy Birthday. He rocks and always has my back. Plus, he's got some of the best reviews around.

For my You Should Know Friday, I want to spotlight Sloane Taylor, a writer friend of mine who is returning to the blog scene. She is launching her blog, Sloane Taylor. She will be blogging twice a week, Mondays and Wednesdays, with Monday being a writing and whatever strikes her fancy day. Wednesdays are What's Cookin' days as Sloane is a terrific chef. Best of all, she includes recipes for the entire meal, not just a dish or two. She has a fabulous menu up right now for eye of round roast. I'm definitely going to be bribing my sister into cooking this as I prefer batting clean up and try not to do anything with food other than eat it. She is a fabulous writer, too. One of my favorites. Go check out her amazing website as well.

So have a terrific weekend, my friends. At some point, I'll be hoisting a good beer or margarita and one of them will most definitely be to all of you. You Imaginarians are the Best!

Friday!!! Time To Get Your Groove On

Yes! It is finally, finally, Friday. Yesterday was a horrible grind and I really do believe some people come with a built-in Suck Factor of 100. However, I'm not about to go on a sarcastic rant because I want to kick off the weekend in a fun way. So I'm going to share nothing but good things today.

I have two film reviews up. The first is for the awesomely creepy Woman in Black. This is truly one of the best horror films I've seen. The second is for Mulberry Child, a powerful documentary about a woman recounting her tragic childhood during Mao's Cultural Revolution. Jian Ping's story is powerful, poignant and a testament to the strength of the human will.

Since it's Friday, that also means it's time for another edition of You Should Know. I just met this blogger recently and he's already made a huge impression on me. Jay Noel has a mindblowing site called Jay Noel: Writer on Fire. Writer on fire, I just love that name, it's so exciting and passionate. His bio says he loves science fiction, fantasy, literary fiction, biographies and chocolate chip cookies. I could get on board with that. His first book, The Dragonfly Warrior, will be out this summer. Yay! It is the first in a series called The Mechanica Wars.

And now to help you get your groove on, I am spinning Come Dancing by The Kinks. This was my introduction to this legendary band and I still love this song. It puts me in a happy mood whenever I hear it. Enjoy and have a kick ass weekend.

Happy Friday!!

Happy Friday!!! Well, I for one, am damned glad this week is over. I am finally feeling better and on the mend. Whew! Turns out, I have to get my fiber intake up, and I also have a small hernia. Oh yay. But, considering they were testing for cancer and other more serious things, I am on my knees thankful.

Since I went in Monday, I didn't get a chance to share those articles I wrote with you for Static Multimedia.com. There are two reviews, the first is for The Necromancer's Apprentice by Naomi Clark, a rather brilliant short story with lots of magic, zombies and wicked necromancers. The second is a thriller entitled Kill Zone by James L. Hatch. It is addicting reading. Finally, I wrote a short feature article talking about some interesting horror films coming to theaters and DVD/Blu-ray as well as a new TV show, The River by Paranormal Activity director Oren Peli and executive produced by Steven Spielberg. Check out February's Frightening Flicks.

I also missed the Insecure Writers Support Group this month, but I want to encourage all of you to check out these amazing writers and to join up for next month. Founded by the awesome Captain Ninja, Alex J. Cavanaugh, it really is a wonderful group and they give out so much encouragement to everyone.

Speaking of Alex, he is over at The Piedmont Writer today so go say Hi. Also, it's just a couple of more weeks until the sequel to Alex's awesome CassaStar releases, CassaFire. Whoo Hoo!!

And while I'm on the subject of new books, RaShelle Workman has a wonderful new book Sleeping Roses, now available on Amazon. It's a thriller that sounds downright chilling and is the first in her Dead Roses series. She has a contest going on right now so head on over there and enter. There's a copy of the book, a pen and bookmark in the mag prize package.

Finally, Stephen Tremp, author of Opening was at the always amazing MPax's blog Wistful Nebulae on the 30th. Check it out, it's a great piece. Both of these wonderful authors will be here at the Imaginarium later this month. Yay!!

Have a great weekend everyone and thank you so very much for all the well wishes. They really touched me and made me feel better. You truly are the best blog buddies/friends and I appreciate each and every one of you.

Friday Awesomeness & Someone You Should Know

Happy Friday, yo! I want to kick off this weekend with positive things and share with you the awesomeness from my fellow blogger buds and friends.

My fellow Amber Quill folks, KC Kendricks and Rick R. Reed have new releases as well. Whoo Hoo!! KC's is called A Cat Named Hercules and Rick's is I Heart Boston Terriers They're part of an Amber Pax collection called Heavy Petting,
which also features fellow authors Christiane France with And The Cat Came Back, Deirdre O'Dare with Smoke and Spots and A. J. Llewellyn with Bunyip. This is a m/m story collection about men who find love through the unexpected interference of their non-human best friends.

Stephen Tremp's newest, Opening has dropped. Congratulations!!! Go and read this right now. And you also got to get his other brilliant novel, Breakthrough.

Melissa Sugar, from Have You Heard is running a fantabulous contest of epic proportions. Starting on the 29 of January and running through Feb, 29th (Leap Year). It's a incredible contest that aims to help spread the word about fellow bloggers whose own sites may not be as well known as others. The prizes are just stupendous so go and check it out. Help your fellow bloggers. Our community is the best.

The inaugural edition of the Vine Leaves Literary Journal has gone live. This is an amazing creation is the brainchild of Jessica Bell and Dawn Ius that takes the art of the vignette to new heights.

Captain Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh is over at Susan Roebuck's talking about successful blogging. The trailer for his soon-to-be-released CassaFire is up for voting tomorrow at You Gotta Read.

And for my You Should Know Fridays, I'm going to shine the spotlight on a wonderful friend to the Imaginarium, PK Hrezo. She has an awesome blog that is always full of positive thoughts and interesting, engaging posts. She posts about her passions, her writing and her fiction addiction. I love her blog and I know you will too.

Well, that's it for me. I'm hunkering down for an icy winter blast that will freeze me to my toenails. Doesn't stop me from craving ice cream. LOL 6 inches of snow and temps below zero, Oy! I may venture out to see Haywire, but that might have to wait until Sunday.

**Image is from Good Light Scraps.

Puppy Love And Someone To Know

Remember way back in September when I announced that we got a puppy? Well, I have been remiss in putting up some pics of her. So to kick off the week on a good note, here is my cutesy little gal with 'tude, Vegas. As you can see, she's all decked out for Christmas and she has a red and green eye because I can't figure out my camera. LOL Seriously, though, she has one blue eye and one brown. A crazy adorable combo.

And she really loved getting this get up on, too. As seen by her reaction in this pic. She hates getting dressed up as much as I do.

Vegas is a shi tzu and she's about 6 months old. This will be her first Christmas with us and of course, she will spoiled rotten, LOL.

Now, to make up for my lack of You Should Know Friday, I am going to spotlight someone I think you should know today. I want to share with you someone who is smart, cool and just a terrific blogger/friend. Kimberly at Meetings with My Muse is an awesome blogger who supports writers and is an amazing writer herself. She talks about things like how you go about plotting, the passion of writing, books she's reading and all manner of things in between. Her style is engaging and charming, there is no doubt in my mind that you will love her like I do.

A Field Trip With Some Werewolves

That's right, I took a field trip with my werewolves today. I piled Maxie and her fellas into a minivan-not easy-, drove to the airport, then flew to Austria to be with cool horror geek, Maynard, at his blog Maynard Morrissey's Horror Movie Diary. If you love horror and anything dark side, you should get to know Maynard's blog.

He has a wicked cool interview with yours truly and a kick-ass review of my wicked tale Maxie Briscoe: Werewolf.

Saint Sanguinus By Julia Phillips Smith

It's no secret that werewolves are my monsters, but I do love an awesome vampire tale. And how fitting that on the very day Mr. Sparkles and his insipid bride hit theaters, I am reviewing a truly dark, dangerous and true-to-the-blood-thirsty-core vampire tale.

Saint Sanguinus is by Julia Phillips Smith, a cool author who puts the monster back into vampire. It is the first of the Dark Ages Vampire trilogy and it is a hellagood start. Peredur is a Welsh warrior fighting Irish raiders when he is brutally cut down by a spear. Cursing God as he bleeds out, he is visited by a darkly compelling man who offers him a chance at another life. He takes it, knowing that something is very wrong, yet a new life, even one without his beloved Tanwen, will be better than no life at all.

So begins Peredur's initiation into The Brotherhood, an elite group of vampiric warriors charged with keeping the other vampires in check to prevent them from destroying humanity. He is determined to make the best of his new life, yet he cannot forget Tanwen.

This book is savagely beautiful with characters that tread a dark path. They are honest, flawed, yet sympathetic. Peredur is made a vampire not through some evil purpose, but because in a frightened, angry moment he grabbed a lifeline. Tanwen is a strong, courageous woman taking her life into her own hands, yet she remains an authentic product of her time.

The Dark Ages setting is one of the most beautiful things about this story. Phillips perfectly captures the social strictures, the superstitions as well as the danger and daily struggle for mere survival. She weaves a spell over her readers with her subtly brilliant dialogue and lush descriptions. I was right there in the cavern with Peredur and the Brotherhood. I could smell the forest, hear the crackle of the fires and oh my God can she write fight scenes in all their bloody, violent glory. Putting this one down was almost impossible and I so can't wait for the second installment.

To find out more about Julia and her work, visit her blog, A Piece of My Mind or visit her web site.

You can purchase Saint Sanguinus here.



Now, onto You Should Know Friday. Today's cool peep is Robyn Alana Engel from the absolutely hilarious and witty blog Life By Chocolate. Her trials and tribulations will make you laugh, cry and want to eat chocolate by the truck load. I just love visiting her and I know you will, too.

It's Friday!!!!

I am so psyched, my peeps. I just received news that Nathan's Angel is the #5 bestseller for October at Amber Allure. Drinks all around!!! Who cares if it's not 5 o'clock yet? It's so completely freakin' awesome to have my story and the word bestseller together in perfect harmony. What's that Lionel Richie song? "Oh what a feeling, when we're dancing on the ceiling..." I am so blown away and considering the story has only been out for 2 weeks? Wowzers! Thank you all so very, very much for the support. You rock!!

On to some more awesomeness, my You Should Know Friday. Today, I want to spotlight a wonderful blogger friend that I just adore, Ella from Ella's Edge . I just love her. Ella is a poet, an artist and all around creative genius. She always has the most interesting posts and opens up your mind with her unique blend of art and writing. She always leaves upbeat, quirky comments that make me smile and give me a lift when I really need it. Visiting Ella's site is like going to a favorite place and giving your spirit a lift. You should all get to know her.

See the Movember button at the top of my side bar? Jamie aka Mithril Wisdom is growing a stache for a good cause. He's helping to raise funds to fight prostate cancer. So click on there and check it out. Go Jamie and go Jamie's 'stache!

Well, that's it for today. A short sweet post to see you all into the weekend. Do you all have big plans? I want to try and hit the theater since this is I did not get there last weekend, either. Harold and Kumar are back, Yay!! Those two crack me the hell up. I'm also having dinner with friends and of course, there's the Bears-Lions game. Yes, I am a football junkie. I even play fantasy football. I can see the eye rolls and sad head shakes out there. :) I wish you all a stellar weekend.