C.A. Milson's Blog, page 198
December 28, 2015
P&E Poll 2015
Hey gang! The annual P&E Readers Poll is back. If you like my blog, take a moment to vote for my site
http://critters.org/predpoll/reviewsite.shtml
Filed under: Readers Choice Tagged: P&E Poll 2015, P&E Readers Poll
December 23, 2015
Enchanted Book Promotion Christmas Sale!
Enchanted Book Promotions is holding Christmas Sales!
If you book two tours with us between December 21 and December 31, you get one FREE tour package! The FREE tour package will be te same one as the smallest package you ordered.
Just purchase two tour packages from the website using the same contact email, and then we’ll get in touch with you about your tours AND your FREE tour package.
Find out more about the sales here, and if you’d like to find out more about the different tour packages, visit this page.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact staff at enchantedbookpromotions@gmail.com.
Filed under: Business Promos Tagged: Enchanted Book Promotion
Guest Author ~ PJ MacDowell
Lust of Innocence
by PJ MacDowell
Book Details
Title: Lust of Innocence
Author: PJ MacDowell
Genre: Erotica
Length: 35 pages
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Publication Date: December 11, 2015
Price: $3.00 (Promo price: $1.00 Coupon Code: QA86A expires Dec. 20, 2015)
Synopsis
An Erotic, Gripping and Compelling tale of Curiosity, Exploration and Desire…
In this sensuous erotic tale, meet ELIZABETH, gently bred, and unaware of her precarious position in her household. Elizabeth is introduced to exquisite pleasures and flattered by the tantalizing advances of the pretty, ample-bosomed, colored-serving maid, Syreena.
She and Syreena defy aristocratic etiquette and embark on an illustrious affair which threatens to consume them both…
Excerpt
Take a peek at what’s inside:
Jason turns, presenting Syreena with his back and she pulls his pants down, exposing his derriere. Jason closes his eyes. Syreena picks up a wooden paddle and slowly raises her arm. And in that moment, all seemed to go silent. Elizabeth’s breathe catches and every nerve within her is inflamed with anticipation … ‘whack, whack, whack’ against Jason’s naked posterior. Jason throws his head back, a guttural sound expels from his throat. Syreena lays down the paddle and gingerly traces the inflamed marks on his butt with her fingers. She lowers her dark head and her pink tongue travels across his posterior. She licks one crimson cheek, then the other.
Elizabeth can feel herself getting wet down there. Fascinated, Elizabeth is transfixed on Syreena’s tongue teasing Jason. Syreena brings her hand around to the front of Jason and wraps her fingers around his engorged manhood. Slowly she begins to stroke him, her heavy breasts brushing against his legs, her mouth and tongue trailing over his buttocks.
Elizabeth is filled with excitement and she feels a hot pressure building between her legs. Without realizing it, she emits a moan.
Syreena raises her head and looks sideways towards Elizabeth. Elizabeth freezes. Her breath catches in her throat as she makes contact with Syreena’s inviting, smoldering dark gaze. Jason is unaware of his sister’s presence and his voice dripping with need breaks through their hypnotic gaze. “May I please suckle on your teats?”
Syreena’s eyes become emotionless as she regards Jason, and she gently corrects him, “May I please, Mistress Syreena, suckle on your teats.”
Syreena snaps her fingers at Jason and Jason obediently lowers himself, and eagerly repeats her words, “May I please, Mistress Syreena, suckle on…” And as he crawls on all fours to face Syreena, he is too anxious to finish the sentence and without restraint, clamps down on her engorged nipple.
Syreena stiffens from the pain, but then her dark eyes connect with Elizabeth’s wide blue eyes and she moans.
Buy Links
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU | Kobo | Smashwords | Goodreads
About the Author
PJ MacDowell is an award-winning filmmaker. As a writer of tasteful, short, erotic-historical stories – PJ is unable to avoid the lure of forbidden love, and delves deliciously into a myriad of sensual indiscretions and turbulent relationships during the illustrious 17th century.
Contact The Author
Twitter
Facebook Fan Page
Facebook Profile Page
Blog
Other works by PJ:
Lust of Innocence – Book I:
In this sensuous erotic tale, meet Elizabeth, gently bred, unaware of her precarious position in her household. Elizabeth is consumed by the advances of the pretty, ample bosomed, colored serving maid. Elizabeth is introduced to exquisite pleasures, which heats her blood and ignites her loins. Elizabeth defies aristocratic etiquette and her ambitious brother cruelly wretches her from the curvy arms of the maid and has her savagely branded as a whore and sold as an indentured servant.
The Novice – Book II:
Elizabeth’s journey overflows with emotions when she is shackled and sold as a sex slave. Amidst the perilous voyage to America, Elizabeth falls in infatuated love with the intense, green-eyed Dominatrix Governess. After weeks at sea, Elizabeth realizes that she is but a pawn in the world of sexual servitude. She refuses to humiliate or inflict physical pain on her Governess and is taught a lesson which chills her heart until she arrives in America.
Madame Indigo – Book III
Elizabeth is relieved to step foot on solid ground, even if she is shackled and gagged. Once again, Elizabeth is sold into slavery. During the crude slave auction, Elizabeth’s deep blue eyes catch the interest of the overseer of an Indigo Planation in Virginia.
Elizabeth is put to work as a sex slave for the handsome plantation owner, who is obsessed with observing birch disciplinary fantasies. He keeps a room with rods and cat o’ nine tails … and for his pleasure, he has the blue-eyed beauty exact punishment with whips, canes and birches – to chastise and punish one particular glorious black male slave – Armand.
Armand is the strongest and handsomest black breeding slave on the plantation but when the velvety lash of the whip Elizabeth wields sears his chest, he becomes ensnared by Elizabeth’s dark blue, unwavering gaze, the kaleidoscopic blue color of her eyes remind Armand of the prized indigo plants cultivated on the plantation.
Even as Elizabeth brands Armand, she is far from immune from the heat emanating from his sinewy frame and the dominatrix becomes dominated by feelings she thought were long dormant.
Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: #PJMacDowell, Book Excerpt, LUST Of Innocence, PJ MacDowell
December 22, 2015
Ashcombe Maze and Enchanted Adventure Garden
Mazes and more mazes, gnome and fairy hunt and canopy walk-a day well spent:)
Filed under: Life.... Tagged: 3D Maze, Ashcombe Maze, Day Trip, Enchanted Adventure Garden, Mornington Peninsula, Scary maze
Book Tour – The Grim Spectre
About the Book
Title: The Grim Spectre
Author: Ralph L. Angelo Jr.
Genre: Crime Fiction
1937, the world on the brink of war. But in the city of Riverburgh, NY forty miles north of Manhattan there was a different kind of war brewing, it was a war of survival for the common man. A war against the gangsters and thugs who ruled the streets and against the corrupt politicians who turned a blind eye to the evil that ran rampant in Riverburgh.
In a city where everyone had given up hope and cried to the heavens for a savior, a savior had arrived. But was he heaven sent or a monster from hell? A grim, skull faced being who glowed with a terrible brightness. A monstrous creature who wielded twin .45 caliber pistol’s with a deadly and practiced aim, as well as strange and frightening powers that matched his terrible glowing eyes.
But would even the terrible Grim Spectre be a match for the forces the gang lord Phylo Zeus unleashed against him? Even if he was, would The Grim Spectre be able to withstand the attacks of the corrupt Mayor and his police force that dogged his every move? Caught between the twin forces of darkness encompassing the small city of Riverburgh, was The Grim Spectre too little, too late? Or can the supernatural avenger somehow defeat his many foes on both sides of the law while caught between the teeth of their vise of greed and corruption?
Find out within the pages of the New Pulp adventure, ‘The Grim Spectre.’ by Ralph L. Angelo Jr.
Author Bio
Ralph L. Angelo Jr., recipient of the 2014 ‘New Pulp Award’ for ‘Best New Author’ has written novels in the Sci-Fi/Space Opera, Sword and Sorcery, Epic Fantasy and New Pulp as well as non-fiction genre’s. Ralph has also written various stories in anthologies for different publishers in the New Pulp genre as well. In his spare time Ralph is an avid motorcyclist, skier, guitar player and martial artist. All of Ralph’s books can be found at http://RLAngeloJr.com
Links
Twitter: @RLAngelojr
Email: RAngeloJr@aol.com
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RalphLAngeloJr
Amazon (Paperback): http://www.amazon.com/Grim-Spectre-Ralph-L-Angelo/dp/1519668996/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450441246&sr=8-1&keywords=grim+spectre
Amazon (eBook): http://www.amazon.com/Grim-Spectre-Ralph-Angelo-Jr-ebook/dp/B017QVEQWS/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1450441246&sr=8-1
Book Excerpt
1937, the small city of Riverburgh, forty miles north of New York City up the Hudson…
“Benny! Benny! Yeah it’s me, I gotta talk to ya. Somethin’ just happened Benny, somethin’ bad. I was in ‘Little Nicky’s’ knockin’ back a few wit’ the boys. The place was packed an’ the smoke in there, it was like pea soup-it was a good night. When the door busts open, like someone kicked it in, hard! An’ standin’ there in the doorway, framed in th’ moonlight is this guy in a trench coat an’ slouch hat. An’ he’s lookin’ down, like at th’ floor or somethin’. Waddaya mean how could I tell? His hat was pointin’ down, like his whole head was starin’ at th’ floor, that’s how! Anyway, an this is the weird part, his trench coat was blowin’ in from behind, like he was in the wind, but there weren’t no breeze blowin’ Benny. There was nothin’. So’s Big Mack, the bartender, shouts ‘Hey! You comin’ in or stayin out? Yer lettin’ all the flies out.’ An’ all the mooks, they start laughin’.
“But this guy? He ain’t havin’ none o’ it. He just stands there starin’. Then finally after everyone in the whole friggin’ place stops talkin’ an’ is all starin’ at the door this guy raises his head, and his face is still in the shadow o’ the hat mind ya, but he starts to talk, an’ in this voice like death over ice says ‘Where is Joey DeLuca?’ That’s all he says, at least at first. Guys start grumblin’ an’ angrily mutterin’ to themselves when he says it again, this time so loud mugs o’ beer shatter all around the bar, I swear Benny, it was like a crack o’ thunder, ‘WHERE IS JOEY DeLUCA?’ he says.
Giveaway – autographed copy of “The Grim Spectre”.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: #RLAngelojr, Crime Fiction, Enchanted book promotions, Rafflecopter, Ralph L. Angelo Jr., The Grim Spectre
December 21, 2015
Book Tour – Kyrie Carter series
About the Books
The Newbie
Kyrie Carter can’t believe her luck when she wins a spot on a paranormal investigation with celebrity ghost hunter Drac Petery and his heartthrob brother Gabe. As the investigation begins, her main obstacles are her unsupportive teammates and her lack of ghost hunting experience. Her biggest critic is the ruggedly handsome but enigmatic Spook Steele, who takes an instant and intense dislike to the newbie and seems determined to see her fail. However, Kyr soon realizes that her flesh-and-blood rivals are the least of her worries. The investigation takes a dark turn when the team finds evidence of a decades-old murder mystery, and Kyr becomes the victim of the resident spirit’s violent attacks. The discovery of a family connection to the Berkeleys explains the spirit’s malevolence. Will Kyr be able to help the Peterys unravel the mystery and put the Berkeley mansion spirits to rest, or will she become another victim of the house’s tragic history? And will she be able to sort out her romantic feelings for the off-limits Gabe and her growing but unwelcome attraction to Spook Steele?
School Spirits
In Book 2 of Leta Hawk’s Kyrie Carter Paranormal Mystery series, a paranormal investigation on the campus of Willow Lake College leads to the discovery of a decades-old murder mystery. Kyrie Carter is thrilled to accompany her best friend JoEllyn to their alma mater, Willow Lake College, for a ghost hunt with the campus Paranormal Club. She is pleasantly surprised when celebrity ghost hunters Drac and Gabe Petery show up with their team. She is not so pleasantly surprised when her critical former teammate Spook Steele shows up with them. What begins as a routine investigation into campus ghost stories soon turns dangerous as Kyr encounters a malicious spirit in the bell tower of Appleton Hall. Upon further investigation, the team learns that a suspicious fire had claimed the life of a female student in 1958. After Spook becomes a victim of a similar fire in the bell tower while investigating, he and Kyr begin to suspect they are dealing with more than a simple haunting. Kyr and Spook put aside their differences and team up to piece together what happened in the bell tower. The mystery deepens as they discover that everyone—townspeople and campus administrators alike—seem determined to keep the truth hidden about the events of that night.
Author Bio
Leta Hawk has been fascinated with the paranormal since her first encounter with a ghost at four years of age. Her first novel, The Newbie: A Kyrie Carter Ghost Hunting Adventure, was self-published in the summer of 2014, and was re-launched through Booktrope as The Newbie: A Kyrie Carter Paranormal Mystery, Book 1. A writer since high school, she has written in various genres, including poetry, children’s stories, puppet skits, and novels. Leta currently lives in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania with her husband, two sons, and a dog (but no ghosts). When she isn’t writing, she serves as a Scout leader, Sunday school teacher, and Released Time School Coordinator, Song Leader, and Listener, and tries to keep up with her sons’ busy schedules.
Links
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LetaPHawk/?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LetaPHawk
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8349722.Leta_P_Hawk
Newbie on Amazon (ebook): http://www.amazon.com/Newbie-Kyrie-Carter-Paranormal-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0163GW32W/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Newbie on Amazon (paperback): http://www.amazon.com/Newbie-Kyrie-Carter-Paranormal-Mystery/dp/1513700898/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
School Spirits on Amazon (eBook): http://www.amazon.com/School-Spirits-Carter-Paranormal-Mystery-ebook/dp/B015TJJOZS/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
School Spirits on Amazon (paperback): http://www.amazon.com/School-Spirits-Carter-Paranormal-Mystery/dp/1513701363/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
EXCERPT
Gabe suggested we separate to see if one of us could corner the spirit. He stayed in the master bedroom and, as I suspected he would, suggested I head to the other bedroom. I was a bit leery of the possibility of being alone with a ghost, but I tried to convince myself that we didn’t seem to be dealing with a malicious spirit. I had my flashlight, a digital voice recorder, and a video camera that Gabe handed me at the last moment. I decided to set it up on the vanity to capture as much of the room as possible.
I sat down on the bed and tried provoking the spirit. “Okay, you’ve been playing hide and seek with us; now how about you show yourself. My name is Kyr; I’m here, and Gabe is in the other room. Quit playing games and let one of us see you.”
No sooner had I said that than the room became drastically colder. Goosebumps rose on my skin, and I began to tremble, although I couldn’t tell if it was from the cold or from fear. Trying not to let my voice betray my feelings, I said, “Come on, you’ll have to do better than that!”
Just then, Gabe’s voice came over the walkie talkie, startling me, “Gabe to Kyr, it’s pretty quiet over here. You getting anything over there?”
I replied, “Yeah, the room got ice cold as soon as I started provoking…” Before I could finish, the bedroom door slammed shut, and my flashlight flickered and went out, leaving me in complete darkness.
“What the hell was that?” Gabe asked.
Trying not to panic, I radioed back, “The door just slammed shut, and my flashlight went out. What do I do?”
Gabe must have sensed the fear in my voice because he radioed back, “Just stay calm, and keep trying to communicate. I’ll be there in a second.”
I stood up and made my way towards the door, asking the spirit if it had a reason for being there, why it stayed in the house. A moment later, I heard the doorknob rattling. Gabe said, “I can’t get the door open. Is it locked from your side?”
“I wouldn’t think so,” I said, beginning to feel more apprehensive. I tried the doorknob, to no avail. “I can’t get it open either.” I fumbled around the doorknob, looking for any kind of lock. Finding none, I tried pulling as hard as I could on the door.
Suddenly, the room became even colder, and I felt the hairs on my neck stand up as I became aware of a presence behind me. I turned quickly and pressed up against the door, not really wanting to see who or what was there, but not wanting to be taken by surprise either. I wasn’t ready for what I saw in the room with me. A shimmering mist had formed beside the bed and was beginning to take the shape of a person. In a matter of seconds a tall, angry-looking man stood before me and began moving towards me.
My eyes widened in terror as I realized I was trapped in a locked room with a very unfriendly-looking spirit. I began pounding on the door, shouting, “Gabe! Get me out! There’s something here with me!”
Gabe was obviously concerned about what he couldn’t see happening, but he tried to calm me, “Don’t be afraid of it. See if you can communicate. I’ll keep trying to get the door open.”
I was so frightened that communicating with a spirit was the last thing on my mind. The spirit continued to move towards me, and it reached a menacing hand towards me. I stifled a scream, and then yelled, “Stay away! Stay away! Gabe, please get the door open!”
As I continued pounding on the door and imploring the spirit to leave me alone, I heard Gabe radio to Drac and Steele for help. The spirit loomed over me. I covered my head with my hands and pressed harder against the door. The last thing I remembered was screaming as I felt an icy blast go through my body; then everything went black.
Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: #iheartreads, #LetaPHawk, celebrity ghost hunter, Enchanted book promotions, Kyrie Carter series, Leta Hawk, paranormal investigation, paranormal novel
December 20, 2015
The Blood-Tainted Winter by T.L. Greylock
About the Book
Title: The Blood-Tainted Winter
Author: T.L. Greylock
Genre: Mythological Fantasy
Raef Skallagrim wants to take the sea road. His ship is fast and sleek, his crew skilled and eager, and they will seek out new lands and win fame in the eyes of the gods. But Raef’s father refuses to allow the journey and when a stranger brings word that the king is dead and a gathering has been called to choose a successor, Raef must set aside his dream for his duty to his ancestral lands and his father.
When factions split at the gathering to choose a successor, Raef finds himself mired in bloodshed and treachery. Forced to make an uneasy alliance with a man he does not trust, Raef must navigate the tides of a war among three kings while seeking revenge for cold-blooded murder.
But winter has come early to Midgard, and even the gods will feel the cold.
The eBook will be free on Amazon from December 18 to December 22 – just in time for Christmas!
Author Bio
T L Greylock is the author of The Blood-Tainted Winter, the first installment in a new Norse saga, The Song of the Ash Tree. She drinks tea (English breakfast with milk), wears neon colored socks, and once held an epic pigeon racing tournament in the gardens of The Tuileries.
Links
Amazon (paperback):
Amazon (eBook): http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Tainted-Winter-Song-Tree-Book-ebook/dp/B0166PLKL0/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1449508229&sr=8-1
Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: Enchanted book promotions, T.L. Greylock, The Blood-Tainted Winter
December 19, 2015
YA post-apocalyptic sci-fi “Immurement: The Undergrounders Series Book One”
About the Book
Title: Immurement: The Undergrounders Series Book One
Author: Norma Hinkens
Genre: YA post-apocalyptic sci-fi
The earth’s core overheats. The sovereign leader vanishes. A young girl is the survivors’ only hope.
What little land is habitable is patrolled by cutthroat gangs of escaped subversives, but that’s not the greatest threat facing sixteen-year-old Derry Connelly, her brother Owen, and a ragged band of Preppers holed up in a bunker in the Sawtooth Mountains. Mysterious hoverships operated by clones are targeting adolescents for extraction.
Owen, is one of the first to disappear. To save him, Derry must strike a deal with the murderous subversives, and risk a daring raid to infiltrate the heart of the extraction operation.
But will the rookie leader falter when forced to choose between her brother and a clone who ignites something inside her she didn’t know was possible?
Author Bio
Norma Hinkens is an author who takes a fiendish delight in pushing reluctant characters over cliffs to find out what they’re made of. Epic odds, seemingly impossible missions, pasts that haunt, intrigue and misadventure. She’s happiest when wrangling provocative big picture ideas that are never black and white when you turn them inside out. It’s all about the tension in the journey.
Norma grew up among rich storytelling traditions in her native Ireland. A Celtic bard at heart, she’s happiest wielding her wordsmithing sword with as much wit and eloquence as a bard can muster. She currently resides in California with her husband, three children and Chihuahua extraordinaire. She is the author of the YA Undergrounders Series: Immurement, Embattlement and Adjudgement.
Links
Purchase the Book
Website & Newsletter Signup
Join on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/NormaHinkensAuthor
Follow on Twitter
https://twitter.com/NormaHinkens
Book Excerpt
Someone gives a feeble clap. “Magnificent! A most rousing speech to rally the heathens, Mason!”
My feet fuse to the floor at the raspy voice that wafts into the room. Tucker strains at his collar. I yank him back, my heart pounding.
A shrunken man with an unnatural stoop steps into view. My skin crawls with a new level of fear. My gun’s in the Crematauto, along with the rest of the weapons. I fumble around in my pocket and latch onto my switchblade. A trickle of sweat runs down behind my ears. The man standing in the entry looks freakishly old and frail. Tucker could take him down in a heartbeat, but my brain sounds an inner caution. He probably didn’t come alone.
Before I even finish my thought, the doorway darkens and four armed men in black fatigues troop through. Big-shouldered, faces set like flint on necks thick as tree stumps. Schutz Clones! I tighten my grip on Tucker and command him to stay. One false move and he’ll end up another carcass waiting to be incinerated. He minds me, but tension radiates through his collar.
“Welcome to the Craniopolis,” the old man says. “My apologies for the modest welcoming committee, but your timing is most unfortunate. Everyone is at the unveiling of our new Hovermedes prototype.” His body shakes out a shallow breath, as he shuffles toward me. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Dr. Lyong.”
I slide my gaze in Mason’s direction. His face registers confusion. Then a flicker of recognition.
“What … happened to you?” he asks, in a half-whisper.
Dr. Lyong jerks to a stop in front of me and lets out a long, trembling sigh. It’s all I can do not to gag. His breath smells of decaying compost.
“Restructuring DNA proved more complex than I had hoped.” Dr. Lyong runs a finger under his beaked nose and waves it dismissively in Mason’s direction. The skin is stretched so tight over his hand I can see the grape-colored veins forking out beneath it. He barely looks human.
I can’t repress a shudder.
Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: #bookexcerpt, #NormaHinkens, Enchanted book promotions, Immurement: The Undergrounders Series Book One, Norma Hinkens, post-apocalyptic sci-fi
December 18, 2015
Book Tour – Henchgirl
About the Book
Title: Henchgirl
Author: Rita Stradling
Genre: YA Fantasy
I had never thought my life was ideal, but it had been manageable.
By day I pretended to be a human, going to a ‘human’s only’ high-school, making human friends and trying to get the attention of Keanu Hale, my school’s quarterback. At night, I worked as a henchman, making sure no one got in the way of my grandfather’s hotel-empire which spanned across the Mabiian island chain. I was my grandfather’s most cherished weapon, I stole and manipulated emotions, I would even drain someone of their ability to feel joy if my grandfather ordered me to.
I won’t apologize for what I did, it kept my sisters fed and my grandfather from finding out that my mother squandered our monthly allowance on shopping and throwing extravagant parties. It kept my family alive. But more importantly, my job kept me from being trained to be a wife and married off to some rich and powerful dracon, a human-dragon hybrid, as all girls with one-eighth dragon blood are.
As I said, my life was just manageable, until Wyvern Manderson vacationed to my island. Wyvern Manderson, the rich, powerful, and famous for something or other, half-dragon jerk, just kept showing up, sabotaging my missions and ordering me around. On top of that, for some reason he was always angry at me.
Pretty soon I was suspended from further missions, facing eminent financial ruin and still had to see the jerk everywhere I went. When my friend Amanda from my human-high-school vanished, Amanda turned out to be Wyvern’s human half-sister he was keeping secret and protecting.
Taking on the mission to find Amanda might have been what I needed to save my family from losing everything, but to do it I would have to spend all day everyday with the jerk. To top that all off, Amanda was not the only girl who disappeared, and when girls started being discovered dead I realized that my sanity wasn’t the biggest thing I would be risking in this investigation; I might very well be the next to die.
Author Bio
Rita Stradling lives with her husband and son in Northern California. Her six year old son wants to be a train when he grows up. She has a BA in Art History and a particular interest in modern and medieval art.
Rita has an insatiable novel addiction and mostly reads young adult and adult: paranormal, urban fantasy and high fantasy.
Links
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25867393-henchgirl
https://ritastradling.wordpress.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Rita-Stradling/e/B00H1ZYP8U/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: Enchanted book promotions, Henchgirl, Rita Stradling, YA Urban Fantasy
Movie Time – Star Wars: The Force Awakens…
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Stars: Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Peter Mayhew
IMDB Rating: 8.9
Plot: Three decades after the defeat of the Galactic Empire, a new threat arises. The First Order attempts to rule the galaxy and only a rag-tag group of heroes can stop them, along with the help of the Resistance.
Review: Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Anyone whose anyone should have seen this film by now, and if you haven’t seen it, then you need to go home and rethink your life….
Being a SW fan from way back, I had been awaiting this instalment of the SW saga with much impatience. So you can imagine just how excited I was when we went to watch it last night. To me, it brought back a lot of memories. None so familiar though as went I saw Return Of The Jedi on the big screen way back when.
I remember the very first time I went to see ROTJ. It was 1983, and along with my parents, we went to the drive-in theatre at Aspley (Brisbane). Of course, seeing it a drive-in is not exactly the same as being in a cinema, but fun none the less. When the smoke had cleared, and the rebels had won the day, we went home, and being the teenager I was, I actually thought I too could become a Jedi… Vader and his master The Emperor were defeated, and the rebellion won the day at last….
Flash forward to 1999, when The Phantom Menace hit the screens. Although TPM brought to life the backstory of Anakin, the most traumatic scene for me was when Qui-Gon was killed by Darth Maul. Even now, 16 years later, that scene still moves me….
Comng back to the present…
There is alot I could say about TFA. We are introduced to some familiar faces. Harrison Ford and Peter Mayhew return as Han Solo and Chewbacca. Carrie Fisher is back as General Leia, and Mark Hamill makes his return as Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. Needless to say, Han is still a suave pirate, conning every group in the galaxy. After ROTJ, it was natural to assume that Han and Leia would live happily every after, and have a bunch of kids sensitive to the Force (She is a Jedi after all).
Not so. Thirty years on, Leia and Han are no longer together. He is doing what he does best, with his partner in crim, Chewy… And she is doing what she knows.. Leading the resistance against the new threat.. The First Order…
There is a new menace in town, going by the name of Kylo Ren (Ben Solo). The son of Han and Leia. Kylo is hellbent on completing what his grand-father, Vader could not do. Whatever that may be…. (Have to remember that Vader was being stringed along by the puppet-master Sidious).
Although the actor (Adam Driver) did a good job of the portrayal of Ren, it is plainly obvious that the character knew little about his grandfather. Vader turned to the Dark Side thanks to the constant mind-games of Darth Sidious. (Not to forget that Sidious was always contradicting himself at every turn)
Accompanied by fits of rage whenever he couldn’t get his own way, Kylo Ren came across as nothing more than a tantrum child who needed to be taken out to the wood-shed and given a good ol’ fashioned whipping. (Maybe his parents needed to enforce more discipline on the brat in his younger years). There were moments when Kylo Ren seemed to be quite the intimidating figure, and rather cool when he was able to freeze blaster fire, but let’s be honest. His skills with a lightsaber were amateur at best. To quote Vader “He’s as clumsy as he is stupid“…
Which brings me to the next point… Kylo Ren’s master is Supreme Leader Snoke. (Anyone else get the feeling with a name like that he’s related to the Snorks)
There are a lot of rumors about who this character is. Some say he is Darth Plagueis The Wise, others say he is Voldemort… You decide… Whoever this character is, one thing is certain. He is a master manipulator of the Dark Side, maybe even more powerful than Sidious. Which does raise an interesting debate… If Snoke is indeed Plagueis, then he certainly did a half-assed job on training both his apprentices.. (If you remember, he trained Sidious, who later turned on him and supposedly killed him in his sleep, then trains Kylo, who has constant fit of rage). With that said, he maybe a powerful agent of the Dark Side, but his skills in training are absolute crap.. Maybe he needs some training himself about how to lead a team. I’m sure a weekend at a Tony Robbins camp would bring a new perspective on how to be an effective teacher:)
Back on topic… The storyline was great. There is certainly a lot going on here. We’re introduced to the new heroes of the film: Finn (A stormtrooper who defects to the Resistance), Rey (A force sensitive who proves she is quite skilled with a lightsaber), Poe Dameron (A pilot who proves he is just as good as Wedge Antilles) and of course not to forget the new Death Star, the Starkiller Base, (which is much larger than the Death Star from ROTJ).
There was a moment that made my blood boil and I almost screamed out “Nooooooooooooooo!”. But, who gets killed I won’t say as I don’t want to spoil it for you. Lets just say you can see for yourself.
Whatever rumors you may have heard about Luke may be true, depending on whose point of view you have read. I will say that Luke doesn’t get much in terms of screen time, but you can see from how the movie ended that he will be a major player in the next instalment.
There were a few moments when more explaining was needed, but I guess those things will be revealed in Star Wars Episode VIII.
Verdict: The Sith Will Rise To Rule The Galaxy..And There Will Be Peace…..
Rating: 8 out of 10.
Filed under: Movie Reviews Tagged: Darth Plagueis, Darth Sidious, KyloRen, Poe Dameron, Rey, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Starkiller Base, Supreme Leader Snoke, The First Order
