Ally Blue's Blog, page 18
January 11, 2013
January 10, 2013
wilwheaton:
laughterkey:
Dare to dream.
A close second to the...
Dare to dream.
A close second to the “Walter Junior is Keyser Söze” theory.
January 9, 2013
THE NEXT BIG THING BLOG HOP
So there’s this cool blog hop...
THE NEXT BIG THING BLOG HOP
So there’s this cool blog hop dubbed the Next Big Thing, in which an author answers ten questions about their book — either a work in progress or an upcoming release — and tags five other authors who talk about their own books the next week, link back to the author who tagged them and tag five new authors. And so it goes, unto the end of days, presumably. Pretty awesome, in the full and actual meaning of the word. Also in the more modern sense, because hey, new book discoveries, right? Who knows what might end up being the next Harry Potter-style hit? Thus the hop’s name.
I was tagged by the handsome, talented and altogether fabulous D.H. Starr. Read about his book, Perfect For Me, on his January 2nd blog post.
Here’s a bit about my upcoming release. I’m excited about it and I hope you will be too :D
1: What is the working title of your book?
Hell’s End. It’s the actual title, since it’s scheduled for release in May. Yay! Excitement!
2: Where did the idea come from for the book?
I wrote a short story ages ago for a print ‘zine — I can’t remember the name of it now — and that story was set in this same universe. Ever since then, I’ve been dying to write more in that universe. It’s a space station orbiting Pluto, about a thousand years in the future. The space statioin, Hell’s End, is well past its prime, run by various Families which operate very much like today’s organized crime groups. Each level of the station is either the territory of a Family or of the Government, which operates the same as the Families only they have more power.
At this point I can’t remember exactly how the idea of the space station grew in my head. It’s been too long. But the idea for Hell’s End in particular came from my Samhain editor, Sasha. She threw out a Twitter challenge for an urban fantasy in the vein of The Walking Dead. Me being a huge Walking Dead fan, I said “oh hell yeah” and got my brain right on it. I saw it as the perfect chance to use my far-future dystopian space station world. I just let my brain free associate between “zombies” and “space station” and came up with something great, I think. No, there are no zombies! It turned out not exactly urban fantasy, more dystopian sci-fi romance, LOL, but it still has a bit of an urban fantasy feel to it, I think.
3: What genre does your book fall under?
Gay futuristic dystopian sci-fi romance. With an HEA and everything!
4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Wow, that’s hard. I rarely picture any actual people as my characters. My main guys — and my secondary characters, for that matter — grow from the ground up in my head and have faces, voices, etc that only exist in my mind. But I did my best. Here are my choices for my guys, Tuck and Ivan, and the two main supporting characters, Sandman and Doc Dez:
For Tuck, I’d choose . I know he’s dead. That was a sad, sad day. What an incredible talent that boy had. But he had the part-sweetheart, part-trouble-maker face that I picture Tuck having, and I know he could’ve done justice to this character.
For Ivan: . No real reason, other than that he is ruggedly handsome like Ivan, and I think he’s a cool guy. I haven’t been able to find any photo anywhere that matches the image of Ivan in my head.
For Sandman, I’d pick . He’s long-legged and very thin, like Sandman, and as Draco Malfoy he has a lot of practice playing a boy who seems bad on the surface but is pretty tortured underneath it all. By the way, the next Hellscape book (tentatively titled Hell On Earth) will follow Sandman on his journey from Hell’s End back to Earth. Stay tuned *g*
Doc Dez was easy. For her, I pick . She looks just like the Doc I see in my head, and she’s a great actor so I know she could do it. Plus I like and admire her. Funny, I’ve found I can’t pick actors I don’t like, hmmm…
5: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
A Gutter and a soldier fall in love and change the world. Doesn’t sound nearly as exciting as the book actually is, but it sums up the plot pretty neatly :D
6: Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
It’s being released by Samhain Publishing. It’s not “represented” in that I do not have an agent.
7: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Oh man, I don’t know. Four months? I pretty much edit as I go, as far as major rewriting and stuff like that, so the “first draft” is also the unpolished final draft. I always go through it and do final polishing before handing it over to my editor, though.
8: What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I have no clue. LOL. I don’t get a chance to read nearly as much as I’d like so I’m not even sure what all is out there. I wish I did!
9: Who or What inspired you to write this book?
My lovely and fantastic editor, Sasha Knight! See question #2. This isn’t the first time Sasha has been the inspiration behind one of my books. I heart her :)
10: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Personally, I think the world of the story will be quite interesting for readers. As a reader myself, it’s something that would certainly draw my eye if someone else had written it. I also think the plot is pretty fascinating, and the relationships — not just Tuck and Ivan’s romance, but their connections with the other characters as well — are compelling. Of course I might be a tad biased, but that’s my opinion, for what it’s worth. LOL.
And that’s my book! I loved writing it, I think it’s wonderful, and I hope everyone else will agree with me. Here are the authors joining the hop next week:
Jet Mykles, Queen of Dark Elves and Hot Rockers, hair chameleon and expert twink-spotter.
Jade Buchanan, Mistress of the kinkiest gay G.I. Joes ever and the cutest, funniest Canadian I know.
Yeah, so I couldn’t rustle up five. That’s what I get for waiting until the last minute to ask. Procrastination, thy name is Ally.
December 30, 2012
"You may not agree with a woman, but to criticize her appearance — as opposed to her ideas or actions..."
-
-Hillary Clinton (via smellslikegirlriot)
YOU MAY THINK SHE’S UGLY, BUT EVERYONE ELSE THINKS YOU’RE AN IDIOT.
(via bethrevis)
REBLOG FOREVER
December 23, 2012
December 17, 2012
Don't Get Raped: This Is The Problem, Right Here
Following a series of sexual assaults in Minneapolis:
The crime alert issued to residents in the latest attack included strong advice from police on what women need to do to protect themselves. That includes pay attention to strangers, avoid traveling alone (especially after dark),…
December 15, 2012
believeinmyths:
bobbyfinger:
katieheaney:
Hey Anne...
Hey Anne Hathaway! I think I love you now.
(Via Jezebel.)
Matt Lauer asked Anne about that photo of her vagina and she ended her response with: “I’m sorry that we live in a culture that commodifies sexuality among unwilling participants, which brings me back to Les Mis.”
OK, like, sure, I’m vomiting all over Les Miserables, but that’s talent. She went from vagina photo to Les Mis without even blinking. And the Oscar goes to.
Anne Hathaway also shut down (skip to about 53 seconds) Jerry Penacoli when asked about her catsuit in Dark Knight Rises, by saying, “Are you trying to lose weight? What’s the deal, man? You look great. No, no, seriously, we have to talk about this… What do you want? Are you trying to fit into a catsuit?”
Speaking of douchebag Jerry Penacoli and his sexist manner towards women, Scarlett Johansson also called him out on his BS. And it was beautiful.
Or how about that time Emma Stone called out the indifference in interview questions in comparison to her male actor counterpart?
Emma Stone: They ask who is my style icon, what’s the one thing that I can’t leave my house without. I’m always like, “My clothes!” I can pretty much leave without anything. It’s fine as long as I’m not naked.
Andrew Garfield: I don’t get asked that—
Emma Stone: You get asked interesting, poignant questions because you are a boy.
Teen Vogue: It’s sexism.
Emma Stone: It is sexism.
Or going back to Scarlett Johansson, she did almost the exact same thing (skip to around 1:40):
Reporter: I have a question to Robert and to Scarlett. Firstly to Robert, throughout Iron Man 1 and 2, Tony Stark started off as a very egotistical character but learns how to fight as a team. And so how did you approach this role, bearing in mind that kind of maturity as a human being when it comes to the Tony Stark character, and did you learn anything throughout the three movies that you made? And to Scarlett, to get into shape for Black Widow did you have anything special to do in terms of the diet, like did you have to eat any specific food, or that sort of thing?
Scarlett: “How come you get the really interesting existential question, and I get the like, “rabbit food” question?
What I’m trying to say, really, is that I love how these actresses are stepping up to the contrast of females to males in Hollywood. Even though they have to go through the sexism, inequality and general rudeness of media outlets, they’re using their popularity to stand up to it and make others question what is wrong and unjustified in the way they are being treated.
I
Cover art for Hell’s End (Hellscape book 1), scheduled for...
Cover art for Hell’s End (Hellscape book 1), scheduled for release May 21st 2013 from Samhain Publishing. Cover artist is the amazing and talented Kanaxa. So excited for this book, I don’t think I’ve had so much fun writing anything. Here’s the blurb:
Rebellion, war and survival. Love’s a bitch.
Hellscape, Book 1
Tuck’s a Gutter, one of a gang of violent orphans running level thirty-six of Hell’s End, the solar system’s outermost space station. There’s only one way out of this brotherhood of blood—grow up and be killed and eaten by other Gutters.
Tuck barely escapes his death sentence, only to fall prey to the powerful L’arisian family. Rescue from a L’arisian whorehouse never happens, but rescued he is, and by Gov soldiers no less. Alone among the enemy, Tuck trusts only one person—the man who risked everything to pluck him to safety.
Ivan’s a soldier. No more, no less. But the disquieting things he learns about the Government’s plans for the Gutter kid have him doing the one thing a soldier shouldn’t do. Think about doing what’s right instead of what he’s told. All for a guy he can’t get out of his head.
Getting involved in a rebellion that might get them killed is a problem. Falling in love? That’s a disaster in the making.
December 13, 2012
Hunger TV interviews Patrick Wolf
Fascinating interview in which Patrick talks about “Sundark and Riverlight”, where’s he’s been, where he’s going, and what it’s like to be a gay man defying what a gay man’s “supposed” to be in the music industry. Damn I heart this man.
December 11, 2012
Why couldn't Thor's hammer break Captain America's shield?
BECAUSE IT WAS MADE OUT OF FREEDOM AND THE DREAMS OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
uh excuse me wasn’t it adamantium
no it’s vibranium
you mean FREEDOMIUM
Aren’t wolverine’s bones made of adamantium?
No, Wolverine’s bones are made of crystalized maple syrup and universal health care.
this is the best post in all of my existence
Is it weird that now I want to eat Wolverine’s bones with pancakes and bacon? o_O
