L'Poni Baldwin's Blog, page 19
April 4, 2013
NaPoWriMo: Yggdrasil, Dragonboy Whores of Aershura, Copious DRA=coNizica and Reverent Dreams
April 3, 2013
More Free Storybooks
April 2, 2013
Today’s Free Storybooks
March 19, 2013
How to Subscribe to this Blog
March 11, 2013
Talking Monday: Attack of the Anime
I just got an email from Goodreads about new releases this month. One of them is a manga (called a Graphic Novel by Americans that don’t know of manga) with a familiar name attached to it. The name, Sharyon Kerryin or something like that, is a name I’ve seen before at bookstores (attached to Romance and Fantasy novels…if I can remember correctly). I could also tell from the book’s cover art that it was based on a USA book. This is the third American-book-turned-manga that I’ve seen (the other two being Twilight and Mortal Instruments and I think the Hunger Games but I may be wrong on that one). These things are popping up fast. Among other anime goodies that have come to America is the animal hat (one of which I proudly own, straight from Japan) and American-media-turned-anime, like Iron Man, Blade, Halo (I proudly own Halo: Legends) and X-Men to name a few (out of many). For that you can trace it’s origins to the fantastical Animatrix (which I KNOW everyone has seen. Yes, I own a copy of that because I loved it). When I first got into anime, I said, “why can’t more Americans watch this?” Today I say, “my goodness, Americans are watching anime!” And now everyone is jumping on it like a fad, which I am fine with. I, growing up on Anime, fully support it and…oh what the hay I’ll say it: I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE THE DRAGONS AND CICADAS MANGA~! I know I’m suppose to be working on it myself, but seriously that project is better off in capable hands. I got too much writing to do with Book 2 of Dragons and Cicadas that next update! Heh heh…
For years I have dreamed of seeing D&C as an anime. I wrote the beautiful thing in anime style and some of the stories I see as anime in my head. I draw and breathe that stuff.
Wouldn’t you want to see dragon gods and Crotonians inside your favorite manga magazine? I know I would.
Anyway, the books-turned-manga that I’ve seen have one thing in common: Yen Press. Ever since Tokyopop went defunct died an early death, Yen Press has stepped up to ensure manga quality continues (Tokyopop…oh God the memories! Ten dollars per manga).
I’ll be watching Yen Press, and hopefully they’ll make a manga out of Dragons & Cicadas (with art by PEACH-PIT or a highly regarded manga artist that makes beautiful art). If not, I’ll do it myself if I can. America is finally breaching into the anime market and bleeding it hard, and its nice to see, I just hope it doesn’t lower the quality of anime by turning it into an overused dead horse that you see everywhere on the Internet (and every where you go…and on every kid’s HEAD! Those hats….)
By the way, that top image is from the anime iOS/PC/Droid/what-have-you game Juniper’s Knot. I just started playing it. It’s interesting so far.
Have fun, my precious dragons.
Sincerely,
L’Poni
PS:(Has anyone seen School of Thrones? Subscribing to iO9 has its benefits!)
Filed under: Talking Monday
March 3, 2013
How to Handle Bad Reviews
(Found that pic in Google Search)
I have been hearing about indie authors exploding over bad reviews and attacking people over it. Now, is that the right thing to do? No! For all you indies acting like children, I will give you 3 words of advice.
1) Reviews are people’s opinions. They are not meant for you, they are meant for the readers. Never ever in all that good in The Lord Jesus’s name, never attack reviewers because they did not like/hated your book. It is beyond wrong and it shows that you are not qualified.
2) Do not post fake reviews and do not get friends and family to post reviews. When I was new to the e-publishing game, I read discussions by Helpful people on Amazon. They say to never post fake reviews and never get friends and family to review books. A very long time ago, when I was so drunk about wanting to have a review, I posted a fake 1 star and a fake 3 star review in hopes that it would attract readers because I read somewhere that too many 5 star reviews would make one look suspicious. Reverse psychology, y’know? That didn’t work. A person on Amazon told me I had gotten some bad advice. I have long since removed those and stopped caring for getting reviews.
3) Do not hunt down reviewers and “word-rape” them because they gave your book a low rating. What you should do is embrace all reviews, good and bad, and be quiet. Focus on writing instead of promoting. That’s the key to becoming a bestseller: writing. If your book sucks, people won’t say a damn thing. If your book is amazing like the Holy Bible itself, people will tell their friends and they’ll tell their friends. Get some beta readers to give you their insights/what they think of your work. You might just find something.
4) BONUS TIP! Get rid of that shitty attitude. I used to think that mainstream media was polluted by poop and knock off books (kinda like knock off brands of food), but I never called my book better than somebody else’s, because that kind of thinking would lower my quality. Stop thinking that mainstream books and media are poop. Focus on nurturing your work (like how I do) so you can rise to the top. And best of all, make friends with people. Love everybody you see. Don’t go boasting about how awesome your book is or how you think it should be published by the big publishers. Just be quiet and write and THINK POSITIVE and stop thinking your book is better than everyone else’s.
Live by my Life Quote: if you can’t stand criticism, you ain’t got no business being an indie author.
Live by my second life quote: life is like a bucket of strawberries. It can be bitter or sweet.
Live by my third life quote: love everyone you see and forgive and forget.
Stop, for the love of god, seeking reviews. Stop with the fake reviews and stop with bashing reviewers and stop trying to con the system. It is not what Jesus would do. He would wait patiently while writing a bucketload of stories (I know I would).
And this is advice coming from a TEENAGER! LOL!
Filed under: L'Poni's Advice
February 22, 2013
Resident Evil: Retribution Reviewed
The beginning of this film didnt ignore continuity. It embraced it. I am slightly a fan of the Resident Evil film series and I even watched all of the cutscenes of the video game (the game starring Leon, the guy that saves the president’s daughter) and played the demo for Resident Evil 6 (becoming a slight Leon fan in the process) and I was thrilled to see this (they had Leon’s name in the opening credits!). However, since I started watching Walking Dead on February 14, I began to see zombies differently. I was expecting this to be an internal struggle movie. I set my expectations too high, but that doesn’t mean I hate it.
The zombies: OMFGoodnesss, since when do they run? They never ran before! I still think zombies should be slow (it seems more plausible). I’m sure the world can take on a thousand slow moving dead people. All you need are some RPGs and helicopter bombs.
It was great…until 13 minutes into the film. Why oh why do the zombies have mouth mandibles? After that, it got good again. I liked how at 20 minutes it mirrored the fourth film. I just wish the zombies looked dead like the ones in Walking Dead (yes, that show has spoiled me!). I normally don’t watch zombie films but because this is the RE series, I took a chance.
This film is great for that zombie action crave (without care for the characters). It’s brutal. As all zombie films are. I still wish this offered more…substance/development/personal issues.
HERE IS MY PLAY BY PLAY, CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS. SKIP THIS IF YOU’VE NEVER SEEN THE MOVIE.
Play by play (major spoilers): 25 minutes in, the cool Latina (or was she Chinese?) girl from the game (the one I watched the cinematics for) appears! I feel she can’t be trusted. Her name is…Anna? 30 minutes in the movie drops the biggest surprise bomb: Leon. It’s amazing how the film is using certain elements from past films and the games. I like that. It means they acknowledge the past films and that this isn’t some standalone adventure where everyone dies and there’s only one main character.
Heyyy its the Italian dude from the third film!
The creatures from the game make a Cameo appearance. Cool!
Since when do zombies drive cars?
41 minutes later and the escalator takes a beating.
Of course, nothing supernatural dies so easily -_-
Biohazard this, biohazard that. Cynical Computers -_-
Of course they would kill the Nikki clone (or whatever her name was)
ALIENS! This is like Aliens! The scene when Newt was taken
Damn, the black guy got hurt.
I want Alice to get her powers back.
Whose the blondie? Will they get the mind control bug off her? Shouldn’t it be attached to the back of her head to interact with her brain?
Leon’s actor is looking more like Leon.
A girl in a cocoon? That’s so Aliens!
She killed it that easily? There’s like 31 minutes left. I know there’s going to be a face off!
They got Anna!
Don’t go!
Dang. I knew it.
He shot one!! My goodness,
My goodness, are they running a hive of Fabricants? This shouts Cloud Atlas mixed with COMA, in a cool way.
It’s still living?
Luther is gonna die!
Wow, it exploded!!!! Where’s Alice?
That’s epic…..
Anna isn’t dead. Anna isn’t dead. Anna isn’t dead!
Wow, now they’re going to turn Anna into a ghost girl like Jill/the blondie in purple.
This seems fishy. Only 26 minutes left
…and I was right.
Zombies just don’t die easily.
Hit the spider on her neck.
Alice’s powers would come in handy.
Don’t let Leon and Luther die
C’mon Alice!
Take the spider off her neck!
Of course the black guy dies. F**ing Hollywood never learns. Luther was a great character. He will be missed 
Dayum!
Yes, Alice, infect yourself. Bring your powers back!
Wait…she’s not going into the water to infect herself? Dang it!
The zombies live in water? What the hell?
Anna is dying? Dang, I thought she died. It would even things out a little.
How is the Capitol still burning? Didn’t it get destroyed long ago?
Whaaaaaaaat?
I knew he couldn’t be trusted!
YES!!!! She’s getting her powers back! Thank you Wesker (saved by the Arnold Swarznegger rip off)!
Damn! Zombie bats?
Nice apocalyptic photoshopped ending
Well, I can easily say I await the next one only to see how the story closes (and it better close on a good note)
End Play by Play
~~~~~
I’ll give it 2 out of 4. I am waiting for the next (and maybe final) installment. I expected a lot of things to happen, the zombie mandibles were a huge turn off and the best thing about this film is Alice (as always. Gotta luv her!) and Leon. Thats the only reason why I didn’t give this a 1 star (although I was dying to give it a 1 star). I didn’t pay that much attention to the soundtrack (except the song that plays during the Tokyo scene) and the actors were great. I just wish most of them lasted throughout the movie.
Speakin’ of zombies, does anyone think the people in Walking Dead can be cured of that zombie disease while they’re alive?? You obviously can’t cure them once they turn!
Filed under: Movie Reviews
Beasts of the Southern Wild Review
(I saw this three nights ago. Here is my review).
This is the second time I’ve been devolved by an indie. The first time was last night (cough*The Unloved*cough). Don’t expect this to be a film about a Daenerys Targayen black chick searching for her father in a world taken over by beasts (and don’t expect these beasts to accompany her either). I thought this would be a fantasy film (and the first ever outright fantasy film starring a black girl) but its not. Somewhere I read that the plot was about a girl that goes searching for her daddy in a world being taken over by prehistoric beats, but that wasn’t much of the case in this film. Don’t expect high fantasy, I already said that. I just finished it and I am just cleaning my tears. Review is below, spoilers will be mild.
The film is more like a little girl’s analysis on life. The film is actually very slow because of the character development and mostly because it shows us Hushpuppy’s (that’s her name) life in the Bayou. While there are prehistoric beasts, they (and the girl’s search for her father) were not the basis of the film. It was about the girl’s bond with her father and how he raised her to be a strong girl. I like to call Hushpuppy a Black Daenerys mostly because she is strong, innocent and tames a beast (that is sadly not a dragon).
I am very disappointed that this wasn’t a fantasy adventure, but I still kinda liked it. But know this when I say IT WAS DEPRESSING. In terms of how hard the depression was, let me say it beat the DEAD ISLAND song and trailer, it beat SwomSwom’s Goodbye My Friend and it beat the saddest story I ever wrote. You can find those linked at the bottom. I cried 29 minutes before it ended, I cried when the girl SPOILER**found her mommy**SPOLER OVER and I cried at the end. I also sniffles at some of the parts where the girl and her daddy were having those father-daughter moments towards the end. Damn, this film is sad. It’s sad because the depression is so f*ing real! A little girl faced with something like that,
No, this film is not about the apocalypse
It’s not about a world overrun with beasts
It’s about a girl dealing with an apocalypse that strikes her life
An apocalypse that hits home
A personal apocalypse.
And because of that, this film made me feel disappointed and happy. Disappointed because it was not what I expected and happy because of how the girl “grew” throughout the film and how “at home” this film felt (even though I never lived in the country).
I am torn between ratings.
I don’t know if this is a 2 star film or a 4 star film.
I am truly torn.
And because of that, this film will be a double rating: a 2 star and a 4 star.
(Although this film needed some country dragons, but that’s my opinion (mostly because I like dragons)).
I recommend this to anyone, but don’t expect a shitload of violence like negative reviews say.
And to the people calling this film racist, shut the f** up and enjoy it. If you hate it, that’s you. If you love it, okay. Just enjoy life for what it is. Stop hating on everything. Stop being negative for once and just enjoy life before it f**ing kills you.
Finally: the soundtrack was great. It reminded me of Haruka Shimotsuki’s Gaelic songs (Koku Kanadeshi Uta, Hanamatsuri, etc). Interestingly, this film inspired a mini movie in my head, Tree of the South, which is about common aspects of Dragons & Cicadas like The Annihilation, Ashuton’s son and The Dragonblood Tree. It had a nice soundtrack, too. The Tree of the South’s title is the name of Rekka Katakiri’s song, Nanten no Ki, which also translates to Tree of the South. You can find that song on her album Kinema in the Hole (yes its Kinema).
My rating system:
1: did not like it. At all.
2: it was okay
3: I liked it, it might be a favorite
4: I loved it! I’ll watch it over and over!
The Dragon Grade: this movie is one of my favorites. It’s high caliber in cinematography, story, character development and soundtrack make it a work of art. Rarely does a film become my personal deep favorite.
DEAD ISLAND THEME:
SWOMSWOM’S GOODBYE MY FRIEND: found on DeviantArt
COLDPLAY VERSION:
Filed under: Movie Reviews
November 4, 2012
Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn: A Review
For the past few weeks I’ve been watching Forward Unto Dawn, a movie-tie in for Halo 4. This movie is great for fans of Halo, and if you have family members and want to get them into the Halo vibe, startoff with this series and (if you dare) Halo Legends. Some of you action junkies will find the movie slow in the beginning, but that is because it sets up the characters and develops them (which is crucial to any story). I admit seeing Master Chief made me gush like the fangirl I am.
The character, Thomas Lasky, was well thought up and well developed (especially for a mini series. Kudos to the writers). The special effects were wonderful, beautiful, and most of all…believable. The actors played the cast very well and everything about this mini movie was so right! The only downside is that it’s not longer, but luckily there is a DVD extended edition coming out (with Halo 4 limited edition and on DVD/Blu-Ray in December).
This movie only doubles my excitement for Halo 4 and a Halo movie (everyone says Fall of Reach should be a movie). Hopefully other game franchises will follow in the steps of Halo and release their own online mini-series (I’m looking at YOU, Resistance).
The movie is suitable for you and your little kiddies (if you have any, and kids watch PG-13 movies anyway) and the whole family will enjoy the short journey of Thomas Lasky. The movie is about him, so don’t expect Master Chief to be on camera all the time.
There is not much I can say without giving away the story, so you’ll have to see it for yourself to make your own final judgement. My final judgement? 4/4 dragon eggs: EXCELLENT. Click below for the first episode in the series. Each episode is only 16 minutes. Even if you aren’t a Halo junkie, watch the episodes and make it to the end.
Filed under: Reviews
September 15, 2012
Update 5 is HERE
Not sure if any of you notice this but the latest update is here. I had to rush this one out, but it’s a meaty update (sort of). It includes the first 3 poems of The Annihilation.
What it contains:
The stories have been put into their respective order after a few readers have left reviews about the odd order of the stories. The Annihilation has begun, Hexagon Hive is completed, After the Aftermath is completed, some new flash stories are added from the original book and at the end of every story, Snuffy the Dragon will give monologues that serve as insights into the story. Careful! She bites! Also added is The Other Stories section, which is where all the other stories go. All of the stories have been re-arranged, and Chapter 12 now holds the story of The Annihilation. October 15’s update will include more about that event.
What’s new:
Chapter 45
And Chapter 12
Wyrl Watches Olivia
Blue
Lizard Tea
A Letter from IWA
Narcissus to Rinaldo
SeaKiss
Seraphina and Claire
Lucky Dragon Insanity
The Annihilation
Danny is Alone
Filed under: Announcements
