Morning! Or, evening depending on your part of the world. Anywho, I’m stopping in to inform you that I’ve joined The Author/Bloggers Rainbow Support Club along with a ton of others. Check us out!
Welcome, it is my pleasure to introduce you to the latest members of my Author/Bloggers Rainbow Support Club.
The Rainbow Support Club endeavours to provide a friendly and welcoming community of like-minded bloggers, book reviewers and authors who support each other in every which way we can to promote and nurture our love of books, and writing.
First up to Team Awesome is Colleen Chesebro. Colleen is a totally supportive angel, and I’d like to nominate her as person extraordinaire of the club! I can vouch for Colleen’s worthiness, and angelic qualities as she is currently helping me with my manuscript – The Curse of Time – and doing an amazing job. 🙂 Author, Colleen Chesebro has recently released her first book: The Heart Stone Chronicles: The Swamp Fairy, which I had the delight of reading and reviewing recently: My 5 * Review of The Heartstone Chronicles: The Swamp…
Thank you to Yecheilyah Ysrayl for the below guest post:
Can we be real?
Self-Publishing has opened the door for writers to finally make their dreams come true. Dreams that were hindered by way of jobs that got in the way of writing, Traditional Publishing rejections, children that parents needed to raise first, a school that needed to be finished first and a slew of other reasons that has stopped the passionate writer from producing a book.
Not only all of this but finances also play a part.
Self-Publishing has allowed people who have always wanted to write books an easy way to do so. With the industry changing and demanding more in the way of excellence and professionalism for the Indie Author (stigmas are fading and authors can no longer afford to produce mediocre work), it is no secret that financial strain is what stops many writers from either…
As promised, welcome to the resurgence of Movie Night Friday. Whoop Whoop! If you’re new to this blog, please visit the Movie Night Friday Page HERE and then take a look at last week’s post HERE.
The Dog EC Hired to Help Host Movie Night Friday.
Since this is the first week of our return, I decided I won’t go in hard. For our welcome back I decided to choose a movie that’s light and fun. One that is entertaining but also has many lessons that we can learn from. It’s been a minute since I’ve seen it but don’t worry, doggie and me was more than happy to re-watch it for you. To be transparent, I am watching it as I am writing this.
There aren’t many movies I watch just for entertainment but I do love this one (I’m a sucker for all black casts! Gotta love my people). Probably one of Terrance Howard’s funniest roles, let’s jump right in shall we?
From Wikepedia:
“Harper Stewart (Diggs) is a young man living in Chicago with his beautiful and devoted girlfriend, Robyn (Lathan). However, Harper has a professional life as an author and is on the verge of a major breakthrough. He is hesitant about committing to a woman. Harper’s debut novel, Unfinished Business, has been selected by Oprah’s Book Club, pretty much guaranteeing him a bestseller.
Harper travels to New York City, where his best friend, Lance (Chestnut), who is a running back for the New York Giants, is getting married to a young lady named Mia (Calhoun), who is also an old friend of Harper’s. Harper is picked up at the airport by his friend, Murch (Perrineau), and they catch up in the car. Eventually, they meet up with Jordan (Long), Harper’s old what-could-have-been female friend who has obtained an advanced copy of his book and has been passing it around their inner circle of friends. Due to its autobiographical nature, Harper never intended for any of them to read “Unfinished Business” prior to the wedding.”
A romantic comedy, the movie surrounds the friendship between Harper and Lance leading up to his wedding. Harper is Lance’s Best Man and the movie deals with the tension building up to the point where Lance reads the book written by Harper and the truth concerning his perfect little Mia. Stupidly, Harper has laid out all the juicy details in his book.
What I love about this movie is that it has laughs, drama, and a message. It is not a movie I watch all the time anymore but whenever I need to relax to a laugh I put it on. Here are some bullet points and dear authors, don’t be Harper.
#1. Never write a fictional book based on real life events that you don’t want to get out.
This was by far the stupidest thing ever. First off, everyone knew who was who in the book, so even though Harper tried disguising the individuals, it was still apparent who they were. Harper, these are your college friends you still keep in touch with. They know you well. Did you really think they wouldn’t know who they were? People, if you want to air your dirty laundry then just do it. Don’t write a book about it.
#2. Ladies, don’t be controlling!
Murch and Shelby’s relationship is annoying. It’s annoying because the woman is controlling and the man is too weak to call her on it. We are supposed to be there to support our men, to stand by them, and to help them, not to control their every move. Men are natural leaders. Let them lead!
#3. Don’t Judge
Candy was a stripper yes but she ended up being the perfect match for Murch.
#4. Don’t be a hypocrite
One minute Lance is quoting the bible and the next he’s giving Harper permission to cheat.
#4. You are not in control
The more we try to control what is beyond our reach, the more mistakes we are bound to make. Everything also happens for a reason. If Lance would have never found out, maybe Harper would not have appreciated Robyn the way he did in the end and the information could have come up later in Lance marriage and destroyed it.
#6. Be forgiving
Lastly, no matter what you go through in your relationship, be forgiving. Robyn could have walked out on Harper and Lance could have walked out on Mia.
Forgiveness is powerful not just because of how it changes the individual but how it changes everyone involved. You are not forgiving just for their sake, but for yours. Forgiveness is powerful because what goes around, comes around. The energy you put out will come back. It’s inevitable. If you want to be forgiven of your mistakes, then you must be willing to forgive others. It’s the only way.
As I did before, here’s the trailer to The Best Man and no, I do not recommend Best Man Holiday. As much as I love this movie I did not like the sequel. Not only do I not celebrate holidays but part two was just …whack. Some movies cannot be remade.
Talon Come Fly With Me is about a small girl searching for her purpose in life. Matica and her family live in the village of Pucara in Peru where the Indians have restricted Matica from playing with their children because of her small size. Thinking she’s possessed by an evil spirit it leaves Matica feeling lonely and without purpose in life because she’s so small. The story opens with Matica and her little brother Aikon searching for food to feed Matica’s birds. Aikon is in a hurry to play with his friend Emelio which makes Matica sad. She admires her brother having friends since she has none. Well, she almost has none.
The story is about Matica’s friendship with a family of Condors, the largest vultures on Earth and the largest land birds. In a place, she called Ramah, which Matica named after the biblical city Ramah, Matica befriends Tamo and Tima, the condor couple. There is only one problem. The condors are nearly extinct and are being hunted by poachers. They only lay one egg a year and the poachers are on a quest to steal the bird’s egg which they can get paid lots of money for. Matica has learned how to communicate with the birds in a way that the Indians cannot but can she help them to save their egg?
I feel funny reviewing this book seeing that there are already over one hundred reviews! I can see why, it’s a cute story, well-written, and simple enough for young children to enjoy. Personally, I enjoyed the symbolism tied into Matica’s size and that of the birds. The Condors are huge which makes them look clumsy and weird and Crayn, Matica’s father, thinks they are ugly (I have to agree, they do look funny. Sorry Matica lol). Similarly, Matica is small and odd looking to the Indians who has made her an outcast.
I loved the mention of the birds being pushed off the cliff at six months old to learn to fly. To me, the entire book was Matica being pushed off the cliff so that she can learn to fly. I don’t want to spoil it for you, so I’ll leave it there. This is book one in the Talon series however the story is well-written and has a satisfying ending so it can be read as a standalone.
I recommend this book to middle-grade readers and pre-teens.
Ratings:
Plot Movement / Strength: 4/5
Entertainment Factor: 4/5
Characterization: 5/5
Authenticity / Believable: 5/5
Thought Provoking: 5/5
Overall Rating: 5 / 5
Talon, Come Fly with Me is available now on Amazon on Kindle and paperback
If you’re new to this blog, learn more about No Whining Wednesday HERE.
The No Whining Wednesday Badge
Today’s message came as I was frying chicken strips last night. I was also listening to some throwback jams (preparing for what to choose for tomorrow!) As I was listening I thought about the night before, where I re-watched some of The Five Heartbeats. For those of you who didn’t see my post last Friday, I quoted a line from a movie, well, it was a song and I asked you all if you knew what movie it was from. Since I got no responses I figure I’d tell ya. It was The Five Heartbeats and from the scene, everyone loves – The “We haven’t finished yet” scene. Long story short, I pulled it up on YouTube. As I listened again and again and again and….you get the point, I decided this would be a great inspiring video for No Whining Wednesday!
You’ve gotta listen to the lyrics as you’re listening. Today’s message is simple: You don’t have a reason to complain because you haven’t finished yet. You are still here and, as I always say, you’ve got something to do. Enjoy and remember, today is a day of peace, not war. When you find yourself getting upset focus on rooting yourself in this present moment and don’t forget to BREATHE.
FYI: The video quality is not great but it is the only version on YouTube that played the entire song. If it’s too low you will have to plug in your speakers or headphones but it should be good though.
“On that windowsill, she stood in the crossfire of people and lights and cars and bobbed her head to the beat of ragtime syncopation and driving brass bands to soaring gospel choirs mixed with field hollers and the deep-down growl of the blues. She danced to the groove of Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Jelly Roll Morton, Willie “The Lion” Smith, Bessie Smith, Billie “Lady Day” Holiday, and Chick Webb. Legs swinging, roof rocking, neighbors knocking, and body incapable of standing still. Nora stood up on her toes and let her partner throw her over his back, let him throw her into the air again, and then slithered like her body was made of jellyfish underneath his legs. She danced as if she’d never had legs before, gliding and shaking in ways her father would never approve of. Nora flipped and split and cartwheeled around The Negro Club alongside Louis Jordan and The Nicholas Brother’s until the sweat began to congregate alongside her forehead and trickle its way down to her chin.”
“Ask yourself why you’re writing and who you’re writing for. Know in your heart that there is no such thing as one story….At the end of the day, your authentic voice and heart will speak to readers. Do not be deterred by rejection. Keep writing, keep knocking on doors, keep sending out work. Never have only one project that you’re working on. The minute one story gets published and rejected, there should be another one waiting in the wings. Be serious about writing. Treat it as you would a job, not a hobby. Lastly, seek successful mentors who are invested in seeing your growth; avoid anyone who projects their journey on you and/or attempts to clip your wings once you begin to soar.”
– Nicole Dennis-Benn, author of Here Comes the Sun
The PBS Blog 