Genre Favorites Blogfest

This is another one day blogfest event hosted by the one and only Ninja Captain Alex. We are listing our favorites in music, movies, and books. And then adding a favorite guilty pleasure in one of the three genres. Enjoy!

Music: The Used (Aternative/Hard Rock)

Over the past few years The Used have become one of my favorite bands. I've talked in other posts about Elliott Smith and Tool. The Used have joined the ranks of those artists on my list of favorites. Each of their albums have such range and they're continually experimenting with their sound. The Used were first known for relentless screaming and crashing guitars, but they are so much more. From their third album, Smother Me is a taste of their softer side.

Movie: Donnie Darko (Sci-fi, Dark Comedy)

Donnie Darko has become a cult classic--a strangely wonderful movie. But it's certainly not for everyone. He had been in other movies, but this was my introduction to Jake Gyllenhaal. Donnie Darko has disturbed teens, time travel, awesome '80s music, a haunting six-foot rabbit, and a discussion on the sexuality of Smurfs. What's not to love? I recommend the theatrical version over the unrated version, mainly do to changes in the music.



Book: The Harry Potter Series (Fantasy MG/YA)

Harry Potter rekindled my interest in children's books. The story in its totality, over all seven books, is epic and brilliant. I truly hope they stand the test of time and are required reading in schools one day soon like Tolkien is today.







Guilty Pleasure: Fifty Shades of Grey (NA Romance/Erotica)

I probably shouldn't have, but I read Fifty Shades of Grey about a month back and it was terribly entertaining--I mean, terrible and entertaining. I am always interested in the big phenomenons, curious as to why they become so popular. Anastasia Steele does sound a lot like Bella Swan, but I so hope Kristen Stewart doesn't play her in the movie.





I hope you enjoyed my favorites. Now it's time to check out some of the other participants in the blogfest. But come back Wednesday for a special discussion with M. Pax as I'm invited onto the exclusive Spacedock 19. Cheers!

Waiting for Inspiration

The Lorne Family Vault Series was born one day in December of 2008. I accompanied my sister and her boyfriend to a hospital in LA. He was going into a long awaited surgery and I wanted to be there to lend moral support. My sister and I were in the waiting room for much of the day, praying the surgery would go well. And it did.

It's in the moments you least expect when inspiration strikes, and a few of those times it's a direct hit. On that nervous day, sitting impatiently in the waiting room for more hours then I care to remember, I envisioned the Lorne Family Vault Series in fast forward. I had begun working on a young adult book a few months before, with ideas to make it into a series. I was three chapters in. But it was that morning in the hospital that I decided that the book wasn't working. I didn't really want to start over (like I had already written so much), but I knew I had to significantly change where my story was going.

I started bouncing ideas off my sister. It definitely took our minds off the surgery that was in progress a few floors away. But also the ideas really began to flow. I didn't bring a notebook to write anything down, but the ideas were so vivid I could see the story unfolding like a movie. Thank God I remembered nearly everything we discussed that day. Kafka Lorne and the rest of the Lorne family had been born.

I divided all the major plot points and cliffhangers into four books. Much like what J. K. Rowling said about Harry Potter, I saw how my series was going to end. I saw the climax sequence. Now all I had to do was get to it.

As you can see in the sidebar of this blog, I'm well into a first draft of the second book. And I'm so excited about it, almost more so than I am about Provex City! I've loosely outlined the third book and have major plot points for the fourth book. If I develop more twists in the adventure, then I'm not opposed to adding a fifth book. I still know the ending.

A few days after the successful surgery, I scrapped the chapters I'd written and began writing a book titled Shroud Lifted, which, after it was completed, I renamed Provex City. It's been a long time coming and it is almost here.

Welcome to Provex City!