Star Trek: Into Darkness

Have you ever watched Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn? In my opinion it is one of the greatest science fiction movies ever made. The heroes and the villain are original and fantastic in their roles.

...But that is an older movie and a new generation is making its attempt "To explore new worlds and new civilizations... To bravely go where no man has gone before."

Enter this year's theatrical release, (unlike its predecessor) Into Darkness was stellar! The cast did a phenomenal job and the story was a clever re-imagining of Kahn. They inserted a lot of elements that only Trekkies would pick up on, and I enjoyed that, too! I won't give any spoilers but I felt it was worth recommending this film. I am definitely getting a copy of this on DVD.

Cloud Atlas... Changing the face of mortality

Having come down with a cold yesterday I had trouble sleeping last night, so I used some iTunes money to purchase the relatively new sci-fi that I have heard very little about: Cloud Atlas. I was curious, as the previews looked intriguing and I knew that it had been made by the Matrix trilogy masters.

Visually, this movie is stunning. The special effects truly dazzled, especially in the looks in the world of the future.

Plot-wise, however, it seriously lacked and contained what seemed to be major omissions and errors. And I must say that I was unpleasantly surprised by some of the more adult content. Do not show this to your teen! I was expecting an original sci-fi classic with perhaps a few liberal characters, but instead the film was awash in anti-traditional messages.

The main characters appear to be reincarnating. They lived in the past, they live in the present, they will live in the future. In this storyworld mankind is immortal, and not (it would appear) in spirit only, but in body as well. We see each of the main characters in the same body in each era of time. This is particularly noticeable in Halle Berry's character as little changes other than her wardrobe.

At one point a character is asked if they believe in God. The character deflects the question by stating a belief that love continues forever, for she loved, loves, and will love the same man. Her answers leave you believing that she expects to see him after death and not in a place of eternity, but back in a temporal existence. Humankind are corrupt gods in this film. There are no eternal consequences to their good deeds or their evil outside of passing into the next life.

A large part of the film is devoted to a gay man whose life is truly tragic in that his only happiness seems to be found in his lover.

Cloud Atlas shows a life without God, without the moral strength of a people that are accountable to their creator. Unapologetic, it shows a never ending cycle of humankind in their depraved condition. The heroes are those who are able to look past their own meaningless existence and accept death as one step on their endless journey.

I could not help but feel as I watched this film that the producers are only showing the mindset that they themselves believe along with a large portion of the world. They want no accountability to God, therefore their "morality" becomes a farce. Instead of advancing Civilization (by the only means Civilization has advanced through history, which is Christianity), instead of recognizing that we are degressing into a modern-day Rome where all kinds of sin are accepted (homosexuality, infanticide, abortion, polygamy, etc.) the makers of this film make this present world their Utopia.

Would I recommend this film? No. But I will say that it paints an accurate picture of how people without God are now viewing the world around them, and the hopelessness of their philosophies. 

Oz The Great And Powerful: who stole the show?

Visually charming and clever in an odd sort of way, Oz The Great And Powerful nevertheless lacks in several key areas. After his powerful performance in the Spiderman trilogy (in my estimation anyways) he fell short in his new role as Oz. Instead of running the "show" he played second fiddle to a secondary character: the china doll! This movie is definitely worth a watch. There are slow-moving scenes created exclusively for the movie-goer's 3d experience, and chunks of misplaced humor, but the plot is sound and the finale offered originality.
*****

Stumble and fall, but rise again

Doesn't it often seem that just when life is rolling in a direction that you can predict and control, it gets knocked off kilter by something unexpected? I know it does for me.
Recently I received majorly disappointing news from my publishing sources. Due to financial difficulties the publishing house had decided not to go forward with a contract.
I found myself really knocked low by this news until I knocked some sense into my head and realized that I should not give up after the first disappointment. After all, that has been a great part of my success in these last few years; I don't give up on my dreams, I look for new avenues or angles by which to attain them.
So I recently approached my publisher with an offer that I think will be difficult for them to refuse. God willing we can move forward as if nothing ever happened.
I say all of this to encourage anyone out there, especially authors struggling in these hard times. Don't give up! We were created to be creative. Think creatively and get yourself out of that self-pity box. Praise God for the good in your life, and then be encouraged by any and all past successes that you've had. Because someday, you will see new successes... that is, if you persevere.
If you stumble. Rise again!

Winter Storm Nemo strikes Connecticut

They said it would happen... I think we have over two feet of snow from Winter Storm Nemo. I am really enjoying having time at home with my family (it's a bit of a mini vacation) and I am hoping to get some quality writing done today.

Anyways, just wanted to post something fun. I am heading back outside to shovel some more... a lot more! If you are stuck because of this storm, consider reading one of my books today, especially if you have a Kindle, Nook, or iPad (-:

"Neverqueen" cover reveal!



At last I have it, the cover for Neverqueen (book 1)! The artist is Petra Rudolf (an artist from Germany that I found online) and I am quite pleased with the results. You can visit Petra on her website http://dracoliche.com/

Feel free to share this image and tell people that Neverqueen will hit your digital readers November 2013!

Premise:
In the thick forests along the Eiderveis River, the sphere of the ancient wizard Hermenuedis was forgotten until a young Art'en discovered it and allowed its evil to flourish in his soul. All that was good is now corrupted and the race of man rarely ventures beyond the shores of the northern sea. But one secret, once revealed, can bring the lands out of darkness and reunite the divided races of humanity.

"How Do I Decide?" ...I'm in it!

It was a whole lot of fun to be included in this book!

Rachelle Gardner, literary agent extraordinaire, has released a small book that is of great help in doing away with all the myths surrounding self-publishing versus traditional-publishing.

Many of my readers have asked me what is the difference, and I have often received the same question at schools and other speaking events.

As I always say: "Research, research, research!" Nothing speaks amateur more than a writer who fails to research their publishing options before they approach an agent/editor.

I wrote an opinion piece that was included in this book, so if you buy it check out the section titled Author Perspective.