LIfe Of PI - Movie Review

I did it. Took my daughter to see this movie that captured her with the beautifully powerful animals portrayed in this tale.

But it wasn't what was advertised. It wasn't what I expected. And I was glad I came.


Okay, let's go over what I was expecting. An animal version of Avatar, a visual fantasy of colors and more. What I got was...

Blurb:  Fandango.com

After deciding to sell their zoo in India and move to Canada, Santosh and Gita Patel board a freighter with their sons and a few remaining animals. Tragedy strikes when a terrible storm sinks the ship, leaving the Patels' teenage son, Pi (Suraj Sharma), as the only human survivor. However, Pi is not alone; a fearsome Bengal tiger has also found refuge aboard the lifeboat. As days turn into weeks and weeks drag into months, Pi and the tiger must learn to trust each other if both are to survive.

My Review:

Yes, it got off to a slow but interestingly cute start. You learned about Pi's never ending quest to find hope, God's purpose for him, and did this with the open innocence of a boy that had feared nothing. I loved him immediately as he fit the role of a youngest son perfectly. But on the night of the storm that sets a pivotal point in this movie, you experience his pain, his fear, everything. The acting was wonderful, the story interesting (but truth was I didn't think it would be) and the tiger's role phenomenal. There were spots of true beauty and a bit of fantasy in the movie, although I have to be honest it wasn't to the magnitude I expected by the trailers and advertisement for this film. My daughter and I loved the ending, the conclusion and the questions it left us with. Although there was finality to the story, it left you thinking way after the film. And that by far is amazing. Now if you are expecting a face paced, action packed, visual wonder, this may not be your cup of tea. But if you like to get to know the characters of a movie on a deep level, and leave with asking yourself about your own personal journey. then this is for you. I gave it a 4 out of 5 claws because of the disjointed way it was advertised compared to what was delivered.

Purgatory Reign - BLOG TOUR - Kick Off!

New blog stops are being added everyday. Check out the official tour page with SizzlingPR,
Link: http://sizzlingpr.com/tour-purgatory-reign-by-l-m-preston/

These are the dates and places so far!

Join in for the buzz!

Pre-order today! IF YOU PRE-ORDER a paperback copy, go to my website and let me know by pushing the email button (www.lmpreston.com) and you will get a FREE poster!



December
3 – Spotlight @ BeLoved Books
4 – Interview @ Laurie’s Paranormal Thoughts and Reviews
5 – Interview @ Sarah Carr
6 – Interview @ Tory Michaels
7 – Extended Excerpt @ A Little Bit of R & R Reviews
10 – Guest Post @ Me and Reading
11 – Spotlight @ The Book Hoard
12 – Extended Excerpt @ YA Cafe
14 – Review + Spotlight @ Lindsay’s Scribblings
15 – Guest Post @ My Home Away From Home
17 – Guest Post @ Jacob’s Beloved Books
18 – Guest Post @ Chandara Writes
19 – Extended Excerpt @ Tina Moss
28 – Extended Excerpt @ Imagine A World
January
3 – Spotlight @ The Page Flipperz
4 – Review @ My Pathway to Books
4 – Extended Excerpt  Kate @ Froze 8’s Blog
7 – Spotlight + Long Excerpt @ Celtic Lady Reviews
14 – Interview @ Mark of the Stars
14 – Review @ Eva’s Sanctuary
15 – Interview + Review @ Bookend to Bookend
21 – Review @ Mom in Love with Fiction
25 – Interview @ We Do Write
28 – Extended Excerpt @ Reader Girls
February
5 – Guest Post @ Chapter-by-Chapter
6 – Interview @ Full Moon Bites
March
4 – Extended Excerpt @ Girls Heart Books
5 – Guest Post @ Melissa Stevens
11 – Guest Post @ Tam’s Two Cents
19 – Review @ The Mystical World of Book Reviews
April
1 – Guest Post @ Lauries Paranormal Thoughts and Reviews
2 – Review + Extended Excerpt @ Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
3 – Interview @ Kissed by Literature
5 – Extended Excerpt @ Melissa Stevens
17 – Review + Giveaway @ Fictional Candy
May
18 – Review @ Reader Girls
20 – Extended Excerpt @ Ren’s Rambles
24 – Review @ Ren’s Rambles

Breaking Dawn Part 2 - Movie Review

Well here we go. I'm warning you, I went to see this with my daughter who did not want to read any of the Twilight Saga books, but went with me to each of the movies.

I'm going to give our mixed reviews of this final installment of the Twilight Series.

I will forewarn you, I like my vampires bad, really, really bad. And my werewolves, deadly. But I do enjoy a good love story too.

Fandango Blurb:

Bella (Kristen Stewart) awakes -- as a vampire -- from her life-threatening labor, and her newborn daughter, Renesmee, proves to be very special indeed. While Bella adjusts to her new state of being, Renesmee experiences accelerated growth. When the Volturi learn of the baby's existence, they declare her to be an abomination and sentence the Cullens to death. Bella, Edward (Robert Pattinson) and the rest of the clan seek help from allies around the world to protect their family.

My Review:

I love vampires. But I like 'em beautiful, evil, mean, sinister, deadly, vicious and ... conflicted. Did I get that with Breaking Dawn Part 2. Well, sort of. There were many opportunities for this to be so much more but it wasn't. Sure the sappy love story was there. Yeah, there was killing and nashing of teeth towards the end. But  the bad acting in parts and corny lines had me laughing outloud and distracted from some of the intensity. Now my favorite part was the fighting and carnage towards the end, only for it to be ... an illusion. What a let-down for a horror lover like myself. Now for my daughters POV who haven't read the books but enjoyed the earlier movies. She thought it was rather 'creepy' with the Jacob and 'imprinting' on the kid. She quickly got over that feeling when Jacob (Taylor) stripped. Overall we enjoyed the movie, but our expectations weren't quite met. So we gave it 3 out of 5 fangs.

Have An Adventure! Seriously, the best FUN Ever~

Long ago, I threw in my towel. Spending Thanksgiving cleaning before guest arrived, cooking all night, then cleaning up again got old. Sure I loved spending time with my extended family, but I was just plain tired. So I had a revelation…. GO ON ADVENTURES FOR THANKSGIVING That’s when we decided that for Thanksgiving we would travel. I’m going to post some of our Thanksgiving adventures as we lead up to the holiday. Of course now we go to Disney World every year (just a 14hr drive away from home). In going to Disney World we get 2 holidays for the price of one. We usually only do the parks for 1 day and purchase the much cheaper party tickets for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. Then we do a 3 day cruise (which I spend the entire year paying off - but that too is worth it.) The first vacation though, was more like an adventure than a restful vacation. But great for family memories. OUR PERILS The false start My dear husband decided to tell me on travel day, we needed an oil change. Jiffy Lube, told us we needed a headlight. I wanted to pay the $28 to have it installed. My he-man said he would do it and save us some money. Huh? C’mon it was just $28. Well needless to say..after he investigated the work needed, he realized he should've paid someone to do it. So we drove aimlessly in search of Jiffy Lube late at night. We gave up the search and DS’s hand’s were small enough to get the light in and we were finally on our way. The medical emergency After returning from Magic Kingdom (My HAPPY PLACE), my DH starts to complain of chest pains. Well I'm seriously concerned because he never complains of pain. Well after much deliberation on his part … I CALLED 911! Mind you it is now 2am in the morning and we have a CRUISE to catch !? This man told me “Worst case babe…you take the kids on the cruise” Was he insane?! I wasn’t going on a cruise and leave him in the hospital! Anyway, we found out that he had “gull stones” and then he proceeded to check himself out of the hospital AGAISNT DR’s Order’s (he didn’t tell me this until we were on the long ride home) to go on our cruise…we made it in the nick of time as I had to pick him up at 10am to catch the cruise ship 1 hour away in Tampa. The ugly We went on a Carnival Cruise. But, DS, was on the run from the camp director of the CO club as he was 14yrs old and wanted to be with other high schooler’s but she wouldn’t let him. She chased him, she called security on him and threatened to have him kept in his room. However, DS alluded her at every turn…I started to get the feeling the kid just liked tormenting her. He finally resigned to his fate and hung out with the dreaded "Middle Schooler's" since he was a High School Freshman...it was not so hard for him to fit in...He was instantly "Cool". The race Youngest DS’s shoe flipped off the ship while he was running the jogging track, and unfortunately the ship didn’t sell shoes his size, so he spent the rest of the trip barefoot. Well while in the Caymans, my daughter lost her cruise card. We almost had to leave her there! Eek!

NEVER a dull moment when life offers so much to WRITE ABOUT :-D

Share some of YOUR ADVENTURES!

How Are You Seduced Into Buying Books?

 

I have to admit to purchasing tons of books the last few weeks via my Ipad. Both on Kindle and the Nook. Since I have a few books coming out this year myself, I am a bit more critical when assessing what makes me buy. What are the first things that make me decide to pick up a book.

 

STEPS To FALLING IN LOVE WITH A BOOK

 

(1) My Genre - I find that the first place I search online or in a bookstore for what I want is in my favorite genres (I personally like YA, Romance, Scifi and Horror) and these are the sections I go to first when I'm looking for a book.

 

(2) The Cover - Oh come on, you and the cover connect, the stars align and you are in serious like. You pick up the book and that book baby is half way to sold.

 

(3) The Back Cover (or Book Description) - This is where you have to grab me, make me want this book over any other book in my hands. So don't hold back. (I'll discuss this more)

 

(4) Price - it's got to be priced right either for me to buy it outright or add as a backup read to other books that I favored more.

 

THE BACK COVER WHAMMY!

 

So you're in love with the genre, the cover and the price isn't bad. Many of books have been tossed aside because of the back cover blurb.

 

Remember that query letter you had to write where you grabbed the Lit Agent with your 2 sentence hook? Well I wished the people that wrote back-covers or book descriptions did that more. I seriously think that publishers could use the query letter from the author to enhance the back covers / descriptions I've read lately.

 

(1) Grab reader in first 2 sentences

(2) Don't hold back juicy parts of the book - they may be the parts that the reader is attracted to. (Like: in my coming book Purgatory Reign - I wanted to hold back the fact that Angel (one of the characters) was really a girl. But if I didn't put that in the back cover blurb then the reader wouldn't know that there was a girl in the book that becomes a love interest.

(3) Give Some Away, but not all away - this is the hard part, figuring out what to tease the reader with but not give it all away.

(4) Make sure key elements for the genre are delivered. (If your book is a romance - make sure you make it appear like one on the book description, if its a horror - make sure it shows that. Know your market and the buzz words for it.)

 

SO WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A BACK COVER?

Clive Barker? Writing YA! Abarat by Clive Barker

Yes well if you haven't heard (you probably have) he has a three book series out.

Clive Barker's series: The Books of Abarat is a set of young adult fantasy novels drawn and authored by Clive Barker. It contains five books, but only three are published. He creates a world called Abarat, place that has  twenty-five islands, one for each hour of the day (and one extra).

And since I loved his wicked scary adult books, I'm just bitting my nails to see what creepy things these books hold.
 

If you read them please let me know what you think. I just purchased mine to read over the holidays.

Links to website for Abarat by Clive Barker.

Little Miracles

Yes they happen everyday.

In case you didn't know, which you may not have since I don't blog much about the things that I consider my personal challenges, the months of Sept - Oct were wicked crazy.

And even though I had a lot of not so fun things going on, I survived!

But one thing I want to share is that in life, there are Miracles, and when they happen, you just have to be THANKFUL (heck it's getting close to Thanksgiving, so time to reflect.)

Earlier in September, my best friend was visiting town and while with her brother, started to feel tingling in her feet. My crazy, wonderful, stubborn fighter of a friend, drove her be-hind home to NJ despite her discomfort as she wanted to make sure her kids got home safe. (huh?!) Anyway, long story short, she was hospitalized that day for unexplained paralysis.

As a single mom who was recently laid off from her employment this would have been a devastating blow - for anyone. BUT, my Super Woman friend, defied the odds of her recently diagnosed, Devics disease by shocking her doctors and recovering at an unforeseen rate.

AND ... and ... guess what? When I went to see her this weekend, thinking that my dear friend was still in a wheelchair since I stood there while the Doctor told her she may never wall fully again....

Wait for it.
Wait.

MY FRIEND ANSWERED her front door when I got to her house, fully standing, walking great (not totally back to herself but darn close) and gave me a hug, and said, "Surprise!"

Now, when you think things are bad, and won't look up, I pull from these amazing Miracles of life to remind me that, without effort, hope, and dreaming the impossible - it won't happen.

WHAT Miracles have you seen in your lifetime?

Mending time by Cheri Lasota a New Release!

So while you all are building your list for holiday reading, please add this sweet appetizer to it.

Cheri Lasota's short story Mending Time is now live on Amazon! Written in a vastly different writing style from her classic YA historical fantasy, Artemis Rising. A new voice, new characters, and a Portland, Oregon setting that is right in her backyard.



What's the story about?

Jack walks Aurelia home every day from her college classes. She just doesn't know it. What will it take for her to notice him? Is he willing to take the risk and accept the consequences?


Find the story on Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Mending-Time-ebook/dp/B009YLXW1K/


About the Author

Given that she engages in writing, editing, composing, skiing, filmmaking and general merry-making on a weekly basis, Author Cheri Lasota has had no time to kick her chocolate muffin addiction and will likely suffer from this malady for some time to come. Luckily she has novel-writing as a fall back and is currently working on her second YA novel, Echoes in the Glass--out soon.


The standard hullabaloo:

Over the course of her sixteen-year career, Cheri Lasota has edited fiction, nonfiction, screenplays, and short stories for publication. Clients include McGraw-Hill Publishing Company as well as individual fiction writers and screenwriters, some of which have been published. Cheri also has over twenty-four years of experience writing poetry and fiction. Currently, Cheri is writing and researching her second novel, a YA set on the Oregon Coast.

WORKs IN DRAFT- My coming Nanowrimo books

It's YA INDIE CARNIVAL time (Click to visit the other participating bloggers)
WORKS IN PROCESS and my NANOWRIMO Novels

"The road of possibilities"

Yep, I'm trying to finish up these two babies during Nanowrimo this month.

If I do, you all will have 3 new releases from me in 2013.


WASTELANDS (Book 2 Bandits series - YA Scifi Romance)

Being a pirate has been all Daniel's ever known, so breaking into the most notorious prison around sounded like a good way to change his thieving ways - sort of. But in the quest and revenge of a lifetime, he may not only lose the girl he loves, but the only family he has left. His desire to turn away from his past is the ultimate risk.

THUNDERING LUV (Short Story-YA Romance)

Jewel has always been able to get the guy she wanted. The starting jock on the football team, the star player on the basketball team, and the star swimmer on the swim team. Problem is, she didn't find them the least bit exciting or lovable. Was she cold? Was she a she-wolf for guys? Or was she just plain spoiled. Alex thought so, and he'd do anything to bring her down a peg or two. Unfortunately for them both, sparks fly on the sandy beach during their mixed up summer vacation, changing the way they've seen each other. This summer may just end up being the best summer ever.

NEW PRIDE by Laura Diamond

NEW PRIDE RELEASE DAY BLITZ!

PLEASE Welcome author Laura Diamond as she shares the new skinny on her novelette to add to your got-to-have read list!

New town, new love, new terror.

It’s here! My prequel novelette, NEW PRIDE, releases today. I’m SO stoked for it to run wild in the world.

NEW PRIDE was born from my upcoming novel, SHIFTING PRIDE (coming December 7, 2012!). In SHIFTING PRIDE, the main character, Nickie, searches for her missing father, Richard…and NEW PRIDE is all about Richard’s journey to independence and new love.

NEW PRIDE Blurb:

A shape-shifter without a pride, Richard Leone strikes a tenuous friendship with power hungry, Derek, from an unstable, rogue group. On a hunt in the forest, they encounter a gorgeous brunette, Molly, partying with friends around a campfire. Derek tells the rogue pride and they bristle at humans trespassing on their territory. Richard risks life and tail to protect his secret and the humans—especially Molly—while simultaneously trying to win her heart. When Molly is kidnapped, he faces taking on the rogue pride alone, but quickly finds he has to put his trust in Derek, not only to rescue his new love, but to ensure the rogue pride doesn’t wreak havoc on his new town.

Author Laura Diamond:

Laura Diamond is a board certified psychiatrist and author of all things young adult paranormal, dystopian, horror, and middle grade. Her short story, City of Lights and Stone, is in the Day of Demons anthology by Anachron Press (April 2012) and her apocalyptic short story, Begging Death is in the Carnage: Life After the End anthology by Sirens Call Publication (coming late 2012). Her debut young adult paranormal romance, SHIFTING PRIDE, is coming December 2012 by Etopia Press. When she's not writing, she is working at the hospital, blogging at Author Laura Diamond--Lucid Dreamer , and renovating her 225+ year old fixer-upper mansion. She is also full-time staff member for her four cats and a Pembroke Corgi named Katie. 

How to find Laura Diamond on the web:

Blog: http://lbdiamond.wordpress.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/diamondlb

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/laura.diamond.52

Facebook Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorLauraDiamond

Amazon.com Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Laura-Diamond/e/B009Y7L432/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_8

Website: www.AuthorLauraDiamond.com

*GROUP HUG* Thank you, everyone, for taking the time to celebrate with me and for helping me spread the word. This wouldn’t be happening without you. Yes, you! Without you, I’d have given up a long time ago. ;)

I hope you enjoy NEW PRIDE and SHIFTING PRIDE.