Tuesday, August 13, 2013

WriteOnCon - A Convention for Aspiring Authors!

Do you consider yourself an author?
Are you a wannabe writer?
Do you have characters and plots running willy-nilly through your head and you can't get rid of them?

Then WriteOnCon is the place for you!

Elana Johnson - outstanding YA author and her friends have put together a FREE online convention for MG/YA and NA authors.  That's Middle Grade/Young Adult and New Adult if you're unfamiliar with the lingo.

Go and visit. It's free. There are chances for critiques, agent pitches, lots of great information and chances to meet and mingle with folks just like you.

http://writeoncon.com/05/28/announcing-writeoncon-2013/

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Planes: - Movie Moments

Disney's new movie - "Planes" fits into the world they created with "Cars." They talk, they move,
they have lives, feelings and adventures and no humans are around. (In case you've never seen it.)

It's the sweet tale of Dusty Crophopper who dreams of being something more. A racing plane.

Problem: He's a crop duster, not built for speed...and he's afraid of heights.

But like most Disney movies, we watch that determined underdog or rather underplane take on the world of racing and his dreams.

His reluctant coach, Skipper, is a retired Corsair from WWII, who will help Dusty by using his combat skills and teach Dusty the importance of tight flying and using altitude for speed.

This is a typical Disney show. But I first fell in love with airplanes because of the Corsairs and it was really fun to watch.

The characters were sweet (though predictable). Our family loved El Chupacabra and his cape swish.

One small problem was the final leg of the race that went from Mexico City to New York, seemed to fly through the "Great Desert" which looked an awful lot like the Grand Canyon.

We watch as the characters around Dusty grow because of his integrity and courage. And at the end, there's a sweet sigh and a hooray that you can't help but feel.

My youngest insisted we stay for the Easter Egg...just in case...and was thrilled to learn that Dusty will return in another movie.  (Big surprise).

I enjoyed reading the credits. They had a ton of military advisors on the film which explains the great job drawing the planes and the aircraft carrier--I won't explain that to ruin the surprise.

We enjoyed it. But I'm not sure it's special enough to join that Disney favorite's list even though it will stick around because of the dollars behind its marketing.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Free Ebook! Anna - A Farewell to Juarez

Free children's historical fiction ebook until August 3, 2013!

Just heard that my book "Anna - A Farewell to Juarez" is being offered free until Saturday!!

Go enjoy! (I'd love a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads afterwards.)

Anna a Farewell to Juarez