Sorry but I'm dealing with a mistaken infringement claim

Yesterday for some reason a copyright infringement claim was placed on one of my past posts. It was removed and placed in drafts. Now I went to check to see what this claim was about only to find out I was accused of infringing on something that was not even in my post. The accused post had three bloghops (which are public and legal for me to post), a mention of Jupiter Ascending (using a Wikipedia image that I sourced) and mention of Harry Potter with a Youtube video.

None of this was mentioned in the accusing report (Copyright claim #4). Instead I was supposedly infringing on a novel that's not even in my post (I have chatted with the author before on twitter and let her know what happened via a tweet. I'm not even the only one on the list!). Until this is sorted I have decided to delay my Movie Love post to next week and my next post will be on Friday and only about a cover reveal. I have filed a counter claim explaining how this accusation is a mistake. Hopefully I'll get a response soon and sort out this mess. Sigh. I had such a great time at the movies yesterday only to come home and find this cluster f****. God Bless and pray for me.

Cover Reveal: Storm Wolf

Morning everyone. In collaboration with Juniper Grove Book Solutions, I'm taking part in the cover reveal for Storm Wolf. The novel follows a man trapped with the terrible curse of the wolf. Now check out a bit about the author before seeing the cover.

About the Author:

Stephen has degrees in medieval history and theology from Yale and St. Vladmir’s Orthodox Theological Academy. A former priest, he served as the Eastern Orthodox chaplain at Columbia University. His previous academic writing has dealt primarily with Late Antiquity and Byzantine church life.

He is also the Chair of the CORE Executive of Inter-disciplinary.net and organizes annual conferences on aspects of the supernatural, evil and wickedness, and related subjects. The magical and fantastic elements in his books are all based on authentic medieval and Renaissance occult beliefs and practices, as well as local folklore, legends, and history.

Stephen, a Seattle native, is now a long-time New York resident and currently lives in Manhattan with his partner, Elliot.

Amazon Author Page | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads | Blog

Title: Storm Wolf

Author:  Stephen Morris

To Be Published:   September 1st, 2016

Genre:   Fantasy

Synopsis:

He was given the wolf-magic to save his neighbors; now it drives him to kill them.

“LIBAHUNT!” Alexei breaks the terms of the wolf-magic he inherited from his grandfather and loses the ability to control the shapeshifting. His grandfather’s magical wolf-pelt was meant to protect their rural village in 1880s Estonia by fighting the terrible storms in the sky but instead, it drives Alexei to kill, slaughtering his neighbors, his friends —even his family.
Heartbroken, Alexei flees his home in search of an enchanter to free him from this hideous curse. Wandering through Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Bohemia, he encounters the Master of Wolves, who forces Alexei to terrorize and murder the local farmers, and the infamous Frau Bertha who traps all those who anger her by turning them into wolves. Will Alexei find a sorceror who can free him?

Amazon Pre-Order  |  GoodReads

Cover Reveal: After Loving you and Do You have Goals?

Today I'll be sharing with you the cover for upcoming romance novel After Loving You by Ashelyn Drake (Kelly Hashway's pseudonym). Already pre-ordered my copy and I'm picky on contemporary, including romance. What can I say? I trust my Kelly after starting her Into the Fire series (YA Paranormal). Ashelyn Drake writes YA and NA romance and this novel is the latter. Got to see it early through my newsletter subscription and it is beautiful. Emotions seep out at you. These two have a history.

Ashelyn/Kelly is also having a Social Media Blitz to celebrate the reveal and October release date. Before I reveal the cover, take in a taste of what After Loving you has in store for readers.

Without further ado, cover time. Feast your eyes on this romantic beauty.

BUY LINKS: Amazon


Synopsis:


When Mia Thompson and Jared Grande break up before college, they think that's the end for them.

But two years later, Mia is stalking Jared's Facebook page and he's contacting her every chance he gets. Even though they're both seeing other people, they can't seem to say good-bye to the past they shared.

One way or another, they'll have to figure out how to love again. Is it time to get back together or time to move on?

All Links for Ashelyn Drake:

Email: khashway@hotmail.com

Website: www.kellyhashway.com

Blog: http://kellyhashway.blogspot.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kellyhashway/?fref=ts

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/KellyHashway

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Ashelyn-Drake/e/B00D5UJ2PG/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1472197899&sr=1-2-ent

Book Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31330643-after-loving-you


Do You have Goals?



I have already realized that The Missing Girls Series will need a 2017 release. Sadly due to personal issues including data loss which has to be redone entirely, that fact can't be avoided. Will be revealing a date for the cover reveal in October. But I'm very happy with how my freelancing work has expanded and the new strides I have taken in my manuscripts. Time will have to be managed with rewriting lost work as my time is less free than last year. However I'm ready to truck on and just know everyone that a setback is just a setup for something new. As long as you make it out alive on the other side there's more in your future. God bless and enjoy your weekend.

Movie Love: Suicide Squad

Source

Venue: Carib 5

Date: August 23, 2016

This is my third round with the spanking new DCEU that DC is spinning out and Suicide Squad was quite a ride. While I enjoyed the characters, some great scenes and dialogue. Sadly the rest of the movie was very hodge-podge to me. I had fun but not enough to get past the scattered story, horrible editing and pacing, along with other issues. Still Suicide Squad is a movie a lot of people are going to see and I can see why. Like I said the characters are enjoyable (though I had zero love for the villain chosen for Suicide Squad to fight. I can't take some reverberating sore throat spastic belly dancer seriously. Sorry but not no. However the brother was done much better. He looked dangerous and intimidating). The best in my opinion being Deadshot, Harley Quinn, Amanda Waller and El Diablo. The actors playing these characters took them to the next level. El Diablo especially with his limited speaking parts and marginalized role shone like the stars. His metahuman story was well explained and the tragedy in his life came through the screen. Which is why I don't understand how with that those well done scenes, how so many others were just shot like parts were left on the editing floor. 

A character could be doing something and literally in the middle it jumps to something else. Seriously it was like a decent movie was made and someone decided it needed intervention via editing by a garbage disposal. There's no question in my mind that there's a much better movie in this. Studio intervention of this magnitude of sloppiness seriously needs to stop. Hearing all the stories like David Ayer being given only six weeks to write a script or that the movie was re-edited by a company that makes movie trailers...are you for real here? While there can be conjecture, the two issues with the script and movie trailer editors have been reported repeatedly across the board as potentially true. If so it explains quite a bit of the plot issues as well as the choppy editing. If not then something else happened to screw the pacing and flow of this movie. Inception was an amazing movie involving dream sequences and non-linear story telling. It can be done by any standard and I just wish this movie did a better job of it.

Personally I think if this movie had a better plot and no crazy edits, it would have gotten better critic reception. Hell I'm not a Man of Steel fan but critics thought that movie was at least okay to straight up brilliant. However I have to agree with the critics on the fact that this film had too many hands in the pot and ended up a hot mess. One that can be thoroughly enjoyed but a hot mess all the same. Now I'm a lover of both Marvel and DC, the latter I have known extremely intimately from a child. 

Still I do get very annoyed when I hear people saying you'd like this movie more if you read the comics. Let me be clear, a movie should be able to stand on it's own. Also mainstream movie goers are not avid comic book readers and make up the majority of audiences. I review books on this blog and have profound respect for those who are willing to take a piece of art apart no matter the consequences from fans and the like. However that does not mean I agree with everything critics say. There are movies I love that a lot of top critics would find to be horrible. Yet sadly I have to say Suicide Squad is yet another film by the DC that falls short for me. Wishing them all the best though. There's still success in the DCEU and I hope that it expands along with the quality of the work. Of course this is my opinion and those paying full price or multiple purchases for this movie would likely want DC to continue on this path.

At the end of the day I'd recommend Suicide Squad to either those who want to see it or movie goers that just want a popcorn movie to watch that has more depth than the Transformers movies. Other than that it's a roll of the dice. 

P.S. : DC, you did a great job displaying Deadshot as a black character without going into black stereotypes. Why did you do the opposite with Killer Croc? Maybe I could have forgiven some of the stuff as characterization but then you have him demanding for BET when everyone else is asking for time with their child to an espresso machine. Just stop it Hollywood. It's not funny and I know of a number of reviewers who were pissed off about it. One to the point of cursing. Just cut it out.The scene where he stated he was beautiful and fight scenes were good. Just not the over hood-ization of the character. Show not tell was definitely not followed here.

Cover Reveal: Midnight Jewel and WEP Apology

Hey guys, today I'm sharing the cover for a book I'm definitely interested in. Richelle Mead has written multiple books and series. Each cover having it's own form of beauty. This one is no different though I'll admit it has become rather passe to have a pretty chick on book covers. Still it's nice to look at and the story at the end of the day is what I'm most excited about.

Title: Midnight Jewel (Glittering Court #2) by Richelle Mead

Release date: April 25, 2017

Summary: A refugee of war, Mira was cast out of her home country and thrust into another, where the conditions were inhospitable at best. In a life-altering twist of fate, she is given the chance to escape once more, and she takes it, joining the Glittering Court.

WEP Apology

I completely forgot to post for this contest due to some unexpected issues. Sorry about that and truly embarassed. At least my blog is not still sitting on the list. 

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

Good Times

Hey guys sorry for being out this week. Just know I'm fine and will see you guys on Monday. Now let kitty play with her ball of yarn and enjoy your weekend.

Source

Monday MishMash and Book Review: Spun by Shyla Colt

Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme created by Kelly Hashway for sharing what's going on in your life and noggin. You just grab a button and post your business...I mean thoughts online. No biggie. Have fun!

1. Came off a real bender last week. All I'll say is that I think I now know what it's like officially to freelance write something you absolutely are not 'in league with'. So that's why I was absent from the blogging verse last week. Finally finished that 'project' for the customer after 5 a.m. this morning and will start to seriously clamp down on my requirement to be contacted first before orders are placed. The stress of that draft...God.

2. Ready to start this week anew and free from #1. So free.

3. Do more reading.

4. Squeeze in more writing time for my own work.

5. Revamp my social media pages this month. Sprucing up is new wrong.

6. Go to bed before midnight.

Book Review: Spun (Kings of Chaos Book 1) by Shyla Colt 



Summary on Amazon: Born to a King of Chaos patch holder with a case of wanderlust and a self-centered mother, twenty-one-year-old Nevada Weber is used to taking care of herself. She's spent her life skating by on her wits and pure determination. When she lands in a situation, she can’t haggle her way out of, she’s forced to rely on another brother for help. 

Club enforcer Gage “Wizard” Carmody has done his job too well over the years. Icy and numb on the inside, he walks around in a prison of his making. When the bright green-eyed girl he helped raise winds up unclaimed and in need of protection he steps in seeking redemption. 
In a life where destruction lurks around the corner, they discover something with the potential to bring healing and happiness. But when you live in Chaos nothing goes as planned.
Source: Purchased ebook on Amazon (during free special)

Buy Link: Amazon

Book Review

Nevada has it rough. With a wandering Motorcycle Club father she's left to the care of the other members and not all see a twenty-one year old as off limits if she saws no. In steps Wizard who takes the young woman as his own at first in an effort to protect her but as time moves along feelings begin to grow and change. Let me say this right now. I got this book for free over the weekend and stayed up until the wee hours of the morning reading it to the end. Couldn't go to bed without knowing and under three hundred pages it is a manageable read. Character wise this book is flawless not hiding the good and bad in every character you meet. Yes this is a Motorcycle Club and no they're not angels, yet they still have codes and rules to go by. If you don't like books where males in certain instances dominate women, this book might not be for you. No the book is not devaluing women but in the MC culture males are in charge and there are times Nevada has to take a back seat in following the rules of the club she was born in. Still she is no shrinking violet and Kings of Chaos does not have or want weak willed females in their flock. These biker women are tough and ready to take action when needed. Nevada grows from a shy young woman to a strong female ready to face the world. Plus Wizard also learned to soften his heart and open up to another person completely.

Story wise the book is strong but not perfect. While I do love the book there were a few things that did turn my dial in a less spectacular to bad way. A few times I did feel Wizard use his age and experience to manipulate Nevada somewhat. I knew it was a part of the MC culture the book created but not all of it sat well with me. Also what I truly disliked was the big resolution of a major betrayal to the club. It started as a rival gang attack then turned out to be something frankly rather petty and senseless. Really Fuse and Trixie? Really now? Not worth the price man, dumb set of people. It did not ruin the book but definitely messed with the great story that went on before hand. Also authors please stop going to a big climax then creating an excuse for the main character in that scene to leave or let us know something huge happened off book. Yes it works sometimes but not here.

However story wise everything else shines. Especially another huge twist after the betrayal. Man that was a doozy and Nevada was pretty much bitch slapped with a bus in my opinion (pardon my language). So if you love your romance with obstacles, can read books with a big age difference between characters, love a good story and want to see happy endings earned, then this book is for you. Especially if you love Motorcycle Club books. Then this is a no brainer. Personally I plan on continuing this series because no matter the pitfalls this book was a heart pounding ride. Recommend.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (4 Stars in my heart)

Book Review: The Handmaid's Tale

Title: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Summary from The Book Depository: It is the world of the near future, and Offred is a Handmaid in the home of the Commander and his wife. She is allowed out once a day to the food market, she is not permitted to read, and she is hoping the Commander makes her pregnant, because she is only valued if her ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she was an independent woman, had a job of her own, a husband and child. But all of that is gone now...everything has changed. 

Source: Got it in 2013 for World Book Night.

Buy Link: The Book Depository

Book Review

This book is one of the creepiest things I've read in my life. There are books you'll remember until the day that you die. I think is one you'll remember after your death. Yes I found it that profound. In this world if you're not one lucky woman, you're fucked. Pretty much. There are guys who have it bad too but Lordy, Lord, do women have it bad. Offred's a Handmaid in this world set in a time when women can be captured and forced to be wholesale baby makers. You read that right. There are the lucky ones like the Commander's wife who can live a regular life (minus the ceremony when she has to be present and watch her husband the commander screw Offred in attempts to make her pregnant. You did not read that wrong. She has to be there). Punishment for disobedience ranges from beatings right up to being executed. Offred does recall her life from before when she was allowed to have a job, read, and had a husband and child. All that was torn away from her and she felt her best chance was this horrid life service compared to her other options. Still there's a spark in her and one day it might not be able to stay contained.

Margaret Atwood wrote a marvelous horror story as far as I'm concerned. No that's not it's genre but I'll take the zombie apocalypse over this insanity any day of the week. Wonderful writing, scary future. Love the book, crept out by the premise. What a book to let in schools people. But still an important read none the less. Recommend to those who want to read it. Only those people. *Shivers*

Rating: Five Stars...and a Shower.

P.S.: I decided to randomly open the book and read. Opened it close to chapter 16 then decided to also read the chapter. Big mistake. Not for your little kids to read at all. No. No.

Monday MishMash

Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme created by Kelly Hashway for sharing what's going on in your life and noggin. You just grab a button and post your business...I mean thoughts online. No biggie. Have fun!

Hey guys, have not done this meme in a while so here goes.

1. Catching up on some freelance work. Yes the wheel keeps on turning.

2. Watching Season one and two of In Between on Netflix. Saw episode one Sunday and want to see the rest. Also try to watch more Stranger Things. Still on just episode one. However I did watch London has fallen yesterday and LOVED it. Sure the movie has it's long standing issues but I'm in it for the action! Boom!

3. Write more fan fiction. Yup, a little in June, none in July. August will change that.

4. Watch my budget more closely. Certain last minute things drained my money that really irked me. Some of which could have been avoided if...yeah it's family stuff so let's move on. *Sigh*

5. Get my theater going groove back. Going to see at least one movie this week in a theater. Yes indeed.

6. Work some more on my self publishing plans. Yes it is still on.

7. Read more. Tomorrow and Wednesday are book review days straight up.

So there's my business...list for what is going on right now. Thanks for stopping by.

Book Review: The Princess in Black and the Perfect Princess Party

Title: The Princess in Black and the Perfect Princess Party by Shannon Hale and Deane Hale

Summary from Amazon: Inconvenient monster alarms, a sparkly array of princess guests, and spot-on slapstick pacing make for a party readers will celebrate.

Today is Princess Magnolia’s birthday party, and she wants everything to be perfect. But just as her guests are arriving . . . Brring! Brring! The monster alarm! Princess Magnolia runs to the broom closet, ditches her frilly clothes, and becomes the Princess in Black! She rushes to the goat pasture, defeats the monster, and returns to the castle before her guests discover her secret. But every time Princess Magnolia is about to open her presents, the monster alarm rings again. And every time she rushes back—an inside-out dress here, a missing shoe there—it gets harder to keep the other princesses from being suspicious. Don’t those monsters understand that now is not a good time for an attack?
Source: Purchased from The Book Depository

Buy Links: Amazon, The Book Depository

Book Review

The second book in this fun kick butt series started with a puff of pink and everything girly. Perfect for a princess party full of little girls. Readers are immediately taken into the second book in The Princess in Black Series and I can say happily that it's another great read. Both writer and illustrator come together and deliver a story any parent will enjoy sharing with their child. As an adult who is a fan of picture books with no kids of my own, I highly recommend this book for kids. Might sound strange but I promise unless your kid is not a fan of princesses, there is a good chance he or she might enjoy this book. Especially if they were fans of the first one. The action is fun and child appropriate and the princesses at the party each have their own personalities whether in the ones who spoke or just the beautiful drawings. Princess Sneezewort is going to become a real polarizer between those who love an imperfect princess and those who find her to be an annoying busy body. I am a bit in between but happy to know her debut here is not the last we'll see of her.

However unlike the first book which I thought was pretty much perfection. This second journey had some issues. While a little shorter than the first book it actually felt a lot longer. How? Because unlike book one where you got not only Princess Magnolia's perspective but a peek into the monster's perspective and even Duff the goat boy who struggled to keep the goats from getting eaten, there was none of this in book two. In fact a big saving grace from the slog that the book had become in parts was a tiny monster perspective snippet of the final monster she had to battle. Which proved why story beyond just the princess hopping between her party and monster fighting was needed. Leaving once or twice is one thing but multiple times practically using the same excuse as to why the alarm goes off repeatedly? She's lucky only Princess Sneezewort got super suspicious.

At the end of the day though this series is a delight to read. Book two might have missed the stars of it's predecessor but it still soared above the mud and hovered in the sky.

Rating: 4 Stars

IWSG: Life Choices and Poetry

Today it's time for another IWSG and we get to share our insecurities and other thoughts. I really don't feel like sharing insecurities right now. So instead I'll drop some sweet knowledge on you folks. Starting with a quote from Wavy Lines, a blog that posts a lot of inspirational writing quotes.

Every day we get a fresh chance to live the way we want. - John Kenney

Life can be a lot of things. But at the end of the day we have a choice. To either live the life we want or someone else's. Choose your own life. No matter the pitfalls, make them yours. There are few things worse than going through life just to realize you never really lived. Not in a way you would've chosen.

IWSG August Question: What was your very first piece of writing as an aspiring writer? Where is it now? Collecting dust or has it been published?

My first writing love was poetry. It was funny enough also the first piece of writing I was paid for. I still have the copies of Bookends Magazine that published my poems. Even those that didn't. To this day I still have poems collected in various notebooks and on my flash drives. Guess that's why after delays of previous self published works the one that finally gets within the realm of being published by latest early 2017 is the one I wrote in verse. The Missing Girls Series is very dear to my heart. Each female teen who gets kidnapped hits me hard despite being fiction. Because first of all I created these characters and determine their individual fates and secondly because all over the world teens both male and female get kidnapped under all sorts of circumstances. Some are found but others no one ever knows what happened to them. A sad truth I hope gets stopped one day. No one deserves to be ripped from their own lives.

So on that note thanks for stopping by, remember to check out IWSG Listing and see you on Friday.

Do You Have Goals? July 2016

Sorry I'm running late. How has my goal been going? Well I'm working up to a cover reveal for all covers at the moment. Since The Missing Girls Series will be releasing all novellas at once I'm determined to make everything ready and at it's best over anything else. Will it be out in 2016 as my goal stated? Probably not. But this goal has given me the kick in the pants to stick with self-publishing my first book and I'm very proud of that. Right now I also have my freelance work that takes up a chunk of my time. Yet no complaints as I'm grateful for every cent and joy of doing what I love that it gives me. So how have your goals been going? Has anything changed? For me I'm planning to have an MG ready to send out to agents by December 2016. Never thought the first book I'd try to agent would be anything but YA. So time really does change things sometimes. Thanks for stopping by and go to Do you Have Goals Page to see other bloggers and their goals.