GtPGKogPYT4p61R1biicqBXsUzo" /> Google+ I Smell Sheep: May 2018

Thursday, May 31, 2018

New Movie Releases in June 2018

June doesn't bring us a lot...but it does have Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Oceans 8 looks pretty good too.

June 1

Limited release

June 8

June 15


 
June 22

June 29

THE HUSTLE
Rebel Wilson 
Anne Hathaway 
 Bruno Sevilla 
2018 | Comedy Remake
(there is no poster yet)

Streaming

Limited release

Candace Blevins: Meet my forty-five-mile-per-hour couch potato + giveaway

This is Ivy. Our retired racing greyhound, and you can see she’s a big goof.

Greyhounds are working dogs and love to race, and it’s easy to see from watching Ivy’s old footage, she had a blast winning races. As she got older and couldn’t stay way out in front of the pack, she wasn’t as happy battling for position within the pack, so her trainer wisely retired her. Ivy came to us at three years old, and she’s five now.

She still loves to run and thinks our backdoor is her starting gate. Mostly though, she’s a forty-five-mile-per-hour couch potato and a sweetheart. Also, a diva, a loveable brat, and a seventy-pound lap dog. She was so spoiled at the track – there are no spa days at our house, she gets dog food instead of people food, and sometimes (horror of horrors) she’s actually told she can’t do something. If you follow me on Facebook ( https://www.facebook.com/candacesblevins ) you’ll get to see her daily antics.

What does this have to do with my latest release? Absolutely nothing, unless you count the fact she was beside me while I wrote most of it.

My epic little Faerie Tale throws the reader into the dark, kinky, deep end of the pool from page one, but the book isn’t just a fun sex romp (though there’s lots of that, too). It’s about human nature, growth, responsibility, relationships, society, and more. Readers have compared the ending to Harry Potter and the middle to Anne Rice’s Beauty series – and many have told me they needed time to recover from their book hangover when they finished the final book.

Because I think my readers are the best at telling you what’s what, I’ll leave you with some of what they’ve had to say:

This story is more than relationship tangles and dark as hell kinky shenanigans. –BookAddict ✒ La Crimson Femme

Taken at face value, each book can be a bit intense. Taken as a whole, it’s a really well planned journey of four souls-seeking, and there is a depth and breadth to both their individual and collective experience. –Jaycee

Candace Blevins is the best at storytelling, she took us on quite a journey, the growth of these characters was enlightening. There are consequences for your actions. –Evita

What I liked most about the sex was that it enhanced the story, it didn't become the story. –Kristi

From the very beginning, I think the story was about growth, about evolving. Knowing the risks and still taking that step. Slave, Queen, Lady, Prince, Man, and Woman. Each had their story, their personality to grow into, and they did so beautifully. –Daria

This whole series has been about the journeys we take in life to become our true selves. –Vickie Brown

Slave (A Dark(ish) Faerie Tale Book One)
by Candace Blevins
April 20, 2018
Genre: Dark Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Romance
Publisher: Kaleidowords Publishing
ISBN: 9781386590101
ASIN: B07CBZPXSD
Number of pages: 133
Word Count: 36,000 words
Cover Artist: Willsin Rowe
Because you’re never too old for Faerie Tales...

Halflings born in the human realm can stay if they can pass for human, but a baby with bright red and yellow hair, pointed ears, glowing green eyes, and swirled purple and green nails had to be relocated. With no family in Faerie to claim her, the newborn was auctioned off as a slave.

In Faerie, slaves are property with no rights. The baby is now an adult, and has been given in tribute to The Winter Queen.

Queen Mab has worked hard to make everyone in Faerie fear her, but her new pleasure slave enjoys the kiss of her whip. Can the Dark Queen have a tender side? The Dragon King once loved her, after all, so there has to be more to her than the evil, ruthless queen we’ve seen so far.

Climb aboard and experience the best and worst the Winter Queen can dish out.

Slave is book one in the Dark(ish) Faerie Tale quadrilogy. The series takes place within the greater Kirstin O’Shea universe, but can be read without being familiar with the other books and series.





Chapter One
Queen Mab
For every season, there are positives and negatives. Today is the summer solstice, and I’m miserable in the heat. Plus, my sister is Queen of Faerie during the summer.

From here on out, the days will grow shorter, and the time of my reign draws nearer. Come the fall equinox, I’ll be the ruling Queen once more, and my days will be filled with the duties of running the queendom.

However, for the time being, I had the luxury of spending all the time I wanted in my dungeons, and I was fully taking advantage of the long days — there are so many people to torture and play with in the bowels of my castle.

I’d acquired the former Eagle King as a result of a horse trade a while back, and was still having great fun with him, but I’d been informed we had a new pleasure slave — paid to me in tribute by a wealthy businessman — and she’d been put into a holding room so I could personally handle her intake process.

Prisoners are fun to punish, but the rare pleasure slave who’s been trained to enjoy torture is a special treat. I’d seen the paperwork on this girl, and based on her previous owners and trainers, I had hopes she might prove a nice diversion.

I was informed she seemed a nervous wreck, so I went to the holding room instead of having her brought to the throne room. I brought another slave with me, one who’d record the new slave’s answers and any notes I wanted put into the girl’s file.

Contrary to what most probably think of the Wicked Winter Queen, I don’t make a habit of abusing my slaves just because I can. I’d whipped this particular stenographer slave once when she was rude to a business associate, and I’d assigned her to dishwashing duty in the kitchens for a month when she zoned off while on the job, but the girl’s been with me nearly fifteen years and those are the only two times she’s been punished.

My first view of the new little pleasure slave sent tingles through my magic. She was a little slip of a thing and strikingly beautiful. Someone had put her into my preferred inspection pose — feet a little wider than shoulder width, perfect posture, eyes straight ahead, fingers laced at the back of her head. She still held it beautifully, and her arms didn’t appear to be shaking.

Some slaves hold their position when I enter, but most prostrate themselves. Neither choice earns reprimand or punishment at this stage, but I was intrigued she’d chosen to follow orders over protocol.

Whether she’d been naked when she arrived or had been stripped to nothing by my guards, I didn’t know. I wasn’t certain of her most recent owner’s slave protocols for travel, but the Master he purchased her from wouldn’t have permitted clothing at any time, nor would her original owner, where she was raised and trained.

I walked in a circle around her, observing. She didn’t break posture. Didn’t move a millimeter, other than to breathe. Her nails were swirled purple and green, her red hair had streaks of gold, and her eyes practically glowed green. I circled her a few more times, and noted her toenails matched her fingernails. I’d need to double-check to be sure the familial searches had been done.

My new slave had enough muscle I knew she’d be able to handle what I doled out, but was soft enough she’d still be fun to play with. I couldn’t wait to see her flawless white ass with streaks of red from a strap, and then dotted with smaller streaks from a flogger. However, she was too thin for my tastes, and I made a mental note to check later to see if this was her natural size, or whether her food intake had been severely restricted.

“What’s your name?”

A deeper breath, so she’d have enough air to speak, but she answered quickly, her eyes still straight ahead without looking at me. “My original owner called me seven-sixty-three, Ma’am. The Master I just came from called me little one.”

Before I slapped the shit out of the girl for her impertinence, I asked, “Do you know who I am?”

“No, Ma’am?”

Her voice wavered and her arms finally shook a little. The poor thing was scared shitless, and I was about to terrify her even more, whether I wanted to or not. I softened my voice and said, “You address me as my Queen or Your Majesty, Little One.”

Lady (A Dark(ish) Faerie Tale Book Two)
by Candace Blevins
April 27
Genre: Dark Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Romance
Publisher: Kaleidowords Publishing
ISBN: 9781386120636
ASIN: B07C2Q3SSS
Number of pages: 204
Word Count: 56,000 words
Cover Artist: Willsin Rowe
Even the Dark Queen can’t change destiny.

Tabitha has so much to learn about living with a family, and she makes her grandfather and cousins terribly uncomfortable when she doesn’t fit in. She was punished for looking free people in the eyes all her life, so it’s understandable she has trouble learning to maintain eye contact. And making decisions is impossible — from what she wants for breakfast, to when she’s tired enough for bed, and everything in between.

Her grandfather’s horses don’t judge, and working with them finally helps her begin to find a path towards figuring out this new life, where clothes must be worn all day, every day.

Just when she’s resigned herself to this life and is certain she’ll never enjoy sex again, an invitation arrives to attend one of the Winter Queen’s balls — along with a fancy gown that raises more questions than answers.

Lady is book two in the Dark(ish) Faerie Tale quadrilogy, and should be read in the correct order.


Consort (A Dark(ish) Faerie Tale Book Three)
by Candace Blevins
May 11, 2018
Genre: Dark Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Romance
Publisher: Kaleidowords Publishing
ISBN: 9781386309246
ASIN: B07C56BZKL
Number of pages: 190
Word Count: 50,000
Cover Artist: Willsin Rowe
We don’t get to choose our lives, we only get to live them as they’re handed to us.

Mab wanted Tabby to get comfortable with life at the castle before being stressed with the responsibilities of Consort, but Prince Rowan’s timetable means some decisions must be made sooner rather than later.

Mab’s a rip-the-bandage-off kind of Queen, which means Tabby and Rowan aren’t in for an easy time.

Most people are terrified when they find themselves at the mercy of The Dark Queen.

Consort is book three in the Dark(ish) Faerie Tale quadrilogy, and should be read in the correct order.


Queen(A Dark(ish) Faerie Tale Book Four)
by Candace Blevins
May 25, 2018
Genre: Dark Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Romance
Publisher: Kaleidowords Publishing
ISBN: 9781386175698
ASIN: B07C5B5344
Number of pages: 160
Word Count: 43,000
Cover Artist: Willsin Rowe
Life can take some complicated paths to get you where you need to be.

Prince Rowan can’t live in Mab’s castle forever. If he has any chance of holding onto his title and one day being King, he’ll need a wife and heirs, and he’ll have to live in his own castle, in his own demesne.

Mab is finally confident of her place in Tabby’s heart, so she isn’t jealous of the pain and sorrow her little one feels at the loss of Rowan.

It’s up to Mab and Rowan to find a way to hold their threesome together despite the political minefields in their way. Can they do it by making it a foursome?

Princess Tabitha has been slave, Lady, and Consort. She never wanted more, but sometimes destiny makes your choices for you.

Don’t miss the exciting conclusion to Tabby’s story!

Queen is book four in the Dark(ish) Faerie Tale quadrilogy, and should be read in the correct order.



About the Author:
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Candace Blevins has published more than thirty-five books. She lives with her husband of twenty years and their two daughters. When not working or driving young teens all over the place, she can be found reading, writing, meditating, or swimming. The family’s beloved, goofy, retired racing greyhound is usually at her side as she writes, quietly keeping her company.
Candace writes Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Contemporary BDSM Romance, and a kick-ass Motorcycle Club series.

Her urban fantasy series, Only Human, gives us a world where weredragons, werewolves, werelions, three different species of vampires, and a variety of other mythological beings exist.

Candace's two paranormal romance series, The Chattanooga Supernaturals and The Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Club, are both sister series to the Only Human series, and give some secondary characters their happily ever after.

Her contemporary Safeword series gives us characters who happen to have some extreme kinks. Relationships can be difficult enough without throwing power exchange into the mix, and her books show characters who care enough about each other to fight to make the relationship work. Each couple in the Safeword series gives the reader a different take on the lifestyle.

You can visit Candace on the web at candaceblevins.com and feel free to friend her on Facebook at facebook.com/candacesblevins and Goodreads at goodreads.com/CandaceBlevins. You can also join facebook.com/groups/CandacesKinksters to get sneak peeks into what she's writing now, images that inspire her, and the occasional juicy teaser.

Tour giveaway 
5 ebook copies of The Dragon King. 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Book Review: Shadow Keeper (Shadow Riders #3) by Christine Feehan

Shadow Keeper (Shadow Riders #3)
by Christine Feehan
May 29, 2018
432 pages

Publisher: Berkley
One family brings its own brand of justice to the streets of Chicago's shadowy underworld as #1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan returns to a series hot enough to burn...


The paparazzi can't get enough of infamous bad boy Giovanni Ferraro. But unknown to them--and the women he beds--he's just playing a role. Keeping the spotlight on himself keeps it off the family business. And if this lethal shadow rider can't hunt in the dark, he'll find his pleasure elsewhere...

Sasha Provis grew up on a Wyoming ranch and thought she knew how to protect herself from predators. But in the nightclub where she works, she's fair game--until one of the owners steps in to protect her. Giovanni is gorgeous. He's dangerous. And his every touch takes her breath away.

The devil at her heels may have finally met its match...

Set in Chicago, the Shadow Riders series is a paranormal saga with crime family flair. The series follows the no-nonsense love and life adventures of the Ferraro family. Perceived mafia, the Ferraros live an outward life of privilege, but a private life of duty. Those within the sanctity of Ferraro territory can expect unparalleled protection and those who cross the Ferraros can expect unrivalled wrath. As riders of the shadows, the Ferraros can exact their stealthy vengeance with impunity.

Book three is the tale of Giovanni; a middle brother who has been sidelined from the action due to an earlier injury. Playing the role of lascivious playboy of leisure becomes a tiresome burden when Sasha sashays into Giovanni’s nightclub. Sasha, repulsed by Giovanni’s reputation, is a hardworking server uninterested by the lure of her darkly decadent boss. Soon, Sasha realizes there’s more to the Ferraros than she initially believed.

I love this series. Three books in and I’m as riveted as ever. With at least two sibling stories simmering on the backburner, anticipation is mounting. All three books have followed the same basic pattern with the same elements. The fact that I’m still hooked is a testament to Feehan’s effective storytelling. I’m still a little unclear on how the paranormal aspects of the story work; this element of the series is certainly nuanced. What’s not nuanced is the romance. The Ferraros – these dangerous, hardened assassins – fall hard and fast. As with any Feehan vehicle I’ve read, Shadow Keeper is rife with scenes of graphic, steamy sex between hard-bodied beauties with unparalleled sex drive. And if that’s not paranormal, I don’t know what is. Personally, I enjoy the ride.


Four Sheep




Bianca Greenwood

About the Author:
I write every day and have done so since I was old enough to pick up a pen. (I spent a lot of time getting in trouble at school for writing instead of doing the things I was supposed to do.) Once I create my characters, I try very hard to have them react to situations as they really would. Sometimes I have preconceived ideas of what I would like them to do, but they don't mind me, because it would be out of character for them. They take on a life of their own. Sometimes when I throw difficult situations at them in the hopes I'll get a certain reaction and they don't do what I want, I complain bitterly to my husband and he laughs at me. Still, it is important to me to have them be real, not perfect people, so they make mistakes we lesser mortals might make.


COMET TV Monster Summer Giveaway! Godzilla, Rodan, and Giant Gila Monsters! Oh, My!

Do you hear that… It sounds like… A… ROAR!

That’s because it’s MONSTER SUMMER! The biggest, baddest and most fire-breathing summer ever!

Starting on Memorial Day weekend and… All Summer Long… COMET TV is bringing the heat with Godzilla, Reptilicus, Mechagodzilla and even a few Astro-Monsters for good measure!

Typical summer activities generally include outdoor BBQs, trips to the beach, and taking dips in swimming pools, but Godzilla fans may choose to stay indoors this summer thanks to COMET’s “Monster Summer” event!

Every Sunday, Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day weekend, Monster Summer has it going on!

But we’re not going to leave you without a little something to beat the heat…
We want to give you the opportunity to have an awesome summer of your own! The COMET TV Monster Summer Prize Pack is perfect for catching some rays or stopping a fire-breathing beast!

(details at end of post)

About COMET Monster Summer 2018
Beginning May 27, COMET will be airing a double-header of classic monster movies every Sunday throughout the summer, with the first film each night featuring your favorite giant lizard and the second starring some lesser-known beasts. The Godzilla films featured run the gamut from his 1954 debut Gojira, to the silly Son of Godzilla, to the kaiju overload of Destroy All Monsters. As for the other monsters featured, you can look forward to campy classics like the King Kong/Frankenstein hybrid Konga, the Korean Godzilla equivalent Yongary, Monster from the Deep, and the legendary — thanks to Mystery Science Theater 3000 — Reptilicus.
https://www.comettv.com/

MONSTER SUMMER 
Sundays 8/7C
5/27 

Gojira 

Reptilicus
6/3 
Godzilla: King of the Monsters 
Phantom from 10,000 Leagues
6/10 
Godzilla vs. Monster Zero 
Creature of Destruction

6/17 
Terror of Mechagodzilla 
The Beast from Haunted Cave
6/24 
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 
Yongary, Monster From The Deep
7/1 
Destroy All Monsters 
Destroy All Planets
7/8 
Son of Godzilla 
Konga
7/15 
Godzilla vs. Megalon 
War of the Gargantuas
7/22 
Gojira 
Attack of the Monsters
7/29 
Destroy all Monsters 
Monster from a Prehistoric Planet
8/5 
Godzilla: King of the Monsters 
Monster from the Surf

8/12 
Godzilla vs. Monster Zero 
It's Alive!
8/19 
Terror of Mechagodzilla 
Voyage into Space
8/26 
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 
The Giant Gila Monster
9/2 
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II 
The Giant Claw

The Comet TV Monster Summer Prize Pack has:
1 - Limited Edition Monster Summer Beach Towel: Only available via this promotion, catch Godzilla having a blast with one of two designs. You’ll be the envy of your friends and have some extra protection if a monster comes from the depths to destroy the planet. Score!
1 - COMET TV Monster Summer SPF Pouch: Beat the rays with this Monster Summer SPF pouch. Apply liberally to ward off the sun, The Beast from the Haunted Cave, Rodan or any other variety of lizard-like beast.
1- COMET TV Cooler: Listen, even Godzilla needs a place to keep his brews chill. Let’s be honest, he needs to beat the heat at some point. I can see him carrying this cool-as-fire bag around to crack open a cold one.
1 - COMET TV Monster Summer Beach-Tastic Ball: Are you a ball-er? I hope so, cause you need to grab some buds, jump in the pool and play with this Godzilla Monster Summer Beach Ball. Groovy!
2 - Exclusive COMET TV Film Cards: See what COMET TV has this month, with these collector’s cards. Perfect for the Godzilla fan, the Monster-man, or the COMET TV junkie if your life!

Use #MonsterSummer and #CometTV to spread to the word on social!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Cover Reveal: Deepest Midnight (The Immortal Kindred Series Book One) by Clara Winter + giveaway

Deepest Midnight (The Immortal Kindred Series Book One)
by Clara Winter
June 25, 2018
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Inkspell Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-945910-64-7
Number of pages: 162
Word Count: 48,903
True love never dies

True love never dies. At least it doesn’t for Millicent, a once French noblewoman turned immortal vampire. Her big problem is that the love of her life was murdered before she was granted immortality. Forever is a long time to live in despair. 240 years later, she happens upon an English actor named Jack, who happens to look exactly like her dead lover.

Trying to figure out Jack’s true soul identity becomes complicated by her own uncertainty, Jack’s mortality, and the other man in Millicent’s life. Alexandre, her maker and companion, isn’t going to make it too easy for her. Millicent must decide if she’s going to continue to be led by others or take the reins and drive the outcome of her life.

Deepest Midnight is set in modern day Savannah, Ga with occasional glimpses back to 18th century France.




Excerpt:
“Go be miserable somewhere else, Millicent,” grumbles Alexandre.

It’s going to be one of those nights. Alexandre pulls me up and hands me my black leather clutch. He steers me toward the darkly stained front door of our antebellum Savannah home. Before opening the door, he bends down to put shoes on my feet, like I’m a child. If he wants me to brood elsewhere, I will. Alexandre appreciates people who are bright and cheery. His reason for tolerating my presence for so long is one of life’s many mysteries.

“We have all lost people we love, Mills. We go on. If you can’t ever learn to do the same, what’s the point?”

“Good question, what is the point?”

“You can choose to be happy again. I’m not sure how much longer I can stand to have you around like this. For tonight, go find something to distract your mind.”

I can’t blame Alexandre for wanting me to disappear this evening. The life of the party tires of the buzz kill. Thankfully, one of the many wonderful things about Savannah is the abundance of mysterious spots, all perfect for sulking. Secluded squares, thick with foliage dripping in Spanish moss, decaying alleyways lined with ancient cobblestone, and hidden stone staircases topped with wrought iron railings, all provide perfect places to hide away. My stormy mood, has long felt at home in this haunted city.


About the Author:
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Clara Winter grew up reading Anne of Green Gables, The Secret Garden, and Alice in Wonderland, while watching Buck Rogers, Star Trek, and Doctor Who. Writing her own stories naturally ensued. She is a wife, mother, and former school counselor, with a Master’s Degree in Counseling. Amy is from Colorado Springs, Co and currently resides in Mission Viejo, Ca.



Tour giveaway 
1 pair of Marie Antoinette Earrings from Dames a la Mode.

Monday, May 28, 2018

Blood Orbit: A Gattis File Novel by K. R. Richardson

The Greywalker series by Kat Richardson is one of my all-time favorite UF series. The last Greywalker novel, Revenant (GREYWALKER Book 9) released in 2014.
So I was happy to see a new series from Richardson. This one is a hard science fiction police procedural...not my normal read, but Richardson's writing is worth giving this a try!

Blood Orbit: A Gattis File Novel
by K. R. Richardson
May 8, 2018
495 pages
Publisher: Pyr
This science fiction police procedural pairs an idealistic rookie with an officer who uses cybernetic implants to process forensics; in solving a mass murder, they will uncover a vast conspiracy.

Eric Matheson, an idealistic rookie cop trying to break from his powerful family, is plunged into the investigation of a brutal crime in his first weeks on the job in Angra Dastrelas, the corrupt capital city of the corporate-owned planet Gattis. A newcomer to the planet, Matheson is unaware of the danger he's courting when he's promoted in the field to assist the controversial Chief Investigating Forensic Officer, Inspector J. P. Dillal, the planet's first cybernetically enhanced investigator. Coming from a despised ethnic underclass, the brilliant and secretive Dillal seems determined to unravel the crime regardless of the consequences. The deeper they dig, the more dangerous the investigation becomes. But in a system where the cops enforce corporate will, instead of the law, the solution could expose Gattis's most shocking secrets and cost thousands of lives--including Matheson's and Dillal's.



About the Author:

Greywalker website
Kat Richardson is the national bestselling author of the Greywalker paranormal detective novels. Prior to success in the fiction world, Kat worked as a writer and editor in the computer industry and as a course writer for the Gemological Institute of America. She has tried her hand at a bit of almost everything in genre fiction and has dabbled in other text forms and media including: RPGs, Film, and Computer Games. Before going into writing, Kat pursued a degree in vocal music and she used to read the “Sunday Funnies” for the Evergreen Radio Reading Service in Seattle–part of the Washington  Talking Book and Braille Library. A former theater brat, she worked the technical side as well as singing and acting in community and school theater from the age of eight–putting in almost a year as an orphan and doing a short stint as a singing nun–and put in thirteen years as a renaissance faire actor, dancer, and costumer at RPF in Agoura CA.

Kat is a California native with a degree in Magazine Journalism from California State University, Long Beach. She currently lives in the Seattle area with her husband and a pit bull named Bella. She rides a motorcycle, shoots target pistol, and has been known to swing dance, sing, and spend insufficient time at the gym. She finally got her first TV in 2011–yes, she missed Buffy but not Firefly! And, although she no longer lives there, she is an advocate for California Ferret Legalization.

Sunday, May 27, 2018

Sheep Movie Review: Solo: A Star Wars Story

Solo: A Star Wars Story
May 24, 2018
Directed by: Ron Howard
Screenplay by: Jonathan Kasdan, Lawrence Kasdan
Cast: 

Film Series: Star Wars Anthology Series
Music Composed By: John Williams, John Powell
Production Company: Lucasfilm, Disney Pictures

During an adventure into the criminal underworld, Han Solo meets his future copilot Chewbacca and encounters Lando Calrissian years before joining the Rebellion.

Han Solo is a young Corellian man seeking a way off the planet and from under the thumb of Lady Proxima (voiced by actress Linda Hunt), leader of the White Worms gang, who is after a hyperfuel known as coaxium. After getting his hands on some coaxium, he meets up with his girlfriend, Qi'ra and they try to escape. He bribes an Imperial officer with it and makes it through the gate, but Qi'ra doesn’t. Han promises to find a way to get her out. He enlists to become a pilot for the Empire (here we find out how he got his last name, Solo), but never one to listen to orders, he is kicked out of the academy for insubordination and ends up an Imperial infantryman, fighting in a war. After his troop is killed, he joins up with three thieves pretending to be infantrymen:
 Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson), his girlfriend Val (Thandie Newton), and the alien, Rio Durant (Jon Favreau). The three set out to rob an Imperial train for coaxium. Instead, they feed him to a beast, which happens to be none other than Chewbacca!

This is the first Star Wars film (other than the Ewoks TV films from the 80s) where the robots, C3PO and R2D2 don’t appear, not even for a second or two, though Anthology Daniels does play a part in the film. Nor Leia or Luke. But again, this is about Han’s past before they met him and Chewie (though we did see some of Chewie’s past on his home planet in Episode 3, Attack of the Clones).

Surprisingly, the movie wasn’t as bad as I feared. Actor Alden Ehrenreich wouldn’t have been my first choice to play Han, a part Harrison Ford did well and most memorably, it was obvious that the acting coach brought in helped and he did a better job than anyone would have thought. Chewie was done well, even though not played by Peter Mayhew this time around. But Chewie, younger than he was in Star Wars: A New Hope, actor Joonas Suotamo did the mannerisms and personality of Chewie right. Actor Danny Glover made a great Lando Calrissian. Many of the things Han mentions to Luke or Leia, happen in this film like how he won the Millennium Falcon from Lando to how he did the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs.

Redoing the whole film after taking over the reins from the previously fired directors, and a new script written, director Ron Howard did better than many could have. Between him, Lawrence Kasdan (wrote the screenplay for Empire Strikes Back—still the best of the Star Wars films) and his son rewriting the new script, like I said in the beginning, the film was better than I’d expected. Sadly, coming not long after the badly done Star Wars: The Last Jedi, maybe even Star Wars fatigue with so much Star Wars, it may not get much of a chance.

I gave Solo: A Star Wars Story 4 “May the Force Be With You” sheep.





Pamela K. Kinney

Author Stephen Zimmer: The naming of weapons in epic fantasy

Fantasy author Stephen Zimmer talks about his character
Ragnar Stormbringer and his Axe—Raven Caller.
And gives I Smell Sheep a proper Kentucky toast!

Depths of Night: A Ragnar Stormbringer Tale
by Stephen Zimmer
April 4, 2018

82 pages
Publisher: Seventh Star Press; 1 edition
After a harrowing end to a long sea journey, the famed northern warrior Ragnar Stormbringer and a force of warriors step ashore in the lands of the Petranni, a tribal people known for their workings in silver and gold. The search for plunder takes a sharp turn when homesteads, villages, and temple sites show signs of being recently abandoned.

When it is discovered that the Petranni have all taken refuge within a massive stronghold, Ragnar and the others soon fall under the shadow of an ancient, deadly adversary. Wielding his legendary war axe Raven Caller, Ragnar finds his strength tested like never before.


About the author:
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Stephen Zimmer is an award-winning author and filmmaker based out of Lexington Kentucky. His works include the Rayden Valkyrie novels (Sword and Sorcery), the Rising Dawn Saga (Cross Genre), the Fires in Eden Series (Epic Fantasy), the Hellscapes short story collections (Horror), the Chronicles of Ave short story collections (Fantasy), the Harvey and Solomon Tales (Steampunk), and the forthcoming Faraway Saga (YA Dystopian/Cross-Genre).

Stephen’s visual work includes the feature film Shadows Light, shorts films such as The Sirens and Swordbearer, and the forthcoming Rayden Valkyrie: Saga of a Lionheart TV Pilot.

Stephen is a proud Kentucky Colonel who also enjoys the realms of music, martial arts, good bourbons, and spending time with family.

Tour Schedule and Activities
5/21 Beauty in Ruins https://beauty-in-ruins.blogspot.com/ Guest Post
5/21 Literary Underworld literaryunderworld.com Guest Post
5/22 Sapphyria's Books https://saphsbooks.blogspot.com/ Review
5/22 The Horror Club thehorrorclubblog.wordpress.com Review
5/23 Oak Hill RPG Club wordpress.com/oakhillrpgclub Review
5/23 Breakeven Books https://breakevenbooks.com Interview
5/23 Bookwraiths http://www.bookwraiths.com Guest Post
5/24 MyLifeMyBooksMyEscape http://mylifemybooksmyescape.wordpress.com Author Interview
5/24 Ally Books and Reviews https://allybooksandreviews.blogspot.com/ Guest Post
5/25 Sheila's Guests and Reviews http://sheiladeeth.blogspot.com Author Interview and Guest Post
5/25 The Book Lover's Boudoir https://thebookloversboudoir.wordpress.com/ Review
5/26 I Smell Sheep http://www.ismellsheep.com/ VLOG
5/27 MightyThorJRS Fantasy Book News and Reviews https://mightythorjrs.com/ Guest Post
5/27 Jazzy Book Reviews http://bookreviewsbyjasmine.blogspot.com Top 10 List

Saturday, May 26, 2018

New Release: Chasing the Light A Benefit Anthology of Speculative Fiction

Chasing the Light
A Benefit Anthology of Speculative Fiction
Chasing the Light: A Benefit Anthology of Speculative Fiction
by Melanie S Griffin, Emily Lavin Leverett (Editor), Faith Hunter, David B Coe, John G Hartness, Lillian Archer, Amy Bauer, Alex Gideon, Margaret S McGraw, Mindy Mymudes, Ken Schrader, Laura S Taylor, Janet Walden-West
May 23, 2018
280 pages
Roaring Writers Press
http://themillionwords.net/
Once upon a time, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Faith Hunter and award-winning authors David B. Coe and John G. Hartness agreed to mentor a group of rising authors—the Roaring Writers. Chasing the Light—with tales across the spectrum of science fiction and fantasy—is their celebration of success. 

It is also a tribute honoring Melanie Otto (AKA Melanie Griffin), one of the founding authors, who died unexpectedly in 2016. Melanie critiqued many of these stories at the Roaring Writers' annual writing retreats, and the authors will never forget Melanie's sparkling eyes and delighted laugh as she found passages she loved in each. With this collection, including stories by Melanie, the Roaring Writers share her light with readers everywhere.

Thanks to the generosity of their mentors and contributors, all profits from the sales of this anthology will be donated to help Melanie's lifelong partner defray medical and legal costs.

Melanie Susan Otto 
February 12, 1967 - October 28, 2016