Mind Sieve 12/16/22

Table of Contents

News/Musings DTN Swap 1
Mini Movie/Show Reviews Movie/TV Show Previews
StoryOrigin Swap 2 Just for Fun!
It’s Cold Outside Group Promo Magical Winter Fantasy Group Promo

 

 

Greetings!

I’ll say it again at the end, but just in case! Happy Holidays! ❄

The last couple of days have definitely become colder and better fit the season. No snow yet this year, but you never know. 😊

 

 

News/Musings

I’ve dutifully been going to the chiropractor every week and this past weekend I went places! Woot! Not trying to go crazy or anything, but it was awesome to get out for a while. Yay!

Had a minor setback as some dried split pea soup mix the kids had gotten from Matt’s side of the family affected both John and me. No idea what in that set it off. The kids had no issues with it, just us. Weirdness!
I switched up my schedule and do what I used to do when I was working full time—1 hour plus of writing before looking at email, the phone, or anything. Read an ebook by an author who cranks out 5K words an hour by doing sprints. ( 🤯 Mind-blowing, right?)

I doubt I will ever reach that level, but it definitely has helped me hit 1K words a day! Look out Secret Humankind, you’re going to get finished soon! Bwahahahahahahaha!
Being able to put out two to three books a year would be fabulous!
I also finally updated the Black Jade and The JOY of Murder Audiobook samples with the new covers. You can see them below.

Black Jade was narrated by Tom Briggs, and the JOY of Murder by Brandon S. Borko.
Do you listen to audiobooks? I don’t, no time, but hubby likes to on occasion. If you do, check out the samples below.  😋

Funky Trivia Time!

J. Arens, one of the authors in this week’s newsletter swap, sent me something she’d heard about that I might use at some point in a murder mystery. Here goes:

The wings of Monarch Butterflies are poisonous! ☠

I did some quick research to see what was what as I’d not heard that before. From what I gather, Monarch Butterflies eat the poisonous plant Milkweed and turn it into a substance that then coats the scales of their wings to protect them from predators. (Butterflies have scales?! Something else I didn’t know!)

One lone butterfly does not have enough poison on its own to harm a human. But it does open the imagination a bit, no? (Butterflies 🦋 are dragons 🐉! Yeah!)

 

Extra stuff I’ve shoved in here:

1) Dream Team Network Swap (UBL)

2) StoryOrigin Swap (Freebie!)

3) It’s Cold Outside Group Promo

4) Magical Winter Fantasy Group Promo

 

More deets on all of these in their sections. 😊

 

Dream Team Network Swap 1 (UBL)

Dream Team Network Swap 1 (UBL)

The Silence Broken

In a time of the Great Depression, Olivia Wainwright is The District Detective. Not a job for just anyone, much less a girl in her early twenties, working as the first line of defense between the good, honest people of Big Town and the three crime families that over run The District.

Getting used to a partner, even at the best of times, is a lifestyle change. There’s a new player in town, someone lurking in the shadows. Someone is stirring up the delicate balance of The District. Pitting one mob boss against the other.

No one knows who’s pulling the strings. Not the men running the crime families, not the police, not even Olli knows who’s creating the stifling silence over The District. And it seems no one is safe, not even the cops that patrol Big Town’s safer streets.

Tempers flaring and personality clashes aside, people are dying in Big Town, and Olli has to play well with others and fast.

None of that matters when people are dying.

By the time all the pieces start to make sense, the outcome shocks Olli to her very core.

The Silencer has been in Big Town all along. And in a place where they would have never thought to look.
Civilized Big Town.

Mini Movie/TV Reviews 🎥

★ – Why did I go see this? Why?!

★★ – Showed promise but on execution, crashed

★★★ – Enjoyable, just don’t look under the hood too closely

★★★★ – A great film, totally worth seeing!

★★★★★ – 🤯 Too fabulous for words!

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

A truly wonderful film in several respects, especially for not replacing actor Chadwick Boseman after his untimely death, but acknowledging that he can’t be replaced by making the character he brought to life die as well. The execution of the first few minutes of the film was masterful. Kudos! They also brought in a character I had adored in the 80s and had forgotten about—Prince Namor the Submariner. In the comics he was a mutant with mixed human and Atlantean blood – so his roots have been heavily changed for this film, though they did keep his essential attitudes intact. Ignoring that, the movie was a lot of fun and dealt with multiple themes having to do with family, grief, and tradition. There were a couple of items that were obviously ignored for plot convenience but won’t detract too much from the overall enjoyment.

Rating: ★★★★.5 out of 5 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price to See Again!)

 

Surreal Estate

Surreal Estate

I missed this one when it went by on the SYFY channel and caught it purely by chance on Hulu. Well worth checking out. This quirky series was a lot of fun as it mixes unexpected things together. The real estate company is serious about real estate. Luke Roman brings up a PowerPoint presentation and warns the client it’s a scary slide (he’s just helped her out of her house after something inside came after her) and it’s a graphic of 30% loss of equity and value on properties labeled as having supernatural issues. ROFL. A quirky group of characters, unexpected surprises, and real estate. (Just saw they are going to get a season 2! Yay!)

Rating: ★★★.75 out of 5 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission!)

 

Under the Queen's Umbrella

Under the Queen's Umbrella

For the last several years hubby and I have been watching Korean and Chinese comedies and dramas. We super enjoyed this one. All the heartwarming, backstabbing, politic-filled shenanigans you might ever want. Kim Hye-su (the Queen) has brow raising down to an art! I’ve seen Kim Hae-sook (Queen Dowager) in two or three other shows and she is fabulously evil in this one.

The story centers around the Queen and her unruly sons and the escalating machinations of the Queen Dowager and the First Consort. (The Queen Dowager is the Emperor’s mother, the Queen his wife, and the First through Fifth Consorts are the emperor’s concubines.) Most of the trouble is caused by the pecking order and perceived slights due to the degrees of royal blood/lineage. I would never survive! Lol.

Rating: ★★★★.25 out of 5 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission!)

 

Wednesday

Wednesday

We had been looking forward to this one a lot! We weren’t disappointed. The series was a total blast. I wish we’d seen more of Lurch, but they made up for it with Thing. Loved all the interaction there. He can’t talk, but he can definitely communicate. Jenna Ortega was a wonderful Wednesday. Unexplained murders plague the town where the academy is located. Mysteries and secrets abound, and Wednesday meets her greatest challenge when her roommate turns out to be a bubbly and colorful girl who likes to hug! Some serious themes but also a lot of fun stuff. I hope they do a season 2!

Rating: ★★★★ out of 5 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission!)

 

Movie/TV Previews 🎥

The Three Musketeers Movie Trailer – with Eva Green as Mylady! Squee! Their doing it in two parts, so this might give the book actual justice! (If you’ve never read the novel by Dumas, I totally recommend it!)

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny – I can’t believe that after the horror that was Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull they’re actually going to do another one! Eek! (I will not get excited, I will NOT get excited!)

1923 Paramount TV Series – this has got all sorts of Big Names in it! Wow! (Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, Timothy Dalton, Jerome Flynn, and more!

StoryOrigin Swap 2 (Freebie)

StoryOrigin Swap 2 (Freebie)

Triangle – All in a Half Hour

A Tribute to the Victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.

30 minutes.

A fire gaining fuel and power. A factory full of workers with limited ways to escape. Who will prevail?

This is a true story of some of the heroes and victims from the Triangle fire. Learn what really happened that day and experience this historical event firsthand.

Details came from research and firsthand accounts. A moving true story of survival and tragedy.

Just for Fun!

How Top Gun Maverick Should Have Ended Video – same guys that did the Dr. Strange One and the Multiverse a while back. *warning: some bad language* I laughed at several of the scenarios. 😋

Just in time for the holidays! Simon’s Cat – Tree Trouble

If Baby Yoda was a Cat (Mandalorian + OwlKitty) – too cute! Lol. I couldn’t resist. 😁

Its Cold Outside-Get Cozy Group Promo

Looking for a cozy mystery to curl up with this winter? Check out our December group promo! It’s Cold Outside—Get Cozy!

Magical Winter Fantasy Group Promo

Escape the hustle and bustle of the holiday season with a Magical Winter Fantasy read! Whether you’re looking for dragons, elves, or wizards, we’ve got the perfect book for you. Come take a look!

Happy Holidays Banner from Gloria Oliver

Wishing you and yours the most awesome of holiday seasons!

Till next time!

Gloria