Mind Sieve 11/17/23

News/Musings	StoryOrigin Swap 1
Mini Movie/Show Reviews	StoryOrigin Swap 2
Movie/TV Show Previews	Just for Fun!
Escape the Holidays with Free Sci-Fi Books Group Promo	It’s a Puzzling Mystery! Group Promo

The weather here can’t make up its mind. Hot, cold, hot, cold, and everything in between. We’ve had rain, we’ve had dry days, we’ve had pollen! (Ugh my poor head!) Should be thrilling to see what we get next. 😝

News/Musings

Everyone at home has been feeling under the weather, off and on, for the last couple of weeks. 😱 I hope the weather settles down into a routine soon, but this time of year, it does tend to be a weather seesaw.

I think only hubby caught a slight cold. For the rest of us, it has been sinus/allergy-related misery. 🤧

Hope you and yours have been staying healthy!

Writing news

The Prince and Dai is complete! Sucker is in the editor’s queue. My poor editor has to have a minor procedure and is also going through some medicine changes, so keep her in your prayers (or send good vibes her way) so she can get through all that with minimal fuss.

I’ll keep you posted on the edits! (I’ll start sharing teasers then! Bwahahahaha!)

I am up to chapter six of Book 2 of the Discoveries of Julia Xero – The Secret Aftermath. I look forward to all the trouble the characters will be getting into whether they want to or not. Being a writer is EVIL! Hee! 😈

Now, for your viewing pleasure… I thought I’d share the interior title pages for both Music of Death Blues and The Prince and Dai. And their Cover Reveals!

Title Page for the Music of Death Blues - Book 3 of the Daiyu Wu Mysteries Guitar by Valter Bispo from TheNounProject
Title page for The Prince and Dai - prequel short of the Daiyu Wu Mysteries

Yorkshire terrier by 장희 이 from TheNounProject

Music of Death Blues - Book 3 of the Daiyu Wu Mysteries

The Prince and Dai - prequel short for the Daiyu Wu Mysteries

Extra stuff I’ve shoved in here:

1) StoryOrigin Swap 1 (UBL)

2) StoryOrigin Swap 2 (UBL)

3) Escape the Holidays with Free Sci-Fi Books Group Promo

4) It’s a Puzzling Mystery! Group Promo

More deets on all of these in their sections. 😊

StoryOrigin Swap 1 (UBL)

A Grave Mistake

Quirky characters. An enchanting town. A cat that talks. This bestselling magical mystery series has it all, like you’ve never read before!

Welcome to Crystal Beach, an enchanting town with a dangerous secret.

With another resident now six feet under and her dad’s neck on the line for murder, Sidney knows there’s been a grave mistake. Now, this witch must act quickly to clear his name and reveal the real danger lurking in this cozy beach town.

Guided by her grandmother’s wisdom, Sidney evokes the spirits to ask for guidance. But a surprise spectral figure joins the séance, and Sidney must convince this unlikely helper to aid them in solving the murder.

To complicate things, her father’s arrest strains her relationship with the chief of police, and navigating these murky waters won’t be easy. Though Sidney yearns to rekindle their romantic connection, family comes first, and Chief Reece isn’t going to budge for love.

Can this psychic witch find a way to peer into the past, revealing the clues she needs to locate the real killer? What secret does her magical feline unearth in the garden? And can they discover the evidence needed to free her father?

Join Sidney, her talking cat, and the unforgettable residents of Crystal Beach in A Grave Mistake, the eighth installment of the Crystal Beach Magic Mystery Series.

Get cozy, grab your copy, and immerse yourself in this spellbinding mystery adventure today!

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!

The Marvels

Before you watch this, you should see Wanda Vision and the Miss Marvel limited series (And Hawkeye’s to get the end sequence snippet), or you will be lost as to where two (three) of the characters came from. Rather than show quick flashbacks to introduce Captain Rambeau’s powers origin or Kamala’s, you’re left to fend for yourselves. Worse, the continuity from Miss Marvel to The Marvels falls apart as well.

The Good – great special effects, fantastic acting from most of the cast, some innovative thinking, several hilarious moments, and decent fights.

The Bad – I am sorry to say that chunks of the script were pretty shallow, and things did not make cohesive sense regarding the bad guy, and no amount of awesome acting or special effects could save it. It didn’t help that a lot of the foundation put down in the Miss Marvel limited series was chucked out the window and changed to whatever they needed. It didn’t help that they had Kamala not only use powers when she didn’t have her bracelet, but later though she got both of them, they only showed her with one. Uhm…

Rating: ★★★ out of 5 Hubby’s Rating: Better for Matinee

Freelancer

This film is a GEM! It’s disappeared from theaters already, which is horribly sad. Though it looks like it will be a typical comedy/action flick full of the usual devices, it isn’t! This sucker has some nice depth and layers to it, and also turns several misconceptions (or cliched items) on their heads. Some red herrings, too! Just when you think they’re about to pull the usual (insert item here), they don’t! So refreshing! It has poignant moments, good action, lots of craziness, fidelity (if you can believe it!), and more!

Definitely worth a watch!

Rating: ★★★★.25 out of 5 Hubby’s Rating: Worth the Price of Admission

StoryOrigin Swap 2 (UBL)

The Fae Shifters Omnibus

A coming-of-age story filled with fantasy, adventure, and romance.

Liz thinks she is a typical woman working herself into the ground. After taking a leap of faith for a better life she moves to her grandmother’s old cabin. Things are going swell until she uncovers the family secret hidden in the woods.
As her world is turned upside down, she finds herself holding a position of power in the local mountain lion shifter clan and then as a princess of the Fae. Enemies seem to lurk in every corner from a jealous sibling to a power-hungry ancient being.

Follow along in the first four books of the Fae Shifters series as Liz, her mates, and her friends, fight to bring peace and balance to the realms.