Tag: Blog Hops’
Secondary Characters Blog Hop
- by Suzi
Scroll down for today’s The Big Reveal posting
Thank you to Rachel Schieffelbein for bringing us this fun blog hop. And congratulations on your soon-to-be-released story, Secondary Characters. And thank you also to all these lovely co-hosts: Theresa Paolo, Kelley Lynn, Jessica Saylor, Jenny Morris
Cassie Mae
Sometimes secondary characters steal the show, (or the book) and become our favorites. Whether it’s the funny best friend or that goofy kid next door,
we want to know what secondary characters
you just couldn’t get enough of and why.
I’ve got a few characters I’d like to mention.
First is my own character. Which unfortunately is in an unpublished novel, so it’s not available to read.
Murphy from THE PROPER WAY TO SAY GOODBYE. He is the best friend of my main character Chloe. He is a totally sweet guy—not the hottest one, not the wittiest, but loyal and caring. But I’m biased of course. And I hope you all will be able to meet him someday an love him just as much as I do.
Another character I really liked was Laura from CLAWS by Will Weaver. She’s a spunky girl, tough on the outside, but hurting on the inside. The main character was Jed, and the book was good, but I also think the story would’ve been fun to hear from her pov.
This is an old one, and it’s from a movie, but I’m going to go with Chunk from THE GOONIES. He’s the chubby-funny kid, pictured on the right, kneeling down.
I was a kid when this movie came out and loved it. I watched it recently with my kids, and I still laughed. Chunk is a riot, and he’s got several great scenes. He’s the kind of kid who isn’t necessarily trying to be funny, but is. A little dopey, but he makes you laugh and is a good, loyal friend.
So I know you probably haven’t read THE PROPER WAY, but have you seen THE GOONIES or read CLAWS?
Here is the linky list to go check out the others.
Secondary Characters Blog Hop
- by Suzi
Whether it’s the funny best friend or that goofy kid next door,
we want to know what secondary characters
you just couldn’t get enough of and why.
Theresa Paolo, Kelley Lynn, Jessica Saylor, Jenny Morris
Rachel is also planning on giving away a three chapter critique along with an ebook of Secondary Characters, which releases on May 28th.
Cassie Mae and Kelley Lynn will also pick a winner to get either an ebook of
Reasons I Fell for the Funny Fat Friend,
or a signed copy of Fraction of Stone.
So sign up on the linky list below and start thinking about your favorite secondary characters!
A to Z Reflections
- by Suzi
I had a lot of fun with my first A to Z. I will definitely be doing it again next year. It was a lot of work trying to get around to other blogs, and to the people who stopped by mine, but I met a lot of interesting bloggers and added many new blogs to Feedly. (I’ve switched from Google Reader to Feedly since GR will be shutting down soon. So far am liking the change.)
So, if you read any of my A to Z, you’d know my posts were about horror movies. I’m no movie critic, but I’ve always like horror movies and books. (And someday hope to write a horror story).
About half of these movie I’d seen before, about half were new.
Here is a summary.
Children of the Corn is/was one of my favorites. That hasn’t changed.
Motel Hell is another longtime favorite that also takes the cheese.
Babysitter Wanted, a new one, isn’t a favorite, but I got a big kick out of the cheese.
Virus was new to me, and I’m glad I saw it.
Kill Theory is a new favorite.
Flu Bird and Zombie Strippers are both worthless. I shouldn’t even be repeating their name. 
I really don’t have one ‘favorite’ type of horror. I’ve probably seen more slasher flicks, but I like psychological horrors, paranormal, alien, monster. Whatever… I like it all.
Sadly enough, I got an theme idea for next year’s challenge. Good in some ways, but bad cause for the next 11 months, when inspiration strikes, I’ll have to write down my ideas so I don’t forget. I suppose that’s better than trying to pull it together at the end.
Thank you to all the wonderful people who put together A to Z and keep it running. And congratulations to all those who made it through, and I’ll see you next year. (Or hopefully sooner.)
A to Z – Zombie Strippers
- by Suzi
Last October after watching all the movies on TV before Halloween, I got the idea to do an A to Z on horror movies. I also have a story premise in the back of my head involving horror movies, so this fits into my research for that. So I’m going to talk about random horror movies.
First, I am no film critic, just a person who likes horror movies. And second, some of the posts may contain spoilers. So you have been warned.
Zombie Strippers! (2008)
IMDb Summary: In the not too distant future a secret government re-animation chemo-virus gets released into conservative Sartre, Nebraska and lands in an underground strip club. As the virus begins to spread, turning the strippers into “Super Zombie Strippers” the girls struggle with whether or not to conform to the new “fad” even if it means there’s no turning back.
Cheese factor: High
Gore factor: High
Creep factor: Low
Could it happen? No
Last A to Z post. Gotta go out with a bang. I knew what I was getting into renting this one. Technically it’s rated a horror and comedy. But it’s so flipping ridiculous, it’s one of those movies that make you wish you could get that 90 minutes back. But hey, I watched it for A to Z purposes. Would’ve never rented it otherwise.
There were some funny parts. It starts sometime in the future as George W. Bush (and his VP Arnold Schwarzenegger) is in his fourth term. (Yes, fourth.) He dissolves Congress so they can continue fighting wars in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Venezuela, France and Alaska.
So there were plenty of jokes about that. And the man who spreads the zombie virus, his name is Byrdflough. Say it aloud if it doesn’t click.
And at the end, the military people sent to kill the zombies find the scientist/doctor from the beginning. They say, “It was you.”
“Yes, and…” And he goes into his Scooby Doo monologue; you know where the villain always admits how he did his bad deeds. That was terrific.
So there were things that made me laugh, but there were more over-the-top gore and ridiculous situations. Especially with the zombies eating people, creating more zombies. But I’m pretty sure this movie wasn’t meant to be much more than a cheesy spoof.
This one gets a big don’t-waste-your-time eye roll from me. Well unless you like stupid cheesy crap like this.
Seen any good ‘Z’ zombie movies?
A to Z is done. I’m outta here.
A to Z – Yoga
- by Suzi
Last October after watching all the movies on TV before Halloween, I got the idea to do an A to Z on horror movies. I also have a story premise in the back of my head involving horror movies, so this fits into my research for that. So I’m going to talk about random horror movies.
First, I am no film critic, just a person who likes horror movies. And second, some of the posts may contain spoilers. So you have been warned.
Yoga (2009)
IMDb Summary: None
My little summary: a woman goes to an exclusive yoga studio to put her life on a better track and weird stuff starts to happen. (Great summary huh. You’d never guess I was a writer from that example.)
Cheese factor: Low
Gore factor: Low
Creep factor: Low
Could it happen? No
So did you catch the title of this one? Not very original or exciting, huh? There’s a reason. And I didn’t figure it out until I started watching the movie because I missed a few key words on the case.
This is a Korean file with… subtitles.
Unfortunately you lose some of the creep factor due to translating those subtitles. And I had a hard time keeping track of names and people because I’m not familiar with Korean names. And several of the girls looked the same. A few were varied. One with bangs. One with wavy locks. One with short hair. But the majority of women were all pretty, skinny and with long black hair.
Subtitles are interesting of course. The words they chose. I got a kick out of a few lines. (These are not exact quotes cause I didn’t rewind to get them.)
• I was wearing you out all this time.
This was said by a guy to his girlfriend when she was telling him she needed a break. I’m not quite getting the connection. And he wasn’t talking sex.
• Why is your phone dead?
This was said by the boyfriend to his girl, as she’s talking on said phone. Obviously it’s not dead, he’s talking to her.
• You’re a free loading bum.
Said by one girl to another. Second girl is apparently in a band only cause she’s pretty. And she can’t sing. So the whole band is carrying her weight. That one made me laugh.
All in all, it was okay. Would’ve been better if I didn’t have to rely on subtitles. Oh well.
So you ever see any good Korean films lately?
A to Z – X Rays
- by Suzi
Last October after watching all the movies on TV before Halloween, I got the idea to do an A to Z on horror movies. I also have a story premise in the back of my head involving horror movies, so this fits into my research for that. So I’m going to talk about random horror movies.
First, I am no film critic, just a person who likes horror movies. And second, some of the posts may contain spoilers. So you have been warned.
X Rays (1900)
IMDb Summary: A professor is seen applying the X-ray to a patient. While the instrument is in operation the man’s skeleton leaves his body and his clothes sink to the floor. The professor becomes frightened and hurriedly restores his patient to his normal state, and during a heated argument over the price to be paid, they engage in a scuffle, overturn the table on which the apparatus is placed and the tube exploding affords great excitement and surprises.
Oh, I wish, I wish I could’ve found this video. I so wanted to see it, but alas, it’s nowhere to be found.
And yes, that’s not a misprint. That’s 1900. Do you know how hard it is to find a horror movie that starts with X? (And trying not to cheat with a THE?)
You can presume pretty hard since I posted a silent black and white movie from 1900. But even though I couldn’t find X Rays, I found another in the same time period, it just has THE in the title. It’s only 45 seconds long and is kinda funny, so check it out.
The X-Ray Fiend (1897)
Oh, how far we come in a century of movie making.
A to Z – Wicked Little Things
- by Suzi
Last October after watching all the movies on TV before Halloween, I got the idea to do an A to Z on horror movies. I also have a story premise in the back of my head involving horror movies, so this fits into my research for that. So I’m going to talk about random horror movies.
First, I am no film critic, just a person who likes horror movies. And second, some of the posts may contain spoilers. So you have been warned.
Wicked Little Things (2006)
IMDb Summary: Karen, Sarah, and Emma Tunney are all moving to a small town in Pennsylvania where, unknown to them, in 1913, a horrid mine accident trapped dozens of children alive, underground. But there’s a problem. They’re still alive.
Cheese factor: Low
Gore factor: Medium
Creep factor: High
Could it happen? No
The beginning of this movie was good, giving us the setup. A bunch of poor kids forced to work in a mine in the early part of the century are killed because of the greedy miners. Then it jumps ahead to present day.
One thing that made me go, huh? The mom who moves her 2 daughters up to a lonely mountain house that she’s never seen, and that nobody has lived in for decades. Then she’s surprised the water and electricity don’t just turn on. Hmmm.
And there’s a ‘bad guy,’ who of course wants to kick everybody off the land to develop it into a resort, and he gets his due. (Killed by the kinda dead mine children) I am normally a fan of developers, because you know… they create work for us civil engineers. But this one was an ass.
And the little girl (daughter), who makes friends with one of the dead mine kids. Who were kinda of creepy after being dead for all those years.
The setting was good—the deep dark and spooky woods. Actually it was beautiful. Serene. Well except for the dead mine kids.
I did like this movie, although there were some stupid things about it. Wasn’t great—could’ve been so much better, but wasn’t horrible either.
Other W movies I recommend: Wrong Turn: don’t watch if you don’t like gore or gratuitous violence
A to Z – Virus
- by Suzi
Last October after watching all the movies on TV before Halloween, I got the idea to do an A to Z on horror movies. I also have a story premise in the back of my head involving horror movies, so this fits into my research for that. So I’m going to talk about random horror movies.
First, I am no film critic, just a person who likes horror movies. And second, some of the posts may contain spoilers. So you have been warned.
Virus (1999)
IMDb Summary: When the crew of an American tugboat boards an abandoned Russian research vessel, the alien life form aboard regards them as a virus which must be destroyed.
Cheese factor: Low
Gore factor: Medium
Creep factor: Medium
Could it happen? No.
This one is classified as horror/thriller/action and has some big name stars: Jamie Lee Curtis, William Baldwin, and Donald Sutherland.
A terrific concept. The alien life takes over robots, anything mechanical, and massacres everybody because the humans are the virus. It takes place on the ocean in the middle of nowhere, so obviously help does not come quickly.
This movie is more of an thriller/horror, so the drama is higher with lots of action. But there’s still lots of blood and death. And I’ve always like Jamie Lee Curtis; she’s terrific in this one too.
I enjoyed this movie. Have you seen it? Do you prefer this type of horror as opposed to serial killer type movies?
A to Z – Texas Chainsaw Massacre
- by Suzi
Last October after watching all the movies on TV before Halloween, I got the idea to do an A to Z on horror movies. I also have a story premise in the back of my head involving horror movies, so this fits into my research for that. So I’m going to talk about random horror movies.
First, I am no film critic, just a person who likes horror movies. And second, some of the posts may contain spoilers. So you have been warned.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
IMDb Summary: Five friends visiting their grandpa’s old house are hunted down and terrorized by a chainsaw wielding killer and his family of grave-robbing cannibals.
Cheese factor: low
Gore factor: low
Creep factor: high
Could it happen? yes
TCM is another horror classic that most people have probably heard of. It’s been a while since I’ve seen this one, but I remember watching the original in high school. There’s been a number of remakes and sequels. And would you believe there is now a TCM 3D? I’m not sure if it’s the original or a sequel cause I haven’t seen it. But it’d be fun to see.
So here are some things about this movie.
It may surprise those who haven’t see TCM, that there isn’t a lot of blood and gore in this movie. It surprised me, especially with its reputation. But there isn’t. Maybe a little splattered, but that’s it.
Even though there isn’t much gore, there are many cringe-worthy scenes. Like when the girl stumbles into the room decorated with human bones and teeth all over the floor. And yet, she kept looking around the room rather than running. Of course, she died.
When the last girl alive is held captive by the cannibal family. She’s forced to sit at the dinner table while they eat and then they let a barely live Grandpa, who looks like a mummy, drink the blood from her cut finger. Ewwwww.
I have to admit, that scene was kinda funny though. They were trying to get Grandpa to kill her with a hammer and he could barely hold the thing without dropping it. You probably have to see it to appreciate the humor.
The one annoying thing about this movie is the screaming, screaming, and more screaming. The only character left alive at the end has to endure several chase scenes. And she won’t shut up during that time, and when she’s at the dinner table being forced to feed Grandpa her blood… she screams. Of course I probably would too.
Despite the endless screaming, I would recommend TCM. It’s totally creepy, and would be okay for those who can’t stand gore. So definitely check it out. Again with sequels, it’s hit or miss. I watched #2. What a flipping waste of time. Stupid, so stupid. But the original is a must see.
Have you seen any of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies? If you’ve seen the 3D version, let me know what it was like, cause I probably won’t pay the money to see it at the theaters.
A to Z – Silent House
- by Suzi
Last October after watching all the movies on TV before Halloween, I got the idea to do an A to Z on horror movies. I also have a story premise in the back of my head involving horror movies, so this fits into my research for that. So I’m going to talk about random horror movies.
First, I am no film critic, just a person who likes horror movies. And second, some of the posts may contain spoilers. So you have been warned.
Silent House (2011)
IMDb Summary: Trapped inside her family’s lakeside retreat, a young woman finds she is unable to contact the outside world as events become increasingly ominous in and around the house.
Cheese factor: low
Gore factor: low
Creep factor: medium
Could it happen? nope
So I got the movie from the video store. Sounded familiar, but you know, I’ve been looking at a lot of video’s lately. Took me about 20 minutes into the show before I remembered I’d seen it. Not a good sign.
The movie has a terrific premise, and it could’ve been really good, but I wanted to tear my hair out. I complained about Quarantine, that I didn’t like watching movies that are so dark you can’t hardly see what’s going on. Hello, Silent House director. Half a movie in the dark does not a good movie make.
Okay, I didn’t go through and time it all, but I figure that about ¼ of the movie was between too dark to see much and the blackness. Not just darkened… total blackness. The girl spends a lot of time running around the creepy house, feeling her way around cause she can’t see. And she’s freaking out cause stuff is happening. Stuff you don’t ever see. That totally annoyed me.
Sorry, Silent House, you get the thumbs down. And I’ll make sure I never get this one again. For a 3rd time.
One other time I rented a movie I’d already seen. Another horror. A totally cheesy bad horror that had an appealing cover—which was why I grabbed it. Have you ever started watching a movie and then realized you’d already seen it?
Other S movies I recommend: Stag Night and Saw: don’t watch if you can’t handle gore, Scream: loved this, Sinister: an interesting psychological horror, the last scene is the best, The Strangers: creepy, creepy, creepy, The Shining: another Stephen King classic
