Sunday, September 30, 2012

Because Lists Are Fun, And Always Wrong...

Mike's Official Top Five List of Female-Driven Action Movies (Favorites are listed first):

1: Aliens.  Growing up, I had two idols: one was Schwarzenegger, and the other was Ripley.  This is one of my all-time favorite movies. 

2: Terminator 2: Judgment Day.  More James Cameron.  More awesome.  Linda Hamilton is basically what I was going for when I wrote the character of Sam in TRY NOT TO BURN.  A tough-as-nails female survivor with a ponytail and a big gun.  Plus, the movie's got Arnold in it, too, which doesn't hurt.

3: The Descent.  (Possibly more horror than action, but I'm counting it, since it's my arbitrary list, and I can do what I want with it.)  I really dig this movie, even though it's pretty messed up.  On a side note, this is likely the movie that made me claustrophobic.

4: Kill Bill Parts 1 and 2.  Because this list wouldn't be complete without it.  Or them.  Whatever.

5: Domino.  I found some parts of the movie a bit off-putting, but it's still worth a watch, in my opinion.  Especially the documentary about the real-life Domino that the film is based on.  That's really the main reason why it made my list.  She's absolutely fascinating, and it's a real shame she's not still with us.


Honorable Mentions:

Foreign Films I've Never Heard Of: you know who you are, and you're probably Korean, if I had to hazard a guess. 
Films I've Never Seen, But Probably Should Have: Hanna, Haywire, Hunger Games, Columbiana, Prometheus, Snow White and the Huntsman, Brave, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Charlie's Angels, Doomsday, the list goes on and on. 
Films I Really Wanted To Include, But Probably Aren't Actiony Enough: Alien, MirrorMask, The Labyrinth.
Films That Weren't Quite Female-Drive Enough: The Matrix, Kick-Ass, The Fifth Element, 28 Days Later.
Films That Didn't Quite Make My Top Five: Resident Evil 1 and 3, V for Vendetta, Red Sonja.
Films I Can't Remember, Because I'm Doing This Entire List Without Searching Online, Using Only My Movie Shelf And My Brain: again, you know who you are. 

I know I must be missing some super obvious ones, and I admit that I have a ton of blind spots in my movie knowledge, but that'll do it for today's Mike's Official Barely Researched Top Five List.

Feel free to leave a comment below to yell at me about how wrong I am, or--better yet--recommend something awesome that I've never seen.  I'm open to suggestions. 

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Trying something new

I just sent a donation to one of my favorite podcasts, Movie B.S. with Bayer and Snider.  I "bought them lunch," in exchange for a bit of promotion for my book.  I'm not sure if I sent the donation in time for it to appear on this week's podcast, but hopefully they'll talk about it soon.  This is the first time I've done anything like this.  I don't hear too many people advertising on most of the podcasts I listen to, and maybe there's a reason for it. 

However, even if this doesn't lead to a ton of sales, at least I can feel good about helping support a show that I enjoy.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

The Kindle edition is now on sale!

The Kindle edition of Try Not to Burn just went on sale last night for under five bucks.  You can find it here

First public appearance of my book!

My horror novel, Try Not to Burn, has apparently sold out at its first public appearance!  Post Mortem Press was at Horror Realm in Pittsburgth this last weekend, and said that they ran out of copies for my book and for a select group of others, like Jessica McHugh's Rabbits in the Garden.  Of course, it's nothing to get overly excited about, as I still don't know how many copies PMP actually brought with them to the show. 

But, hey, it's a start, right? 

I'm looking forward to getting out to a convention myself soon.  My publisher will be heading out to Baltimore this Saturday, and my book should be available at the PMP booth.  I won't be able to make it there, unfortunately, but I'm hoping they'll be swinging a bit closer to Chicago soon. 

Thursday, September 20, 2012

The Book Trailer.


Here's the book trailer for TRY NOT TO BURN, my first horror novel.  Many thanks to Pat, a fellow author at Post Mortem Press, for recommending the video program to me. 

Friday, September 14, 2012

Drum roll please...

Here's the front cover for Try Not to Burn, my upcoming horror novel, courtesy of Eric Beebe at Post Mortem Press.  The book is scheduled to come out before the end of this September, and will be available on Amazon in both print and ebook form.  I'll be sure to put up the exact release date once I know it, along with a few more plot details.  (For now, I'll just say that it follows three wary strangers on their quest for survival and redemption, as they put their immortal souls on the line in order to try to escape from the pits of Hell itself.) 

Next step is the book trailer, which I'll be posting soon.  It's my first attempt at creating such a beast, so hopefully it'll turn out alright. 

Thursday, September 13, 2012

My book has a date with a printer!

I've now managed to catch a glimpse of the finished cover to my upcoming hell-based horror novel from Post Mortem Press.  It found it trotting through the woods near Cincinnati, Ohio (where my publisher is based, coincidentally enough),  trying to light things on fire, as creatures like it are known to do.  The cover is quite a rare specimen, and it took steady nerves and a keen eye to spot the little guy.  Few others have managed such a feat.  However, as the book should be heading off to the printer as I type this, I have confidence that soon, more folks like me will be able to get a peek at this beautiful, yet skittish critter.