May the Fourth be with you! #StarWars

A Very Merry Geekmas

So did you have a good Christmas? I did. Very quiet and at home with my husband and three monsters. Hubs and I stopped buying each other gifts after the children came along, but over the last couple of years they've snuck back in. This year hubs proved he truly understands what a geek he married. ^-^

So what did this geek get for Christmas? Well...

A Guardians of the Galaxy NERF Quad Blaster - Starlord's weapon of choice. GotG was my favourite film of 2014, and I went to see it a record three times at the cinema (beating even the special showings of the Star Wars originals I went to). I hate to count up how many times I've watched the DVD. Of course, I really need another one to match...

The complete Sapphire and Steel collection. A weird six story run of 1980s scifi adventure/mystery. Look it up if you're curious. I loved this series and was gutted when they stopped it. One thing I wouldn't mind seeing rebooted.

Not a gift from someone but yet another geek tee I treated myself to. At the time of purchase I hadn't seen The Force Awakens but recognized the scene as soon as I watched the film. Gotta say it's a striking one - pretty and yet ominous.

I also got around to ordering the print trilogy of one of my favourite series - Liana Brooks's Heroes and Villains. I had book two and three in print back when Breathless Press were still in business, but book one was deemed too short for print. Fortunately one of Liana's first acts on receiving back her rights was to issue all three as a single paperback. I'd been waiting for pennies enough to indulge myself!

The next thing wasn't exactly a present but as it turned up earlier than expected - Christmas Eve no less - I'm counting it. The print proof for Keir's Fall. Woot! After waiting so long to put the sequel out, it's even better seeing it in print with book one - something I thought would never happen.
Just after Christmas I also got a present from the lovely Liana Brooks - chocs and socks!

Now, salted caramel has only recently made an appearance in the UK, but I'm game to try most things once. I'm still confused as to whether I like them or not. They're definitely up in my top five things of weird stuff I've eaten. They're...odd. But I kept on eating them, and woke up one morning thinking about them, so I guess I liked them! And now I can add eating Alaska's deadliest candy to my brag tag. :P I also have my first pair of moose socks.
On the cute side, my eldest bought me chocolate and an Imagine Dragons CD, a friend made me the cutest little candle, and my MIL bought me smellies. Hubs also got me the fluffiest sheepskin slippers.

Lastly I splurged on some books for myself.

But that wasn't the end of it. The New Year brought yet another shiny thing for Keir at the One Book Two review site.

 So what fun things did you get for Christmas?

After #TheForceAwakens

My swag from the cinema

Now that at least some of the world has seen the new Star Wars film, I feel it's probably safe for me to post a bit more about it. Warning: this post contains spoilers if you still haven't seen it!! I've now been to see The Force Awakens twice, first time in 3D and second in normal 2D, and I'm considering a third watch at the cinema if screen times and school runs permit. April is too far away for the DVD!

There's an eight year old me who still remembers the magic of seeing A New Hope for the first time. The first time she heard that 20th Century Fox intro, saw those credits scroll up the screen, saw a Star Destroyer fill the TV. She can still recite the entire dialogue by heart. Still has some of the original toys. And that eight year old still had hopes and aspirations of recapturing that magic at The Force Awakens while desperately praying that her illusions and heart wouldn't be shattered.

And they weren't. While I feel Disney played it incredibly safe in general and pandered majorly to the nostalgia of the fans, they hit all the marks. It was classic Star Wars, with the added bonus of some diversity and a strong central female lead. And while some fans (maybe most) are reeling from the Big Bad in the film and a handful of bigots cry out against the horror of a black Stormtrooper, and even female Troopers and X-wing pilots, I am one happy Star Wars fan. It was way better than the prequels. It had a great cast and characters. It had no big surprises or shocks for me as the story played out, and while the plot might be a bit dull due to the lack of originality, it stayed true to the SW originals. Disney clearly felt they weren't going to be able to achieve the huge big reveal of the 'Luke, I am your father' shocker of The Empire Strikes Back and played the whole thing surprisingly low key with Kylo Ren, and I don't blame them. But I do expect a whole lot more of the next two films now they've got the die-hard fans onside. Having simply done a bigger, badder, darker version of 4-6 mashed up together, now they need to take a leap of faith and deliver something newer and universe shaking.

So what were my highs and lows now I'm not keeping back on spoilers?

Highs:

Opening credits. Despite missing that iconic 20th Century Fox opening, Disney didn't splash their castle insignia over the start and went straight into the classic title and scrolling credits, followed by a massive spaceship blotting out the planet.

Rey! I adore Rey! And I think the casting was great (okay, bit of bias with  Brit in the lead role, and female too). But I love that she's a survivor, she can take care of herself, she's a nerd, she's a pilot, AND a Jedi. I suspect that she's Luke's daughter (I figure if she was Han and Leia's then something more might have been said in the film since there was no secret about Ren. Or is that a double bluff?). Her self sufficiency lead to some great comedy moments: her protest that she didn't need Finn to hold her hand to run, his attempt to help defend her only to reach her as she beat to assailants into submission alone, the fact that he came to rescue her from Ren only to spot her managing an escape mostly by herself... awesome. And she's won over my Star Wars hating daughter. That's impressive.

Finn. I can't say I'm all that enamoured by him, since he struck me as a coward at the start. As in his first great scene with Poe (really want to learn more of his story!), Finn says it's the right thing to do. Poe reads him like a book and figures out he just needs a pilot, which Finn admits. Then Finn spends a large part of the film trying to run away. But he does come through at the end, and I'm keen to see if he's to become a Jedi too since he picked up the lightsaber first. I'm kind of hoping there won't be a romantic relationship between him and Rey. Men and women can be friends without it!!

Poe. We didn't get to see anywhere near enough of him, and I really hope we do in the next film.

General Hux. Okay, again, there's some bias here. He's a redhead! But it was great to see someone who stood on a par with Kylo Ren, and in fact some rivalry. When Ren gives up the hunt for the droid convinced he can get the info from Rey, Hux has no qualms about dobbing him in to Supreme Leader Snokes without coming across as a boot licker. And out of the two of them, Hux comes across as far more chilling, especially after his speech to the troops before the first firing of the Big Bad Weapon, where he ended almost foaming at the mouth in his fanaticism.

BB-8. Cute, but I still prefer R2.

The original cast. I loved, loved seeing them back. But Harrison Ford seemed to be struggling, and the fact that he only came back because of the script suggests he wasn't really up to doing this again. To me, his death totally made sense, and while I know it's upset a lot of fans, I'm afraid I was just too relieved it wasn't Luke to be too upset the first time around. On the second showing, braced for all the snippets that choked me up, his death had more impact. I take the fact that Ren has chosen to do what Luke didn't was the significance of this. My husband commented on Leia's apparent lack of reaction (maybe she was already prepared for it) and Chewie's exclusion (he's still mad that Chewie never got a medal) when Leia hugged Rey instead of Chewie is still bugging him. But that last is what makes me wonder if Rey is Leia's rather than Luke's... I'm not expecting all the original cast to make it to the end of the trilogy. >.<

The spaceships. Woo hoo! Seeing the X-wings zooming across a lake, TIE fighters crashing, the Falcon taking back to the skies - fantastic! Worth going to the 3D showing for those scenes and battles, but otherwise you don't lose much by going 2D.

Max von Sydow. Fantastic to see such an iconic actor making an appearance. I'm just sorry he wasn't in it for long.

The diversity. A strong female lead, a black Stormtrooper, female Stromtroopers and X-Wing pilots. Awesome! But we need more. The outcry over those things means we need much more, until such things aren't commented on as either shocking or unusual. Sigh.

The comedy moments and the nostalgia. Plenty of these, and I'm not going to list every one. But the first sight of each of the new and old characters, the ships, the snippets of original music, the opening credits, the snippy comebacks... great stuff. Especially the reference to 'the garbage' which turns out to be the iconic Falcon!

Lows:

Kylo Ren. I'm sorry, at first I was chilled by his switches from incandescent rage to instant calm (even another comedy moment where two Stormtroopers turn aside after seeing molten metal flying from Ren's chamber). But the moment he took the mask off, he lost credibility for me. He's another Anakin Skywalker: a stroppy, tantrum-throwing child who finds the universe unfair and can't deal with it. I can't take him seriously, not even after Solo's death.

Captain Phasma. I don't think we've seen enough of her to really judge, but the fact that Solo and Finn caught her so easily and she obeyed their demands without much more than the typical villain's speech of 'you won't get away with this' kind of lessened my respect for her. More please!

Maz Katana. Ugh. Could we not have had a real actor instead of another CGI character?

Supreme Leader. I think Disney just swiped Thanos out of the Marvel Universe.

The soundtrack. After a friend's comment about the music, I listened more carefully. First time around I was only really aware of the snippets of original music being played, and they choked me up every time (heck, I choked up on the opening credits!). To be honest, the second time around I can't say the music overly impressed me. It took a far more background position, which is sad when it was such a big part of the originals.

The Ending. Seriously, I think it would have been far better to stick with the remash idea and have the Falcon setting off in search of Luke a la The Empire Strikes Back with Lando and Chewie heading off to rescue Solo. Those meaningful silent stares at the end of TFA went on a fraction too long and meant the film ended with a bit of a fizzle (even though I was relieved to see Luke).

Conclusion
I loved it, want to own it, and can't wait for the next one. I'm looking forward to seeing Rogue One next December!
FYI, if you didn't like it or hated it, please don't comment here. I'm sure you can find plenty of other places to hate on it but I don't want to hear any of it.

My Kylo Ren tee. I think I'm going to pass this to my 11yo if he wants it.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year #TheForceAwakens #spoilerfree #review

This will be my last blog post until at least the 4th of January as I enjoy a Christmas break with my family and a break from social media (I also have my last post for the year over at Romancing the Genres today).
But first, I promised a spoiler free review of The Force Awakens, which I saw last night. Wowzers. That's going to be tricky, but here goes...
Overall I'm going to say I enjoyed it. I choked up at the opening credits, it was full of feels, Disney played it safe with the plotline with lots of nostalgia for the old fans but no real big revelations (again, after the 'Vader is Luke's father' thing I reckon Disney felt they couldn't pull that off again successfully), the new characters are awesome (though I question Finn's initial motivation somewhat), I felt it was a bit darker and perhaps more violent (in a dramatic fashion rather than an actual increase in the level of violence), I adore Rey, BB-8 is cute (but sorry, he's not R2-D2), and Poe wasn't in it enough. Lots of action and great visuals (we saw it in 3D, but I don't think you'd lose all that much seeing it in 2D). Certainly didn't feel like it was 135 minutes! At no point did I think 'get the hell on with it'. Ultimately I was disappointed with Kylo Ren, but the return of old characters and the bright new ones mean I'm a very satisfied Star Wars fan who is looking forward to the next one.
My one quibble? Disney need to up the amount of Rey merchandise, and fast. Seriously, they would make way more money out of me and a lot of other fans if they did. It's the same old frustration as over the Black Widow and Gamora lack of merch. Please move into the 21st century, Disney! It's not that hard!
However, one thing I wasn't quite aware of until later, and that a fellow fan and friend posted about HERE (caution, minor spoilers in his review) was that the only time I even noticed the music was when they used fragments of the old stuff (and I choked up every damn time). As Ian says, the music was such a huge part of the films, though mostly in the originals for me. And it just wasn't there in The Force Awakens. The only bits with any impact on my senses were those few segments from the originals, no doubt used to make that connection for the fans. And it's a shame. I can't even remember what any of the music was like, or even if there was any. Which is sad.
But ultimately I'd tell anyone to go see it, especially if you love the original trilogy. Just take lots of tissues!

And so, this is my last post for 2015, finishing on a high (despite being stuffed up and miserable with cold germs). If you're interested in how 2015 went for me, you can check out my round up post at Spacefreighters Lounge HERE. Have a great holiday and New Year, and may the Force be with you. Always.

May The Fourth Be With You! Always! #StarWars Day

To celebrate the awesomeness that is Star Wars Day, I decided to do a post about some fabulous Star Wars related shiny stuff that I either own or hope to own. So I'm going to start with a piece of my own handiwork - my homemade Jedi tunic.

On my wishlist, and pointed out to me by a friend who knows me rather too well... William Shakespeare's Star Wars from Amazon.

For the bbq fans among you...these were originally due out in April and have now been moved to mid-May. Sigh.

My only quibble with this pendant is I would love it to have an actual saber blade, preferably in a colour you can choose...

You can click on any of the items to be taken to the relevant page if you'd like to know more about each, or purchase them. No links are personally endorsed by me! Enjoy them, you should, hmmm. 

The Next Big Thing

I was tagged by Diane Dooley.

What is the working title of your book?
Gethyon
Where did the idea come from for the book?
A work colleague's name, a previous book, an addiction to Star Wars and too much My Chemical Romance.
What genre does your book fall under?
Science fiction
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
 Kai James - Night at the Museum

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
At odds with his world and the people in it, Gethyon Rees must master his alien heritage and escape from the dark entity that seeks him
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
This will be published by Champagne Books in June 2013 under their Burst imprint
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Three months
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I call this my Star Wars story (old trilogy), but it's also similar to A Wizard of Earthsea or Drowntide. I don't know anything more recent to compare it to.
Who or What inspired you to write this book?
Having already written one book in this universe, I was itching to write another.
What about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
It's adventure and action, with a healthy dose of scifi and a touch of magic.

I hereby tag Gayle Ramage for The Next Big Thing!

Intermission...

There will be a short break while I collapse in a corner with the end of the tour. In the meantime, for your entertainment...

Big Damn Heroes Blog Tour - JC Cassles

Thanks for letting me visit your blog today, Pippa! Thanks for visiting, JC!

 

Welcome to this stop on my Big Damn Heroes Blog Tour supporting last week’s release of my debut novel, SOVRAN’S PAWN: Book One of THE BLACK WING CHRONICLES.

Just this morning, Pippa asked me if I’d submitted to traditional publishers before and was surprised to learn I’d been knocking on publishers’ doors with THE BLACK WING CHRONICLES for twenty years. With some surprise, I realized that these characters first became a part of my life more than thirty years ago!

It was Summer 1980 and I was completely obsessed with The Empire Strikes Back, the recently-released sequel to Star Wars. I read the novel tie-in so many times that I could quote it verbatim. I already had my order placed with Santa to receive the screenplay for my Christmas present. My friends were not quite as taken with the film as I, and quickly grew tired of speculation about who Yoda meant when he said there was “another.” Was Vader lying about being Luke’s father? I had questions, dagnabbit and George Lucas was going to make me wait three whole years to find out!

My Great-aunt Gladys, weary of the endless speculation, looked for a way to forestall three years of angst-ridden obsession. “Why don’t you write your own story?” she suggested. “Then you can make up your own answers.”

It sounded like a great idea. With the promise of being able to use Gladys’s 8mm movie camera, I wrote a screenplay. For the most part, it was an adolescent retelling of Star Wars, blocked for my rather limited technology. As the project developed, one of the characters completely captured my imagination. The Han Solo inspired space pirate, Bo Barron – and Bo was a GIRL!!

As the youngest of five with three older brothers, I was a bit of tomboy, growing up playing soldier and throwing army surplus hand grenades from makeshift foxholes. I kept up with my brothers, playing Robin Hood, James West, or WWII corsair pilot. Every now and then, my sweetly deluded older brothers would try to talk me into playing the damsel in distress. There are only so many times a girl will tolerate being tied-up and left in the tree house while big brothers ride off on their bicycles. Out of necessity, I grew adept at rescuing myself.

My role models weren’t Wonder Woman or Bat Girl. I didn’t want to be Barbie. I wanted to be Evel Knievel. I did try that at home and I’ve got the scars to prove it! It wasn’t the feisty princess with the cinnamon rolls strapped to her head who caught my imagination, it was the smart-mouthed space pirate in the souped-up hot rod. Despite my brothers’ insistence that girls couldn’t be tough guys, Bo Barron was one. 

For years, I developed her in secret, scribbling stories about her exploits during class when I was supposed to be paying attention to geometry. My grades suffered but Bo came to life. I drew heavily from the 1960’s adventure shows that I loved. She was bits and pieces of James West, Captain Kirk, and Emma Peel, all wrapped up into one tidy package and dusted with Han Solo. 

I tried out one male lead after another opposite the great and mighty Bo Barron. He had to be part John Wayne, part Sean Connery’s James Bond, part Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Mostly, he had to be Errol Flynn.

Inspired by the 1983 re-release of Flynn’s autobiography, Blade Devon, actor-turned-mercenary was born. Bo and I fell in love with him.

When I think about Big Damn Heroes, I think of Blade. I also think of Bo. Though in SOVRAN’S PAWN their story is just beginning, THE BLACK WING CHRONICLES tell the story of how they saved the Commonwealth… and how they saved each other along the way.

Links to purchase SOVRAN’S PAWN:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/147535

http://www.amazon.com/Sovrans-Pawn-Black-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B007URPCZY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334614143&sr=8-1

No, my book is not like Twilight...

It's taken some time for me to feel justified in telling anyone that I'm an author when they ask what I do. Even once I'd signed the contract for Keir, the fact that it wasn't due out for almost a year made me hold back on awarding myself the 'title'. But now, with the galley to check through and most of my virtual book tour organized, the reality has sunk in that I am, indeed, a bona fide author. The title no longer has a squeak in it. :-)

So, when I was asked what I do at a ladies' pamper evening last night, I said, "I'm an author."
"Oh, what do you write?"
"Science fiction romance."
"What, like Twilight?"
Shocked silence. "No, more like Star Trek or Star Wars."
"Oh..."

Now, I personally have nothing against Twilight. I've seen a heck of a lot of debate on-line about the books and the films. They seem to be very controversial. But I've neither read them nor watched them, and so make no judgement on them either way. I haven't been interested enough to try them myself - my interest in vampires centred on 'Interview with the Vampire' and the books of Anne Rice. Since then I've had no inclination either way. (Although a friend sent me a set of True Blood books as a gift. Yes, I've read them. Yes, I enjoyed them, until it seemed like Sookie was spending all her time whinging about all these handsome supernatural guys chasing after her. No, I wouldn't say I'm a fan, but I didn't hate them either.) But I digress...

What bothered me was the fact that the person I spoke to had no idea what science fiction was, let alone scifirom. Now, I know that science fiction and fantasy are often seen as niche genres, and some kind of poor relation in literary terms. I've never understood that. I've always read speculative fiction. Perhaps because my parents were fans - Star Trek and Doctor Who were watched on a regular basis. They didn't have a lot of scifi books in the house, but as soon as I was judged old enough to jump on a bus by myself, I made regular trips to the book shops to buy fantasy and scifi titles of my own. I spent my teenage years reading Anne McCaffrey, Robert Heinlein, Arthur C.Clarke, David Eddings, Terry Brooks, Tolkien ... the list is endless. So it always comes as a shock to me when someone doesn't know what scifi is.

To say that it was sobering is an understatement. I don't expect people to be impressed that I'm an author. I'm hardly a best-seller. I'm not on the shelves of Waterstones. I haven't had block-busting films made from my stories. And I am not complaining about that. Even if I never have another book contracted, I am so proud of myself for doing it once. It's been the thrill of my life so far. But clearly there's a lot of work still needs to be done to make readers aware of the genre of sfr.

So, no, my book isn't like Twilight. And it's never going to be.

Jedi on a Shoestring

At the age of eight I saw Star Wars on TV for the first time. I was instantly converted from fantasy to scifi (plus having my first crush on Luke Skywalker), and dreamed of being a Jedi. But try as I might, I never managed to get the Force to work, never built my own lightsabre and never flew an X-wing. However ...


A friend decided to hold a Star Wars party for his birthday last weekend. Fancy dress was optional, but I wasn't going to pass up the chance to fulfil another ambition. I decided I didn't want to pay out for a flimsy Star Wars costume off the web. For one thing, the only options in terms of female characters are Leia's slave get-up (not in October!) which I do not (sadly) have the figure for, the classic white Leia dress or Amidala's white two piece (again I no longer have a stomach I'd show to ANYONE!)

So I started hunting around. I'm not an expert dress maker, but one quintessential item of Jedi clothing is the cloak. You can find a basic pattern for one here which is dead easy to make. And while I'm not the greatest seamstress I can usually manage to stitch something together. I made myself a Blake's Seven outfit as a teenager without any pattern at all, but I did find this one on ebay.(see below)

This is from the States but ships to the UK, and very handy if you wanted to do Lord of the Rings as well. :) It wasn't too expensive either and came in good time. However, my back-up plan of raiding the local charity shops paid off well enough that I didn't actually have to make anything in the end (even if I did end up looking like Ewan McGregor's Ben Kenobi without the beard.).

And no, this isn't actually me

I bought a pair of cargo trousers, a heavy belt and a pale top with cross-over design on it that made up my basic Jedi outfit. My cloak was a bit of a cheat. My older brother-in-law does Roman/Celtic re-enactment, and loaned me one of his genuine woollen cloaks for the event. My nephew donated a lightsaber from his Star Wars collection, and my padawan rat's tail came from Claire's Accessories. It's cost me about £20 in all, and most of it I can wear again as 'normal' stuff.

This is me.

And, um, yes - that IS my husband dressed as Princess Leia. It WAS a joke!

(Incidentally, his dress is taken from the same basic pattern for the cloak, the link for which is here.)
So what do you think? Good enough? How have you gone about making your scifi costumes? Do you make them from scratch, shop around for pieces that will do the job or buy the ready-made ones? I wish you could all post some pics!