Suvudu Universe

I have an interview with Richard P. Hughes for his “What I like about where I live” feature today!

Guardians of the Galaxy

Best movie of the summer!

The Guardians are part of the Marvel universe, but this felt more like Indiana Jones meets Serenity rather than a superhero film. It harkens back to those fun 80’s movies and I sported a big grin for the duration of the film.

The movie hits all the right notes. The action is well paced, the humor spread evenly, and the sentiment shines at the right moments. The five characters come from troubled backgrounds (well, we assume Groot does – he only speaks four words) and grow as they learn to come together as a team.

The banter between the characters is priceless. Think Serenity and Firefly. Each has numerous funny lines and humorous situations. Rocket (the raccoon) pulls off some of the best one-liners. (But the funniest scene involves the interior condition of Peter Quill’s ship. And fortunately, it will go right over kids’ heads.)

They are backed by a great supporting cast. Stan Lee has his cameo, Del Toro returns as The Collector, and even Rob Zombie has a role. And – we finally get to see Thanos!

Overall, it’s one fun and satisfying ride and now my second favorite Marvel film. And from the setup, I predict we will see the Guardians in the third Avengers film.

Highly Recommended!

Please welcome the awesome MJ Fifield!

I like creating playlists for my WIPs. I know I’m getting serious about a WIP when I start compiling a playlist for it. But I have one playlist that isn’t WIP-specific. It’s called “Mood Music” and when people have seen that particular CD lying around, their minds immediately go somewhere they shouldn’t.

It’s not that kind of mood music. What it is is instrumental music in which I get lost, melodies that make me see and feel my characters. It’s what I listen to when I need to find that deep, often elusive, writing zone.

Today, I thought I would share with you some of the soundtracks which help me do that.

—The Lord of the Rings (composed by Howard Shore)—Sweeping and epic, and everything a fantasy soundtrack should be. From the very first track to the last, this is perfect music to get me in the mindset to write. Standout tracks include: The Bridge of Khazad Dum and The Riders of Rohan.

—Battlestar Galactica (composed by Bear McCreary)—Unless Joss Whedon is involved, I’m not much for shows set in space. The Battlestar Galactica reboot became the exception—and the music was part of the reason why. The main title music is gorgeous, but my standout track here is Passacaglia.

—The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (composed by Jeremy Soule)—A video game soundtrack to a game I’ve never played. Fortunately, Pandora Radio introduced it to me, and I knew instantly that I had to have it. Standout track is From Past To Present.

—Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Score (composed by Christophe Beck)—From the television show. I particularly love Slayer’s Elegy, Sacrifice, and The Loneliness of Six. There’s another track not on this collection, though, and that’s The Final Fight by Rob Duncan, which appears in the series finale. That track always helps me with—you guessed it—fight scenes.

—Game of Thrones (composed by Ramin Djawadi)—The newest addition to my Mood Music collection. I can’t deny how it makes me feel. Just beautiful, inspirational music. Standout track: Winterfell from season two.

Have any music you like to write to? Please let me know because I’m always on the hunt for new additions to my playlists.

Thanks for having me here today, Alex!
Pick up Effigy on Amazon

Rereleased! Snapshops by Patricia Lynne
Find it at Amazon, Goodreads, and Smashwords



Ali Cross announced the date and location for Indie ReCon Live - Sandy Utah, October 10-11th. Get all the details at Indie ReCon Live


George from Cinemarvellous now has a Facebook Page. If you are on Facebook, please ‘like’ his page.

Shag Carpet Toilet by Al Penwasser now available in print!

Had to share this picture Ellie Garratt posted of Ninja Alex with Beaker!




And don’t forget that Wednesday is Insecure Writer’s Support Group post day!

In case you missed it last week – an awesome new trailer for Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar. Now I’m getting excited for this film!

Marvel movies – easy trivia! (All answers are Marvel movies.)

1 – Vampire trilogy

2 – Actor who started in one series and then hit it big with another series

3 – Blind superhero

4 – In X-Men 3, Jean Grey becomes…

5 – Worst rated Marvel film of the past twenty years

Answers on Wednesday!

What music inspires you to write? Any news strike your fancy? Excited for Interstellar? Know the trivia answers? Ready for Wednesday’s IWSG post? And who else saw Guardians of the Galaxy…?

Be sure to visit Richard P. Hughes!