Mind Sieve 03/11/22

News/Musings	StoryOrigin Swaps 1
Mini Movie Reviews	Movie/Show Previews
StoryOrigin Swaps 2	Just for Fun!
Dark Flights of Fantasy	Epic & High Fantasy Free Book Giveaway
Free Science Fiction, Fantasy & Paranormal ebooks	Win a Bundle of Female Mystery Detectives
Strong Women – Strange Worlds

Greetings!

March is turning out to be crazy busy! Plus, I somehow signed up to participate in too many giveaways! Lol.

News/Musings

First off – until Saturday, March 12th – Black Jade – A Daiyu Wu Mystery will be on SALE for $0.99. (75% off) This is to celebrate National Read an eBook Week!

The sale is through Smashwords – so all ebook formats are available there. (pdf, mobi/kindle, ePub, html, and more!)

Black Jade - A Daiyu Wu Mystery

National Read an eBook Week Special for $0.99 (75% off)

Could an old-fashioned ballgown be used to commit murder?

Daiyu Wu believes there’s been a murder by arsenic poisoning. But being blind, Chinese, and living in Dallas in 1930 carries many impediments. Add in the fact the police aren’t aware of any foul play, and her job becomes doubly hard.

With the help of her confidant, Jacques, Dai sets out to find who has been murdered. And, if possible, who committed the foul deed. But there are many obstacles in her path—a spoiled popinjay, his jealous self-appointed girlfriend, and Dai’s overprotective parents. Can she and Jacques avoid all the hurdles and get to the truth before it’s too late?

A Daiyu Wu Mystery – Book 1

For lovers of Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Editing continues on White Gold before I send it to the professional editor. I’ve also decided to change the title. Book 2 is now The JOY of Murder.

I’d originally thought I would use color and mineral combinations to continue the theme started in Book 1, (Daiyu means Black Jade in Chinese) but to increase discoverability, I decided I needed to go in a different direction with the title.

Extra stuff I’ve shoved in here:

1) Two info swaps from StoryOrigin.

2) Three Giveaways! (March has been crazy!)

3) One Female Detective Bundle and e-reader promotion

4) Strong Women – Strange Worlds Virtual Readings

More deets on all of these in their sections. 😊

Story Origin Swap 1

The Trouble in Glamour Town

Murder. Corruption. Romance. Movie stars.

A modern-day TV shoot ‘em up? No. It’s 1926 Old Hollywood, and a film producer is gunned down in cold blood. In comes Rosie, a pretty bit-player, who, in spite of her stage-mother’s expectations, just longs to be happy. Silent screen idols Clara Bow, Gloria Swanson, Lon Chaney, and Rudolph Valentino float in and out, as Los Angeles’ corruption is exposed, the era described, and a chase to find the killer revs up before there’s another hit.

Mini Movie 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!

Death on the Nile

If you enjoyed the remake of Murder on the Orient Express, you should also love this one. It’s worth seeing for the cinematography alone. I also very much enjoyed how they tied the character Bouc into both films. The acting was superb. Like in the previous film, they bring elements of Poirot’s past into the story. They even have an origin for why he wears the multi-tiered mustache. (Though from the first image, it’s hard to believe it healed that well.)

Rating: ★★★★.25 out of 5 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price to See Again!)

DOG

This movie was super cute! Channing Tatum does a great job. Some of the hijinks he and Lulu get into are insane! Two veterans on a path of self-destruction until they realize they are kindred spirits and might be able to help each other. Too cute!

Rating: ★★★.75 out of 5 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)

Cyrano

This makes the third movie rendition, I’ve seen of the famous story. This time as a musical! (The 1950 version with Jose Ferrer didn’t make me cry, it made me SOB!) Paying homage to the original story, you will note a lot of people in the front half of the film wearing masks with long, fat noses as that was the deformity Cyrano dealt with in the original play. The acting on the film was fabulous! I expected nothing less from Peter Dinklage, but Haley Bennet was an awesome surprise. Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Ben Mendelsohn tied it all together. The whole cast was awesome. There were a couple of anachronistic issues in the song lyrics, but the scenery was fabulous and funky integrated dances were entertaining. Make sure to take some tissues with you! (Just in case!)

Rating: ★★★★.25 out of 5 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)

Uncharted

With tons of action, betrayals, and funky stunts, Uncharted will definitely entertain. The story was pretty solid, with some unexpected surprises, until 3/4s of the way through. Then they dropped the ball a little for convenience’s sake, which was disappointing. But overall, it is worth a look just for the adrenaline, snark, and all the backstabbing. Extra scenes during the first part of the credits. Strap in for a crazy ride!

Rating: ★★★.75 out of 5 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission to See Again!)

Movie Previews 🎥

Obi-wan Kenobi limited series trailer – oh yeah!!!! With Ewan McGreggor – even better! Woot!

Chariot – this looks bizarre!

HUXLEY Trailer – when the trailer started I thought I’d clicked on a Star Wars type trailer. Still, looks interesting!

Story Origin Swap 2

Eye of the Jaguar

David and Abby are coworkers at a video game company. Their lives are turned upside down as David is chosen to protect the world against monsters, and she discovers her magic.

Their partnership blooms into a powerful romance which neither are prepared for. Together they must face an evil that claimed the lives of David’s parents over an artifact of great power, the Eye of the Jaguar. Read for free on Kindle Unlimited!

Five star reviews: – “Story moves like a bullet! Fun read!” – “An unusual shifter tale!” – “Great First Book!”

In a faraway land to the north lies the Eye of the Jaguar, a powerful relic that allows the worthy to travel along the path of the Dark Sun to the Land of the Dead. It will be found by a shapeshifter touched by the gods of both earth and spirit. His mate will be a Shaman. Together they are the Protectors of their people. – Mayan Prophecy

Just for Fun!

Official Furkids Kitty Kommercial – this is super cute. Shelter video done as a car sales commercial but with cats. Lol.

I’m Not Your Hero – The Murderbot Diaries Animatic – a friend sent me this as she knows I love Martha Wells’ Muderbot series. Just in case – CONTENT WARNING – I didn’t think it was all that graphic, but just in case!