How Did the Movie UltraViolet Inspire Me?

In my Thursday 13 blog post titled Movie Lists Fun (Childhood Favorites, Comfort Movies, All-Time Favs), I shared lists of movies, including my all-time favorite movies. Next to several of those movie titles there had been an asterisk, indicating that those films had inspired/influenced me as a writer. 

The Movies:

Pitch Black 

UltraViolet

Matrix: Reloaded

Van Helsing

Gothika

Once a month, I am going to highlight one of those movies and reveal how it inspired/influenced me.

This month's movie is...

UltraViolet

How did it inspire me?

1) Her kick-ass fighting techniques.

2) "Watch me."

3) Her beauty.

Chrys' Top 13 Blog Post Picks / Thursday 13

 

This is another contribution to the Thursday 13 blog hop in which participants create a post with some kind of list of 13 things they want to share. The skies the limit.

Last month, I shared the 13 most-viewed posts of all-time on my blog. It's always interesting to see which posts take off, and which posts don't. It's just like with other forms of social media. We may love a picture we share on Instagram, but because of the algorithms, that day's traffic, planet alignment, you name it, the post you love may not get any love.

That's why I'm sharing 13 of my personal favorite blog posts of all-time. BTW, I've been blogging since 2013. It was nostalgic (sometimes bittersweet) to look back at the posts on this blog.

My Top 13 Blog Post Picks:

1. Honoring the Victims of the Salem Witch Trials (2022)

2. How to Respect and Support Indigenous Peoples (2021)

3. Homeless Care Packages (2022)

4. NOT INADEQUATE / A Post about Self-Defense and Abuse (2020)

5. Writer’s Burnout Part 1 (Speak) (2018)

6. 10 Things All Authors Should Know (2021)

7. Florida & Seminole History (2021)

8. Writers. Should. NOT. Tell. Other. Writers. What. Tense. Or. POV. To. Use. It's. NOT. Your. Choice. (2020)

9. Don't Shame Readers for What They Read (or Writers for What They Write) (2021)

10. Bullying Awareness Project (2015)

11. Body Literacy Book Recommendations (2022)

12. Traditional Publishing - Pros and Cons (2021)

13. Writing About: A Wound (2013)

It was not easy narrowing this list down to 13. I had maybe 5 others posts I collected while making this list that did not make it.

NOTE: Comments are closed to these posts, as is the case for all of my older posts. I close the comments to every post about a month after they go live to prevent spam attacks.

How Did the Movie Pitch Black Inspire me?

 

In my Thursday 13 blog post titled Movie Lists Fun (Childhood Favorites, Comfort Movies, All-Time Favs), I shared lists of movies, including my all-time favorite movies. Next to several of those movie titles there had been an asterisk, indicating that those films had inspired/influenced me as a writer. 

The Movies:

Pitch Black

UltraViolet

Matrix: Reloaded

Van Helsing

Gothika

Once a month, I am going to highlight one of those movies and reveal how it inspired/influenced me.

This month's movie is...

PITCH BLACK

How did it inspire me?

Two words...his eyes.

The male main character in my Secret Book Baby Series has eyes that glow silver when he's angry or when he's using his powers. In my mind, I picture Riddick's metallic silver eyes.

So, that's how the movie inspired me as a writer.

As for why it's one of my all-time favorite movies...Riddick is a fascinating (and sexy) character. The movie is dark and gritty, scary with the eerie monsters lurking in the dark, gory at times but not excessively gory, and a nail-bitter with action sequences. The world building is great, the characters are easy to hate or root for and are memorable, and Riddick has great lines. It's a truly great and EPIC dark sci-fi movie that I've watched more times than I can tell you. When it first came out, I probably watched it like ten times that year alone.

Take a Peek into My Work-in-Progress: Find Ivy

I realized recently that I never talk about my works-in-progress on my blog.

I want to change that!

Usually, I share details about my WIPs in my museletter (aka newsletter) and on other forms of social media (Instagram and Facebook). But now I want to start doing that here, too. It may be repeated content (if you follow me elsewhere), but I'll try to find something different to share here, too.

With that said, museletter subscribers will always get content first, like exclusive content months in advance or that I won't share elsewhere (until the book is published). For example: In the April issue, I provided an excerpt for when these characters meet. I will not be sharing that anywhere else. So, that's an incentive to sign up for my museletter. 😘 

For being one of my blog followers/visitors, I will give you this heads-up: my next museletter for June will be a look into The Line Between, my enemies-with-benefits paranormal erotic romance. Don't worry, though, the issue will be safe for all reader sensitivities.

Okay, now for Ivy and Ethan...

NOTE: If you're a subscriber to my museletter this may look familiar as I took it from the March issue, but access to Ivy's playlist and the excerpt are perks that only you have. 😍

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Meet Ivy:

Ivy is a curly-haired goddess. Okay, so not a real goddess, but to Ethan she's up there. She is a hair and makeup stylist. Oh, and a psychic, too. Ever since she was a child, she's had visions during her nightly dreams, and they always come true.

When her best friend is kidnapped, she starts to have nightmares about her best friend running through the woods, fleeing her kidnapper. Since local authorities have been unable to find her best friend, Ivy takes it upon herself to hunt down the culprit. She does that by turning herself into bait. It's a good thing then that when she straightens her hair and applies a bit of clever makeup contouring that she looks exactly like her bestie. Her goal is to rattle the kidnapper and make him come after her.

Meet Ethan:

Movie Lists Fun (Childhood Favorites, Comfort Movies, All-Time Favs) / Thursday 13

 

This is another contribution to the Thursday 13 blog hop in which participants create a post with some kind of list of 13 things they want to share. The skies the limit.

On my iPad, I found a few movies lists I started to compile last year, thinking I could maybe share them here on my blog or in my museletter (aka newsletter) for fun. Now I have the perfect excuse to finally share them.

I have FOUR lists of 13 things for you today...since they're just movie titles. :)

NOTE: So as to not repeat any movies, I only listed them once, although there is a lot of crossover from list to list.

13 Movies My Family Watched Obsessively During My Childhood:

1. Lord of the Dance (1996)

2. Twister (1996)

3. Jurassic Park (1993)

4. Sister Act (1992)

5. First Wives Club (1996)

6. A League of their Own (1992)

7. Dirty Dancing (1987)

8. Summer Rental (1985)

9. Sarah Plain and Tall (1991)

10. Fly Away Home (1996)

11. Speed (1994)

12. Volcano (1997)

13. The River Wild (1994)

Honorable Mention:

Jumanji (1995)

13 of My Personal Childhood Favorites

The Disaster Curse is now FREE FOREVER!

 

ANNOUNCING IT FIRST HERE!

I made the decision to make The Disaster Curse perma-free (with a slight catch that I have to periodically check it on Amazon because they like to revert free eBooks back to their original pricing now, unlike the good ole days when a book was perma-free indefinitely).

NOTE: THE DISASTER CURSE (DISASTER CRIMES, 7) IS A SHORT STORY OF 23 PAGES THAT FOLLOWS A FIGHTING CHANCE (FT. THORN) AND WRAPS UP THE DISASTER CRIMES SERIES.

Could you read The Disaster Curse without having read any of the previous stories?

Well, I couldn't stop you. It could be a good way to test out if you like my writing style.

I personally would recommend at least reading A Fighting Chance (Disaster Crimes Book 6) as that's the first story in Thorn's and Amanda's points-of-view.

To test out my writing style and not spoil what could possibly be six other great reads for you, you can also get free short stories that are earlier in the series, such as:

The Crime Before the Storm (Prequel) - This is a short work of 16 pages and is the prequel before Hurricane Crimes, Book 1 of the Disaster Crimes series and a novelette under 50 pages. It's exclusive to my museletter (aka newsletter) subscribers, so you do have to subscriber to get the secret link. You can read this story for free before Hurricane Crimes. Although I'll give a little warning that it may take away some of the mystery from Book One if you read Hurricane Crimes afterward.

Lightning Crimes (#2.5) - This is a short in-between story of 22 pages, set after Seismic Crimes (Book 2), before Tsunami Crimes (Book 3). It's not an absolute requirement to read this fast story, but I will say that a mystery in it does return in Frozen Crimes (Book 5). This one is free on Amazon and elsewhere.

Pages: 23 

Genre: Action-Adventure 

Heat Rating: None

BLURB: Following a 7.1 earthquake in Guatemala, Thorn and Amanda, volunteering for the American Red Cross, help survivors in any way that they can. They hand out food and water and offer comfort to the people shaken by this event.

A sudden tremor knocks everyone off their feet, only it’s not an aftershock of the quake. One of Guatemala’s many volcanoes is erupting—a disaster on top of a disaster.

Thorn and Amanda now must do whatever they can to help each other and the survivors of the quake endure this natural phenomenon.

FREE EBOOK: Amazon / Nook / Kobo / Apple / Smashwords

REVIEW: The Story Graph / BookBub / Goodreads / LibraryThing

PRAISE:

“I enjoyed this short follow-up to A Fighting Chance and won’t even complain about it being too short. I just always seem to want more of these characters than the author gives me, but I’m pretty sure she has to eat and sleep at some point.” – Toi Thomas, Lit Carnival Reviewer

“The Disaster Curse by Chrys Fey is a short story that gives a hint of the life Thorn and Amanda will have. It’s not all smooth sailing. An earthquake caused by an erupting volcano, setting off a firenado…and the story shows how small the world can be and by believing you deserve good things, your belief will allow you to have them.” – Sherry Fundin, reviewer at Fundinmental.com

My Blog's Top 13 Posts of All Time / Thursday 13

 

During the A to Z challenge, Liz A. posted for a small blog hop called Thursday 13 in which participants create lists of 13 things to share. It could be anything. I love lists, so I thought I'd join in a couple of times this month for fun. I’m sharing a list of the most-viewed posts on my blog.

MY BLOG'S TOP 13 POSTS OF ALL TIME:

(based on views)

1. Writing About: A Car Accident - 77.3K views

2. Writing About: A Kidnapping - 15.4K views

3. Writing About: A Wedding - 11.8K views

4. Writing About: Witches - 7.35K views

5. Writing About: A Plane Ride - 6.43K views

6. Protagonist vs Antagonist - 6.27K views

7. Ad Astra Interview / Olivia and Fiona Discuss Banned Books and Intersectional Feminism - 4.01K views

8. New Release Marketing Conclusions - 3.94K views

9. Writing About: Torture - 3.56K views

10. Writing About: A Foot Chase - 3.34K views

11. Writing About: School - 3.25K views

12. Writer's Burnout Part 10 (No Stress) - 3.25K views

13. Dear “I’m Still a Nobody” Author - 3.02K views

NOTE: Comments are closed to these posts, as is the case for all of my older posts. I close the comments to every post about a month after they go live to prevent spam attacks.

It's always interesting to see what posts get the most views. My Writing About feature, which I did for a few years here on my blog, obviously was a hit. I wonder if I should revive it. Back then, the posts were about topics and characters and scenes I'd written about at the time. I've written a lot since I stopped the feature.

If you'd like to check out my Writing About feature, you can find the archive on this page: Writing About. There's sections for Characters, More on Characters, Disasters, Supernatural/Paranormal/Fantasy, Crime, Romance, Places, Seasons, Holidays, and Other.