Movie Review: Thor The Dark World - My Random Toughts

Title: Thor The Dark World

Creator: Marvel

Genre: Movie – Action, Comic

Released: November 8, 2013
Staring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, and Rene Russo

Source: Date Night With The Hubby – Purchased Tickets

Blurb: Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.

Review: Thor is God…haha no, I mean, Chris Hemsworth is god-like. I am very unsure where to start. I’m afraid that if I just say what I feel/think I’ll end up leaving spoilers so beware … this may contain spoilers.

I’ll be honest when I say the ‘super hero’ movies have me leery lately. Superman was a bust and the Avengers didn’t knock my socks off. So when I was told we were going to see Thor for our date night I was hoping to just see a good shot of Mr. God-Like Hemsworth mostly cloths less.

I am very happy to say that Marvel has once again made a fantastic movie. They had everything that you needed, and then some. I am still unsure which part was my favorite. There was quite a lot of banter that produced some great one lines from the cast. The chemistry was there with all of the cast members. I laughed, I cried, I screamed and I mourned.

I’m not sure which character’s death struck me as most shocking. One of the deaths I reached over and grabbed my husband’s hand and said “NO!”

The most comical part of the movie and one of my favorite moments was the cameo by Captain America. I was cracking up laughing during that scene. I loved the scene at the end where Thor shows up and just grabs the girl and kisses her. Such passion. What every woman wants in a man.

Unrelated but one of the most shocking moments of the night when I realized that Stellan Skarsgard AKA Dr. Erik Selvig is Alexander Skarsgard’s father. That floored me. Glad I was sitting down for that one.

Now, the biggest shocker of them all for me would be Zachary Levi. Had my hubby not told me that was “Chuck” I’d have never known until the credits. He was fantastic. Loved him.

The brother dynamic between Thor and Loki was heartbreaking and yet, wonderful. You watch them come full circle together and their story line twists really shocked me. I didn’t see it coming the way it happened. I was almost in tears at one point of it.

All in all this gets a 5 Star review because there wasn’t any movie in 2013 that was better than Thor The Dark World in this authors opinion. I really can’t wait to see where they go with the next installment of this series.

Favorite lines from the movie:

Loki: I was born to be king! It is my birthright!

Odin: Your birthright was to die! If I hadn't taken you in, you would not now be here to hate me.

Loki: [to Thor] This is so unlike you, brother. So... clandestine.

Loki: [tries to steer the boat into a tiny crevice in the mountain wall] If it were easy, everyone would do it.

Thor: Are you mad?

Loki: Possibly.

Oh Me, Oh My ... It's NaNoWriMo

This right here, is my graph. The graph of my writing progress on Maverick Touch: The Highway. It's been a hell of a month already. Day 10 and I have no idea what the hell these characters are doing inside my head. Yesterday I pumped out over eight thousand words and today I'm looking at my laptop going, "Ughhhh no! I want to put you away for the day!" My husband leaves me alone for three nights and I practically kill myself with Microsoft Word.

Friday night I finished the last minute touches on Bud's Christmas Miracle and uploaded all the links for pre-orders. Now I was able to focus on Maverick #2. I have no idea how I was able to pump out that word count. I mean I do, I had people pushing and encouraging me but damn. Now today I have to make sure I write my seventeen hundred words or I'll fall behind again. But I also have edits for Special Assignment I need to do.

Sighs - if I didn't love this job I'd be in trouble. It's just a bit overwhelming sometimes. All the things you have to do when you indie publish. The most important part of course is the writing. Gotta have a product to put out there. But I think the other parts can get over looked. It's not just the words on the page that are important. You have to manage all your own editing. Whether it's trading services with other authors, paying for your own editor, or learning how to edit yourself. Then the formatting. And of course it's not just one style of format. Print books have one, Amazon Ebooks have another, Smashwords has their own, and then the PDF version. Don't forget the marketing, almost as important as the others. Gotta update websites, pay and create ads, schedule posts ahead of time, and of course think up ways to drive traffic to your sites and bring interest in your books.

So now I have NaNo on my brain along with Jake and Charlie from Special Assignment. I'm torn at what my mind wants to write and what my fingers are pumping out. So somewhere I just decided to write a blog.  Too bad these words don't count in my sum total of words for NaNo. I'd be close to 50K by now. I can blog all day long.

I wish there was a way to pause time over a weekend to be able to get everything done ahead of time for the week. That way I could work all weekend and rest during the week in the evenings. I think sometimes people think the life of an aspiring author, indie or traditional, is fun. While yes, the writing is fun, the other crap is tedious and almost more important than the words on the page that you type.

So while I push myself to hit that 50K for the first time in just 30 days I have to remind myself that I can't forget the rest of my 'author' life just because NaNo is demanding my time. What I found really helps me is that support of others in the same or similar situations. Be it fellow NaNoers or authors who are doing the same struggles you are.

And now I'm reading over my randomness and I am laughing. Once again the things on my brain are not what my fingers type. I'm stuck in this complete trance of organic writing and I can't plan anything. Very frustrating yet so rewarding.

Now off I go to finish first rounds of edits on Special Assignment. My editor has gotten tough on me and she's working me over hard. Hopefully tonight after date night with the hubby I can crank out my seventeen hundred words and remain on track for that NaNoWriMo Award!

Sunday Review: Curatur's Curse

Title:  Curator's Curse

Author: Scarlet Hunter

Genre: Short Story, Erotic Romance

Published: February 10th 2013

Source: The author gave me this copy for an honest review 

Purchase the book on Amazon

Blurb

The strongest Curator of the Immortal Bloods, a vampire, gifted with an array of powers, Larken yearns for the female who watched him from a distance. Because as she spied on him, he spied on her. A lady deemed forbidden to one such as he. Yet, Larken fought against all warnings to stay away and succumbed to her silent temptation. And a night that changed his destiny and hers forever.

Layla, a spirit-demon, had been hiding from her father, the king of hell, for two hundred years. Taking refuge in the fortress of the Immortal Blood vampires, she swore to the council never to acknowledge who or what she was to anyone. Until one night, her self imposed isolation is breached when she is approached by the one male vampire she’d watched from the shadows for years. She knew she had to stay away from him. For only he was capable of triggering an evil inside her. And yet for one night she gives in, but her dark secret can bring down the entire race of the Immortal Blood vampires.

 Review

This book has a lot of potential. The ideas beind it were good and it made me want to know more about the world that was created.

I think the my biggest issue with the book is it felt some what disorganized. I didn't realize we were in the middle of a flashback until the end and that had me very lost. I wished that parts of it were elaborated and not rushed through because i wanted to know more about the cahracters.

It wasn't a hard book to read, I didn't struggle getting through it. I wished that the main characters had more of their back story and why they were in love with each other. It was obvious they cared but I just wanted more. Which isn't a bad thing.

This is the first book of Scarlet Hunter's that I've read and I would read another title from her.

 

A Tad Bit of Awesomeness With A Dash Of Thankfulness And A Spoonful Of Randomness

Today is a day for an Ashley Rambling. I've been so busy here lately that I haven't had time for a good rant or a good posting. As I'm sure you have noticed I've branched out here on Memories in a Box to include reviews and blog tours. I figured, I'm reading ( or watching ) the books ( or movies ) already why not just post my thoughts on it. Then I signed up for a few blog tour sites as a host because I love learning about other peoples books so why not do something that brings books to my doorstep instead of me going out there and randomly hoping to find something to love.

But today I am in the mood for some 'Ashley' here on my blog so that's what you're gonna get! Lucky you, right? haha. So here is what's been on my mind. It's a bit of a random with a tad bit of a thankfulness with a touch of just awesomeness.

Friendships - I am a major believer in the people whom you hold closest as a friend become your family. And when times look their darkest that they are the ones that carry you through because they are the ones you spill your heart out too. They are the ones you can be honest with. Who call you on your bullshit. Who keep you in line and make you admit when you're outta line. They are the ones who know the true you and the ones who can tell when something is wrong, even when you say everything's alright.

There are many levels of friendship and I feel like each person inside your circle of people is there for a reason and no two people are there for the same one. Each of us find something unique and wonderful in each true friend we carry with us.

When I'm at my lowest, I need to laugh. There is only one friend who can make me crack the fuck up in an instant. That's not her only job, but some days, that's her most important one. I have another friend who sees through my layers of what I want people to see or believe and exposes my truth.

And then I have my husband, the best friend of them all. The one who holds me when I cry, kisses my tears away. Keeps the evil from hurting me. He's the one who grounds me to reality and keeps me from fluttering away.

My sisters and my husband keep me sane and true to myself. They are who push me to wake up each morning and challenge me to become a better person.

So today, I am thankful for them.

And in other awesomeness - I am also thankful for my job. Now I am sure some of you are like, "Well of course you are, it pays the bills." But no, that's not the reason I'm thinking. And I thought about this today when I was talking with my grandfather about why I don't want to switch jobs, even if one for more money could possibly come up. How many of you can say you love your job? I think I heard a study once that said over sixty percent of people are miserable at work. I've been there done that - thank God I'm not there anymore.

Do I have bad days? Of course. This week has been a fucking bitch on me - but at the end of the day, I love my job. I can be myself. And not the 'myself' that people see when I'm in public or having to be on my best behavior. The myself that Laura has known for almost twenty years, the myself that Tony fell in-love with. The myself that jokes and does whatever she wants with Stacy.

The real me. The me that these friends help me keep in tact.

My boss told me once when he first hired me in 2006 that this job is in the blood. That once you taste it, you will crave it, and never let it go. And he was right. I left the industry for three years and for two years and eight months I regretted that decision.

So now, I'm thankful that I am happy. I might not have the monetary riches that others crave, but I have true wealth. I have a family that loves me and a profession (and a hobby) that bring me more joy than most Americans feel in their day to day life.

And then last but not least, my baby, Toto. I'm thankful for my fur baby that makes sure I'm happy and content every moment of the day. All I need to do is think his name and he's in my lap loving on his momma. In the absence of children, I cannot imagine a happier feeling than Toto coming and crawling next to me when I need him the most. He saved me from myself and brought me out of my shell. One of the best things Tony ever wanted, a puppy.

Sunday Review: Summertime by Chrstina Cole

Title: Summertime

Author: Christina Cole

Genre: Historical Romance

Published: 2013

Purchase: Amazon Smashwords Barnes & Noble

Source: The author gave me this copy for an honest review 

Blurb:
Linn Sparks wanted all life had to offer. Fame, fortune, glamour and excitement. She found it as a star of the stage at the Crown Theater in San Francisco.

For Ed Ferguson, life was far less complicated. All he wanted was Linnie Mae, but she’d left him standing alone at the altar seven years before when she’d run off to pursue her dreams.
Now, Linn Sparks has come home to Brookfield, Kansas.

But coming back means facing a lot of unpleasant realities: a strained relationship with a father who never wanted her, a mother whose grasp on sanity is slipping away, and the feelings she still has for the love she left behind.

Ed still wants Linnie Mae, but he knows she won’t stay. How can he spend the summer being near her and not get his heart broken again?

Between them, passions flare in the heat of SUMMERTIME.

Review:

This book was great. I'm trying to figure out where to start on this review. The first thing that I just loved about this book is that the town took place in Kansas. Not Wichita or another major city but a small town, outside of Wichita. Personally I can't get enough out of mid-west novels. Being from Kansas and all it makes me feel nice and nostalgic  to read them.

Linn was an easy character to like. She had a bit of stubbornness that started to wear down as Ed pushed her. It was really enjoying watching their relationship rekindle. I enjoyed Ed a lot. He was the type of guy you picture when you think of an old style man.

Linn and her father's relationship broke my heart, it brought tears to my eyes and I think that any daughter who is a daddies girl will be able to identify with them. And even if you're not.

Ed and his bother had an odd relationship. Couple times things were said and it made me take pause and go, "What the hell is wrong with the brother." But in the end it all made sense.

I loved Tad, Ed's son. He was adorable.

This book in my eyes gets five stars because when you read it, you're left smiling and feeling light hearted in the end. It was a breeze to read, I was told it was just over 90,000 words but I flew through it in under five hours. I can say, in the 34 books I have read this year, I can only think of three that I read that quickly. 

Thank you Christina for asking me to review this book - it was a major delight!

 

The Count Down Has Begun ... NaNo! Maverick Touch #2 Here We Go!

It's that time of year that writers love - that month were everything your heart and mind can focus on are devoted to one thing and one thing only .... WRITING!

This will be my third attempt. In 2011 I tried to write a story and literally nothing came of it. I can't even remember what the hell it was I was going to write about. In 2012 I was doing SO good. Then I got sick for two weeks and bammm. I had 30,000 words by week two and then nothing. Took me exactly 6 weeks and 6 days to finish Maverick Touch: The Cat. So what am I tackling this year in NaNo? Maverick Touch #2. This year I AM going to finish. Come hell or high water. Even if I have to bleed the words into my computer I WILL WIN!

So why am I doing Maverick Touch # 2? Well, I think, if I can manage, I'd like Nadia and Mr. A to be my November tradition. I have really loved all the feedback I have gotten on the first book and I can't wait to see where the second one goes. 

What's to be expected in the sequel? All I got at the moment is Nadia, Anabella and Mr. A are going to Houston. Why Houston? Because my husband said "Bring Nadia to Houston, it will be easier to write about a city you know." I sure as hell hope he is right!

Just like the first book I am planning on doing zero planning. I want this body of fiction to grow organically. I am also going to be doing something a tad bit different. I am going to be posting my unedited - updates to Smashwords so people can follow along with me if they want too. I always thrive having reader feedback while I'm writing so I thought this time I would branch out beyond my immediate beta circle.

So all you NaNo writers out there, if you want to add me then my name is tigerlady52.

Actually I think my happiest part about this NaNo is that my good friend Jennifer from College (one of my longest friendships) is going to be participating in NaNo this year with me in an attempt to write her first novel. I'm so thrilled to be doing this with one of my close friends.

Alright - Let's Do This! Mr A and Nadia are ready to come out and play.

Wordless Wednesday Take 12