Troll And Seeing Romance Where It Isn’t Shown
Spoiler Alert – This post will talk about the Netflix movie Troll and it WILL contain spoilers. If you haven’t yet watched this fun and surprisingly good monster film, you might wish to skip this post.
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I watched Troll on a lark. We saw Troll 2 had released and figured it must have been good or enjoyable enough to warrant a sequel.
My friends, it was both. It was fun and fantastical and emotionally deep in places. The characters were interesting and well developed. The expected army guy? He had depth and humor and was extremely likable.
It was also a Norwegian film, which made it even more fun, because characters switched between languages often and fluidly. (It had English subtitles.) And the scenery was gorgeous.
Did Troll have romance?
No. Not on the screen.
As a romance reader and writer, however, I saw how romantic relationships could form between certain characters and I was pairing (and more) characters up during the entire movie.
Troll will definitely inspire some future stories from me.
(smiles)
Topics: Movie Reviews | Comments Off on Troll And Seeing Romance Where It Isn’t Shown
Throwback Thursday – Under Strain
Under Strain is set on a super cool DINOSAUR planet.
I LOVE dinosaurs!
(smiles)
And I love Strain and Kamyelle.
Kamyelle, a small human female, is determined to rescue Strain, a huge cyborg warrior, not knowing he doesn’t want or need to be rescued.
Physically.
He very much needs rescuing in another way.
Under Strain
A damaged cyborg warrior is hunted by a peace-loving human female.
***
Strain is severely malfunctioning. The D Model cyborg was the sole survivor after a horrific decision was made by his cruel manufacturers. He hates all humans, and when he attacks one who is under his cyborg leader’s protection, he is reprimanded, stripped of his weapons, and told to watch and not actively participate in the next mission.
That mission takes place on a small remote planet. Its lush terrain should only be inhabited by the cyborgs they were sent to rescue, but Strain senses another presence on the surface. She is watching him, tracking him, hunting him.
A fully operational cyborg would end her lifespan.
Strain wants to claim her. Forever.
Kamyelle is the only one left of her kind. Warriors have killed the other nonviolent human inhabitants of her planet. She survived…barely…by hiding in the trees, observing her enemies, and covering herself with lifeform scan-concealing mud.
When a handsome, gray-skinned, brilliant-blue-eyed male arrives, surrounded by weapon-carrying warriors, she has to save him. Warriors harm and they kill. That is what they do.
She won’t allow them to hurt Strain.
***
Under Strain is a STANDALONE Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.
It features a broken warrior, a human female who thinks he’s perfect, and velociraptor-like dinosaurs who view them both as light, tasty snacks.
Buy Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08R322L7S
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08R322L7S
Amazon AUS:
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B08R322L7S
Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/under-strain/id1545957749
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/under-strain
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/10602
Topics: Throwback Thursday | Comments Off on Throwback Thursday – Under Strain
Garden Layouts Aren’t Set In Stone
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I are investing in quite a few new-to-us perennials this season.
Perennials need a semi-permanent place in the garden (they CAN be moved but it sets back their growth and is a pain in the a$$ to do). Which means we have to rearrange our rather small backyard.
We’re moving the leaf mold cages to the side of the house that gets very little sun and nothing much grows there. This won’t hurt the leaf mold production and it will free up those sunnier spaces for growing vegetables.
(smiles)
Garden layouts aren’t set in stone, my friends.
Well, unless you literally set them in stone. And even those can be changed if you’re very strong and/or have a sledge hammer.
(grins)
Change them when your requirements change.
Topics: Gardening | Comments Off on Garden Layouts Aren’t Set In Stone
Be Kind For You
When I was bringing in the garbage bin for a rather grumpy, sometimes hostile neighbor, another person said to me, “Why do you bother to do that for him? He won’t appreciate it.”
I didn’t do it for him.
I did it for me.
I’m kind for me. I want to live in a neighborhood where neighbors help neighbors, where people take a minute out of their day to be kind for no reason other than being kind.
And I feel good helping others. I feel kinder, less angry with the world.
IMHO, that’s the BEST reason to be kind.
Be kind for you, for YOUR soul.
It doesn’t matter if other people see or know about or appreciate the kindness. YOU see and know about and appreciate it.
And you are more than enough, my friend!
Topics: Cyn-Sights | Comments Off on Be Kind For You
Muse Food – Pile Of Bricks And Arrangements
This sculpture in Taipei, Taiwan is…technically…a pile of (beautiful and unique) bricks.
(smiles)
It is how these bricks are ARRANGED that makes it a beautiful work of art.
Our stories are technically a collection of words. It is how we arrange them that makes them wonderful, that creates a story.
And we can arrange the words a gazillion different ways. This arrangement is what makes our stories unique, stories only we can tell.
Have fun, fellow word arrangers!
(grins)
Topics: Muse Food, Taiwan, Travel | Comments Off on Muse Food – Pile Of Bricks And Arrangements
Cynthia Sax Weekly Update – May 24
This week, I got…distracted. What? Don’t look at me like that, my friends! (laughs) It is prime gardening season and the season is dang short where I live. I have to enjoy it while it’s here.
I’m midway through writing the first draft of the sixth installment of the Super Secret Project. I’ll work on this fun long story mostly during rainy days for the next little bit.
Have a wonderful week, my friends. (big hugs) Enjoy the season where you live also. Go outside over your lunch hour if you can. Eat vegetables and fruits that are in season and produced by local farmers/gardeners. On sunny days, dress sunnily in yellows and oranges and happy colors. Have fun with this life we’ve been given!
Cyborg Sizzle Escape Omnibus
Half Man. Half Machine. All Theirs.
* * *
While these cyborg warriors battle to escape their cruel manufacturers, they find the human females they are destined to love for all eternity.
This omnibus includes the first seven stories in the Cyborg Sizzle series: Releasing Rage, Breathing Vapor, Being Green, Crash And Burn, Defying Death, Chasing Mayhem and Jumping Barrel.
All of these Cyborg Romances are set in a dark, gritty, often violent universe.
Releasing Rage
Rage, the Humanoid Alliance’s most primitive cyborg, has two goals–kill all of the humans on his battle station and escape to the Homeland. The warrior has seen the darkness in others and in himself. He believes that’s all he’s been programmed to experience.
Until he meets Joan.
Breathing Vapor
Vapor is the most advanced cyborg the Humanoid Alliance has ever developed. He’s a finely honed weapon, a warrior without parallel, half man and half machine. No lock can contain him. No being can stop him. Whatever he wants, he takes.
He wants Mira Breazeal, the Designer’s daughter.
Being Green
Green, a cyborg warrior, cares for one being—his plant Windy. When Windy becomes sick, he’ll do anything to heal her, even venture across the universe to visit a worlds-renowned plant doctor.
He doesn’t expect to find love.
Crash And Burn
Crash was manufactured to be one of the best warriors in the universe. The cyborg has spent many human lifespans fighting the enemy. But, unlike his battle-loving brethren, he doesn’t enjoy killing. When he escapes the Humanoid Alliance, he vows to never end another life.
Then he meets Safyre, an infuriating human female, and he considers breaking his vow.
Defying Death
Cyborgs don’t show emotion. Death learned that lesson early in his long lifespan. To survive, he hides his fierce passions behind a stoic wall. He calls no warrior friend. He never admits to caring for any being.
Even the human female he’s destined to love.
Chasing Mayhem
Mayhem has spent his lengthy lifespan obeying the Humanoid Alliance’s rules. Finally free from their cruel control, the cyborg warrior plans to cause chaos. He infiltrates a remote settlement, provokes the savage locals until they want him dead, and allows himself to be captured by the sexiest little Retriever he has ever laid his mechanically-enhanced eyes on.
Jumping Barrel
Barrel requires an Expert for the Tau Cetian orphans. He’s looking for a female who is willing to commit to a lifespan-long role, who is comfortable with moving off planet, and who, preferably, has the ability to speak the offsprings’ first language.
His female, however, is looking for a hero.
Buy Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/Cyborg-Sizzle-Escape-Omnibus-Continuum-ebook/dp/B081VFHF1S
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cyborg-Sizzle-Escape-Omnibus-Continuum-ebook/dp/B081VFHF1S
Amazon AUS:
https://www.amazon.com.au/Cyborg-Sizzle-Escape-Omnibus-Continuum-ebook/dp/B081VFHF1S
Amazon Canada:
https://www.amazon.ca/Cyborg-Sizzle-Escape-Omnibus-Continuum-ebook/dp/B081VFHF1S
Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/cyborg-sizzle-escape-omnibus/id1488934271
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/cyborg-sizzle-escape-omnibus
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/992060
Topics: Cynthia Sax Weekly Update | Comments Off on Cynthia Sax Weekly Update – May 24
Influencers And What We See Online
A lot of what we see online, especially from professional influencers, is staged. The gardens are staged. The homes are staged. The vacation photos are staged.
They are the best possible scenario.
Some gardening influencers stick plants obtained from garden centers into the ground right before filming. They pull the dead or dying or diseased plants. They weed the garden. They show the best angles, the best spots.
There ARE influencers who are pushing back on this. They ARE showing some dying or diseased plants. They DO talk about their failures.
But they are rare.
And even these influencers don’t show us a lot of their failures.
That’s understandable.
Many people watch them BECAUSE they are a success. These people don’t want to see failures or imperfections. It makes them doubt the influencer’s credibility.
Remember this when you look at photos and videos. Very few people show their failures but I can guarantee with 100% certainty they are experiencing them.
Because even professionals have failures.
Even professionals make mistakes. They aren’t first year newbie mistakes. They are no one could have predicted or stopped this mistakes. Or they are I was too busy/tired when I made this decision mistakes. Or they are I tried something new because I’m always trying to improve and it didn’t work out mistakes.
You could be the best gardener in the world, for example, and an unexpected hail storm will still take out much of your outdoor garden (and we won’t even talk about the constant battle against slugs – grins).
Professionals have failures. Influentials have failures. You and I shouldn’t be surprised when we have failures also.
Failures are part of this wonderful journey.
(smiles)
Topics: Cyn-Sights | Comments Off on Influencers And What We See Online
Predator: Badlands And Intelligent Adversaries
Spoiler Alert – This post will talk about Predator: Badlands and it WILL contain spoilers. If you haven’t yet watched this SciFi Action Movie set on a fantastical alien world, you might wish to skip this post.
I LOVED Predator: Badlands and yes, I have enjoyed ALL of the Predator movies (my favorite being the first Alien vs Predator movie, which I would consider to be a romance if the hero’s fate wasn’t what it was – dang it).
But Predator: Badlands is special.
Because the alien world it is set in is absolutely amazing. It is worth viewing for this alone.
There are magical little details like the razor grass, which could very well have ancestors in common with our Earth vegetation. Grass cuts on our planet are extremely painful (they are similar to deep paper cuts, yet with the increased possibility of infection). And there are plants that are silver in color.
Every plant and/or creature in this alien world has possible relatives here on Earth. As someone who loves world building AND evolutionary biology, this level of care is impressive.
Another reason to watch Predator: Badlands is the big baddie.
The unkillable creature the Predator is hunting has earned its place at the top of this hostile planet’s extensive food chain.
One of my pet peeves are dumb big baddies. Yes, underlings can be idiots. That is highly likely. (grins) And yes, villains can make mistakes (one common human mistake is overconfidence).
But you don’t get to the top by being dumb (So NEVER dismiss a real life big baddie because you feel they lack intelligence. They don’t. You’re underestimating them.).
In Predator: Badlands, we are shown that the Big Baddie, the alien creature the Predator is hunting, can learn. Quickly. It can communicate. It can problem solve.
It is formidable opponent.
And that makes this already action-packed movie even more thrilling. And interesting.
Topics: Movie Reviews | Comments Off on Predator: Badlands And Intelligent Adversaries
Throwback Thursday – Containing Malice
If you loved Releasing Rage (tackle hugs), you will likely enjoy Containing Malice. They are very similar stories.
Because Malice has been locked in an underground laboratory for years. He has been experimented on, tortured, tested, and he doesn’t realize many of his brethren are free. He doesn’t realize cyborgs have genetic matches, beings they are destined to love and protect, and that there’s a possibility for offspring.
He doesn’t have hope.
All he has is a desire for vengeance.
Containing Malice
This tormented cyborg craves vengeance…and her.
***
Malice, a C Model cyborg, has spent his long lifespan enslaved by the Humanoid Alliance. His cruel manufacturers have hurt him in all the ways a male could be hurt.
His enemy has now added a new weapon to their arsenal—a tiny human medic with soft hands and a delectable scent. She experiments on him multiple times a shift, delivering pain…and frustration.
He wants her. He also seeks retribution.
Once Malice frees himself, he plans to achieve both of his goals, taking Medic Illona captive and ending her research…permanently.
Illona is as much a prisoner as the cyborgs she experiments on. Since her arrival at the Human Alliance’s secret laboratory, she has carefully, stealthily, crafted a plot to free her test subjects. To conceal her covert activities, the medic has been forced to harm beings rather than heal them.
The being she has damaged the most is also the cyborg she fiercely desires— Malice, a huge, gray-skinned, blue-eyed C Model with massive hands and a voice deeper than space. He hates her, has good reason to do so, and, when he’s freed, there’s a high probability he’ll kill her.
Illona will take that risk to ensure he survives.
***
Containing Malice is a STANDALONE enemies-to-lovers Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.
It is the first of five core stories in the Rebel Cyborgs Series.
Book 1: Containing Malice
Book 2: Under Strain
Book 3: Baring Grudge
Book 4: B Free
Book 5: Seizing Power
Buy Today:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LK4CWHS
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08LK4CWHS
Amazon AUS:
https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B08LK4CWHS
Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/containing-malice/id1536770487
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/containing-malice
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1049881
Topics: Throwback Thursday | Comments Off on Throwback Thursday – Containing Malice
Gardening Self-Sufficiency And Time
(This is a stock photo. Our water storage system isn’t as pretty. – grins)
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I have a goal to be self-sufficient with our gardening.
Eventually.
If there’s ever a time when we can’t buy or otherwise obtain soil, fertilizer, water, containers and other gardening necessities from others, we want to still be able to grow vegetables and berries.
I hope that day never comes but we’re preparing for it. Just in case.
This preparation takes time. And resources. And expertise.
It isn’t an overnight, install it and be done process.
Making leaf mold, for example, takes at the minimum two years.
My first attempt was a disaster. I didn’t add enough water. The leaves didn’t break down.
I’m trying again and that will take at least another two years.
Putting together a rain water retention system, as another example, takes expertise and money. We’re building this system over time, adding rain barrels and storage containers to it every year.
Building a base of perennial vegetables and berries involves a GREAT deal of learning and babying the plants those first few years and money to buy the seeds/starts. I find we can only add a couple perennials every year to our garden successfully.
Self-sufficiency with gardening isn’t an easy overnight type of thing.
But then gardening isn’t an easy overnight type of thing.
(grins)
We can do this!
Topics: Gardening | Comments Off on Gardening Self-Sufficiency And Time
