I noticed a few days ago that I reached 100 followers for my blog. To celebrate, I made an illustration of Joe/Dogboy’s online avatar, Warrior Fang, and his dog’s online avatar (it’s the future; intelligent animals can get online too), Silent Paw, battling a swarm of coding bugs.
Enjoy, and as always…thanks for reading.
“Independence and Freedom-File 001” by Jeff C. Fuller is one of the many articles/short stories that can be found on The Detective Files website. In the story, the Declaration of Independence and Constitution are stolen.
The story is told in first-person: Detective Charles Early. He and his new partner, Emma Stevens, must recover the stolen Declaration of Independence and Constitution.
The story has a noir-like style. I could almost picture a rain-drenched city and a detective in a trench coat. I’m not sure if that was the author’s intention, but it is what came across to me. Whether intentional or not, the mood and feel continued throughout the story. It didn’t feel like one minute it was a detective story and the next it was a comedy.
One of the first things I liked about the story is that it ended. By the end, the items are recovered. The story is self-contained. I don’t feel like “now I have to read twenty more files to learn what happened.”
I noticed some editing mistakes. For example, at one point Emma says, “Don’t you thin sir?” Fuller might want to look back through and fix some of these errors.
The dialogue and structure of the story gave it an “always moving” feel. I wasn’t bored or wondered “how much longer till the action.” I also liked the idea of this organization that helps solve cases that are too difficult for regular authorities; it kind of added to the mysterious-noir vide of the story.
I also noticed that Fuller repeats words in some sentences or has redundant text. For instance, at the beginning it says, “The last security guard made one last round around the building when he turned and signaled to the other guard that all was well.” The next sentence has the guard saying that the building is clear and all the alarms are on. Fuller might want to choose between keeping the dialogue or the description.
At one point, Fuller uses the word “feel” many times in one sentence. “Chuck, I have a gut feeling and I am not sure why I am feeling this way but I do have a feeling that this was an inside job…” These issues can easily be solved by eliminating the repetitive word or changing it to another word.
What I found to be the best part of the story was the style. Throughout the story, it sounds as if Detective Early is speaking. The narration stays in character. The descriptions of people sound like how a detective would describe someone in a report. The whole story sounds like someone writing a police report. Fuller does an excellent job at making the story feel like it is a file/report but at the same time making it sound like a story. Fuller balances the two well.
“File 001” made me curious to read more files and even check out the main novel The Detective Files: Emma Stevens and the Lord of Crime, which is published by Page Publishing; it is available at retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 4/5
Thanks for reading! Consider liking, commenting, and sharing. And consider following so you’ll know when the wormhole spits out another update.
Until the next wormhole…bye!
The following are my opinion and do not reflect the opinion of any organization or person.
Blogs
I Am An Artist Because… by Cristian Mihai (irevuo)
A Forest Walk by Literary Titan
Taking A Breather by sandyjwhite (Out of My Write Mind)
Books/Stories
“My Secrets” from PENNED DOWN by Masquerade (Shreya_VA)
The hidden Playground With Mr. X Dreams & Raggedy Anzy by Madame Raven
“Whispers from the Closet” from Dreamer of Death by violetsintherain
Podcast/News
TMNT Updates! NEW Shredder In Rise?! Batman TMNT 3 Comic In May! by THE OLD TURTLE DEN
Dirk Manning on working with publishers and an independent creator by Dreamer Comics
David Putnam invades the Corner! by Authors On The Air Radio
Movies
Welcome to Marwen
Green Book
Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker Official Teaser Trailer (2019) Daisy Ridley, John Boyega by IGN
Comics
The Heroverse | Dial H for Hero #1 Review by Fortress of Solitude
The Flash # 1 (DC Rebirth) by DC Comics
Earth 2: World’s End #5 by DC Comics
Everything Else
Hermitcraft 6: Episode 59 – HERMIT NEWS by Grian via @YouTube
Our First I Love You by It’s Alex Clark
The Extinction That Caused The Dinosaurs (And If It Never Happened) by AlternateHistoryHub
The following are my opinion and do not reflect the opinion of any organization or person.
Searching (movie): A man’s daughter goes missing. As he searches her online history, he learns that he might not have known her as well as he thought.
I found seeing the movie through the perspective of a computer screen unique—although a little like those “home video” movies. I also enjoyed how the confrontation with perpetrator at the end was closer to how it would happen in real life.
The Soulkeepers (book one of “The Soulkeepers” series) by G.P. Ching: A teen’s mother goes missing so he has to leave his home and live with an uncle he never knew he had. Over time, the teen learns there is more to his family and himself than he thought.
The story was a good read. I had trouble putting it down until the end. Near the end, I started to feel like “how much longer.” The book is very religious with the main character struggling to accept God and his role in protecting the world from fallen angels. I did like that the ending seemed like an ending. The ending answered all the questions and felt like the adventure was over but still left it open to another tale.
The following are my opinion and do not reflect the opinion of any organization or person.
Wattpad Stories
Fugitive by 8lydia14m99
Red Petals by music_ally
YouTube Videos
Dad Vs The Internet by It’s Alex Clark
PUSHEEN’S VALENTINE #pusheensvalentine by Jess the Dragoon
Comics
The Adventures of the Super Sons #7 (DC Comics)
Movies
Tolkien Trailer #1-(2019) J.R.R. Tolkien Biopic posted by IGN
SHAZAM!-Aquaman Sneak Peak by DC
Books
Brother’s Keeper: A Surreal Short Horror Story by Richard Denoncourt
Contract Killer (The Short and Scary Series) by Cathy Pace Matthews
Invasion from the Appleverse by JasonGreenfield (ongoing story): The evil and goateed Henri, an anthropomorphic apple with an attitude, wishes to destroy Henry, an anthropomorphic banana from another reality.
Rhino Charge | Miles Morales #2 by Caped-Joel (YouTube review): The hero Miles Morales must team up with the villain Rhino to solve a mystery. This should be interesting…
History of NINTENDO CONSOLES: From the FamiCom to World Domination! by FootofaFerret (YouTube): A look at Nintendo and how they changed the gaming world (or more accurately kept it alive).
Joe Rover eBooks are available at many online retailers, such as Barnes and Noble, Apple Books, Walmart eBooks, and more.
Please leave a review at your favorite retailer or on my Facebook page.
I finally got to see Ready Player One. My journey to it seemed rougher than Wade’s quest to get the three keys and save the Oasis. My journey was full of scheduling conflicts and troubles with getting tickets (namely my coupon being declared expired even though it clearly states it expires April 18, 2018). And there were a lot of phone battles while trying to straighten everything out, including being told they would contact me in 24 hours–*cut to me still waiting 25 hours later.*
But, like Wade, I was triumphant. Sadly, I didn’t get the girl or become a part owner in a trillion dollar company.
However, once the lights dimmed and after the one movie trailer aired (so glad I made it to the movie on time), I was able to relax and enjoy the movie.
The best part of the movie was, no surprise here, the Easter Eggs. Just about every pop culture reference you could think of was in the movie at some point. I felt sorry for those that were keeping track, such as IGN, who found about 138 eggs (too bad they weren’t candy ones).
My only problem with the eggs is that most went by too fast or they seemed blurry. I don’t know if this was because of copyright issues or style or just the filmmakers being in a hurry.
I did like how they added some modern pop culture, such as Overwatch and Hello Kitty. It wasn’t all 1980s references that younger people wouldn’t get. Even when mentioning 80s culture, the filmmakers did a good job of choosing ones that everyone would know about. There were still some lesser known ones but they either hid them or explained them–I didn’t feel like I was lost in a sea of pop culture references that only gamers or comic book geeks would understand.
What about the book, you might ask? Where there changes?
The answer is yes.
One change is that Wade didn’t seem as cynical as he was in the book. Also, his aunt was nicer, not loving-homemaker nice, but “better.” The movie was also less post-apocalyptic, depressing world and a bit more…friendly. A character who died in the book does not in the movie. In fact, there seemed to be a lot less deaths…correction, real deaths–there were plenty of virtual deaths (or “Zeroing Out”).
In the book, when the Stacks are attacked, it seemed more destructive, with more people dying. In the movie, it was less destructive. You can see this as a negative or a positive as you wish. I found it to be a positive.
Another, I found, positive change is that Wade “clans up” faster in the movie. In the book, it was close to the end before he really joins the others. While they are friends, they still are in competition. In the movie, the Hi-Five seems to form sooner, though Wade doesn’t really make it “official” until the end.
The movie definitely was geared to a “younger” audience (like teenagers) while the book seemed more targeted for older teens or adults.
At first, I was hesitant about the changes but as the movie progressed, I found I enjoyed them. I still like the book, but I also like the movie. Instead of feeling like I was just watching the book in movie format, I felt like I was getting to go on another adventure with Wade while at the same time fulfilling that want for a movie adaptation. The movie followed the book, but not so much that I felt bored waiting for the best scenes to happen or felt like I knew the ending before the movie began.
I do have to say that I felt the plot was a bit fast. It seemed like within seconds they’d found all the keys. It was kind of like it took five years for the first key to be found and five minutes for the rest. And Wade’s evolution from wanting to win the contest for the money to wanting to stop IOI seemed quick too.
But, I have to agree with others who say Ready Player One is like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory but with pop culture candy and a scoop of childhood memory ice cream.
Overall, I’m going to have to see it again. And looking forward to doing so. I have to give it a 4.8 out of 5–mainly because some of the camo characters looked blurry, otherwise it was a nice, fun action movie that made you feel like you were on an enjoyable ride filled with your wildest dreams instead of running for your life.
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Joe Rover eBooks are available at many fine retailers.
Photo taken from Yolonda’s Wattpad profile.
Recently, I had a chat with Yolonda Elliott, the author of Her Lover’s Face, a soon to be published book by Black Velvet Seductions.
Yolonda currently has no website. “My old website provider shutdown so I have to create a new one,” she said. But she can be contacted via Wattpad under PatriciaElliott8.
So, tell us a little about yourself:
Hmm, author bio. I’ve never written an author bio, but here we go:
Yolonda Elliott is a certified legal secretary and a licensed security guard. She lives with her family along the West Coast of Canada.
She started writing fanfiction as a youngster, and then progressed to writing her own stories in her mid-twenties. Her debut story, Her Lover’s Face, was recently picked up by a publisher.
At 39 years old, she continues to pursue her writing career with her family’s support.
Why did you start writing?
I was bullied as a child. Writing poetry and stories became a way to share my thoughts, escape reality, and become everything I didn’t think I was.
How long have you been writing?
I can remember sitting on the railing of my back porch writing. I must have been around ten years old.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or acknowledge?
My brother for pushing me to write original stories, instead of just fanfiction. My parents and husband who support my desire to write. Also, my old high school sweetheart who was the inspiration for my first story.
Do you consider yourself a writer or an author? Why?
Hmm, a writer first and foremost. I became an author because of my desire to write.
Who’s your favorite author?
Nora Roberts
What’s your favorite genre?
Romance
What’s your favorite story/book?
The Bible
How did you get people to know about your stories?
Currently I use Wattpad, Twitter, and Facebook to promote my work.
How do you judge if you are successful?
If my work can make someone laugh or cry, then I feel successful. That means my story came alive to them and drew them in.
What is Her Lover’s Face about?
The reader will follow a widow who runs into a man who looks like her deceased husband.
Needless to say a few ghosts rise from the ground as they work to uncover the mystery behind Her Lover’s Face.
Who is the target audience?
Anyone who loves a good romance novel.
Do you know the release date or the price?
Not yet, but hopefully sometime in the next three years.
What stage of the publishing process are you in?
In the editing stage.
Do you have other books published? If so, which ones and where are they sold?
Her Lover’s Face is the first to be published; but, if anyone would like to check out other stories of mine, they are welcome to visit my profile on Wattpad. They can also read a free sample of HLF.
What are your plans now that “Her Lover’s Face” is going to be published?
Continue writing, as well as, increasing my online presence.
Any plans for future books?
I am currently writing two new romance novels and have a number of ideas for future works.
Will there be a sequel?
That is still to be decided, but I’m working on ideas to turn it into a saga.
How do you overcome writer’s block?
Stare at the blank screen until something comes to me?
Seriously though, the only time I had severe writer’s block was when I backed my character into a corner with no way out. I ended up having to change something in my character’s past. Sometimes all you need to do is slightly tweak your story.
What is your proudest moment as a writer?
Writing “The End” on the last page my novel. The book took over two years to write.
Where did you get your inspiration from?
I was reading a Harlequin romance and thought, “Hey, I can do that.” After spending a short time thinking, I came up with a “what if” question inspired by my old high school sweetheart and his twin brother.
What if a widow ran into a man who looked like her deceased husband?
What character would yo want to be and/or what world would you want to live in?
Hmm, from my stories or overall? Madison from Splash. I’d love to be a mermaid and live in the sea.
What advice do you have for other (or new) writers?
Never give up and always be willing to learn.
Is there anything you’d like to add?
“If you believe it, you can achieve it.” That’s the motto I live by.
If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. If you can dream it, you can become it—William Arthur Ward
Thank you Yolonda for taking the time to do this interview. Good luck with your book and your future endeavors.
A sample of Her Lover’s Face can be found here.
Joe Rover 