Dahlia DeWinters – Author – Page 11 – Quirky Heroines, Happy Endings

Horror Movie Review: Paranormal Activity

Title: Paranormal Activity (2007)

Genre: Horror, Drama, Not so bad after all

Summary: After moving into a suburban home, a couple becomes increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic presence. (from IMDB)

Yes. The film is over ten years old, but I wanted to include some of the horror movies that made a splash in more recent times. Also, I rather liked Paranormal Activity. It’s a charming little film that doles out the scares just enough to keep the you interested. There are two main characters, Katie and Micah, a couple who have a cute little home except for the issue of what may or may not be an issue with haunting.

The film is shot in POV style, which is a fancy way of saying one of the characters has a camera and makes it their business to film any and everything thing. In this case, it goes with the plot, since Katie and Micah want to see what’s happening while they’re asleep.

I won’t give away the movie on the off chance that you haven’t seen it by now, but suffice it to say I did enjoy this movie, although I feel the characters made some questionable choices. I also felt that Micah was kind of a jerk at some points, as he deliberately went against Katie’s wishes in a few instances. And I think that in doing that, he was the cause of the final events.

But if he followed all the rules, there wouldn’t be a movie, now would there?

I’d also like to note that I’ve seen both endings, and personally, I can see the value in both. I can also see why they did the modified ending, to open up that sequel door!

I recommend Paranormal Activity, if you haven’t seen it already. It’s worth it to see what all the fuss was about.

Grade: B

Horror Movie Review: The Bye Bye Man

Title: The Bye Bye Man

Genre: Horror, Drama, it wasn’t terrible…..

Summary: Three friends stumble upon the horrific origins of a mysterious figure they discover is the root cause of the evil behind unspeakable acts. (from IMDB)

There’s an old song, from the seventies, that says, “Where do I begin/To tell the story of how sweet a love can be?”

In this case, I would change the words to: Where do I begin/to tell the story of how crap this film it be?

The movie begins in what looks like the 1960s where some dude with glasses is walking around with a shotgun chanting “Don’t think it, don’t say it” and systematically shooting everyone in his house and finally himself. Okay. That’s fine. It is a horror, after all.

Fast forward to the present time, and the good ol’ pack of those kind of young folks that you see in horror all the time characterize themselves for the viewer. Hopefully, this briefest of character sketches will make us feel sorry for them when things go woefully wrong. Spoiler alert: I’m just here for the Bye Bye Man. Also, I see you black dude!

There are several good things about the movie. The atmosphere is appropriately creepy and foreboding. The dark cinematography, even over the daytime scenes, give you a feeling that anything can happen at any time. There are some jump scares that are kind of effective and the monster/killer itself gives off a type of Freddy Krueger vibe.

That being said, the film did not quite make it for me. It wasn’t that the film was so bad, in fact, it had an interesting premise and the actors (for the most part) were adequate. It just felt like something was missing. They seemed to be playing fast and loose with the plot, which made some of the reasoning behind characters’ motivations hard to follow.

All in all, I won’t turn you away from seeing this movie. As I said, the premise was intriguing and parts of the movie were effective. Go into this with the thought you’re just going to have fun, and you will.

Grade: B-

Who’s in Your Tribe – Motivation Monday

Hello! Thank you for joining me today on the blog.

Today, I’m naming names!

If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times: Writing is a very lonely pursuit. I’m not speaking of the times spent on social media talking/posting about writing; I’m talking about those long stretches of time where you’re either pounding furiously at the keyboard, staring at a blank screen, or slowly but surely plugging away at your goal. It’s a solitary pursuit, to be sure.

This is why, in those times where you need advice on a plot point, a pointer about advertising, or just a jump start to your creativity, you go to your tribe. If you don’t have a tribe, I highly recommend getting one.

Every tribe is different. People play smaller or larger roles, but all your tribe members are important, because they are in YOUR tribe and they help you get through this writing life.

Note, I specifiy writing life, because your writing tribe may be different from your work tribe, which in turn may be different from your family tribe (or Fam Tribe, as my 13 year old daughter says). Point is, they are a cornerstone of that area of your life.

Today, I want to talk about my Writing Tribe, my Mermaid Squad, my Unicorn Legion. These are the writers (and “civilians” lol) who have helped me in some way throughout my writing career.

Kassanna Dwight – She reached out to me when we were both at Evernight Publishing, showed me how the “new” type of e-publishing worked. (I was running on the “two books a year” model, and she set me straight pretty quick.) She now runs the Interracial Author and Reader Expo down in Florida every year. She really gave me the boot I needed in the beginning to get started and keep going.

Lynn Chantale – Lynn was and is always up to hash out plot points. I can message her with the wildest plot: Say, a cat, who’s a shifter cat, like a Maine Coon. So, if they met a werewolf, how do you think they’d get along? No plot twist is too outrageous. She will work with me until it’s hashed out!

Mya Lairis – I met Mya when I got on with Loose Id (which is sadly, no longer in existence). I was so impressed with her body of books, and found her werewolf books to be refreshing different. She’s also good for a “what if” scenario and is super encouraging. Plus, she crochets and has great cats! She is the driving force behind Colors in Darkness, which is a group that focuses on horror, dark fantasy, and speculative fiction by people of color.

Eden Royce – Another publisher match – I “met” Eden when I had a book with Mocha Memoirs Press. An editor as well as an excellent short story writer (her work has appeared in magazines such as Fiyah and Strange Horizons), she’s also good for a fast turnaround beta read. Like within a day on a short story. I mean, we know how that goes, the story is hot from our twitching little fingers, and boy, we need someone to read it RIGHT NOW!!

Shyla Colt – Who doesn’t love a crafter? Shyla writes, makes soap, corrals children, and still finds time to offer encouragement on the (sometimes) weird stuff I want to write. Who gets messages where they have to clarify as such: “Okay, so he’s a unicorn shifter who works on a cardboard factory at night and is a vigilante on a motorcycle by night? Yeah, that works! Write it! LOL No plot or creature is too strange for us writers!

Taige Crenshaw – I’ve only recently met Taige, but the effect she has had on my writing life has been simply phenomenal. For the first time in yeeeeeaaaaarrssss, I’ve got a writing schedule that makes sense. I’ve got books that actually relate to each other. No idea is too far fetched for Taige. She has an answer for nearly every writing issue, and is overflowing with tips, tricks, and encouragement. Didn’t have a good writing week? Taige will give you exactly one pat on the head, and say “Now, how are you going to change going forward?” It’s all about taking action to improve the future instead of wallowing in past writing mistakes. She gives her time, and her vast, vast, VAST experience in the publishing world. She is a prolific writer who knows how to put words to paper and I am so happy to have met her. (Check out her site Designer’s Edge Ink for information on coaching and courses etc. You won’t be sorry.)

So, there you go. My writing tribe. The people above are important because they either held my hand and nodded or put a foot in my behind when I needed it.

Having a good tribe of positive people around you is more important than you can imagine. They drag you over the rough spots and cheer when you succeed. This is so important when you’re working by yourself most of the time.

So…who’s in your tribe?

Till next time,

Dahlia

Tip Tuesday: Be Yourself

Hey there! Glad you could join me again on the blog. You know how much I love my song titles, and Be Yourself by Patti really embodies what I’m feeling right now.

Writing is a solitary experience, for the most part, which is why many of us turn to Facebook and other social media outlets to give us a little pick-me-up between the stretches of hard work we are putting in on our writing.

And don’t be fooled by our whiny complaints and over-indulgence in coffee, wine, and journals. We love what we do, or else we wouldn’t do it.

But, as with any industry, there are those who treat it simply as a business and not as personal expression. These are the authors who use ghostwriters and manage to churn out a new release every other week (or so it seems!). Meanwhile, I’m sitting here tip tapping away on a story that will probably take me more than a month to finish.

I could look upon these authors with jealousy, disparage their methods, and make fun of their stories. I could be envious of the thousands of dollars they pull down every month and salivate at the screenshots of their earnings. It would be so easy for me to do.

But I won’t.

Patti’s song says “everybody’s got a heart that knows the truth“. No matter what you do, you’ve got to know your heart. Now….I’m not going to lie and act like I don’t want that payout…who couldn’t use a little extra scratch? However, what would be the point? Why do I need to imbue myself with poisonous, negative thoughts, good for nothing more than souring my heart, raining on my parade and harshing my mellow?

No and nope. I’ve got a heart that knows the truth, and the truth is, I love what I do and how I do it. I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m running my own race and working my own plan. And having a lot of fun doing so.

Could I be running my author life more like a business? Sure! Could I write more “to market” stories that readers will snatch off virtual shelves? Of course! But…to do so would turn me away from my vision of writing story for my soft black girls, my geeky gals and my quirky heroines. And that’s the reason why I got into writing: to write the stories I wanted to read.

Be yourself, like Patti says, you can’t be no one else.

Til next time!

Monday Motivation

Hello there!!

You know, there comes that time in the week where you need that kick in the pants to either start you up or keep you going. Usually it’s Monday when you need that “start me up” motivation to dive in and get moving. But I think anyone can use motivation at anytime. Long story short, though I may call it Monday Motivation, hopefully you can use this any day of the week.