I have given my first official interview for Karma Girl. It’s up on Midnight Quills and was done by my fellow Smoky Mountain Romance Writer Ruth Brown. Thanks Ruth!
So, go check it out! 😎
I have given my first official interview for Karma Girl. It’s up on Midnight Quills and was done by my fellow Smoky Mountain Romance Writer Ruth Brown. Thanks Ruth!
So, go check it out! 😎
Saw 300 this weekend, the new movie based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller. It’s about a group of 300 Spartans who stood against a massive army at the ancient Battle of Thermopylae.
It was your usual swords-and-sandal movie. A noble, but brash king, Leonidas, leads his men into battle with everyone knowing that they’re going to die. Yet, somehow, they take lots of folks with them before they go. And everybody’s happy to be slaughtered in such a honorable, glorious way.
My significant other loves ancient history, so he thought 300 totally rocked. It was actually a lot better than I thought it would be. Cool affects, a good lead actor in Gerard Butler, interesting battle scenes. A little gory, and a little slow in places, but overall, thumbs up.
But I did have a couple quibbles. First of all — the boob shots. There were lots of bare breasts in this movie for really no reason. But then again, there are lots of boobs in comics and graphic novels (like Miller’s Sin City series). Very big, very unrealistic boobs that would tip a normal woman over anytime she tried to walk. They’re just boobs, guys. Every other person has a pair of them. Get over it.
I also had a problem with Leonidas’ wife, who basically lets a corrupt councilman have his way with her in order to convince him to help her convince the Spartan government to send troops to back up her husband. Honey, don’t you know he’s going to double-cross you? He’s corrupt.
Some of the folks/monsters the Spartans fight were also a little over the top, like the 10-foot-tall guy who tries to separate Leonidas’ head from his body. But Miller seems to have a fascination with grotesque creatures (like Yellow Bastard in Sin City). And, of course, the monsters all had really bad teeth. You’d think they’d have good teeth, as much as they used them to eat people.
What about you? Have you seen 300? Plan to run screaming the other way? Inquiring minds want to know …
I wanted to let everyone know that I’ve completely updated the Web site in anticipation of Karma Girl’s release on May 1.
There’s tons of information on Karma Girl on the Books page, including what other authors are saying about it and some fun facts. I’ve also posted the latest info on my Nov. 6 release, Hot Mama.
On the Bio page, you’ll find information about me (probably more than you ever wanted to know!).
The Appearances & Contests page features my book signings, talks, and blogs, as well as information on my current contest. (You still have until April 15 to sign up for my newsletter to be in to win some B&N gift cards and Rubik’s Cubes.) I’m also giving away free bookmarks. More stuff, like my newsletters and some articles I’ve done on writing, will be added soon.
The Media page has high-resolution photos of the Karma Girl cover, press releases, facts about romance books, and more.
But I think the coolest things are all the extras I’ve added. On the Links & Fun page, you can take a quiz to see which Bigtime superhero or ubervillain you’re most like. There are also some teaser quotes from Karma Girl that give you more insight into the characters and story.
And finally, on the Bigtime page, you’ll find a who’s who of some of the more notable superheroes and ubervillains, including Carmen Cole’s dossier on the Fearless Five and Terrible Triad. You can also take a tour of all the major landmarks in Bigtime.
Whew! It’s been a lot of work, but I hope you’ll take a few minutes to surf through all the information. And please, feel free to e-mail me at jennifer@jenniferestep.com or comment on the blog about what you like and don’t like. 😎
What would you like to see on the Web site? More extras from the books? Articles on writing? What makes you visit an author’s Web site over and over? Inquiring minds want to know …
My Publishers Weekly review for Karma Girl has been posted to Amazon.com, so I guess I can put the whole thing up here too. This is what they wrote in its entirety:
Chick lit meets comics lit in Estep’s fresh debut. Carmen Cole, “reporter extraordinaire” for the Exposé in Bigtime, N.Y., is on a mission — to unmask all superheroes and über villains — after catching her fiancé, Matt Marion (aka the Machinator), in bed with her best friend, Karen Crush (aka Crusher), on Carmen’s wedding day.
But after Carmen outs a member of the Fearless Five, Travis Teague (aka Tornado), and Travis kills himself, she’s not only devastated, she’s demoted to society reporter. When the Terrible Triad nabs Carmen, their snarky Malefica insists she unmask the Fearless Five’s Striker or suffer dire consequences.
By the time Carmen knows who Striker is, they’re in love, and turning him over to a superbitch isn’t an option. A zippy prose style helps lift this zany caper far above the usual run of paranormal romances. (May) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
I know it’s mostly plot summary, but this still makes me insanely happy. Two whole sentences of like isn’t too shabby for a newbie like me. 😀
Today is my friend Keri’s 29th birthday — also known as the last one she’ll ever have.
Because, of course, next year is the big 3-0. And the age I think when most folks finally realize that their 20s are gone and they are officially moving into middle age.
And that getting old can really suck. Wrinkles. Gray hair. Creaky knees. It certainly ain’t no picnic.Â
But mainly, I think it sucks because we lose so much of the silly, goofy joy we had as kids. There was a time when I was insanely proud of the fact that I had eight pieces of pizza for dinner. Now, it’s more like Hey! Guess what? I only consumed 127 calories the entire day! Do I really want to be proud of self-starvation?
When I was a kid, I didn’t mind getting sweaty and dirty if it meant I could go play in the creek and look for crawdads. Now, I don’t even swim, except maybe once a year. Part of this is lack of opportunity. But part of it is the fact that it seems like it’s just so much trouble, and there’s so much stuff to drag around. Bathing suit, towels, sunscreen, flip-flops, cover-ups … It just doesn’t seem worth the effort anymore.
When I was a kid, I’d spend hours in the woods behind my house just wandering around and looking at trees and rocks and leaves. Now, just about every single minute of my day is already planned out. Day job. Exercise time. Dinner. Book work. Maybe watch a little TV. Maybe read — if I have time. I never just sit around and relax or do whatever pops into my head. I always feel like I need to be productive. To be doing something important.Â
Yeah, getting old can really suck.
What about you? Does the march of time bother you? Inquiring minds want to know …
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