Review - Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

"Inspired, Intuitive and a Gift to Any Reader with a Creative Soul"

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert

Readers of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration and empowerment from Elizabeth Gilbert’s books for years. Now this beloved author digs deep into her own generative process to share her wisdom and unique perspective about creativity. With profound empathy and radiant generosity, she offers potent insights into the mysterious nature of inspiration. She asks us to embrace our curiosity and let go of needless suffering. She shows us how to tackle what we most love, and how to face down what we most fear. She discusses the attitudes, approaches, and habits we need in order to live our most creative lives. Balancing between soulful spirituality and cheerful pragmatism, Gilbert encourages us to uncover the “strange jewels” that are hidden within each of us. Whether we are looking to write a book, make art, find new ways to address challenges in our work,  embark on a dream long deferred, or simply infuse our everyday lives with more mindfulness and passion, Big Magic cracks open a world of wonder and joy.

Review

As an author, and overall creative person I found myself struggling to focus my creative flow amidst some personal chaos. I was flailing creatively and looking for something inspiring for not only my creativity but my life, I needed direction.

I didn’t read Eat, Pray Love but I know of the book. This is the first book by Elizabeth Gilbert I have read.

From the very beginning I was pulled in by Gilbert's natural creative voice. Gilbert is funny, blunt and insightful in her explanation of her creative process. The personal stories she infuses into the book are heartfelt and real anyone with a creative spirit could and will connect with the words of this book.  While it is a book about living  creative life it is supportive by a very descriptive memoir giving the reader insight into who this writer is and how she fell into success. 

Gilbert is undeniably dedicated to her craft. She shares her love, her frustrations and her path with a witty banter you will love. 

My favorite theme in Big Magic is her explanation about inspiration and ideas, how they are living breathing wisps of fate wandering around looking for a home. Someone creative will connect with these wisps and almost audition. If the idea and you get along you will live, grow and bring the idea to life.  It sounds a little kooky but I find it to be amazingly accurate. 

The book is an enjoyable and uplifting read and I find myself referring back to Big Magic in my times of crisis, and self doubt. I have sincere thanks to Gilbert for writing such an enlightening and inspiring book!

Get Big Magic Now, I have the book as well as the audio book. It is a great one to listen to while walking in the park or even on a treadmill. 

BUY IT NOW! Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert

 
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The Genius Brain of M LeMont – How To Gain 100,000 Twitter Followers

I discovered M Lemont via Twitter (shocker, right?). Someone re-tweeted a promo tweet for his book, Write Like You’re Already Famous! The cover of the book and the title intrigued so I went on to Kindle Unlimited and downloaded it. Took me only a few days to start reading and within the first chapter I was already taking notes! I honestly haven’t finished the book because I immediately downloaded How To Gain 100,000 Twitter Followers: Twitter Secrets Revealed by An Expert (HTG100K Dare 2B GR8 Series) and dove in.

I have read a lot of marketing / social media how-to books and I usually don’t complete the books (even if they are short). I rarely review these kind of books because I hesitate to endorse or condemn anything that is subjective. All of that being said, I am not only going to rave about this book I am also going to admit my professional worship and  intellectual crush on M LeMont.

M LeMont (@mistersalesman) while an open book, is a bit of a mystery and personally, I kinda dig it. He’s like the alpha male of social media—confident, cool, educated, a love of the finer things and I know he has a gadget or two he is keeping to himself. 

So he is cool, big deal? Why, why is this on different, Amy? Why are you willing to go out on limb for this guy, this book, this system? 

Well as LeMont would say, the proof is in the results! I’ve been using only part of the system he lines out in the book and I have already gained 134 followers since the beginning of December 2016.  I know, my word is not enough, well peeps, let me lay it out.

HTG100KTF is simple, logical, and encouraging. . Lemont’s tone is not condescending or arrogant. His narrative voice makes you feel like he is talking directly to you, an old friend, over a glass of wine. In his book, M LeMont encourages you to engage him directly and it is not just a ploy. He is also completely engaged on Twitter! I have engaged him directly several times and enjoyed the conversation. Not auto-tweets, not canned answers, real conversation with candid commentary. 

How To Gain 100,000 Twitter Followers: Twitter Secrets Revealed by An Expert (HTG100K Dare 2B GR8 Series) is not a promise, it is not a guarantee, because the results depend entirely on you. HTG100KTF is a comprehensive, logical, no nonsense, no double-talk, plan of action for you to, for whatever reason, increase your influence on Twitter. 

As an author trying to find an audience, I whole heartedly recommend this book. Read it, follow it, memorize it and get it done. 

Here is a clip from the Amazon listing of HTG100KTF

 

“I'm not only the Author of a bestseller Twitter book, but I'm also a CLIENT. I USE the strategies every day to gain 200,000+ followers. I gain over 12,000 Followers a month and so do a lot of other people who read the book and implemented the strategies.”

The Book Offers:

• The Secret tool how to find people who follow back

• Six Powerful Factors that work fast!

• How to use the Secret formula to gain 300-400 followers a day

• Strategies for an unfair advantage

• Time-saving shortcuts

Come Find Me!
@AmyJRomine

Unique Character in a Shadowy World - Homecoming By Scott Langrel

Finn McCoy is a paranormal handler. He handles things that ordinary paranormal investigators can't or won't, and he often ends up cleaning up behind them.

For fifteen years, McCoy has turned his back on his hometown of Shallow Springs, Virginia, and the dark secrets the town harbors. But now an evil, unstoppable force has been unleashed on the unsuspecting residents of the town, and McCoy finds himself the only thing standing between the town and total destruction.

Review

Homecoming, is a well-paced, well written suspense horror. The main character, Finn McCoy is down to earth and home-grown which makes him likeable. He and his beat up pick-up truck named Boo seem to make a perfect pair. Mr. McCoy even has a girlfriend he apparently picked up on a previous case, her name is Amanda and she seems to be the right temperament for a paranormal handler, smart and stubborn.

I enjoyed the way Langrel created and described McCoy’s world. Much like our own, but the a few more shadows and a little less light.  The story was uniquely presented, has a few twists and an overall happy ending for almost all (well someone has to die, it is after all a horror!). I didn’t find the book scary at all but then again it takes a lot to give me goosebumps.

Looking forward to reading the rest of the series. 

Buy it now HERE

Game of Silence – Dark and Hopeless

A rising attorney finds his perfectly crafted life threatened when his long-lost childhood friends threaten to expose a dark secret from their past.

Game of Silence is a NBC mid-season release in the  Law and Order SVU time slot. This new dramatic suspense series comes from Writer / Producer David Hudgins. This is his second series, he is also known for Friday Night Lights and Parenthood. This is his first try at dramatic suspense.

Game of Silence stars, David Lyons as Jackson, a successful Houston Criminal Lawyer. Lyons, well known as Vincent Faraday aka The Cape from The Cape. Most recent from NBC’s Revolution, as the angst ridden Sebastian 'Bass' Monroe.

Also starring, Michael Raymond-James, as Gil, a temper driven construction worker, is recently known for his portrayal on Once Upon a Time as Neil Cassidy aka Rumplestiskin’s son Belfire. Also as the original Big Bad on True Blood, Rene Lenier

Larenz Tate, plays Shawn, best friend of Gil and a seemingly well-adjusted man with some commitment issues. Tate is known for his role as Malcolm Kaan on HBO’s House of Lies.

Last night I took the time to put Game of Silence to the three-episode test. 

**Spoiler Alert**

Jackson is a big time criminal lawyer in Houston, TX. Engaged to a beautiful lawyer, who happens to be his boss, and is up for partner at the law firm where they both work.  He’s worked hard to build his life. Jackson is focused on the future, not the past.

The past, however, always come back to haunt you. Specifically, Jackson’s past and one particular summer where he and his friends got themselves into some trouble. This trouble sent the four boys to a juvenile correctional facility call Quitman.

Now we meet Jackson’s childhood friends, present day. Then there is Boots, who is a blue collar worker, married with a baby on the way. Gil and Shawn, best friends and owners of a construction business that maybe a little shady. Shawn is well-adjusted with serious commitment issues while Gil is a hot-head with a very short fuse.

In the pilot, the story begins with Boots kissing his pregnant wife’s belly before leaving for work and bidding her good-bye until that evening. He is a mover and has a job in Houston for the day. When Boots arrives at the site, a man is standing outside smoking a cigarette and talking on the phone. Boots apparently recognizes him from flashbacks Quitman and snaps. Grabbing a golf club he beats the man to a pulp and is arrested.

Gil and Shawn arrive on Jackson’s law firm, pleading Boots case and asking for assistance. It is obvious none of them have seen each other in a while Jackson is hesitant, Gil convinces him by telling him the man Boots beat was Daryl, torturer from Quitman.

There the story rolls along pretty seamlessly. The men start to dig up old memories and experiences from Quitman. Jackson tries to play it off as the past, while Gil and Shawn are still both very raw. They want revenge for Quitman and Jackson wants no part of their plans.

Everything changes when Boots dies from being stabbed in prison, and Jackson discovers the warden who ran Quitman when they were young is running for Congress.

Jackson decides that yes, they should get justice the right way. They collect evidence, build a case and bring them offenders to justice. This plan quickly goes awry when Gil goes off the rails. It goes from bad to worse when Gil kills an ex-guard just after the group gets him to confess on video.

We also have the Warden/Congressman’s men thinking there is a group forging an attack against them.

As a reviewer, Games of Silence has all the elements of a hit. The formula is there. the show is well written, well cast and has several very lean subplots to keep things interesting.

As a viewer, I found Game of Silence to be very dark and heavy due to the content, and numerous violent flashbacks. As this can be a good thing in a television show, if there is nothing to offset the darkness it does become too much to handle. There is no lightness to the show, no hope. The characters, while well written and very complex, are not very likable. I want to root for them to succeed, however I don’t like any of them enough to care either way.

If Game of Silence were a two-hour movie I would say bravo, great, a riveting and thoughtful piece. But, it’s not a movie it is a serial drama, and I don’t believe anyone will be able to stomach the raw emotional turmoil the show projects for very long.

Nice try, NBC, but I can’t do it, sorry.

Disagree? Please let me know your thoughts on Game of Silence or any of my other posts. Love to hear from you!!

Fall TV Picks - Blindspot Hits the Mark and Minority Report Lacks the Majority

Blindspot - Premiered on NBC, An unidentified woman with amnesia is found covered with tattoos, and the FBI soon realize that each mark on her body reveals a crime to be solved. This new NBC series premiered right after The Voice and I am gonna say off the bat WOW. The show begins in Time-square with a unmarked duffel bag. A tag attached to the bag says “For the FBI”. The street is cleared, and the bomb squad is called. A very nervous bomb technician approaches the bag and as he reaches out the bag moves, he jumps back and the zipper to the bag slides open…

From that moment the questions, intrigue, drama, and pace doesn’t stop. Jaimie Alexander, as Jane Doe, is brilliant in her portrayal, giving us a full range of emotion-confusion, anger fear and helplessness all shining back into the camera with every scene. Her plight and the mystery automatically pulls you in and does not let go. Her male opposite, FBI Agent Kurt Weller is played by Sullivan Stapleton, a virtual unknown from Australia, who does a fantastic job of keeping that cool cop exterior but also revealing the slow break down of his defenses when it comes to Jane.

All of this is playing as we move seamlessly from one scene to the next. There is no illogical coincidence in this show everything, and I mean everything happens for a reason. Even Jane Doe’s instinct to protect a beaten wife thus exposing her martial arts skills. Reminiscent of Jason Bourne in many ways, the characters are driven into the plot two fold, by their own need for answers and their desire to stop the bad guy.
First episode out I am hooked and looking forward to next week!

Minority Report - Premiered on FOX yes this show is based on the 2002 Tom Cruise/Stephen
Spielberg film. Per FOX television, The series is set in Washington, D.C., it is 10 years after the demise of Precrime, a law enforcement agency tasked with identifying and eliminating criminals… before their crimes were committed. To carry out this brand of justice, the agency used three precogs – “precognitives” Dash, Arthur and Agatha – who were able to see the future. Now, in 2065, crime-solving is different, and justice leans more on sophisticated and trusted technology than on the instincts of the precogs.

Despite the interesting premise and heavy-hitting producers I am less than impressed with Minority Report. Bombarded in the first scenes with technology overload, the dialog is sub par, characters are predictable and cardboard. All of that being said, I always give a show three chances. The pilot has set the stage, and the characters. I will wait to see how the chemistry plays out.
First episode out and I'm not holding my breath…

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