Skip to main content

Lady Wynwood #7 early release Kickstarter

I worked on my first Kickstarter and it got approved! It’s for the Special Edition Hardcover of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 1: Archer and the release of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 7: Spinster. I contacted my graphic designer about the Special Edition Hardcover of vol. 1: Archer—it’s going to be SO beautiful! The Kickstarter focuses on the Special Edition Hardcover, but it’ll also include vol. 7: Spinster so that it’ll sort of be like a launch day for vol. 7, too. A third special thing that’ll be in the Kickstarter is Special Edition Paperbacks of all the books in the series. They won’t be available in stores, just in the Kickstarter (and later, from my website, and also in my Patreon book box tiers if I decide to do them). The Kickstarter is not live yet, but you can follow it to be alerted when it has launched. (You may need to create a free Kickstarter account.) Follow Camy’s Kickstarter

Movie review - Reign of Fire

Captain's Log, Stardate 06.10.2008

I just saw the movie Reign of Fire. Originally I wanted to see it because:

(a) dragons
(b) Matthew McConaughey
(c) Gerard Butler
(d) Christian Bale

See, I have my priorities straight. :)

It’s an Apocalyptic speculative fiction movie, and I was very surprised at how solid the storyline was. It had a great premise—dragons are real, and in fact feed on the ash from burnt organic material. They are the ones who destroyed the dinosaurs and caused the first ice age. When they started to starve from burning the earth up, they went into hibernation under the ground until the earth recovered.

The movie opens in present day London, where a boy’s mother is in charge of an underground tunneling project. They hit a pocket and awaken the first dragon. Over the years, the dragons overran humanity until only a few small communities live scattered over the world, trying to survive.

Then Matthew McConaughey comes, an American ex-military leader, who knows how to kill the dragons.

The story is a little complex and I had to listen carefully to figure out what was going on at times. The British accents of some of the cast were also hard to follow at some points. But on a whole, I really liked the story, the actors, and the special effects.

Has anyone else seen this? What did you think? I can’t possibly be the only one who likes dragons. And Matthew. And Gerard. And Christian. :)

Comments

Deborah said…
Dragons over Christian Bale? Boo!!
Leslie said…
Camy it took you this long to see it?! I used to have the DVD poster for it (I also used to work at Blockbuster).

I actually have it in my netflix queue because its been so long since I've seen it that I wanted to see it again.

What I always thought was funny is how "butch" Matthew McCanoaughey looked in the movie - he's still pretty to look at - but not quite as pretty.

As for Gerard Butler - I don't remember him being in it - it must have been one of his first movies (that or I didn't know who he was at the time).
Danielle said…
Yessss!! I found this one languishing on the shelves at Blockbuster and I was like, "Wha? How come I've never heard of this movie??"

I was totally impressed with it and loved the whole storyline. I am a big fan of Christian Bale and sometimes like Matthew McConnaughey... he was good in this one. And Gerard Butler didn't have quite a huge enough part for my liking... :)

Awesome movie.
Karen said…
All very good reasons to like this movie! I haven't seen in it a very long time; sounds like I need to put it back in my Blockbuster.com queue. I know my boys would like it.
Anonymous said…
Camy, I think your reasoning for seeing this movie are very sound. I've added Reign of Fire to my Netflix queue.

Regarding thick accents that make some movies hard to understand, I have learned to turn on the English captioning when I get a movie like that. Makes a huge difference in my enjoyment of the movie.

Robin
Danica Favorite said…
I guess I 'll have to add this to the must-see list.
Camy Tang said…
Deborah, do I get kudos that they're on the same list? ;)

This is definitely a movie worth watching and re-watching.

Oh, and Captain Caffeine just rolled his eyes when he saw the DVD come from Netflix. LOL

Camy
Camy Tang said…
Robin, I tried that but got annoyed with it. So I turn it off, but if someone says something I totally don't understand, I go back into the menu, turn it on, and watch the segment with it on, then turn it off again.

Camy
Melissa said…
I vaguely remember watching it, but I had to go back to Netflix to see what I rated it (2 stars). I remember finding myself very distracted by MM with no shirt on, but couldn't really follow the plot (if there was one)
catslady said…
I've not heard of it but it sounds like something I'd like - I'm going to try to remember to look for it!
Anonymous said…
That's our "traditional" Thanksgiving movie around here. We love it!
Anonymous said…
SOOOO have to see this movie!!!! Matthew, Gerard, AND Christian all in the same movie!!! (drooling).

Diane

Popular Posts

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th...

Behind the Scenes: Original Cover

Prelude for a Lord (the extended version) releases on Amazon on December 2! You can buy it early at a discount from my website . (Want to join my Launch Team ?) The current cover is actually the second version of the cover for this book. Here’s what the original cover from my publisher, Zondervan, looked like. The original stock photo was of a blonde woman, and when I pointed out the error, the graphic designer at Zondervan did a nice job coloring her hair brown. For the new cover, I kept the orange and blue colors but chose a model in profile rather than with her entire face hidden. This new re-release is an extended version of the original book. Zondervan had a strict word count of 100,000 words, but my original manuscript was 120,000 words, so I had to cut 20,000 words. But when I got my rights back and started planning to re-release it, I realized I could release the original manuscript before it was cut. So the version coming out is the uncut, extended version. ...

Grace Livingston Hill romances free to read online

I wanted to update my old post on Grace Livingston Hill romances because now there are tons more options for you to be able to read her books for free online! I’m a huge Grace Livingston Hill fan. Granted, not all her books resonate with me, but there are a few that I absolutely love, like The Enchanted Barn and Crimson Roses . And the best part is that she wrote over 100 books and I haven’t yet read them all! When I have time, I like to dive into a new GLH novel. I like the fact that most of them are romances, and I especially appreciate that they all have strong Christian themes. Occasionally the Christian content is a little heavy-handed for my taste, but it’s so interesting to see what the Christian faith was like in the early part of the 20th century. These books are often Cinderella-type stories or A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett) type stories, which I love. And the best part is that they’re all set in the early 1900s, so the time period is absolutely fasci...

No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.22.2008 I actually wrote out my pattern! I was getting a lot of hits on my infamous toilet seat cover , and I wanted to make a new one with “improvements,” so I paid attention and wrote things down as I made the new one. This was originally based off the Potty Mouth toilet cover , but I altered it to fit over the seat instead of the lid. Yarn: any worsted weight yarn, about 120 yards (this is a really tight number, I used exactly 118 yards. My suggestion is to make sure you have about 130 yards.) I suggest using acrylic yarn because you’re going to be washing this often. Needle: I used US 8, but you can use whatever needle size is recommended by the yarn you’re using. Gauge: Not that important. Mine was 4 sts/1 inch in garter stitch. 6 buttons (I used some leftover shell buttons I had in my stash) tapestry needle Crochet hook (optional) Cover: Using a provisional cast on, cast on 12 stitches. Work in garter st until liner measures...

Toilet seat cover

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Update August 2008: I wrote up the pattern for this with "improvements"! Here's the link to my No Cold Bums toilet seat cover ! Okay, remember a few days ago I was complaining about the cold toilet seat in my bathroom? Well, I decided to knit a seat cover. Not a lid cover, but a seat cover. I went online and couldn’t find anything for the seat, just one pattern for the lid by Feminitz.com . However, I took her pattern for the inside edge of the lid cover and modified it to make a seat cover. Here it is! It’s really ugly stitch-wise because originally I made it too small and had to extend it a couple inches on each side. I figured I’d be the one staring at it, so who cared if the extension wasn’t perfectly invisible? I used acrylic yarn since, well, that’s what I had, and also because it’s easy to wash. I’ll probably have to wash this cover every week or so, but it’s easy to take off—I made ties which you can see near the back of the seat. And...

You're worth more than gold

I was recently just listening to my music playlist and it cycled to one of my favorite songs, “Gold” by Britt Nicole. This was one of the songs that inspired me as I was writing Gone Missing . Joslyn, my heroine, was from a poor background, so she was working at an electronics store in Los Angeles and putting herself through school in computer programming. When she got involved with her ex-boyfriend, who murdered her father, she ran away to Oregon. She lost her baby and the woman she was working for helped her through that ordeal. The woman also talked a lot about Christ to her, and so Joslyn has been seeking Christ more and more. She’s lost a lot and has gone through a grieving process after her father was murdered and she miscarried her baby. She had to leave school and her job to run away from her ex, so she has to start the school year all over again. At least she’s able to work for Liam and Elisabeth in Sonoma, California, at their new skip-tracing agency rather than try...

Merry Christmas! Enjoy The Spinster's Christmas

As a Merry Christmas gift to all my blog readers, I’m going to be posting my Christian Regency romantic suspense, The Spinster’s Christmas , for free on my blog! I’ll be posting the book in 1000-1500 word segments every Tuesday and Friday. (When I do the calculations, it’ll finish around the end of May.) Why am I posting a Christmas story when it won’t be Christmas in a week? Because I can! :) The Spinster’s Christmas is the prequel volume to my Lady Wynwood’s Spies series . Right now I’m editing volume 1 of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, and it’s on track to release in 2020. (If you’re on my Camille Elliot newsletter , you’ll be sure to hear when it’s available for preorder.) I anticipate that the Lady Wynwood’s Spies series to be about ten volumes. I think the series story will be a lot of fun to tell, and I’m looking forward to writing up a storm! Below, I’ll be listing the links to the parts of The Spinster’s Christmas as I post them. (I created the html links by hand so please ...

Download SUSHI FOR ONE ebook free!

Captain's Log, Stardate 03.08.2010 If you have Kindle ebook software for PC, or the Kindle app on your iPhone or iPod Touch, or a Kindle ebook reader, you can now download my first book, Sushi for One? for FREE! This is only for a limited time, so do it NOW! Right now! I’ll wait until you come back. See wasn’t that easy? I hope you guys enjoy reading Sushi for One ! It was my debut novel, which came out in August 2007. It’s the first book in my humorous contemporary romance Sushi series . (To be honest, I think I like my third book, Single Sashimi , the best out of all three, but I think it’s mostly because Venus is someone I’d really like to be. I mean, she’s gorgeous, physically fit, disciplined, smart, driven, well-dressed, and she has a fantastic car. What’s not to like? Oh, well, the fact she’s sometimes got the compassion of a barracuda is something you can surely overlook, right? And she doesn’t stay that way, especially when she starts working with teenagers at ...

Monterey Memories by Gail Gaymer Martin

Here's another good book to tell you about: MONTEREY MEMORIES - Three novels by Gail Gaymer Martin set in the beautiful Monterey area in the central coast of California. The Barbour anthology includes the novels And Baby Makes Five, Garlic and Roses and Butterfly Trees. Book Description Walk the streets and countryside of Monterey, California, with three couples who are surprised by love in the midst of their busy lives. Chad helps Felisa when she goes into labor in his lettuce field. Juli meets Alan while volunteering at a soup kitchen. Ross takes an overdue vacation at Alissa’s bed-and-breakfast. Can busy people slow down enough to realize the love God has brought into their lives? Reviews from AMAZON Monterey Memories, an anthology, is a must buy. I truly love this book. In each of the three novels, set in the central coast of California, Gail writes of God's love with such ease and weaves His love throughout each story. We see how faith and growth in the Word a...

A List of my Free Blog Reads

Curious about what my writing is like? Here’s a list of all my free books and the free short stories, novellas, and novels that you can read here on my blog. I’ll update this post as I add more free reads. Christian Romantic Suspense: Necessary Proof (Sonoma series #4.1, novella) Click here to buy the FREE ebook on all retailers Alex Villa became a Christian in prison, and because of his efforts to help stop a gang producing meth in Sonoma, he has been set up for the death of a cop. Can computer expert Jane Lawton find the evidence that will prove his innocence before the gang eliminates them both? Fantasy short stories: Pixies in a Garden in Kyoto There were pixies in the garden. Since she was in Kyoto, she was certain they were not called pixies, but she didn't know what they would be called in Japanese, and they certainly looked like what she imagined pixies would look like. The King’s Daughter The trees in the King's garden were full of colored pixie lights. The...