Monday, March 18, 2013

Double Dip Day:"The Charge" by Sharon Bayliss AND The Top 10 Movie Countdown!


Sharon Bayliss Blog Tour/Top 10 Movie Countdown Blogfest

I usually only do one post at a time, but in true Alex J. Cavanaugh, host of the blogfest, style, I have Sharon AND the blogfest. Of course Sharon gets to go first.

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I'm excited to have author Sharon Bayliss here today for a stop on her blog tour. Her new novel “The Charge” is now available on Amazon, and sounds like a terrific book. I interviewed Sharon, and realizing how much we had in common, of course couldn't stay out of the conversation...




1. So far, is being a published author how you expected it to be? Any surprises?

Sharon: I think every author has some dreams of fame and fortune, but on the whole my expectations for my debut novel were somewhere within the realistic range. The biggest surprise is all the hard work and time it takes. Between marketing this novel and trying to write the next one, it's a full time job. But I don't make enough money yet to quit my day job, so I'm stuck with two jobs! It's no longer a hobby I can dabble in when I am able.

Tina: I'm still dabbling...my first novel is dying to get out. It's 17% done if you count NaNo wise, as in 50,000 words, but I have a feeling it will take me longer to pull all the loose threads together.


2. If you had to dress up as your favorite literary character, who would it be? 

Sharon: I'm not a big dress-up type, so I've never dressed up as a literary character. However, I secretly would love to wear wizards robes a la Harry Potter and wield a wand. Don't tell the Gryffindors, but in my dress-up fantasy I would wear Slytherin robes and shout "avada kedavra" and other dark curses.


Tina: Say it isn't so! I'm a Gryffindor all the way! I'd dress up in the invisibility cloak and eavesdrop on staff meetings. As a former teacher, I'd love to be able to hear how this bunch took care of business.


3. Name one habit you want to change in yourself. 

Sharon: I'm very messy. I can't seem to keep my house and car clean, even when I really try. Having two small boys in the house and almost no free time makes it that much harder, but I've never been good at housework. So, I wish I was cleaner. Or made enough money to hire a maid. Although, I'm far from wealthy, I actually think the latter is actually more likely. ;)


Tina: I'm a mess, too. Four pack-rats and one un-packratter makes for an interesting house. The Swede put it kindly, “It always looks like you're about to move in, or maybe out...” BUT, I do have a solution for you. Teenage girls. I have some physical disabilities, and have had teenagers clean my house for the last 8 years. They're cheap, trainable, eager to please, and fun to hang around with. 


4. Tell us something interesting or shocking about yourself.


Sharon: Interesting - My husband is a descendant of Joseph Bayliss, who died at the Alamo.

Shocking - I once stabbed a knife all the way through my hand in a freak avocado slicing accident.

Tina: I'll actually stay out of this one...stories galore here at Life is Good about me and my accident prone nature...



5. What can we expect next from you? Will there be a sequel to The Charge?

I have a completed novel just waiting for me to have the time to edit and submit it to my publisher. So, if my publisher offers me a contract on that, my next book will be an adult drama about a Houston family who are part-Baptist, part-dark wizard.

I'm also not done screwing with Warren's life. :) After I get my wizard novel submitted, I'll start working on a new book in The Charge series.

Check out the reviews of “The Charge” on Amazon. This story of an alternate relationship between Texas and the US has elements of the supernatural, suspense, romance, and non-stop action. Two of the reviewers “couldn't put it down.” I bought one of course, and can't wait to read it. I love those elements, and historical fiction. This seems like a perfect mix!

So leave Sharon some love, and go buy her book!

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Alex J. Cavanaugh, the newly christened Blogfather, is hosting the movie bloghop.   Not one to always follow directions, I divided my top 10 into categories and put them in order IN THEIR CATEGORY. Make sense?

Relationships
1. Lost in Translation (a must see for any Bill Murray fan, he should have gotten an Oscar)
2. Love Actually (best ensemble movie AND most quotable movie EVER)
3. A Love Song for Bobby Long (poignant and sweet, yet real and gritty and the score should have won, not that it was nominated)

Comedy
1. The Princess Bride (2nd most quotable movie, ever, Rob Reiner is a genius)
2. The American President (I guess I'm a Rob Reiner fan...)
3. When Harry Met Sally (that would be Rob again, I'm seeing a pattern)


Sci-Fi
1. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (never, ever, EVER, will I tire of this one...)

2. Terminator (see note on previous entry)

Action
1. Die Hard (started the franchise, still the best, though some of the others are still worth watching multiple times...like Live Free or Die Hard)

2. The Transporter (I don't think I need to say more than Jason Stratham)


Wow, picking only ten was hard. I grouped them by order in genre, not overall order. I'm just as likely to put one in as the other, but as for THE number one movie, it's in the #1 slot.  Lost in Translation.

Brevity card nowhere in sight.  OOPS.
~Tina






30 comments:

Unknown said...

you have the most amazing questions for Sharon. I really enjoyed reading the interview. As for the top 10, I've seen them all, I loved them all.

Unknown said...

My husband will never, ever grow tired of The Hitchhiker either.

Brian Miller said...

ha. nice list of movies...in the love category i would have....when harry met sally, the notebook and once....

nice to meet the author as well...always interesting to hear peoples stories behind the stories...

Rhonda Albom said...

Following Alex's hop. Love your movie choices especially the Princess Bride and Terminator.
I am a new follower looking forward to AtoZ.
Rhonda
Laugh-Quotes.com

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

While slicing an avocado? Scary!
The Princess Bride just missed being in my top ten. It was difficult to choose.
Thanks for participating in my blogfest!

Tasha Duncan-Drake said...

Great interview - the Avocado incident sounds really painful.

Great list too. Hitchhikers is superb and so is Die Hard.

Unknown said...

Jason S... he is the man...
great list of players.

Jeremy [Retro-Z]
Howlin' Wolf

Unknown said...

and great interview... i am in blog-fest mode.

Pat Hatt said...

Great picks and yep Die Hard one blows all the other sequels away any day.

Ellie Garratt said...

Sharon's book is everywhere at the moment. I have it on my Kindle ready to read!

Awesome list of movies, especially Die Hard.

Sharon Bayliss said...

Thanks to Tina for the fun interview!! Yes, the avocado incident was pretty unpleasant!

JoJo said...

That was some knife accident....but it is easy to see how it happened; avocados can be a little tricky and slippery!

Wish I was more into movies...the only ones I've seen of your 10 are the Terminator, Princess Bride & Die Hard.

David P. King said...

Huzzah to Sharon! And I love your list. I, too, can never tire of Hitchhikers. :)

Al Diaz said...

I agree. Princess Bride is one of the most quotable movies! Good list.

Anonymous said...

Looks like an interesting book and I really enjoyed reading the interview. Love the way you sorted your movies. Couldn't have done that if I'd tried!

Tami Von Zalez said...

I so hated that movie Lost in Translation - missed the mark for me. But you redeemed yourself with Die Hard. *grins*

Unknown said...

Hitchhiker's made it on my top ten too. Great list. And I'm messy too. Well, organized chaos type messy. haha

Nicole said...

Everyday is a good day to DIE HARD, all day! You can't go wrong with Bruce Willis :)

The Terminator is a goodie and I just watched When Harry Met Sally for the first time, maybe a year ago, and I must say...it's one of the funniest movie's I've seen.

You've listed some good pickings here, Tina!

~Nicole

Tony Laplume said...

I love that there's love for the Hitchhiker's movie in this blogfest. Was an instant favorite of mine.

Shannon Lawrence said...

I'm a big ol' slob, too. My house will never be neat all the time, despite having tried countless ways to get it under control.

Oh yes, The Transporter. Great action flick, and one of my faves, too.

Shannon at The Warrior Muse

Robin said...

I am a big Rob Reiner fan, too. I loved your choices.

Silvia Writes said...

What fun post -- some movies I've seen (loved Lost in Translation) and a set of terrific interview questions. I get the unexpected hard-work part. Just finding time to write is hard, but fun too. :)

Jolie du Pre said...

Yes, teenagers are cheap labor. LOL! When mine were teenagers, I put them to work.

nutschell said...

Great picks! Love Actually made my list too!
Nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com

LD Masterson said...

Best of luck to Sharon on her release.

You've got a nice mix of movies. I've never seem Lost in Translation. Sounds like I need to visit Netflix.

Editor and Publisher Shelly Burke said...

"Die Hard" is one of my favorite movies too! Checking in for the A to Z Challenge--thank you for hosting! Looking forward to it!

Allison said...

Yay for the Terminator! Lots of people seemed to have picked that one!

Allison (Geek Banter)

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Tina .. good films here - most I've not! seen .. I did enjoy Lost in Translation ... and some would be on my list of 'need tos' ...


Slicing an avocado and hitting hand instead - that is not fun ... good luck to Sharon with her book ..

Cheers Hilary

Anonymous said...

Just dropping by from the blog hop. You tackled the lists differently! While our lists don't overlap at all, I have much love for Terminator. :3

Trisha said...

Wow, you have some serious classics in your list. I love these:

Lost in Translation
Love, Actually
The Princess Bride
When Harry Met Sally
Terminator (though prefer T2)
Die Hard

Haven't seen the rest.