Weekly Inspiration - Travis Fimmel

Australian native, model, and actor, Travis Fimmel goes up for this week's inspiration.  The pic of him with short hair is the more recent in this little collection, and at first it seemed like blasphemy to the hair gods that all those long locks had been cut off, but you know, I think he looks just as great with it short.  It's like dual inspiration.  And the pic of him lying with the skateboard reminds me of a short story I wrote a while back about a skaterboy I never published.  Looking at that image, I just might have to open up that story, dust it off, and see what I think of it now ;-)

I really couldn't find anything that seemed like an official website, Facebook, or Twitter.  There is this site: http://www.travisfimmel.com/, but it only has one page and his bio.  Still, if you want to learn more about him, you might want to check it out.  Enjoy!

Pornography: A Thriller - More Info

Since I wrote my post about the movie I watched a few days ago, Pornography: A Thriller, I've had a few people interested in learning more about where they can rent or buy it.  Not everyone has access to Netflix, and I wasn't sure where to direct folks.  Fortunetly, the writer and director of the movie, David Kittredge, was kind enough to gather that info for me.  Here's a big thank you to him for taking the time to help me out with that!  And now, I'm going to pass the info on to you all.

Places to purchase the movie:
Here's the movie's official website: http://pornographyathriller.com/ and if you click under "See The Film" there are many links for places to purchase it, including Wolfe Video, TLA Video, and Amazon.

Places to rent the movie:
You all know I got it through Netflix, but it's also available on iTunes and Amazon Video On Demand.  And can I say I can't believe I never knew you could rent movies through Amazon until now?  Really, I think I need to get bigger windows put on the rock I live under. 

The DVD version includes many extras, and Mr. Kittredge said if watched in 5.1, it's makes for a really creepy experience.  It's quite possible I would've run out of the room if it had gotten any more creepy, but then like I said in my first post, I'm easily freaked out, and I know the braver souls out there will probably appreciate that little piece of info regarding the sound. 

Hope everyone finds this info helpful :-D

Pornography: A Thriller

When will I learn?  Seriously, at my age and knowing myself as well as I do, you'd think I wouldn't watch movies alone that have a chance of creeping me out.  And yet, I still do.  So I got this movie from Netflix called Pornography: A Thriller, written and directed by David Kittredge, and watched it last night.  It's about a gay porn star who years after having gone missing, a writer tries to find out what happened to him, followed by another porn star/script writer doing the same.

The movie has a paranormal vibe going on, which I'm good with since I like ghost stories and such.  And sure, I get jumpy watching horror movies, but most of the time, it's the good, fun kind of scared where you laugh about it.  But, in movies and books where it's a human(s) doing things to other people, that's when I get really creeped out.  Maybe because it makes it seem all the more possible it could happen in real life, and therefore, all the more disturbing. 

This movie was a blend of those two worlds, paranormal and psychological thriller, and both combine to create a very dark story.  I mean, really seriously dark and disturbing.  At least I thought it was, but I can be a bit on the sensitive side.  It's the writer in me ;-)  The movie is broken up into three parts, and the first two thirds of the movie were super intense.  When the story shifts in the last third, I thought it didn't feel as strong, but it was still on the edge-of-your-seat watching.  I also wanted to see more resolution on a few things at the end, but that didn't really take away from the story.

If you're looking to watch something that's a little different than the rest, has good acting, a healthy dose of sex, and that might give you the creepies, if not all out disturb you, this could be the movie for you.  In case anyone would like to see some more on it, including screenshots, CLICK HERE for its page on IMDB.

Song of the Week - "Flower" live by GACKT

This has been a week with many different degrees of craziness, and so I feel the need to fall on one of my favorite artists for Song of the Week, GACKT.  Besides, I've owed him the spot from back when he was my Weekly Inspiration ;-)  But you know, when my life gets crazy, nothing helps me keep my mood balanced like music.  If I listen to the right song by the right artist, it's as if everything starts to harmonize for me internally. 

This song, "Flower", has become one of my favorites by GACKT.  It's available on iTunes, along with a lot more of his material, and here's his official website: http://gackt.com/us/.  And I can't forget the don't sue me message, I don't own this video, song, imagery, or GACKT...sadly.  Enjoy, everyone!

Weekly Inspiration - Hugh Jackman

For this week's inspiration, I'm putting up Hugh Jackman, because...well, because he's Hugh Jackman!  Really don't need any more reason than that.  Whether on stage or on the big screen, I'm sure most folks are familiar with his work in one way or another.  And if not, by all means, go rent one of his movies!  He's always good to watch ;-)

Song of the Week - "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay

Coldplay gets Song of the Week with their "Viva La Vida."  I've seriously had this song in my head since Tuesday.  It keeps tiptoeing into my mind and I don't realize it's there until I catch myself humming it.  I'm not complaining, though, because I love this song.  Really, really love it.  The strings, the bells, the drums, the vocals, the whole song is all kinds of awesome.  In my humble opinion, at least.

It appears on Coldplay's 2008 album, Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends, sometimes just listed as Viva La Vida.  To hear more by them or see what the band's up to, click HERE for their official website.   And look, I'm actually remembering to say this is not my video and have no ownership to it or the music in any way, shape, or form.  Now, I'll let you all listen, and then maybe I won't be alone in having it on constant replay in my head ;-) 

What has S.J. been up to?

It hit me last night that for all the posts I've put up since launching this blog, I haven't really given an update about what I'm working on.  I get bad author points for that!  Sorry!  So, let me try and catch everyone up with what's been going on in my little writing world :-)

For the past couple weeks I've been working on a novella, tentatively titled FINDING A DREAM, and just last night, my awesome editor sent the first round of edits on it back to me.  I'm really excited about this story because if things go the way I'm hoping, something special might be getting done with my royalties for it, along with my editor's.  I'm going to hold off on saying what until things are finalized, but I will say the story involves a couple characters from the Conquest series, Brandon Alexander and Shunichi Miyamoto. 

And my upcoming m/m vampire erotic romance novel, NATURAL INSTINCTS, is also finished and will be going into edits in the next few weeks.  We're thinking maybe a January-ish release for its release, but please don't hold me to that.  The holidays could slow me down with working on edits when I get them, but I'll definitely try my best to get them done as fast as I can!

Let's see, what else...  Oh yeah, more rockers.  Those who have read NO FEAR and KEYS TO LOVE might remember the band Black Heart Down.  I have a rough draft finished for their story, centered around two band members in particular.  It's another novel length work, and its tentative title is BLACK HEART DOWN, because you know, I'm creative like that ;-)  But BHD it slated for after the vampires, so probably looking at the first quarter of 2011 for those boys to take the stage.

Well, I think that's about it for all the immediate projects I've got in the works.  Here's hoping they all sound good and readable to everyone!

Weekly Inspiration - Ryan Barry

For inspiration this week, I present Ryan Barry.  He's an American model who along with having won the Armani Exchange Model Search a while back, has also been photographed by amazing fashion photographer, Adam Bouska, one of the co-founders for the NOH8 campaign.  If you want to see some really beautiful, sexy, and powerful images, check out Adam Bouska's website.  One of these days, I should do a Weekly Inspiration post on his work in general, but for this week, we'll just go with Ryan Barry and these shots done by Mr. Bouska.  I couldn't track down a website specifically for Ryan, but if you want to see more of him than I'm offering here, a good ol' Google search should do the trick and there are more images on Adam Bouska's site :-)

Vote for a story

Ever since the release of KEYS TO LOVE, I've had many people ask about Conquest's drummer, Brad Delfini.  There have been a lot of questions about his sexuality and if he'll get a story of his own.  I've "talked" to Brad, I know things about him and where his heart lies, but even though I know all Brad's secrets, I'm curious to see readers' opinions.  Hence, I've started a poll!  If you look to the right, scroll down below my cover pics and archive, you'll find it.  Feel free to cast your vote for Brad, whether you'd like a story about him, what your guess is about his sexuality, or if the man should just be left alone.  Still can't promise a story about him, but I thought this would be a fun way to tally everyone's feelings about him.

**Amendment to the voting.  Sadly, the poll won't let me add in the new option of Brad being bi now that some votes have been cast, so if there are any folks who would like to vote for m/m/f, "Yes!  He needs a good MAN and WOMAN in his life," you can cast your vote in comment section of this post.  Thanks so much, everyone!**

Song of the Week - "King of Anything" by Sara Bareilles

Sara Bareilles with "King of Anything" gets Song of the Week this time around.  It seems like I've been hearing this song a lot lately, and every time I hear it, I love it!  I've heard some of Sara Bareilles's other music and have always thought she has a great voice and sound.  Hope everyone enjoys this song by her!  And to learn more about her, here's her official website:  http://www.sarabmusic.com/us/home 

Weekly Inspiration - Jared Koronkiewicz

Alrighty, for this week's inspiration, I'm giving model, Jared Koronkiewicz.  Long hair or short, take your pick for him to be your inspiration in any way you want.  He's been on the modeling scene for a while, and has worked with some of the top designers.  And no, sorry, I couldn't find a website for him, a Facebook, or Twitter.  If he has any of those, they're too difficult for my meager tech skills to find.  But, do a search for him and you'll get articles about him and plenty more pics.  Enjoy!

Song of the Week - "Animal" by Neon Trees

Whew!  What a week this has been!  It feels like I've been on the move nonstop, but I can hardly remember what I've done.  This whole week in my travels around town, I kept hearing "Animal" by Neon Trees on the radio.  I first heard it a few weeks ago and thought is was pretty catchy, but this week, it seemed no matter what radio station I turned on, I'd hear it at least twice a day.  I haven't heard any of their other material yet, but if what I read about them on Wikipedia is accurate, this is the first single off their first full-length album, Habits, which just came out this year.  With how hooky the chorus is for this song and with how its been chasing me all week, I thought I'd make it my Song of the Week.  Now, I just have to find a few minutes to check out the rest of their material!

Weekly Inspiration - Sweet Moments

Being an author of erotic romance, with romance the heavy focus of my stories, means trying to capture those beautiful, tender moments between two people as they grow in their affection and love for each other.  For inspiration this week, I thought I'd put up a few pics that I think capture these moments.  Those times of gentle embraces, soft caresses, comfort, and connection.