Check out this press release from Hourglass Unlimited:

Coming To A Bookstore And eReader Near You!

Black Widow and the Sandman: Children in Cuba are suffering an agonizing death. The cause—a toxin released by a terrorist organization hell bent on genocide. The scientific community is at a loss, and the Cuban government can no longer hide the truth from its citizens. Cuba’s only chance lies in the capable hands of a reclusive scientist from the country they believe is behind this terrorist attack—the United States of America.

Roman “The Sandman” Tate is the most sought after mercenary in the world. When he is ordered to protect scientist Jeanette “Black Widow” Mason, he finds she is much more than scientific equations. The two join forces to create an antidote and stop those responsible for the mysterious illness before more children die and Cuba follows through on its promise to retaliate.

Author: L.L. Reaper Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Length: 282 Pages Cost: $14.95 (p) $9.99 (e)
Print Type: Trade Paperback, 6 x 9 Release Date: June 28, 2011
Publisher: Hourglass Unlimited Print ISBN: 978-0-9829673-0-0
Availability: Physical and online bookstores

To celebrate the release of Black Widow and the Sandman, L.L. Reaper is giving away a Kindle! The last day to enter the contest is July 1, 2011. The winner will be announced 4th of July weekend. Visit the author’s website for full details: http://www.llreaper.net

L. L. Reaper is available for interviews, book club discussions and other events. Contact Deanne King for availability.

Don’t Miss This Dangerously Sexy Suspense!

I was looking through my archives yesterday and notice that there has definitely been a drop-off in the amount of movie reviews I’ve posted in the past couple of years. I used to post three, four, and sometimes five reviews in a single week! Well, there’s actually a simple explanation for the slowdown: I’m currently in grad school and simply do not have enough free time to watch as many movies as I would like. It’s much easier for me to write recaps/reviews of 21- or 42-minute TV shows than 2+ hour movies, ya know? But still, I feel as though I’m missing out on a lot of good films, so I’m making this list to remind myself of what I need to watch when I have a free weekend. (No particular order here.)

• Black Swan — I’ve heard Natalie Portman’s performance in this one is amazing. The Oscar nomination helps, so I definitely want to see it!
• The Fighter – I kind of have mixed feelings about Christian Bale as an actor, but I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt here. This one looks really good.
• Tangled — This one made a ton of money at the box office and has been hailed as a wonderful family film. I’ll catch this with my son.
• How to Train Your Dragon — Ditto.
• Hereafter — I sometimes hate Eastwood films, even the ones that are critically acclaimed, like Invictus and Gran Torino. This one looks like it’s worth it, though.

And, just because I feel like it, here’s a list of movies I’ll be AVOIDING, despite good reviews.

• The Wrestler — Mickey Rourke kind of scares me and I hate his long, greasy hair in the promo posters. There’s no way I want to watch him writhing around on various wrestling mats and in various rings for a couple hours. Total pass.
• Crazy Heart — For some reason, Jeff Bridges just rubs me the wrong way. There is something about his face that bugs me to no end. I know this is completely irrational, but I can’t help it — and I usually can’t watch movies he’s in.
• Avatar — I still haven’t seen it and really have ZERO desire to. I know, I know, it made a gazillion dollars and was hailed as one of the greatest achievements in film making… blah, blah, blah. I just would not be able to watch those blue creatures for 3 hours.

I just want to post a quick note to say Merry Christmas to everyone! I’ve spent a great day with my family, and we kicked back this evening to watch a few of our favorite holiday movies, including Elf, Home Alone, and A Christmas Story. I hope you’ve been able to enjoy a wonderful day with your loved ones as well!

As you can see, there’s a new theme on this blog. I upgraded to WordPress 3.0.2 yesterday (and are you kidding me — I’m seeing another update notice in the dashboard right now as I type!!!) and my old theme, which was developed in 2006, got all out of whack for some reason. I don’t know enough about WordPress themes to fix a problem like that on my own, so I just decided to get a new one.

This theme will take some time to get used to. That’s what happens after looking at the same page for 4+ years. I’m going to spend some time tweaking it over the weekend and hopefully get it running the way I want by Monday.

This post will serve as kind of a reminder to myself for when I need to tune in this fall, since most premieres are just around the corner. As you can see, I have scaled back my television viewing considerably and will likely only be watching 4-5 shows this year. Part of that is due to being extremely busy with school, and part is due to old favorites simply running out of steam. For example, I can’t even count the number of times last year when House was so boring that I paid more attention to finding the best home remedy for acne or looking up diet pill recommendations than to what was happening on the tube. I figure if a show has that much trouble holding my attention, I probably shouldn’t bother watching it anymore!

Anyway, here’s the tentative schedule.

Regulars:
Castle (Season 3) — Monday, September 20, 2010
Hawaii 5-0 (Season 1) — Monday, September 20
Cougar Town (Season 2) — Wednesday, September 22
Modern Family (Season 2) — Wednesday, September 22

Shows that I will no longer be watching:
How I Met Your Mother
House

On the Bubble:
Criminal Minds

The deadline has passed for my Burn Notice giveaway, which means that it’s time to announce the winner. I used the randomizer at Random.org to select a number, which turned out to be 10. The 10th entry I received was from Ken C., so he’s our winner. Congratulations, Ken!

Ken has 48 hours to respond to the email I sent him notifying him of the win. If he doesn’t reply with his address within that time frame, I will select another winner.

I hope you enjoy your prizes!

Edit: Ken C. of Chandler, AZ has responded to the notification email, so this giveaway is officially over! Thank you to everyone who entered!

Note: This post is a sticky. For more recent posts, please scroll down.

Regular readers of this blog know that Burn Notice is one of my favorite programs on television. I am very excited for the third season to resume, and that will be happening this Thursday, Jan. 21 at 10/9C. I’m expecting big things from the latest round of episodes — especially with all the amazing guest stars lined up, including Tyne Daly (a Cagney & Lacey reunion!), Carlos Bernard (Tony Almeida to many folks), Tim Matheson, Seth Peterson (one of my faves), and more.

To celebrate the occasion, I’m hosting a giveaway for a VERY COOL Burn Notice prize pack. Please read the description below and enter by sending an email to contest[at]reviewsandmore[dot]net with “Burn Notice Giveaway” in the subject line between now and 5pm central on Thursday January 28, 2010. After the deadline, I will use an online randomizer to select a winner from all eligible entries, and the prize pack will be sent directly to the winner from the giveaway sponsor.

The winner will have 48 hours after the announcement to get back to me with an address. If I do not hear back from the first winner within this time frame, an alternate winner will be drawn.

Sorry, but this giveaway is open to U.S. residents only and you must be at least 18 yrs of age to enter.

Get ready to get BURNED! The #1 show on cable returns with all new episodes. Don’t miss Tyne Daly & Clayne Crawford guest-starring in the Burn Notice winter premiere – “A Dark Road” – airing Thursday, January 21 at 10/9C. Become a Fan on Facebook, Follow on Twitter, and visit the Official Site to play Covert Ops: Vegas Heist (beginning 1/21) for a chance to win an all-new Hyundai Genesis Coupe!

Enter to win a Burn Notice tote filled with:

• Season 1 & Season 2 DVDs
• Burn Notice Branded Flashlight
• Burn Notice Book: The End Game
• Burn Notice T-Shirt

I wish I could keep this for myself, but it’s definitely going out to one lucky reader! Get your entries in now and good luck!

I know I haven’t been posting as many movie reviews as I usually do. That’s because I’ve been very busy with grad school and a couple of part-time jobs that I have to work at in order to pay for everything. I don’t even get the end-of -semester bonus of being able to sell my textbooks back. Traditional students can all sell textbooks, but being an online students means it’s a hassle for me to box up my books and ship them back. Oh, well.

At any rate, I have the next month off for Winter Break, and have a whole list of DVDs that I want to get through. The fact that most of my favorite TV shows are on hiatus right now also gives me more time to watch films. I can’t wait to start pumping out more reviews!

I just want to take a moment to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you get to celebrate the way you want to, with the people you love and care about most.

At my household, this means celebrating with family. We’ve fired up A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving for the kids, while the adults are watching football in the basement. We’ll all convene in about two hours for turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and pumpkin pie, and then will probably break off into groups again to finish the night. There will be ice cream and hot chocolate for the young ones, and some wine, champagne, and even Avo cigars for the adults.

So far everyone has been getting along and there haven’t been any embarrassing arguments or scenes that will cause me not to want to see these people again for another 364 days. Let’s hope the smooth ride continues!

I am just testing out my brand-new iPhone here. The WordPress app is actually very easy to use, and typing on the touch screen isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Mobile blogging, here I come!!! (Finally!)