April 2023 News

What a difference a month makes, Picard Season 3 is firing on all thrusters, The Bad Batch finishes up Season 2 with a big episode and for those who read Hugh Howie’s Silo, Apple TV dropped a teaser trailer for the series and it looks really good.

Season 2 of Shadow and Bone dropped on Netflix and while I’d gobbled up season 1, I need to read the books to see how much they changed since there’re been some grumblings about them rushing through season 2 (and the books?) with a possible Six of Crows series in the wings.

Paramount+ has announced Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks and Prodigy renewals and Starfleet Academy while season 5 of Discovery will be the last season of the show.

I’m happy to see Trek embracing its episodic roots with expanded storytelling model aka television instead of attempting another condensed attempt at a movie since we don’t need another Nemesis. Trek, in my mind has always been episodic while the movies only get it right when it’s a movie and not an expanded two hour episode. I’m impatiently waiting for them to give up on Nu-Trek movies even if the actors are perfect, the stories just aren’t there.

The Star Wars franchise is thankfully using Disney+ properly for it’s expanded storytelling even if some of the shows don’t land well i.e. Book of Boba Fett since the condensed format of Episodes 7, 8, and 9 didn’t fair well. I think if they hadn’t gone with the LOTR schedule of a movie per year it’d be different story all together.

All of this feels like geek/superhero overload but for the most part the quality of the television shows have been good. It’s the movies that’re coming in dead on arrival, I haven’t seen a Marvel movie in the theaters since No Way Home and I’ve been a fan since Blade 1.

Movie News:

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves: It’s not trying to be Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings. It’s a fun, family movie with little swearing, little violence and enjoyable A-List actors knowing full well what movie they’re in. It’s worth seeing and sit through all the credits.

Reading News:

I’ve finished Lockwood Books 1,2+3 and moving onto Book 4. I’m hoping for a season 2 pick up from Netflix. I recommend checking your local library if you’re interested in the series.

I’m coming back to The Atlas Six later, it didn’t click with me.

April 2023 Events

Another Pints and Pages event at Narragansett Brewery in Rhode Island. This event features 3 Association of Rhode Island Authors. The authors at this event will be: Peter A. O’Donnell, Alexander Smith and Mary Catherine Volk.

ARIA Writing Academy Event

And talking about Association of Rhode Island Authors (in full disclosure I’m on the board), ARIA is starting a Writing Academy and our first class will be Pathways to Publishing instructed by ARIA’s VP, Tabitha Lord. The class is on April 5th at 7pm via Zoom.

Book Series Update

Last Crosleigh Standing (LCS) is still being plotted out. I’m trying to figure out if I want to do a novella or a full sized novel. It’s a prequel to Where Weavers Daire and takes place sometime before. You won’t need to read Weaver to figure out what’s going on.