Ĺ·±¦ÓéŔÖ

You read about these odd things happening to other authors where Amazon closes their account or punishes them for breaches, which they say they've never committed, but you never think it could happen to you. You, who is an honest as the day is long and plays by all the rules because it's the right thing to do. Well, I've now had the full independent author experience as it's my turn to be unfairly accused and punished by an Amazon company. Oh, I've had my battles with Amazon and ACX (the Amazon company most authors use to produce and distribute their books to Audible and Apple iTunes.) About a year ago, ACX added my audible book The Troubles Keeper into the Kindle Unlimited 'free to listen' selection. They did this without notice and without permission and, even worse, without any payment when people listened. It happened to a bunch of authors, but nobody got anywhere emailing. Eventually, I got someone to listen to me and, after about a month, they finally took my book out of the offering and told me they would pay me '$X' for using it. There was no negotiation and no explanation of how it had occurred. I argued that the amount was too small for the benefit they had gained. You can't argue with them. They simply stop replying.I won't even get into how many times they've pulled authors' accounts or taken back royalties for Kindle Unlimited reads without explanation, saying the author had manipulated the platform, and therefore wasn't entitled to their payments. Many times over, it was revealed the author was not at fault and they were reinstated with their account or paid what was taken from them. Sometimes an apology, sometimes not. When this happens it's so distressing for the author. You're dealing with a monolithic company and most of the time with people who are given copy and paste replies who are in centers in a country like India. So you live a tiny amount of fear that you're not safe, that one day they'll come after you. I'm in an exclusive contract with ACX for seven years. Last Thursday, I received the strangest email from them, which accused me of misusing my reviewer codes that I give out to readers who agree to leave an honest review on my audible books. These codes give the audible to the reader for free. I thought it must be some kind of glitch because it turned out the email had been received by many authors and also narrators, who did a royalty split production with an author and because of this also received codes. Their email, which they hadn't even bothered to address personally, said that because I had breeched their terms and 'manipulated' their platform, they were now removing my access to the promotional codes. I discovered later that any codes I'd given out which hadn't been redeemed were coming back as expired to those trying to use them. There was no warning this would happen. I felt terrible for my readers who couldn't understand why the code I'd just given them wasn't working. Here's the email.Hello,Your ACX account has been flagged due to unusual activity concerning the use of your ACX promotional codes. While we support the legitimate efforts of our users to promote their audiobooks, attempting to manipulate the ACX platform and/or ACX programs is not permitted.As a result, we will no longer provide you with promotional codes to use to promote your ACX projects. Please note that our evaluation process takes multiple criteria into consideration when deciding to place restrictions, and we take action based on those criteria. Going forward, please also make sure that you observe ACX’s guidelines ( to meet ACX’s guidelines or agreements may result in restrictions against your account, up to and including termination.If you would like to review our Legal Contracts and Guidelines, please visit: ( )Please be advised that this is our final decision and we won’t be offering further insight or action on this matter. I then discovered, in checking on several author forums and Facebook groups, that this same email had gone out to many authors and narrators who were just as confused as me. Some hadn't sent out any codes at all and others had only sent out less than ten, and one poor author had only had one redeemed. Here's his story. Of course, I wrote back to ACX and said there's some mistake. I have a list of every single person to whom I've given a code, so if you tell me which codes have been used for fraud, I can help you sort this out. All of us expected that it was some kind of glitch and would be resolved quickly. After all, ACX has always been very customer focused toward us and constantly calling us their business partners.Keep in mind that they've plastered a big ugly sticker across the cover of my audible boasting that it's 'Only from Audible.' This, because it's sold so many copies. Gee, wouldn't you think an author that has done that would be valuable to a company that earns money from selling their book? I mean, maybe just discuss it with me first. How about that for professional behavior and communication? From my query email, I received this reply, which is the same copy and paste received by all the other authors.Hello,We understand you’re seeking additional information regarding revoked access to your promotional ACX codes. Pursuant to our previous communication, your account was under review for unusual activity. After a full investigation, we can confirm fraudulent use of the promotional codes for your ACX audiobooks.As a result, we are upholding our previous decision to revoke your promo code access.Please know that all ACX users are responsible for abiding by ACX’s Legal Agreements. Failure to meet these guidelines can result in restrictions against your account, up to and including termination.If you would like to review our Legal Contracts and Guidelines, please visit ( ACX team has no further information to disclose. This will be our final communication on the matter.I wrote again asking them to be more explicit. How were my codes used and what can I do to prevent it happening in the future, since I didn't know what I'd done in the first instance? I also pointed out that in their own legal agreement that they kept referring me to that it said, in the event of a dispute (which I was pretty sure this was what we were now involved in), it stated in Point 14:Discussions: The parties will first attempt to resolve concerns through informal discussions. If either party has a concern and requests discussions, the parties agree to discuss the concern in good faith and work toward finding a mutually agreeable solution.I didn't receive back any discussion in good faith, at all. I received this email, and they'd even added some other reasons for which I might have lost my codes, so not just fraudulent use of codes but more mysterious issues for me to fathom. More confusing gobbledegook for me, and the rest of the authors who'd received the same email, to hypothesize over which egregious misstep we had all made. The only thing we all had in common was that we had an ACX account. Some had not sent out codes, some lived in other countries, some not, and I doubt very much that if we had published infringing content we would only lose our code dashboard. Keep in mind this was also happening to narrators, and they were none the wiser either.Hello, We understand you’re seeking additional information regarding access to Promotional Codes for your ACX account. Promotional Codes are a benefit to eligible ACX users per our Legal Agreements (), as well as our User Conduct and Content Acceptance Guidelines (). Factors that result in accounts not being eligible for this feature include misuse of Promo Codes, not observing ACX’s residency restrictions, publishing content that infringes upon our content guidelines, and more. We are upholding our previous decision to revoke your access to the Promo Code tool. If you would like to review our Legal Contracts and Guidelines, please visit . The ACX team has no further information to disclose. This will be our final communication on the matter.Sincerely, The ACX TeamACX.com So, I wrote again because a few authors had been handed back their code dashboard, without any email or apology, I might add. And that's where I'm at and now they aren't replying to me. I have supposedly committed fraud against ACX/Audible and I have no recourse to clear my name. I have a sword hanging over my head that my entire Audible account can be closed without recourse and my audibles unpublished for doing something, of which I haven't the foggiest idea. Now you might be wondering how fraud is even committed with these codes. Well, there's a myriad of ways I've since discovered, and I can think of a few more. Supposed business-minded, charming folk have long been sticking their fingers in the Kindle Unlimited pot (which is how we are paid for anyone who reads our books in Kindle Unlimited. We are paid out of a collective pot per page read; the pot amount changing every month depending on memberships). So anyone scamming the very poor systems put in place by Amazon takes money from legitimate authors. They do this by using reading farms, as one method, where a computer program on a phone or a computer flicks through a book for payment, and the author (and I use this moniker loosely) gets paid. Our share of the pot is lessened.In order to cover their tracks, these click and reading farms read legit authors' books, well flick through them, they don't 'read'. So when Amazon works out that there's farming happening, they send a nuclear warhead into all the authors whose books have been 'read,' even the good, innocent bystanders. These poor authors, know nothing about this use of their books because how can they? Then they have to fight to get their accounts back and live with the stress of it all and being accused of something unfairly by a big corporation, whom they need to continue doing business with, somehow!and still does, despite Amazon occasionally sending missiles in. It's the nature of what they've set up and how easy they've made it to manipulate. There's other ways too but it would just take too long for me to share.Now we come to Audible and ACX. How would scammers do it here? Same way. So Amazon has learned nothing after all these years. Supposed 'authors' pay a ghost writer a pittance to write a book. Then they pay a narrator (who might be desperate to get a foot in the door or just get work) another pittance. They offer ongoing work as long as they're quick to narrate. They don't care about quality because it isn't about selling the book to real readers. It's about getting the codes. We get 200 now. 100 USA and 100 UK. Then off go the click farms again downloading the books. Each download, even though it's free to the listener, pays the author as if it was purchased using an Audible credit from a membership.Again, the Audible membership pot is like the Kindle Unlimited pot. ACX sets it each month based on memberships. So not only are these scammy businesses stealing from ACX/Audible, they are stealing from legitimate authors by lowering the payout for each download we receive from a real customer.I believe very strongly that this is what has happened here. All the accused authors have been used as a cloak for these fraudsters. Some in the forums have claimed this is a legitimate business setup. Ghost written books recorded quickly with no quality control simply to have another audible book up there and make money from codes.There's a bunch of videos on line claiming you can go from zero to $10k a month doing this and you don't even need to be an author. For a fee, they'll show you. Wow! I bet most readers who download one of these books would take exception to this type of 'author.' Legitimate business practice, that differs from mine as a real heart-and-soul author, but is none-the-less-legal, I don't think so, people. Sorry, I think they should tell people these are ghost written books and they are not authors, but supposed 'business' people with a variant business model. If it's legit, why hide behind fake bios and pictures? Many authors don't care about giving out codes to redeem a free audible. But I do. I use it as a way to spread the word about my books, to gain reviews, so new-to-me readers will take a chance on an author they've never read, to build relationships with my readers and to reward my loyal fans (although I think of them as friends and supporters).Now I can't do that. And I'm angry, frustrated and sad that I've spent so much time trying to deal with this when I should be writing. Really Amazon and Audible, you need to get your act together and stop treating your business partners as ant nobodies. I just hope one day someone will come along and do better than these two companies and, I can assure you, that 95% of authors will be rejoicing. They're the biggest at the moment, so we are stuck with them. Funny thing, though, Xerox, Atari, IBM were all big guys once, and I think a little arrogance tripped them up somewhere along the way. One day Amazon, one day... I'll keep you updated on what ultimately plays out, but I'm not feeling overly confident at this stage. If you do want to listen to any of my books, they are all performed by award-winning narrators and I write every word myself and, for the record, I have never committed fraud in any endeavor in my life, although I think those accusing me quite possibly have many times over. Funny that.FREE BOOKSBy the way, if you are not a member of my readers' club newsletter, then you should jump in now, because my newsletter subscribers are the first to know about all the giveaways and news. Plus you will receive these free books as a Susan may Starter LibraryClick or tap the button to join.

This is a story about my family and one shared by a proud mother, but it's also a story of bravery and one that may inspire you or someone you care about if you choose to share. It might also give a good deal of hope to anyone who has a child with dyslexia or a learning disability or anyone has been diagnosed with this. This young man (pictured first year of high school & year twelve), who has graduated school a few months ago in October 2018, began high school year seven as an undiagnosed severe dyslexic. He had a reading age of an eight year old (year three), couldn’t tell the time and added up on his fingers. I spent most of his primary school years talking to teachers and trying to get to the bottom of why he struggled because he seemed intelligent. Each time I brought up dyslexia, they assured me that if he didn't swap his "P's" and "Q's" around, then he didn't have dyslexia. I simply believed the experts and didn't even Google it, can you believe? Eventually, on his entrance test to high school, the psychologist called me and explained that he would be placed in classes for kids who needed support. I explained to her that I had expected this and had planned to have what I called "The Conversation" with all his teachers. This was my annual chat beginning of each year to discuss his challenges. I wanted them to understand that I knew what was happening and though he wasn't academically brilliant, that wasn't as important to our family. I did also want them to know that I was there to support him in any way possible. The psychologist though asked me a few other questions about his primary school years and then said, "He could be dyslexic. You know swapping "P's" and "Q's" is only one symptom. Get him tested and let's see what that reveals."I hung up, and then Googled the symptoms. Even without testing, when I saw all the other signs, I knew. My heart sunk, I started to cry and I felt as though I'd completely let him down. If I'd only checked, it was there to see. He clearly had a majority of the symptoms. When he was tested, even watching it was so obvious. Regardless, we explained to him this was no excuse for not doing his best. Probably a needless warning because he always did do his best and his teachers commented constantly what a delight he was to teach. They would say, "If every student was a Bailey, teaching would be easy." He dived into high school with gusto, availing himself of every opportunity and began to win the annual awards for many of his classes. These were for his level, but gradually over the years, he was moved up into general classes. He still won awards but these were for more woodwork or sports, where he really shone. The first year of high school, he won the Dean of Year's award for living and demonstrating the school's value system. As they were describing this child before the announcement, I sat there, never having seen him win any award and never expecting him to, and starting thinking, This sounds so much like our Bailey. But it couldn't be him, surely, and yet... Then they called his name, and I thought, Okay, so this is where he can really shine. This school values the same traits as us. He can take this road, and reading and maths won't matter on this journey. Bailey was placed in a program, which he attended several mornings a week, whereby a trained teacher worked with him to help him learn the basics of reading and to build from there. He had to start right back at early level phonics. Gradually he began to learn to read and comprehend. He'll never be fluent but he reads well enough now that you wouldn't know how difficult it had once been for him. Every year of his six years, he won the Respect, Honor and Integrity award, which is only handed to twelve of the 300 odd kids in each grade. He was his home room class representative four times during the six years, an assistant prefect in Year Ten, a Peer Support Leader in Year Eleven and a Prefect in Year Twelve. He sat on many committees and contributed everywhere he could with time and enthusiasm. In fact, when he wasn't chosen as Head Boy, most teachers and students expressed surprise. It had been his goal since Grade Eight, but when he wasn't the Principal's pick, he just said, "Never mind. I'm busy anyway with all the other committees I've got." I think I was more upset.He represented the school in practically every sport going: running, athletics, swimming, triathlons, football. In his last month at school, he was handed the prestigious Swim Coach's Award, chosen for his conduct and overall leadership of the team. In his last school year, 2018, he found time to train for and run a marathon of forty-two kilometers (twenty-six miles). I can't even tell you how amazing of an achievement that is when you see the course, the last leg completely filled with hills, which he said he wasn't even sure he could walk up. But somehow he kept going. The teacher who had supported him with the extra english training for all those years, shared with me when she was pregnant with her second child, that of all the kids she's ever taught, if she picked one and hoped her child would grow up to be like them, it would be Bailey. A year ago, he began summer holiday work at a local Office Works store (like a Staples), as a school book list hub worker filling book lists. At the end of that project, they asked him to stay on part-time in the night fill restocking team. Within a few months, they’d graduated him to floor staff & he’d come home excitedly talking of how he’d helped people in the tech area & the thrill of being of service. He then created a system using his own initiative to help smooth re-ticketing the multiple products, as prices change daily with competition. They re-ticket 11,000 items a month & don’t often get them all done, which loses the company money because they have to honor sometimes cheaper prices. He hit this goal and got 15,000 re-ticketed himself and also encouraging others to do it. Last few months, he’s come home late because he’s stayed back helping the night manager close up. He’d watched what she did to end the day, and without being asked, he’d go do what he could so she wouldn’t have to work back. The store manager, night-fill manager & day manager are all arguing about who gets him on their shifts with staff shuffles. Now, after being urged to nominate himself for Coordinator Management Training & come on full time, he's just had an interview that he says went very well, as they were most impressed with his school leadership resume. Not a single mention of his academic scores, which were average (but very good for a dyslexic). If he’s not accepted, because they only take two in Western Australia each intake, they’ve offered him a job as a product specialist in a store that needs a change of culture. His current store manager is moving to the store and wants him to come along to help get it get back to where it should be. Bailey was going to start diploma training for sports management this month, February 2019, but he's decided to defer and see where this takes him. His store manager told us, as parents, we should be proud as he always comes to work happy & has incredible work ethic & initiative. Though I am proud of him & feel we had a little to do with his attitude, most of this is him. Academic pursuits were never going to be his forte, so we encouraged him to play to his strengths. The one thing I have done for my kids is be their advocates in the school system. I wanted them to be treated fairly & respectfully, even though sometimes systems don’t give that to people who don’t fit the “normal� mode. "Do your best" has always been our mantra & I constantly reminded teachers in meetings that we didn’t value educational grades' results as much as attitude & communication skills. That our main goal was to raise two kids who were kind, respectful & contributed more than they took. If they didn’t pass an exam, we’d ask them, “Did you do your best?� If they said, “yes,� then we were good. If they were treated unfairly by a teacher or the system, we’d question the school or teacher because we wanted them to know you can’t take things lying down, either. It’s important to question things & fight for what you believe in, but respectfully. However, in the end, we explained these were great life lessons because life isn’t fair & they’d meet plenty of people in the world who weren’t fair and would frustrate them. "Get over it and get on with the next day," we’d say. I don’t think many of Bailey’s graduating peers would be currently offered a management pathway four months out of school, especially a young man with a learning disability. But he & we never gave his dyslexic diagnosis any power over his future.He did work hard, before & after school, for the first three years of high school in sessions to overcome how far behind he was but most of all he just kept a great attitude through the ups and downs of school.This is a tale of ignoring that which holds you back.If you cannot change it, then it's of no use to you to ponder its impact. There is no single pathway to success & happiness. So, find what you are good at. Discover your own power & own it. Follow your heart. Never accept a momentary label as you. And make a fool of anyone who says you’re not good enough or you can’t do it. Just soar...FREE BOOKSBy the way, if you are not a member of my Susan Mayhem Gang newsletter then you should jump in now, because my newsletter subscribers are the first to know about all the giveaways and news. Plus you will receive these free books as a Susan may Starter LibraryClick or tap the button to join.

#SoapboxI sometimes shake my head at businesses using technology and not considering the cons more as much as the pros. The latest shenanigans with my children’s school have me shaking my head. My kids attend a private college and my youngest son told me Tuesday night he had an hour of detention on Wednesday afternoon.We live a forty-minute round drive from the school and that's an inconvenience for which I need warning, as my eldest drives now and they come home together.I'm told by the son that I was cc'd on an email to him about the detention, but I never received notice. The kicker that annoys the heck out of me is the detention is because he had broken his protective glasses for his woodwork class last term and so didn’t have them for the last class before school broke for winter holidays. Upon his return this week, after holidays, he’d forgotten to tell me to get some new ones. So again, he turns up without them. Yes, he is a little forgetful, but he is fifteen and that’s an age and hormone thing. I remember getting away with a lot of memory moments while pregnant, and in the first few years of being a mum, by claiming �mummy brain.� So it is a thing affected by hormones.That's only two 'Organization Infringements,' as they've chosen to call them, that he knew about. When he asked what the third one was for, his home room teacher couldn't tell him and said they would find out. They never did. Seems a little disorganized to me. Could she possibly have forgotten to get back to him? If that's the case, I give her a Disorganization Infringement for poor communication.I wrote an email yesterday morning to the head of his year telling him my son had commitments and was unable to attend detention, and how about advising a parent prior to the detention. By the way, I wrote, what were the infringements, since I hadn't been advised?He replies this morning advising they had issues with their emails. This meant I received the notification of his detention at the same time on Wednesday when he was meant to be attending the detention even though the emails stated that it was a 24-hour notice. Seems a little DISORGANIZED to me. Emails going missing, kids being giving detentions they don’t understand? Not to mention, the email from him still didn’t answer what the detention was for. I guess it slipped his mind to respond to that.Now they've moved to a Parent portal thing on the school’s website where I'm meant to check on whether he has infringements or not. I have so much time, of course, I do that every day, twice a day. NOT. I didn't even know I was meant to check. When I do log-in yesterday, I see he has three Organizational Infringements but no information on why they were given or what teacher gave them or what they’ve done to assist my son in becoming more organized. I mean, they’ve taken it upon themselves to run the whole thing without referring or advising me, so they could at least counsel him.I would have thought they would send a notification of any 'infringement' to a parent and advise what it was for, so that the parents could then become part of the solution by discussing with their child. I mean, something as serious as forgetting glasses or a book really requires my immediate attention. What I’m annoyed about is two-fold. First of all, schools distancing themselves by using electronic portals instead of personal contact is bound to create communication issues. Yes, I understand this is the world and progress and I must endure mistakes happening with technology. However, we are talking about children and their relationship with education, and parents� relationships with an education facility. You want to be very careful with all of that before you create websites supposedly to better communicate.Education is a three-way partnership. The child, the parent and the school. We must all, including the child, trust each other within that relationship. I don’t trust a school that relies on communication via a portal. If my child has erred so egregiously that he is given an Infringement Notice three times and then detention, I expect a phone call.My second issue is, for goodness sake, what is the world coming to that kids aren’t allowed to forget things? How do they differentiate between the misdemeanor of being absent-minded (like that’s something that doesn’t occur with adults or teachers) and bullying, being disrespectful or disrupting a class, when they are all fulfilling their �punishment� in the same room? They are not equal transgressions.Image copyright Mark Parisi: There’s another issue too. What draconian world are education facilities living in these days? They are supposed to be preparing our children for the work force and living responsibly in a community. Most progressive companies and all the parenting books will tell you, that punishing an employee or a child doesn’t work. Sheesh, with all the employment laws now, if someone does something wrong in their job you have to spend enormous time and money in coaching, rehabilitating and assisting that person to perform better. I’m not saying there shouldn’t be ramifications for doing the wrong thing or not performing in your job or at school, but every circumstance needs to be examined on its own merit. I remember years ago in a business I owned one of my staff left the door unlocked overnight to our store. Now we sold video-games and that’s a very desirable theft target. We could have got angry at him, punished him, even fired him, but what would be the point? He was a good employee and he already felt bad about forgetting. If I never forgot a single thing or ever made a mistake, then I could have gotten angry at him. However, I recognized we hire humans and humans are fallible.What I find incredible is that this school is punishing my son for that big brain in his head having a glitch, probably due to hormones, and forgetting his glasses; not punishing him for his general behavior, because he has glowing reports on that. Yet, the very system the school is using to notify me of his fallibility has turned out to be fallible. Their emails didn’t work and their portal doesn't send me advices when he does something wrong. So my human son is not allowed to make a mistake but we are happy to shrug off computer and email errors.Something is wrong with this picture. If a child is continually doing something detrimental, then we need to discover why. If a child forgets something three times in six months of school, then I think we know the answer. They’re just being normal kids. Let's please move on and deal with important issues.My son won’t be doing a detention for something that I haven’t been advised about in the first instance. Therefore, all the infringements are invalid and voided in my book. I certainly don’t blindly allow my kids to get away with bad behavior. I don't treat them like precious darlings but I'm all about fair and using common-sense. If they do push the boundaries I call them out. But as we all know, you should pick your battles. Apparently, I'm told, if he doesn't do the detention then it will be escalated. Good, let's go. Let's waste more time on a teenager's forgetfulness. In their corner, the school is defending non-real life rules and systems, while claiming to be preparing my children for the real world. In my corner, I'll be arguing the poor communication, badly-thought-out technology and lack of common sense.I'm happy to waste time on that because it's a worthy debate when it comes to my kids and their school. Maybe I can help improve their systems. Trust me, them punishing my son for forgetting glasses is not going to help him become more organized. So I win because there may be some solution to my problems with them. There is none for their tiny problem with my son, unless we can find a way to stick a micro-chip in his memory slot that never fails.Me being me, I will pursue this with the school because I believe that sometimes institutions and companies get so caught up in technology and the time and money saving aspect, they are blind to what they forego. Forgetting items may not be a sign of disorganization, it might be just a sign we have a living, breathing, young human being, whom with we should take every opportunity to teach temperance, patience and kindness. These are my sole goals with my children. I just wish I could rely on my school to practice the same.FREE BOOKSBy the way, if you are not a member of my Susan Mayhem Gang newsletter then you should jump in now, because my newsletter subscribers are the first to know about all the giveaways and news. Plus you will receive these free books as a Susan may Starter LibraryClick or tap the button to join.

Thanks to Eminor.tv for posting.I'm always sharing Aussie facts and lifestyle in my newsletter. This week I share the humble meat pie and our love for it here in the land Down Under. However, one famous actor struggled with the concept with hilarious results. Click on the Facebook post to watch the video. If you haven't joined my newsletter then you should get to it below.Thanks to Eminor.tv for posting.FREE BOOKSBy the way, if you are not a member of my Susan Mayhem Gang newsletter then you should jump in now, because my newsletter subscribers are the first to know about all the giveaways and news. Plus you will receive these free books as a Susan may Starter LibraryClick or tap the button to join.

A few of my wonderful readers have likened my style to Stephen King. I have to say every single time someone writes that I get a little glow about me. I've been reading his books since he first started publishing, and though I loved and read many horror books before him, his were such a unique take that I was an immediate fan.When I first studied writing at a part-time course every Saturday (the course went for a year), I was only twenty-two. This was 1982. I remember giving one of King's books to my tutor to read and telling her that one day I'd like to write like him and tell the type of stories he told. I can't remember which book I gave her. Maybe The Shining or The Dead Zone. When she gave it back to me after reading, she said, "What a terrible writer. Oh, his grammar is awful. I think you should set your sights higher than Stephen King." I swear she fairly spat the comments at poor little me. I couldn't understand how she couldn't see his genius for stories, and I think my dreams shrank a little.She didn't really like anything I wrote either, seeming to prefer the literary and romance writers in our group. Yet, I kinda thought I nailed every homework piece, and others in the group thought so too. I was a quick study and really grasped the concepts she taught each week.Still, this didn't put me off and eventually here I am, a long time later trying to tell stories with my own unique take, but I stuck to what I wanted to do. And though I don't think I write like Stephen King (he really is a genius), I do try and write stories with real characters that breathe. I look to tell tales that have a different angle to what I've read before with good twists. I remember Stephen King saying that he didn't know why he wrote horror. What he did know was that when he looked at a lake he didn't see a beautiful scene with a love story or a peaceful ending, he saw swamp monsters rising from the depths heading toward the shore.Me too! And I like swamp monsters because they place characters in unique positions from which they must do battle. This is why I also don't enjoy a lot of other genres because I find most heroes come pre-programmed with most of the skills they need to fight their version of swamp monsters. Whereas I'm with Mr. King. Give them nothing with which to fight and see what they come up with, and never let them even grow their abilities, except their determination to survive. Send those Swamp Monsters at some poor schmuck who works in an office and watches TV for his entertainment. Let's see what he's got.I love that in every character I've written there is no hero really, just a person trying to survive whatever the hell is thrown at them. They always surprise me with their ingenuity because they find depths of strength I could never imagine in myself, or in them when we first meet.So if someone tells you you're following the wrong hero, then they just don't know your hero well enough. You follow the dream wherever it takes you. In my book, everyone faced with a swamp monster has a right to fight them how they want, and I know you'll find something inside to guide you. Sometimes swamp monsters can really make your dreams come true!Susan May's latest competitionFREE BOOKSBy the way, if you are not a member of my Susan Mayhem Gang newsletter then you should jump in now, because my newsletter subscribers are the first to know about all the giveaways and news. Plus you will receive these free books as a Susan may Starter LibraryClick or tap the button to join.

This is a post for authors not readers. But readers, you may find the behind-the-scenes interesting. Many independent authors these days obsess over how to find readers and where they rank on the Amazon store. They believe where you rank on Amazon makes a difference to finding readers. I don't agree.I don’t blog much about the business side of my writing anymore but yesterday I ran a horror box-set cross-promo with four other successful horror writers. One of them about the effect on sales of Amazon book and author ranks.By the way, our boxset sale is good until midnight 31st January, so do go over there and grab yourself a bargain. There's 5 boxsets from five top-selling horror/thriller authors. That's 18 books for $4.95. Or you can cherry pick. They're all at 99c. I'm pretty thrilled to have a book side-by-side with these guys actually. My offering has never been at 99c and probably won't again this year. I won't say never, maybe never again.I tried to leave a comment on but my comments were too long. Well, I’m a writer, so when I get on a topic, I write a lot. So I’m posting this on my blog, so I can share with my fellow authors some of the things I’ve learned in the last five years since I started self-publishing.I've been writing seriously for eight years and I've got three still unpublished books to prove it. So I'm no spring chicken in this game anymore. They say it takes about ten years to gain success in this business, if ever. And whether you go the indie route or traditional publishing I figure that's pretty much right. Unless your lucky and have a hit, but don't count on that. Count on the marathon. After several years in the top selling lists and twice for two weeks in the top 100, thanks to some weird Amazon algorithm, I reached the same conclusion as RANKINGS DON'T AFFECT SALES. Maybe marginally but you cannot tell or even take that to the bank. In fact, you can't bank rankings. They might impress dinner guests but they won't pay for the food.I'm going to reveal some truths. January last year, two authors and I were picked up by an Amazon algorithm. One of each of our books got shot up into the top 100 overall ranks on Amazon for two whole weeks. I think my top rank was #63 or something. I knew we were somehow experiencing the same thing because each day I moved up, they were near me in rank. Then if my rank degraded a little, so did theirs. As anyone would, I checked my sales every couple of hours. Obsessively. This was with our chosen books at full price. Mine was $6.99. So happy days. We were all in the same sub-category, so it had something to do with that. We also all started to appear in each others 'also boughts' on the front page. So I correctly deduced that wherever we were being promoted, maybe at the back of books or an algo wave of some kind, we were together. So I wrote to these two and asked them did they know what was going on? Nope, it was as much a surprise to them as it was to me.Exactly at 2 weeks, whatever algo was loving us disappeared and our amazing sales shriveled instantly. Our ranks returned back to normal over the following days.This proved to me what I had suspected all along... that this chase to gain 'visibility' was an urban myth.Further proof came last November 2017, as one of my books was ending its run in Prime Reads. Zon must have shot a couple of reminder newsletters out that certain books were leaving the program and mine must have featured.I wake up to discover I'm ranked #14 in the whole store. My inbox lights up with emails from author friends saying congrats on your success. But there was no success. Keep reading to learn why.That book stayed in the top #100 for about a week. For several days I was #1 Horror author on Amazon above Stephen King. Sometimes I'm in the top 10, you bounce around, but this was the first time at #1.The thing was though my sales didn't change. I didn't sell anymore that week, maybe a couple of books more than normal, and I mean a couple. This proved absolutely to me that ranking doesn't matter. It doesn't feed in a loop to keep your sales. So if you're spending money to gain visibility, donate that money to charity because it's just going down a drain for the most part or into Amazon's pockets with AMS. If you are making a profit then all good, keep at it.You can use it to boast to your readers who don't know what it all means, but that's about it. I don't give rank a second thought unless we are doing a promotion like we did with our newsletters yesterday. In fact when I hit #1 in the horror ranks I didn't tell anyone because I knew it wasn't real. I don't want to brag about something that isn't true. I didn't sell more books than Stephen King in horror. I probably sold enough books to rank at #20 to #30 that week.You can't bank rank. So what do I care where I am in the charts? It's a fun screenshot and that is it.I believe ranks and even sales are akin to driving around suburbs and pondering lifestyles. You drive into the expensive area with the mansions and you think, these guys are rich. But are they? They look rich because externally that big house is mighty fine. However, you don't know their debt ratio. Maybe their cash poor, working their butts off and stressed all the time to keep this illusionary lifestyle. Who wants that? It's transitory usually and stressful.Then you drive through a less prestigious street, middle income and these houses are okay, nothing to aspire to but the people have a nice rhythm to their lives, a balance, and their debt ratio isn't terrible. They're working toward financial freedom and they know it’s going to take a few decades but they're sensible. And they want to enjoy life. So, it's a gradual increase of wealth.Then you take a drive through the lower socio-economic areas and this is not where you want to live. But some of these guys might actually be happy because there's no stress. This suburb is near a beach and they can go for a surf every day and sit in the sun. (We have areas like this in my city with loads of apartments, so not expensive). Occasionally they'll do the odd job, but life is not bad. Some of these aspire to middle income because they imagine that's where it’s at and they can dream of the big houses in the rich area. But a few are quite happy where they are. "No stress, man. Living the dream."And this is indie publishing these days. You don't know what goes on behind closed rank doors. Some authors might look as though they are making a fortune but how much are they spending on promotion? That's why I would also take some of the with a grain of salt. I've just shown this with my Prime Reads story that you can't measure accurately from rank. Not to mention it's gross sales. The report doesn't show net. Net profit is the money with which you feed your family. Net is the important figure.They might be a six figure author but are they a net six figure author? Am I a net six figure author? Yes, for several years, so I know what I'm saying. And this is the first and last time I will ever talk about my numbers but I'm trying to make a point her to help everyone.I sell less books than top #1,000 ranked book authors but my books are $5.99 to $6.99, so I don't need to sell so many. And my goal is to gain readers who will buy my books and read them, not leave them on their kindle because they've only paid 99c or downloaded them for free. I spend good time and money to create the most enjoyable read and experience I can, so I'm not giving my work away for no good reason. Not to mention I don't have to sell many to get into that six figure income bracket to which every author aspires. I'm not saying others shouldn't sell their books differently or this is the only way. It's just my way and until it doesn't work, that's my strategy. When it doesn't work, I will change because that's good business and I'm always testing things and keeping an eye on the marketplace. That's also good business.And the time spent on promotions, you need to factor that. Our newsletter swap yesterday wasn't a big thing, but it still took time away from writing. Well worth it just to hang out with great authors but this is a factor to consider in everything you do related to your publishing business.And this is a business now. Behind a lot of successful indie author brands these days are business minds. In my previous life, I built and ran a multi-site, national, multi-million dollar franchise business in Australia. (Video game stores in the nineties if you're curious. Entrepreneur me saw a niche in 1993). So when I came to indie-publishing back in 2013, I brought that acumen, marketing and business knowledge. And the patience and determination. No money behind me though. I'd been a mom for thirteen years and hadn't worked outside the home since 2000 when I had my first child. But I had that advantage over many other authors.I see a lot of the top authors in my genres have a business background. Each time you strive to push up in the ranks, there are a bunch of business-minded entrepreneurial writers determined to maintain their sales position. I'm one of them. Most now have a war chest and deep pockets. And you don't know how much each of them spend to gain sales or the size of their mailing list and how much they spent on that asset. You only see the ranks and the mansions.Most will be doing very well, making hundreds of thousands but they are not making what the ranks say (most of them, maybe there's an outlier). I think I read a blog post somewhere that a top author who'd made millions was retiring as of this year because she didn't like the grind of churning out books. And why wouldn't you? You've made your money, written sixty books or so and if you're smart you've invested that money, so you have other income streams.This all doesn't mean that there isn't room in Mansion Road for others. It just takes patience, study of the business and good books. The success of these big name authors was made that way.This business turns on a day. One day you're selling nothing and the next thousands a month. And you don't know when that day is coming. I also don't think its wise to get too big for your boots because fate just loves to play with hubris. So I wouldn't tempt the gods to teach you a humility either once you're up there.In saying all this, (and thank you for reading this far) I've learned some lessons recently that I'd like to share. In 2017, I spent far too much time building mailing lists, hiring help that didn't work out (I'm back to just me), staring at spreadsheets, creating systems and reading more and more posts and kindle board threads on what works and what doesn't. What I let slide was my focus on writing and my family and health. And I grew sadder and more frustrated every day. Now I have perspective. I spend some time working on advertising & building my mailing list, because if you don't you can only count on luck. And I don't like luck. It's fleeting and unreliable. But I never miss a day now of writing. The time is allocated. I also take 40 minutes a day to exercise and keep my body strong. And my family is my priority! I'm not going to feel guilty for not spending time with them. I write sometimes when they're around and doing their own thing but most of the time I down tools and we are together.I've struggled to write my lates book, funnily entitled Best Seller (here's hoping). It's out in late February. (If you want to join my readers' club so you know when its out . I think its turned our pretty great and it is about publishing but with my usual horror twist. Some of the many reasons why its taken me nearly eighteen months to complete are highlighted in this post. Distractions, mostly. Not doing the job I'm meant to do, which is sit my ass down and write. Never, ever again is that happening to me.My narrator has been lined up for six months to narrate. When I told him all the challenges I'd had, some being experimenting with new programs to help speed the process (some did help, some did not), he said to me, "Good on you for persevering." To which, I replied, "That's my job as a writer to persevere." And if you're a writer, that is a big part of the job. No shortcuts anywhere that I've seen.So here's a few tip for 2018, get some balance in your life so you can do this writing gig forever. You don't want to burn out. That includes exercising, spending time with loved ones and not obsessing over who is doing well and who isn't or what reports say or listening to what anyone claims is gospel. You can't even get a straight answer from Amazon reps on how things work. Experiment yourself and only believe what you can verify.The only thing in your control is that book and your mind and attitude. You'd better love writing, because this business is savage and will mess with your mind. Don't let it. And don't chase fairytales. Sometimes those doors lead to nightmares.Just be happy where you are at any given moment. Don't compare yourself to others because we are all at different stages of our careers. Easy to share all these when you are doing well and have built a little something in this industry, I hear you say. But for the most part, I thought this way before. I've been in business, succeeded and failed, and so I know nothing is forever. I have for the most part always focused on the writing. That's why I don't have that many books. Oh, and listen to Joe Konrath and his blog post. I listened to him back in 2012, when I found myself considering whether I should go indie. He was right then, and he's right now. So I owe him a debt of gratitude.Go write, enjoy yourself and care about readers not ranks.My book The Thriller Suspense Horror Box Set is on sale for 99c or 99p until January 31 (US & UK only).

This week I received an invite to the film Jigsaw, which is the eighth in the Saw horro series.  If you haven’t seen of these, they are a gore fest. Truly horrible films with more horror than a Stephen King tale. I decided to attend because I admire the directors The Speireg Bros (Predestination,their last film is one of my fave).  However if it's too graphic I'm leaving early.If you’ve read any of my stories, you're probably confused because my stories, without fail are about dangerous, dark people and when it comes to the violence I hold little back. A few readers have said they skipped passages because of this. You'd be forgiven for thinking I love these violent thrillers and that maybe I'm living out a fantasy of inflicting harm on others. You know, getting out all that angst kids create from time to time. Stephen King has been asked the same question for decades. “Why do you write what you do?� His responses have ranged from, “We make up horrors to help us cope with the real ones" to “What makes you think I have a choice?”I’m with him. Nothing else springs to my mind when conjuring plot ideas, although I read widely and enjoy many genres.When I was ten, I found a book about death in a bookstore. After much pleading with my mother, she bought it for me. Inside were pages and pages of glossy pictures displaying how people had died. I remember vividly a picture of a man who’d fallen from a height and the impression of the mat on which he’d landed, embedded in his scalp. The picture of an impaled body on a metal spiked fence, strangled, stabbed, you name it, they showed it, along with stories of the persecution and torture of those accused of being witches.In hindsight, I'm surprised my mom didn't cart me off to a psychologist. However, what fascinated me was the people, not the pictures. I wanted to know what preceded their untimely deaths. What where they thinking in their final moments? Why didn’t the women accused of witchery run away and hide? And what about their children or husbands? Did they believe they were witches?I think nice, everyday placid people, just like me, read these dark thrillers, or write them, because we want to understand. I can barely kill a fly, let alone an animal, even a mouse or a rat. Yet, I can happily hop inside the head and totally see the point of view of a demented killer like the Trepan Killer in or the mom in Mitigating Circumstances from .There’s no flinching when they raise the knife, gun or whatever their weapon of choice and take another’s life. I see it all in my mind’s eye and I don’t turn away because what they’re doing is their business. If they’re not horrified by it, then as a writer neither am I.The question is why would any of us want to know how these terrible people feel? Possibly its because violence is as  far from our natural behavior as you can get. Because of this, we have an innate curiosity to understand why someone could inflict such horror on another. One reason I write is to understand and learn because it's the safe way to make sense of violence in the world. Curiosity drives me and, like Mr. King, I don’t have a choice. What sparks a murderous thought, now that is a mystery to this soccer mom.So I'll continue to travel into the dark minds of killers and be grateful that I use only my imagination to do so. I hope you'll continue to enjoy the journeys as much as I enjoy creating them.If you would like to read Mitigating Circumstances, I’m offering for , which contains the story, when you join the Susan Mayhem Gang Club. Just click on the button to join and welcome aboard.FREE BOOKSBy the way, if you are not a member of my Susan Mayhem Gang newsletter then you should jump in now, because my newsletter subscribers are the first to know about all the giveaways and news. Plus you will receive these free books as a Susan may Starter LibraryClick or tap the button to join.

I’ve been writing seriously since 2010. This means for seven years, when asked what I do for a job, I reply,"Writing." Despite beginning this journey when I was in my teens, I was interrupted by life. Most of my friends were surprised when I didn't pursue writing as a career. So was I.You make choices and they take you down unexpected roads you think you control and that will bring you eventually to your heart's desire. Not so, I'm afraid.For three years I played around writing short stories and doing well, getting involved with being a film reviewer. No novels though. I'd written a couple but couldn't finish or polish them enough to do anything with them. The year 2013 was when I got my act together and published my first book  Fast forward to 2017 and I guess you’d call me a professional because I do this for a living. I've sold more than 100,000 books in the past eighteen months and every one of my little babies has topped a chart on Amazon USA. My books have ranked up there with my hero Stephen King's books for several years. I still pinch myself, don't you worry. When people learn this, they tend to become excited. I guess we writers are an inconspicuous bunch and it's like spotting a unicorn. The common response when people hear what I do is: Them: "I should write a book too.”Me: “You should.”Them: “Yeah, I don’t have time now. I should take time off work. You've inspired me.�I've learned to just say, "Good luck. Look forward to reading your book." Because, so far nobody has been inspired enough to actually write a book. I think the reason is that this is a long journey, measured in years. To achieve your goal, you need to find a way to fit writing into your life.Writing a novel is probably like dieting. Easy to begin, but difficult to stay true to the commitment because you are altering your life.Let’s set the record straight right here. To be a writer, you need to manipulate your lifestyle in increments. You do not need to give up work or all your time with family and friends to write or pursue any form of creativity. You can hunt for time in the nooks and crannies of your life. You might have to give up a little here and there but you won’t even notice if you do it right.Writing is a portable craft. Laptop, pen and paper, and your mind. All of these, you can take with you wherever you go. Writers have the best opportunities I believe, because we can write anywhere and everywhere. Maybe painters, not so much. A touch messy perhaps. I guess you can still sketch wherever you go.During winter my sons play sport and need to arrive an hour before their game to warm up. I write while I’m waiting. I haven’t gotten to know the other sports� moms because I’m in the car visiting my imaginary worlds. But that’s okay, I have written books in that time. So I give up time chatting about things I won’t remember in a week with people I don’t really know. Waiting anywhere is perfect. In the ad breaks, watching TV. You can eventually teach your mind to switch on and write for ten minutes and then switch back to whatever you were doing. To me, it feels like a muscle you develop.I don’t do coffee so much anymore with big groups of friends. I don’t miss it. I have two friends I see regularly. That keeps me sane and happy. Sometimes on weekends my family watches sport. I live with three males and I don’t follow soccer or AFL (Australian Football League). While they’re watching, I sit with them and write on my laptop. Or if they go somewhere without me, I write.When my kids come home from school I’m done with writing for the day and I’m a mom again. Between looking after our home and the business part of my writing, I only manage a few hours a day if I’m lucky. But I keep plugging away. That’s how you get books written. A sentence at a time, plugging away.If I worked outside the home, I would write when I commute or in my lunch break. I’d steal that time back. You don’t give up work to write because you end up using that time for something else. Whereas if you are working you have designated downtimes. Use that.Your first stories, novels, whatever they are, will be difficult and not beautiful. You need to write a lot to become comfortable in the craft. Even then, sometimes you have your not so good days. I don't bleed over my keyboard because I love this work. Some days though my head hurts and I'm terrified I don't know what I'm doing with my work-in-progress. This is also part of the life. But I'm a professional writer, so I keep going. This is what I do.Every sentence you write makes you a better writer, so that’s a lot of minutes you will need to find. You can do this over the years like I have, if you’re alert to discovering lost time. My way you don't give up everything. You build a different lifestyle and mindset.You must not wait for blocks of time. Life doesn’t give you grand chunks of time in which to discover whether you’re a writer, an artist or a craftsperson. Life gives you minutes here and there. If you don’t fill them with social media, television or other distractions, you can achieve a great deal.Don’t give up on your dreams by thinking about the time it will take. You already have the time in your hands, you just need to take that time back and mold it into your future.That’s all I did.Now if you'd like to read some of my writing for FREE, enter my competition to Win a Kindle Paperwhite, or join my Gang newsletter to begin your Susan May library, again for FREE.FREE BOOKSBy the way, if you are not a member of my Gang newsletter, then you should jump in now because my newsletter subscribers are the first to know about all the giveaways and news, plus you will receive these free books as a Susan may Starter LibraryClick or tap the button to join.

After these reviews I'm taking a seven week break from the radio station as my on-air partner is off on holidays to Europe. I'll still write up my reviews when I get a chance. If you've just landed here and you are new to my reviews, remember to enter my competition to win a Kindle and a library of my books.The Dark Tower ✪✪✪Opened August 17This film has been kicked around from studio to studio (Universal to finally Sony) and from director to director (Ron Howard, J.J. Abrahms, and finally to Danish filmmaker Nikolaj Arcel (A Royal Affair). Despite an estimated box office budget of a paltry $60 million it only made $19 million in its opening weekend with a  gross of $35 million so far.  However this isn’t a one act pony. As suggested first by Ron Howard when he became involved a decade ago, this is going to be the beginning of a TV series/film interchange in the Gunslinger universe.Whether this strategy will be a success is hard to know. The Avengers intermixed with the Agents of Shield ran out of steam and that was with multiple films in that universe, all blockbusters.Everyone who came with me to the preview - my teenage son and friends - felt it was okay. I wanted so much to enjoy this, being a big King fan (in fact he’s the inspiration for my writing) and I did, sorta. It doesn’t pack the punch it should and feels muted. Not to mention there's something not right with the lighting. We know this take place in a dark universe but we need to see what's going on, for goodness sake. The big finale isn’t big enough and Matthew McConaughey’s evil Man in Black is just not terrifying enough to have me worried for the heroes.I think those who enjoy the books and I’ve only read the first in the series, which I didn’t love, might be disappointed. There’s eight books in King’s series and this film is only 95 minutes, so that is some condensing done by veteran screenwriter Akiva Goldsman.I’ll reserve my full judgement on this as a fail until I see the TV series. As a film, it’s so so, although it’s fun looking for the King references to his other books, like 14-08 as a code for a portal destination, which is also the number of a haunted room in a King short story. Look for the sign of a rundown amusement park Pennywise; a reference to his evil clown in It. Whether this will be worth the entry price might depend on how big a King fan you are. I just hope they do a better job with It, which is from a different studio.Film BlurbThere are other worlds than these. Stephen King's The Dark Tower, the ambitious and expansive story from one of the world's most celebrated authors, makes its launch to the big screen. The last Gunslinger, Roland Deschain (Idris Elba), has been locked in an eternal battle with Walter O'Dim, also known as the Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey), determined to prevent him from toppling the Dark Tower, which holds the universe together. With the fate of the worlds at stake, good and evil will collide in the ultimate battle as only Roland can defend the Tower from the Man in Black.Logan Lucky  ✪✪✪½ Opened August 17This is a whole bucketload of fun. And if you ever thought Daniel Craig couldn't shake off the James Bond chains, get a load of his performance here. You will not recognize him. Suave he is not. Channing Tatum proves he can act and Adam Driver again reminds us why he is one of the most promising, upcoming actors in the game. There's chemistry not just in the explosives but between the actors.Directed by Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Magic Mike, Michael Clayton, Side Effects, Contagion, Oceans Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen) Logan Lucky is the no suit, what if not-so-smart folk pulled off a heist like in Oceans Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen?The answer: You'd get a lot of laughs and possibly a lot more heart than the slick Las Vegas heist films. This is worth your dollars. If Logan Lucky turns out to be successful for the studio, there'll be no luck involved. It will be because there's a great script with a confident director and actors who brought their A-game.Film BlurbTrying to reverse a family curse, brothers Jimmy (Channing Tatum) and Clyde Logan (Adam Driver) set out to execute an elaborate robbery during the legendary Coca-Cola 600 race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. STARS: SETH MacFARLANE, RILEY KEOUGH, DANIEL CRAIG, HILARY SWANKHampstead  ✪✪✪Opened August 17I sent a friend along to see this and she reported back what you would expect. She enjoyed the film though it held no surprises and was a typical romance comedy for the seniors."Diane Keaton and Brendan Gleason did a good job as a courting couple," she said. The background scenery of Hampstead was so beautiful and she wants to visit there now. My friend who is in her forties and her friend were the youngest people in the cinema she thinks. So this is for the over-fifties who remember who Diane Keaton was in her hey-day. A big romantic comedy star and a favorite of Woody Allen.Film BlurbA heart-warming romantic comedy set around the beautiful Hampstead Heath in London, a quiet piece of countryside in a vast metropolis. Living in a lovely old apartment on the edge of the Heath, American widow Emily Walters feels like she is drifting aimlessly through life. Then she meets Donald, who has lived harmoniously on the Heath for 17 years in a ramshackle hut. When property developers attempt to destroy his home, Emily steps up to defend Donald in the escalating battle. Stars DIANE KEATON & BRENDAN GLEASONFREE BOOKSBy the way, if you are not a member of my Gang newsletter, then you should jump in now because my newsletter subscribers are the first to know about all the giveaways and news, plus you will receive these free books as a Susan may Starter LibraryClick or tap the button to join.

If you've just landed here and you are new to my reviews, remember to enter my competition to win a Kindle and a library of my books.Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets ✪✪✪½Opened August 10I have a love hate relationship with the director of this film Luc Besson. He's helmed some amazing films like The Fifth Element, Nikita, Leon: The Professional and then theres the Taken series and Lucy recently, which was okay but fell down at the end. He's prolific in writing and directing and has an incredible imaginative visual eye. Valerian is a passion project inspired by his childhood beloved French comic book Valerian and Laureline. Think a cross between Star Wars and Avatar. I'm sure certain this will be criticized for being derivative of Star Wars and the like, however it's Star Wars which is derivative of all these early works, especially Edgar Rice Burroughs John Carter. The comic book of Valerian was first published in 1967.I took along a bunch of teenagers, including my nearly fifteen year old and seventeen year old. All the kids enjoyed the film. Harsh critic Mr. Nearly Fifteen said it was okay, which is code for good. The storyline isn't anything fabulous and the animated characters give a better performance than the young leads ... corny is the appropriate word ... but this is still an entertaining film and something different. The CGI is quite stunning and Rihanna's much publicized appearance is worth the entry price. Her song and dance routine is mesmerizing. To enjoy how far the human imagination can travel it's worth seeing this film. I'd be happy to see a #2 as long as they work on the script as much as the CGI.Film BlurbVALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS is the visually spectacular new adventure film from Luc Besson, the legendary director of The Professional, The Fifth Element and Lucy, based on the ground-breaking comic book series which inspired a generation of artists, writers and filmmakers. In the 28th century, Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are a team of special operatives charged with maintaining order throughout the human territories. Under assignment from the Minister of Defense, the two embark on a mission to the astonishing city of Alpha-an ever-expanding metropolis where species from all over the universe have converged over centuries to share knowledge, intelligence and cultures with each other. There is a mystery at the center of Alpha, a dark force which threatens the peaceful existence of the City of a Thousand Planets, and Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.Wind River  ✪✪✪½Opened August 10The writer of Sicario, one of my all time favorite thrillers, and acclaimed Hell or High Water jumps into the director's seat as well as penning the screenplay for Wind River.We have high expectations of Taylor Sheridan and he half delivers here. This is a good film with some interesting ideas but the pacing is off with long speeches that seem a touch unnecessary. It feels as though Sheridan wanted to give some depth to his characters and so instead of confidently believing he'd already achieved this, he serves up too many soul-exposing scenes. The photography is good and there's a few fun scenes with Elizabeth Olsen strutting her tough girl stuff. As it is, Sheridan lacks the discipline he showed us in Sicario. With a little thought put into the pacing and ending, I think we would have had a real winner. As it is, you won't be disappointed, you'll just wish for more. Take a coat too. Lots of snow. Brrr.Film BlurbWIND RIVER is a chilling thriller that follows a rookie FBI agent (Elizabeth Olsen) who teams up with a local game tracker with deep community ties and a haunted past (Jeremy Renner) to investigate the murder of a local girl on a remote Native American Reservation in the hopes of solving her mysterious death. Written and directed by Taylor Sheridan, The Wall  ✪✪✪½ Opened August 10The Wall is produced by Amazon Studios. They are doing a lot of good stuff. This film is entertaining and reminded me of 1971 Duel, Stephen Spielberg's first film. Like Duel, The Wall is a contained story with basically only one actor for most of the film but with the omnipresent feeling of an unbeatable foe wearing down our protagonist. I can't say much without giving away the twists and intrigue of the film, but I found it clever. The director knows his stuff, having directed Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Edge of Tomorrow and Bourne Identity, among many other action/thrillers. This isn't a commentary on war, like many other films in this genre. The backdrop of Iraq is merely a setup for a tense psychological thriller.These type of films are cheap to make but do well on streaming and sometimes at the box office. Certainly an enjoyable film to see on the big screen. Warning: There is one wound scene that is gory. I had to close my eyes. Yuk! Film BlurbThe Wall is a deadly psychological thriller that follows two soldiers pinned down by an Iraqi sniper, with nothing but a crumbling wall between them. Their fight becomes as much a battle of will and wits as it is of lethally accurate marksmanship. Directed by Doug Liman (Mr. & Mrs. Smith, "The Bourne Ultimatum," "Edge of Tomorrow"), "The Wall" stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson ("Nocturnal Animals," "Kick-Ass," "Savages" "Godzilla," "Avengers: Age of Ultron") and WWE star John Cena ("Trainwreck," "Daddy's Home"), "The Wall" is written by first-time screenwriter Dwain Worrell. FREE BOOKSBy the way, if you are not a member of my Gang newsletter, then you should jump in now because my newsletter subscribers are the first to know about all the giveaways and news, plus you will receive these free books as a Susan may Starter LibraryClick or tap the button to join.