This has been a busy few days. I’ve reevaluated my blogging goals, recovered from the latest bout of my capricious gastritis and collected three rejections. Since it was three rejections for three different stories, there’s a lot of hope on the horizon.

For one thing, I took a leap in trying to break into three publications I’ve not been published on before. I also went about discovering two great books, two interesting movies and got published on Write Naked.

Below are my notes on them. Read on and see if they might also catch your fancy.

(P.S. I used affiliate links in my post, so if you purchase from those, I make a little money at no extra cost to you.)

Non-fiction:

The Art of Creative Thinking by Rod Judkins, but I’ll be coming back to that book again and again. Stay tuned because I’ll be reviewing the book here soon.

I also loved and will keep with me for a long time:How to Do It All: The Revolutionary Plan to Create a Full, Meaningful Life — While Only Occasionally Wanting to Poke Your Eyes out with a Sharpie by Linda Formichelli. Again, the review is in the works.

I’m reading Better than Before by Gretchen Rubin and loving it.

Yes, if there is a fun, well-written and practical non-fiction book that covers creativity, productivity and time-management while keeping potential personality quirks in mind, I’m game.

Fiction: The Widow by Fiona Barton

Wow, this book was dark and depressing. Sure, it was engaging, but I don’t want to keep it. I don’t want to revisit or reread.

Apparently there are comparisons to Gone Girl. I only watched the movie and read the screenplay, but I can tell you that Gone Girl is not that depressing. Maybe because it doesn’t involve child abuse, kidnapping and potential child murder.

The Widow tells the story of Jean, a woman who remains the center of media attention after her husband, suspected child abuser/kidnapper/killer is killed in an accident. Did she really know her husband? Was he really guilty? And was she a part of it?

While the book isn’t as gory as Gone Girl, it’s definitely darker, and it’s enough to put off reading certain thrillers for a while. So do I recommend it? You decide.

Recently Watched and Enjoyed: Mr. Right, Cube

I’ve watched two movies: one to study, one for absolute pleasure.

Cube: In the name of studying screenwriting

Cube was for studying mystery/sci-fi plot as it is famous for its low-budget, as well as original and captivating plot. While it’s not too gory on the whole, it has a few scenes that are not for the faint-hearted.

Was the plot as amazing as I heard? Well, yes. However, the acting was uneven, and *spoilers*, if you want a solid reason/purpose for the cube, you are in for disappointment. But it’s worth your time if you know that going in. I had fun, but I prefer movies whose plots have better reasons than “it’s the way it is.” (More on Cube in later posts.)

Mr. Right starring Sam Rockwell and Anna Kendrick: For Fun

Don’t be fooled by the name. Mr. Right is a usually hilarious and absurd romantic comedy, crime comedy and action comedy movie where a reformed hitman falls for a girl with issues, and together they form the perfect couple.

But of course she will have to deal with his “job,” and the men after him for different reasons. The hitman is Sam Rockwell, and the girl of his dreams is played by Anna Kendrick. If you love Rockwell like I do, it’s a must. His action/dancing scenes are my favorite, as well as most of his lines.

Of course given how many genres it’s tackling, it’s a bit uneven, illogical and strange. I loved it, but don’t be disappointed by wanting a straightforward romantic comedy or action comedy. Also, almost all characters are crazy.

You’ve been warned.

Recently Published:

Well, it’s not all rejections. I’m proud to say I’ve been published on one of my favorite blogs, Tara Lynne Groth’s Write Naked. Check out my tips on how not to make social media mistakes as a writer, and stay for other posts. It’s an invaluable resource for writers.

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That’s it. Please share this post if it inspired you to read, watch and/or pitch.

What have you watched, read, pitched and published this week?