When Star Wars Rogues Unite - A Look At Rogue Won: A Star Wars Podcast.

In the ever expanding world of Star Wars podcasting, fans of the block buster franchise are spoiled for choice. A quick iTunes search will immediately yield dozens of shows examining the minutiae of Star Wars - from the films, to television, to collecting, to gaming. Literally any branch is catered for. 

As a long time listener of Star Wars podcasts, I've traversed all of these branches of fandom in audio form and have encountered many fine examples of Star Wars podcasting. My tastes have evolved over the years. Whereas once, I sought out podcasts with a specific bent - like collecting, nowadays I find myself drawn to more general conversations about Star Wars that speak to me as life long devotee of the franchise - podcasts that remind of the kind conversations I used to have with my childhood friends growing up in the 80's.

In the past two or three months, I have come to the podcast Rogue Won: A Star Wars Podcast For Winners. Adapting its name from the most recent film in the franchise, Rogue Won is hosted by New Jersey native Johnny Grasso, Alabaman Hawes Burkhardt and New Yorker Michael Pappas, Rogue Won is a weekly show that explores the most recent news pertaining to the franchise and engages in a lively banter about Star Wars that harkens back to those distant back and forths I had from childhood.

The genius of Rogue Won lies in the engaging personalities of the hosts - the razor sharp and lovable smart arse in Johnny Grasso, the gravelly acerbic and witty raconteur in Hawes Burkhardt and the bolshie tough guy with a heart of gold in Mike Pappas. They bring the show together from across considerable distances in North America to present an almost small town audio love affair with Star Wars that oozes charm and recreates the child like appeal that Star Wars draws from within all of us fans.

Rogue Won's on air team (L-R) Johnny Grasso, Hawes Burkhardt, Mike Pappas.

And yet, underlying this veneer is a smart and analytical exploration of franchise news, franchise politics and fandom - aided by the fine repository of up to the minute content from the team at Making Star Wars - that goes beyond the superficial. It is often fearless, unafraid to poke holes in the imperfect beast and it baulks at the kind of sycophantic devotion to Lucasfilm inherent in other podcast offerings. But it does so while maintaining a respect and reverence for the franchise and, as such, this sets Rogue Won apart. As a result - and in quite a short span of time - Rogue Won has cultivated a loyal army of listeners and fans which has undoubtedly contributed to its rapid rise on the iTunes charts.

For me, Rogue Won: A Star Wars Podcast For Winners rekindles that old school innocence of 80's Star Wars fandom and as such, it rises above many of the other podcast offerings out there in the wilds. 

Visit Rogue Won: A Star Wars Podcast For Winners here. 

Subscribe to Rogue Won at iTunes here.

Join the Rogue Won Army here.

Feeling the Pull - A Look At Pull by Anne Riley.

On my book shelf at home, sits a title I bought a few years ago called "The Clearing". It was written by Alabama based author Anne Riley who, at the time, released the novel herself and it made waves back in 2011 - 12 as an exciting YA entry filled with suspense, action, engaging characters. 

Having sought to pursue a publishing deal with an established house, Anne Riley spent the next few years working diligently on her writing and her pitches - all the while raising a young family and forging a career as a teacher. Now, all that hard work has paid off and I write this on the eve of Anne's debut release for Spencer Hill Press - an equally exciting YA actioner called Pull.

 (image credit: Spencer Hill Press).

From the cover notes;

Rosie Clayton witnesses a mugging on her first night in London—and then the scene rewinds itself.

She finds herself standing in the same place again, with the mugging happening just like before, except this time a stranger steps in and stops it. There's no way the same incident can have two outcomes. Rosie thinks she’s losing her mind, until just a few days later, the stranger saves her.

The stranger, Albert, and his band of misfit crime-fighters, have the special ability to Pull, which allows them to rewind just enough time to undo a recent event. Someone is hunting Albert and his crew– and now that Rosie’s been seen with them, she’s a target too. Rosie is left with no choice but to trust Albert to keep her safe.

As Rosie learns more about this unbelievable ability and the people – if you can call them that – who want them dead, she discovers that the group’s desire for her blood might be more than mere coincidence. Each step into this magical side of London introduces Rosie to a family history that she never knew existed, and dangerous forces that could unravel her world in an instant.


Her family may be the reason they’re all being hunted—and she may be the only one who can figure out how to save them. Sure, between the lot of them, they have a few shots to get it right. The thing about Pulling, though, is you have to be alive to do it.

(image credit: Anne Riley).

With its London setting and its exploration of the other worldly abilities that Anne Riley has bestowed on her cast, Pull promises fans of taut, YA fiction  - and broader science fiction - a unique and refreshing thrill ride. Anne Riley's immediately accessible style, her attention to crisp and quick fire dialogue and her skill at world building. In the run up to the release of the novel, Anne Riley's commissioned a trailer that typifies all the great things I have come to know about her style and, in the context of generating a buzz for this release, it hits a home run. 

In addition to the trailer, take a look at this very cool interview Anne put together in support of the novel.

I really like Anne Riley and I think that Pull has the potential to be a major success for her. It's well deserved. Having followed Anne for several years now, she strikes me as an author who is really passionate about her work - and her work ethic. In Pull, she has crafted something really special. 

Pull is available everywhere from 2.2.2016.

Visit Anne Riley here.

Tweet with Anne Riley here. 

Purchase Pull here. 

DFA.

First Look: Getting To Know "The Clearing"

I'm really excited to be posting today. My friend and fellow author Anne Riley, who has been a wonderful support to me since my first novel was published last year, has just announced the release of her own first published novel "The Clearing" and already, it is garnering a significant buzz in the indie community.

Anne Riley's journey has been a joy to observe over the past couple of years. She is living a blissful life in Birmingham, Alabama. Anne has just welcomed her first child into the world with her husband wonderful husband Rob and is quite the Spanish teacher to boot. In fact Anne herself describes herself "as an author of young adult fiction disguised as a high school Spanish teacher".

As a kind of longish side note, I was really quite taken by Birmingham whilst watching Stephen Fry's wonderful journey through the United States in "Stephen Fry In America". Birmingham was also home to the late Glenn Shadix, who some of you may remember from Tim Burton's "Beetlejuice" in which he played Otho. Shadix had a beautiful home in Birmingham, whose architecture was just sublime - a typically southern style which I just adore. 

So onto "The Clearing" and what it's all about.

From the synopsis we find a young girl struggling at a crossroads in her life. Natalie Watson doesn’t believe the reports about the way her parents died. In fact, she’s not sure she believes in much of anything these days. But after moving from her home in Georgia to her aunt’s boarding school in Maine, solving the mystery of her parents’ deaths is just one of several things on her mind. When she’s not fending off attacks from the popular kids or taking refuge in the pages of a novel, she ponders the rumors circulating about a certain boy in her math class… a boy with fiery red hair who never speaks to anyone.

Despite suspicions that he may have murdered his sister a year earlier, Natalie finds it impossible to stay away from Liam Abernathy – especially when he confesses to knowing something about her parents. Soon she’s following him into the forest, where things happen she doesn’t understand… things that shouldn’t be possible….


As Liam’s story unfolds, Natalie realizes she’s more connected to him than she ever thought – and not everyone she counts as a friend can be trusted.

"The Clearing" promises to be an immediately engaging work, suspenseful and driven by strong chracterization and plot that is clearly evident in Anne's short story work I've had the pleasure to read.

Anne's genius in her writing style is that she doesn't take her target audience - young adults - for granted, nor does her writing speak down to them. Anne has an almost balleretic skill in crafting intelligent tome, engaging and absorbing plot and fully formed characterizations that give the reader a sense of clarity in the protagonists and antagonists whilst at the same time encouraging the reader to peel back the layers for themselves as they read. Anne also encourages the reader to become almost interactive in the story, rather than just be a passive observer of it. This, I think, is one of those essential ingredients in a really great book and, despite what Anne might say about her cooking prowess - that does not extend to her ability to cook up a storm on the page.

I truly believe that "The Clearing" promises to be one of the books to look out for in 2011 and I strongly recommend that you add it to your must read list.

With an official release date of March 1st, "The Clearing" can be purchased from Amazon's Kindle Store, SmashWords and Anne's own CreateSpace portal. Keep up with all of Anne's goings on at her site Anne Riley Books.

DFA.