Project Hail Mary – WOW! by Kitty Bucholtz
April 9, 2026 by Kitty Bucholtz in category It's Worth It by Kitty Bucholtz, Writing tagged as film adaptation, It's Worth It, Kitty Bucholtz, Project Hail Mary, Sci-fi, science fiction
A couple Christmases ago, John gave me an autographed copy of Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. I was so excited, but had a few books in my TBR pile that I wanted to finish first. Then I heard the movie was going to be made, so I wanted to wait. I don’t like reading the book before I watch the movie because the movie ends up feeling just a little disappointing. Reading the book after watching the movie also adds all the details the movie couldn’t add, so that makes me happy.
The day before my birthday, John and I went to the big cinema and settled in for the show. About three-quarters of the way through, I leaned over and whispered, “It’s not even over and I already want to watch it again!”
Project Hail Mary had me laughing and crying and gasping all the way through! As luck would have it, I was able to watch the movie again the next week — and it was still just as amazing! By then I had also started reading the autographed book — and like I’d hoped, it was even better! Then my friend and audiobook narrator, Catherine Gaffney, told me the audiobook narrator, Ray Porter, was incredible. I listened to just the 5-minute sample and was blown away!
This is a first for me: I own and am reading the hardcover, I own and am listening to the audiobook, and I have watched the movie twice in the first month of release. (And I am sooo buying the DVD when it’s released!)
I know there are a lot of romance readers and writers on this blog and let me tell you, Ryan Gosling’s character, Dr Ryland Grace, and his new friend Rocky — wow, they’re amazing examples of love and commitment. The characterization of everyone in the movie was heartwarming and made me feel connected to the story on every level. I hope you give it a try in whatever format you prefer.
I love Andy Weir’s The Martian and own it in paperback and on DVD, and I’ve watched the movie many times. But I love Project Hail Mary even more. Rocky’s expression sums it up for me: Amaze! Amaze! Amaze!
0 0 Read moreSpotlight on Lynette M. Burrows
April 6, 2026 by marianne h donley in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Spotlight tagged as Alternative History, Lynette M Burrows, science fiction, Speculative Fiction, The Fellowship Dystopia series
Lynette M. Burrows is an author, blogger, creativity advocate, writing coach, and Yorkie wrangler. She survived moving seventeen times between kindergarten and her high school graduation. Her stories weave her experiences into speculative fiction worlds that capture your attention, characters you root for, and action that keeps you turning pages.
Her Fellowship Dystopia series, My Soul to Keep, and If I Should Die, and a companion novel, Fellowship, tell the story of a world where the isolationists and fundamentalists merged after FDR’s assassination and created an America where even the elite can be judged sinners and hunted by the Angels of Death. They are in online bookstores everywhere.
Book three, And When I Wake, was just released.
And When I Wake: The Fellowship Dystopia, Book Three
When your greatest enemy is your own sister, can you save a nation without losing your soul?
In the epic conclusion to Lynette M. Burrows’ The Fellowship Dystopia Series, Miranda must find a way to break the theocratic Fellowship’s iron grip on 1965 America while protecting her real identity. But Miranda wants more than the end of the Fellowship—she wants justice for the deaths of her first love and her beloved mentor.
Meanwhile, her sister Irene, uses deception, threats, and the Angels of Death behind the scenes to regain her status as wife of the Fellowship’s Prophet. Unless she is stopped soon, she will lead the country more ruthlessly than any before her.
And When I Wake is a searing exploration of whether the fight for justice and for freedom can coexist when everything you love has been taken from you.
If you love morally complex female leads and freedom-from-tyranny stories with deep emotional stakes, you won’t want to miss the complete trilogy! (Buy links below.)
Lynette lives in the land of OZ and is a certifiable chocoholic and coffee lover. When she’s not blogging or writing or researching her next project, she avoids housework and plays with her two Yorkshire terriers. You can find Lynette online on Facebook, or BlueSky (@lynettemburrows.bsky.social) or on her website.
Lynette’s Books
Hover over the cover for buy links. Click the cover for more information on each book.
0 0 Read more
Spotlight on Lynette M. Burrows
February 16, 2025 by marianne h donley in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Spotlight tagged as Alternative History, Lynette M Burrows, science fiction, Speculative Fiction, The Fellowship Dystopia seriesLynette M. Burrows is an author, blogger, creativity advocate, writing coach, and Yorkie wrangler. She survived moving seventeen times between kindergarten and her high school graduation. Her stories weave her experiences into speculative fiction worlds that capture your attention, characters you root for, and action that keeps you turning pages.
Her Fellowship Dystopia series, My Soul to Keep, and If I Should Die, and a companion novel, Fellowship, tell the story of a world where the isolationists and fundamentalists merged after FDR’s assassination and created an America where even the elite can be judged sinners and hunted by the Angels of Death. They are in online bookstores everywhere. Book three, And When I Wake, is scheduled to be published in 2025.
Lynette lives in the land of OZ and is a certifiable chocoholic and coffee lover. When she’s not blogging or writing or researching her next project, she avoids housework and plays with her two Yorkshire terriers. You can find Lynette online on Facebook, or BlueSky (@lynettemburrows.bsky.social) or on her website.
Lynette’s Books
Hover over the cover for buy links. Click the cover for more information on each book.
0 0 Read moreELDRITCH, INC by Christopher D. Ochs
December 8, 2024 by marianne h donley in category Spotlight tagged as Christopher D. Ochs, Eldritch inc, fantasy, Magical realism, new release, science fiction
ELDRITCH, INC
1st in the new Michael yeager Series
Christopher D. Ochs
Anigrafx, LLC
978-0998172637
December 5, 2024
After an alien intrusion mutates his fiancée into a monster, grad student Michael Avery Yeager is dragged into the world of magic, super-science, spirits, demigods, parallel realities, and amazing coffee.
He’s given the choice of joining Eldridge & S.Q.Amos, Inc. to find a cure for the woman he loves, or lose her—and the memory of her—forever.
Michael doesn’t expect that an out-of-the-way insurance company is Earth’s sole protector against the forces that crawl out of the darkness. Nor does he expect to uncover the unearthly secret within himself that ties him to Eldridge.
Who knew preventing Armageddon required so much on-the-job training?
The X-Files meets The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy in this science-fiction/fantasy/horror mashup!
Other Books By Christopher D. Ochs
Book Blitz Glitched
May 4, 2022 by marianne h donley in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Rabt Book Tours tagged as #RABTBookTours, @RABTBookTours, Glitched, science fiction, Tiffany Yao
If you found out you were living in a virtual reality video game, what would you do? Dive into the world of Glitched by Tiffany Yao.
Glitched
Tiffany Yao
Science Fiction
Date Published: April 14, 2022
Kashmira lived an ordinary life until an army of invaders sacked her city and left her for dead. When she awakens, she discovers she is a glitch in a virtual reality video game—destined only for deletion by the bots that hunt her.
Dugan is a bitterly disgruntled engineer who played a pivotal role in the creation of virtual reality games and the NPCs who inhabit them. Fired from the company he helped found, he seeks only revenge.
In a chance encounter, Dugan sees in Kashmira a tool to sabotage the games and avenge himself, and through him, Kashmira finds the help she desperately needs. As they traverse the worlds of virtual reality and their friendship
deepens, it will take everything they have not only for her to win her freedom and survive, but also to answer the fundamental question of what “life” is.
About the Author
Tiffany writes science fiction to explore the ways technology shapes our view of ourselves. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she bumped shoulders with diverse folks from all walks of life who inspire her characters. She
incorporates her experience working in the aerospace and tech industry into her storytelling. She is now based in Austin, Texas.
Contact Links
Purchase Link
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