Thursday, December 24, 2015

Countdown to The X-Files!

It's only a month until The X-Files comes back, and of course I'm really excited about it...it was one of my favorite shows when I was in high school and college, and Fox Mulder is one of my favorite characters of all-time. My favorite episode is season five's "Bad Blood" (written by Vince Gilligan, who went on to create Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, two of my favorite shows), in which Mulder and Scully have very different recollections of a case that led to Mulder killing someone he thought was a vampire. Feel free to leave a comment and tell me your favorite episode, and don't forget to watch The X-Files on January 24th on Fox. : )

http://www.fox.com/the-x-files



Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Christmas Book Sale!

For the first time, all of my books will be on sale for 99¢ at the same time! The sale runs December 22nd-December 28th, so if you get a Kindle for Christmas, or if you need a last-minute gift for the comedy/Greek mythology/blasphemy/paranormal fan in your life, I hope you'll consider my books. : )

You can find them all here:

http://www.amazon.com/Crystal%20Smith-Connelly/e/B0081JDXW4/ref=la_B0081JDXW4_rf_p_n_feature_browse-b_1?fst=as%3Aoff&rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_82%3AB0081JDXW4%2Cp_n_feature_browse-bin%3A618073011&bbn=283155&ie=UTF8&qid=1450203077&rnid=618072011

For I Am Zeus: A Collection of Plays About Greek Mythology:

For I Am Zeus: A Collection of Plays About Greek Mythology  contains six short plays about the most entertaining of the Greek gods. Join Zeus as he suffers through marriage counseling, makes an indecent proposal to his sisters, and tries to sleep with anything that moves.

www.amazon.com/Am-Zeus-Collection-Plays-Mythology-ebook/dp/B0085H0MH6/

Never Trust an Angel and Other Plays:

Satan is sure that his overachieving son will run Hell someday, but his wife has a secret that may change everything. Jesus wants to quit his job to start a Christian metal band, and now it's up to God to find a new Messiah...but  the person he has in mind doesn't want the job. Will God be able to find a  suitable Messiah? Will Christian metal be as terrible as it sounds,
or will  Jesus take the music business by storm? Will Satan and Angel's relationship  survive Angel's betrayal? You'll find answers to these questions and more (How  did Judas end up with a courtroom TV show?) in Never Trust an Angel and Other Plays.

www.amazon.com/Never-Trust-Angel-Other-Plays-ebook/dp/B00C372PIS/

Goat Herpes and Other Problems:

It's Willow's first day on the job at Godly Acres, the world's premier rehabilitation facility for gods and goddesses, and she might be in over her head. Sex addiction, alcoholism, eating disorders, goat herpes...you name it, there's a Greek god who has it. Will she be able to help these gods and goddesses work through their issues? Find out in Goat Herpes and Other Problems! (Goat Herpes and Other Problems contains the plays "Godly Acres," "Godly Acres: Bitch Session," and "Playing Doctor.")

www.amazon.com/Herpes-Other-Problems-Crystal-Smith-Connelly-ebook/dp/B00KNDYRXA/

Paranormal Jokes and Haiku:

Paranormal Jokes and Haiku explores the lighter side of the paranormal...you won't get scared reading these poems and corny jokes about ghosts, aliens, Bigfoot, and other creatures of the unknown! The book contains 49 haiku and 26 groan-inducing jokes from paranormal blogger Crystal Smith-Connelly (of the blog Why would you want to be normal when you could be paranormal?).

Why do they call him
Bigfoot? Are they trying to
Make him self-conscious?

What is a ghost's favorite instrument?
The boo-kulele

www.amazon.com/Paranormal-Jokes-Haiku-Crystal-Smith-Connelly-ebook/dp/B00U1SPTZM/



Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Book Review: The Ghost of Laurie Floyd by Courtney Lynn Mroch

I won The Ghost of Laurie Floyd in a contest for subscribers of the Haunt Jaunts newsletter (Haunt Jaunts is author Courtney Lynn Mroch's awesome travel website about haunted places, which you can find here: http://www.hauntjaunts.net/.), and I'm glad I got to read it because I really enjoyed it. On her first day at a new job, Megan Daniels sees someone fall off the building, but no body is found. She learns of a woman named Laurie Floyd, who was a secretary in the building and is believed to have jumped to her death a year earlier. Did Laurie really commit suicide, or was it murder? And why does she keep appearing to Megan?

The Ghost of Laurie Floyd is a great book with interesting characters, and it felt very believable to me. I really cared about Megan and wanted her to find out what happened to Laurie. The descriptions of Megan working in the law office were so good that I felt like I worked there...and I've never even worked in an office! When the truth about Laurie's death was revealed, I did not see it coming at all, and I always appreciate it when authors surprise me. I'm looking forward to reading more of Courtney's books in the future. : )

My rating: 8/10


Saturday, December 12, 2015

Upcoming Paranormal Movie: The Forest

I recently saw a trailer for a movie called The Forest (starring Natalie Dormer and Taylor Kinney), which is about Japan's Aokigahara Forest (it's also known as "Suicide Forest" because hundreds of people have killed themselves there). I read about this forest in World's Most Haunted Places magazine (Fall 2014 issue) last year and learned that it's considered the most haunted place in Japan, so I definitely want to see this movie. Here's a link to the trailer:

http://youtu.be/RBc5YcuOThY

The Forest comes out January 8, 2016, and you can find more info about Aokigahara Forest here:

http://mysteriousuniverse.org/2014/05/the-mysterious-suicide-forest-of-japan/

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Movie Spotlight: Ginger Snaps

Ginger Snaps is a 2000 movie starring Emily Perkins (who you might know as young Beverly Marsh in Stephen King's It), Katharine Isabelle, Kris Lemche, Mimi Rogers, Jesse Moss, Danielle Hampton, and John Bourgeois. After teenage sisters Brigitte (Emily Perkins) and Ginger (Katharine Isabelle) Fitzgerald are attacked by a creature that has been mauling dogs in their neighborhood, Ginger (who was bitten) begins exhibiting very strange behavior (acting aggressive, growing a tail...you know the drill).

I almost turned Ginger Snaps off after seeing a mutilated dog at the beginning of the movie (I seriously can't handle bad things happening to dogs), but I powered through and ended up liking the movie. Werewolf movies have the potential to turn out cheesy, but this one was pretty good (though my favorite werewolves will probably always be the ones from What We Do in the Shadows). The young leads gave great performances, so I'm interested to watch the sequels whenever they're on cable again.

My rating: 7/10


Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Movie Spotlight: My Name is Bruce

My Name is Bruce is a 2007 movie starring Bruce Campbell, Grace Thorsen, Taylor Sharpe, Ted Raimi, James Peck, Ellen Sandweiss, and Ben McCain. In Gold Lick, Oregon, Jeff (Taylor Sharpe), a teenage Bruce Campbell superfan, accidentally awakens Guan-Di (James Peck), Chinese god of the dead/protector of bean curd, when he removes a medallion from a mausoleum. Guan-Di is hellbent on destroying the town, and Jeff believes there is only one man who can stop the bloodbath: Bruce Campbell.

If you're a Bruce Campbell fan (and why wouldn't you be?), you should definitely check out My Name is Bruce since he did an incredible job of both starring in the movie and directing it. It's a really fun, well-written movie with lots of decapitations and a great ending; Bruce is hilarious in it, and the supporting cast was impressive as well. The Blu-ray is full of cool extras, including a trailer for the fake movie Cavealien 2 and an hour-long documentary about the making of the movie; it also comes with a My Name is Bruce comic book, which is a nice bonus. : )

My rating: 7.5/10