Review TV Series: The Ranch on Netflix


Netflix has done it again! The Ranch is a must-see series that delivers laughs--often hand in hand with a side order of poignancy.

Make no mistake, this series, starring the great Sam Elliott, Ashton Kucher, Danny Masterson, and Debra Winger, is hysterically funny at times with some of the funniest dialogue you'll hear in a sitcom. Yes, it's often profane so be warned.

The Cast

I can't recall ever seeing Sam Elliott in a comedy before on TV or the big screen, but he shines as Beau Bennett. Ashton Kucher is perfect as the prodigal son, Danny Masterson as the son who stayed behind to work the ranch, and Debra Winger as estranged wife Maggie have their own share of the spotlight.

Set near Garrison, Colorado, on Iron River Ranch, Beau Bennett is eking out a living as a cattle rancher, but a drought, low beef prices, a runaway wife, and two sons in a permanent state of arrested development are about to get the best of him.

Talent Behind the Scenes

Hats off to Jim Patterson, producer and writer for Two and a Half Men among other shows, and Don Reo, writer and producer also known for Two and a Half Men, My Wife and Kids, and the ground-breaking show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, for creating this series because there's nothing else like it on television.

David Trainer directed the first 10 episodes of The Ranch. He's the director and producer known for That '70s Show, Designing Women, and Boy Meets World.

Takeaway Truth

If you need a good laugh, check out The Ranch. You won't be disappointed.

Follow Hashtag #TuesdayBookBlog

Blog Share Days are great!
It's Tuesday so let me tell you about a hashtag you may have seen but not used: #TuesdayBookBlog.

This hashtag for Tuesday as a blog share day is a good way to learn about books and authors.

Blog Share Days

If you are a Twittering blogger, then you know about blog share days--those days you can use a specific hashtag to call attention to your post if it's about a qualifying topic. There's #MondayBlogs, Wednesday's #wwwblogs (Wednesday women writers), #SundayBlogShare, Saturday's #ArchiveDay, etc.Now there's #TuesdayBookBlog.

Last winter, Rosie Amber’s Book Review Team (#RBRT) introduced this new hashtag, #TuesdayBookBlog, for Tuesdays, and it's for book and author posts only.

Ground Rules

If you want to use #TuesdayBookBlog, use it for blog posts about:
  • book reviews
  • author interviews
  • cover reveals
  • upcoming/new releases
  • articles or guest posts about books and/or writers
    For all the details including what NOT to do, read the full post on Rosie Amber's blog.

    Takeaway Truth

    Remember to be courteous and retweet (RT) others using the hashtag.  (Tweetdeck and similar apps make this easy.) Tell others about the hashtag which is what I'm doing with this post.

    Video Tips: New Animoto Features

    As most of you know, I use Animoto for the book trailers and other videos I create. Here are a few new features to help your videos be the best they can be.

    For full details of any of the features below, read the Animoto blog post. They have links to videos that describe these features.

    On Site Photo Editor

    As of December, you can edit your photos directly while on your Animoto workspace. You can crop, rotate, and flip images, remove red eye, adjust color, lighting, and sharpness, without leaving your workspace.

    Longer Video Clips

    Now you can video clips with up to 20 minutes run time and and trim them to any length in all of the styles.

    Spotlight

    This feature has been available for a long time. In case you haven't used it before, here's how. To Spotlight an image or text "box" (give it more viewing time), just click on the image then go to the left sidebar and click Spotlight, the Star Icon. To take the spotlight off, just do the same.

    Pacing

    If you want all your images and text boxes to have an equal amount of viewing, just control the speed of your video with Image Pacing. Click the gear icon in the top right corner and then use the slider to manually make your video slower or faster rather than use the Automatic setting.

    Multiple Songs

    This feature is available only to those on the Pro or Business plans. You can use up to ten different songs in a single video. To add a new song, just click the + Add Another Song at the bottom of the screen.

    Share Native Video to Facebook

    Animoto has improved Facebook sharing. Now, instead of your video being a link on your Facebook timeline, it will be uploaded to Facebook directly and play on your timeline or business page.

    Takeaway Truth

    Animoto offers free accounts and paid plans. It's easy to create videos with Animoto. Give it a try.

    TV Series Review: Hap and Leonard on Sundance

    If you're a Joe Lansdale fan, you probably know that his popular characters Hap and Leonard have their own TV series now on the Sundance Channel.

    The name of the series is, of course, Hap and Leonard.

    Synopsis

    The Hap and Leonard Wiki says in part: "Hap and Leonard are fictional characters...in a series of nine novels, two novellas, and one collection of stories and excerpts."

    I've read the books and often thought Hapless and Leonard would be a better title because these 2 best friends always jump out of the frying pan and land in the fire. No matter what the circumstances, no matter what they attempt, everything always goes wrong for them.

    The books are violent and profane, and so is the TV series. In fact, watching the TV series is like watching a train wreck: you just can't stop watching even though you know things will end badly.

    Starring James Purefoy as Hap and Michael Kenneth Williams as Leonard, the series was created by Nick Damici and Jim Mickle. Joe Lansdale, the author of the books, actually wrote 3 of the TV episodes.

    Purefoy and Williams are excellent in their roles. They perfectly captured the East Texas drawl and sound as if they're from East Texas. If you're not familiar with East Texas, you'll probably think it was also filmed in those piney woods. It wasn't. Baton Rouge, Louisiana, locales were the stand-in for East Texas.

    Takeaway Truth

    Give Hap and Leonard on the Sundance Channel a look. You may find yourself setting the DVR for every episode of this compelling dramatic series that is often amusing, sometimes poignant, and always irreverent.

    Information For Writers: 3 Must-Read Posts

    I don't know about you, but I sometimes am inundated with articles and blog posts I feel I should read. On a daily basis, I don't have the time to read this wealth of information. Maybe I get one post read, but the rest get saved.

    Once I bookmarked everything, but that got too cumbersome. Now I Save to Pocket and can tag the posts to categorize them. Then when I have a few minutes to read, I can click the little Pocket icon on my browser menu and read.

    Regardless of what you use to save articles for future reference, here are a few articles from my Pocket files that I think you should read.

    9 Free Tools That Can Help Build Buzz for a Book

    Digging for Gold: Getting Those Coveted Amazon Reviews

    Focus on What Matters Most & Take Action Now

    Takeaway Truth

    It's easy to drown in all the information that's available. Find a means to save it so you can read at least a few when you have time. A little is better than none.

    Lone Star Writing Competition 2016 Is Now Open

    The prestigious 2016 Lone Star Writing Competition, sponsored by Northwest Houston Chapter of Romance Writers of America is now open for entries.

    Since the final judges of this annual competition are publishing industry professionals, this is a writing contest with credibility.

    Details
    • Entry Fee: $25.00
    • Deadline: June 5, 2016 at midnight CDT
    • Eligibility: Published and Unpublished works
    • Electronic entries only
    • Submit 1st 5,000 words of a manuscript
    • Novella length is allowed in all categories except Single Title.
    Categories
    • Contemporary Romance
    • Historical/Regency Romance
    • Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal Romance
    • Inspirational Romance
    • Romantic Suspense/Intrigue
    • Young Adult-New Adult
    • Single Title.
    For more information, visit NWHRWA Website or email Ruth Kenjura: nwh.lonestarcontest at gmail.com

    Takeaway Truth

    Someone will win. Enter today, and it might be you!

    I'm An April Fool Or You?

    Happy April Fool's Day!

    I'm blogging today at Authors Billboard and giving some links to websites that give directions for some great April Fool's pranks.

    Giveaway

    Visit my post at Authors Billboard because I'm giving away a very nice journal and writing pen. To be entered to win, leave a comment with your email address. 

    Good April Fool's pranks can be very funny--like the 1996 prank Taco Bell played.  They announced that they had bought the Liberty Bell and renamed it the Taco Liberty Bell.

    Thousands believed that!

    No Prank

    April Fool Bride, my funny, sexy romantic comedy, is on sale for 2 weeks for only 99cents. Find it at these ebook sellers: Amazon * iBooks * Kobo * Nook * Smashwords.

    Takeaway Truth

    A good prank shouldn't hurt anyone emotionally or physically. So prank someone, but make sure you both enoy the fun.