Here’s my latest podcast:
Most Wanted, by Rae Carson – The Star Wars Reader
I share my thoughts on the young adult novel Most Wanted, by Rae Carson.
Thanks for listening!
The Star Wars Reader Podcast: Queen’s Shadow
Tag: Podcasting
A Star Wars Book Review Podcast: Catalyst-A Rogue One Novel
Here’s my latest podcast:
Most Wanted, by Rae Carson – The Star Wars Reader
I share my thoughts on the young adult novel Most Wanted, by Rae Carson.
If you’d like to check out my other episodes, go here: https://anchor.fm/tina-williams6
A Star Wars Book Review Podcast: Heir to the Jedi
Here’s my latest podcast on Anchor:
Most Wanted, by Rae Carson – The Star Wars Reader
I share my thoughts on the young adult novel Most Wanted, by Rae Carson.
A Star Wars Book Review Podcast: Kenobi
Here’s my latest book review podcast:
Most Wanted, by Rae Carson – The Star Wars Reader
I share my thoughts on the young adult novel Most Wanted, by Rae Carson.
My Star Wars Weekend Update
Hello, and happy weekend, dear readers and Star Wars fans!
So I’ve finally done my first podcast, and it turned out…not bad, I guess, lol. I put it up last Tuesday, and I’ve had 14 listens so far. More than I thought! If you’ve taken a listen, I thank you. I’m going to do what I do with the blog, and just be patient with it: just keep doing what I love, putting it out there, and see what happens. I think it may naturally evolve over time, as the blog has, and hopefully for the better. So we’ll see. I’m planning on doing one a week; the next book I’ll cover is the Legends book Kenobi, by John Jackson Miller.
I’ve finally finished the Aftermath series and will be posting a review of Empire’s End sometime this week. It took me a long time to get through these books, even though I loved them. For one, they’re big books, at least for Star Wars, 400-500 pages each. And I’ve just been busy in every day life, too, as we all are. I’ve been trying to redo my daughter’s bedroom, and spent a day putting a bedside table together, lol. And I only made a couple of mistakes–the worst one was nailing the back onto it, and then realizing I put it on the wrong side…and then spending another hour pulling out all 20 tiny nails again. It was sweaty work, lol. And tomorrow I’ll be working on putting new curtains up. It’s an understatement to say that curtains aren’t my thing. Tacking up blankets was my usual go-to. But my girl deserves real curtains, and so curtains I shall put up, lol. Wish me luck.
At any rate, once I finished Aftermath, I picked up Clone Wars: Wild Space, by Karen Miller, a Legends book. This one focuses on a mission with Obi-Wan and Bail Organa, and I can’t wait to see what it’s all about. It takes place almost immediately after the Battle of Geonosis.
I’ll also be posting my usual review on the latest Bad Batch episode. These shows continue to be excellent, and it’s hard to wait for the next episode every week! I’m also about halfway done with Season two of Resistance, and I have to say it’s pretty darn good. The stakes have gotten higher, it’s starting to sync with the first two movies, and the characters have been challenged more, and so have gained a bit more depth. I’m actually kind of sad there are only two seasons.
That’s really about it this week. I haven’t had much time for any non-Star Wars indulgences, as I’ve been trying to do. Believe it or not, there are other movies and entertainments besides Star Wars I enjoy, lol. And I think it’s important to find balance, and look up and away from the galaxy far, far away once in a while so I don’t get completely swallowed up, lol. And so my dreams don’t start looking like this:
Oh well, maybe next week. I’d LOVE to watch Halston on Netflix (but does that count, as it has Ewan McGregor in it? Lol). What non-Star Wars stuff have you been watching? Let me know in the comments!
A Star Wars Book Review Podcast: Bloodline
So here’s the podcast I’ve been yapping about lately. It’s short and sweet, basically just me reading off a tweaked hard copy of my review that I posted on The Star Wars Reader. I’m hoping to get better and a little more interesting as I go along, lol. Somehow.
Most Wanted, by Rae Carson – The Star Wars Reader
I share my thoughts on the young adult novel Most Wanted, by Rae Carson.
What do you think? Any advice for a newbie podcaster? Be honest, I can take it, lol.
My Star Wars Weekend Update
Hello and happy weekend everyone!
I hope you all had a fun Star Wars Day this past Tuesday, May the Fourth. I didn’t do anything Star Warsy in particular, except to watch the first episode of The Bad Batch, which I just loved. You can check out my review of the episode here. I just finished watching the second episode tonight, and I’ll be posting a review of that one probably on Monday. I’m really enjoying this new Star Wars content, as I suspected I would.
I also checked out the two Star Wars specials on Disney+ that dropped on the Fourth: Biomes, and Vehicle Flythroughs. Biomes is about 20 minutes long, and takes you on a tour of several Star Wars worlds, like Hoth, Tatooine, Crait, and Mustafar. It’s really cool, and I can picture just having it on in the background while working on some Star Wars project. Vehicle Flythroughs are two five-minute shorts that take you on a tour of the Millenium Falcon and a First Order Star Destroyer. Again, really neat and fun to get a close up look at these ships. Check them out if you have a few minutes.
I also (finally) finished Season One of Resistance. It got much more interesting during the last few episodes, and I’m hoping the second season will continue this. I don’t think I’ll do a review of each season; probably just a quick overview of both seasons when I’m done.
I’m planning on recording my first podcast this coming week, probably Tuesday when my daughter will be doing school (she’s still doing school remotely even though we had the choice to send her back to school–but we weren’t comfortable with that yet. Though on the bright side, both my husband and I have gotten our first Covid-19 shots, and will be getting our second ones in a couple of weeks). My husband will be working all day on Tuesday as well, so I’ll have a nice chunk of quiet time to figure the whole podcast thing out. It seems pretty intuitive and easy for a newbie to do; I think the hardest part will be accepting how my voice sounds on the recording, lol. I don’t think I have a terrible voice, I just think we all believe our voices sound weird on recordings, like the answering machine and voicemail, etc. But I’ll get over it, lol.
So I decided some time ago that for my fiftieth birthday this year (in June), my birthday present to myself will be a Star Wars tattoo. I’ve never gotten a tattoo before; it’s kind of a thing for the younger ones, I guess, but I never even gave it a thought until now. I wanted to do something wild and crazy, lol (for me, anyway). I want the big 5-0 to be something fun and to be celebrated, and not something to be dreaded.
You’d think my first tattoo would be my child’s name and date of birth, or my husband’s name and our wedding date, something like that. Nope. I decided to commit to my inner nerd and get the Jedi Order symbol, probably on my right shoulder.
I just love this symbol. Not only do I think it’s beautiful, but it’s the symbol of the Jedi Order, and I’m a Jedi girl all the way, lol. If I manage to get through the process without fainting, I might even add the Rebellion firebird symbol on my left shoulder. But we’ll see, lol. Of course I’ll post pictures when it happens.
Finally, for my non-Star Wars indulgence this week, I watched the movie Tolkien.
My viewing of The Fellowship of the Ring last week in the theater reminded me that I had wanted to see this movie when it came out, but I had never gotten around to it. So I watched it last night, and it was wonderful. I don’t know how accurate it was, and I think I saw somewhere that the Tolkien family didn’t like it or approve of it (not sure why) but I thought it was great. An amazing man, an amazing life, and an amazing story. Tolkien influenced so many creators that followed him, including George Lucas, and for that I’m grateful, not only for Middle Earth but for a galaxy far, far away as well.
My Star Wars Weekend Update
Hello fellow Star Wars fans and happy weekend!
May the 4th is only a few days away, and with it is the premiere of The Bad Batch. I’m looking forward to it, and in preparation I’ve been re-watching Season 7 of The Clone Wars. As of today, I’m only halfway through, but will get the other half in by the time the show starts on Tuesday. The two arcs I’ve watched are the initial episodes with the Bad Batch, and Ahsoka’s time with the Cortez sisters.
The Bad Batch arc is pretty entertaining, as we get introduced to these very different sorts of Clones. Clone Force 99, as they’re called (after the Clone named 99, whose mutation was rapidly accelerated aging, and who became a fond fan favorite) are kind of fun to watch, even though I’ve always thought they’re a bit cliched. Oh well. In the arc, the BB, along with Captain Rex and Anakin, are on a mission to find out how the Separatists are predicting their every military move; Rex believes that they’re getting the information from Echo, a Clone who presumably died in an earlier episode, and who Rex left for dead. Turns out Rex is right, and they’re using Echo’s mind and memories for their “algorithms.” Echo is left mutilated and haunted by his experience, and ends up joining the Bad Batch, as he’s no longer like his other clone brothers. I think Echo is going to be my favorite BB member, if only because he’s quite unique and a touch more vulnerable than the others.
The arc with Ahsoka and the Cortez sisters is fine, it’s great seeing Ahsoka again, but I feel the arc went on way too long. I like Trace and Raffa and what Ahsoka learns from them (namely that not everybody thinks the Jedi are all that), as well as the fact that Maul is involved in the criminal underworld, but 3 episodes with these ladies? I feel it could have been tightened up a bit. I’m looking forward to watching the rest of the season, which is really where the meat of the whole thing is.
Anyway, I’ve set up my corner of the bedroom with a desk and got my microphone unpacked, but now I’m waiting for a new computer I ordered, which should be in today. It’s a Dell Inspiron, and though I’m no expert on computers, it seems like it’s a decent laptop. At any rate, I’ve never paid this much for a computer before, lol. My needs are simple–internet and podcasting–but I want it to be a good investment. Anyone have any opinions on Dell computers? I had one a long time ago, one of the very first computers I ever owned, and I seem to remember liking it. It was a bulky desktop computer; I’ll never go back to those, lol. Once I get the new one up and running, it’s time to start podcasting!
I’ve pretty much set aside the fan fiction right now, at least for the past week, since I’ve been focused on the blog, setting up the podcast, and rewatching the Clone Wars. But I do intend to finish it. I’m about two-thirds done with the first draft, and I do like the story. It’ll have to wait a bit, though.
I would like to mention that at work today (I work in a grocery store) I saw a woman dressed up as Princess Leia. She had the long, flowing white dress and the cinnamon bun hairdo, and she looked great! Apparently she was going to a Star Wars-themed 40th birthday party. I love that grown-ups can have Star Wars birthday fun, too, lol.
My non-Star Wars indulgence this week was going to see The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings being my other favorite fandom, though Star Wars has been with me a lot longer) at my local movie theater. I can’t believe it’s been 20 years since I last saw it on the big screen. How can that be?! I was so thrilled our theater brought back all three films in honor of the Oscars (Return of the King won a slew of them, including Best Picture), but I could only make the time to see Fellowship. For all the epic scope of RoTK and its brilliance, Fellowship is probably my favorite. It was a really happy two and a half hours spent that evening, and what made it even better was that I was the only one in the theater! It was like my own private showing of the film.
Have a great weekend and see you around the blogosphere!
My Star Wars Weekend Update
Happy weekend, Star Wars readers, and I hope you are all doing well!
I’ve been busy this week with several different Star Wars-related pursuits. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m working on some fan fiction, and it’s going…slowly. I take about an hour a day to write it, but I get a few pages done a day. Forward progress is better than no progress, I guess. I’m worried it’s a bit too talky, but as it’s a first draft, I need to just relax and write the darn thing before I get too worried about anything. I know all this, but it’s a hard habit to break, lol.
I’ve also been thinking about the podcast I’d like to start. I even researched microphones and learned about USB vs XLR, dynamic vs condenser, and words like “cardioid.” I ended up buying an Audio Technica Cardioid Dynamic USB microphone for about $80. That’s just the first step; I need to clear out a corner of my bedroom and buy a desk to put there, and I could really use a new computer, too, lol. So that’s going slowly too, but I’ll get there.
I’ve decided that, at least to begin, I’m going to do book reviews on the podcast. I know I already do that on my blog The Star Wars Reader, but I thought I’d have written review posts for the blog, and then do a podcast version and put a link on My Point of View. I think I can do that, lol. I’m not the most tech-savvy person, but I think I can at least figure this out. So I’ll probably start with some book reviews I’ve already done on the Reader, and edit them for the podcast, and then do new book reviews when I finish reading a book. Maybe it’s redundant, I don’t know. But I feel there might be people who’d rather listen to a review than read one. It would be a whole new audience.
Anyway, I’m going to start with that, because I love the books and love writing and talking about them. But if the response is mostly crickets, maybe I’ll consider something else. (Don’t worry, Julie G, I’ve still got you in mind, lol).
I’m also still slowly going through the animated series Resistance. I’m about three quarters of the way through Season One, and I’m enjoying it. It doesn’t have the same viewing urgency as The Clone Wars or Rebels, but it’s fun and entertaining. And I love the characters. Kaz is a just a sweet kid trying to do the right thing, and I adore the child-like Neeku. I’m also a fan of Yeager, who I’d like to know more about. Every once in a while Poe comes around, and he’s always a fun ride. It’s just a fun show to dip into now and then. Someone in a fan group referred to it as the most “wholesome” Star Wars show, and that’s a good way of putting it. It’s great for kids, but also for adults who want a little Star Wars and don’t necessarily need the angst and edginess. I think it’s a little underrated and unappreciated, lol.
I’m still making my way through the book Aftermath: Empire’s End. It’s the third book in the Aftermath trilogy, and as I’ve said before, I’m enjoying these books. The new characters are great, and we’re getting more Han and Leia. The character that is most conspicuously missing is Luke. He’s traveling the galaxy looking for Jedi artifacts and information. I wish he’d at least make a cameo or something. There’s not a lot of canon stories about Luke in this time period–he showed up in the Rise of Kylo Ren, when he was running the Jedi Academy and brought a teenage Ben Solo along with him and Lor San Tekka to look for Jedi artifacts. And then we got the gift of him appearing in The Mandalorian. But that’s it, I think. I’m wondering if they’re saving Luke for something else in this time period? I hope so.
Finally, I’m looking forward to The Bad Batch, which is just on the horizon, only ten days away. I’ll be sharing my thoughts on each episode here, and talking about it with you guys. Can’t wait!
So that’s it for this week. Always busy with Star Wars, but I did allow myself something a little different this week: I watched Moulin Rouge again after many years. I’m not a huge fan of musicals, but this one just makes me happy. When I first watched it years ago, it was mostly for Nicole Kidman, who I adored at the time (and still do). Now I watch it for her AND Ewan McGregor. A singing Obi-Wan is pretty much one of the best things ever, in my opinion.
What’s going on in your world? Let me know in the comments, and we’ll talk about it!
My Star Wars Weekend Update
Happy Weekend, dear readers.
I thought I’d take Sundays to post updates about what I’m working on with the blog and other projects.
As I mentioned recently, I’m cutting down on the number of blog posts I publish each week, from 4-5 to about 2-3 between the two blogs. I hate to do this (I love blogging about Star Wars) but as I also mentioned, I’ve started writing a fan fiction piece, and need to make some time in my schedule.
I free-wrote about my idea for awhile, and as of today I have two scenes written: a Prologue, and a first scene. It’s first draft stuff, of course, but I’m happy with where it’s going so far. I’m eager to keep going and see how it comes out.
I’ve never written fan fiction before, of any kind, and it was a little weird inserting my characters into the familiar world of Star Wars. I worried I wouldn’t do it “right”, that I’d get details wrong and be called out on it, that it would be boring, etc etc. But once I got into the story and started writing it, I loved it, and those worries faded into the background (they’re still there, lol, but quieter). I haven’t written fiction in a few years, so I’m a little rusty, but it really is like riding a bike. You get back into a rhythm, and it just feels right.
I won’t go into too many details, but I’ll tell you that my story takes place at the palace of Alderaan, when Leia is sixteen years old. Leia isn’t my main character, but she makes an appearance, as well as Bail and Breha Organa. My character is about Leia’s age, visiting the palace with her mother. I was inspired to set the story here by Claudia Gray’s book “Leia: Princess of Alderaan,” which is a great book, by the way. But you don’t have to read it to understand my story. I think, lol.
So I’m busy doing that; and I’ve also mentioned that I’ve toyed with the idea of starting a podcast. I noticed that WordPress advertises using Anchor to turn your blog posts into audio versions, or record new ones. And I thought, hmmm, why not? As a means of growing the blog, it couldn’t hurt. And it might be fun. I’m not saying I’d be COMFORTABLE doing podcasts, lol, but I’m working on going beyond my comfort zone in order to grow, as a person, and as a blogger and writer.
So just for ha-ha’s, I clicked into Anchor and set up the whole thing, and then converted one of my older blog posts into an audio version (it was My Five Favorite Romances in Star Wars). And surprisingly, it sounded–not bad. Not completely like a robot, but you could definitely tell it was automated. There were some mispronunciations (Vos was pronounced “Vo” for some reason) and the inflections of grammar weren’t perfect. It was cool actually hearing my blog post, but I’m not going to go with the automated versions. So that means I’ll be talking into a microphone to bring my words to life, lol.
I’m just not sure what, exactly, I want to do with a podcast. To start, and as an experiment, I might just record some older blog posts to see what it sounds like, and how it would do. But ultimately, I don’t think I want to just regurgitate old blog posts, or even record new ones that I put on the blog. I want to do something different, narrow the focus, but I’m not sure in what way. There’s also the possibility of collaboration. Endless possibilities.
So I’m still in the brainstorming phase of the podcast, but I’m hoping to have something going by the end of next month, at least. And to have the fan fiction piece finished and posted here even sooner than that.
So lots of fun and exciting Star Wars stuff to work on. I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend, and I’ll see you in the blogosphere!
Star Wars and Other Obsessions 