My Star Wars Bucket List

So a lot of people have a “bucket list,” a list of things they want to do or accomplish before they die (kick the bucket, lol). I sort of have one for life in general, but more importantly, I have a Star Wars bucket list. Star Warsy things I’d like to do or accomplish before I die. In no particular order, here are the things I’d love to do in the world of Star Wars:

Star Wars Celebration. Having tuned into the last couple of Celebrations, I’ve firmly decided that I MUST attend one of these amazing gatherings of fans and creators. I think it would be immensely fun and exciting. And yes, expensive. No matter. You find the money for the things that are important to you, right? Celebration is skipping next year, and will be in Japan in 2025. Pretty sure I’m going to wait until it’s back the States. Who knows when I’ll get there, but just thinking about seeing the stars, the cosplays, listening in on panels, and just gathering together with fellow members of my tribe makes me determined to get there some day.

Galaxy’s Edge. I’ve never really wanted to go to Disney, but this looks fun. Another expensive excursion, but one well worth it, I would think. I’d love to stroll through Batuu’s Black Spire Outpost, having read the book (and it’s actually a really good book, not just a plug for the park). One thing I’d love to do is make my own lightsaber. Very cool.

Write a Star War. Everybody’s got a book in them, don’t they? I’ve got a few gathering dust in the drawer, so to speak, but I’d really love to write a Star Wars story. Not in any official capacity, of course–as if!–but my own fan fiction. I’ve actually got one in the works, but alas, only work on it in spurts here and there. It’s about a young woman from Alderaan who is determined to find her father, who was imprisoned by the Empire for defending the Jedi in the early days of the Empire. She’s helped by her ex-flame who’s a pilot, and a reluctant young Jedi who was trained by her father’s Jedi friend. I really do like it, and have some great ideas for it. I’ve got about 100 pages, and an outline. But I will finish it one day. Promise, lol.

Learn Aurabesh. Aurabesh is the Star Wars alphabet that you can see in many places in Star Wars stories. I don’t think I have the patience to learn a new language like French or Russian, but this I think I can do. That way I can read the hidden messages sometimes put in the Aurabesh in the shows or movies. And it just seems fun.

Read all the Legends books. This is a tall order, seeing that there’s an endless number of these books, but going through the Youtini Academy, I’m getting excited about reading them. All the while keeping up with Canon books, which seem to come out at breakneck speed these days. So this will be a long project, as I pepper in a Legends book here and there amid the Canon. This could take years, lol, but that’s okay because there is a finite number of them, at least.

Have you done any of these things? What’s on your Star Wars bucket list? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

My Entertainment Weekend Update

Happy weekend, my friends!

So this week I’m finally reading our latest book club novel “Abigale Hall” by Lauren A. Forry. It’s a gothic tale that takes place in the aftermath of WW II in England. Seventeen year old Eliza Haverford and her troubled 12 year old sister Rebecca have lost their parents in the war; their Aunt Bess sends them to work in Abigale Hall in Wales. There they meet the stern Mrs. Pollard, the housekeeper, who takes care of the owner of the house, Mr. Brownawell. But–you guessed it–there’s something strange going on in the old run-down house: strange lights and noises, bloodied books, terrifying dreams, and mysterious predecessors. And Rebecca’s fragile mental health is getting worse. It’s a weird, spooky read, and I’m enjoying it so far.

I’m still working my way through Claudia Gray’s Master & Apprentice, but will probably finish it soon. I’m thinking I’ll reread Kenobi by John Jackson Miller, as I’m in an Obi-Wan kind of mood considering all the hype about the series coming up next year. More on that soon.

First, in movies I watched The Outsiders, based on S.E. Hinton’s book. My daughter had read in in her English class, and I read it along with her. I read it ages ago when I was a teen, and remembered liking it. My daughter’s class also watched the movie based on the book; I had never seen it, so I watched it on Youtube so we could talk about it. It was really a blast seeing all these future 80’s superstars before they were famous; it was a laundry list of 80’s teen heartthrobs, lol. The movie was actually pretty good–it stayed close to the book, and only omitted a few things for time. I would have loved to see more of the relationship between the Curtis brothers: Darry, Sodapop and Ponyboy. It’s a great story about the class divide and the futility of violence; the fact that teachers are still assigning it now, a book about youth gangs in the 1960’s, shows that the themes are still relevant today, and probably always will be. Stay gold, Ponyboy.

Recognize these faces? My daughter wrote her school essay on Johnny. I informed her Ralph Macchio just turned 60 years old, and she got a kick out of that, lol.

So there was a lot of hype about Disney+ day this past Friday, and a lot of excitement building around what revelations they may offer us. I will admit I haven’t seen everything–it wasn’t some big special but bits and pieces offered on social media. I’ve seen the sizzle reel of the Obi-Wan show, and while it’s exciting, I think most of us were hoping for a real trailer. No such luck. There was some really intriguing concept art that was shown, which people will be speculating about for the foreseeable future. We’re just going to have be patient, lol. But surprisingly, there wasn’t a lot of Star Wars stuff, which is disappointing.

I did check out the Boba Fett special Under the Helmet, a short doc on the popularity of the famous bounty hunter, leading up to the release of The Book of Boba Fett later this year. I missed the whole obsession with Boba over the years, but he’s cool and I’m on board for the show.

Marvel seems to have a TON of stuff coming out next year and beyond, and while I probably won’t watch all of it, I’ll definitely be watching some: Loki Season Two is at the top of the list, as well as What If Season Two. Of the new shows, only Hawkeye has caught my attention (very soon!) and something I’d never heard of called Moon Knight with Oscar Isaac. I’m not sure if I’m interested in Agatha: House of Harkness yet. Maybe, we’ll see. I think I can live without She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel, etc. And I’ll be busy with all the Star Wars shows coming out, too, namely Obi-Wan, Andor and The Bad Batch Season Two. There’s only so many hours in the day, lol.

Also, I suspect I’ll still be busy writing my Star Wars fan fiction. I’m still only in the development stage: taking notes and doing character sketches, putting together a rough outline, and doing a LOT of research on Wookieepedia and Youtube. I’d like to think I know a lot about Star Wars, but when you decide to write about that universe, you realize just how much you don’t know. Writing fanfic is a great way to learn about all the stuff you never knew about. It always amazes me how rich and complex the world of Star Wars is. Sometimes I get a little overwhelmed, thinking I can’t do this, I’ll never get it right, there’s too much, what have I gotten myself into, etc. But I’m determined. I’m going to see it through, and you know what? I’ll learn something, definitely about Star Wars, but also about writing, and myself as a writer. As daunting as it is, it’s also been great fun, too.

Oh, and I’ll be watching Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings on D+ tonight. I’ve heard good things about it, and it should be fun. I’ll write about that in next week’s post.

That’s it for this week. What’s been entertaining you? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

My Entertainment Weekend Update

Hello friends, and happy weekend!

I finished one book this week: Moving Target: A Princess Leia Novel, by Jason Fry and Cecil Castellucci. I enjoy these little middle-grade books; they’re quick reads, not particularly complex, but fun and give a bit of insight into familiar characters. This one had Leia on a mission between Empire and Return of the Jedi, while Han was still in carbonite, and the Alliance fleet was getting ready for its attack on Endor. The story is framed by an older Leia telling her droid PZ a story for her memoirs, just before the events of The Force Awakens, one that illustrates her ideas and commitment to duty. One little tidbit is that this story tells how they got the Imperial shuttle Tyderium for their strike team on Endor.

I’m still making my way through my reread of Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray. But because it’s a reread, there’s no hurry, and I also would like to start the new book for our book club called Abigale Hall by Lauren A. Forry. It’s a gothic read about a strange estate in England with secrets and mysteries. We wanted to choose something spooky for the Halloween season, but we’re a little behind, lol. But it’s still appropriate for the season, I think. I’m going to start that this coming week.

The Book Review: Abigale Hall by Lauren A. Forry- Feature and Revie...

So I watched The Book of Boba Fett trailer this past week, and am cautiously optimistic for the show. Fett was never one of my favorite characters and I never really understood the fascination, but his appearance in The Mandalorian made him much more interesting to me. So I’m curious to see where this character is going. I think I agree with some predictions that Boba will unite the criminal underworld and use it to come to the aid against…somebody, lol. Maybe the Mandalorians, maybe Thrawn. I like either idea.

But before that, there’s the Hawkeye series this month, which I’m really looking forward to. I also think that Shang Chi and the Ten Rings will be on Disney+ this month, but I’m guessing it will be on Premier Access at first. We’ll see. And while The Eternals just came out in theaters, I’ll probably wait until it also shows up on D+. I’ll admit, I’m not in a hurry for any new Marvel heroes–I just discovered The Avengers a few months ago, lol. I’m more interested in their movies coming out next year, like Dr. Strange, Thor, Wakanda, and Ant-Man. Alas, they’ve been pushed further into the year, which is frustrating, but maybe the first half of the year will be for Star Wars, like Andor and Obi-Wan. At any rate, a very exciting year for entertainment!

I’ve also watched Assembled: The Making of What If, which was pretty cool. It’s another series that surprised me in how much I loved it. So it was fun seeing how it was all put together. I didn’t realize What If? was an actual series in the comics way back when (I’m quite ignorant when it comes to Marvel, to be honest, lol). I like how the creators took the concept of the What If comics but applied it to the MCU. I’m happy there’s going to be a Season Two, and am looking forward to seeing how they’ll continue it.

So, in writing news, I’ve finally picked up the Star Wars fan fiction I started several months ago and decided to work on it diligently and finish it. It’s turned from a tentative short story into a novel-length idea, and I’ve been taking notes, doing character sketches, brainstorming ideas, and working on an outline (and doing a ton of research on Wookieepedia). I’m pretty excited about it, and though it will take a while, I will share it here when it’s done. As a consequence, I probably won’t be tearing through as many books as I have been lately, or watching as many movies. I will definitely be watching the must-see Marvel and Star Wars series and movies that will be coming out, but not much extra stuff. I’ll keep you up to date on it all.

That’s about it this week. Let me know what’s been entertaining you and we’ll talk about it!

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.

your orders — This is the one I ordered.

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 just watched this one last night, 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!

A New Venture

So I’ve been blogging about Star Wars for a year now, and I LOVE it. It’s so much fun, and there’s always something to say about it, whether it’s about the films that have been around for years, or the new stuff coming out. I’ve truly found my tribe here, people that understand Star Wars, people that just GET IT. I will never stop blogging about Star Wars (just giving you fair warning, lol).

But once upon a time I was a writer of fiction. Nothing published, just one story and a couple of essays that won contests. I loved writing fiction, but after years of doing it (decades), learning about it, pursuing publication–and not really getting where I wanted to go–I got tired. I wanted to do something new, something that excited me again. Hence, the Star Wars blogging.

But the fiction bug has begun to creep in again, and I thought maybe I’d try it again. Only this time, I thought I’d write some Star Wars fan fiction.

Here’s the thing–I’ve never been a huge fan of fan fiction. I think it’s great that some fans want to write about the main characters of Star Wars: alternate stories, new adventures, love stories, etc., and I wish them all the luck in the world with that. But I’ve never been interested in that, either writing it or reading it. To me, the main characters and their stories in canon have a kind of sanctity about them–they’re perfect as they are, and I won’t touch them.

I’m more interested in the kinds of stories contained in the From A Certain Point of View books:

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Celebrate the legacy of The Empire Strikes Back withthis exciting reimagining of the timeless film featuring new perspectives fromforty acclaimed authors. On May 21, 1980, Star Wars became a true saga with the release of The EmpireStrikes Back. In honor of the fortieth anniversary, forty storytellers re-create an iconic scene from The Empire Strikes Back through the eyes of asupporting character, from heroes and villains, to droids and creatures. Froma Certain Point of V

These are stories that take place in and around the main characters and storylines, but are usually told from a minor character’s point of view, or some totally unexpected viewpoint. I’m interested in writing those sorts of stories (and so I have to get going and actually read these books already). Mostly, I want to create my own characters in the Star Wars universe and place them in familiar settings and storylines, with a main character or two making a cameo.

Anyway, the whole point of this post is to let you know that while I’ll still be blogging about Star Wars, I may scale it down a bit–maybe two posts a week for My Point of View, and a book review on The Star Wars Reader when I actually finish a book, so I have more time to work on the fiction.

I’d also like your opinion on this plan–what do you think? Would you be interested in reading these stories? Should I put them right on this blog, or create a new one just for the fiction (with links on my current blogs, of course)?

I’m warming up to this idea and getting a little bit excited about it, and have a few ideas. Comment below and let me know what you think!