chase the moon and sun to blog my one and only you

We'll kick off Sunday catchup with an announcement we'll repeat on Tuesday: The first Monkey Queen book, Of Introductions And Abductions, is part of the Vivify End of Summer Sale! More after the cut.

Disney Infinity: A Whole New World

So my Disney Infinity shelf expanded a little:

It's tough to resist when there are so many figures out there I want, and I need to add to my Amazon order to hit $35 for free shipping. Which means that I need now to get a Hiro to go with my Baymax.

3.0 starts hitting the shelves in the next few days.  It's not so bad right off, because the only figure I really want from the first wave is Yoda. (Minnie Mouse would be nice too, yeah, but she can wait. Sorry, Mickey.) But October (well, September 30) brings all the Star Wars figures from the original trilogy, so that's five more I want right there, plus Mulan later on.

And since I started late, I'm now looking at the prices going up for the 1.0 figures I need. I have an emergency workaround for Violet and Rapunzel, but that still leaves Barbossa, Jack Skellington, two Incredibles and maybe the Toy Story crew. And I still want a couple of 2.0 figures besides Hiro, namely Captain America and Tinkerbell, and isn't that a team-up we all want to see?

What it all means is that, darn it, Yoda and Chewie and the rest may have to wait until I fill in the holes. Which with my limited budget will probably mean that by the time I can get to them, they'll start going up in price as they get discontinued with the rollout of 4.0.

I saw that Disney decided on Peter Pan as their "ToyBox" selection for 3.0. I suppose I should be glad that Tinkerbell has someone to play with, but I'm also a bit disappointed. So many great characters, ones that would make awesome sculpts, are being overlooked at this point. I know that Disney needs to focus on the new releases, and that not everyone is into classic Disney. But it wouldn't have taken much to make me happy. Just a Jafar. Or a Darkwing Duck. Or even a Basil of Baker Street...

I also saw that Jar Jar Binks is showing up in the game. Is there a Toy Box minigame where we get points for kicking his butt? You should get extra points if you come up with a creative way to waste him, like having Baymax or the Hulk throw Stitch at him, or if you pound him into Jar Jar paste with as many different characters as possible. Which might get a bit tricky with Minnie or Olaf, but I'll figure out a way.

Hey, don't forget that if you like reading these posts, leave a comment and let me know what you think. And if really like these, or want a creative way to support or thank a hard-working writer, head over to Amazon and check out my Disney Infinity Want List. Especially with my birthday coming up in a few weeks. Hint hint.

Willow Wednesdays: We're all mad here

Welcome to Willow Wednesdays! We're featuring art by Willow, the cover artist for the Monkey Queen series, with her kind permission! Read on after the cut!

I was born a someday man, I'm a blogging child

We'll start off this Sunday with a request: If you've read and enjoyed any of the Monkey Queen books, especially the first, Of Introductions And Abductions, please consider heading to Amazon and leaving a review.  Some kind souls have already left reviews, and and we thank them! But more reviews will get more readers interested, and will open up more promotional opportunities for us. So please, help Michiko and Beth find new fans by leaving a review! And thanks! More, and a slightly different Sunday catchup post, after the cut.

Willow Wednesdays: Now you're cooking!

Welcome to Willow Wednesdays! We're featuring art by Willow, the cover artist for the Monkey Queen series, with her kind permission! Read on after the cut!

eFestival of Words: the wrapup!

The 2015 eFestival of Words is over, and thanks to everyone who dropped by and to Julie Dawson for organizing the whole shebang! The forums are still open for viewing, so you can catch up on all the events and chat transcripts here!

My chat transcript is here. In trying to keep up with all the questions, I did miss one asked by user HideAndSeek, referring to my saying that it took 17 years from conception to completion for the first Monkey Queen book: "Why do you think it took so long from conception to book?" It was because I moved on to other projects, and eventually other things, and didn't come back to Michiko and Beth until I stumbled across my extensive notes in March 2013.

And here is where you can find the Heroes Vs Villains feud! Alas, the heroes lost, but Michiko made new friends and had fun. And is still figuring out how the heck she can get rid of a sasquatch...

She's got a blog that tells about everybody's past

Putting this up early with a last reminder: Later today is my Q&A chat at the  eFestival of Words (8:30 AM Pacific / 11:30 AM Eastern / 5:30 PM CET), and then Michiko will be part of the Heroes Vs. Villains panel (11:00 AM Pacific / 2:00 PM Eastern / 8:00 PM CET)! And as a thank-you, we've marked down Of Introductions And Abductions, the first Monkey Queen book, to 99 cents through Monday! More after the cut.

Speaking of 99 cents, that will also get you Awakened, the first book in the Dakota Shepherd series from Shei Darksbane with Darksbane Books! And the second, Hunted, has just come out! Good urban fantasy adventure, with a snarky but lovable main character, and a new favorite here at Monkey Queen Books!

D23 is this weekend, and there may be a new Disney Infinity post this coming week, as they're due to announce three more figures on Sunday. This year's expo has been all about the Star Wars, at least to most people, but I was most intrigued by the announced sequel to The Incredibles. It's been reported for a while, but it's good to have confirmation from Pixar, and with Brad Bird returning, we can hope that it's as good as the first was. But I suppose I should be concerned about the fact that Pixar announced or confirmed five films, and only one of them isn't a sequel...

And finally, in case you somehow missed this earlier this week: Whoa.