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Showing posts with the label sci fi

Movie reviews by novelist Dwight Okita: FOXCATCHER and THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING

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I saw the movie FOXCATCHER tonight. It was filled with good performances and was a tense movie to watch.  A movie about wrestlers and conflicts of interest.  Though not the feel good movie for the holidays, to be sure, I was surprised how many were in the audience. Steve Carrell channeled something in his performance. There was a stillness at the center of his character that was chilling. As if he were encased in glass and the words he spoke and the words he heard took light years to reach him. What the movie lacks in humor, it  makes up for in tension. I'd give it a B. I also previously saw THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING.  Isn't the movie poster above stunning?  I enjoyed this film. At the center, it was a love story, and also a story of transcending one's disabilities/ limitations. The movie was charming and touching and fueled by the scientific quest for knowledge and personal quest for romance. By the way, both movies in this post are based on real people who

Video reviews from the past + Blog review from today of PROSPECT

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In 2008 during the Amazon novel contest, Megan Bostic (the top video) and Josie Henley-Einion (the bottom video) created these great video reviews of PROSPECT OF MY ARRIVAL.  I share them with you now, in anticipation of my novel's release at the end of September! Also the review excerpt below is by blogger Becky Kyle.  She is the first to review the brand new version of the book. Prospect  is a strong and different story which is difficult to classify, because it contains both elements of dystopic science fiction along with a touch of Young Adult coming of age. Those of a philosophical or ethical bent will want to discuss the implications of a child's choice on whether to be born along with other aspects of Prospect's near-future world. Prospect’s character is written so well you want to nurture him and guide him through the best of what this world has to offer. Frankly, from the beginning, I hoped that Prospect would be born because I felt the character’s sweetness

Website design and Book design

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It's July 18th and two important creative projects are coming down the pike.  I'm designing a website for a dental laboratory in Chicago that should be simple and elegant.  It's due this Wednesday night.  And I'm working with Createspace on finalizing the book cover for my first novel due out in August!  Above is one draft of the dental website.  I'm very happy with it as is the client so far.  Seeing all the lab's great photos of bright white teeth brought to mind for me white tulips.  And so a concept was born. And as for the book covers -- there are some good ones to choose from.  From top to bottom, I call them:  Escalator Boy, Handstand Man, and Falling Man.  The above three are my amateurish renderings.  The real designers will make them look more book store ready.  Handstand is a late addition into the face and a rising favorite.  I do like the words "a novel" on my cover so that people know what it is.