BOOK GIVEAWAY

Dear Readers,

We are giving away a book to a reader who follows this blog AND leaves a comment in the Comments section below, along with your email address. This is a hardcover book, not an ebook. Throw your hat in the ring for a chance to win! Winner selected by Random.org and contest open until next Sunday, Sept. 8 at 12:00pm EST. Winner announced on next Sunday's blog! Good luck!

MOTHER, MOTHER by Koren Zailckas. 

When Zailckas’s memoir Smashed was published in 2005 it took the world by storm. The riveting, absorbing story of her teenage alcoholism was a tour-de-force, sold over a half million copies, and has become a touchstone of the memoir genre. Now, she turns her considerable talent to fiction writing, with a darkly suspenseful debut novel that is taut, compelling, and ultimately terrifying.

While authors get their inspiration from many places, Koren didn’t need to look further than her own childhood when she decided to tackle the topic of a dysfunctional family. Growing up, several members of her family showed traits and characteristics of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, including her own mother. She decided to write MOTHER, MOTHER in part to challenge the assumption that all mothers are compassionate and kind. Deeply personal, Koren’s first foray into fiction showcases her brilliant, firecracker prose, a page-turning plot, and an unmistakable voice.

Early Praise for MOTHER, MOTHER:

"Koren Zailckas's Mother Mother is disturbing in the best possible way: believably. The slow, subtle darkness at the core of this book starts as a trickle and grows to a flash flood, and not once does it stop feeling absolutely authentic. Zailckas has written a gut-wrenching exploration of narcissism, dependence and family. It's an amazing book." –Kelly Braffet, author of Save Yourself
“A riveting fiction debut…it’s the kind of book that keeps you up at night, featuring a mother to rival Medea or Mrs. Bates…The shocking and violent denouement shows Zailckas to be a consummate storyteller.” –Publishers Weekly
“Zailckas crafts an intriguing mystery surrounding this family that will keep readers on edge as she slowly peels back layer after layer of deception.” –Booklist
“A hall of mirrors reflecting chaotic maternal psychological mayhem reminiscent of Mommie Dearest or Push or Ordinary People.”–Kirkus Reviews

99 CENTS & A CONTEST!

 

I am running a 99cent promo for my book, STAND BY YOUR HITMAN, from the Bombay Family of Assassins Greatest Hits Series May 13-May 19!  If you tweet or facebook this info - you'll be entered in to win a $100 gift card to the etailer of your choice - Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com or iTunes!  You can sign up for the contest here:

 Contest: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/56b4950/

 And as we say in Illinois - enter early and enter often!  Okay, so it's 'vote early and vote often' - a lovely nod to our state's vast history of crooked politics...but you get the idea!

Another cool thing is that there's a group of us who have written books based on reality tv!  Three of us, Stacy Juba, Gemma Halliday, and MOI are all having 99cent sales this week!

We couldn’t have planned this better if we tried! While teaming up with our author colleagues on the #Books4RealityTVFans promotion, the three of us discovered that all three of us have reality-TV themed mystery novels on sale for 99 cents each this week into next week. Regular price ranges from $2.99 to $4.99. Love mysteries? Love reality TV? Then grab these books for 99 cents while you can.

Hollywood Confessions (Hollywood Headlines) by Gemma Halliday – When the producer of the trashiest reality shows on TV winds up murdered, a celebrity gossip reporter convinces her editor that the story has her name written all over it.
 

Sink or Swim by Stacy Juba – After starring on a hit game show set aboard a Tall Ship, personal trainer Cassidy Novak discovers that she has attracted a stalker. Can she trust Zach Gallagher, the gorgeous newspaper photographer assigned to follow her for a local series? As things heat up with the stalker and with Zach, soon Cassidy will need to call SOS for real.
Visit us on Facebook to read and comment on our excerpts. The excerpts will be featured on our Facebook pages as follows:
May 13: Excerpt of Hollywood Confessions
May 14: Excerpt of Stand By Your Hit Man
May 15: Excerpt of Sink or Swim

So that's 3 great books for $3 total!  Summer Reading Serendipidy!

"Trunk Novel"? Nope. Not me.

by Hank Phillippi Ryan

 

Nope.  Nope.  Nope.  I don't have one. No "trunk novel." Unless, um, you count one that never got past six chapters and an incredibly elaborate outline.

 You do count it?

 Okay, then, the story. And it's a tale of innocence and experience, of great expectations, of hilarity and naiveté and big-time reality checks. And, finally, of education and knowledge and lessons learned for a lifetime.

 All from 6 chapters and an outline?

 Yup.

 I've always wanted to write mysteries, ever since I was a little girl, but I just never had a good idea. Which, as you know. is a big problem.

 One day, in 19....94? or even before that....I got one. A good idea. I would write a mystery about GOLF, featuring the first female golf pro at an exclusive local golf course, and she would solve a sort of eco-murder-mystery on the golf course having to do with herbicides and miscarriages. (As a TV reporter, I had covered the trial that turned out to be "A Civil Action" so I was full of research knowledge and lots of cool jargon.)

 We will not discuss the fact that I do not know how to play golf, don't know how a golf course works, and actually, don't even like golf because my depth perception is so bad I can never figure out where the ball is.  But I thought GREENSKEEPER  (good title, huh?)  would be commercial, and I'm a reporter, had been for almost 20 years back then, so I thought--I write true stories every day. How hard can it be to make stuff up?

 So I started. And whoa, I decided I was a natural. It as fun, the story was flowing, it all made sense. To me.

 What I didn't know:   I had clearly never heard the phrase "point of view." I mean, I'd heard it, but had no concept that in a good book, the POV has to be consistent. So when I tell you I head-hopped paragraph to paragraph, that is only in retrospect, because back then I didn't know that's what I was doing.

 I finished six pretty great (if I did say so myself) chapters. and decided it was time to submit this baby to some agents and get this new career underway. I was TV reporter. Who wouldn't want me?

 But no--wait. I read somewhere you were supposed to have an outline. NO problem, I thought. I can do that. So I wrote an incredibly specific chapter by chapter description of what was going to happen, and that only served to make me  even more certain that I would soon be a wildly successful author. I thought--who wouldn't love this?

 I sent the chapters and the outline to two agents. And waited for the good news. This was--1994, remember. Maybe--before that. Actually, come to think of it, it might have been 1989. Hmm. I wrote it on a typewriter, I remember.

 Meanwhile, I sent the manuscript to my father, who is retired from the foreign service now, but used to be the music critic for the Chicago Daily News, and has written two well-published non-fiction books on American music.

 He's the nicest person in the world, and infinitely loving.  He called, and said--"Honey? I read your stuff. And, uh--" And I am quoting precisely now: "There's this thing called 'voice,'" he said. "And you don't have it." 

 Which was--a bummer. But I figured, what does he know? He doesn't read this kind of book. 

 A few weeks later, I got my replies from the agents.

 One's letter said, paraphrasing: Wow, this is a great plot, and we love the idea of the female golf pro. But we are sorry to say your writing is just not up to par. (Oh, they didn’t actually say "up to par," I'm sure. But how could I resist? And that's what they meant.) And they rejected it.

 The other agent said: "Wow, you are a terrific writer! But this plot just doesn't cut it."

 I was so flummoxed and disappointed, I just--stopped.

 Years later, more than ten years later, when I started writing again, I knew enough to know that I didn't know anything. I was still a complete novice, writing PRIME TIME, but I worked and learned and got advice and read books about writing, took  classes  and went to conferences and joined Sisters in Crime and MWA. And revised, revised, revised.

 And it all worked beautifully. And now my fifth Novel, THE OTHER WOMAN is the lead hardcover title for Forge's fall catalog, and is getting amazing amazing blurbs--Lee Child, Karin Slaughter, Lisa Gardner, Lisa Scottoline, Joe Finder, Louise Penny, Carolyn Hart, Lisa Unger. (And I am on the national board of MWA, and about to be president of national Sisters in Crime.)

 I pulled out GREENSKEEPER, recently, wondering if there was anything I could steal for my next book. Or anything I could learn.  And there was.  I learned exactly what NOT to do!

 And what could be more valuable than that?
 What did you learn from your mistakes?

 ***Breaking news: You can win a Kindle, a Nook or $100 gift certificate to the bookstore of your choice! Click here for details!

http://hankphillippiryan.com/newsletter-7-12.html

Let's go for a Sleigh Ride!

by Malena Lott

I'll confess: I'm a holiday junkie. I love so many things about October through January 2nd that I couldn't even list them all here, but what they have in common is tradition and that magical romantic quality about the season as a whole. It gets cold. We get closer. Don't we call more, hug more, make more of an effort to connect? The world doesn't slow down, but it does feel more in focus.

Sleigh Ride: A Winter Anthology is definitely my homage to the season and how something as simple as a sleigh ride can have such meaning in our lives. I invited fellow Girlfriend Authors Maggie Marr, Maria Geraci and Samantha Wilde to be a part of it and they graciously accepted. You'll also be introduced to debut authors Dani Stone, Jenny Peterson and Megan Barlog, who are great writers you're going to be seeing a lot more from.

To celebrate our launch, we're doing several great contests including the 7 Sleighs/7 Days of Giveaways contest (now on day 4) as well as the Big Stuffed Sleigh Contest that ends Nov. 30th ($150 value.)

The book is available in trade paperback and ebook. For a chance to win a print galley of Sleigh Ride, leave a comment on WHO YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE A SLEIGH RIDE WITH IF YOU COULD INVITE ANYONE IN THE WORLD. What would you talk about? Or would you not be talking? :) Thanks for reading, and happy holidays! 

In order of appearance:

In Samantha Wilde's "Monks and Musicians," a family sleigh ride turns a mother's life upside down, leaving her to decide the fate of her future and family.

In the romantic comedy "Noche Beuna," Maria Geraci shares what happens when a woman breaks tradition and takes the holidays into her own hands.

Jenny Peterson explores the powerful bond of sisters with a painful past in "Fairy Lights."

A phone call out of the blue from the former great love of her life causes a pharmacist to question her past and whether or not a second chance is worth the risk in Dani Stone's humorous, "No Place Like Home."

In Megan Barlog's story, "The Escape," a stable owner with a hover sleigh is drawn to a troubled young woman who needs his help to avoid the bleak future planned out for her.

When her dog jumps out of the car in a snowstorm in Vermont, the California girl has the wildest night of her life on her journey to find her dog and heal her heart in Maggie Marr's, "Dashing Through the Snow."

A grieving mother returns home at the holidays to face the family she walked away from after tragedy in Malena Lott's, "Snowflakes and Stones." 

Called "beautiful" and "touching," this collection is a Good Read/Good Deed project with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the domestic violence prevention cause through the Alpha Chi Omega foundation.  

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BEGIN AGAIN

I'm writing this on Monday evening, approximately fifteen hours before bookstores will unlock their doors and my second novel, Reunion, will go on sale for the second time.

Its first appearance came a little over two years ago. It was a hardcover book with a different jacket; now it's a Random House Readers Circle trade paperback with this lush new look, along with an author Q&A, a discussion guide, and an excerpt from the other book pictured here, Exposure. Soon you'll see it in your neighborhood bookstore, and at Costco, and as a Target Emerging Authors pick.

One very cool thing I didn't know before I got published is that books can have multiple lives. A new beginning means a chance to reach readers who missed the previous go-'round. For example, my friend Meg Waite Clayton's debut novel The Language of Light came out in '03 and will be reborn this June. Other examples include The Lovely Bones and Water for Elephants, for their film adaptation tie-ins. They got new cover art featuring the film stars; they got new lives. WFE, which was published in hardcover in 2006, has sold and sold and sold and sold, until you'd think every possible reader who might want to read it has already done so--but you'd be wrong: there it was last Sunday at #1 on the New York Times trade paperback list, making its 116th appearance. There are lots of readers out there--who apparently are all reading WFE, too bad for the rest of us.

I'm kidding.

Mostly.

So, in fifteen hours, Reunion gets a new beginning, and then a week from Tuesday Exposure debuts, and with this I get a new beginning of sorts. I'm someone I've never been before: Therese Fowler, author of three novels. That feels new and strange, something I'll have to get used to quickly.

I have to tell you, it's a nerve-wracking time. But it's an exciting one, too. Early indications are encouraging, not the least of which was a chat I had this morning with a journalist from USA Today, who called Exposure a great read and said it's an exceptionally "talkable" book. I would tell you that even my dog loves it, except that I don't have a dog--and even if I did, that dog might not share the favorable views, in which case I would have to get a new dog.

The fact is, I'm as excited and anxious and exhausted as a pregnant woman who's been having Braxton-Hicks contractions for months and whose baby is due now. But I'm as grateful, too.

Thank you for being here, for being a part of my new beginning. To show my gratitude, I'm offering up two copies of Reunion and two copies of Exposure. Just leave a comment here, and the four winners will be chosen randomly tomorrow evening at 8pm (eastern). If your profile doesn't link to someplace with an email address, make sure to check back here tomorrow night, or you can include your email address in your comment. BONUS: anyone who tweets the link or shares this post on Facebook gets an extra entry in the drawing--because as the teens in my house like to say, "sharing is caring." Just tag me, @ThereseFowler on Twitter, or Therese Fowler Author on FB. Good luck!

MARCH MADNESS

By Therese Fowler


Earlier today I was on the phone with an editor, discussing an essay I'd written for an anthology called The First Year, which will come out in 2012. The essay's deadline was March 1st, and I'd made it, but only by the skin of my teeth. If you read my last post, you might recall that "by the skin of my teeth" has become my modus operandi this year. So much of what I'm doing gets pushed right up to its deadline (including this very blog post) despite my good intentions to be more organized, more focused, and more productive Every Single Day (please God send me some house elves who can write).

I'd been invited to write the essay way back in October, and I'd said, No problem! The only other project on my plate at the time was my novel-in-progress, which had its own very-far-away deadline of April 1st.

But then suddenly, don't ask me how, it was February somethingth, and I hadn't done anything more with the essay than jot down some thoughts about what I would write when I actually did write it. So I got started, then put it aside because I had to write this other essay for the Portland Book Review. And then, because I'm apparently a secret masochist who is not happy unless she's under really stupid amounts of pressure, I took a good look at my novel-in-progress and concluded I needed to start it over again. I am pretty hard on myself when I'm not being a complete slacker.

But then suddenly again, it was February somethingmoreth. It was, in fact, almost March 1. So I put my nose down to the grindstone and finagled 2,971 words into essay form and sent it in on deadline. The editor said she loved what I'd written--but that is not to say the essay was ready for publication. She noted how the front of the essay seemed to be going one way, but the middle and end took a slightly different tack, as if when I'd started it, I didn't quite know where I was going to go.

Yep.

Despite the fact that I spend pretty much all day sitting down, I feel like I'm running around with my hair on fire. I have other essays to write, a book to finish, blog posts to craft, interviews to complete; I'm arranging book tour dates, tweeting links to contests and excerpts for my new book, Exposure, which comes out in May, brainstorming new ways to get the word out--because as many of you know, writing the book is only part of what authors have to do these days.

But you also know the sayings:
You can't win if you don't try.
Half of success is just showing up.
If you build it, they will come.

What I hope is that the first draft of my The First Year essay is a metaphor for the way this year is going to continue to go: Organized chaos moving into focused order and ending quite happily, with a definite to-be-continued flair.

I hope that you'll join me on the journey--and if you will, I'll do my part to make it worth your while. I'm building my official Facebook Author Page and need to get the word out, so here's what I'm offering: when the page gets to 500 members, five members will win an inscribed copy of one of my books, their choice. When the page gets to 1000 members, I'll give ten more members an inscribed book, plus one member will win an e-reader (Kindle or Nook, winner's choice). What do you have to do for a chance to win? "Like" the page and encourage fellow readers (via FB, Twitter, or even old-fashioned conversation) to do the same. Simple, right?

And if you'll stand-by with a fire extinguisher in hand, I'll be more grateful still.

EXPOSURE Goodreads giveaway contest

Who doesn't love free books? Here's your chance to win one: Random House is giving away fifteen copies of Exposure, my newest novel (out May 3rd), to readers who enter the Goodreads contest before midnight Sunday.

Good luck!

A New Year, a New Release and a Contest

First off, I wish you all a very Happy New Year. May all your resolutions be kept and good luck head your way. I hope everyone had a lovely holiday and that the weather didn't strand anyone someplace they didn't want to be.

This January 4th, the third book in my paranormal romance series goes on sale. To celebrate, I will send one commenter the first two books. If you win and you already have these two books, I'd be happy to substitute two of my historicals. I will post the winner on or about January 5th, 2011. If you don't leave me a way to contact you, you'll need to check the blog to see if you won.

Contest Legal Stuff

No purchase is necessary. Void where prohibited. Winner chosen at random (via random.org) from among eligible commenters to this post. You must comment by midnight Pacific, January 4th, 2011. Your comment should answer one of the  questions at the end of this post. Open to international entries, unless there's a law against it in your country or mine.

My Immortal Assassin, by Yours Truly, Carolyn Jewel

Revenge. It's all Grayson Spencer wants. Christophe dit Menart, a human with dark magical powers, destroyed the life she loved. She wants the pleasure of killing him, no matter the cost to her. If not for Durian, a dangerously sexy demon fiend charged with keeping Christophe alive, she would have succeeded, too. Now, she's certain all hope is gone. But he has a plan and an offer she can't resist...
Durian has spent his life as a trained and sanctioned assassin. His duty: to enforce the laws against demons harming humans. He's always prided himself on staying out of the fray, carrying out his orders and honoring his fealty to his warlord, but never getting attached. Never until Grayson, a spunky and determined woman clearly gifted with magic herself. He convinces her to swear fealty to him so he can protect her and teach her to use her magic to taste the revenge she so desperately wants.

They're soon bound together in a forbidden desire--a dangerous passion that calls into question Durian's oath of loyalty to his warlord. When he refuses to return her to Christophe, his disobedience threatens to inflame the tumultuous war between demons and the magekind. Can they--and their love--survive?

Why You Should Rush out and Buy This Book Immediately!

Forever, Grand Central Publishing, January 2011
ISBN: 978-0446563864

Romantic Times 4 1/2 stars

The lines in the war between Magekind and Fiends continue to blur in the next installment of Jewel's exhilarating My Immortal series. The protagonists in this drama have both suffered terribly, giving them a common ground and enemy. Jewel provides her fans with a terrific tale that has action aplenty and drama to spare. Great stuff!
Jill M. Smith Read full review

Alternative Worlds

Fast-paced from the moment Gray and Durian meet on the streets of San Francisco. Read Full Review

Publisher's Weekly

Jewel's third paranormal (after 2009's My Forbidden Desire) is an exciting return to a world of demons and mages.

BookPage - Romance of the Month - Top Pick!

Dark, edgy and laced with thrilling desire, My Immortal Assassin will set readers' hearts racing.
Christie Ridgway
Read Full Review

Read Chapter 1 of My Immortal Assassin

Order the book

Books in the Series

Book 1: My Wicked Enemy
Book 2: My Forbidden Desire
Book 3: My Immortal Assassin
Book 4: My Dangerous Pleasure - June 2011

Interview With The Author

Q: So, Carolyn, tell us about yourself.

A: I write romance novels, bake so I have an excuse to airquotesTaste Testairquotes cakes, cookies and pies. Also, I have a day job with computers and servers.

Q: What's your favorite animated cartoon?

A: Sponge Bob

Q: Favorite TV Show?

A: I only watch one, and that's True Blood. We cancel HBO when the series is over for the year. However, I am sorely tempted by the HBO series for George R. R. Martin's Song of Fire and Ice because oh my gosh! Also, Sean Bean is in it.

Q: Favorite color?

A: It's really strange that you ask me that, because I was just talking about that the other day---

Q: I know.

A: Gray. But I like it better when it's spelled grey. I mean, what other color has two accepted spellings? I do think it's strange that I like gray. It's not the flashiest color around. I can't explain why I like it, and actually, maybe I shouldn't even try.

Q: Finish this sentence:  If I had a bazillion dollars I would . . . .

A: Not have to answer your silly questions? What would you do if you had a bazillion dollars?

Q:

Q: Most hated vegetable?

A: There are three vegetables of doom:

1. Cooked carrots
2. Cooked peas
3. Brussels sprouts

At Christmas, my youngest brother, who worked as a chef for a while and now caters on the side, cooked our holiday meal. One of the dishes was brussels sprouts. I gamely agreed to try them on the theory that an actual chef might render this vegetable of doom palatable.

Q: And?

A: No.

Contest Question

Answer at least one of these questions. Feel free to lie, fudge the details, tell the truth or otherwise go off topic, as long as I know which question you're answering.

1. If you were walking in the woods and you saw a wolf would you a) grab your camera and start taking pictures b) Make sure you have your wolfsbane handy because you know for a fact that's no ordinary wolf  c) Call Grandma and warn her 4) Feed it Brussels sprouts, wait for it to be violently ill, then walk away feeling safe but also kind of sorry for the wolf.
2. Would you rather have the power to heal all wounds, know how to fix your computer or turn Brussels sprouts into chocolate?
3. Look to your left. What's the first thing you see? (If it's Brussels sprouts, there's just no hope for you.)

I will post the winner on or about January 5th, 2011. If you don't leave me a way to contact you, you'll need to check the blog to see if you won.

Movies

As you may or may not know about me, I write historical romance and paranormal romance. And yes, I adore the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice. Colin Firth all the way! I own at least one DVD version of every Jane Austen novel to movie.

But my favorite kind of movie? Ever in the whole world?

Martial Arts. Oh my gosh, I LOVE LOVE LOVE martial arts movies. When my son was little we embarked on a mission to see every movie Jackie Chan and Jet Li ever made. Because, seriously, I would totally marry Jet Li and have his babies. (I mean that in a completely virtual sense, by the way.) I did preview a few of the movies before I watched them with my son, but really, a movie challenge like allowed me to observe that over time movie ratings mean just about nothing. Movies today are far more violent. (Thank you Reservoir Dogs, which I think started the bloody violence we see in movies. I happen to have very much liked Reservoir Dogs, by the way.) Movies in the past, believe it or not, were far more casual about naked women and much less violent, excluding Wes Craven and his ilk. (I love a good zombie movie, too!)

I was quite surprised when a pretty ridiculous Jackie Chan movie from the early 80's contained a LOT of female nudity. This was a Western produced movie by way. (No wonder Chan started doing his own movies.) Completely gratuitous. I think every time Chan wasn't fighting they were afraid the movie would be boring, so they'd say hey! Time for a naked woman! And some shirtless woman would show up for reasons I still can't figure out. There was no sex. Just naked women. There. For, well, whatever. Look! Boobs!

While I don't think my son and I managed to see ALL the movies by these two actors, we came darn close. I recommend Chan's Shaolin Wooden Men. It's not easy to find, but Chan is very very young in this movie and despite the lack of plot, there's a lot of martial arts training that will make your muscles hurt just from watching. Impressive.

When Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon came out, American audiences for the most part thought they were seeing a first for magical Kung Fu moves. The movie deserved the acclaim, of course, but in that sense it wasn't ground breaking. There are many many movies that involve the magical properties believed to be gained by Kung Fu masters. Just about all the movies set in the Chinese historical past call on the supernatural gifts of these fighters. I love all those movies, too. I'm a sucker for men in Chinese robes.

One of the best of these is Chan's Legend of the Drunken Master. It's hilariously funny for one thing. Chan at his best. Many martial arts movies, and I am speaking in the main about movies made in Hong Kong and NOT for the American market, feature amazingly strong women who are also Kung Fu masters. I was impressed and thrilled to watch the women kick butt and glad that my son was seeing these role models.  Heck yeah! Drunken Master is an excellent example of this, by the way. The grandmother will have you in stitches -- and she's no slouch at fighting. I have to think hard to find a genre of American movies of the same period (1980s through the 1990s) that feature such consistently strong and independent women who were in no way inferior to the men EVEN WITH their lives lived in the female sphere. Check it out.

I've hardly touched on my love for Jet Li. <3 <3 <3. Tip: If you're going to watch a martial arts movie that wasn't specifically made for Hollywood, make sure you get the Hong Kong version and NOT the version released to the West because, I am sorry to tell you, that the Western versions have almost always been horribly edited. The best example of this is Jet Li's Contract Killer. The Western version has so many scenes cut that it actually doesn't make sense and some of the best fight scenes are shorter and don't even include the best work. Worse, the Western version (which is badly dubbed) includes dialog for an Indian character that is, frankly, offensive and racist. This does not appear in the Hong Kong version.

Another great example is Li's The Defender (US version) and Bodyguard from Beijing (Hong Kong version). These are the same movie, but the Hong Kong version makes more sense and includes longer and better fight scenes. It's also highly romantic. ::sigh::

Li's Romeo Must Die is a movie made for Hollywood with fighting that is beyond awesome because of Li's athleticism and the profoundly well done underdog element. Plus it has Russel Wong in it and you can't go wrong there. You could make an interesting comparison to Beowulf since the movie includes a flashback scene of Li and his fictional brother swimming/floating from China to Hong Kong. Beowulf, if you've read the entire poem, left his home via the ocean . . . It's not a perfect parallel, but many of the elements that make Beowulf exciting appear in lots of martial arts movies.

I could literally keep going on this subject but I won't. Instead, I will leave you to discuss the awesomeness of Jet Li in the comments. If you haven't seen a martial arts movie before, why not? If you have, which one(s) and what did you think? I will send a copy of Bodyguard From Beijing to one lucky, random commenter.