Writing Update + GIVEAWAY!!!

Writing Update

Some of you may have noticed that I haven't talked about writing or the progress on my novel in quite a while. I'll confess it. It's because I was stuck. I knew there was something wrong with my story, something that I was missing, but I couldn't figure out what it was.

I tried a variety of things. I tried to convince myself it was all in my head. That didn't work. I tried to push on editing and revising anyway, hoping the flaw would present itself. That really didn't work.

For more than a year I have been struggling with this. Remember that PlotNoWriMo series I did pre-NaNo last year? Just another attempt to fix my book. And while, in the long run, all that plotting is paying off, I still hadn't identified the real problem in my story.

Every time I sat down to work on finishing my MG fantasy Rodney and the Gonjii, I was overwhelmed by this shadow of doom lurking over it. Imagine the frustration! I've been burying myself in book reviews and book vlogging because, hey, that's building up my platform so it's accomplishing something, right?

Some people might have switched projects at that point, but I was loathe to do so. There are two reasons I didn't. One, I'd made a pact with Rodney. This is going to be the first book I finish, if not the first book I publish. Two, I knew the problem arose from my method of writing. What would be the point of switching projects just to write that one into a hole?

Do you know how I finally managed to identify the problem? A two-hour brainstorming session with my dad, who is also a writer, and also happens to know just enough about the series to point out the problem.

There was nothing to connect my villain and my hero.

Yeah, I know. This sounds obvious. Elementary, even. But I was so focused on the plot, what had to be done, foreshadowing, stretching the story across six books, how it all connected -I didn't notice. Worse yet? I didn't know how to fix it. Fortunately, just by looking and discussing what I already had for the story and the universe, he was able to spot not only a plausible connection for the characters, but one whose elements were already included in my plans. It's almost like it was planned from the beginning. Go figure.

 

Yesterday's progress

This is why brainstorming sessions and writing groups are so important. 

Here's the thing. I am a good writer. I've been writing for fifteen years. The actual act of writing is not what I generally have a problem with. Writing a book series, however, is a new facet of the art form to me. And I just learned a hard but needed lesson in it.

This has been my first major trial in the realm of writing. It totally sucked. But I learned something valuable here and you know what? I'm still in love with writing. I'm calling this a victory because for the first time in my life I wondered if I really had the chops for a line of work that I've dreamed of doing since I was nine. I actually contemplated giving up on writing. But I didn't.




So for all of you writing hopefuls out there, this is just someone else telling you that writing is hard. That doesn't mean it's not worth it. We all have our moments of doubt and despair in writing. Don't let it define you. Don't let yourself believe that you're not cut out for it or you're not a real writer just because you're going through a rough patch. Get yourself a good brainstorming partner and a critique group and take that challenge.

Good luck!

And speaking of writing a book series...

GIVEAWAY
Cheree Alsop has just finished her latest series, Werewolf Academy, and I've got three copies to give away!

Werewolf Academy: Chosen

Alex knew choosing the path of the lone wolf wouldn’t be easy, but challenging Jaze Carso for the chance to bring the Werewolf Academy to the public would prove to be much harder. Alex has to decide how far he is willing to go to give werewolves the life he has fought for. Will his trust in humans become the biggest mistake of his life, or will his hope in humanity prove that selflessness can change prejudice? Alex has bled for both sides; now is his time to challenge whether those sides will do the same for him.
Everything Alex has fought and bled for comes together in this final book in the Werewolf Academy series. New threats arise, an old enemy resurfaces, and the bond of love is tested to the extreme in this gripping conclusion.


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Find out more about Cheree and her books!

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Thanks for stopping by! Good fortune in all your endeavors. ^_^

REVIEW: Marrow by Preston Norton

Marrow
by Preston Norton
YA/Superhero
4 stars

This is another superhero fiction I picked up for the summer. (Okay, really, my sister found it and I pilfered it from her. When she was finished, though. I don't rip books out of people's hands, what's the matter with you?!) 
This is a fairly straight-forward superhero world. Comet crashed to earth, creating superheroes with its outer space dust. Not all people like those with superpowers. Superheroes have taken over the justice system, but what I thought was really interesting is that the heroes are just heroes. They don't have secret identities or even normal names. Marrow is Marrow. Fantom is Fantom. Flex is Flex. There's no subterfuge or hiding from the public.

The voice of this character. My gosh. This is told from the first person, and I love Marrow's attitude. He's sarcastic and funny and his descriptions can be kind of out there. Marrow is snarky and arrogant, but he's got emotional issues to deal with too, like not having a decent parental figure around. Really, isn't that the best kind? Preston Norton also earned serious bonus points when Marrow compares characters to both Mr. T and Tom Selleck.

Serious. Bonus. Points.

All of the characters in this story were fantastic. You always hear that characters should jump off the page, and I felt like these ones really did. The dialogue is really what caught me. They not only felt genuine but they also sounded like real people. Random, funny, often confused, and sometimes selfish real people. Yep. These guys totally exist in another dimension somewhere.

The one big thing that stood out for me, aside from the fun characters, were the actions scenes. Seriously. These are not often interesting for me, but Marrow nailed them. This is superhero fiction, and Norton brought the comic-book style fighting to life. I could almost see the colored frames themselves. It wasn't even until I read this that I realized the other superhero fictions I've read don't compare in this area. I think the big thing is that Norton gave his characters some really fun powers.

Marrow, for example, can change his bone density. Light as a feather one second, heavy as an anvil the next. You can see how that comes in handy. Flex, another super, is a rubber man. It seems like the books I've read mainly steer toward mind powers, or electricity, or super strength, so it was fun and refreshing to see some more unique powers at play. More than that, Norton is FANTASTIC at portraying them. He messes around with them a lot, always finding clever new tricks, and he plays them off each other with the mastery of a true superhero comic fanatic. Paired with the witty comebacks, I think this is why the action really stuck out for me.

The action starts pretty quick, and the story twists a lot, but it's packed with emotional punches too. This is definitely a fun, well-written romp, and it kept my attention the whole way.

I did feel like Marrow's character was just a bit off. He consistently sounded like a cocky sixteen-year-old to me, but in actuality he's an incredibly cocky fourteen-year-old. This threw me off a couple of times, because that seemed like quite an age difference. Other than this, the book primarily got fives across the board in character, concept, execution, and plot.

A really fun book. It's quick to get through, but it also has good substance. I'd recommend this for anyone who likes superheroes, but it could also make a good choice for an otherwise reluctant reader.

REVIEW: Powerless by Tera Lynn Childs & Tracy Deebs

Powerless
by Tera Lynn Childs & Tracy Deebs
YA/Superhero Fiction
4 stars

I'm warning you right now. Powerless is not a standalone novel. I didn't realize this until about twenty pages from the end when I realized there was nowhere near enough time to wrap everything up.

It was not pretty.

Powerless was part of my attempt to read more superhero fiction this summer, in keeping with the ALA's Summer Reading theme for the year. This wasn't originally on my list, I just came across it one day at work and thought, what the heck?

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Powerless. It falls more into the realm of traditional YA, which I don't really read, because it deals a lot with teenage angst and romance drama, and I have come to realize that I don't enjoy those kinds of books very much. Powerless also had other elements that I generally don't like in books -the heroine falls for a bad boy, which I am very picky about, and there was quite a bit of swearing.

The reason I couldn't put this book down was mostly the characters, but also the way the authors play with the concept of good and evil -or, more accurately, heroes and villains.

Kenna Swift, our heroine, is feisty, stubborn, smart, and capable. She also happens to be powerless in a world filled with superheroes and villains. Despite her willingness and ability to stand up for herself, she is thought weak and fragile, not only by her powered peers, but by her own mother. It was both Kenna's frustration by this constant underestimation, her determination to rise above it, and her awesome sass that kept me turning the pages. She is fantastic.
 

The story jumps right into the thick of things when three villains break into the super secret superhero lab where Kenna is working late. All alone. And what does she do? She grabs the nearest weapon and tries to fight them off.

This attack leads Kenna to question everything she thinks she knows about heroes and villains, and it will send her into a most unlikely partnership. This was the second big thing that drew me into the story. Kenna is constantly plagued by the question of what makes a hero, and what makes a villain? In this world, the authors have chosen at least so far not to offer explanation on the origin of powers. The only thing we do know is that when a person's power manifests, a tattoo appears under either ear -one to brand a hero, the other a villain. This raises some marvelously juicy questions about a person's actions and morals, and I can't wait to see how the authors handle this down the road.
All of the characters in Powerless are really interesting, though my favorite might be Kenna's technopathic and incredibly paranoid ex-boyfriend.

Back to the bad boy romance. I dislike this type of romance because I hate it when girls are handed these sugar-coated fictional relationships that are unhealthy or unrealistic. Powerless handles this well by not making Kenna naive or deluding herself. Even as she's falling for the bad boy, she knows it's a bad idea. She doesn't just fall for the guy without thinking of the consequences. She also falls for him, not the idea of him, and it's the good in him that she likes, not the bad. She recognizes the bad as bad, and that's a huge win here. There's also the fact that the bad boy respects her. They fight and argue a lot, but as equals, and the moment anyone undervalues Kenna, this guy sets them straight. If there's a way to do a bad boy romance right, this is pretty darn close.

Probably the biggest drawback of this book for me was the swearing, but it never really felt excessive, which is saying something considering it had a lot more than I usually put up with. But its use felt natural, rather than excessive, the other factors of the book made it worthwhile.

So basically we have a strong and sassy heroine, superheroes and villains, treachery, lies, a constantly evolving story line, and a superhero who wears Superman pajamas. Seriously.

REVIEW: Sidekicked by John David Anderson

Sidekicked
by John David Anderson
MG/Superhero
4 stars

Sidekicked has a serious Sky High vibe. I loved it.
 
Andrew Bean, as his alter ego The Sensationalist, is a member of a secret sidekick training program through his school. With other sidekicks, he trains to hone his abilities and to learn every way a sidekick should help and not hinder his hero. It talks about the little things, too, the inconveniences that arise from having to take your mask with you everywhere in case of an emergency and wearing your suit under your clothes and hiding chemical weapons in your backpack. Drew gives you the lowdown on what it's really like to be a sidekick and it's enthralling.

But Drew isn't super strong or super athletic (or athletic at all, really). He can't walk through walls and he doesn't know eighteen different forms of karate. Drew has heightened senses -he can hear a whisper from the next room even in a crowd. He can see something far away and he smells everything. Everything.

I loved Drew, but even more than that, I loved that Drew's abilities aren't what you would normally think of as 'awesome'. I also love that Drew really has to work at his powers. If he's not careful, if he doesn't focus on something, he is quickly overwhelmed by everything he hears, sees, smells, and touches. This is something he deals with throughout the book and I thought it was a great opportunity to show that you really have to work for what you want. 

Drew is a great character. The story is told from his perspective and some of his lines -my gosh. One of the things I love about superhero comics are the over-the-top narrations and descriptions and Anderson nailed it. 'Arms crisscrossed in a pretzel of triumph'. Drew calls supers the 'great fuzzy comforter of justice that ordinary citizens of the world snuggle up with at night'. He's funny and clever and sarcastic and he's so entertaining. He has his issues and his moments of self-pity but what really stuck out for me -aside from his humor- is his determination. He grows through the book from a kid to a future super, and it wasn't all sherry and giggles. Another big key in Drew's development is not only his own growth, but how he learns to help others grow.

This book deals with a lot of different issues. Between the fact that Drew's super won't get off his bar stool and the most notorious villain has returned to wage war on the city, Drew's trying to work up the courage to tell his best friend he likes her before fellow sidekick Gavin steals her away and he has to keep everything secret from his parents. Kids are going to find something to relate with Drew about.

On the whole, this middle grade fiction managed to catch the essence of the superhero genre and hold me captive. I had a hard time putting it down at night.

Amanda & the Star Wars Summer -Episode II

Amanda & the Star Wars Summer

Episode I | Episode II | Episode III | Episode IV
The Force Awakens Spoiler-Free Reaction
The Force Awakens Review

This year I was determined to not only re-watch the Star Wars movies, but to read as many of the books as I could and devour any announcements and previews about the upcoming Episode VII and generally just live, breathe, and fangirl Star Wars.

So far it's working.

The Empire Strikes Back

I'm embarrassed to say that it's been much longer since I've watched these then I thought. Because Han and Leia's flirting. They flirt so much. And it totally went over my head the last time I saw it. *hangs head in shame*

But the flirting. It's so fun.

Return of the Jedi

Originally, this was my favorite Star Wars film. I don't think it quite lives up to my expectations now. Things that I've heard about how it should have ended and how Lucas went off into toy merchandising wonderland has made me re-evaluate many things about it. I can see where it could have been better. And, while the eight-year-old inside will always love those furry little Ewoks, I can see how they changed the tone of the film.

It's hard to say, really, if I would have preferred one of the other RotJ stories make it to film instead, because I did grow up with this. I don't hate it; I don't think it's terrible. There are many things that I love about it and, even though I recognize that it was a cop-out ending, I don't know that I would have liked another ending any better.

Like anything involving the death of Han Solo.

Just saying, I would have had serious issues if that had happened. (Part of me is terrified Han Solo will die in VII.) And I'm not just saying that as a now-serious Han Solo fan. When I first watched these movies, I was young enough a movie death like that could have ruined the entire trilogy for me -not to mention scar my innocent, childish nature.

If Han Solo had died in this movie, I wouldn't have wanted to watch it again, never mind any time I got bored. I likely would not have imagined myself as a Jedi, or longed to work the powers of the Force, or wanted a laser blaster strapped to my leg.

In short, I would not have grown up in love with Star Wars. I may have come back around to it, years later, but it would not have been such a big part of my childhood.

If Han does happen to meet his end in Episode VII, I'd like to say I'm adult enough to accept it.

Nope.

Still going to have a problem with it.

Star Wars Comic-Con Panel

If you haven't seen it yet (and if you've stuck through my rambling this long, you probably have) the Star Wars panel is a must-see. I don't care if you don't want spoilers, or you think Abrams will ruin the franchise, or you just don't like panels.

Watch. It.


It has sent me into Star Wars crazed enthusiasm overdrive for so many reasons. It's totally worth an hour of your time.

ALL THE STAR WARS BOOKS!
I finally started in on my lofty goal to read ALL [read: as many as I can] the Star Wars books before VII is released. I've wanted to read these for years. I reviewed all the books I've read so far in this super special Star Wars video, but if you'd rather read the reviews, they're down below.

Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent! Fantastic! Superb!

Now that I finally begin reading the Star Wars fiction, they are no longer cannon. Go figure, huh? It's a shame, though, because this book was absolutely magnificent. It read just like a Star Wars movie and -best of all!- everyone felt in-character and true to form. There's been hype around this book ever since it was released, and I can tell you it was earned. It's a great continuation of the series, even if it's now 'unofficial'. Really, though, with the new movies coming out, this just means Star Wars fans get TWO universes to enjoy, so it's kind of a win-win.

Zahn does a spectacular job with the Star Wars universe. I read his Star Wars: Scoundrels last year, so it seems he consistently masters the voice of the setting and characters, which makes me indescribably happy, considering he's written so many books in the Star Wars universe. I can't wait to read more!
View all my reviews

The Courtship of Princess Leia by Dave Wolverton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. From reviews, I got the feeling it was just a cheesy romance but -while it did have some cheesy romance aspects- it was a great Star Wars adventure.

It did seem broken into parts, starting with the romance story line, but switching gears to an adventure story as soon as they touch down on the planet Dathomir. There was not always a great meshing of the adventure with the romance conundrum, so it felt sometimes like two different stories, but they did come together at the end, and they were both parts were fun.

I actually found the first half -the romance bit- the most compelling. Even though you know how the story is going to end, it's so much fun to watch Han trying to win Leia over again because he's just so, so Han. I could be biased, because this part of the story does focus more on Han; once they hit Dathomir, we jump over to Luke a lot more often as he learns some new secrets of the Force.

On the whole, a good read, and it's successfully fueled my growing Star Wars enthusiasm.

View all my reviews


Star Wars: Tatooine Ghost by Troy Denning
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was not quite what I expected. With a title like Tatooine Ghost, I anticipated something more...ghostly. Spooky. All the same, this was a fun book. And even though there isn't an actual ghost here, the title wound up making total sense.

Newlyweds Han and Leia travel to Tatooine to buy a surviving Alderaanian masterpiece up for auction. Not only is it a piece of Leia's home world, the painting also happens to contain Alliance secrets they can't let the Imperials get their hands on. Between dodging Imperials, some very impressive speeder chases, and dealing with squabbling Squibs, Leia also uncovers some history of a local podracing legend -Anakin Skywalker.

This is the first time I've started reading the Star Wars novels, but I've always been a big fan of the universe. Aside from the movies, though, I've had limited exposure. Instead, I sort of ruminate in the world and idea of Star Wars, so I tend to forget or glaze over certain things. Like the fact that Leia never knew Anakin. Luke has a great arc with this in RotJ, of separating Anakin and Darth Vader, eventually bringing their father back from the dark side, but it wasn't until I listened to this audio that it really hit me: To Leia, Darth Vader was always the villain. He was the tyrant who kidnapped and tortured her, and helped murder her entire home planet. (!!!) Just think back at their confrontation in the original film. That is the only way Leia ever knew her father.

Troy Denning took that as a challenge. Leia is given a look into the life of Anakin before Darth Vader and it fascinated me. The rest of the story is fun, a great adventure, but Leia learning about her father's past is what really made this book for me.

My brain is in Star Wars overdrive.
View all my reviews

Shadows of the Empire by Steve Perry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I wasn't sure about this one because some reviews said it was 'a must for all Star Wars fans!' and others said 'only for the die-hard fan.' I would say it's somewhere in between. If you're into Star Wars fiction, it's worth a read, but I do think the quality is on the mediocre scale.

The story itself is fun, and they get enough content in there to make it its own story, not just a 'filler'. The villain, Prince Xizor, head of the Black Sun crime syndicate, is interesting, and I liked his rivalry with Vader (because it makes Vader more interesting), but Xizor's bits did tend to be long-winded. His POV sections and monologues could have been paired down a lot.

There is a Han substitute, since he's currently frozen in carbonite, in the form of Dash Rendar -a cocky smuggler/pirate/mercenary/ace pilot who 'only cares about getting paid'. It was made a little less irksome because Luke and Leia are constantly comparing him to Han, so their similarities are noted, and he was kind of fun, but I honestly would have liked it better if the twist was he genuinely only cared about getting paid. As it stood, it felt rather like a carbon copy.

Speaking of Han, one thing I really liked is Leia struggling with this question of what might happen after they -if they ever- free Han. She loves him. She's head over heels in love with him. She told him so. And he said 'I know.' Does that mean he loves her too? Or...or... I just loved this, because it's completely genuine.

And speaking of feelings, Perry had fun messing with readers. This is before Luke and Leia are twins, right? And Luke still totally has a crush on Leia, right? And Leia cares about Luke, but not the same way she cares about Han, and why are feelings so COMPLICATED?! I laughed and I winced. (But don't worry; there was no more kissing.)

The story is full of hints and events leading into Return of the Jedi, right down to the Bothans gaining 'critical information' that Luke is sure he'll be briefed on soon enough.

The best part about this book by far was getting inside Darth Vader's head, even for a little bit. There are tidbits and tiny, tiny hints about how RotJ is going to end, without making him sympathetic. I loved that they were so subtle it did not ruin his eventual turn.

On that note, I do wish Perry had given us one final hint at the end. It seemed like the perfect opportunity, and it was completely passed up. This novel supposedly shows the events between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, where Luke goes from 'NOOOOOOOOOOO!' of finding out Darth Vader is his dad to 'I can still sense the good in him.' It didn't occur to me until I was reading this book, which has Luke still dealing with this revelation, that this transition of his was kind of...sudden. I felt this would have been the perfect time for Luke to sense something still good in Vader, because in this story Vader admits to himself that a part of Anakin has survived in him -and he's determined to destroy it. He realizes a part of the Jedi is still alive inside and that it's keeping him from fully embracing the dark side. For the last 50 pages I was waiting and waiting for Luke to sense this in Vader, to have this realization, but no. A perfect moment squandered. *sigh*

Like I said, it's worth a read if you like the Star Wars fiction, because if nothing else, it helps you to embrace the universe and, as you can see, really deepens your appreciation for it by getting you to analyze and question all the little details.

View all my reviews

WOOOOOOOO STAR WARS!!!

There's more where this came from!

Amanda & the Star Wars Summer

Episode I | Episode II | Episode III | Episode IV
The Force Awakens Spoiler-Free Reaction
The Force Awakens Review

Worth Watching: Battle Creek (CBS, 13 Episodes)

The graveyard of excellent but cancelled shows garners new headstones every season and, for some, the sight gets a little more depressing each year. The graveyard's most recent arrival reads

The dirt hasn't settled yet. The fans are still in denial. Fans like me.

So let's talk about it.

Is It Even Worth Starting?

The first thing anybody asks about a cancelled show that's being pushed on them is "If I already know this show is cancelled, why bother starting it? Is it really worth it?"

The answer is YES.

ABSO-BLOODY-LUTELY. 

Battle Creek's nuanced characters, brilliant actors, wonderful and subtle script writing, and original and genuine feel quickly made it my favorite new show of 2015. (Surpassing my then favorite Scorpion, I might add.)

Bonus? The show does not end on a cliffhanger. You aren't left with a burning question like "Who are the two by twos with hands of blue?" (Firefly) or "IS JIM DEAD AND WHO SHOT HIM?" (The Glades). While there are still questions you'd like answered and things you'd like to know, they aren't game-changing, nerve-crunching, fist-shaking questions that will keep you up at night and burn a hole through your chest.

Battle Creek ends with -if not complete resolution- a satisfactory note. You'll feel the bitter sweetness of not seeing how things unfold next, but what you do get in those thirteen episodes makes it worthwhile. At the end, the characters and story lines are all in a good place.

Reason #3: There is a #SaveBattleCreek movement under way. I told you the fans weren't ready to let this gem go. Will it make a difference? To be determined. But our numbers are growing. Join us...

Why You Should Watch It

There's three major components that make this show so fantastic: Writing, Characters, and Actors.

Writing

From the creators of House, M.D. and Breaking Bad, you expect stellar quality, and David Shores and Vince Gilligan deliver.

Setting it in the small(ish) town of Battle Creek, MI, offers some interesting and quirky new facets to the traditional cop procedural you aren't going to see in metropolis set NCIS or CSI or Castle. Like Breakfast Day, a city-wide celebration of the breakfast cereal that provides income for the city. Like mob-controlled maple syrup distribution. Like a department so underfunded that its tasers don't tase and their 'surveillance' equipment is duct tape and a baby monitor.

It can't be identified merely as a drama or a comedy or even a strict cop procedural. It's more than that. It's a slice of life. It's hilarious, cynical, heart-warming, gut-wrenching, wry, realistic, and full of hope. All at the same time! It's both the world at its worst and the world at its best.

It's what we want to believe about the world but also what we dread about it.

And that's why this show has garnered a group of such loyal fans. Because it is everything. It's taken life and everything about it and infused it into brilliant characters, stories that give us both the worst and the best of people but manage to leave us with an overall feeling of hope.

Characters
All of the characters are well-crafted. There are no throw-away minor characters cluttering the background. From the get-go, each of them have distinct personalities, likes and dislikes, and this doesn't always happen until a show has been underway for a while. You're immediately drawn into these characters.

While Battle Creek is a cop show, that's only half the story. The other half is the characters, specifically hard-boiled Detective Russ Agnew and the FBI's own knight-in-shining-armor Milt Chamberlain. They are Cynicism and Optimism, which reminds me of another favorite cop duo [Dani Reese and Charlie Crews from Life]. Milt always sees the good even in the worst of people while Russ believes the worst of everyone. And you know what?

They're both right.

And that's one reason the show is compelling.

Russ and Milt don't just spend every hour arguing over who's right -though they occasionally do that with wit and charm- they're also challenging each other. Challenging their beliefs and the way they see the world and how they think. It's character development at its most subtle and satisfactory.

It is brilliant.

Actors
They did such a fantastic job casting the roles in Battle Creek, from our leads Josh Duhamel and Dean Winters with their spectacular on-screen chemistry, to the recurring Meredith Eaton as the saucy medical examiner, to the guest spots for Patton Oswalt as the town's unorthodox mayor and Candice Bergen as Russ' con-artist mother.

These are just the top marks. The entire cast works so well together and has such great chemistry. Even when they're not solving a crime, there's workplace banter and they play off each other so well. This is a group of talented and well-cast actors, and it's so much fun to just sit back and watch them interact.

If it's such a great show, why was it canceled?
Alas, merely because a show is good does not secure its place in next season's line-up.

CBS says the show failed to connect to viewers, while fans protest that Battle Creek had an unfortunate time slot and not a lot of push in advertising.

As far as quality is concerned, Battle Creek was listed #17 on IMDb's 25 Best New TV Series 2014-2015, higher in both listing and rating than CBS' CSI: Cyber and The Odd Couple, both of which the network renewed. It also made #7 on Trending Top Lists' Best 10 TV Series In Season Right Now. Online reviewer and viewer ratings of Battle Creek both averaged about 7/10 (again, higher than CSI: Cyber's 5/10).

The show received many positive reviews, but the sad truth was the numbers just weren't up to snuff. It's a game of odds, and they aren't always in your favor. Always remember:

Just because a show is cancelled, doesn't mean it's not good.

Where You Can Watch It
Convinced? Want to give it a try?

CBS.com still has the last five episodes available for viewing. There's no word yet on a DVD or Blu-Ray release, but you can download the entire season from iTunes and Amazon for $19.99.
EDIT: Amazon now has the DVD available on demand and it is currently streaming on Netflix.

Trust me. It's totally worth it.