Rachael at What I am reading now... nominated me for a "I Heart Your Blog" award. Thanks, Rachael!
Now, I do not believe in pyramid schemes, because I stayed awake during math class. This is why I won't be contacting you about Amway products. However, I'm doing this anyway. Please do not feel under any compulsion to perpetuate the madness.
Here are the rules that were given to me:
1) Add the logo of the award to your blog. Done-ish. I amended it a bit.
Rebecca York wants to know what you think about her new cover for Eternal Moon. "It’s the story of a woman who’s the reincarnation of an ancient goddess. Down through the ages, she and her consort have come back again and again, and a demon tricks them into disaster." (Shapeshifter Romance) I think it's a fab cover and I like the fact that the woman is facing straight out.
"Twilight" footage will be seen at Rome Film Festival. "About the special screening for the Catherine Hardwicke-directed film, the festival's official site noted that it is part of 'Twilight' world premiere event which will also preview the backstage footage." (Ace Showbiz)
Kimberly Swan reviews "True Blood" episode 5. "While Sookie has put on the brakes where her relationship with Bill is concerned, she has no intention of disappointing her grandmother and attends Bill’s talk at the church." (Darque Reviews)
GRATUITOUS VIDEO OF THE DAY
Last night on "Supernatural" Dean introduced himself as "Dean Van Halen." Gotta love this show. Here's a nice low-key video which shows "Supernatural's" wonderful use of flashlights, second only to "The X-Files." (Why I'm not watching "Fringe" anymore: the lead character used a flashlight during the DAY instead of opening the curtains in a room.)
And this GVD is because sometimes you need a little George Michael and Gerard Butler. At least I think this is GM.
Review of HBO's "True Blood" episode 4. "This episode introduces us to Eric Northman, the blond sexy vampire who owns the Shreveport vampire bar Fangtasia." (Best Fantasy Stories)
Interview with Alexander Skarsgard, who plays Eric in "True Blood." "I did this right after I did Generation Kill, which was very dirty and sweaty, so it was amazing to do something so flamboyant and extravagant as Eric. He’s the complete polar opposite of my character in that, Brad Colbert. He wears sleek European suits and expensive shirts. I have a long blonde wig, and I’m obviously pale." (Media Blvd.)
Review of"True Blood" episode 4. "I think I expected more from the vampire bar aptly named Fangtasia. Like bats flying or more than just a few people moving quickly as they table dance. It was more Friday’s (even selling T-shirts) than it was dark and brooding." (if Magazine)
MOVIES & DVDS
Here's the official poster for "Twilight." "It’s an MTV exclusive, it’s a thing of beauty, and it was photographed by 18-year-old wunderkind Joey Lawrence." (MTV) Gee, the poster looks like all the photos they've released before. Isn't Joey Lawrence the kid who was on "Blossom"?
Review of "Bram Stoker's Dracula's Guest." "The story of Dracula continues beyond its classic origins in this romantic horror-adventure sequel that puts the creator himself, Bram Stoker, in the role of protagonist." (Movie Impact)
Because I believe in continuity, here's a GVD featuring "Bad to the Bone" by George Thoroughgood. I like this song -- crank it up.
This GVD is for Tez, who will be in the continent as Clive Owen. And isn't that enough? It's a trailer for "The International" which will be released in 2009.
Plagiarist Update: She's closed off her paranormal blog to all but invited readers, but still has plagiarized reviews (including stolen reviews of my books) on her other blogs. RachaelfromNJ reviews Jennifer Rardin's Bitten to Death. "This latest adventure takes us to the ancient city of Patras in Greece where Vayl must face a group of vampires that he has known for hundreds of years." (What I am reading now...) Read excerpts from Jennifer Rardin's Jaz Parks books, including Bitten to Death. "I stood in the stone-paved courtyard of a Greek villa so old and refined it would’ve made me feel like a cave-dweller if I hadn’t been so pissed." (Jennifer Rardin)
Author Charlaine Harris blogs about The New Annotated Dracula and Wolfsbane and Mistletoe. "This massive book has more facts than you ever imagined, from the derivation of descriptive passages about Transylvania ([Bram] Stoker never went there) to speculation about the origins of the character of the count (some people think Dracula was modeled on the actor Stoker worked for).
Review of Fallen by Claire Delacroix. "Adam, formerly known as Munkar, is an angel volunteer -- one of many -- who's been sent to Earth to try to save humankind." (Fresh Fiction) Review of Deirdre Knight's Red Fire. "He is weary of battle and sore at heart. He regrets his immortality at times and has separated himself from the seven. " (Dear Author)
Review of the Swedish vampire film "Let the Right One In." "But instead of being sentimental, it asks some tough, adult questions, not just about the circulation of violence, but also about the complexities of children's emotional lives and the difficulty of emerging sexuality." (Canada.com)
Review of Katherine Bigelow's cult classic vampire movie, "Near Dark." "... a vampire movie that roughly wrenches itself free from the pop-culture preconceptions you normally find wrapped around the sub-genre, that smashes up Western and horror film imagery and ideas to create a distinctively dark hybrid of a film, a vampire movie so eager to challenge your expectations that it doesn't even have the word 'vampire' in it." (SF Gate) Interview with Cam Gigandet about his role as James in "Twilight." "He's charming, funny and good-looking enough to make every man jealous and every woman swoon. " (MTV)
Article about the music that "True Blood's" Bill Compton listens to. "But a press release from Dengue Fever's camp has just reminded me that Bill was indeed enjoying the excellent title track from the band's 2005 album Escape from Dragon House— which was also the name of Sunday night's ep. Love it." (Entertainment Weekly)
GRATUITOUS VIDEO OF THE DAY
There are some songs that elevate every video to art. George Thoroughgood's "Bad to the Bone" is one.
Yeah, I've had this one before, but it's worth a second look.
I'm still waiting for the plagiarist to remove her stolen reviews from her website. Want an example of the things she's stolen from other writers? Because I have lots.
Midnight Brew's guest is Joy Nash, author of Immortals: The Awakening.They've also got a contest! "In The Awakening, Coven of Light witch Christine Lachlan, on a quest to save the world from increasing death magic, travels to northern Scotland to track down the elusive Immortal Kalen—but finds out he’s no longer interested in humanity’s problems."
Review of Cassandra Clare's City of Ashes. "The action this time around is much darker, the pace more relentless. Simon’s biting of the vampire while a rat in the last book turns out to have severe consequences." (SciFi Guy) Love the cover.
Review of Chosen by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast. "Aimed at an older (15+) teen audience Zoey experiences illicit sex, witnesses the results of gory violence and suffers a cruel betrayal during the course of Chosen which makes for compulsive reading no matter what your age group." (Love Vampires)
Interview with Kitty Keswick, author of Freaksville. "In Freaksville, Kasey is sixteen… she’skind of caught between being a child and becoming woman. She just discovered she has powers and it freaks her out. She’s a bit of a drama queen." (Reading Keeps You Sane)
Vampire Wire is on a reduced schedule until I finish my manuscript. Go read a book.
AUTHORS & BOOKS
Open Letter to the Plagiarist: I'd heard talk that one of new blog "reviewers" was pilfering parts of her posts from established bloggers. When I had a chance to to look closely at the reviews she'd written for my books, very familiar phrases jumped out. I checked and she had stolen them from Booklist, Amazon customer reviews, etc. I checked her other reviews and all of them were substantially plagiarized from established publications, Amazon customers, and other bloggers. Some of them were cobbled together from several sources and some just copied one writer. The plagiarist would add an few opening and closing paragraphs of her own.
This was no young person making a foolish mistake in judgment. It was a person who has written for newspapers and magazines and knows very well that stealing even a few sentences would get her fired. It is a person who had been warned before by others. It's ironic that she adds a copyright at the end of her own stories.
This is what I'm asking the plagiarist to do: remove the stolen reviews from your blog. You may have to shut down your blog, because every review was stolen. You were caught by others before, I caught you, and you will be caught again. The same internet that makes it easy for you to steal, makes it easy for others to catch your theft. Don't fool yourself that nobody notices the stylistic differences in your writing. They are dramatic and obvious.
Ask yourself why you're stealing from others. I don't think it's laziness, because I think you actually read the books you "review." I think you go to a lot of work to find sources that reflect your own opinions. I think that putting together a coherent patchwork of those sources takes as much time as writing a simple original review.
Warning to Writers: This plagiarist has asked writers for their unpublished manuscripts. Why does a reviewer need to see books that haven't found a publisher? This may explain why her "fiction" posts are in a completely different voice than her own writing. No publisher, no trail of evidence on the internet. This takes her plagiarism to another level of maliciousness.
Review of The Sweet Scent of Blood by Suzanne McLeod. "Following the (mis)adventures of Genny Taylor, a Sidhe fae with the powerful ability to absorb magic but a complete inability to cast even simple spells, The Sweet Scent of Blood gets the series off to a strong start." (Love Vampires)
Review of Hotter After Midnight by Cynthia Eden. "Emily Drake suffered in her youth because of her ability to see the Other and hear their thoughts. Luckily, she received training and now works as the 'Monster Doctor' - a psychologist to vampires, charmers, and various beings that go bump in the night." (The Good The Bad The Unread) Kimberly Swan reviews Deadly Night by Heather Graham. "Ms. Graham knows exactly how to wrap her audience up in a ghostly tale and keep it believable. " (Darque Reviews)
Review of Russian Roulette by Erin McCarthy. "Sasha Chechikov is an ex vampire slayer turned vampire. After becoming a vampire the slayers that she was once a part of now want her dead." (Bibliophile Musings)
MOVIES & DVDS Thanks to Scott, who sent some interesting movie info! "Pan's Labyrinth's director Guillermo del Toro is collaborating with crime author Chuck Hogan on a trilogy of vampire novels, starting next summer with The Strain." (Shock Till You Drop) And this sounds like unfortunate news. "Cloverfield's Matt Reeves has been hired by Overture Films and Hammer Films to write and direct a remake of Let the Right One In." (Shock Till You Drop) The Swedish film, "Let the Right One In,"has gotten raves from people all over the world. So why are they remaking it and giving it to someone who failed with "Cloverfield"? Clueless.
TELEVISION & THE INTERNETS Interview with Stephen Moyer, who plays Bill Compton on HBO's "True Blood." "Unlike his character - a distant and mysterious vampire who has to control his violent nature - Moyer is open and giving in an interview. He’s also homesick." (Boston Herald) Review of "True Blood" episode 4, "Escape from Dragon House." "Alexander Skarsgard, son of actor Stellan Skarsgard, plays Eric Northam and it is the interaction between Sookie and Eric that climaxes in a moment that really gave me a feeling this show may be headed in the right direction." (Rope of Silicon)
Thanks for visiting my blog. I'm the author of the Casa Dracula books. Casa DraculaBook 4will be published October 2010. I'm happy to hear from readers; email me at marta AT martaacosta DOT com.
Authors and publishers are welcome to email me for interviews, contests, and nonsense. I am particularly interested in nonsense.
Rachael at What I am reading now... nominated me for a "I Heart Your Blog" award. Thanks, Rachael!
, like all my titles, is a very appropriate chess term." (Bitten by Books)
