Jacqueline Carey Giveaway, Ugh "True Blood" Marketing

Just a quick post today since I'm at the final stage of my current rewrite.

SciFi Guy has an interview with Jacqueline Carey and a giveaway for five copies of her new urban fantasy, Santa Olivia. "Initially, my editor and I were concerned that coming out with a book so completely unlike anything I’m known for writing could have a negative impact on sales momentum."

Amanda at Love Vampires reviews Keri Arthur's Chasing the Shadows. "The Nikki and Michael books are a four-part serial vampire romance that always features the same protagonists: Nikki (a psychic PI) and Michael (a 360 year old supernatural investigating vampire) so it is necessary to read these books in series order."

If you're reading lots of paranormal/urban fantasy anyway, why not get college credit for it? Aurora University has a class on vampires. (Aurora, land of Wayne and Garth, is also a city where I have lots of teen readers. Coincidence, or not?) "But vampire narratives also probe themes with teeth. The fanged fiends offer an unusual perspective on cultural changes and taboos about gender and sexuality." (Chicago Tribune)

The marketing team behind "Twilight" and "New Moon" is sleazily passing itself off as a fan-generated production in order to generate new ways to suck money from them. "'By Fans For Fans' my ass. Try 'By Studios For Stalkers.' This has got to be one of the biggest marketing scams of all time." (Screencave)

Personally, I hate the marketing team behind HBO's "True Blood," who passes off an extremely expensive, traditional, manipulative campaign as viral marketing. They spam bloggers with crap because they want us to sell for them, but don't bother to respond to our return emails. Exploitive marketing is not "edgy" marketing. It's the same old.

Here's what an HBO marketing exec says about their new "True Blood" campaign. ""We're always looking for ways to do something unique and unexpected and break through the clutter..." Ugh. Why not just have the actors go to a dialect coach so their accents aren't all over the place? Why not just make a great show? Why not spend the money on designing and building more convincing sets?

See, this is exactly what I mean about "True Blood's" sleazy marketing team -- passing off a paid advertisement as an actual blogger opinion piece. "Gawker found itself in the middle of an advertising-blurring-with-editorial controversy after our sales department and HBO pretended that an advertorial blog was a Gawker editorial property." (Gawker) Deceptive is not "innovative." It's more of the same old.

Jackson Rathbone, who got nominated in the Ultimate Hawt Vampire Poll for his role as Jasper Hale in "Twilight," will now rock on in the flick "Lords of Chaos." "Rathbone, who plays the most volatile 'Twilight' vampire in the Cullen family, will make a shift from one dark character to another..." (Access Hollywood)

I'm a "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" fan, so it makes me very nervous that a movie is in the words without the wonderfully talented Joss Whedon. "'Buffy' creator Joss Whedon isn't involved and it's not set up at a studio, but Roy Lee and Doug Davison of Vertigo Entertainment are working with original movie director Fran Rubel Kuzui and her husband, Kaz Kuzui, on what is being labeled a remake or relaunch, but not a sequel or prequel." (Hollywood Reporter)


GRATUITOUS VIDEO OF THE DAY

I noticed that I had a few video links parked in my email inbox that I never posted here. Just a little eye candy featuring Richard Armitage, Rufus Sewell, Toby Stephens, and Gerard Butler.




I adored Doyle in "Angel." He was played byIrish actor Glenn Quinn, who died shortly after the character did. He gave the character humor, charm, an aching vulnerability that made his moments of bravery more striking. Here's a video with him and Cordelia.

'80s Vampire Week & New "New Moon" Pics

Last week we decided that Rob Lowe, in his Brat Pack era, would have made the perfect Twilight-ish vampire since he naturally sparkles in the sunlight and is impossibly pretty. Also, he has never aged in the decades that he's been on film. Going from teen idol to ordinary human is an impossible task, but Lowe cleverly spoofed his own image by spoofing himself in "Wayne's World."

So as Vampire Wire looks back at the '80s -- big hair, bigger shoulder pads, skinny pants, and some criminally bad whiny songs, we ask, what other '80s stars would make great vampires?

I'll be nominating stars over the week. Here's my first one: Jennifer Beals in "Flashdance." She's inhumanly pretty, her dancing couldn't possibly be done by one real woman, she's up at all hours, men lurve her madly, and she has the magical power to convince millions to wear a stupid style.

Tell me who you think would be a good vamp, sparkly or not. But sparkly is better.

Read an interview with Kim Harrison about her public persona, writing, and her soon-to-be-released teen novel, Once Dead, Twice Shy. "I don't have vampires or witches this time; I have reapers and fallen angels. I didn't tailor it too much toward young readers except in the areas of language (just a wee bit), and of course the sex came out. My heroine doesn't really have a relationship at this point, but she's in high school -- she's not dead, romance-wise!" (Locus)

Gwenda Bond writes about the public's passion for paranormal and urban fantasy in romance novels. "Writers of all kinds of paranormal are experiencing a major surge, and the variety of work being published under the banners of paranormal romance and urban fantasy shows no sign of diminishing anytime soon." (Publishers Weekly) Lots of good stuff in this well-researched column, particularly about how books are classified how the trend was generated and is being influenced.

Here's a very late review of the terrific Swedish vamp film, "Let the Right One In." "Alfredson’s film sticks to showing vampires as what they truly are: undead, bloodsucking monsters who burst into flames when caught in sunlight. While doing so, he also shows them as sad creatures, in need of love and friendship." (Examiner)

Speaking of foreign vamp films, "Thirst" is a big hit at the Cannes Film Festival, so I hope it will be shown in the U.S. "South Korean director Park Chan-wook won the jury prize at the Cannes film festival Sunday for his thriller "Thirst (Bakjwi)" about a priest-turned vampire struggling with his desire for blood and sex..."

Entertainment Weekly has new photos from the set of the "Twilight" sequel, "New Moon." Is it just me, or has someone given Edward Cullen (Rob Pattinson) a cool '80s feathered back 'do? Oh, if only Bella would get big hair and tie it back with a scarf!


GRATUITOUS VIDEO OF THE DAY

Robert Palmer, who passed away too early, had the quintessential '80s vampirish song with the perfect '80s vampire image on his video "Addicted to Love." If you don't have this on your iTunes, then I feel sorry for you. Video courtesy of MTV, but you have to watch a commercial first for my local guys, Green Day, so it's okay.

Robert Palmer - New Music - More Music Videos

I've got to take my dogs out for a walk before they go crazier, so here's a vampire video from RobertPattinsonfan.