Couple of Contests & Bob Segerastice "Supernatural"

Love Vampires is having a giveaway for Jeri Smith-Ready's Bad to the Bone and Wicked Game. It's open to US, UK, and Canada residents.

Reviewer and author Patricia Altner recently mentioned Susan Blexrod's Love Fang as one of her favorite new discoveries. Fang-tastic Books is having a contest for an autographed copy of Love Fang.

Tez Says shares the cover art for the UK version of Caitlin Kittredge's Night Life.

I just visited an author's site for info on her books. I waited for the load to finish because one of the columns was unreadable, dark type against a dark background. Nope, that's the way it was designed. Then I went looking for a book cover. You have to click through one link and then another trying to find a graphic that can be shared. I was going to post her book cover at top here, but now I'm kind of annoyed. Authors, do not listen to everything your designer suggests! Readers want to know about your books, want easy to manage links, want a bibliography. Designers want to make your site look cool. Different goals.


Last night's episode of "Supernatural" was "The Song Remains the Same," and it was the show I love again. There were the dangerous angels, Winchester parents, apocalyptic story line, and Sam and Dean acting brave and noble, willing to make sacrifices for their mother that they wouldn't make for anyone (or everyone) else.

Maureen Ryan at the Chicago Tribune had quibbles with the episode, and I have to admit that I agree with most of them. But, frankly, I was just happy not to see the Winchesters dealing with teenage boy angst which marred the last few shows. I do think that someone (Eric Kripke, I'm talking to you!) should have a fairly strict hand in making sure every episode contributes to the overall arc of the story. It should all build in importance. But long-time series frequently meander off. Think about "The X-Files" and "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer."

"Doctor Who" may have an easier time of keeping up the tension, since we know that each Doctor will die and be brought back in a different body. The Doctors know it, too, and deal with their eminent deaths/revivals with humor, anger, sorrow... Well, that's the thing about "Doctor Who" and "Torchwood" -- the shows don't hesitate to kill beloved leading characters. It's maddening, but it also makes the stories have more import. Because the story is clearly more important than popularity of the actors, or dragging on a show until it can be put in syndication.


GRATUITOUS VIDEOS OF THE DAY

On the radio this morning, I heard a Bob Segar song and it was frickin awesome and I thought I'm totally buying some Segar songs. Enjoy Bob Segar Friday.







And while we're being all retro, I'll send you out to your weekend with a little "Foreigner."

Contest Winners & Living in the Wild, Wild West

The contest for a copy of Patricia Altner's Vampire Readings is over and the winner is:

SARAH

Congratulations, Sarah! Sarah's blog is Sarah's Book Reviews, so I'm sure Patricia's guide to vampire fiction will be especially helpful. Sarah, please send me an email with your mailing address and I'll forward it on to Patricia.

Thanks, too, to Patricia for talking to me and for answering our questions. I recommend that fans of the genre sign up for Patricia's Vampire Notes newsletter for news about books, reviews, interviews and contests. It's a must-read email in my inbox.

A New Contest Winner: I have been waiting and waiting for the final winner of my Carrie Vaughn/Kitty Norville contest to send her mailing address to me. (To those who are waiting for their prizes, sorry for the delay.) So I've drawn another winner for the contest.

Congratulations, Amanda Leigh! You've won a copy of Kitty's House of Horrors! Send me your mailing address so I can give the winners' info to Hachette Books. Hachette is always great about remembering online fans of fiction.

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"Lost" Season Premiere


Okay, all I've got to say is fricking Mark Pellegrino. Why is it when directors are thinking, "Hmm, I want to cast a guy who is supernaturally powerful and totally awesome and can cause the apocalypse and lives eternally and can make islands move," they cast Mark Pellegrino?

How do these directors have Mark Pellegrino play these awesome roles? Like some sensitive, Dockers wearing, mini-van driving, golden retriever owning, yuppie father of two. Case in point: he plays Satan in "Supernatural," who sits on the bed and chats about the end of the world and can't take over your body without your permission. Wow, that's some powerful devil. I mean, powerfully polite! (I blame Eric Kripke for writing Satan this way.)

Then the actor plays Jacob in "Lost" in exactly the same "I'm watching my carbs and taking yoga and I've got just the right amount of three-day beard to make me edgy!" low-key way.

I'm sure he's fabulous in other roles. But as the ultimate evil or some ancient powerful god? I think not.

I tried to watch the premiere of "Lost" since this is the final season. But I just could not care. It is a hot mess and I seriously doubt the writers actually have control of the plot. (What plot?) Also, when there are parallel universes, it doesn't matter if a character dies, since he or she will just be brought back again five minutes later. This is a genius way to suck all emotional impact right out of the story.

It doesn't seem to matter when the mysterious yuppie beachcomber ancient god gets stabbed and dies. Because you get really bored of all the elliptical and cryptic dialog. You're like, "Would someone stab this guy already and throw his Dockers-wearing ass in the temple fire pit?"

I'm not saying you have to be violent to be scary. I saw Kurt Fuller on "Psych" the other day, and he was quite funny as a quirky mortician. "Supernatural" fans will know Fuller as scary, bad-news Zachariah. And the thing is, Fuller can wear a suit, speak calmly and be scary as hell as he tries to bribe your soul away with icy-cold beer and really great hamburgers. Hell should be scary. The devil should be scary.

What was I saying anyway? Oh, yeah, I am so over "Lost." Unless they bring back Jacob yet again as played by Kurt Fuller. Then I'd watch.

Here's the "Supernatural" trailer for tonight's episode.




GRATUITOUS VIDEOS OF THE DAY

This has to be one of the worst music videos I've ever seen. But I mentioned that this song came up on my iTunes yesterday and a bunch of people told me how much they loved it. If you're sensitive, you may want to avert your eyes.



And now we return to our regular programming.





Tell me what you think of this. I object to the line, "When you kiss me I want to die," because how bad can one person kiss anyway? Luckily the clip of Spike's speech counteracts some of the corn-factor.

Nicole Hadaway Guest Blog & Contest

I'm happy to welcome Nicole Hadaway, author of Release, as my guest blogger today. Nicole will be giving away a copy of her e-book in a contest. To enter the contest, leave an answer to her question at the end of the blog. The contest runs through Saturday night, February 6, and a winner will be chosen by random drawing. Thanks, Nicole!

You can read the full description of her book on her blog, but here's a bit:

Forever. That’s the response Ben Gongliewski receives, when he asks Miranda Dandridge how long she’s been a vampire. He doesn’t expect the word forever in her reply, but then again, Ben never imagined meeting vampires, let alone demons and werewolves, during his time as a Resistance worker in World War II Poland. Far from being horrified, Ben discovers that Miranda and her friends have very useful … talents … especially when it comes to saving children from concentration camps.

Welcome, Nicole!

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How Do You Like Your Vamps? Well-Done, Medium, or Over-Easy?

I’ve been thinking about the evolution of the vampire, from the evil, soulless being set forth in the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker, to the newer, nicer generation of Twilight.

I guess the idea of the “noble vampire” is not so new; Anne Rice pioneered the concept back in the late ‘70’s with Interview With a Vampire. However, it seems that movies in the 1980’s (The Lost Boys, Fright Night, Near Dark) had vamps who killed humans to drink their blood, weren’t sorry about it, and had no qualms about turning others into the soulless undead.

Then came the late 1990’s and with it – the vampire with a soul, Angel. He didn’t kill for food (unless it was a bad guy), and he helped people out. He wouldn’t even think of turning Buffy, because then she would lose her goodness. Plus, he was way, way hot. Others followed in his wake: Mick St. John and Nick Knight, and even Henry Fitzroy: guys who wanted to stop crimes from being committed against human beings, almost as if it atoned for their condition. They didn’t want anyone else to suffer from their curse so they refrained from turning their love interests.

Somewhere in between The ‘it’s fun to be a vampire’ Lost Boys and Angel is Henry Fitzroy, who happens to be one of my favorites, done medium. He helps solve mysteries and prevent crimes from happening (helping out the humans), but he’s unapologetic for being a vampire (yay!). He loves playing with his food (sign me up for the menu, please!) and the only reason he won’t turn Vicki is because, according to the Blood Ties mythology, it would mean that he and Vicki would stop being lovers because their territorial, competitive natures would take over (Dang! That’s the only drawback to Fitzroy, because I’d certainly want to be a vampire along with him).

On the opposite end of the vampire spectrum are The Cullens. They’re so good they don’t drink human blood (not even from blood banks or willing donors), forcing themselves to hunt animals instead. Though they’re not in the ‘detective’ genre like many of the afore-mentioned vampires, Carlisle Cullen does do good for the human race with his doctoring skills. They certainly respect human life enough to become ‘vegetarians’ and try to fit in with the rest of the us, enduring high school after high school after high school (once was more than enough for me!).

So, how do you like your vampires? Well done and using humans only for food, as in Guillermo del Toro’s The Strain, Stephen King’s ‘Salem’s Lot, or the new movie release Daybreakers? Or should they be impeccably mannered in a sweet car and take you to the prom like in Twilight? The romantic, misunderstood hero in Bram Stoker’s Dracula (the movie) or the evil bloodsucker determined to raise an army in the Hammer films? I prefer mine medium – a little bit bad, but not so much that they only want me as food, a la Fitzroy and Fright Night.

The good thing is, these days, you don’t really have to choose just one from the menu – it’s a veritable buffet out there with a wide open bar. Enjoy your vampires!

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Remember to leave a comment telling Nicole how you like your vampires if you'd like to enter the contest for an e-copy of Release.

March Releases, "Teen Wolf," and "Lost" Premiere

You've still got time to enter the contest for Patricia Altner's Vampire Readings! It ends tomorrow night, February 3.

I was delighted to learn that Eileen Rendahl has an urban fantasy, Don't Kill the Messenger, which will be released on March 2. This is Eileen's first venture into urban fantasy, and I wish her well with her new series!

Here's the publisher's description:

Melina Markowitz is a Messenger, a go-between for paranormal forces and supernatural creatures. Problem is, when a girl's a go-between, it's hard not to get caught in the middle... When ninjas steal an envelope from Melina, her search leads her to a Taoist temple in Old Sacramento, where the priests seem to practice Zen and the art of mayhem.

Melina learns from the handsome ER doctor (and vampire) who gave her the envelope that it contained talismans created by the priests to control Chinese vampires, who are attacking gang members to spark a street war...

Here's another March release.

Wild Ride by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer

Publisher's Description:

Mary Alice Brannigan doesn’t believe in demons. She does believe in saving Dreamland, the decaying amusement park in her home town that she’s been hired to restore. But when odd things begin to happen in the park, she investigates and discovers that Dreamland is a prison for the Untouchables, the five most powerful demons in the history of the world. And if that wasn’t enough to deal with, there’s a guy she’s falling hard for, and there’s something about him that’s not quite . . . right...

Jennifer Crusie's website


The final season of "Lost" will premiere tonight. There's already talk about spin-offs. I hope they'll do a show with Sawyer (Josh Holloway) and Sayid (Naveen Andrews) where they return to civilization and start a dating service slash spy agency. They could call it something like "Hot and Bothered." Every episode would feature our hunky stars trying to find the right partner for some hapless loser while also trying to stop a metaphysical catastrophe that imperils the world.

I don't know if this is good or bad, but MTV will be airing a series based on "Teen Wolf," which starred marvelous Michael J. Fox. According to Dread Central:

"Remember now that MTV is shooting for more of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Vampire Diaries' dark teen drama with flashes of humor tone for their Twilight baiting 'Teen Wolf' series premiering next year on the channel that used to actually run music videos."

Let us take a moment to consider Joss Whedon's intelligent, clever, moving, thrilling "Buffy" series. Now let consider MTV's usual fare: "The Real World," "Jersey Shore," "Parental Control," et cetera. MTV's idea of subtlety is an anvil falling on your head. No, one anvil isn't sufficient for them. A dumptruck load of anvils.


GRATUITOUS VIDEOS OF THE DAY

Today's GVDs are in honor of "Lost."

Adios to "Dollhouse," So Young and So Soon!

I'm not saying anything about "Dollhouse" because I missed the last episode and forgot to record it. I hope stuupid Fox will show it again. The show started out at a disadvantage because Fox said to the show's creator, Joss Whedon, if you let us guide you in the direction of the first season, you can do what you want later.

Joss was like Charlie Brown and Fox was Lucy with the football. They'd screwed him before with "Firefly," yet he trusted the network again as they interfered with his show to crank up ratings. Entertainment Weekly breaks down the winners and losers and says, "by doing things like the reported big-footing interference in the early-panic stage of the series, not airing 'Epitaph One,' and burning off the second season on Friday nights, Fox looks a bit squirrely."

In the immortal words of Bart Simpson, "Watch Fox and be damned to hell for eternity."

So Whedon was too trusting with Fox, but what kind of idiots are at this network? If you've got a talent like Whedon, you let him do whatever he wants to because he's smarter and more creative than anyone else around. He had to try to make the show work despite Fox's damaging his first season and then announcing the cancellation.

The show had an interesting cast led by Eliza Dushku of "Buffy" and "Angel." Olivia Williams was terrific as the icily elegant Adelle DeWitt, but the surprise of the cast for me was Enver Gjokaj as Victor. His imitation of Topher Brink (Fran Krantz) was inspired. Alan Tudyk was marvelous playing against type as the psychopathic Alpha.



Pretty entertaining rant from Jeremy Jahns against Fox, but there's some cursing so don't play it loud in your office.


GRATUITOUS VIDEO OF THE DAY


Adios, "Dollhouse." I hope Joss Whedon will find some network who gives him with the artistic license he deserves.