Contest Winner & New Contest for THE RED TREE

"I would highly recommend this haunting, engaging, and thoughtful novel that is more powerful in its small moves and the ghosts of one’s past."

Rob H. Bedford, SFFWorld

"I confess: the first time I read this book, I couldn't stand it...The second time I fell in love with it, and now I'm thinking of buying a backup copy in case my house burns down."

Audrey Homan, Strange Horizons

The contest winner for JF Lewis's Staked is:

Steph of Fangs, Wands, and Fairy Dust

Congratulations, Steph! I enjoyed reading your comment about book covers, especially this:

I find this artistic dishonesty prevalent in book blurbs as well. His kisses convinced her to go along with the plan was something I read lately, and it was right in that he kissed her and she went along with his plan but wrong in the kisses being the reason why.

Well, that's the thing about Steph -- she has her own very interesting perspective on things. If you haven't had a chance to check out Steph's blog, hop on over to Fangs, Wands & Fairy Dust now! Steph has contests, reviews, and more. For example, she's got a great post about characters who carry a lot of baggage into their relationships. I have to love a blogger who studied Fantasy and Arthurian literature.


NEW CONTEST: I really want to read Caitlin R. Kiernan's The Red Tree, but I'll buy another copy for myself since this sounds so good I want to share it:
Publisher's summary:

Sarah Crowe left Atlanta, and the remnants of a tumultuous relationship, to live alone in an old house in rural Rhode Island. Within its walls she discovers an unfinished manuscript written by the house's former tenant - a parapsychologist obsessed with the ancient oak growing on a desolate corner of the property. And as the gnarled tree takes root in her imagination, Sarah risks her health and her sanity to unearth a revelation planted centuries ago.

Caitlin Kiernan's website. (Warning: designer overload.)

Reviewer Audrey Homan mentioned that she had changed her opinion dramatically about the book. To enter the contest, just leave a comment about something you changed your mind about. Is there a character you came to like in a book or movie after initially disliking the character? I'll say that I wasn't impressed the first time I watched Supernatural, and now I'm hooked.

The contest runs through December 15 and a winner will be chosen by random drawing. It is limited to the U.S. and Canada.


GRATUITOUS VIDEOS OF THE DAY

My theme is things that are wrong. Ash4897 made this new Supernatural tribute, with Depeche Mode's "Wrong."



Sookie gets things wrong in this True Blood video by Bro023.



Girlwiththebrokenheart0 made this Damon and Elena video with "I Was Wrong."



Here's 4ixuaxuaxuenik edited this terrific mashup of Faith from Buffy and Dean Winchester from Supernatural. An melancholic, spare and lovely "Am I Wrong?" by Nash.

Friday Off!

I've got to take off for a few days, but here are a few things to amuse you.

Rebecca at Dirty Sexy Books and Grace (from where it's not said) have dueling reviews of Chloe Neill's Twice Bitten. Both reviewers rave about this Chicagoland vampire novel.

If you’re like me, watching a slow simmer romance finally reach that boiling point is both deeply satisfying and deeply disappointing at the same time. I mean, I’m always happy to finally get that release, so to speak, but I’m also bummed because the sexual tension is gone, zapped, fried.

Rachel at Parajunkee's View has a very nice review of Haunted Honeymoon (Casa Dracula Book 4) on her site. She says:

This book was very enjoyable with a vivacious female lead and two sexy men vying for her attention, along with larger-than-life side characters and and interesting plot sequence - I'm definitely going back to read this one from the beginning.

Thanks, Rachel!

BLOG TO WATCH: I just added Parajunkee's View to my blogroll. Rachel describes her site as:

The blog is a promotion/review spot for books, movies and anything else that might be of interest to this generation that is obsessed with the FANGED FURRED & WINGY. The focus is BOOKS, specifically ones in the Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, YA Paranomal, Fantasy and Science Fiction genres.

She has contests, essays, and a neat feature with a mini-review above the longer in-depth review. She's quite prolific and amazingly well organized. Check it out!

Have a good weekend everyone!

2010 Cover Awards & SALTWATER ANGELS by Kirsty Eagar

Abigail at All Things Urban Fantasy is having an amazing contest with her 2010 Cover Awards for Urban Fantasy Books. There are over a dozen categories for covers and over a dozen prizes. I was very pleased that the cover of Haunted Honeymoon (Casa Dracula Book 4) was nominated as a Cover of the Year. (Haunted Honeymoon is also a Reviewers Nominee for Vampire Fiction Book of the Year at Romantic Times.)

I'm contributing one of books for the contest, but you can also win books by: Jeaniene Frost, Maggie Stiefvater, Cat Adams, and many more!

One of Abigail's prizes is Saltwater Vampire by Kirsty Eagar, a book I haven't heard of before, so I started checking around and, 1) it sounds amazing and 2) Danielle at Alpha Reader has a contest for it!

Here's the book summary:

He looked to the sky, praying for rain, a downpour, some sign from the heavens … But all he saw was the bloated white face of the moon smiling down on him … And the sky around it was cold and clear and black …

They made their circle of blood. And only the moon witnessed the slaughter that followed.

For Jamie Mackie, summer holidays in the coastal town of Rocky Head mean surfing, making money, and good times at the local music festival. But this year, vampires are on the festival line-up … fulfilling a pact made on the wreck of the Batavia, four hundred years ago. If their plans succeed, nobody in Rocky Head will survive to see out the new year.

When Danielle at Alpha Reader reviewed Saltwater Vampires, she said:

It’s an eclectic mix of the very best of Vampirism and Australian culture. It’s reminiscent of the 1987 cult-classic ‘The Lost Boys’, with a dash of Keanu’s ‘Point Break’, and a nod to the ‘Underworld’ movie franchise. But still with an Aussie flair...The eeriness of a black ocean at night, and the loneliness of crashing waves; Eagar captures this picturesque Australian scenery and turns it into an astonishingly spine-tingling gothic setting …

Visit Kirsty's website.

Read an excerpt of Saltwater Vampires.

Here's the trailer:




Something else fun: Anne Rice is often unpredictable and always interesting and I enjoy reading her take on things. New York Magazine has a new interview with Rice and she discusses her current writing, religion and vampire mythology, who she'd like to see cast as Lestat, and her take on Stephanie Meyer's Twilight books.

Is it about the weaker feminine in love with the stronger masculine? It has a lot of deep layers of meaning, and I think Stephenie Meyer hit on that again in the Twilight books. And she did this stroke of genius thing of having these menacing vampires go to high school. [Laughs.] Which, in a way, I thought was incredibly ridiculous. Because what immortal would spend his time going to high school over and over like that? Go to Katmandu or Memphis or Rio De Janiero or Rome! But it was a stroke of genius, because it gave great pleasure to millions of kids.

GRATUITOUS VIDEOS OF THE DAY

Anne Rice mentions several actors she'd like to see in film versions of her books, so these vids feature those guys. "There are so many brilliant actors coming out of Australia and Britain — Richard Armitage and Matthew McFadyen and Simon Woods — they’re just everywhere, really brilliant wonderful guys who articulate beautifully, who are physically beautiful themselves."



Simon Woods (had to look him up) plays Bingley in Pride & Prejudice.

Contest for SILVER ZOMBIE by Carole Nelson Douglas

I'm very happy to announce that Pocket Books/Simon & Schuster has generously donated a copy of Carol Douglas Nelson's brand new Silver Zombie, Delilah Street Book 4, for a CONTEST! Yesterday, I posted the book's description so today, I'll mention the other books in her series.

Curled Up with a A Book described Nelson's intriguing writing style in their review of Vampire Sunrise:

Her fantastic cast of characters, including Delilah Street, Ric Montoya, bloodthirsty werewolves and vampires, and the very bizarre supernatural, are back in action for book three. With Douglas’ penchant for past eras, it’s not surprising that she’s found a way to bring her passions to a futuristic, urban fantasy setting unlike any the fictional world has seen before.

Dancing with Werewolves: Book 1

Publisher's Description:

It was the revelation of the millennium: witches, werewolves, vampires and other supernaturals are real. Fast-forward 13 years: TV reporter Delilah Street used to cover the small-town bogeyman beat back in Kansas, but now, in high-octane Las Vegas – which is run by a werewolf mob – she finds herself holding back the gates of Hell itself. But at least she has a hot new guy and one big bad wolfhound to help her out…

Brimstone Kiss: Book 2

Publisher's Description:

Delilah and her partner – tall, dark, handsome, and Hispanic ex-FBI guy Ric Montoya – are busy solving a “Romeo and Juliet” double-murder, and she’s got plenty more to deal with: vampires, werewolves, and tigers, oh my!





Vampire Sunrise: Book 3

Publisher's Description:

Werewolf mobsters and vampires run Vegas, but that’s yesterday’s news for Delilah Street, paranormal investigator. What’s truly fearsome is her bloody discovery of an undead evil rooted in ancient Egypt. Now, with her lover Ric fighting for life after a grim battle, the chips are down.

Her affinity for silver is making mirror-walking a real breeze, and being forced to accept the albino rock star sorcerer Snow’s Brimstone Kiss has ramped up her powers to a startling new level. With the help of her trusty uber-wolfhound Quicksilver, not to mention the orange demon parking valet Manny, Delilah is determined to solve even more paranormal secrets...

TO ENTER THE CONTEST: Vegas has become one of the hot locales for paranormal stories and it's become known for everything from fine dining to family attractions. Leave a comment telling me what you'd do if you met up with a supernatural critter in Vegas? Would you play poker with werewolves? Hit the clubs with vampires? See the shows with zombies?

The contest runs through December 10 and is limited to the US and Canada. A winner will be selected by random draw.

Carole Douglas Nelson's Website


GRATUITOUS VIDEOS OF THE DAY

In honor of Silver Zombie, the theme is videos set to a song with a color in the title. Here's a tribute to Eric Northman of True Blood set to "Back in Black."



Oh, you gotta love this song. A tribute to Mick St. John of Moonlight and "Pretty Fly for a White Guy."



A tribute to Damon Salvatore of The Vampire Diaries set to "Supermassive Black Hole."



One of my fave tributes to Spike of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and "Behind Blue Eyes."



Well, I couldn't skip Dracula 2000 featuring "Black Black Heart."