Bad Moon, Hot Eric!

Last night, I spent some time with some old friends, in Bon Temps, Louisiana. I learned some things, met some new people, and was surprised that I’m still pissed off about the first 10 minutes. As I previously moaned, the World of Faerie was not a pleasant experience. It was not believable in the least! I didn’t like the fiery faerie-balls and aside from Mab’s morphing powers, it was quite contrived. The faerie world should probably not be closed off so soon, but at least it was a relatively close approximation of a great divide.




Deer in Headlights...

 With that unpleasant piece of business out of the way, on to the real reason we’re here. We find Sookie, a year later in the graveyard where she started, but this time, she endures the loss of her grandfather who feathers away, like smoke in the wind. I don’t think this girl is capable of showing any signs of grief other than a few random tears. AB, you probably need to work on that… you know, to help us feel the pain.

Speaking of painful, Tara, I mean Tony… no, that’s just Tara, kissed a girl, and I think she liked it. I find her just as angry and mixed up as she’s always been in the television version, only this time living in New Orleans. Is that domestic violence, considering she beat her girlfriend to smithereens in a cage fight? Did Charlaine Harris intend for her to be an AFC contender? Confused there… but, at least she seems marginally happy in her own alternate universe, hiding out from reality.

Lafayette, Jesus, and the witches are a real trip. The coven, or covenicity of it all was almost scary to watch. The chanting was a little freaky, but I was taken with the bird resurrection. And, I like Jesus and Lafayette in a relationship. He seems to balance our boy, Mr. Gumbo way the hell out. He probably needed it.

Jessica ain’t gonna make it as June Cleaver. She may not even be able to cut the mustard as theangry mother from the George Lopez show. She makes a mess of the kitchen and almost the same to a fang banger that make a b-line for her in Fangtasia. She looked at him like Sylvester looks at Tweety… Poor Hoyt. I see heartbreak in his future.

Pam wore two fierce, with a capital FEAR to the C-E, outfits. I would love to spend a day in her closet. Jeez. I would guess being right hand to the baddest vamp in town would cause you to step your game up. Sorry, that had no real relevance to the happenings on the show, but man do I need a new leather dress!

The state of the vampires on the other hand is totally upside down. Eric is just as yummy as we would expect. He, as a tax paying citizen of Bon Temps, is fantastic in his public service announcement. I’d vote for him! Since Sookie has been gone, he’s purchased her house, and she now has no power to bar him from entry, as she found out after getting out of a shower that was several months overdue. He advises her that she is his… she looks confused and perplexed. I don’t think he would get any fight from me, but I guess she has to be cautious considering she is fresh off her breakup with Bill.

In the shifter world – Jason’s on ice, after taking on the responsibilities for the rogues of Hot Shot in Crystal’s absence, wherever the hell she is. They put my dear, sweet Jason into the freezer. I wanted to hit them with a shovel! Since we can safely assume that he doesn’t die, since the books have him still alive and we have our trusty previews to show him in future episodes, I know that he’ll be okay, but I just don’t like it. Sam seems to be in some sort of shifter-anger-management. Glad to see that he’s not a dog again.

There’s a new King in town… and he’s who? It’s Bill! What a surprise… not! I guess AB does have some wood for Bill, considering he made him the head of the whole roust. And it would seem that he made Portia a lot hotter than in the books.

The roundup of secondary characters – Rene and Arlene’s baby promises to be a real loon. Those poor Barbie dolls didn’t stand a chance. And, Andy Bellefleur is a hopped up V-head. I guess the only real difference from last season being that he’s on V, because he’s always be a bit OCD about his job.

At this point, I can say that we should probably toss the books into the wind because some of this is totally off mark, for instance, the ugly faeries. They weren’t anything like the book. I like a lot of the things that HBO has done. The play up on some of the secondary characters is interesting to watch. There are some things that he retained, which was good, but he is going in a totally different direction than we would have assumed. The question is, do we like it that way, or not? What do you think?

Farwell to Dame Liz

Cleopatra was my very first epic film. I was very young in 1980, I mean primer young! I was in love with the story. I know, I know - historical inaccuracies and all, but I still loved that movie. 
Part of the draw was Elizabeth Taylor.
She was larger than life.  She filled every corner of my living room and her entire being oozed romance. One little tidbit that I didn't know at 8 years old.  She was paid a cool $1,000,000 for her role in that movie: she was the very first actress to fetch that type of dough.

I remember my mother saying that, "Liz's had more men that Carter's got liver pills!"  Whatever that meant.  She'd been married 8 times.  Twice to the same dude - Richard Burton.  He gave her a 69-carat diamond ring... can you imagine? 69-carats!

Most of all things, I loved that Elizabeth Taylor wasn't afraid of living. Regardless of public scrutiny, she made her decisions, good or bad ("I'm not taking anything away from Debbie (Debbie Reynolds) because she really never had it (Eddie Fischer)."), and she stuck to them.

Unapologetic, she was a warrior. She seemed to exude grace and elegance, and just underneath the surface, she was a powder keg of excitement.

So, this morning, I pay homage to the Great Dame - Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor. May she rest in peace. She will be greatly missed.

"Richard came on the set and sort of sidled over to me and said: "Has anybody ever told you that you're a very pretty girl?" 'I thought, Oy gevalt, the great lover, the great wit, the great Welsh intellectual, and he comes out with a corny line like that! But then I noticed his hands were shaking as if he had Saturday night palsy. He had the worst hangover I'd ever seen. And he was obviously terrified of me. I just took pity on him. I realized he really was human. That was the beginning of our affair."


                                                    - Elizabeth Taylor -
                                                            1932 - 2011

Hey - Who Put the UF in my PNR??

A disturbing trend indeed... When you go to the bookstore *remember to choose Borders* and pick up a book that is firmly and prominently placed in the paranormal romance section, you wouldn't expect readers that shop for urban fantasy to choose the exact same book... would you?

If you said no, well, that's what I thought too.

So, imagine my surprise when a the Fever Series popped up in urban fantasy? I am a firm believer in folks exploring their right to choose - either urban fantasy/scifi vs. paranormal romance.  But what I don't understand is how the two can be so easily confused.

Urban Fantasy is a set of unreal, made up characters that are created and dreamt up so to speak and placed in contemporary settings.  While this may include vampires and weres, there should, in my humble opinion be some other element to contribute to the fantasy.  Say, humans that live for thousands of years, or raining upside down, or a world with low gas prices. You know, totally fictitious elements.

Paranormal Romance is a romance subgenre, mustn't forget that, between two beings, usually a human and a supernatural being set in any place, time, or planet.  There must be romance. 

UF has no romance requirements.
PNR must have a romance component.
UF without nuts.
PNR with nuts.

Please pardon the pun.

At any rate, this leads me to the very appropriate distinction between the two.

I'm on the look out for impostors ~ camouflaged UF with elements of romance... Have you seen any? I have a sneaking suspicion that Moning may have a little.

Any others that you know of? Inquiring minds want to know.

Aliza

Where I've Been and Where I'm Going!

Hello Paranorms!

I know, it's been a full four months since I've touched base with you guys and it is a travesty!  I'm not sure how you'll forgive me, but I will do my level best to get better!
Huh? What's that you say? What have I been up to? Well, glad you asked!

I have some news that isn't quite ready to be shared yet! The moment I have the official word, I'll share it with you!  So happy about that. I can tell you that I'm finishing my MFA - Creative Writing with an emphasis on Screenwriting. Exciting, right? Love my classes!

But even in all that hoopla, I haven't forgotten about you guys! 


HBO has been busy as well! They're over there gearing up for the next season of TrueBlood! I am all a flutter.  We left them with Sookie and Bill's breakup, some faeries, and a few wolves in the mix.
Next up... the WITCHES! I personally love witches!  They are pretty awesome! 
When do we get to partake in this myriad of supernatural beings?
June! June 13, 2011 from what I understand!
Until then, here's the teaser from the folks over at HBO to wet your whistle!

Casting A New Spell

In the words of Jim Carey's Mask - SPPPOOOKKKEYYY!!
Ha, that was fun!


The series that has captured my heart and attention most recently is the Chicagoland Vampire series! My Kindle is a-fire with all the juicyliciousness that is going on! It would be lovely, LUR-VER-LY I say, if these series could make its way onto the big screen! What's not to love about a Eng Lit Grad student turned Vampire??  I love this storyline! It's sexy and driven! Love it!  Once I'm done with the second book, I'll give you a big fat review of it!

And, just for your general awareness... I will be in attendance at this years RWA Conference in beautiful New York! Times Square to be exact! Can't wait. I'll be blogging from there, via iPad... I'm concerned about my technological aptitude, but I'm sure there is an iPad for dummies crash course that I can take to help me get over my ineptitude! 


Til next time, Vampire Kisses to you!

NPI Day 1 Total = 251

Hi guys,

Novel Push Initiative got off to a roaring start today.
My story is about a couple of young musicians on the rise to fame when suddenly confronted with a reality that jeopardizes their careers and even worse, their friendship.  I know it sounds a little Lifetime, but you know, my NaNoWriMo story is intense.
I need this after school special to get my mind right for the big dance!
Today = 251 Words!
Woo Hoo - Tune in tomorrow to keep up with my word count and progress.

P.S. I really miss True Blood, even though they dropped off with the faeries! LOL  Well, if you pop over to the HBO site, you'll find all sorts of cool stuff!

Jessica's Blog: Signing Off For A While

Have a great night, y'all!

Aliza