Blood Noir

I finished Blood Noir (Anita Blake book 16) by Laurell K Hamilton Thursday. The book was actually better than I expected (not saying it was good), but I also had very low expectations.

Anita agrees to go with Jason back to his home town to prove to his dying father that he isn't gay. Unfortunately, the rich politician's twin sons look exactly like Jason. This causes all sort of problems because one of the sons is suppose to be getting married and the press are having a field day. There is also some more drama with Marmee Noir and the some of the other men in Anita's life.

The first chapter I thought was horrible writing. The second through fourth chapters were an extended sex scene where Nathaniel held Anita down while Jason had his way with her then Nathaniel handcuffed her and had his way with Anita as well. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to get through the book if the this was how the rest of it was going to play out. But maybe Hamilton has either gotten all the cheesy sex out of the way or she is finally listening to her old fans, because the rest of the book had only one other sex scene in detail and the 2 day orgy was glossed over! I was suprised but not disapointed that I didn't have to read the nasty details of several men, animals, and who knows what have their way with Anita and vice-versa.

I thought the plot of 2 other men looking EXACTLY like Jason was kind of lame. Jason hasn't been back in town for years, even identical twins look different as they grow up and go through different experiences and develope different tastes and styles. Jason isn't even an identicle twin to the other guys.

Micah is barely mentioned, Nathaniel only takes part in the first few chapters, and Jean-Claude is mentioned on and off throughout, but he doesn't play a large role. There is a scene where Richard is present, but this book is mostly about Anita and Jason. Richard still acts psycho, and of course, Anita is all-powerful, ever developing more skills, powers, and "impossible" characteristics. At the rate she is going, within the next book or 2 (or 3) maybe she will even become a God. Afterall, nothing can defeat Anita Blake. Only for she is the impossible possible.

Finally a True Blood Promo

Also a G4 interview from comiccon with more show clips, taken from Revenant One's:

... they also say there is lots of sex. Vampire sex and human sex. they "absolutely" take advantage of the fact that they can show more stuff (sex) than regular cable.

"I think people who love the books will love the show" - we'll see.
Listen to it for yourself.

There Just May Be Hope Yet For True Blood

Here is a discussion about the first pilot episode (the one I wrote about earlier today) and the changes that were made for the revised edition. Looks like it might be a lot better!

Review of the Leaked Episode of True Blood and Wise Words From Anita Blake...

I watched the leaked pilot episode to True Blood last night. And well, um, let’s just say I was disappointed. Yes, 99% of the time the books are always better than the movie/TV show/any visual representation. When you read a book you love you fabricate the characters and their behaviors in your mind. Even if the author says something describing the character, you may already have your heart set on what they are like.

The show wasn’t disappointing because of the characters though. Sure I didn’t picture Sam the way the actor on the show is, or Lafayette, or Bill, or even Sookie, but the show was disappointing because of the “creative” differences between the books.

The first five minutes it is mentioned that New Orleans has been destroyed by the hurricane; that’s understandable, it has already happened for us even if it didn’t already happen in the first Sookie book. It was the graphic, cheesy sex scenes that made me want to turn the show off. I think the show would have been better on basic cable rather than HBO who needs to sell the show with sex.

SPOILER: They show a video of a sex scene with a vampire; which is absolutely stupid. It’s like soft-core porn, but then the vampire gets all crazy demonic for the camera (head turning, eyes glowing, the works). You hear about Jason taping his rough sex escapades with several women in the book… but I don’t care to see it explicitly played out.

I’m team Eric myself, but even I was disappointed with how Bill is portrayed. Bill looks more like a 40 year old zombie than an attractive vampire. I couldn’t take the brooding look, the overhanging brow, as he looked up with his head down, trying to seem all mysterious. He definitely looked dead, that’s for sure.

Lafayette isn’t as flamboyant as I thought he would be. No big deal on that one. I didn’t care to hear him dance around the kitchen yelling “p***y” and how men are afraid of what’s between a woman’s legs though. He also briefly mentioned the sex parties he as gone too… looks like HBO is going to bring in more sex because it is mentioned somewhere in the books.

Overall, the show is a bit cheesy (that’s okay, I can do cheesy) but HBO has gone a little too far to sell the show with sex. I think that most of the fans of the Southern Vampire series are going to be disappointed… I think Bill fans will be even more disappointed.

I don’t have HBO and I wouldn’t pay for it just for the show. I might be able to get into it if I really wanted to maybe. Definitely watch the first episode for yourself. I want to support Charlaine Harris, but I’m not too thrilled about the HBO version of the Southern Vampire Series.

Despite my detests, I started reading Blood Noir. I know I said I wasn't going to read it, but it came to me through the library and I had nothing to read; so I gave in. I'm only half-way though but I had to share this gem:

According to Anita Blake (or Laurell K Hamilton), if you are only allowed to have sex missionary style and only in the bed, well, "it's like a small death. It kills the soul" (page 11).

I won't share anything else, but I thought that was golden. I literally laughed out loud.

Handmade Vampire Buys

If you aren't already familiar with the fabulous Etsy, you need to go do so now! Etsy is a huge collection of stores filled with all kinds of nifty handmade items. You can get everything from art to baby socks to website design, to jewelry.... they have everything. Plus, you are supporting handmade items. That being said, here is some of my top vampire picks:

Bookplates by PinkFairyWand


Vampire Book Bag by BabastudioPrague


Nosferatu Case by MorbidDecor


Vlad Purse by DeadandUndead


Vampire Teeth Necklace by MelodyDoll


Bela Lugosi Magnets by AtomKid


Twilight Charm Bracelet by Millie5328


Blood Martini Glasses by CCCreations


Cigarette Case by SweetHeartSinner

FRIDAY! Links, News, and More

Thank God it’s Friday! I cannot get out of this office quick enough.

Marta Acosta, the author of the smart and funny Casa Dracula’s books and blog Author of Vampire Wire has given this blog a great shout out! See it Here. I would go and check her blog out. It’s full of all kinds of fun and informative stuff. Here’s here trailor to the upcoming book Bride Of Casa Dracula



Today she mentions some info on the latest TrueBlood panel at ComicCon. Here is the article. Apparently the HBO Layfayette “has a gay porn website, is a male escort, and sells the hottest drug on the market, vampire blood, apparently so potent it can either be a massive aphrodisiac or, you know, drive you insane” – which is totally not the Lafayette in the Sookie Series! Sure he went to a group sex party, but he wasn’t anywhere near to what they are going to portray him on the show; which makes me kind of sad.

Some more TrueBlood news: If you haven’t seen it already, here is the show poster:

I think it looks pretty good!

Lost Boys 2 The Tribe is suppose to be released straight to DVD July 29th... if you haven't seen it already, here's the trailor

The sheer fact that it is straight to DVD doesn't make it seem too promising.

Discovery Channel's How Stuff Works has "How Vampires Work"

Sanginarians.org - site for real vampires - has lots of links and information.

Seems like Trueblood's ComicCon sex talk showed up in several places in the news.

If you haven't heard it already, I think the Trueblood song is perfect!!!!!


For those email subscribers, you will have to go to the blog to see all the videos.

Sex and the Single Vampire

Don't get too excited about the title, this is a book review. Katie Macalister does another great job with Sex and the Single Vampire, part 2 of the Dark Ones Series, follow up to A Girl's Guide to Vampires. Book 2 is focused on Allie, a summoner desperately trying to raise at least one ghost in London to save her job back in California. Allie is strong minded and stubborn. She has survivied an abusive husband and never wants a man to be in control of her again. She has some odd talents and strange characteristics that freak people out.

Allie is doing someone a favor by going to a book signing of the vampire romance author CJ Dante. Joy and Roxy from book 1 are there to make sure Christian (CJ Dante) finds his true beloved... could it be Allie? The rest of the book is full of funny ghosts, evil people, lots of action, and loveable characters.

Sex and the Single Vampire is absolutely hilarious, even if the author did mention "erotic impalement" during a sex scene. While I try to stay away from the "bodice ripping, member throbbing" type romance books, I didn't want to put this one down. SSV has the romance but it still has substance too. Did I mention it was hilarious? I literally laughed at loud more than a couple of times. I even had my cackle going.

The storyline is a little cheesy though. Christian is a Morovian, a Dark One, a "vampire." In order for his soul to be saved he must meet his Beloved (with a capital "B") and accomplish a few tasks, which he writes all about in his own vampire romances. Here's the 7 steps of joining:

Dark One marks the heroine as his own
Dark One protects heroine from afar
Dark One conducts the first exchange of bodily fluids (usually a steamy kiss)
Dark One entrusts the heroine with his life by giving her the means to destroy him
Second exchange of fluids (usually sexual in nature)
Dark One seeks heroine’s assistance to overcome his darker self
Exchange of lifeblood: the heroine redeems his dark soul by offering herself as a sacrifice so he can live

So you can see how the cheese factor might be a little high. Regardless, I thought the books were fun and funny. The characters are great and the plot has a lot of action. I would definitely recommend it.

New and Upcoming Releases

Updates on upcoming release dates for books I am waiting for:

New Releases:
Blood Noir - Anita Blake Book 16 - Just released a little over a month ago. After reading a lot of reviews, I didn't bother wasting my money. I will wait for a few months until I get it in the library... or anyone who has read it could just tell me what happened.
All Soul's Night - Blood Ties Book 4 - Came out June 1st -Read it, enjoyed it. It is told from different points of view... mostly by vampires. More gorey than other vampire books on my list.
Midnight Alley - Morganville Vampires Book 4 - Came out June 3rd. Have yet to buy it... still need to read the books I have. A group of young college age students live together in Morganville... the dangerous city full of vampires.


Breaking Dawn - Twilight Saga Book 4 - August 2nd (I may not read this and just have someone tell me what happens).
When Twilight Burns - Gardella Vamps book 4 - August 5th - The youngest Gardella, the only surviving vampire hunter must make her way with a new partner.
Bitten To Death - Jaz Parks Book 4 - August 12th - Jaz Parks is a secret agent - what will happen between her and her vampire partner?
The Bride of Casa Dracula - Milagro book 3 - September 16th - Milagro is set to marry into the "not vampire" family... I am sure all kinds of stuff will go wrong.

I'm Getting a Kick Out of These Vampire Commercials...

Are you anti-vampire?



Pro-vampire rights?



Or are you a vampire on the road?



Maybe one looking for love?



This last video is for the online dating site for vampires and humans called lovebitten. It hasn't been functioning for over a week though... if it starts working let me know!

The Vampire Kisses Series Vs Twilight Saga

I’ve temporarily lost my book with Dracula, The Vampyre, and Carmilla, so I started reading the other books I had waiting for me. I finished Dance with a Vampire – Book 4 of the Vampire Kisses series. First of all, it is teen/young adult fiction. I’m a few years passed that reading age but it was on my list of books to read and I had already read the previous three.

The Vampire Kisses series and the Twilight Saga are similar in a few ways:
High school girl falls in love with vampire
High school girl wants to become a vampire to be with said vampire forever
High school girl wants to spend every possible moment with the vampire
Enemies of said vampire do not want the high school girl to be with him
High school girl will take stupid risks to be closer to the vampire

I’m willing to bet that most stories with high school and love interests follow this pattern. Vampire Kisses books though, have some things over the Twilight Saga. Raven (high school girl) does not feel like she will die if Alex (the vampire) is not around. Sure she “loves him and wants to spend forever with him” but if he leaves for awhile, she doesn’t try to kill herself. Bella (high school girl of Twilight) is quite obsessed with Edward (vampire). Raven at least ends up admitting to herself that she has some fear about being turned and leaving her family. Bella just seems crazy obsessive and dependent on Edward and whatever he says. The Twilight books kind of ticked me off with this. We have these books directed at young teenage girls with the message that they cannot live without a man (or vampire). We shouldn’t be encouraging obsessive co-dependent behavior for youth; that’s my two cents.

Another good thing the Vampire Kisses books have going for them is that Alex is about the same as Raven. Alex was born a vampire; he is a teenager just like Raven. Another thing that ticked me off about Twilight: Edward and his “siblings” going through high school year after year. Once you have done high school once most people don’t have a desire to go back… except those who want to relive their “glory days.” Twilight’s vampire high schoolers seem to not mature with the years of experience. I would think that if a vampire does want to remain a part of society and join school they would repeat college… they would get a lot more out of it. VK doesn’t have to deal with that.

Raven is a kind of unique character; she is a goth girl whose dream since she was little was to be a vampire. She’s kinda funny and stubborn as well. I thought Bella was a pretty weak character/person in general. VK books have a little bit more realistic events (as realistic as vampire fiction can be) than that of TS. TS was so incredible dramatic I actually had to scan through some of the pages or it would aggravate me. VK deals with more pressures from family and friends. With that being said; there is much more action in the TS than that of VK.

VK major downside: (POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT) the second and third books seem to be quite similar to the fourth and the coming-soon 5th book. In book 2 and 3 Alex leaves because he puts Raven in danger. Raven goes to find him, he comes back and they get their party plans messed up. In book four, they get the prom messed up ad Alex has to leave because it will put Raven and others in danger… in book 5 she goes to look for Alex the same place she originally looked for him. VK is also a few reading levels below TS. The TS books are also, probably three times longer, if not more.

I would be willing to read book 5 of VK. I don’t think I could sit through another TS book. I’m curious to know what happens though (even if it might be pretty predictable). I know there are a lot of people who love the TS books, so when it comes out, send me a message and you could tell me all about it!

And for fun - Here is the American version of VK book 4, and the European version:

I think Raven looks like an old lady in the Euro version!
Here is a bigger picture of the US cover.

My Monday is in Need of Some Hunky Men...

Soooo I present to you some of the favorite vampires of movies and tv...


How could you not love Lost Boys? The 80's hair might bring the sex appeal down a bit, but I still love the movie and especially Keiffer Southerland. There is a sequal coming out at the end of this month - straight to DVD... I think I will still check it out, even if the trailor looks like a modern version of the original.

My favorite vampire of all time might go to Buffy's Angel star David Boreanaz though: my first big celeb crush. In middle school my room was literally plastered with pictures of this guy:


Deacon Frost (Stephan Dorf) is a pretty hunky vamp in Blade


I found that Lestat played by Stewart Townsend was a lot sexier than Tom Cruise




Brad Pitt was pretty sexy as Louis: (I thought he was sexier in Troy though)


Let's not forget my favorite vamps from books (I definitely prefer hunky book guys to tv/film guys, even if I do try and stay away from those bodice ripping, throbbing member romances).

Top guy: Eric Northman of the Sookie Stackhouse series - Hunky Viking Vamp
Kisten of the Rachel Morgan Series
I'm finding Christian of the Dark Ones Series quite hilarious
I prefer tall dark and handsome vamp cousin to Oswald From Happy Hour at Casa Dracula
I also was a fan of Asher and Jean Claud from the Anita Blake series until the books became bad porn.

Technically Speaking...

So in discussion, my fiance is quite convinced that the main characteristic of a vampire is that they are immortal (when I brought up the blood aspect he said it was a "given"). So what does vampire actually mean? Good'ol dictionary.com has the answers:

vam•pire ˈvæm paɪər - [vam-pahyuh r] –noun
1. a preternatural being, commonly believed to be a reanimated corpse, that is said to suck the blood of sleeping persons at night.
2. (in Eastern European folklore) a corpse, animated by an undeparted soul or demon, that periodically leaves the grave and disturbs the living, until it is exhumed and impaled or burned.
3. a person who preys ruthlessly upon others; extortionist.
4. a woman who unscrupulously exploits, ruins, or degrades the men she seduces.
________________________________________
[Origin: 1725–35; (< F) < G Vampir < Serbo-Croatian vàmpīr, alter. of earlier upir (by confusion with doublets such as vȁzdūh, ȕzdūh air (< Slavic vŭ-), and with intrusive nasal, as in dùbrava, dumbrȁva grove); akin to Czech upír, Pol upiór, ORuss upyrĭ, upirĭ, (Russ upýrʾ) < Slavic *u-pirĭ or *ǫ-pirĭ, prob. a deverbal compound with *per- fly, rush (literal meaning variously interpreted) ]


Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006
Arabic: شَبَح الميِّت الذي يجول لإمتصاص الدِّماء
Czech: upír
Danish: vampyr
Dutch: vampier
Estonian: vampiir
Finnish: vampyyri
French: vampire
German: der Vampir
Greek: βρικόλακας
Hungarian: vámpír
Icelandic: vampíra, blóðsuga
Indonesian: vampir
Italian: vampiro
Latvian: vampīrs
Lithuanian: vampyras
Norwegian: vampyr
Polish: wampir
Portuguese (Brazil): vampiro
Portuguese (Portugal): vampiro
Romanian: vampir
Russian: вампир
Slovak: upír
Slovenian: vampir
Spanish: vampiro
Swedish: vampyr
Turkish: vampir

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd.

While some definitions do include the undead thing and the blood thing, it also means to prey on others... so there. Makes me wonder though, when there might be a new definition to the dictionary to add the mortal vampire (or vampyre) crowd.

For Your Boredom (or mine)

Get your own fangs here.

Confessions of a Modern Vampyre - blog of a psi vamp.

Vampire Research - likes to call themselves an "institute" but I don't think I would go that far... lack of "research" as well... kind of interesting, has a long list of links on the blog.

Vampires Among Us - Lists all kinds of information.

Pam the Vampire

Bloodcopy has a video up about an interview Pam, the vampire from Baton Rouge. Is this suppose to be the Pam that works for Eric in Shreveport? If so, she is far better dressed than what she wears in the Sookie Stackhouse books... or maybe she just finished working at the bar.

If you have read this blog you know I love the Sookie Stackhouse series, but sometimes I seriously question Charlaine Harris' style. She has dressed Pam in a Navy jumpsuit with green piping and brown loafers (wtf?), an outfit that was pink pants and a pink sweater (probably pink socks too) and other horrible fashion atrocities. Here is where you can see the discussion about the crazy outfits. Some people are totally for the Talbot wearing vampire. Yes, you can find some nice stuff on their website, but never pink mom jeans! And please don't match your pants in the same color as your sweater! Just say no to pants like this together with a shirt like this. I love cardigans, but not with the same color pants! It's not like I am a fashion expert or fashion snob or anything, but don't dress them like old ladies!

Pam may be old, but she's not an old lady. Just say no!



Anyways: Here is the video.

Books On My Nightstand

I have been pretty busy lately and I have not finished a book in a while (over a month!)... These are the books I have waiting for me at home, some of which I have already started.

Sex and the Single Vampire (Book 2 of the Dark Ones)

Bled Dry (Book 3 of Vegas Vampires)

Dance with a Vampire (Book 4 of Vampire Kisses)

The Vampyre, Camilla, and Dracula (3 vampire tales)

FYI - Don't waste your time

This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen/tried to watch.

Yes... I am sure everyone could tell my just looking at the box, but I was in the mood for a vampire movie and everthing was out, so I risked it.

I couldn't even sit through half of it. I watched about 10 minutes of it... then watched it on fast forward for about 5 minutes and just had to turn it off. Don't pay money or waste your time to see someone's bad home movie.

If you are trying to watch the worst movies ever made then here is the link to buy. If you are on this kick may I suggest Jesus Christ the Vampire Hunter. I haven't seen it myself, but I am sure it belongs on the list of horrible movies; the title says a lot, but I hear the only person who can help Jesus defeat the creatures of the night is a Mexican wrestler... there you go.

Real Vampires?

Last night I introduced my fiancé to the interesting world of Blood Copy and the True Blood viral campaign. He won’t play Mobsters with me, but he did think that the campaign was pretty interesting. I also showed him a couple of sites about/for sanguinarians, psi-vamps, and vampyre lifestylers.

People who are role-playing and people who actually think they are vampires are posting a lot on the BloodCopy website. A few people who are involved in real covens have actually expressed concern/annoyance over BloodCopy and Tru:Blood. It is getting pretty interesting.


If anyone is interested here are a view links:
Psivamp.org
Veritas
Veritas Resource Directory
http://sanguin.org/
http://www.suscitatio.com/

Vampire Notes posted some interesting links the other day too. To see the blog entry go here… otherwise, here are the links

By Light Unseen Media - "By Light Unseen Media will present the best of quality fiction and non-fiction on the theme of vampires and vampirism. We will offer fictional works with original imagination and style, as well as non-fiction of academic caliber."

Broadsheet – publication of Broad Universe that promotes women writers of paranormal, horror, and sci-fi fiction.

And Genre of the Month– July is Vampire Month

Also, DragonBytes.com for full texts of classic vampire stories: Vampyre by John Polidori; Feast of Blood/ Varney the Vampyre by James Malcolm Rymer; Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu; Dracula's Guest by Bram Stoker: Dracula by Bram Stoker, and from the lunatic fringe comes The Vampire: His Kith and Kin by the eccentric clergyman Montague Summers.

I haven’t checked it out yet, but I am interested to see what they have for Varney the Vampyre. I have been looking everywhere for it and the only place I have found the full edition is on amazon for over 30 bucks.

Tru Blood and if Vampires Announced They Were Among Us

Since I have been slacking on reading, I thought I would expand on my last entry about the Trueblood series coming out. I saw the Tru Blood commercials on BloodCopy and I think they are great. Also, Trueblood is a family name of mine... so it was meant to be!





Design Haus' blog also posts pictures of the advertisements around New York


So a question that has been fluttering around the various sites linked to Trueblood is "If Vampires announced their existance to the world, how would you react and what would happen?"

I am sure you have the vampire loving group that will automatically jump for joy and think they will become fang bangers. TO be honest, if there was a vampire like Eric from the Sookie Sackhouse Series then I might consider joining that group too. But if you really think about it, even if vampires did exist, it probably would never work out for them to go public.

If you have the somewhat cliche vampire, they are dangerous. Even if they could live off of "tru blood" they would still possess super strength, "hypnotic abilities", and be above the law. People can be controlled... I doubt vampires could be. Sure some of them might be "good" and want to "mainstream," but those that do not desire to do so could cause a lot of harm.

You also have the religious fanatics who would be on a hunt to rid "the evil" from the world. Religious fanatics who actually have a good reason to be afraid would probably be unbearable. Any murder would be vampire suspect. The criminal justice system would have to be revamped (no pun intended), and scared people do stupid things sometimes. Mix in ignorance and fear and what do you get? A breeding ground for racism.

Taking away the fact that the government would have an incredibly hard time controlling and tracking vampires (how do you make a vampire pay taxes? Not commit crime?) there would be another type of hunt: researches would have a field day! I love research, I think we should be doing research, but where would the line be drawn when researching a vampire? It would be great to hear stories about the history of the world, and history as we know it might change, languages might be saved and recorder (that would be awesome), but what about medical testing? Would there be illegal medical testing on vampires? Probably. If I was the government I would probably try and get my hands on some type of formula to give my soldiers super strength, or find the cure for eternal youth. There is plenty of money to be used to have corrupt research done.

If I was a vampire, I doubt I would support a world wide "coming out" party. Maybe a gradual immersion.... (IE befriending humans for years before coming out the coffin) but I don't think it could work very well.

Note: I just noticed I put an annoyingly amount of quotations into this entry.

TRUEBLOOD

Taken From Charlaine Harris' Webpage:

TRUEBLOOD (HBO show based on the Sookie books):
HBO has launched their extensive promotional campaign!
Here you can sign up for the newsletter, view behind-the-scenes video, and find links to the other areas.
Truebeverage.com Features merchandise, downloads and a bloodtyper
They've started a TrueBlood Community Board
BloodCopy Is a fictional blog where you can participate in "the investigation.

I haven't really had a chance to really look into blood copy, but it might be fun if you get into it.

Either way, I am super excited for the show to start... even if I don't have HBO. I will find a way to watch.

Also, May 2009, the next Sookie Book comes out which will include Eric's Story. Go team Eric!!!