How the Vampire Boom Really Began

How the Vampire Boom Really Began - Copy and Pasted From NPR'S Monkey See

[As our story opens, the year is 2003.]

To: VampsPRFr: FritzRe: PR issues

PR Team,
As we talked about last week at the annual retreat, it seems like we haven't made a significant PR push in quite some time. Buffy THE TRAMP LIAR-SAYER has finally gone off the air, but we are at a cultural crossroads. Vampires need to be the "next big thing." Ideas? Thx.


To: Fritz, VampsPRFr: SteveRe: Re: PR issues

Fritzie,
I've heard that an up and coming novelist is planning a romance series (set in the Pacific Northwest, I believe) in which a girl is caught between a werewolf and a clown. I'm wondering whether, with proper outreach, she could be persuaded to replace the werewolf with a vampire. I think a battle for the heart of a young woman between a vampire and a clown could be very compelling and could help change our image with young women. Thoughts?


To: Steve, VampsPRFr: FritzRe: Re: Re: PR issues

Steve,
Do it. Please report back. Thx.


To: Fritz, VampsPRFr: SteveRe: Discussion w/SM

Fritzie,
Talks went well. Very promising. She's receptive. Interesting twist. She suggests using the vampire in place of the clown instead. Werewolf/vampire face-off. What say you?


To: SteveFr: FritzRe: Re: Discussion w/SM

Steve,
That's fine if that's what she wants. Vampire/werewolf seems like an unfair fight, as readers cannot be expected to believe a werewolf could compete with the innate sex appeal of a vampire. Clown might seem like more worthy romantic opponent, based on perception (false, in my experience) that clowns have a great sense of humor, but again, if that's what she thinks, it's certainly worth a try. Thx.


To: FritzFr: SteveRe: Small edit

Fritzie,
As you know, the manuscript we saw last week has been returned to SM with edits. I'm having difficulty selling her on your idea, even though I like it. She seems to think that having the vampire (currently named Booger, but that's not final) sparkle in the sunlight might come across as, as she put it, "over the top." She's also having some trouble shifting entirely away from some of the aesthetics she originally had planned for Booger as far as his look; we are working on it. Still negotiating re: this point.


To: SteveFr: FritzRe: Re: Small edit

In retrn 4 sparkles, will accept red lipstick orig. 4 clown. Plz change Booger. Thx.
[From my Blackberry]


To: FritzFr: SteveRe: Book performance

Fritzie,
As you know, the book is now a runaway success. There will be more. Also tentative upcoming HBO show TRUE BLOOD based on those Snookie (?) books your wife likes, and a deal with the CW (it's the "fifth network") for a show called VAMPIRE DIARIES. Sounds super sexy. All looks good.


To: SteveFr: FritzRe: VERY VERY UPSET

Now seeing ads for Vampires Suck. "Suck"? What's going on in PR? Lead of this movie appears to be takeoff of Edward/Booger character, seems to be making vampires into jokes. VAMPIRES ARE NOT IRONIC, STEVE. Parody/irony are bad for our sense of menace. Also hearing MTV plans new Teen Wolf. Where is our marketing plan? Where is our response? I expect to meet with you and the team in the conference room at 10:30. BRING NEW IDEAS. THX.

Waiting for True Blood?

So if you don't already know, True Blood Season 3 premiers Sunday, June 13th.

If you haven't already watched the Pam and Eric minisode, here it is:

Minisode: Eric & Pam

For me it was almost too embarrassing to watch. Some parts were funny though.

The newest Sookie Book - Dead in the Family comes out May 5th. Amazon has it on sale for 10 bucks.

You can read the first chapter here.

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Interview with Arlene Russo Author of The Real Twilight: True Stories of Modern Vampires

I had the pleasure of interviewing Arlene Russo author of The Real Twilight and the founder of Bite Me magazine. Her new book includes a look into UK's vampire underground and the real vampires that can't be found on the big silver screen.

What is The Real Twilight about?

Basically The Real Twilight is about true vampires and every aspect of their culture. This includes the many different types of vampires, including lifestylers, sanguine (blood-drinking) vampires and psi (psychic) vampires- and everything in between! The book highlights global trends in vampirism, tracing American and UK connections, the heritage of the vampire legend, as well as modern factors which have shaped the nature of the vampire community such as HIV and the impact of the internet. Readers are also given a glimpse of the reality of the vampire covens and societies that exist today, and this covert information is perhaps not so widely known. I was privileged to be given an insight into these 'secret' worlds.

What was your goal in writing Real Twilight?

My goal was to present an overview of modern vampire culture and its various historical and global influences. I wanted to highlight modern day vampires in all their forms by speaking directly to real vampires themselves. I also wanted to celebrate the rich folkloristic history of vampirism that goes back thousands of years as well as focusing on the contemporary vampire scene. I also felt it was important to pay heed to the darker facts of vampirism such as blood drinking safety and vampire crime. I have included as many vampire specialists as I could, in addition to the vampires themselves and these included the resident vampire agony aunt of Bite me magazine, academics specialising in Gothic literature, and vampire ‘fangsmiths.’

How do you feel about the current vampire craze?

It is always good to see vampires in the media- in a positive light- but I am not sure how much the Twilight craze has to do with vampires per se, or the movie stars themselves. Time will tell, when these teens grow older, and we can see how many of them still profess a fascination with vampires...

When did you first become interested in vampires?

As a child, I was fascinated by horror movies and the paranormal (the film star Christopher Lee was my main inspiration). I have to thank my mother for letting me stay up late to watch the Hammer horror double bills when I was 10. I was also a member of a school book club and the books I ordered were suitably horror film titles and such like!

Do you have any favorite vampires movies, books, or music?

Well, I am a traditionalist and it has to be Christopher Lee in any Hammer horror that featured him as Dracula. I also like other Hammer Horror without him- like Twins Of Evil. I am a twin so that's another reason to like it! I have also been enjoying True Blood.

With your time at Bite Me magazine, what have you learned about today's vampire culture?

I have learned about all the different types of vampire fans - from vampire lifestylers to real vampires, to vampire haters! I have also learned that vampire fans have always been prevalent- but every so often they come out in droves- like with the Twilight craze. I can remember for example, the previous one- following Bram Stokers Dracula in 1992. Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 1999 also brought vampire fans to the fore. Every so often they need to come out of the shadows!

Is there anything you wish people would know about the vampire culture?

I hope The Real Twilight celebrates vampire culture in all its forms and thus appeals to vampire fans in all THEIR forms, from the newest to the most established vampire aficionado. It is a book as much for people who wish to peep into a new lifestyle as it is for practising vampires looking for a point of reference. Or perhaps for those whose interest in vampires has been piqued by the Twilight and True Blood phenomenon.

Big thanks to Arlene for taking time out of her busy schedule to visit! The books seems super interesting and offers a unique insight into the world of real vampires.

To purchase Arlene Russo's The Real Twilight, True Stories of Modern Vampires, click HERE.

Team Cullen vs. The Original Gangstas vs. The Hopes of Single Men

Today's guest blogger comes from my friend Brian - you semi-typical, middle 20-year-old American male. Thanks Brian for being a guest!

Note: The views and opinions of Brian do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of this blog.


When I was in high school, the latest craze regarding vampire literature was the newest Anne Rice novel, an author who, unfortunately, doesn’t seem to be getting enough respect for a genre that she more or less dominated for a span of many years. I read Interview With The Vampire, The Vampire Lestat, and The Queen of the Damned. These three books served as the core of vampire mythology for a good long while. Sure, there were others, but Anne Rice had a veritably unmatched saga of vampire fiction rolling off her fingertips. Any vampire movies watched with friends always fell back to being compared to the novels’ sense of history, the beauty of these creatures was one borne out of time, the romance inherent in vampire affections, the laundry list of behaviors and various mythological truths embedded in the pages of Rice’s central three novels.

Rice’s vampires were beautiful, terrible beings. Incredibly powerful, ancient, terrifyingly gorgeous products of their original time mixed with the present (whichever time period that present happened to be). Now, is the rest of this diatribe going to be about how nothing found today really seems to measure up to the (what in my mind) is the original testament of vampiric lore? Most likely. And don’t get me wrong, I understand the fact that things change, evolve, progress. If human history has shown us anything, it’s that we move forward. But are the new models really an improvement on the original, or are they more of an impediment to the single male?

I thought this stuff burnt out when the sun started shining on all those freak-wannabe-vampire-punk-goth-rocker-stoner-make-up-wearing-juggalo kids from high school, the day after graduation. The day that whole, “Oh, shit, we can’t all work at Hot Topic,” mentality settled in and took root in the cerebellum of these daywalker posers who wished more than anything that they actually needed to feed off of blood. Welcome to Reality. These people disappeared for a while, leaving behind the romanticism of the bite, the penetrating stare that reads souls and minds alike; the vampire faded from beatific glory and into the shadows from whence it came, becoming again a creature to be feared, not adored. And then, recently, they got pretty again.

Enter Team Edward. A seventeen-year-old kid who was made into a vampire two hundred years ago is supposed to be the new heartthrob of women the world over. Forty-something-year-olds getting caught up in the craze of teen-girl-fiction, falling in love with a fictional diamond-skinned vampire, whose character flaws spawned a whole line of t-shirts? These new vampires are too pretty to be seen in sunlight (because they get all shiny), they convulse and fight massive erectile temptation whenever their soul mate walks into the room, and this Mr. Cullen happens to be the only gentleman left on the planet, it seems—minus, of course, the creepy stalking bit.

Here’s the thing I witnessed with the new vampire craze: they took the evil out of them. Over-romanticized the hell out of these once evil creatures. Good luck to any normal guy trying to measure up, now. We’ve all been irrevocably screwed by the vampire system. And the vampires know it. They’re in their coffins right now laughing at us. The newer, bolder, modernity-ridden bloodsucker leaves no room for human error, no room for improvement, either. They don’t exist, so one would think that mankind has an edge. But we don’t. Team Cullen blew us out of the water.



Vampires in the olden days had to be sexy without sex, if you catch my drift. Theirs was a beauty held in mannerisms, appearance counted, yes, but not for everything. The capacity to love was outside of the vampire’s realm of existence, or knowledge, beyond their reality. Love was a human thing. Granted, Louie did care deeply for Claudia, but when Lestat made him a vampire, he made sure to make him weak, that’s why the other vampires ‘loved’ him: he was the most human. The Anne Rice suck-heads had a measure of evil that maintained a balance in the world, as far as vampires were concerned. It wasn’t just anybody who could be made into a vampire. The majority of people weren’t even close to being candidates for vampirification, only those that had that special something. What a twenties-era gangster might call ‘moxie.’

[Side note, I hear that this show “True Blood” takes place in the South… Any self-respecting vampire would move him/herself to larger, more popular epicenter of sophisticated human culture, not the sour-mash capital or Bible-belt central. But anyway…]

We can have moxie. Hell, some of us have it in spades, but will we it be enough to take the girl’s mind off of Edward? Doubt it. Talk a good game, walk a straight line, open a door or three, pay for dinner, movie, drive, be a gentleman and kiss her on the cheek instead of moving in for a full on mouth-bath, and you still won’t measure up, not to the new vampire standard, which says this to the modern male:

When you step into the sunlight, we see your flaws, your wrinkles, your missed-a-spot-shaving patchwork jaw line, your pimples, uneven eyebrows, your receding hairline. We see your wardrobe’s mismatched color scheme, dirty shoes, untrimmed fingernails, mustard stains, and your sweat.

There are no diamonds embedded in the small cracks of your skin. You can’t promise immortality. You don’t come from money this old, you aren’t this strong, this fast, this controlled. You aren’t this mysterious, this enchanting. You aren’t us.

And never will be.

True Blood Season 2: Delayed but Here

Yes I am a slacker – but I don’t have HBO (let alone cable) so I have to mooch off the few (2 people) that I know have HBO… which isn’t easy. So this weekend I vegged out at my dad’s house and caught up, watching episodes 7-12.

So here’s what happened (and what didn’t happen in the book) – spoilers.

Fellowship of the Sun try to kill Sookie and Eric… and Godric and Bill, and then Jason (partially book plot oriented – Sookie escapes with the help of a were who has infiltrated the system, causing more drama. PS. Godric is not a hero in the book, he is an ancient child molestor or something)

Texas vampires come to kick-ass – Godric stops anything from happening and everyone goes home… Texas vampires have a party (never happened in the book)

Jason’s FoS rival acts as a suicide bomber and stops the vamp party (partially book oriented – was a fire fight, not a bomb)

Eric tricks Sookie to sucking silver out of him (in the book it was a bullet)

Mary Ann gets people into more trouble (Mary Ann character is nothing like the book)

Sam gets framed for murder (not in the book, nor is the following)

Mary Ann possessed the whole town

Hoyt and new vampire girl get into a fight (this plot isn’t in the book at all either)

Sookie gets captured

We meet Sophie-Ann – Queen of Louisiana, apparently an avid Yahtzee fan.

Bill and Sam find a way to kill Sophie Ann

Poor Sam

Miss new vampire is getting herself into trouble

Bill and Sookie go on a date

Bill proposes

Bill gets kidnapped.


Being an big Charlain Harris/Sookie Book fan I was PISSED about the ending – thought is was absolutely stupid. Bill should not be proposing… they break up in the book! Book 3 in the series does have Bill being kidnapped though. It should be interesting how season 3 goes!

Vampire-Con Hosting A Blood Drive!

What a creative and great way to be charitable!

Vampire-Con is coming to Hollywood in August, and its bringing a drive for charity with it (creatively so!). In partnership with The American Red Cross, Vampire-Con is hosting a blood drive on Sunday, August 16th from 10 am – 4 pm outside The Music Box @ Fonda theatre. A limited edition t-shirt “Blood is the Drug” will be given to the first 40 attendees who donate a pint of blood. We promise all the blood will go to who its supposed too. ;)

AIDS Project Los Angeles will provide a mobile HIV testing unit onsite for the event as well.

Santa Monica based non-profit organization The Virginia Avenue Project (VAP) will conduct a silent auction of exclusive vampire memorabilia including an autographed TRUE BLOOD script signed by creator Alan Ball to benefit their arts mentorship after-school programs. (Bolded by me)

visit www.vampire-con.com/ for more information

True Blood - Season 2 Episode 1 - No Longer Following the Sookie Books

OK, so after watching the second season premier of True Blood, it might be much easier to list the things that were similar in book 2 that appeared in the TV show versus what WASN’T the same. Pretty much everything in the episode had nothing to do with book two; which was extremely disappointing – especially the whole Lafayette debacle. How the heck are they going to work that one out?

I am becoming more and more disappointed in the show. I really need to work on separating in my mind the book and the TV show because they are so different, especially leading into season 2.

Beware of spoilers if you haven’t read Living Dead in Dallas but here are some differences between book and show:

· Lafayette is dead in Andy’s car – not the phony exorcist that never even existed to begin with.
· Mary Ann does not exist in the capacity she does on the show – she makes a couple brief appearances but not in the form of “Mary Ann” and she certainly does not have some rich demented half-way house – nor does Tara even meet her – except at the end LDID.
· Because Bill never killed Long Shadow to begin with (ERIC DID), he certainly did not have to make a young and annoying vampire – who also doesn’t exist… at all.
· Sookie’s uncle died “falling down the stairs” I’m pretty sure she found out about this in book one though, and both her and her brother received and inheritance.
· Jason never comes close to joining Fellowship of the sun.
· Sam had a happy childhood and was never abandoned or resorted to stealing and "Mary Ann" certainly didn’t take his virginity.
· Because Lafayette dies in the beginning on book 2 he is never tortured by Eric
· Eric does not need to highlight his hair

I will be very upset if Eric doesn’t attend an orgy with Sookie and if he doesn’t take care of her when she gets hurt in Texas. At least episode was more entertaining than last season.

Any one else have any thoughts/complaints?

And don' forget to enter to win Tanya Huff's Blood Ties!

DEAD AND GONE!!!

So I finally got the book! In less than 2.5 hours I was happy but sad that I was done and have year to wait for the next one! I think Charlaine Harris' latest Southern Vampire Book - Dead and Gone may be my favorite yet.

There are quite a few bad reviews of the book though - they say Harris rushed to much through the plot and didn't really linger on things that should be given more attention... this might be true but that's the kind of reader I am so I didn't mind. This book was a lot less "what the heck is going on" than the previous book though.

Loved the book though! Still completely Team Eric! No offense to Bill Lovers - but Sookie needs to get over him and vice-versa, haha.

OHHHH Yeah - and if you haven't seen them, here are the trailor/sneak peak to the next season of True Blood:

The Sneak Peak... which I am already a bit pissed off about - I will let you be the judge of that though:

True Blood Season 2 Sneak Peek


The Trailor for season 2:
True Blood Season 2 Trailer


Air date is June 14th.... but of course the books are a million times better.

Synthetic Blood Soon to be a Real Thing?

A few days ago the DAILY MAIL posted an article about Brittish Scientists on the race to be the first producers of Synthetic blood.

Researchers are hoping to create the synthetic blood using stem cells from O-Negative blood donors.

I will refrain from making True Blood references ( :

And thanks to Marc for sending me interesting links!

True Blood In New Zealand...

Forgive me for being so absent these days. I have no time for anything any more. How many people want to join me in winning the lottery and quitting our day jobs?

Anyways...

Geekologie has a great post with pictures from New Zealand's True Blood poster campaign and it's pretty awesome:

How cool is that? You can actually break off the stakes.

Photo Pendants

I've been busy this weekend making photo pendants - all from my own photos. Here are some I have posted on my Etsy for 3.95:

Graveyard Pendants:


Keys and Old books:


Red Flowers:


Oak Tree:


I also did a True Blood one for me - double-sided with Eric on one side and the True Blood TV Poster on the other. I made my mom a double-sided one as well, with pictures of me and my brother.

I do custom orders if anyone is interested.

More to come! Next scrabble tile pendants!

Addressing the Twilight vs. True Blood ( and Vampire Kisses) for the Last Time...

I'm writing this because each week I am amazed to see the amount of people that are brought to this blog by searching for the following:

• similarities between twilight and true blood
• twilight vs true blood
• twilight vs sookie
• which came first twilight or sookie stackhouse
• twilight copied sookie stackhouse novels
• twilight or sookie
• sookie stackhouse vs. twilight
• twilight copied vampire kisses

Each week there is a ton of new searches, sooooo I figured I would make all the Sookie, True Blood, Twilight, and Vampire Kisses accessible in one entry (listed newest to oldest):

What Stephen King has to say about Meyer

Charlaine Harris, author of the Sookie Books comments on book similarities

Twilight and True Blood Spoofs

Comparing Twilight, True Blood, Sookie, and other vampire Books

True Blood vs. Sookie Books

Is True Blood going in the Right Direction?

Bill and Eric Cookies

True Blood Episode 4 Review

True Blood Episode 2 Review

Twilight vs. True Blood

True Blood Pictures and Videos

True Blood Trailer

True Blood Pilot Episode Changes

True Blood Pilot Review

Vampire Commercials

Vampire Kisses vs. Twilight

Pam the Vampire

True Blood coming soon!

I love the Sookie Books

Thanks and Enjoy!

Twilight, Trueblood, and Other Similar Stories...

Charlaine Harris (author of the Sookie Stackhouse books) recently posted this blog entry:

Coincidences happen. I get emails pretty frequently that have essentially this message: “So and so’s book has motorcycle gang werewolves in it, and so did yours. You should look into this. So and so’s copying off of you!” I’m sure people sent the same email to Laurell K. Hamilton when my first books came into print.

The truth is, there are few really original ideas under the sun. There are similarities between many books in the urban fantasy genre. If you get vampires, werewolves, and heroines with a supernatural trait, and they’re all tossed together, some of the results are going to be the same.

I did some lightning plotting last week about a book I want to write. I’m fascinated by cemeteries, and I thought it would be interesting to write a book set in a cemetery. I imagined the protagonist, a girl raised by ghosts in a cemetery, and I began figuring out how she’d live, how she’d avoid being taken in by the state and put in a group home, and what she would do to pass her days in such a lifeless place.

Then I went on Amazon and clicked on Fiction, then on Cemetery, and found that Neil Gaiman has already written a book with a similar premise.

So, what do I do now? Let my lovely idea go? Buy the Gaiman book, and read it enviously? Purchase every copy on earth and burn it?

Can I salvage my own idea? I haven’t decided yet. I would have been happier if I hadn’t checked, I think.

But when when my book was completed, it would have been a rude shock when someone asked me if I hadn’t read Neil Gaiman’s book. I haven’t, and I won’t, in case I decide to go ahead with my own, though the temptation is strong. I admire his writing – who doesn’t? Gaiman (whom I’ve met twice, very briefly) is a living legend.

It’s a hard call, but luckily I’ve got plenty of time to think about it. I’ve got two short stories, a lot of editing, and another novel lined up when I finally send in GRAVE SECRET, which is close to completion. By then I’ll have made up my mind, and I’ll either write CEMETERY GIRL . . . or I won’t.

For Fun.... Spoofs...

I don't watch Gossip Girl but I might have been more inclined to watch Twilight if Ed Westwick played Edward...




It is a lot harder to find True Blood Parodies (just sayin)

Twilight and True Blood or Twilight and Sookie Books

I thought I would take a little more time to blog about Twilight and Sookie because probably close to 80% of people who visit my blog through a search engine type a version of what I posted as the title of the entry, as you can see: (and this was just the top keywords, not each search. There are even hundres of more keyword searches that ask the same thing)

I had previously written a post about Twilight vs True Blood back in September, prompted by a letter written to TV guide. You can view the entry and the comments Here.

First, let me start by saying that True Blood the TV series can no way compare to the Charlaine Harris Sookie books. The books are way better and the show has quite a bit of differences. So when we do compare, lets stick with books not visual representations.

Second, everyone is free to their opinion, but you can't really make an informed descision either way about which one is better or claim that one copied the other, etc. if you haven't read both book series.

The first thing I want to compare, to clear things up, is that Harris did not copy Meyer:
Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer was published in 2005
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris was published in 2001.

Harris' books are about a mid-20 year old who has the intersting ability to read minds. She lives in a small town in Luisianna where nothing much happens, until she meets her first vampire. Vampires came out into the public several years ago with the invention of a synthetic blood called "Trublood" (hint the show name). Vampires are fighting for human rights, there are churches who are against them, Sookie can read minds, and she finds some other interesting beings along the way as well. She becomes romantically linked with Bill the vamp, bad things happen, and she ends up agreeing to work for a higher up vampire (Eric, who I love) to help solve different mysteries.

Not sure if it is even worth writing about Twilight, since the people searching for the similarities and differences are probably Twilight fans. I know there are a lot of Twilight fans who have been vampire fiction fans, but there are also a lot of Twilight (or Sookie) fans who are not familiar with vampire fiction or folklore and think that the similarities between the two means one has copied the other.

Here are some common vampire characteristics:
Reading minds
Mind control
"Tricking" people into believing things
Super-human (or inhuman) strength
Super speed
Rich
Immortal
Hyper senses
Sexy and dangerous
and so on.

I have never read a modern-day vampire book that didn't have some similarity to another, which is okay because they are writing about the same subject. Each author adds in their own version of a vampire, but it's still a vampire. Many vamp books have werewolves in them too, that does not mean one copied the other. They say that there are no original stories anymore, this is one of those cases that illustrates the point. Vampire authors may change how blood is taken, vampire abilities, reactions to humans, and other characteristics but it can never be wholly unique or else it wouldn't be a vampire, it would be some other creature.

There are some similarities between Trueblood and Twilight, or Twilight and Vampire Kisses (lots of similarites between those two) but that does not mean they copied each other. They all write about a main female character who falls for a vampire. Of course there are going to be similiarities.

For those of you who are curious about something more specific, feel free to email me or comment me. Since it seems like some many people are curious, I will be starting to reread the Harris books so I can do more in depth reviews of them on my blog.

And I will say it again, Harris did not copy Meyer - look at the facts.

Good bye for now True Blood. I’ll see you distort book plots this summer

While still a loyal watcher, I was quite ticked off with the season one finale of True Blood. If you haven’t read the books then you may not want to read the rest of this post – it contains spoilers, or maybe not since the show is deviating so much for the books.

Show plot annoyances:
What in the world is the maenad doing? Why is she here early?
Jason turned himself in? (ok, not that bad)
Sookie was attacked in the day, and subsequently,
Bill became the man on fire in his lousy attempt to “save her” (this ticked me off the most)
Sookie isn’t beaten enough to land in the hospital for several days (which wouldn’t be so bad, but it makes certain events left out)
Eric doesn’t send Sookie perverted flowers, or show himself… because that happens at the hospital
Also, what is going on with Bill’s little vampire?
Why leave out the Eric interaction? Key situations are being left out!

Book 2 of the Sookie Stackhouse books, “Living Dead in Dallas” leaves a dead friend (which the finale hinted at) and a trip to Dallas. There is a lot of Eric interaction in book 2. He helps her out by fixing her up and by going to an interesting party with her. I hope they don’t screw up the Eric and Sookie interaction more than they have done so already. (What can I say, I’m Team Eric).

I am happy for Charlaine that the show is such a hit. I just wish the show would follow the book more - and that the show watchers who haven't read the books will pick up the book series. I guess we will have to wait until the summer to see how bad Alan Ball is distorting the series.

Is True Blood Going in the Right Direction?

Hope everyone had a great Halloween. Don't forget to send me your vampy pictures! Between wedding stuff, my car breaking down, my phone breaking, and all the other joys of life, I haven't taken the time to voice my opinions on the True Blood series (or much of anything for that matter).

Last night was a bit of a disapointment for me. I understand that the series needs side stories; the show would probably be a bit boring if it was just 100% Sookie and her thoughts, but when is it too much?

In the books Tara was never psychotic, Sam didn't seem so annoying, and Jason didn't seem like such an ass. Character personalities aside, certain events have raised my eyebrows a few times: Tara's mom being alive, Tara and her mom being possessed, Jason's new hippy girlfriend, and Jason and said girl friend kidnapping the vampire. Um... okay. It may be annoying, but I could live with some artisitic interpretation (I guess if I have to). This last episode seriously pissed me off though. Do you know what that was? Any guesses?

Bill had to stake Long Shadow!

It says a lot when Eric stakes Long Shadow, and it says a lot that Bill had to go New Orleans to become higher up in the vampire community so that Eric wouldn't take Sookie. Now Bill is gone because he has to go on trial? Please. I would have preferred it the way it was suppose to be. It seems that all but the first maybe, 3 episodes have wandered quite a bit from the books. I guess the basic plot, in it's most simple nature is still there, but there are important things that are being changed or left out.

I will still watch the show every weekend, but it is starting to be quite disapointing that it is becoming so different from the books.

Bill and Eric and other Halloween Cookies (Tutorial!)

Here’s the tutorial on how to make these super cute Halloween cookies… or just Bill and Eric cookies.

First, I used THIS recipe to make sugar cookies:

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used 2)
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Make sure your cookies are thick if you plan to insert a sucker stick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

If you use sucker sticks (which allows you to do great looking cookie bouquets) carefully insert the stick before you bake.

Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

While your cookies are cooling, you can start prepping your fondant. I had inspiration and some instruction from this fabulous cake blog recipe.

I bought rolled fondant at wal-mart. I believe it was around 5 or 6 dollars. It was in the wedding/baking aisle. While you are there, you may also want to get brown, black, and orange baking dye.

To make the vampires, you do not need to dye your fondant. Roll your fondant out like you did for the cookie dough, but roll it out as thin as possible! Cut out your fondant with the same cookie cutters:

To dye your fondant, you should probably wear gloves – especially if you are using regular food coloring. (I didn’t have any, so I slipped my hands into plastic sandwich baggies. Ghetto, yes, but it did work). But some drops of food coloring onto your glob of fondant and start mashing and kneading it until the fondant is all one color. This may make your fondant kinda sticky… I’m not sure what you are really suppose to do, but I “floured” my surface and rolling pin with powdered sugar. It makes the fondant kind of powdery, but it stops it from being an ooey-gooey mess.

Roll out your fondant very thinly and cut out with the cookie cutters.

When your cookies are cooled, make your ROYAL ICING. I used THIS recipe and kinda figured it out on my own.

Ingrediants:
Royal Icing Using Egg Whites:
2 large egg whites
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (I didn’t have lemon, so I used lime)
3 cups (330 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

For Royal Icing with Egg Whites: In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the egg whites with the lemon juice. Add the sifted powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined and smooth. The icing needs to be used immediately or transferred to an airtight container as royal icing hardens when exposed to air. Cover with plastic wrap when not in use.
I beat my eggs until they were frothy:

Then added the powdered sugar and beat them until it was combined and glossy. – I guess the right consistency is when you drizzle the frosting into the bowl and it stays on top for 5 seconds.

I used both a bag with a piping tool, and a plastic baggie with a whole in the corner – both worked fine for me. I did the white frosting first.

First I put a think coating of frosting on the back of all the fondant pieces so that they would adhere to the cookie:

I stuck them on the cookies then I did the white details.
I piped the edges of the vamp cookies and did the whites of the Frankenstein eyes.

I then mixed small separate bowls of orange (for the pumpkins), green (for the Frankenstein’s), black (for hair, eyes, and mouths), and a little bit of yellow (for Eric’s hair). I put them all in plastic baggies. I finished the details of the other cookies and colors.

My black kinda got a little funky…. Also, didn’t have brown dye, so I put brown sprinkles for Bill’s hair.

Ta-da!

True Blood Episode 4

I've been super busy this week with work and wedding stuff and I have been neglecting this here blog. Today is the last day to enter and win When Twilight Burns Book 4 Of the Gardella Vampire Chronicles by Colleen Gleason. I also have a few more vampire goodies to add to the prize! To see more rules and entries see this post.


So last night on True Blood we finally get to meet Eric (go team Eric!) and while I am happy that we will be seeing more of the hunky blond, I am not quite sure is Alexander Skaarsgard will be the perfect Eric. I am definitely willing to give him a chance though. I think he makes a better Eric than who they have for Bill, but that's just my opinion.



Every Sunday a group of us gets together to watch True Blood (because not all of have cable, let alone HBO - and it's fun). Last week, episode 3 "Mine" seemed to deviate the most from the books. This week there is quite different as well, mostly because the show follows several of the characters, not just Sookie. We are learning to put the show and books into different categories. We all loved the books, and the show is fun, but the books are still way better.


We got to see the iside of Fangtasia this episode - which seems a lot different then the books. From what I recalled, Harris' Fangtasia was Hollywood vampire themed - not leather and spikes themed...they played more adult contemporary rock/ classic rock in the books - but I do think the more "club"music for the show is better.

I found it interesting that they had this picture behind the bar...

Not all blood suckers are vamps, eh?

I also made some sugar cookies of Eric and Bill (and other Halloween goodness) that turned out quite cute. I will post pictures and recipes when I get the pictures.

Episode 2 of True Blood "The First Taste"

Although I was slightly disapointed with the True Blood TV series (it can't compare to the books), I still wanted to keep watching the series. I figured that it might get better as the plot goes on, as the characters start to fit in their roles, and we start to separate the TV show from the book. For going from book to TV, the story line is very close to each other. There are some differences though.

The biggest difference between the book and the show is the roles of Sookie’s brother Jason and friend Tara. I understand why the HBO made them more prominent characters though. The books center around Sookie – her thoughts, her actions, her everything. To make the TV show more interesting, there needs to be more prominent characters then just Sookie.

I really liked the grandmother when I first watched the pilot episode. I thought that HBO did a great job casting her. While I watch more and more of the series I am starting to dislike the grandmother more and more. To me she acts like she is not there all the way. She seems like she should be living by herself with 20 cats. In the books Sookie’s grandmother seemed to be a smart old fire cracker. In the TV series, the grandma is more concerned about Sookie and Bill together. In the book, Sookie’s grandma likes Bill and practically shoos them out the door to go on walk together.

My only two other gripes:
Bill doesn’t levitate in the show… why not? He does in the books.
In the beginning Sookie’s blood pattern on her face practically changed every clip – blood on her upper lip, no blood, blood on her chin, no blood.

Oh and one more….
What is up with the vampire with the swiveling eyes (see picture)? I don’t get it.

Even though the books are 100x better, I am still going to watch the series. It’s over-sexed and a little cheesy, but it is also fun. My friends and I are making it a tradition to get together and eat dinner and watch True Blood. Us girls make comments about the differences between books and movie, Marc complains that we are being too critical, and Nichole squeals about how cute Bill is. Even though we know what happens next, we look forward to watching another episode.