Scary Monsters
On the vampire front, an advertisement for a chicken snack is
terrifying children in England. In the ad, Mattessons Fridge Raiders cause people to turn into vampires. You gotta love a country where they think calling something a "fridge raider" will make children go, "Yum!"
Lee Clark Zumpe writes a very thoughtful review of Octavia Butler's
Fledgling. Butler died a year ago, and the paperback of this vampire story was released this month. Zumpe writes, "Intentionally deviating from the hackneyed stereotypes of the gothic subgenre, Butler overhauls mythology and folklore and cultivates a plausible, scientific premise for her vampires."
I loved the first two-thirds of this book, which raced along, setting up a world where vampires and humans live in symbiotic communities. The last third bogged down in a rather uninspired courtroom setting, but the book is still well worth reading. It's even worth a headache; I couldn't stop once I started and that meant I read in a car ride. (Yes, I was the passenger.) I intend to read more of Butler's novels, and
Kindred is at the top of that list.
The cover for my second novel,
Midnight Brunch, is almost finalized. I sent off the proofs to my editor this week, and galleys will be out soon.
If you're around San Francisco next Saturday, I'll be reading at the
Writers with Drinks event at the Makeout Room.