J.K. Rowling stunned/amazed/delighted her fans at a Carnegie Hall appearance when she announced to the audience that Dumbledore was gay. She added that Dumbledore was in love with Grindelwald and “that added to his horror when Grindelwald showed himself to be what he was.... That was Dumbledore's tragedy." Other tidbits: Hagrid doesn’t marry or have children. Neville Longbottom marries Hannah Abbott, who becomes landlady of the Leaky Cauldron, above which the two of them live. Snape gets his portrait on the wall with other Hogwart’s headmasters.
I would love to have been in that audience!
The Well Red Coyote, Sedona, Az bookstore has been voted Best Bookstore in Sedona for the second year in a row. The store is owned by former San Diego pals, Kris and Joe Neri. Congratulations, Kris. I love Sedona. Wish I could get there more often.
An article in
BBC news lists “10 ways to get you to read a book.” Word of mouth and book clubs are right up there.
Buffyverse news: Joss Whedon will direct a second episode of The Office. Episode 10, “Branch Wars.” No air date or other details available.
On Monday, January 14, the Sarah Connor Chronicles debuts. Summer Glau stars with Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker and Richard T. Jones. It will air right before the new season of 24.
The contests are still up and running at
Author Island. Check them out.
And voting is still going on at the
Night Owl Romance Contest. I’m at the very bottom of the vote totals, but since I realize there aren’t legions of fans out there that know me, I’m thrilled to have been nominated!
This weekend Mario and I appear at MileHiCon. We do a reading together and appear on a panel: Vamp Psychology 101. I’m moderator. Here are the questions I’ll be asking. If you think of others, let me know.
From straightforward predators to tortured souls, authors and Hollywood have psychoanalyzed vampires for years:
• What are some of the interpretations currently in favor?
• Does the changing view of vampire as complex/tortured/psychological simply mirror a growing societal awareness of psychology, or is something else going on here—and if so, what?
• How free are authors and Hollywood allowed to be when exploring the vampire mythos? Are there boundaries one shouldn't cross?
• Who has been most influential in shaping the above?
• Who or what are your personal influences?
Almost finished with rewrites for book four, The Legacy. The Watcher comes out next month. I’m way behind in promo for that one and feeling less than confident about Legacy. I go through this every damned time it gets close to release date for one book while I’m finishing another. It’s what I call prepublication, postcompletion panic syndrome. Some days I envy those “literary” writers who have one or two YEARS between books. Whatever must that be like?
To all my San Diego pals-- My thoughts are with you. I lived in San Diego a long time and this is by far the worst fire in memory. I've restrained from calling because I know the lines need to be kept clear. If you need anything, you know how to reach me.
XOXOXO