Hi all—barely back among the land of the living. Lots went on in the world the last two weeks. Here are a few of the things that caught my interest:
Dollhouse, Joss’ newest project, may be on the air as early as this fall. Check out this
website for casting and script info. Brennan Elliott has auditioned for a part. He’s easy on the eyes.
A
video, Vampire Heart, for all you fans who are as crazy as I am about the Jossworld. This is fun!
If you’ve been following Buffy Season 8, the next ARC includes a gay romance for the Buffster. Writer Drew Goddard shares his thoughts
here.
A first look at something with the intriguing title “Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”, Joss’ new musical project, slated to debut “soon” can be found
here. His words: “It’s the story of a low-rent super-villain, the hero who keeps beating him up, and the cute girl from the laundromat he’s too shy to talk to. And I’m having the time of my life.” Hmmmm….
The latest Stargate, The Ark of Truth, is available now. There is an interview with Robert Cooper
here.
And for we who write, Borders
decision to display as many as “three times the titles” face out as in the past is the good news and bad news. The change is supposed to be evident in most stores in about six weeks. The good news is maybe we won’t have to strong-arm friends and family all over the country to turn our own titles out. The bad news is that it’s going to result in an inventory cutback of between 4600-9300 titles per store.
For fans of my pal Charlaine Harris, this bit of casting news: Hunk Alexander Skarsgard has joined the cast of
True Blood, the HBO Sookie Stackhouse series, as Eric. Nice.
From the sublime to the…well, you know.
Matthew McConaughey supposedly wants to name his unborn kid after his favorite beer—Bud. He’s following in the footsteps of his older brother, Michael, who named his son, I kid you not, Miller Lyte. Insanity really does run in families.
A writing contest you might be interested in. The 77th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition. $30,000 in cash and prizes, including trips to New York to meet with editors and agents. No mention of a devil duck, though. Check out the rules
here.
However, in case you are thinking of entering the Memoirs/Personal Essay category of the above mentioned contest, you might first want to check out
Christopher Beam’s “The Fake Memoirist’s Survival Guide.” (Margaret B. Jones should have seen this, not to mention all the editors, newspaper people, and reviewers who hailed Love and Consequences as a “remarkable book.”) It offers these helpful hints:
* Specificity is your enemy.
* Write what you know--but no one else does.
* Be a victim.
* Check your paper trail.
* Don't leave witnesses.
* Don't leave clues!
* Don't tell anyone.
* Beware of blurbs.
He goes into wonderful detail at the above link.
Because we need to support our friends, next time you’re looking for a gift with a different twist, check out Vamprowler’s
ufotogo.com website. Alien smirk mugs, shirts, bumper stickers…you can find them all here.
Speaking of aliens, Mario did an
interview with Tez Miller (brave girl) at Urban Fantasy Land…as usual, be very afraid…
I am guest blogging (or blahgging, as Jaye puts it) tomorrow (Thursday) at Jay Wells
Adopt a Vampire Month. There will be prizes. Drop by, say hello, post a comment. Hint: my column is a long song to Joss…
PS From today's Shelf Awareness: Arthur C. Clarke, author of more than 100 books, inventor, futurist and science fiction icon, died yesterday in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He was 90 and best known for his novel 2001: A Space Odyssey and his collaboration with Stanley Kubrick on the film of the same name.
The New York Times has a long
obituary.