Dragon*Con
Before we get to the fun stuff, Dragon*Con, here are a few articles that caught my eye this week.
Who would have thunk it? From the
Wall Street Journal:
Amish Romances Are Hot
Nicknamed “bonnet books” or Amish love stories, most “are G-rated romances, often involving an Amish character who falls for an outsider. Publishers attribute the books' popularity to their pastoral settings and forbidden love scenarios à la Romeo and Juliet. Lately, the genre has expanded to include Amish thrillers and murder mysteries. Most of the authors are women.”And from
Shelf Awareness:
Tolkien Trust and Harper UK Settle Lord of the Rings Film Suit
The Tolkien Trust and Harper UK have settled the lawsuit they brought last year against New Line Cinema concerning their share of proceeds from the Lord of the Rings films. "The precise terms of the settlement are confidential," the statement says. The suit originally asked for "in excess of $150 million in compensatory damages," based on a claim that the original film rights contract gave them 7.5 percent of gross proceeds. But attorney for the Tolkien estate Bonnie Eskenazi tells the WSJ "that demand increased after we got closer to a trial because discovery revealed additional financial impropriety." Warner Bros. President Alan Horn said in a statement the studio deeply values "the contributions of the Tolkien novels to the success of our films." Most importantly, they want to start shooting their adaptation of The Hobbit, which they hope to begin next year.I am sure there were lots of other things of interest going on in the publishing world last week, but honestly, I was too busy to notice!!
Now--
First day at DragonCon it was my immense pleasure to host the writer on writer interview of Charlaine Harris. She is no doubt the nicest writer in the business and we had a lot of fun doing this panel.
Here are a few pictures from the event.
Jaye Wells (author of Red Headed Stepchild) submitted a question that I asked Charlaine: Does she find herself picturing the actors and settings from the HBO show when writing new books?
Her answer: Not really. Some of the characters, Sam, for instance, and Andy, are exactly as she imagined them. But others are not. The setting for Merlotte’s is pretty much as she envisioned except for the pool table. None in the books, though she said she should have included one! Of course, Merlotte’s would have a pool table.
Which leads me to this picture—several of Charlaine’s fans came dressed as waitresses at Merlotte’s. Complete with a bottle of TruBlood.
RK Charron asked if the demands of fame and fortune have impacted her writing. She replied the only big difference now is that she has more money!! The writing process is the same.
One tidbit you may or may not know—In October, the last Harper Connelly book will be released. Charlaine says she’ll wrap the series up in a way that should satisfy her readers. The reason? Time.
Pictures after the panel-- with fan Ron Marler.
Ron was nice enough to bring a picture he took with me from last year's D*C-- thanks so much for that, Ron!
Charlaine, me and writer pal,
Jackie Kessler.
Saturday opened my hotel room curtain to find I had a perfect view of the parade. Couple of pics to give you an idea.
Pal Carol Malcolm (who splendidly moderates many of the panels in the Dark Fantasy Track) and I ordered room service and enjoyed the spectacle.
I realize these pics are fuzzy, but they're from 22 floors up! Just wanted to show this was a
real parade! I was impressed!
Only at DragonCon can you find Hermoine and Harry chatting on cell phones while eating Chik-Fil-A.
Some members of the League of Reluctant Adults and friends hanging. What makes these photos so unusual is that no one has an alcoholic beverage in hand.
I brought back some Dragon*Con swag (including something from Charlaine Harris) so the first person who identifies the four authors in this picture, wins it!
Now, I have lots more pics--including many costumes--and as soon as I figure out how to upload them on Facebook (Yes, I'm on Facebook now so befriend me, please!!!) I will. But this one is special because as most of you know, Mario made me a gun bra that is now famous. Here's a rocket bra that is almost as good. ALMOST.
No posting about Dragon*Con would be complete without a thank you to Derek Tatum, the director of the Dark Fantasy track. He is a marvel.
So, to finish up, a couple of personal notes:
Mysterious Galaxy reported Retribution was the Numero Uno bestseller for August. Thank you all—
And if you're interested in what my writing space looks like, Maddie James of Examiner.com did an interview and included a picture. Go
here.
See you next week--