Whoopee!
Look who got an award!!!
Thank you, readers, for nominating us and thank you,
Daily Reviewer for including us!! Very cool.
So, as Mario mentioned, we attended the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold Writers Conference last weekend. What he didn’t mention, is that he serves as unofficial bartender every year in the hospitality room. Well.. at least he did until I managed to snap the following pictures.
See what he’s doing? Now watch…
Can we say ewwwwww... that's our Mario!
Sad news this week: Patrick Swayze died of pancreatic cancer at 57. More here from
Huffington Post. Never saw him on The Beast, did any of you? The teasers I caught were too painful to watch.
From the Whedonverse:
Ray Wise moves into ’Dollhouse’
It’s not James Marsters but this will do nicely…
Dollhouse has tapped spooky-cool Ray Wise to join the cast in the potentially recurring role of Howard, an intelligent higher-up in the Dollhouse who has huge presence and humor.
Wise is coming off of a two-year stint as Lucifer on The CW’s Reaper. Of course, to me, he’ll forever be the dude who offed Laura Palmer.
Dollhouse, which kicks off season 2 a week from Friday, is amassing quite the impressive talent roster this season. In addition to Wise, upcoming guest stars include Jamie Bamber, Keith Carradine, Alexis Denisoff, and Summer Glau.
I guess this means Reaper is no more. Too bad. I liked that show.Again from the Whedonverse, an interesting article:
10 things True Blood Owes to BuffyThere’s been a lot of discussion around here of whether or not True Blood has been de-gayed this year. I don’t have a strong opinion on that one way or the other, but one thing I have noticed : As the show moves beyond the source material from the Charlaine Harris novels on which it is based, Alan Ball’s HBO series seems to be morphing into a racier version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.If you’re familiar with both shows, you’ve probably noticed some similarities between the world of True Blood and that of Joss Whedon’s Buffyverse. And not simply the obvious things (i.e. vampires), or similarities that were already present in the Sookie Stackhouse book series. I’m talking about characters, plot elements, and general themes that weren’t ported over from the Charlaine Harris books and instead seem borrowed from Buffy. And in particular, Buffy season 5.Don’t believe any Buffy/True Blood similarities are intentional ? Here are 10. You decide whether or not these parallels are simply coincidence.1. The Big BadEvery season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer had its "Big Bad" : A major foe who percolated throughout the season before boiling over and being ultimately vanquished in the finale. There was The Master (Seasons 1 & 2), The Mayor (Season 3), Adam (Season 4), Glory (Season 5), Bad Willow (Season 6), and The First Evil (Season 7). True Blood has its very own Big Bad in the form of Maryann. Her ominous storyline has run through the entire season and clearly the upcoming finale will culminate in a big showdown with her. Maryanne is strikingly similar to season 5’s Glory. Both are immortals who can’t be killed and both are attempting a ritual that the protagonists are trying to stop.2. The Crazy HenchpeopleGlory sucked the brains out of many of the citizens of Sunnydale. For the most part they just ran around acting crazy, but towards the end the crazies become her henchmen, helping her prepare for the coming ritual. Maryann does the same thing.3. The Sacrificial TowerIn Sunnydale, Glory had her minions build an ominous metal tower for her. Maryann makes hers of meat.4. The KeyGlory needs to bleed Dawn. Maryann has her sacrificial sights set on Sam5. The Love TriangleSookie is torn between good vampire Bill or blonde bad boy, Eric. Does this triangle sound familiar ? (Although, to be fair, this similarity was present in the Charlaine Harris books)6. The Weapons ExpertIn Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Xander had no particular skill set so, as if to compensate, in a bit of a plot contrivance he was made a "military weapons expert." Jason gets the same military upgrade in season 2 after a brief stint in the Children of the Sun compound.7. The Vengeance Demon (origin)Okay, this one may be a stretch, but in season 5 of Buffy we learned more about Anya and how she got her start as a vengeance demon. Back in Viking days, the human Anya had a boyfriend who cheated on her, so she gives up her humanity to become a vengeance demon and turn him into a troll.In last week’s True Blood, the vampire queen explains how Maenads like MaryAnn came into being : "You’re a wild young girl who is married to some jerk who treats you like property and is also f#*king some 14 year old boy...."8. TaraOkay, aside from the name, which is surely only coincidental, both the Buffy Tara and the True Blood Tara lose themselves to the Big Bad, And saving them from the Big Bad becomes a major motivation in taking on the seemingly invincible foe.9. The Teenage WardIn season 5, Buffy gets a little sister seemingly out of nowhere. (Well, actually out of nowhere come to think of it.) And when mother Joyce dies, Dawn becomes Buffy’s obnoxious teenage ward. In True Blood it’s Bill who gets the ward, in the form of Jessica. And just like Dawn, she’s dealing with typical teenage issues (although being a cable show, Jessica’s are far more R-rated).10. The Scooby GangA lot of Buffy fans (myself included) think the success of that show had very little to do with Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy and far more to do with the cast of supporting characters - Buffy’s gang, her Scoobies, without which she would never be able to defeat the Big Bad. This season of True Blood is shaping up to be similar, with weapons expert Jason, the vamps, the shifters, and Sookie herself all working together to defeat the otherwise invincible Maryanne.So, True Blood watchers, what do you think ? Any similarities between Buffy and TB that I’m missing ? Do you think these similarities are intentional and Alan Ball is using Buffy as a sort of playbook ?What do you all think?And last but not least, Dr. Horrible won an Emmy for Outstanding Special Class – Short format Live-Action entertainment Program…
Who doubted it?From the Guardian UK--
JK Rowling and Stephenie Meyer to get comic-book biographiesFemale Force's graphic stories will be 'very fun, respectful and unique', promises publisherFull article
here—
Hey, for all you present and former Southern Californians who know and love Mystery & Imagination book store, here’s your chance to vote it in as the Best Book Store in LA. Go
here and vote (early and often). Let’s get Christine and Malcolm Bell the attention they deserve.
There's an
interview on Amberkatze’s Book Blog featuring moi. Check it out. Prizes offered! And, Amber, thanks for the beautiful spread.
Don’t forget: the launch party for Retribution continues this Saturday at Nina and Ron’s new Who Else! Books. Address: 200 So. Broadway. The fun starts at 3. The new store is in The Broadway Book Mall on the southeast corner of Broadway and Cedar, across from the post office. I can promise fun and prizes.
PS Speaking of prizes-- for all of you waiting for a copy of Retribution, I haven't forgotten....I'm still waiting for my own copies to arrive from the publisher. If I don't receive them by Friday, I'm going to send out the rest of the prizes and the books will follow. I PROMISE.