Charlaine Harris not done with Sookie Stackhouse yet

By JOY TIPPING / The Dallas Morning News
jtipping@dallasnews.com

You might think that author Charlaine Harris, flush with success from her Sookie Stackhouse "Southern Vampire" series, might be ready to hang up her literary fangs and retire to her home in Southwest Arkansas.

She's written 10 Sookie books – the inspiration for HBO's smash series True Blood, which returns for its third season on June 13 – including the recently released 10th in the series, Dead in the Family. She's also written three other mystery series and a whole slew of short stories.

At 58, though, she says she's got at least two more Sookie books to write and a comic-book series in the works, among other projects. We talked to her by phone in advance of her tour stop Saturday in Dallas.

What's going on in the new book? Sookie's recovering from the terrible events of the last book, which involved a Faery War. ... This book really deals with a lot of family issues, and different types of families – formed families, blood families.

Do you feel like you're living in two separate Sookie-verses now? People who're watching the series and reading the books know that HBO has kept to the books' plots in some ways, but in other ways the show is radically different, so there's no telling what'll happen on the show. ... But even when I'm writing now, as good as those actors are, I don't see them in my head. I still see the same people I've been seeing all along, way before the TV show started.

That Season 2 scene with Godrick exploding on top of the Adolphus Hotel was awesome. What did you think? Did they shoot that there? I didn't know that! I love the Adolphus. That's where I usually stay when I'm in Dallas.

read on

Charlaine Harris will discuss and sign Dead in the Family at 2 p.m. today at Borders, 10720 Preston Road at Royal Lane, Dallas. Wristbands for admission will be handed out starting at 9 a.m. this morning. 214-363-1977. www.borders.com.

Vampire Stan is that you ?

'True Blood,' 'Eureka' star to live 'The Beautiful Life'

Ed Quinn ("Eureka"'s Nathan Stark, "True Blood"'s vampire Stan) has signed on for "The Beautiful Life."

The CW confirms that Quinn will join their freshman series, playing the husband of Elle Macpherson's character Claudia, a no-nonsense businesswoman who runs the cutthroat modeling agency which represents most of the series' younger characters.

He will first appear in mid October and is said to be sticking around for several episodes.

Go Ask Dallas: Godric's Ultra Modern chair

Dallas - tell me about the seriously cool mod chair that Godric is sitting in the the pre explosion Dallas nest shots ...

Ok - I think it's called a petal lounge chair

You can buy one here

It's usually sold in black or red but on some sites you can order it in white.

True Blood behind the scene: Godric meets God in both Dallas and Los Angeles. "Go Ask Dallas -where was this filmed ?"

Dear Dallas ,

I am confused was the 'Godric on the roof' his big finale scene shot in L.A. or in Dallas ?

Thanks and I love you blog!

"Dallas " (haha)

Answer: Well, Dallas thanks for writing and I think what we have here is a little bit of movie magic.

Some of the scenes on the roof were shot in Dallas and some of it was shot in Los Angeles. The end when Godric is alone and facing the east, he is on the top of a newer part of the Adolphus hotel in Dallas and he's on the helipad and the building he is facing (with the clock tower-Note it's 6:13 am) is a well know Dallas landmark, it's our old Mercantile building.

We know that the Dallas Morning News reported on July 24th

'Blood' in Dallas

HBO's red-hot vampire series True Blood shot a scene recently atop the Adolphus.

"A character was on the roof and had to burst into flames when the sun came up," said Janis Burklund of the Dallas Film Commission. The scene is for the ninth episode of the second season of the show, which is set in Louisiana.

Then we read in the Access Hollywood article this morning about Allan Hyde ( the young actor who played Godric ) racing with Anna and Alexander and the crew to shoot the scene in L.A.

"Allan explained that he, along with AccessHollywood.com’s newest Rising Star – Alexander Skarsgard (Eric Northman) and Anna Paquin (Sookie Stackhouse) — had just minutes to film his death scene in downtown LA. The three actors and crew raced to capture the morning’s natural light.

“It was amazing, not just because it was such a touching scene. The performances of Alex and Anna in that scene were so amazing just to watch,” he told Access. “I never tried anything like it. I had very good feeling about the scene and I’m excited to watch it.”

So what gives ? which is right ?

Well, they can't trick Ol' Dallas - the scene was shot in two places. It was shot with Alex, Anna and Allan on top of the building in L.A. located on Figueroa St. in Downtown LA.

The 'tell' here is that you can clearly see the name of the building the back of the real Anna, is the TCW building and it's located on 865 South Figueroa Street. So, I think they might actually be on top of the building located at 800 South Figueroa and if you click on the Google map below and then look at it on satellite view I think you can see the stairs that Sookie comes up and that Eric leaves by are right next to the heliport.

Then in the other scenes really shot in Dallas you see just Alan or they used Allan and a Sookie stand-in ....also look at the skies and the railings.

At least, I know I'm not crazy because in the same scene we saw two unique buildings but one is in L.A. and the other is in Dallas and we all know that's impossible- except in Hollywood !

View Larger Map

Loving True Blood in Dallas blog helps solve the True Blood FotS church mystery for Arkansas Gazette

When the Arkansas Gazette starts asking me ' Go Ask Dallas' questions then I guess I know I've reached the big time . HA!

I can finally tell you who it was that asked last weeks " Go Ask Dallas" question. It was a question posed by a reporter from The Arkansas Gazette.

Kyle Brazzel knew right away that the structure shown as the Fellowship of the Sun Church in Episode 6 of True Blood was a building designed by famed architect and Arkansas native, Fay Jones -but which one ?

Because the Sookie Stackhouse book series author, Charlaine Harris is also an Arkansas resident, this was an important source of state pride and something they wanted to report on in for the largest newspaper in Arkansas and they wanted to get it right.

Here is where I posted my answer on the blog last week , and this is also what I sent to Kyle. He very nicely mentioned the blog in yesterday's write up in the Little Rock newspaper!

Fay Jones Chapel Vamps for True Blood

True Blood behind the scenes: Fellowship of the Sun filming

'So much love comes flowing out ...' Steve Newlin

The amazing SkyRose Chapel at Rose Hills Memorial Park near Los Angeles ( Whittier) served as the stand-in for the FotS church in Dallas.

The chapel is one of the famous buildings designed by Arkansas native architect Fay Jones and it's gorgeous.

This was a "Go ask Dallas" question- I'll tell ya Sunday who asked

http://www.lovingtruebloodindallas.com/2009/07/true-blood-behind-scene-fellowship-of.html

Vampire Wannabees Converge on Dallas

* Dallas zips lip and hides *

from NBC Dallas

"Twilight" convention brings out the vampire fans

Since we're not staffed with 12-year-old girls, or their mothers, the opening of the unofficial "Twilight Saga" convention, TwiCon, snuck up on us.

Thursday was the first day fans could go to the Sheraton Dallas to talk about creative writing topics like: "Twilight All-Human Fic: No Vampires? What's the Point?!" or attend "Cardio with the Cullens." But, the real meat and potatoes for fans will likely come during Saturday's cast sessions with Kellan Lutz, Peter Facinelli, and Billy Burke, among others.

Note: we say "for fans" because we had to IMDB all of those names (though we'd seen them in other stuff). Causal "Twilight" fans might enjoy seeing some of the convention, but it's the hardcore members who frequent sites like BellaAndEdward.com that will really feel their wannabe-vampire hearts pumping.

While we're not quite "fans" of the source material, we do know how much fun a convention can be. Our trip to A-Kon just a few months ago reminded us. So for those of you on the fence, maybe a trip to the official site will help whet your appetite.

Details:
TwiCon 2009
Sheraton Hotel Dallas
July 30 - Aug 2

http://www.nbcdfw.com/around-town/events/Vampire-Wannabees-Converge-on-Dallas-52192992.html

LOVING TRUE BLOOD IN DALLAS, BABY !!!

Opening shot from Sunday night's episode ... this IS Dallas, Baby!!!

True Blood Episode 5 Barry the BellBoy

'Listen, I don't know what little fried corn-on-the-cob town you're from, or what candy-ass vampires you're with, but this is Dallas, baby...Dallas vamps are serious and scary as shit.'

Finally some folks are realizing that I really do blog from Dallas - and if you are a bookie you ALWAYS got the play on words with my blog title and the the title of Sookie book 2.

Living Dead in Dallas = Loving True Blood in Dallas

You can look at all the Dallas posts here

True Blood Recipe: Sookie's favorite pancakes from the Silent Shore Hotel ( Hotel Carmilla)

Silent Shore ( now known as Hotel Carmilla) Pancakes

From Living Dead in Dallas " I added a tip to the room ticket I signed—I ate everything he'd brought: sausage and pancakes and a bowl of melon balls. Oh gosh, it tasted good. The syrup was real maple syrup, and the fruit was just ripe enough. The sausage was wonderful. I was glad Bill wasn't around to watch and make me feel uncomfortable"

Ingredients:

. 2 cups flour
. 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
. 1/2 teaspoon salt
. 1 teaspoon baking powder
. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
. 1 cup buttermilk
. 3/4 cup milk
. 2 large eggs, separated
. 1/4 cup melted butter
. vegetable oil

Preparation:

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and soda.
In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk and milk, egg yolks, and melted butter. Blend into the dry ingredients just until all ingredients are moistened.
Beat egg whites in another bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold into the batter until well incorporated.
Heat a small amount of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When skillet is hot enough for a drop of water to sizzle, scoop pancake batter onto the skillet in about 1/4-cup portions, spreading slightly. When edges are rather dry and bubbles are popping and bottoms are nicely browned, about 2 to 3 minutes, turn over and cook the other side until browned, about 2 minutes longer.
Serve hot with butter and syrup.

Godric bursting into flames in Ep 9 shot in Dallas !

In today's Dallas Morning News -

'Blood' in Dallas

HBO's red-hot vampire series True Blood shot a scene recently atop the Adolphus.

"A character was on the roof and had to burst into flames when the sun came up," said Janis Burklund of the Dallas Film Commission. The scene is for the ninth episode of the second season of the show, which is set in Louisiana.

Dallas, however, has been a side trip for some of the show's characters lately. Burklund added there's a strong possibility that the show will return for additional North Texas shoots.

HERE

Hotel Vampire Porn - are you kidding me ?

Goodness....
Sookie can choose from some interesting adult movie selections at the Hotel Carmilla, choices include such greats as : Intercourse with a Vampire, His First Fangbang or Co-ed Chowdown ( with vamp on vamp action)

True Blood: Welcome to Dallas Sookie Stackhouse and True Blood ! Pt 2

Sookie Stackhouse ( Living Dead in Dallas )

...I'd forgotten the sprawl of Dallas, in the seven years since I'd graduated from high school. The lights of the city were amazing, and the busyness. I stared out of the windows at everything we passed, and Bill smiled at me with an irritating indulgence.

The lovely Objectdesire and I using the Charlaine Harris book 'Living Dead in Dallas' last year came up with some actual Dallas locations that fit the places described in the book.
None of the places mentioned in the books are actual places in Dallas except DFW Airport and Dealey Plaza. ( which has to be mentioned in any thing set in Dallas)

These are also NOT filming locations, from what we understand all the "Dallas " True Blood scenes are being shot in California. But we might see a stock photo of the Dallas Skyline or Dealey plaza shot to authentically set the locations as being here ...but it's Hollywood magic.

So, what we had to do is use the distances and locations as described in the books and come up
There are 7 locations, I will post the first 3 today and the last 4 tomorrow.

4.) Stan Davis' house, University Park, Dallas TX

Isabelle drives Bill and Sookie from their downtown hotel down Elm Street past Dealey Plaza to Stan's house in University Park. UP is a small exclusive city located inside Dallas proper and is just a few miles north of Downtown Dallas. http://www.uptexas.org/

Many of the new houses in University Park are boxy, beige brick and over-sized for the lot. I chose this one because of the big front windows that would have been fired into during the FotS raid on the house ...

We drove for at least twenty more minutes, leaving business areas and entering residential. At first the structures were modest and boxy; but gradually, though the lots didn't seem that much larger, the houses began to grow as if they'd taken steroids. Our final destination was a huge house shoehorned onto a small lot. With its little ruffle of land around the cube of the house, it looked ridiculous, even in the dark. I sure could have stood a longer ride and more delay. We parked on the street in front of the mansion, for so it seemed to me.

Bill opened my door for me. I stood for a moment, reluctant to start the—project. I knew there were vampires inside, lots of them. I knew it the same way I would be able to discern that humans were waiting. But instead of positive surges of thought, the kind I'd get to indicate people, I got mental pictures of . . . how can I put it? There were holes in the air inside the house. Each hole represented a vampire.

I went a few feet down the short sidewalk to the front door, and there, finally, I caught a mental whiff of human. The light over the door was on, so I could tell the house was of beige brick with white trim. The light, too, was for my benefit; any vampire could see far better than the sharpest-eyed human. Isabel led the way to the front door, which was framed in graduating arches of brick. There was a tasteful wreath of grapevines and dried flowers on the door, which almost disguised the peephole: This was clever mainstreaming.

I realized there was nothing apparent in this house's appearance to indicate that it was any different from any of the other oversized houses we'd passed, no outward indication that within lived vampires.

5.) Fellowship of the Sun Church ( and headquarters)

Now, we did find a local church that fit the description it was chosen because it fit the criteria of distance from downtown, large parking lot located on major streets
I won't name it her- publicly because I'm sure they are very nice people who DO not want to be associated with FotS. We actually pass a church every time we go to 'Bill's house " in NW Louisiana that fits the description to a 'T' See photo at left.

Hugo slowed and put on his turn signal when we came to a major intersection. We were about to turn into the parking lot of a large church; at least, it had formerly been a church. The sanctuary was huge, by Bon Temps standards.

Only Baptists could count that kind of attendance, in my neck of the woods, and that's if all their congregations joined together. The two-story sanctuary was flanked by two long one-story wings. The whole building was white-painted brick, and all the windows were tinted. There was a chemically green lawn surrounding the whole, and a huge parking lot.

The sign on the well-tended lawn read THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE SUN CENTER—Only Jesus Rose from the Dead.

6.) Hospital
The hospital where Luna and Sookie are treated after car accident. We think it's :

Baylor Hospital
3500 Gaston Ave Dallas, TX

The hospital was like all hospitals. Luna stuck to me like white to rice, and when we were in the same cubicle and a nurse entered to take down still more details. Lunasaid, "Tell Dr. Josephus that Luna Garza and her sister are here."I couldn't believe the massively self-assured Dr. Josephus had ever come down this tunnel before, but he seemed to know his way, and the staff didn't act startled at the sight of him. At the end of the tunnel, he pushed open a heavy metal door. Luna Garza nodded to him regally, said, "Many thanks," and wheeled me out into the night. There was a big old car parked out there. It was dark red or dark brown. As I looked around a little more, I realized that we were in an alley. There were big trash bins lining the wall, and I saw a cat pouncing on something—I didn't want to know what—between two of the bins. After the door whooshed pneumatically shut behind us, the alley was quiet. I began to feel afraid again.

7.)Bat's Wing Bar

The bar that Stan owns and where Farrell is kidnapped.
We think it's :
Lizard Lounge
2424 Swiss Ave, Dallas, TX 75204 http://thelizardlounge.com/

"Works in the club where he was last seen. It's one we own, The Bat's Wing." Bars were favorite enterprises for vampires, naturally, because their heaviest traffic came at night. Somehow, fanged all-night dry cleaners didn't have the same allure that a vampire-studded bar did. In the past two years, vampire bars had become the hottest form of nightlife a city could boast. The pathetic humans who became obsessed with vampires—fang-bangers—hung out in vampire bars, often in costumes, in the hopes of attracting the attention of the real thing. Tourists came in to gape at the undead and the fang-bangers. These bars weren't the safest place to work.

Contest: Help Sookie pack for her big trip to Dallas !

You know Sookie doesn't get to travel much and the trip to Dallas is a big thing....

She needs your help packing ...

1.) Name 3 things that YOU know from the books that she packed and brought to Dallas ..

2.) Name 1 thing that she forgot to bring ...

3. ) Name 1 thing she should have brought ...

The winner will receive a free Sookie paperback (title of your choice )

We will pick a number at random from the entries and announce the winner tomorrow night on 'Talk Blood' radio show ...the Twitter Jessica will pick it for us !

Post your answers in the comments and SIGN IN or sign your posts

Thanks "D"

True Blood: Welcome to Dallas Sookie Stackhouse and True Blood ! Pt 1

Sookie Stackhouse ( Living Dead in Dallas )

...I'd forgotten the sprawl of Dallas, in the seven years since I'd graduated from high school. The lights of the city were amazing, and the busyness. I stared out of the windows at everything we passed, and Bill smiled at me with an irritating indulgence.

The lovely Objectdesire and I using the Charlaine Harris book 'Living Dead in Dallas' last year came up with some actual Dallas locations that fit the places described in the book.
None of the places mentioned in the books are actual places in Dallas except DFW Airport and Dealey Plaza. ( which has to be mentioned in any thing set in Dallas)

These are also NOT filming locations, from what we understand all the "Dallas " True Blood scenes are being shot in California. But we might see a stock photo of the Dallas Skyline or Dealey plaza shot to authentically set the locations as being here ...but it's Hollywood magic.

So, what we had to do is use the distances and locations as described in the books and come up with real Dallas locations that kind of fit the descriptions of the locations.

There are 4 locations, I will post the first 3 today and the last 4 tomorrow.

1) DFW Airport
Where Sookie and Bill land ..

Bk 2: It was as hot as the six shades of hell in Dallas, especially on the pavement at the airport.

Our brief few days of fall had relapsed back into summer. Torch-hot gusts of air bearing all the sounds and smells of the Dallas-Fort Worth airport—the workings of small vehicles and airplanes, their fuel and their cargo—seemed to accumulate around the foot of the ramp from the cargo bay of the plane I'd been waiting for.

I'd flown a regular commercial flight, but Bill had had to be shipped specially.

2) Silent Shores Hotel, Downtown Dallas ( it's called the Carmilla Hotel in True Blood)
our pick:
The Adolphus Hotel Dallas
1321 Commerce St
Dallas, TX 75202

Bk 2: The Silent Shore was the only hotel in the Dallas area that had undergone the extensive renovation necessary to accommodate vampire patrons. It was one of the grand old downtown hotels, the brochure had said, not that I'd ever seen downtown Dallas or any of its grand old hotels before.

..."Thank you," I said politely when we pulled under the porte cochere of the hotel. ...

The front of the hotel, with its heavy blank doors, was brilliantly lit in the dark night, and Eric looked remarkably pale.

They actually did film on the roof on the Adolphus in July
[info here ] and for the interior of the hotel they used the Sofitel in Los Angeles [info here ]



3) Dealey Plaza/ Texas School Depository Building : the site of the John Kennedy assassination.
Dealey Plaza : Wiki entry here
The Sixth Floor Museum HERE

We began a curve to the left. I could see some sort of grassy area, and a vague shape that would be some kind of historical marker, maybe. Isabel pointed to her right with a long bony finger.

"The Texas School Book Depository," she said, and I understood she felt obliged to inform me. That meant she had been ordered to do so, which was very interesting. I followed her finger eagerly, taking in as much of the brick building as I could see. I was surprised it didn't look more notable. "That's the grassy knoll?" I breathed, excited and impressed.

It was like I'd happened upon the Hindenburg or some other fabled artifact. Isabel nodded, a barely perceptible movement that I only caught because her braid jerked. "There is a museum in the old depository," she said.

Now, that was something I'd like to see in the daytime. If we were here long enough, I'd walk or maybe find out how to catch a cab while Bill was in his coffin.

True Blood : Ep 2 God Blessed Texas :I've been sent to spread the message !

French people line dancing to "God Blessed Texas " by Little Texas

Did you hear this song in Episode 2 Sunday night ?

Yes, that's Southfork Ranch from TV series 'Dallas' you see in the music video - it's now a convention center.





Lyrics
Ive seen a lot of places
Ive been around the world
Ive been seen pretty faces
Been with some beautiful girls
After all Ive witnessed
One thing still amazes me
Just like a miracle, you have to see to believe

Chorus:
(cause) God blessed texas
With his own hand
Brought down angels from the promised land
Gave em a place where they could dance

If you wanna see heaven, brother, heres you chance
Ive been sent to spread the message
God blessed Texas.
First, he let the sun shine
Then he made the waters deep
Then he gave us moonlight
For all the world to see

Well everybody knows that the lord works in mysterious ways
He took a rest, then on the very next day
Chorus (twice)
Well Ive been sent to spread the message
God blessed texas
Well Ive been sent to spread the message
God blessed texas.

Dallas hosts Sookie Stackhouse fans and we travel to see Charlaine. Harris

The True Blood / Sookie Twitterverse is now beginning to arrive in Dallas ...We are staging here for our trip this weekend to Shreveport to meet Charlaine Harris.

We have all become fast friends over the past 6 months and some of us traveled together to Los Angeles in April to attend True Blood Paleyfest. The group of folks that have contacted me for meetups in Shreveport consists of people traveling from 9 states, both U.S. coasts and from Canada, amazing.

The folks you want to follow this weekend will be:
@SookieBonTemps
@HoytFortenberry
@EricsTxGal
@FeliciaFangs

Also attending
@Robiart
@TrueBloodDallas (I don't usually tweet in the Sookie Twitterverse but I do author)
@BonTempsBugle
@AmericanVampMag

I will be blogging ..but the blog will be a little slow while I'm on the road.
If you don't twitter you should, you can watch my Twitter stream right from this blog (box bottom right)

This is what my friend Hoyt posted to his blog...

Headin' to Shreveport

Now I do my fair share of errand-runnin' for my Momma in Shreveport, but it's not often I get to actually meet up with some friends there. That's why this weekend I'll be hangin' out with @SookieBonTemps and @TrueBloodDallas in Northwest Louisiana!

We're all headin' out to see Charlaine Harris at Shreveport's "Author Author" festival this weekend, and it's lookin' like we're gonna have a blast!

Like Sookie mentioned on her blog, I'll probably do a bunch of tweeting OOC this weekend, as this is a trip that doesn't really fit into our little twitterverse -- but just maybe I'll keep the accent ;)

*Ahem* So I guess for any a y'all who need a ride to Dallas tomorrow night, my truck leaves @MerlottesBar around 7pm (we can't ALL fly y'know)...

Severe thunderstorms across North Texas - knocks Dallas off the web

Massive thunderstorm continue to rumble across North Texas. I've been without power much of the morning ...more, when I can post.

You can tweet me @trueblooddallas and I can read it on my iphone or you can email me truebloodindallas@gmail.com

'Twilight' draws vampire fans to a convention in Dallas

Dallas ???

Calling all Twilight fans to the premiere, albeit unofficial, conference on the Stephenie Meyer novels.

TwiCon 2009 will be held at a Dallas hotel July 30-Aug. 2 and will feature a Twilight movie screening, live Twilight-inspired band performances, a Volturi Masque Ball, cast members from the movie, panels, workshops and more. No word on whether all events will be held at night.

For more information, go to twicon.org.

True Blood casts Stan Davis : Ed Quinn from "Eureka"

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Ed Quinn ("Eureka") has been added to HBO's returning Southern vampire drama "True Blood" in a recurring role. He will play Stan, a powerful vampire from Texas.

Who has been here ?