Review – “Unusual Suspects” Edited by Dana Stabenow

Great review of the 'Unusual Suspect' Anthology by SciFiGuy

Unusual Suspects is a delightful collection of stories, some traditional fantasy, some urban fantasy and even a science fiction tale, all with a central mystery needing to be solved. Needless to say the central characters are not your traditional detectives. Having read many mysteries over the years, I always try to decipher who the villain is before the author reveals him/her/it. And darn it if I wasn’t 0 for 12 in this collection. Not much of a detective I guess. Many of the authors are new to me and many are familiar from their urban fantasy/fantasy appearances. Here is a quick take on the stories presented.

1. Lucky by Charlaine Harris
   A Sookie Stackhouse story where Sookie and Amelia investigate a mysterious break-in at Sookie’s insurance agents office. This one is all about luck. For those keeping track, it occurs about a month after the events of Definitely Dead (Book 6). Charming as always but not a standout.

Read it all here http://www.scifiguy.ca/2009/01/review-unusual-suspects-edited-by-dana.html

New from Charlaine's blog....

Charlaine posted a blog entry today..

This year will see the publication of DEAD AND GONE, an occasionally grim, but very exciting, entry in the Sookie Stackhouse chronicles. The next Sookie will be lighter -- at least, that’s my plan.

My publisher is hoping to get the Sookie Companion book off the ground this year, though the publication date has yet to be finalized, and the collection of novellas called MUST LOVE HELLHOUNDS will be released in the summer.. ...In “True Blood” news, we’re all hoping that the Golden Globe nominations pay off in wins. We’ll find out in a couple of weeks. Maybe those will pave the way for Emmy nominations for the fantastic cast, crew, and production staff. The DVD of Season One will be out in May, and Season Two will begin in June on HBO. I’m waiting with as much anticipation as any of you, and I know a lot of surprises are in store.

Read it all here http://www.charlaineharris.com/bb/bb_current.html

The author of Living Dead in Dallas comes to Houston, where the living ain’t dead (at least not that we know of)

By Olivia Flores Alvarez- Houston press

Charlaine Harris, the woman behind HBO’s True Blood, the megahit vampire series, is making just one appearance for the reissue of Living Dead in Dallas, and it’s here in Houston. The author of the Sookie Stackhouse books has, along with a few cohorts like Stephenie Meyer and Houston’s own Dean James, made fangers both cool and funny. She’ll discuss her popular 2002 title, now released in hardback for the first time, at today’s edition of the An Evening with… author series.

Living Dead in Dallas features everyone’s favorite telepathic cocktail waitress, Sookie, and her vampire boyfriend Bill, who are living (well, technically only Sookie is) in a backwater Louisiana town. Sookie’s hit a bit of a rough patch. Her friend has been killed, but nobody seems too interested in solving the murder. Sookie and Bill owe the local vampire sheriff a few favors, so she agrees to be their psychic snitch and go to Dallas to help them find a lost member of their crew (yes, vampires roll like that). But before Sookie and Bill can get out of town, she has a much too close encounter with a monstrous creature that poisons her. Vampires come to her rescue — kinda. They suck the poison out of her (though we’re pretty sure they take a few extra licks while they do). Finally, the unlikely lovers set off to Big D, with Bill riding in a coffin in the cargo compartment. Once they land, well, things just get worse.

If you usually aren’t into fangers and the undead, check Harris out. What sets her apart from the gazillion other vampire novelists out there is her humor. She’s created a world where vampires are trying to mainstream and pretty girls fall in love with dead men, to no one’s real surprise. At its essence, that’s a horror story, yes, but it’s horror with a sense of down-home humor. (When her friends think Bill has gotten Sookie pregnant, they wonder how she’s going to breastfeed a baby with fangs.)

After 25 years in the writing business, Harris knows her stuff, and she’s got The New York Times best-seller numbers to prove it. She’ll talk about Living Dead in Dallas, the launch of True Blood and how she created Sookie. Just don’t expect her to give away any secrets. You’ll have to buy Sookie novel No. 9, Dead and Gone, in May to find out what happens next. 7 p.m. Houston Public Library, 500 McKinney. For information, call 832-393-1313 or visit www.houstonlibrary.org. Free.
Tue., Jan. 6, 7 p.m., 2009

http://www.houstonpress.com/2009-01-01/calendar/charlaine-harris

Trueblood: Internet Marketing Story of the Year

Our readers have spoken, and they declared Marketingshift's top story of 2008: HBO's extreme marketing of Trueblood.

Jason Dowdell wrote the first Trueblood plost after he received an unusual package containing a vile full of red liquid along with a small card with Japanese writing on it and a url. Eventually, Jason realized it was HBO's creative media pack to promote the new series, Trueblood.

Before we knew it, readers were hooked on the HBO hit series about modern vampires. Four months after the post, we still receive comments on a daily basis, which is why it comes as no surprise that Trueblood received 41% of the total votes out of 10 stories. It was followed by Amazon's holiday sales record, which received 25% of the vote. In third place, there was a tie between the boycottalabamanow.com controversy and our post about slower traffic for eBay and Best Buy during holiday sales. They each received 16.7% of the vote.

We're glad you voted and enjoyed the crazy ride known as 2008 with us. We can't wait to see the amazing developments in 2009

from http://www.marketingshift.com/2009/1/trueblood-internet-marketing-story-year.cfm

Quiz: New Year's Day True Blood Quiz from Loving True Blood in Dallas

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

send me your hardest question and ill make another one soon
truebloodindallas@gmail.com

Happy True Blood New Year

To everyone from my good friend Darkbeauty73.
http://darkbeauty73.livejournal.com/

Best Fantasy Book : Dead Until Dark

Thanks to Best Fantasy for this

Because the HBO series, True Blood, was so incredibly popular with my readers and since the first season is based on Dead Until Dark, Charlaine Harris’ first fantasy book in the Southern Vampire Mysteries series, I think it makes sense to review that book so you can compare it to the series.
In Dead Until Dark we’re first introduced to Sookie Stackhouse, the plucky, sometimes outspoken waitress from Bon Temps, Louisiana. We learn early on that Sookie has a gift: she can read the minds of others. Although this might sound like a cool thing to do we discover that it’s sometimes more of a curse than a blessing. Imagine being able to hear the thoughts of several people at once. It’s a gift that could turn someone mad if not properly controlled. Thus, Sookie works hard to block out the thoughts of others and only occasionally looks into someone’s mind.

Enter Bill Compton.
A few years prior, vampires came out of the closet to the world and announced their existence. Since then they’ve worked hard to convince humans that they can exist without resorting to violence. A Japanese company even developed a synthetic blood product called True Blood which “mainstreaming” vampires (those that choose to co-exist with humans) consume in order to maintain their strength. Being a small town, Bon Temps had never experienced vampires. Until now. You see, Bill Compton is a vampire.

What draws Sookie to Bill is that she can’t read his mind. Yup, when she’s around him she hears nothing but silence. To someone like Sookie this is fantastic. She can let down her mental guard and just be herself. The attraction soon leads to a more serious relationship which allows Charlaine Harris to provide social commentary on prejudice, racism, and intolerance for cultural differences.

The supporting characters in the book help flesh out the story and provide insight into the Bon Temps community: First up is Sam Merlotte, Sookie’s boss and the owner of Merlotte’s, the bar where Sookie works. Sam is a great guy who happens to have a crush on Sookie. Sam has a secret that, during the course of the book, Sookie discovers. I won’t reveal it here for those that haven’t read the book or watched True Blood. Suffice it to say, it illustrates to Sookie that her world is inhabited by more supernatural creatures than just vampires.
Sookie’s brother, Jason Stackhouse, is a fun-loving womanizer who doesn’t really spend much time with his sister. Jason’s conquests are primarily spoken of, not shown, unlike what we see in the True Blood series.

Eric Northman is Bill’s boss and the vampire owner of a bar called Fangtasis, located in Shreveport. Here’s Charlaine Harris’ description of Eric from the book:
“the vampire was handsome, in fact he was radiant. Blond and blue-eyed, tall and broad shouldered.”

In Dead Until Dark, Eric asks Sookie to use her mind reading talent to determine the identity of the person that’s stealing from him at Fangtasia.
Sookie agrees and is successful in identifying the thief, but is almost killed in the process. Note: Eric is my favorite character in the series.

Other characters with more minor roles are Lafayette Reynolds, the gay, wise-cracking African American cook at Merlotte’s; Arlene Fowler, a waitress at Merlotte’s who makes unwise choices when it comes to men; Rene Lenier, Arlene’s latest boyfriend and fiance; Terry Bellefluer, another cook at Merlotte’s who’s been mentally damaged by the war; Andy Bellefluer, Terry’s cousin who’s also the local detective; and Pam, a female vampire who helps Eric run Fangtasia.
This urban fantasy book primarily focuses on Sookie and Bill’s developing relationship but the backdrop to their story involves a recent string of murders in which several local women are being brutally killed. These women have two things in common: they’re former “fangbangers” who had intimate relations with vampires and they’re former girlfriends of Jason. Because of the latter, Jason eventually moves from being a “person of interest” status to being the prime suspect. When he gets arrested Sookie takes it upon herself to prove his innocence by reading the minds of the people that frequent Merlotte’s.

During the course of the book we learn that Bill is a kind and caring individual who, unlike many other vampires, hasn’t totally lost his humanity. He and Sookie make a great couple because both of them have strong southern manners and treat one another with respect. Charlaine Harris does a great job developing the central characters in this book and therefore, Sookie and Bill’s relationship is entirely believable.

This book is well written and highly recommended by me. The dialogue has a natural flow to it, the story moves along at a steady pace, the suspense leading up to the climax (which reveals the identity of the killer) After reading a book there are several questions I ask myself when determining whether a fantasy book is worth recommending:

Character Development: are the characters and their relationships believable? Do I care about the outcome of the main characters?
World Building: can I envision the environment in which the story takes place? Even though this is a fantasy book, is the setting believable?
Pacing: are there arcs within the story that keep the book interesting?
Climax: was I surprised at the solution to the main mystery in the book? Was it suspenseful?
Overall: do I want to read more about the characters in future books?
If most of my answers are Yes the book is usually worth reading. I’m happy to report that I answered Yes to all of the questions above. Folks, I read a LOT of vampire and fantasy books; most of them never get a written review from me because their execution of many of the elements outlined above is poor. However this fantasy book excels in all areas. When I first read this book I immediately purchased the next book in the series. I’ve since purchased all of Charlaine Harris’ fantasy books and eagerly await the 9th book, Dead and Gone, which will be released in May 2009. Dead Until Dark gets two thumbs up from me.
Note: the entire first season of True Blood (based on Dead Until Dark) will be released on DVD on May 12, 2009.

read more here :
http://bestfantasystories.com/best-fantasy-books-dead-until-dark-by-charlaine-harris/

True Blood New Year's Resolutions

I will listen to Terry Bellefleur more closely and often.

I will not leave Jason a copy of the Joy of Sex because he may never leave his house again.

I will not sneak into Sam Merlotte's trailer and wrap a flea collar around his neck while he sleeps.

I will not toilet paper the trees in front of Bill Compton’s house on Halloween.

I will not send Eric Northman a Minnesota Vikings jersey.

I will not leave an article on Arlene's doorstep about the dangers of using Red Dye #2.

I will not sign Pam up for Glamour Shots portfolio.

I will stop swearing in front of Sookie.

I will stop blaming the ‘demon’ inside of me for all my mistakes.

I will try something new for lunch besides cheeseburger and coke.

I will run in the woods naked more often.

I will not send Bill a note from Eric that says "Tell Sookie thanks for last night"

When You Become Vampire (sung to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne")

When You Become Vampire (sung to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne")

Should human memories be forgot
And human loves retire?
Should human values be forgot
When you become Vampire?

You leave your family and your friends
You leave your old life too
Your need to breathe and eat food ends
The sun will char broil you

When you become Vampire, my friend
When you become Vampire
Let's raise a glass of True Blood when
You have become Vampire.

Sing along here is the music

TV's Top Music Moments of 2008

7. The Half of You We Wanted to See
True Blood - Episode 1.06 / "Half of You" - Cat Power
Anna Paquin shows her goodies for the first time, going topless as Sookie while getting some from vampire boyfriend Bill, all to the sounds of Cat Power's "Half of You." The consummation of their relationship (which also involves some double-penetration via fangs) reminds us once again that this HBO vampire series is no Twilight.

from film.com

Sleuthing in TrueBloodville- The travelogue of our trip to Louisiana

TrueBloodinDallas (Dallas) and ObjectDesire (Object)

Sunday, December 28th: Hush, Hush planning meeting to coordinate details of super secret expedition to TBville. Meet and recruit bookstore employee for future missions. Chai latte is involved –yummy.

Monday, December 29th, bright and early: Check supplies, pack gear, kiss cats/dogs/children/spouses goodbye. Dallas leaves a cryptic clue on the blog with a picture of the Louisiana state bird , the brown Pelican ( no one gets the clue!) Depart Dallas.

10:00am "ish": Cross Louisiana state line. Cheer loudly. Funny that the state line sign does not say “Welcome to the Kingdom of Louisiana “

10:45 to 11:30: Discover that Object is not as good a navigator as she claims. See many parts of Shreveport that would have remained undiscovered otherwise, however.

11:30 Arrive at first destination, the "Blind Tiger" restaurant on historic Shreve Square, downtown Shreveport. This restaurant was selected in advance as an homage to Quinn (the weretiger). We consume excellent Cajun cuisine
(Dallas: shrimp po'boy; Object: blackened red snapper). Object tips cute young waiter generously because he graciously brings pitchers of both sweetened and unsweetened iced tea to the table to refill her glass exactly half and half as she requested (honest, that is the only reason).

Afternoon: Using Dallas' research and trusty map, we quickly find Lucky Liquors, the site where Monroe vamps house was burned, the Strand Theatre (where Quinn takes Sookie to see "The Producers"), and the Ogilvie-Wierner house that can be seen in True Blood opening credits. Quite exciting!

We leave Shreveport and head south. Armed with clues and extensive research by Dallas, at 1:54pm, we round a bend on a country road, and there is Bill's house!!! Object's daughter is unfortunate enough to have called at that moment and is still complaining about the ringing in her ears from all the jubilant screaming--oops. Dallas parks on road to take pictures. Temptation is too great and she swipes a handful of gravel from the drive. Construction foreman (the house is under renovation) drives his Jason's pickup truck down the drive to ask us what the heck we are doing. Dallas glamours foreman and he reveals that the owners of the house are renovating the property for personal use (not for a B&B as we had hoped).

Drove to nearby small town that stands in for scenes of downtown Bon Temp. Get pictures of square with courthouse where Jason learns of Gran's death, then find location where Jason saves large oak tree from the clutches of Rene's jackhammer. Discover to our delight that there is an establishment on the property named "Bubba's." How perfect is that! Dallas refuses to allow Object to enter local beauty shop to find out where in the world Jason's house is located. She does not believe that Object is sufficiently skilled at glamouring techniques and it would just be plain embarrassing.

Our eerie luck runs out and we drive around beautiful countryside for another hour and half looking for Jason's house (Dallas threatens to hit Object's portable gps system with a hammer when it provides instructions for a third u-turn in the same 2 mile stretch of highway). We stop for banana splits to console ourselves, then head to Keatchie to see if any restaurant similar to MawMaw's Mud Bugs (where Tara and Lettie Mae dine) exists. Find a "Crawdaddy's" convenience store in a nearby town, but discover that no mud bugs are for sale.

Happy but somewhat exhausted, we head back to Shreveport. Portable gps system redeems itself by leading us quickly to Superior Bar & Grill for one last fabulous meal (Mexican food). This was a recommendation by posters on the Charlaine Harris chat board. Dallas has fish tacos and Object has grilled bacon-wrapped shrimp stuffed with Monterrey jack cheese and poblano peppers. Because we are driving back to Dallas, we sadly forego the excellent looking margaritas that are served in large Styrofoam tumblers.

Spend trip back to Dallas planning our next adventure. Stay tuned!

Charlaine Harris’ 3 favorite books

Thanks to Matt from Robots and Vamps for posting these, I am working on a full list which is coming soon.

Barnes & Noble asked several notable authors what their 3 favorite books are…some are interesting, some are strange and some explain alot.

Melusine by Sarah Monette

melusineDust jacket summary: Mélusine-a city of secrets and lies, pleasure and pain, magic and corruption. It is here that wizard Felix Harrowgate and cat-burglar Mildmay the Fox will find their destinies intertwined in a world of sensuality and savagery.

From Publishers Weekly - Starred Review. Set in the wondrous city of Mélusine, Monette’s extraordinary first fantasy novel focuses on two captivating characters from two very different worlds: Felix Harrowgate, a powerful magician at the court of Lord Steven Teverius, and Mildmay the Fox, a cat burglar who has been trained as an assassin. When Felix falls prey to the unscrupulous machinations of a man who’s plotting to destroy Mélusine, he’s left nearly mad, unable to clear his name or explain his actions.
Mildmay, on the other hand, undertakes a simple burglary, thinking it will lead to a bit of extra flash that will keep him going for more than a few days. Instead, the burglary opens the way to a series of unfortunate events that force Felix and Mildmay into a partnership neither of them could have anticipated or desired. Jacqueline Carey provides a blurb, but those readers expecting a knock-off of that author’s Kushiel series will be happily surprised. Monette resembles Carey only insofar as she, too, is a highly original writer with her own unique voice.

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

world-war-zDust jack summary: “The end was near.” -Voices from the Zombie War

The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years.

Ranging from the now infamous village of New Dachang in the United Federation of China, where the epidemiological trail began with the twelve-year-old Patient Zero, to the unnamed northern forests where untold numbers sought a terrible and temporary refuge in the cold, to the United States of Southern Africa, where the Redeker Plan provided hope for humanity at an unspeakable price, to the west-of-the-Rockies redoubt where the North American tide finally started to turn, this invaluable chronicle reflects the full scope and duration of the Zombie War.

Most of all, the book captures with haunting immediacy the human dimension of this epochal event. Facing the often raw and vivid nature of these personal accounts requires a degree of courage on the part of the reader, but the effort is invaluable because, as Mr. Brooks says in his introduction, “By excluding the human factor, aren’t we risking the kind of personal detachment from history that may, heaven forbid, lead us one day to repeat it? And in the end, isn’t the human factor the only true difference between us and the enemy we now refer to as ‘the living dead’?”

A Dangerous Man by Charlie Huston

a-dangerous-manDust jacket summary: Reluctant hitman Henry Thompson has fallen on hard times. His grip on life is disintegrating, his pistol hand shaking, his body pinned to his living room couch by painkillers-and his boss, Russian mobster David Dolokhov, isn’t happy about any of it. So Henry is surprised when he’s handed a new assignment: keep tabs on a minor league baseball star named Miguel Arenas.

Henry has no pity for the slugger and the wicked gambling problem that got him in trouble, but he can’t help liking the guy. After all, Henry used to be just like him: a natural-born ball player with a bright future. But hell, that was long ago. Before Henry did some guy a favor and ended up running for his life. Before his girlfriend and buddies got gunned down by someone on his tail. Before he agreed to buy his parents’ safety with a life of violence.

And when Miguel gets drafted by the Mets and is sent to the Brooklyn Cyclones, Henry must head back to New York, back to the place where all his problems began-and where Henry might find a real reason to keep living, a reason that may just cost him his life.

Check out their other great reviews and the great site here : http://robotsandvamps.com

True Blood Music Video of the Day

Chop Suey by System of a Down

Happy New Year's Eve From LTBiD !

Dead Until Dark is Very Much Alive

I liked that this little review because it was posted to an Allstate Insurance Company business (dot com) site and that she called the Sookie and Bill' relationship a June - December one, which made me giggle.

HBO is showing a new series this year titled "True Blood." The TV show is based on Charlaine Harris's book Dead Until Dark.
Based on is perhaps not true. The series follows the book almost exactly. I suspect that the first season is the first book in Ms. Harris's Southern Vampire Mysteries staring Sookie Stackhouse and the second season, I do hope there will be one, will be the second book.
The modern Ms. Stackhouse finds love with a Civil War veteran, Bill Compton, some 170 years her senior. Talk about a June-December relationship! Of course her friends, neighbors and some family members don't approve of the relationship. Not because of the age difference, rather because Mr. Compton is a vampire.
The Japanese have developed a synthetic blood allowing vampires to come out of the coffin and mainstream in normal Louisiana society. Gory murders galore happen and the vampires are, of course, accused. Sookie uses her ability to read minds to help solve the crimes.
http://look-allstate-insurance.co.cc/2008/12/29/allstate-term-life-insurance/Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 1)

When the Hero You Want Isn’t the Hero She Gets- the Eric Factor

Sandy at All about Romance writes...

I'm thinking of calling it The Eric Factor.
For those of you who don't read Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire series, Eric is a 6' 4" thousand year-old Viking vampire who - and I don't think I'm giving away much here - isn't likely to get the girl.
Yep, it's true. No matter how much I keep wishing and deluding myself into finding "hopeful" clues in the books, it's crystal clear that telepath heroine Sookie isn't going to hook up on a permanent basis with the devilishly sexy Eric.
It's a situation I should be used to since it's not the first time I've found myself in the position of rooting for a hero the author.well, obviously isn't. (And, gee, something tells me it won't be the last either.) But this time out, it hurts bad, baby. And I blame HBO and True Blood, the series loosely (and by that I mean really loosely) based on Dead Until Dark, the first book in the series.
Whatever else I found disappointing about the show's first season - and this isn't the post to get into the depths of my displeasure - the casting was perfect and quite simply the best I've ever come across when something I've loved was made into a TV show or film. Stephen Moyer's vampire Bill was hot
- hotter than I ever imagined him. Heroine Sookie as played by Anna Paquin was perfect. And Sam Trammell's adorable Sam was exactly how I pictured him
- only cuter.
And then there's Eric. Oh yeah. Not only did Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgard physically embody my vision of Eric to the peak of stupendous perfection, it's also clear that he totally "got" the character: Eric's charm, humor, lethal menace, and imperious nature - all were perfectly realized. In short, he was as devastatingly, bone-meltingly sexy as I ever imagined Eric the Viking to be. (And my imagination? Let's just say it was pretty freakin' hot.) But despite the heap 'o melted bones into which he turned me - and no doubt tens of thousands of other women, too - Eric just isn't going to get the girl. (Nor, for that matter, much screen time either.) Frustrated by developments (or, more appropriately, the lack thereof), I found myself wondering if creating a fantasy-inducing character the writer knew she wasn't going to let the heroine - or readers - ever really have wasn't some kind of Big Authorial Tease. I decided to investigate. (Tough job, I know.) Since I hadn't read the series from the start in several years, I began revisiting the books in order to determine if my Eric fixation was the result of my own shallow fascination with a smokin' hot Bad Boy. The good news? It's not. Charlaine Harris makes it perfectly clear that Eric really and truly cares about Sookie - at times even more than Sookie's first lover Bill - in his own uniquely powerful and vampiric way.
And he re-gravels her driveway. (Nothing like giving a woman exactly what she needs, right?) ................... And you know what I think that means? That sometimes the best hero for a good girl heroine really is a semi-reformed Bad Boy. Maybe even a semi-reformed Bad Boy vampire.

read full article http://www.likesbooks.com/blog/?p=407

April makes the big jump from reading book 1 in the Southern Vampire Mysteries to book 7

April on her walkingonthedarkside blog read the Sookie books out of order and I thought you'd think it was funny to hear how confusing it can be to go from book 1 to book 7! I've emailed her and asked her for a report when she caught up with all the excitement in between! Yes, yes I also reminded here about the short stories.


Alright, I know I have done a big jump from reading book 1 in the Southern Vampire Mysteries to book 7, but I couldn't help myself.

Being an avid fan of the HBO show True Blood, I couldn't wait to start reading the books that they were based on.

I just recently read Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris. I'd been on a waiting list at the local library for it. Ok well, I've been on the waiting list for all the books that they carry in the series. Which is only two or three.

After reading Dead Until Dark, I decided to purchase more of the series from Ebay. I am waiting on books 2, 3, and 4 to get here. Anyhow, I got the chance to pick up All Together Dead today at the library.

I'm on page 242 right now, and I can say I must have missed a lot in the other books. I'm enjoying it, but it's hard to imagine Sookie without Bill.
Eric is a dish though!

Spoiler Alert for those that haven't read the books. I'm shocked that the whole reason that Bill and Sookie hooked up was because he was on a secret mission for the queen. Yet it all makes sense. How he strolled into the bar and kept asking her, "What are you?" Up until this point, I always thought it was just a fateful meeting.

I really wish I would have discovered these books years ago. They are great.
If you haven't read them yet, I would run, not walk, to your local library and start with book one.

Head Up!! New Year's Eve True Blood Marathon !!!!

I came late to the "True Blood" party, but I caught up as the first season of this new HBO drama ended this fall. If you've missed the boat so far, your chance is today; HBO2 is running the whole first season starting at 6pm ET. (If you get both east and west coast HBO feeds, you may have more than once chance to grab each episode.)

Set in a small Louisiana town, "True Blood" imagines a universe where vampires are real -- and "came out of the closet" two years ago. They don't want people to be afraid; they've switched from drinking peo ple's blood to a new synthetic that's available commercially and is almost as good as the real thing.

Vampire stories are often thinly veiled stories about romance, or at least sex, and there's a fair amount of both in "True Blood." Anna Paquin as the small-town waitress, and Stephen Moyer as the newly arrived vampire she falls for, have a great on-screen chemistry, and do a fine job with their respective roles. There's also lots of anti-vampire prejudice, complete with parallels to the real world. (The "God Hates Fangs" sign is hard to miss.)

Season one is coming out on DVD soon (or just record it all tonight), and season two will air on HBO next year.

http://www.21tvcast.com/21TVcast/Blog/Entries/2008/12/31_Heads_up!_New_Years_Eve_%22True_Blood%22_marathon!.html