Friday, March 23, 2012

Audio books just recorded for Deadlocked, the 12th novel in the bestselling Sookie series

God, I love Johanna Parker reading Sookie books - if you haven heard an audio book buy one today! Links to all them on the right -->

Live Oak Studio in Berkeley, California has just completed recording of the audiobook version of the hotly anticipated 12th novel in Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire Mysteries series, the inspiration for HBO’s hit series True Blood. The audiobook, narrated by Johanna Parker, will be released May 1.

Trubies rejoice: the next book in the Southern Vampire Mysteries series (aka the Sookie Stackhouse series) is almost here. The audiobook of Deadlocked, the 12th novel in the bestselling series by Charlaine Harris, was recently recorded at Live Oak Studio in Berkeley, California. The book was narrated by actress Johanna Parker, who has also been the voice of all 11 previous Sookie Stackhouse audiobooks.
“It was such a thrill to hear Johanna narrate the new book,” says Priscilla Rice, owner of the suburban San Francisco recording studio. “I don’t want to give anything away, but this book is packed with the action and romance Charlaine Harris writes so well.”
This is the first of the Southern Vampire Mysteries to be recorded at Live Oak Studio. Parker was introduced to the San Francisco area recording studio when she directed Alice Walker reading the Color Purple there in 2009. She was impressed with the sound quality of the studio and the expertise of the staff, so she and her publisher, Recorded Books, chose Live Oak Studio to record Deadlocked.

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True Blood Episode #508, “Somebody That I Used to Know” to be directed by Stephen Moyer

I'm really excited about this ..


TRUE BLOOD, Episode #508, “Somebody That I Used to Know”
Director: Stephen Moyer
Writer: Mark Hudis
Location: L.A.
Start Date: approx. 4/2/12
This is the first time a True Blood star has directed an episode and since we know Stephen has longed to direct, we’re thrilled for him.
However, we’re also not too surprised about it since we remember that during PaleyFest last year Stephen was asked if he wanted to direct an episode of True Blood. His reply was that he had hoped to do so. He also revealed then that he had already shadowed one of the directors to learn the ropes during Season 3. We wish him the best in his True Blood directing debut and cannot wait to see his episode.

HBO True Blood creator Alan Ball leaving show after Season 5

The mere thought of a potential end to any part of the immortal vampires of True Blood is unthinkable to fans of the popular HBO series. But changes are coming up as sure as vampires rise after dark.
Creator Alan Ball has officially announced that he will be leaving his full time production role after Season 5.
Ball said, “‘True Blood’ has been, and will continue to be, a highlight of not only my career but my life. Because of the fantastic cast, writers, producers and crew, with whom I have been lucky enough to work these past five years, I know I could step back and the show will continue to thrive as I look forward to new and exciting ventures.”
Alan Ball will be staying on for an anticipated Season 6 of True Blood, but only as an advisor, and he will keep his title as Executive Producer for True Blood.
It could be said that True Blood creator Alan Ball is the life blood of the popular HBO vampire series.
So does Ball's announcement mean that the end of the True Blood series is near?
The answer to that question is as uncertain as whether or not Sookie, played by Anna Paquin, will inevitably end up with true love Vampire Bill Compton, (Stephen Moyer), or the wild-child Vampire Sheriff of Area 5, Eric Northman, brought to life by actor Alexander Skarsgard.http://img.allvoices.com/thumbs/image/609/480/90946544-hbo-true.jpg

Charlaine donates Sookie Manuscripts to Ole Miss : Author Who Inspired ‘True Blood’ Donates Manuscripts

OXFORD, Miss. – Charlaine Harris, author of the books that inspired the HBO series “True Blood,” has donated several edited manuscripts to Archives and Special Collections at the University of Mississippi’s J.D. Williams Library.

“Though I’ve lived in many wonderful places in the South, it only seemed right that my work found a home in Mississippi, my state of origin,” Harris said. “No matter how many places I live, I was born and bred in the flat fields of the Mississippi Delta, and it’s a part of me.”

Harris, a New York Times bestselling author, has released more than 30 novels in the urban fantasy genre. She began writing plays while attending Rhodes College in Memphis, and was first published in 1981 with the novel “Sweet and Deadly.”

In 2001 she released “Dead Until Dark,” the first in the Sookie Stackhouse series. The series, whose main character is a telepathic waitress in northern Louisiana, was the inspiration for hit HBO vampire series “True Blood.”

Jennifer Ford, director of Special Collections, finds one of Harris’s manuscripts to be very intriguing.

“One of the most interesting aspects of the collection is a typed, annotated manuscript, which was the first manuscript Charlaine sent out,” Ford said. “It is entitled, ‘Dead Dog by the Side of the Road.’”

The donation is a great addition to the university’s collection, said Chris Offutt, assistant professor of English who has written two manuscripts for “True Blood.”

“It’s always great when a writer’s original manuscripts are part of a special collection,” Offutt said. “They are then available to writers and scholars for careful scrutiny. The University of Mississippi is fortunate to have them. A big thanks to Charlaine for her generous gift.”

Ford is grateful to Harris for her unique donation.

“This donation is so important to Special Collections because it adds so much to our literary collections,” Ford said. “Charlaine is a major talent whose work ethic is reflected in her collection.”