Publisher's Weekly Review

It's been one of the biggest thorns in my side that I have never been reviewed by Publisher's Weekly -- not me as me, nor me as alternate me. In my more paranoid moments (which as an author, are often), I've begun to take this lack of notice as a personal slight, because I now know several local authors who have not only gotten reviewed, but have gotten the much-coveted starred review. I've also met a few people who work for Publisher's Weekly, and despite what they say, just KNOWING these people has got me exactly nada.

Thus it comes as no surprise to me that MANY BLOODY RETURNS has been reviewed by PW, but with absolutely no mention of _me._

SF/Fantasy/Horror
Many Bloody Returns Edited by
Charlaine Harris and
Toni L.P. Kelner. Ace, $24.95 (368p) ISBN 978-0-441-01522-1

This patchwork anthology of 13 new vampire stories proves that heavyweight contributors can give some substance to a relatively slight theme. Harris (the Sookie Stackhouse novels), Kelner (the Laura Fleming mysteries) and 11 other writers with serious vamp credentials craft stories around the concept of birthdays for bloodsuckers. Most of the tales only blow out candles in passing, as with P.N. Elrod's “Grave-Robbed,” which mixes pathos and comedy as vampire PI Jack Fleming busts a phony medium mid-séance, and Tanya Huff's “Blood Wrapped,” in which Henry Fitzroy's search for the ideal gift for a vampire's 40th mixes with his pursuit of a human kidnapper. Christopher Golden takes birthdays to heart in his poignant coming-of-age story, “The Mournful Cry of Owls,” while Kelley Armstrong proposes in “Twilight” that a vampire's real birthday is the date of transformation from mortal to immortal. Fans of the many series vampires on parade here will be undeterred by the variable quality of their adventures. (Sept.)

And, of course, there's that absolutely brilliant story by Tate Hallaway called "Fire and Ice and Linguine for Two." How could you miss that gem, PW? How?