Thursday, January 31, 2008

Captain America News

My alternate personality has begged me to post this here, since she's a huge fan. (Passed on to me by two of my fans: Betsy and Warren Urbik)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080131/ap_en_ot/people_captain_america

Marvel Comics revives Capt. America
By JOHN ROGERS, Associated Press Writer

It turns out you can't keep a good man down — or even dead and buried — when he wears a red, white and blue uniform and calls himself Captain America. Marvel Comics, which killed off the veteran superhero almost a year ago, brought him back to life Wednesday — sort of.

Captain America's alter-ego, Steve Rogers, is still resting in peace at Arlington National Cemetery, having been done in by assassins last March. But his good buddy and sidekick from the 1940s, Bucky Barnes, has picked up the bulletproof Captain America shield, put on a new uniform and taken his place.

What's that you say? Wouldn't Bucky be about 85 years old now? And without any real super powers to fall back on, isn't that kind of long in the tooth to be taking a bite out of crime? Well, yeah. But remember, this is the comic book world we're talking about. Bucky was put in suspended animation by the evil Russians (back when they were evil) and stayed that way for the better part of 60 years. "So he's probably in his late 20s right now," jokes Marvel Editor in Chief Joe Quesada, who decided to promote him to Captain America.

Rogers' old sidekick had already returned to the Marvel pantheon of heroes some time back as the rugged Winter Soldier, redeeming himself for the years he'd spent under the control of the bad guys, who would occasionally thaw him out for evil deeds. "We were toying with the idea of someone new taking over the mantle of Captain America," Quesada said by phone from his New York office. "But we kept coming back to Bucky. Not only because he seemed such an obvious choice but especially because of the fact that when we brought him back as the Winter Soldier he was so incredibly popular." Barnes never swallowed the "Super Soldier Serum" that transformed the wimpy Rogers into the super-strong Captain America in the months before World War II. So he's at a bit of a disadvantage in his new role. But he's bulked up himself over the years, become a master at special operations and he's also packing some serious heat these days along with that mask and shield.

But forget about defeating enemies in the fantasy world. The people he will really have to win over are those notoriously finicky comic book readers. Quesada says he isn't worried, however, adding that killing off Captain America last year seemed to give him new life with readers. The editor was taken aback when newspapers even carried obituaries on the character. "Not since the 1940s have we seen Cap being this popular," he said.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Magic Moment Contest

PERMISSION TO FORWARD GRANTED

The Magic Moment Contest
Sponsored by The San Antonio Romance Authors

We want to see the pivotal, breakthrough moment from your manuscript. Entries will be in electronic format and should be no more than 20 pages in length; entries should also include a 1-2 page set-up to explain the context of the scene.

Eligibility: Entrants may be published or unpublished, but manuscript cannot be contracted for publication at the time of entry.

Entry Fees: $20 per entry for San Antonio Romance Authors members; $25 for nonmembers.

Entry Deadline: All entries and payments must be received by March 1, 2008, 12pm CST.

Judging: Three published and/or trained unpublished authors. All contestants will receive a score sheet from each judge. In addition, judges are encouraged to write comments on the manuscript.

Categories and Final Judges: Short/Long Contemporary - Susan Litman, Harlequin. Single Title - TBA. Paranormal - Hilary Sares, Editor, Kensington Books . Historical - TBA, Avon . Erotica - Raelene Gorlinski, Editor-in-Chief, Ellora's Cave.

Awards: All finalists will receive a certificate and be listed in the RWR. Winners for each category will receive a plaque and a year's electronic subscription to the San Antonio Romance Author's The Love Letter.

Questions and Entry Information: Please visit our website http://www.sararwa.net/, or contact the Contest Chairs, Beckie Ugolini> and Margaret Batschelet, at merrittcontest@sararwa.net

Monday, January 28, 2008

Astrology Alert: Mars Direct

Important planetary news from Astrology.com:

This is a dynamic, event-filled week. Begin by reviewing your ideas and plans as Mercury turns retrograde on January 28. You will find that certain circumstances or events start to snowball as Mars turns direct on January 30. Ready or not, be prepared to leap -- not look!

In particular, Mercury's placement in Aquarius promises plenty of exciting conversations. This is also the time to think outside of the box and leave any old or outmoded concepts behind. Mercury is in a trine aspect to Mars in Gemini, lending you energy and support. Just watch out for acting prematurely -- you might wind up too far ahead of yourself!