I LIKED It, So Sue Me

Before I review GHOST RIDER, I feel compelled to mention that I was probably one of the only professional reviewers who gave Mathew Brodrick's remake of GODZILLA a thumbs up... in print. Yes, that's right. Sizes Matters? I totally thought so.

Having said that, it should come as no surprise that I thought Nicholas Cages' GHOST RIDER totally rocked. No, I am not kidding. I'm serious. No, really.

Come on, you know I really hate it when you point and laugh like that.

What was I smoking, you ask? No, man, I was totally sober. Here's the thing. Though I'm a true believer (as my man Stan would say), a Marvel Grrl to the core, I never read a single issue of GHOST RIDER. I always looked at the covers when I was hunting for the newest issue of X-MEN, and honestly thought RIDER was both too cheesy and had too much of a Hell's Angel's vibe to it.

I grew up in a working class town in the Midwest. Biker guys with flaming skull heads were my neighbors, you know?

But I LOVE comicbooks. Ever since the moment my cousin Laun unwrapped from the mylar the first issue of AMAZING STORIES with Spiderman on the cover, I was hooked. Though I read DC comics, they didn't captivate me the way Marvel stories did.

I think that being unfamilar with the original, but totally into comic book sensiblities helps explain my reaction. Flaming chains? Nifty! Motorcyle that becomes the death ride? OOOOooh, pretty! Nicholas Cage's head exploding into flames? Added bonus!

The other part comes down to Other Me's obsession with Christianity. (See my previous review of Hellblazer). This movie is surprisingly Christian, which may explain it's failure at the box office. I was totally enchanted by the moment when the Ghost Rider/Johnny Blaze discovers that he can walk in both worlds. He may have sold his soul to the devil, but because he did it for love God give him face. Plus, I know people are annoyed by Cage, but in this film, I thought he was hillarious. When he's talking to himself about second chances and he notices his hand in glowing... made my day. The whole quirky bit about the Carpenters and monkey videos? What can I say? It worked for me.

Am I telling you to go Netflix this movie? No, probably not. But, Shawn and I kept turning to each other and high-fiving at every explosion (and when the Ranger rides again...? ahhhh! Shiney! I think if you were in the mood for comicbook cool Velvetta, this is totally the film for you.

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?

The Blank, Mournful Stare of Horror Films

When did Hollywood horror film characters get reduced to the blank, mournful stare?

Last night, Shawn and I watched part of The Return with Buffy, er, Sarah Michelle Geller. We probably only got about half way into the film before I started to fall asleep. Okay, yes, I was tired, having stayed up until 2:00 am on Monday stargazing with a friend, but the silent, blank, mournful gazes that everyone was casting didn't help.

When did the baleful stare replace characterization in horror films?

I know that it's supposed to be MOODY, having everyone stare deeply into the eye of the camera, but you know what Mr. Asif Kapadia, Director Guy? It's dull! Dull, dull, dull, dull as Mason would say. When scary bits start popping up, all I could think was, "Well, thank god something is happening" not, "Oh, my god, I hope nothing terrible happens to this character I like."

The whole deep, broody stare is a trend I see a lot of in horror films. I'm not saying it can't be done effectively, but I find it better used AFTER a character has been established. You know when you find someone who has previously been engaging and normal and suddenly they're all broody and dark.... well, done right, that can be spooky.

/ Rant

Quick Link/OT

This isn't the sort of thing I usually post here, but I thought some readers might be as fascinated as I am by this...

http://www.danah.org/papers/essays/ClassDivisions.html

The link will take you to an essay called "Viewing American Class Divisions Through Facebook and MySpace." I have to confess that I'm far too old for either MySpace or Facebook, but I found this discussion really interesting, particularly what the army has done in regards to MySpace (it's apparently banned, while Facebook is not. Rank and file soldiers were using MySpace, while officers used Facebook.)

The author talks a lot about how difficult class is to talk about in America, and I think s/he has a valid point, but I'm glad s/he tries anyway. That's why, even though they tend to over simplify the issues, I really appreciate when shows like Battlestar Galatica have their "very special episode" about labor/working class issues.

Book Promotion, A Poll

Mindy Klasky, a fellow SF/F/Romance writer, is running a poll on her LiveJournal about book promotion as part of an on-going discussion a number of SF/F authors are having about what makes people pick up a book. If you have an LJ account, please consider filling out her poll. The more people answer, a better sense we'll have of "the truth."

http://mindyklasky.livejournal.com/103432.html

Thanks.

New Proposals in the Works

I just thought I'd share... I'm currently working on two new book proposals for my editor at Berkley. They would be Garnet Lacey Book #4 (currently titled: DEAD IF I DO) and #5 (currently titled: HONEYMOON OF THE DEAD). Can you guess what might be happening in those books???

In other news, it's hot here. I know, I know, not hot like Texas or Egypt or Peru, but it's hot for Minnesota. I like days that don't exceed 75 F, what can I say? Mason and I had to go to Minnehaha Creek to splash around and cool down today.

Hope the rest of you are doing well and staying cool.

New Review of Dead Sexy

I came back from Indiana to a nice e-mail informing me of a new review of Dead Sexy at Kwips and Kritiques by Joyce. Here's a excerpt of some of the nicest bits:

What I love about Garnet is her perseverance and her unpredictable nature. She usually gives everything a try even if she knows it could backfire. If it wasn’t for her misfortune at times these novels wouldn’t be as addicting as they are. Garnets life is spiced up through her involvement with two utterly delectable vampire beaus, and her indecisive nature on which is the best fit is for her life. She isn’t the only person that would have to live with her choice, and the Goddess within will not let her forget it.

What Kind of Faerie Am I? Dark, Dark, Dark...

A fun quiz to waste more of your precious time: What kind of fae are you?

I'm apparently dark, dark, dark... I think it was the friendly fire question that sunk me....

Quickie: Book in Day Challenge.

Not writing, mind you... reading!

Here's a fun challenge I ran across on the web today: Read A Book In A Day. The idea is to take a day off during a specified time and spend the day reading. Sounds kind of dreamy, doesn't it? Anyway, if you want to participate, check out the link and follow the instructions. They do something quarterly, but if you joing the community you can post any time you read a book and encourage others to join you in an impromtu "cover to cover challenge."

I brought several books to Indiana (where I'm vacationing right now) and my just give it a try. My biggest question is... which book?

8 Random Things About Me... (a meme)

Michele Hauf tagged me with this meme a couple of days ago, but as I'm on vacation in lovely Valpariso, Indiana, I just got it today. Here goes...

1. When I was a kid, I wanted to grow up to be a lawyer. I loved debate and figured that law was one job that would pay me to argue.

2. I was once so geeky that I was a member of the Future Problem-Solvers of America.

3. In high school, I won a speech contest and a trip to New York. We stayed in a hotel on Time's Square and I had a secret agenda (as a small town girl) to see a prostitute, a transvestite, and a drug dealer. I saw them all, and got lost on the subway to the Bronx. It was also the only time I ever used my French language skills outside of France or Canada. The hotel room doors had a trick, you had to jiggle the handle in a special way to get them to open. When I was stuck, someone else in the hotel tried to help, but we didn't have English in common. Turned out we both sort of spoke French.

4. My favorite color is yellow. I used to think it was blue until I owned a home. Whenever Shawn and I came to a room that needed painting, I'd say: "How about yellow?"

5. I still dial-up my internet connection.

6. I like to dance in the rain. One of my favorite memories of dancing outside was waltzing with a friend at the Winnepeg Folk Festival under the stars. It was one of those nights when you could see the Milky Way.

7. I'm a huge fan of country-western music.

8. I love Hello Kitty, although I don't own a lot of stuff. I have a pair of Hello Kitty pajama bottoms and I used to have a watch.

Now, I'm supposed to tag other people, but I'm not sure I know eight people who blog. Anyone want to volunteer?

Humor Writing: Dying is Easy, Comedy is Hard

Cross-posted from Wyrdsmiths.

One thing that all of us seem to agree on is that humor is difficult partly because it’s so subjective. As Eleanor says, what’s funny for me might not be funny for you.

One thing that Sean and I talked about when we first discussed this issue is that I’ve come to believe that one thing a writer needs to convey in order to successfully pull off interpersonal humor (like sarcasm, as opposed to say, slapstick,) is information. Interpersonal humor works when we _know_ the quirks and foibles of the people involved. They need to be people we can laugh with (or at). To do this well, in my opinion, you have to be superb at characterization.

I suggest then that one of the best places to start is by establishing your main character as someone the reader can trust to not mock people out of meanness, but out of a kind of appreciation or even love. Interpersonal humor is difficult because I think that there _is_ a fine line between laughing with someone and at them. An author needs to approach that division very carefully. I agree with Kelly that one of the best ways to deal with the issue of “meanness” is to remember that it is far more sympathetic for a main character to poke fun at themselves than at others. So, if you can establish your view point character who happily laughs at their own stupidity, I think a reader is then better able to accept when s/he pokes fun at other people’s idiocy, because you know s/he’s someone who is, at the very least, willing to laugh at her/himself for the same “mistakes.”

It establishes a baseline kindness. To be successfully snarky or sarcastic in text (and perhaps in life), I believe you ultimately have to be decent and nice. I think this especially important if you chose to introduce characters who are larger than life. I’m thinking of the character grandma in the Stephanie Plum series (by Janet Evonivich, ONE FOR THE MONEY). For me, those kinds of crazy, almost unrealistically hilarious characters work because Stephanie Plum loves them. She observes their insanity through the filter of familial bonds based in love. Even her father, who could read as dark and cantankerous reads as sweet and lovable because Stephanie’s word choice and description of him make her own appreciation for him obvious to the reader.

Just my two cents. Arguments? Agreements?

Are You A Vampire? Quiz

Because you know you want to waste more time on the internet....

Vampire Quiz

Other Me Publication Available

This probably doesn't have much cross-over appeal, but I wanted to let everyone know that Other Me's short story "Ishtartu" printed in Haworth Press's Periphery: Erotic Lesbian Futures is now avaliable for order.

Award Finalist

I just received word that Tall, Dark & Dead was a finalist in the best first novel category of the Bookseller's Best Award! Hooray!

New Review of DEAD SEXY!

Romance Reviews Today reviewed DEAD SEXY. You can check out the entire review here.

Here's a excerpt of the review:

Juggling the two DEAD SEXY men in her life should be more than enough trouble for Garnet Lacey, but somehow she manages to attract even more. Garnet has issues. Although she is in love with Sebastien, she can't give up Parrish. They have a history that can't be erased and, frankly, he generally is the first one she thinks of when she's in trouble. Unfortunately, it makes for a really rocky relationship with Sebastien. To be honest, I don't understand why Sebastien puts up with her, but I expect his centuries as a vampire have made him very egalitarian, and he does have his ghouls he feeds from after all. Add in a sexy FBI agent and a love triangle has become even more complicated.

The tale is told from Garnet's point of view, which is not what one would call extremely logical, but it is often absolutely hilarious. Her quandary over where to place Parrish's coffin is laugh-out-loud funny as are her interactions with Dominguez when explaining the paranormal. Secondary characters include William and Izzy, whom readers will remember from TALL, DARK, AND DEAD, and a few new additions such as Maureen, Izzy's cousin and voodoo queen.

It's another wild adventure for this powerful, if a mite ditsy witch. Check out the highly entertaining DEAD SEXY for a walk on the wild side, courtesy of Garnet Lacey.

Off to WisCON

Though I'll be bringing my laptop along, I may not post with the same regularity because I'll be off at WisCON starting tomorrow. I'm very excited about it because Mason is going to be dropped off at his grandfolk's house and Shawn and I get to continue on to the hotel ALONE. A childless vacation! Ahhhhh, sleeping in until six or seven o'clock! I can hardly wait. Plus, I'm sure that Mason will have a great time with his doting grandparents.

I won't be there officially, but my alterego will be. Here's her schedule, in case you're interested:

Please Explain Slash To Me (Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F)
Saturday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.
Slash fans and authors explain the appeal of their chosen pastime. Why are women in particular so drawn to this form of expression, as readers and writers? What's so special about mucking around in someone else's fictional world?
JJ Pionke, M: Sharyn November, Rebecca Marjesdatter, Lyda Morehouse, Yoon Ha Lee

Sexism: A Spotter's Guide (Feminism, Sex, and Gender)
Saturday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.
It's relatively clear what makes a work feminist...relatively... but in these days of more subtle sexism, and required at least lip service to equality, what makes a work non-feminist, or antifeminist?
Graham Sleight, M: Lyda Morehouse,Betsy Lundsten,M. J. Hardman, Lee Abuabara

Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading (Readings)
Saturday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.in Assembly
Members of Broad Universe read very short selections from their work. (Note: 10-15 members of Broad Universe will read. The group usually includes both well known and beginning writers. This program usually runs about an hour.
Kristine Smith, Jennifer Pelland, Katherine Mankiller, Lyda Morehouse, Sue Lange, Anne Harris, Rina Elson, Jennifer Dunne, Leah Rose Cutter

Transsexuality as Trope (Feminism, Sex, and Gender)
Sunday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.
Much science fiction and fantasy of recent years deals with changing sex. But it treats it as a trope rather than a process: LARQUE ON THE WING, I WILL FEAR NO EVIL, "Changes," the work of John Varley. While there is no denying the usefulness of transsexuality as a trope in discussing the social construction of gednder, what are we missing by eliding transsexuality's nature as a process?
Jennifer Pelland, M: Lyda Morehouse, BC Holmes, Elizabeth Bear, Charlie Anders

Battlestar Galactica: The Debate (Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing SF&F)
Sunday, 2:30-3:45 p.m. in Senate A
Is the new BSG the most pro-feminist SF show ever, or is it a secret sexist scourge? Opinions differ -- markedly. So, let's debate! Instead of a panel, this programming item will consist of one pro-BSG representative, one anti-BSG representative, and one moderator.
Jef a. Smith, Annalee Newitz, M: Lyda Morehouse

More Ocean things.

Blame this on my son, but here's some more cool ocean depth thingies. An article from the New York Times: Mysteries to Behold in the Dark Down Deep

When you ask Mason what he wants to be when he grows up, he never hesitates. He says, "A marine biologist." Occasionally, without provocation, he will ask us when he can start taking diving lessons. I tell him he has to first learn how to swim. The thing that makes me happy about this is that, it seems to me that Mason will still have plenty to explore (provided we don't poison our oceans to death) given that scientists are discovering new species almost every day, it seems. This beauty is a ping-pong tree sponge. Cool, huh?

Oh, and I should probably report that the signing/reading last night at Dreamhaven was a mitigated success. It was successful in that a lot of people showed up (probably a dozen or more), but mitigated by the fact that in the middle of reading "Fire and Ice and Linguine for Two" (my upcoming pub in MANY BLOODY RETURNS) I discovered that I was missing a page. Everyone asked me to make up what was missing, but I guessed wrong and ended up telling them what I was about to read on the next page. Still, everyone was surprisingly forgiving and a good time was had by all (or, at least by me.) We all went out to pizza afterward and a friend from college, Nick, showed up! So that was a nice surprise.

Oh yes,

And, if you happen to be local to the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) area and are looking for something to do tonight (Monday, May 21), please consider coming to visit me at Dreamhaven tonight. Here are the details:

Monday, May 21, 2007 from 6:30-8:00 pm I will sign and read from my latest novel Dead Sexy at Dreamhaven Books and Comics as part of the Speculations SASE Reading Series. Dreamhaven books is located at 912 W Lake Street, Minneapolis, MN 55408. For more information call 612-823-6161. This event is free and open to the public. Off-street parking is available behind Dreamhaven. You can also check out their web page at: http://dreamhavenbooks.com/.

While You're Driving....

... around the Antarctic, you might want to be careful of those 700 new species of marine life they've found! Check out this World Science article: Antarctic Depths Called Cradle of Life.

Bestseller!

My editor, Anne Sowards, had this news to share about Dead Sexy... [I'd told her that I'd noticed DS was #9 on the B&N contemporary paranormal romance bestseller list on-line]....

"Thanks for passing it on! DEAD SEXY is also doing nicely at the B&N physical stores--it debuted at #7 on their romance trade bestseller list, and moved to #8 the second week. It's #11 on Bookscan's Romance trade bestseller list."