New Cover!

I started researching Self Publishing a few months back and I remember coming across a couple of Indie Authors that said how important it is to self advertise. That being said, I've started looking into making my own book covers, and book trailers etc. So I've played with a few concepts all of which are so dang simple its sad. I used my paint to make the first one, which for me isn't that surprising since I don't have photoshop. After a while I started bugging the honey to use his Mac, and his photoshop to make me a cover. He obliged and the first cover was born (under the terrible title of Midnight Manor, ick right). Anyways this cover was not wonderful, but better than what I've built on Paint.

Today I decided to go for it and downloaded my own trial version of Photoshop, and just let me say for the record that I am hooked. All day I sat behind my laptop downloading new brushes and patterns, just cranking away. I messed with the color contrasts, and built layer, after layer, and I am proud to say I have my first GOOD cover. I probably went a little overboard (way, way overboard) but I think it's beautiful. I'll probably tweak it a bit here and there, but I'm truly proud of myself. I only screamed and cussed a few times (lie, lie, lie) so here it is. My new improved book cover!!!

Original Picture http://fav.me/d15ykd3

Writers Block

Everyday it seems I fight a little bit of writers block. Whether its getting stuck on a particularly important dialogue, or trying too hard to perfect everything, I fight daily with writers block. I think the hardest thing about it is that its always there lurking in the shadows waiting for me to lower my guard and pounce. It's a bastard that way, always trying to get you when you're down. My biggest issue is being a perfectionist. I've spent hours before writing and re-writing the same paragraph. I don't know if any other writers find themselves doing that. Maybe that's why I'm bringing it up now.

Are the truly good writers immune to writers block? Or are they just better at working against it. I write everyday, sometimes its a lot, sometimes its a little, but I do make the effort. I've been working on this book, my book, my passion project for almost two years. I've taken a few breaks in the middle of it. Once when I tossed the whole first draft (a total of 370 something pages). I took another break early on when my grandfather passed away. He was the main reason I even started.

I've flirted with the idea of writing since I was in high school. I'd daydream about the worlds I could create and the characters that would live there. I'd start dozens of ideas and then after a while lose interest. I think I've always fought against having a short attention span. Which makes writing and finishing a book all the harder. But grandpa believed in me. He wanted me to write, and read him my story. In fact I was about to start reading my now tossed draft to him right before he died. I miss my grandpa, and I hope, no I know that I'll finish this book.

The reason I bring up how long I've been working on it is because of the research I've put into other writers formats and the time it took them to write a book. Some people like the author of those sparkly vampire stories, wrote it in a matter of months. Now I won't be too harsh or at least hope I don't sound it, when I say that it shows. It was not a work of literary genius, nor am I foolish enough to think that my book will be genius either. But, I mean the time an author puts in only makes a book better right?? I guess that's the big question, when am I done, because with the way I am about it sounding perfect, flowing perfectly, I may never finish.

So I'm going to go back to my story now and fall into its pages, but I'll leave you with a question. What makes a book good? Is it the length of time taken to write it, or the research you put into it, or is it something as simple as pure talent, because if that's the case, Lord almighty I hope I was blessed with it. :0) Cheers!

Dexter Season 6 Trailer

OMG, Okay so I've been sick lately, and kind of not been paying a whole lot of attention to the fact that the new season Dexter is starting really freaking soon!!!! HELL YEA!!!

Anyways the point is I finally started thinking about how the trailers had to be out, so I looked it up, and BAMM. Personal Jesus baby. I can't believe it. Here's the trailer.

What's really sad, is that last year I was on an ARG, serialhuntress.com, and I lived and breathed when the premiere was coming. We had it down to an hourly countdown. Sadly, oh so sadly, those days have passed and I miss my fellow hunters like crazy. So how is it I missed the premiere, how did I not watch it the moment it was launched, I blame Showtime, because if their lazy butts had gotten up and done a zombie infinity killer return, I would have known. What's worse is my fellow hunters didn't even shame me for not seeing it immediately. Why, because Showtime was again LAZY. Uh, I swear I didn't sleep for months while that ARG ran. The memories, the JC references, and Bangs Badass BBQ. The comics, (Dumbass Dee) and the crazy giveaways. I still have nightmares about electricgirl.com. And I miss the second most love able serial killer in the world, f8. You haven't lived until you've scratched and clawed your way to the top to win a crumbled piece of paper drawn by crazy Heath while he was in the institution. You haven't lived until you're fighting about who gets the urn, or the ring, or the plastic soldiers. Here's a little comic, from the archives, yes I have been de-masked I was know as Seek3r during that long ago game of chance. I also voted Kill Dee, yes, this is my alternate identity.

Sadly only about ten other people on earth will know what the heck I'm talking about. Okay maybe a couple more, but yes we loved that freaking ARG.

Now back to the number one serial killer of all time the sexy Mister Dexter. I can't wait for this season. Last season was fun because of the ARG, and seeing the fallout after the whole dead Rita, and new partner/lover Lumen. I really wanted it to work out between them. Oh well. Can't wait for the next season!!!

The Caller

When I saw the previews for this film I was hooked. I love thrillers and adding in the whole time-warp serial killer just made it even better. It was as good as it promised, if not better. I was not dissapointed. But I was sad to watch Vampire Bills (I mean Stephen Moyer's) character end up where he ended up.

 I don't want to spoil it for you.

Which is strange considering I've had about as much Vampire Bill as I can take. He bugs the ever living hell out of me lately. I wonder if his character will ever come back around.

Oh well back to The Caller. Another thing I thought was kind of funny was how the lead Mary (Rachelle Lefevre) was a Twilight vamp and John(Vampire Bill) was Vampire Bill. Now obviously if we were to play that game my honey likes so much, of who can beat the sh!t out of who, Vampire Bill would win hands down. I mean he doesn't sparkle nuff said.

But I did keep thinking about the whole logistics of their vampirism's and the differences. The movie was good (even though I was distracted by the whole vamp thing) better than I expected really. Oh the sex scene was pretty hot, even though it didn't show anything. Sometimes less really is more. But I wouldn't tell the writers at True Blood that, I like me some hot naked Eric Northman! Yummmy.

Anna Dressed in Blood

Okay so I ordered this book on Amazon months ago, and waited patiently for August 30th to come around. I don't know why this book looked so interesting to me, maybe because of the ghosts (I love a good paranormal about ghosts), and possibly because of the whole being told from a boys perspective. There are not enough of those out in the YA genre at the moment, and being the good big sister I keep looking for them for my kid brother. I'm only about four chapters in and I LOVE IT. It's really fun so far, entertaining, I just can't wait to finish it. I'm not sure if I'll pass it to my brother, but that's only because of the language. He's 13, so I'm careful of stuff like that.

I also get the feeling that the author was a major lover of the show Supernatural. Some of the humor, and the tough guy attitude reminds me of Dean. Even the lead character's name Cas, makes me think of the show's now bad boy angel Castiel. Speaking of Dean here's a treat just for the Supernatural lovers out there!

In Her Skin......(shiver)

Last night, me and the honey watched the Australian film In Her Skin. I was very surprised by the film, and since I didn't read the book, the film wasn't ruined for me by comparison. Since it was a true story about the murder of a young talented and beautiful girl I couldn't help but be pulled into the inner turmoil her family experienced. It was well done, very raw and thought provoking.





The song above Caroline by John Butler Trio played at the beginning and ending of the movie. The string section is just incredible, listen, enjoy.

What really got to me, was that the murderer, a very mentally disturbed and obsessive young woman, was able to make you feel disgust as well as sympathy for her actions. It's not often that a killer can make you feel two very different things. If you haven't seen it, I'm not sure if you should, it leaves you feeling a very deep sadness, but I can't help but recommend it for the art, the characters portrayals, and how deeply it makes you think and feel. So I may not watch it again, but it was definitely an experience.

Character descriptions, and the pitfalls of passive indulgent writing.

When I came across this picture I couldn't help but save it as an example of how I see Duncan. I always hated it when I'd read a story and then the actor they used to play the character was way off from the authors description.

A perfect example of this is the movie the Queen of the Damned. Lestat was described in the books as a blond, blue eyed hunk. In the movie they used Stuart Townsend to play the charismatic vampire. Needless to say no matter how good looking Stuart was, his dark hair and looks weren't anything close to what Anne Rice described.

There aren't many movies (if any) that ever live up to what we see when we read a book. It's transcending, you can journey to places in a story that have endless possibilities. So far though, I have to say that True Blood has done a pretty good job of casting the lead characters as they are described in the stories by Charlaine Harris. I don't always agree with the direction Alan Ball goes with the story, but at least he's using what the author started instead of losing it completely.

One of the worst books to movie I've ever seen was Blood and Chocolate. Wow did they screw that one up. The book was actually pretty decent, the story of a young were-wolf who fights against her nature only to learn a deadly lesson. You can't change what you are. For a YA novel it didn't fall into the same pattern a lot of other books have been following lately. That could be because it was pre-Twilight (yes I said the T-word) but it could be because the characters were better developed, and the story wasn't at all written in a passive voice.

Ohhhh the pit fall of passive voice.......(sigh)

It is something I fight with everyday when I sit down at my computer and write. It's so easy to fall into the indulgent prose, using the thesaurus like crazy until I can't even have a conversation without using words that are less then three syllables. It's so easy to fall into the fancy elusive yuck-fest. But I'm getting off topic, self-indulgent writing is different from passive writing. I just got caught up in the anti-Twilight prose. (That doesn't mean I disliked the books either, I just can't stand the over use of fancy vocabulary, and passive voice. I enjoyed the books, just wish the editor would have convinced SM that less is more sometimes.)

That being said, sometimes passive voice is unavoidable, especially when you are trying to create a mystery.

I guess the lesson is that authors, and editors make mistakes, and then movie producers completely ruin the story. I just wanted to share my example of Duncan, and ended up whining about passive, and indulgent writing.

Happy reading!!!