I first saw this a couple of months ago since several versions of the pilot (last night’s episode) were leaked to the internet (good grief more leaking vampires!) Speculation is that this was an unofficial official leak to build up some hype for the show, since it does seem to happen quite often.

Sadly, the girl playing Tara in one of the pilots was not picked up and they have gone with Miss Obnoxious instead, Rutina Wesley or something like that. She is the worst character in the show so far, in respect of the character from the book ie she is nothing like her! She also comes across as being a little bit racist if you ask me, possibly in retaliation but in my mind completely unnecessary since it’s not in the books, so presumably they have another agenda with this.

It’s HBO, so expect violence, swearing including the C word and lots of sex and nudity. The kinky vampire sex video is watched several times throughout the show and since this is only episode one, then I guess it’s a taste of what’s to come.

Apart from that, so far it seems to be following the book fairly closely, including Bill licking the blood off Sookie’s head in Episode Two. Oh did I mention I watched episode two today? No? Well I did! hehe

It’s a good looking, well produced show, and I’m pleased to say they fixed their fang problem and got some that don’t look stupid. Sunday nights are looking up!

For all of you Moonlight fans pining for Mick St John, perhaps you will find some consolation in Vampire Bill and Eric Northman *wiggles eyebrows*

Wolfsbane and Mistletoe

Ok so it’s not exactly about vampires but for once we are making an exception because some of these authors do write about vampires… just not in this book.

Published in October 2008 and just in time for Christmas orders, we have Wolfsbane and Mistletoe

New York Times bestselling authors Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, Keri Arthur, and Carrie Vaughn—along with eleven other masters of the genre—offer all-new stories on werewolves and the holidays, a fresh variation on the concept that worked so well with birthdays and vampires in Many Bloody Returns.

The holidays can bring out the beast in anyone. They are particularly hard for lycanthropes. Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner have harvested the scariest, funniest and saddest werewolf tales by an outstanding pack of authors, best read by the light of a full moon with a silver bullet close at hand.

Whether wolfing down a holiday feast (use your imagination) or craving some hair of the dog on New Year’s morning, the werewolves in these frighteningly original stories will surprise, delight, amuse, and scare the pants off readers who love a little wolfsbane with their mistletoe.

Published 7th October 2008

Here’s a complete list of authors included:

Charlaine Harris, Toni L.P. Kelner, Patricia Briggs, Keri Arthur, Carrie Vaughn, Donna Andrews, Dana Cameron, Karen Chance, Alan Gordon, Simon Green, JA Konrath, Nancy Pickard, Dana Stabenow, Rob Thurman and Kat Richardson.

Personally I’m looking forward to the Simon R Green* story and we’ll see about the rest. Some of these anthologies are just not that good, let’s face it, so until I’ve read it, let’s just leave it there shall we.

*Simon advised he had sold this short story almost a year ago so just shows how long these things take sometimes!

Get ready for the series by reading the books first!

Tru Blood - available in a flavour to suit everyone

I’m a big fan of the Southern Vampire Mysteries or Sookie Stackhouse series (or whatever they are calling themselves these days) by friend of the site, Charlaine Harris. The books feature a telepathic waitress living in Bon Temps Louisiana after she meets her first vampire – Vampire Bill. Vampires have come out of the coffin, thanks mainly to the development of a new synthetic blood, and are living among us.

The show is scheduled to premiere on September 7th, 2008 on HBO, but it seems that not one but two versions of the pilot episode have been “unofficially” leaked – or should that be “officially” leaked? Anyhoo, here are a couple of links that will enable you to watch the second, and more complete, version of the pilot below.

and

*neither of these are hosted on this site*

Starring Anna Paquin as Sookie and Stephen Moyer as Bill.  Anna looks good as Sookie, if perhaps a little too much like a retarded cheerleader, and Stephen Moyer IMHO is perfectly cast as Bill!  You can also check Stephen out in a short-lived British vampire series called Ultraviolet, which unfortunately only ran for six episodes, but was bloody (no pun intended) brilliant.

So there are things I don’t like about it, but it has a lot of good points so I’ll willing to keep an open mind until I see more of it.  BTW none of the good points include Tara 1 or Tara 2, both are really obnoxious!

Pay very close attention to the scene where Sookie swings the chain to see who just might be arriving in Bon Temps a little earlier than expected!

click on the cover to buy the book!

The Interview: Charlaine Harris discusses the newest in her Sookie Stackhouse series, From Dead to Worse. Charlaine tells us about creating a world that melds real people with supernatural beings and abilities so smoothly.

We also hear a little about the upcoming HBO series based on the books, “True Blood”, and the excitement about the cast and filming is high. The series will start on Sunday, September 7, starring Anna Paquin as Sookie, and in the hands of Alan Ball, we’re in for a great show.

Click here to listen to the podcast interview with Charlaine

Paula Guran, editor of Juno Books, is the moderator, and the panelists are Dean Anderson, P. N. Elrod, Charlaine Harris, Suzy McKee Charnas, and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro.

They talk about the longevity and continuing popularity of a character type that was thought to be “overdone” 25 years ago, about the evolution and metamorphosis of the vampire as lead and romantic foil in recent years, and much more.

This comes from a podcast called The Dragon Page: Cover to Cover which often has reviews of Sci-Fi and Fantasy fiction and has excellent interviews. This episode treats us to this great panel discussion.

Click here to listen to the podcast. The podcast is approx 69 mins long.

Ashley, Amanda    After Sundown  A Whisper of Eternity
Bennett, Nigel    His Father’s Son
Banks, L.A.
Drake, Shannon    Deep Midnight
When Darkness Falls
Elrod, P. N.
Farren, Mick
Feehan, Christine    Dark Melody
Golden, Christopher    Gathering Dark
Gresham, Stephen
Hambly, Barbara    Traveling with the Dead
Hamilton, Laurell K.
Harbaugh, Karen    Night Fires
Harris, Charlaine    Southern Vampire Mysteries (series)
Harrison, Kim
James, Dean    Faked to Death
Kalogridis, Jeanne
Kenyon, Sherrilyn    ”Dark Hunter” books
King, Stephen    Nightmares and Dreamscapes   Salem’s Lot
Kramer, Edward    Dark Destiny III
Laymon, Richard    Traveling Vampire Show
Lumley, Brian    Necroscope series
Mendelsohn, Jane    Innocence
Merz, Jon F.
Miller, Linda Lael    Out of the Shadows
Mosiman, Billie Sue
Newman, Kim
Pratchett, Terry    Carpe Jugulum
Rice, Anne    Vampire Chronicles   New Tales of the Vampires
Romkey, Michael
Saberhagen, Fred    Dracula books
Sands, Lynsay    Single White Vampire
Shayne, Maggie    Edge of Twilight    Embrace the Twilight
Sizemore, Susan    Laws of the Blood (series)
Spruill, Steven G.    Daughter of Darkness    Rulers of Darkness
Stoker, Bram    Dracula
Thompson, James M.

Wilson, F. Paul    Midnight Mass
Yarbro, Chelsea Quinn    Saint-Germain (series)
Yarbro, Chelsea Quinn    Sisters of the Night (series)

*transferred from previous site 2005, please bear in mind as this list is a little dated*