Where I've been (Among other things)

Writery Things
During the month of November, I was quiet here, but my writing life has been extremely busy.

In October, I had a conversation with an agent, and she recommended to me that I increase the length of the novel in order to make it more marketable to mainstream publishers. Thus, I spent the three weeks leading up to Thanksgiving completing a 30,000 word addition to the text. The manuscript draft is now in the hands of my editor. After taking a week to catch my breath, I've begun planning the sequel while I wait for the annotations to come back. I'm also taking time to do some research, and I can't wait to use what I learn in the next book. Once my editor is finished looking through the text, I'll make corrections and then send it off with hopes of finding representation.


I'm also very excited to announce that I'll be attending The Stanley Hotel Writer's Retreat in October of 2014! It's a week-long retreat at the hotel that was the inspiration for Stephen King's The Shining. The event has been written up on FEARNet and on FANGORIA®, and I absolutely cannot wait. I haven't been to Estes Park in years, and to spend the time doing something I love with great people in such an inspiring location is a dream come true.

Readery Things 

The book club I lead has been reading classic horror this year, and we just completed Bram Stoker's Dracula. We've been comparing the book to various onscreen interpretations, including the new NBC television series. Everyone agrees that while the show departs significantly from the text of the novel, we love what the writers are doing and find Jonathan Rhys Meyers depiction compelling and exciting. If you haven't had a chance to catch this great show, I highly recommend it.


At the beginning of the year, I set myself a challenge to read 50 books, which works out to approximately a book a week, and I'm seven books away from reaching that goal. Many of the books I read were part of a series. Last year, I read all of the George R.R. Martin A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) series, and this year it was Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter series that dominated my reading list. This year also saw the end of Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire Mysteries, an ending that was bittersweet for me. I kept up with Karen Marie Moning's Fever series by reading her newest and thoroughly entertaining installment, Iced (I'm very much looking forward to reading Burned once it's released). I also read Cassandra Claire's Mortal Instruments series and the Beautiful Creatures series by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. Several standalone novels were part of my reading list, including most memorably Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane which was stunningly lyrical and heartbreaking.

Doggy Things (Because Layla is annoyed at not being the center of attention)
I'm just going to leave this here. Her face speaks for itself.

 
Your Turn...

Tell me stuff!

• What are you reading/writing?
• What's the best thing that's happened with you this year so far?
• What are you looking forward to next year?
• What is your pet doing right now?

Jonathan Rhys Meyers' Dracula Scorches the Small Screen

One of the promotional images for NBC's Dracula reboot describes it as "Old Legend. New Blood." They certainly delivered on that promise in last Friday's premiere episode. 

Dracula has been remade dozens of times since Bram Stoker first penned the novel in 1897. Each actor who played the part brought something new to the role. Every interpretation gave a new spin on the legend. This incarnation dusts off the old tropes and breathes new life into a story everyone thought they knew. 

I was aware going in that in order to create a season (hopefully multi-season) weekly drama based on a single novel, the writers would have to introduce new storylines to keep the audience tuned in. But what they created far exceeded my expectations. There are tons of surprises in store for even those who thought they knew everything there was to know about the characters. In addition, the production values are truly excellent, the costumes lavish, the acting superb, and the special effects are understated and powerful. 

The most effective special effect, however, is Meyers himself. The way his eyes glittered as he looked on Mina Murray from the shadows spoke volumes about the character of Dracula and hinted at things to come in a way that the script could never do. He has a power and charisma on screen that is incendiary, and it makes the audience root for him, even with the knowledge that he is not the hero. Or is he? I, for one, can't wait to find out. 

If you haven't seen the pilot episode, you're in for a treat. I plan to keep watching every week to see how the plot unfolds...and to see more of Jonathan Rhys Meyers.