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So this is a first on my blog – review of a wine, aptly named “Werewolf”  and perfect for Halloween. Thanks Gordo! Made in Romania, mind you. I had a liberal sniff and the smell of this wine took up residence in my brain, bags packed and everything (although let’s be realistic, my bags were packed a few hours ago). Its taste was heavy at first, then quickly light with a biting black-cherry aftertaste, followed by lingering chili-peppery bursts. Not bad at all. Ahh woooooooooooooo!

Pour me another glass. Anything more and I’ll have to tell you after midnight…….

(If you’re over 21, please drink responsibly)

MORNING UPDATE: So either this is the kind of wine that leaves the red “ring around the lips” or I transformed into a werewolf and went on a surburban rampage, returning home with absolutely no recollection of the night past. Yeah, I like the second one too.

We’ll save this one for the full moon.

Be Careful What You Wish For…it’s Halloween!

HAPPY

HALLOWEEN!

Loved this episode! Damon by far is my favorite because not only is he smoking hot and sexy, but his biting wit just keeps getting better and better. I laughed out loud when he calls Stefan “Count Deepak.” Hilarious!

I thought that Vicky made things a lot more interesting in this episode, and the bite scene with Jeremy was very exciting and bad-sexy, especially when she licks the blood from his mouth. Vampilicious! It was really too bad that she had to die – it would have been good to see her used more as a vampire (gets a little boring with just the brothers).

The only part which didn’t work for me was where Stefan, as in uber-careful, super-cautious Stefan, leaves Elena alone (when he goes to get more blood for Vicky) with a newly-turned and supposedly unpredictable vampire. If he cared about her so much, he would never have done that. Too much of a glaring error to me.

Finally, Stefan got a little more personality in this episode, although Damon’s the one who ultimately comes to the rescue in the end. Love when he shows his “sensitive” side! Still, don’t be fooled. Damon is out for Damon, “You confuse me for someone with remorse.”

The Vampire Diaries airs on Thursdays at 8pm eastern on the CW.

I don’t know why I waited so long to see the film X-Men Origins:Wolverine! I bought the DVD when it came out and it just sat unopened until I decided to watch it last night. It was AWESOME! Even though it didn’t get rave reviews – a mere 36% on the Tomatometer at Rotten Tomatoes, it was just one of those movies that made me pump my fist in the air, similar to how I felt after watching G.I Joe, the Rise of Cobra (which also didn’t pull great reviews). Simply put, it was a fun, enjoyable action movie. Would I classify it in the same realm as the first two X-Men films? Probably not, but it was still a cool flick that I thoroughly enjoyed with great cinematography, fun characters, and a believable (if thin) backstory.

Great fight scenes with some fantastic special effects – gotta love that scene with Ryan Reynolds and the samurai swords, not to mention his infamous “smart mouth” and dry wit, no matter the movie. I love his versatility as an actor and this film was definitely reminiscent of his role in Blade Trinity.

I thought the dynamic and the love/hate relationship between the two brothers was extremely realistic, although somewhat predictable, but perhaps that is what gave it its realism. The love between Kayla and Logan also worked for me, it didn’t feel contrived, and I liked the balance it gave to the rest of the action (and of course, the main driver for Logan becoming Wolverine). So what if it is a predictable tragedy based on love and betrayal? The fact is this is usually what is the cause of revenge and anger. Hugh Jackman was great as Wolverine – again I thought the difference between the brothers really showcased the “other” side of what he could have been, more animal than human, like his brother. And yes, the gratuituous display of man candy didn’t hurt either.

My one complaint would be that the super-mutant should have demonstrated more powers given all the mutants Striker had in captivity but there was just so much action in this last end scene that maybe that would just be asking too much. That last part with the severed head and body falling into the giant cylinder reminded me of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace where Obi-Wan slices Darth Maul in two. Not sure if I liked the bit after the end credits where the arm of the super-mutant finds the head – that was a little corny.

I liked it, plain and simple. Would I watch it again? Probably, but I’m just shallow like that.

Holy cow! This is literally the funniest thing I have seen in a long time. Poking a little fun at True Blood‘s version of vampire sex, Twilight‘s ice-cold vampire bodies, and the towering mass of unruly “vampire-kind” hair made popular by Robert Pattinson….what’s not to love?! Ingenious!

Intercourse With A Vampire, Episode 1

I am SO fierce! I am a Twilight Princess superstar! Nevermind that I am consulting Gamespot like a crack addict, but at least I am getting somewhere since my last post. I was proud to finally nunchuck my way out of the Forest Temple (swinging my fist at the cruel designers who invented those giant skulltula arachnids…HORRID, horrid things). **shudder**

After a lot of effort, I finally mastered the stupid spider-pod bomblings! Guess when? You got it…during the boss fight. Oh yes, all the way at the very end of the Forest Temple. Why didn’t someone tell me I could have used the boomerang to double-target so that I never had to throw the stupid exploding things and blow myself up in the process!!!! What’s the point of cheating with a walkthrough if that useful little tidbit is not in there!? Ah well, live and learn. Killed the boss no problem once I had that down, and am now finally onto the next quest – Kakariko and Eldin.

Go me!!! Um, I mean Link. Check back for more as we make progress defending against the forces of shadow! No doubt with Gamespot‘s very available help, and of course the random Google when I get wedged into a too-tight spot like when I ran out of oil in room 13 of the Forest Temple and had to run ALL the way back outside – my silver lining was that I randomly learned that you could be a cheapskate and pay just one rupee instead of getting pecked to death for thievery. Sweet! What did one ever do without walkthroughs!?

Oh right…they tried and died, and did it again. Old school kung-fu.

A friend clued me in to this “contest” and I think it’s a really neat idea. Next month is the National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo, which is described as a “fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing” where anyone can participate with the goal of completing a 50,000 word novel written between November 1 and November 30. There are very simple rules and the only thing you really win is knowing that you’ve accomplished the creative goal of writing a novel! All it takes is a simple upload to confirm that you’ve written the requisite 50,000 words. You can even scramble your writing without affecting the word count so that no one can read your story if you prefer to keep it private.

Can you cheat, like by uploading a previously written manuscript, or as they joke, plagiarize 50,000 words from Wikipedia? Sure you can – but the only person you’ll really be cheating is yourself. NaNoWriMo’s unique parameters of providing a goal and a deadline for your writing project places the emphasis on “quantity not quality.” This means that the focus is on the 50,000 word goal, not really a pulled-together, polished novel. They describe it as a “kamikaze approach that forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.” So what does that mean? Are you going to be a NY Times Bestseller? Probably not. It’s more likely going to be a 50,000 word pile of rubbish. But it’s your rubbish. And for all you over-achievers or bona fide authors, there is a silver lining that could be yours as well – from what I’ve seen on their site FAQs, bestsellers like Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen discovered its roots here. How cool is that?

I plan to sign up, looks like it could be fun…and you never know what you could discover about yourself or whether you’ll uncover the next idea to up-end the publishing world. What do you have to lose? Register for National Novel Writing Month here.

Let the wild rumpus start! Based on the initial reviews of Where The Wild Things Are, I decided to see this movie. I left the movie theater with mixed feelings. Spike Jonze did an excellent job of visually creating Max’s imaginary world and the wild things from Maurice Sendak‘s childhood classic. I’m not sure my five year old could watch this movie even though we’ve read the book many times together, but there were also moments where I felt that an older child would be bored rather than scared.

When I left the movie, I definitely felt a sense of “well that wasn’t what I expected.” Although I wasn’t entirely sure what I expected, so perhaps it was more of a sense of over-expectations left unfulfilled. However, the more I stew upon it, the more I feel that Spike Jonze did an admirable job communicating many of the emotional themes and metaphors from the book, as well as the visualization of the characters themselves, if only for the simple reason that I find myself thinking about this film for hours afterward.

The wild things were indeed scary, with their horns, pointed teeth and dark gums (oh yes, they were going to eat Max at one point and frankly it was a bit terrifying). They were engaging, funny, and endearing…strangely all combining to make them very human. At times during the movie, I laughed out loud, like when one of the wild things gets belted by mud clods or when they all do the pile-on. I also did feel quite emotional toward the end when Max leaves the wooden heart with the “C” and sails away at the end. So I did connect on several levels emotionally with this film. Still, the cynic in me wonders why a child who misbehaves, bites his mother, and runs away, gets rewarded with cake in the end (yes, I know…a very cynical cynic). Don’t worry, I do get the “bigger picture” – child confronts his emotional and psychological fears and comes to understand the importance of home, his place in the world, and a mother’s love.

All in all, despite its snail-like pace which was painful at times, Where The Wild Things Are did draw out a considerable range of my emotions during its hour and thirty-four minute run time, which is more than can be said for some movies (also reviewed here). Exploring the gambit of fear, angst, rage, need, love, attention, friendship, foregiveness, and most of all, unconditional love, this film’s appeal will undeniably be its ability to connect those emotions with experiences of your own childhood (even if your inside cynic says give the kid a good swat on the backside). You’ll either love it or you won’t. It’s one of those. If you’re on the fence, I’d say that by the time you get home, you’ll find yourself connecting with it more after the fact than you did during the movie, just as I did. And what I suspect you’ll also find is that, as with the book, everyone will have a different feeling or interpretation of the film. It’s the beauty of this particular story and how it uniquely connects with its audience.

For that reason, I give Where The Wild Things Are three and a half out of five stars. One word of advice, don’t go in with any expectations…find your inner child if you still can. You’ll either enjoy the wild rumpus or want to eat your feet off.

Hello hotness! Team Jacob away! I am actually excited to see this movie next month. In previous New Moon reviews, I’ve made my opinion about Edward, played by actor Robert Pattinson, pretty clear. I know I’m probably in the minority but he’s just not a good actor, even though yes, I agree that he’s cute especially with that “cool vampire hair“. Kristen Stewart also seems to be stronger acting-wise in some of the clips, and I think that will definitely be needed in this installment of the series. But Jacob, well I feel some real potential in that one. From what I’ve seen, Taylor Lautner’s acting is very credible and I have the urge to want to connect with him onscreen, which is always a good sign for me. I predict that fans may be making a move between “Teams” after New Moon drops on November 20th, 2009.

This is the question on my mind this week. I grew up in a time where I read at least 5-10 books a week, not because I didn’t enjoy watching TV (although with just three channels back then instead of 300, I admit that that played a part in my foray into literary escapism). I adored reading. I read every single night before bed, and if I really got caught up into a good book, I’d read it every spare minute until I’d finished. My parents were both teachers and our house was practically wallpapered in books!

But don’t get me wrong, by no means was I just a book worm, closeted in my room with my nose buried in a book 24/7. I played four varsity sports in high school and graduated at the top of most of my classes. In college, I played JV soccer and fenced. Although the academic demands became a little more stringent, I still made time to read and always carried a novel in my bag. And, yes, I managed to graduate Summa Cum Laude.

I attribute a lot of my success in academia (and life) to reading so many books as a child and young adult. I read anything that I could get my hands on, even books that some would technically classify as “too old” for me. So the point of this blog post is why do I get the feeling that within the young adult sphere, it seems to me that people are constantly trying to “dumb-down” the kind of books and writing that teens should be reading?

I’ve heard that this is an American phenomenon, and the reason why reading is such a problem in our society versus other countries (I’ve lived in 5). Books are meant to expand minds, to make a reader enjoy the journey, but also to make them pause and think, drawn in by a single image, a sentence, a description, a word even. They shouldn’t be intellectually vacuous or flippant. Yes, I agree that there are places for some books of that nature, but shouldn’t teens have a choice on whether they want to read something with a little more gut and a little more grit? And not just be spoon fed a mass-market diet of what someone else thinks they should read (which more often than not translates to the material that makes the most money)? Or are people just so happy that teens are reading, that it doesn’t really matter what they read?

As an American myself, I cringe when I hear the “dumbing-down” analogy. Shouldn’t people be allowed to buy what they want, and not what someone says that they should buy? Publishers are picking books for money, mass market cookie-cutter books, while educators are picking books that have no money in it, for more literary purposes. There is a huge, almost unbridgeable chasm between the two. In much of the rest of the world, the gap between the two is far less, because history and art and culture are integral parts of any literature, even *gasp* children’s books.

The real crux of the matter is that at the end of the day, publishing is a business, a business of book units. It’s a business of what will sell the most copies. No one wants to take a chance on something that could potentially be better than what is currently out there. And if that’s the flimsy flippant books more “geared toward teens” as decided by a corporation’s marketing team assessing “current market trends” as opposed to actual literary educators, then those are the books that will be heavily marketed and pushed toward the teen market. But despite this, I suspect that publishing will soon travel down the route of all other media monopolies, and become driven by user choice. This kind of Choice Revolution is something that is currently having a huge impact on TV, internet, and all matter of social media – people are deciding what THEY want to read or watch or listen to, not what someone in a business tells them is within their ability or maturity level to do.

At the end of the day, shouldn’t teens decide for themselves what kinds of concepts and language are supposedly deemed inaccessible to them?

Say NO to “Teen Fiction For Dummies.”

Well, well, well. Houston we have lift off. I know I am a couple days late, but what a great episode! Love the angst between Elena and Stefan, and Damon just gets better and better. His “devil-may-care” attitude makes me laugh, and you just have to love his dry sense of humor – “I’m getting really bored and impatient, and I don’t do bored and impatient.” Bit of a raunchy scene for seventeen year olds with the Stefan and Katherine love scene, but it worked overall – quite steamy and exciting for network TV. The only tiny annoying part for me was Katherine giggling while running around in the garden with Stefan – I really felt like punching her in the head. But that was only a very small thing so I restrained myself. Nice build up to next week’s episode – uncontrollable, blood-thirsty vampling? Giddy up!

The Vampire Diaries airs Thursdays on the CW at 8pm Eastern.

Paris was amazing – it was everything I remembered and more. Not only did I visit all of the old haunts – the Latin Quarter, Boulevard St. Michel, the Louvre, the Notre Dame, the Sacre Coeur and Montmartre, and even the Eiffel Tower, but I also visited places that I wrote about in my books which was an almost surreal experience – the Tour Areva in La Defense (see insert), the palace and gardens of Versailles, the Tuileries, the designer row of Avenue Montaigne. It was fantastic, breathing life into my story and my characters.

Speaking of breathing life, I did spend at least a couple nights lying in my hotel room wondering…what if, just maybe, vampires did exist and were living just where I’d said they’d be living (like around the corner from my hotel in the 8th arrondissement). It felt more real than surreal in the middle of the second night when the wind blew open the curtains of the french doors off the balcony into the room! Oh, and when I woke up, there were tiny drops of blood on my white bed linen. I kid you not! Well let’s just say those French doors remained closed for the remainder of my time in Paris, overactive imagination or not. Freaky!

Photos to follow.

Avatar hits theaters December 18th 2009. Chatter on the web says that this movie has the potential to be another major blockbuster, if only for its unmatched special effects, cinematography, and cutting-edge film technology. From what I’ve seen in the trailers, the rainforest landscape of Pandora, the alien world, is quite visually stunning  with spectacular imagery. Given James Cameron’s repertoire of fantastic science fiction films (Terminator, The Abyss, Aliens), I have super high expectations of this movie. Avatar is meant to be viewed in 3D so this trailer will hardly do it the justice it deserves.

I have been waiting for Final Fantasy: Crystal Bearers since May 2006 when it was first announced, and all I can say is that IT BETTER BE GOOD! I have been a fan of Final Fantasy forever, back when it was on the Super Nintendo console in the early nineties. I mainlined Final Fantasy, so much so that I wrote my Cambridge “A” Level exams while being completely addicted to Final Fantasy II and III. I remember hiding in my room with the TV volume on silent when I was supposed to have been studying. I lied to cover my tracks too. Sorry mom! But I digress. I cannot wait for when this game drops on December 26, 2009. Check back for my review then! Right now, I will try to contain myself with Zelda’s Twilight Princess.

I went to the movies last week and couldn’t help but notice the two movie posters sitting side by side – one advertizing The Vampire’s Assistant and the other Daybreakers. These are only two of the movies with vampires that are scheduled to come out in the next few months. After the movies, I happened to walk into a Borders book store and was completely assaulted by the sheer amount of paranormal titles, and yes, you guessed it…even more vampires with books like Mr. Darcy, Vampyre. Hello? Jane Austen and vampires??? Wow. I’m waiting with bated breath to see an installment of Jesus Christ, Vampire. No kidding. As a young adult author writing about a vampire (although not the main protagonist), I do admit that it’s a bit nerve-wracking. There’s a lot out there, including a lot of sub-par material.

So is the vampire trend staked for good? I sincerely hope not. I remain quietly optimistic that good writing and a great story, even with, *gasp* vampires, will remain ‘eternally’ alive in the end. Check out the recent article in United’s Hemisphere’s magazine – There Will Be Blood which predicts that “vampire lit is the genre that will never die.”

I am quite disappointed to see that there’s no US release posted for Dorian Gray. It looks amazing with a pretty stellar cast – Ben Barnes from Chronicles of Narnia as Dorian Gray, Colin Firth as Lord Henry Wotton, and Ben Chaplin as Basil Hallward. I loved this book (The Picture of Dorian Gray) and I imagine the movie will be something to see. It released last month on September 9th in the UK and sources say it played at the Toronto Film Festival a few weeks ago. I shall definitely be ordering this on DVD if it doesn’t release in theaters, but keep checking the official movie site to see if a US release date eventually shows up.

Considering that part of my current novel takes place in Paris and its sequel occurs entirely in France, I am very excited to see this amazing city again. I recently discovered that I am of French descent which explains a lot, as I’ve always felt that Paris was a part of my soul, ingrained in my very psyche. I absolutely cannot wait. I want to smell the air in the Jardin des Tuileries, I want to wander the halls of the Louvre, I want to get lost in the streets of the Marais. I want to breathe it, eat it, live it….love it. I’m excited to rediscover my wonderful muse!

After tonight’s episode of the Vampire Diaries, I am once more at a loss. This episode lost all of the momentum from last week‘s cliffhanger ending. Seriously. First of all, it was so slow! I couldn’t even believe it because I had it DVR’d and it still seemed to crawl at a snail’s pace. The only good parts were when Elena cut her finger and Stefan vamped out, and then the part where Damon was chasing Caroline and got fried by the sun (note to self: he definitely did not sparkle when hit by sunlight – SWEET!!!) Even at the end where Damon bites Vicky, its just so predictable – it would have been so much better if she’d seen him eat all her stoner friends. For me, the only good parts were Jeremy sticking up for himself, and the last few minutes when Elena works it all out, ending with the dramatic….“What are you?”

Still, I have to ask myself – were the two minutes at the end worth watching the entire episode? Jury’s still out on that one.

So you paid $400 to attend a 3 day writers’ conference. Now what? I’ve been to a few of these conferences, and I’ve learned a couple things. If approached properly, it’s one of the best investments you can make in building your writing career. That said, you have to be prepared to talk about your work, especially if you are an unpublished writer. Standing like a wallflower at a seminar that you paid an arm and a leg for is a complete waste of your time and money. So before you get there, do the 3 P’s – PREPARE, PRACTICE & POLISH.

Develop a 30 second elevator pitch. In the sales world, where I’ve spent the majority of my career, an elevator pitch is the time in which you have just about 30 seconds to sell whatever product it is you’re selling to a prospective buyer. Think of your book as the product you’re trying to sell, so basically that means you need a hook and a good one (never forget you have tons of competition!) Write it out first – what is your book about? What’s the thing that makes it unique? Characters, plot, genre? A couple key sentences are really all you need.

Once you’ve got your pitch, practice it in front of a mirror or a friend. Be confident. Enunciate and try lowering your voice (for a woman, lowering your voice slightly can sound more professional and confident – don’t ask why, but it worked for me in sales for years). Your goal is to present yourself as talented, confident, creative, and professional. Now get on the conference website and look for the attending agent/editor list. Research them all – with the ease of use of Google, you really have no excuse. Do it, because if you get a moment to talk to an agent, you want to be prepared to talk about books they’ve sold or specific areas of professional interest to them. Agents are people too – they feel flattered if someone has genuinely taken the time to learn about them.

Finally, line up the candidates that match your work, find a photo if you can so that you can recognize them at the conference. Don’t be afraid to single them out (btw, this doesn’t mean you should stalk them, but do find them at the right time like during a break or a mingling session), and remember that they are there because they are looking for new talent (yes, that means you). Get yourself noticed in a good way – ask questions during a seminar or introduce yourself to as many people as you can during breaks. Participate in author/agent sessions. Be friendly and personable. In any business, people connect with people.

It’s also helpful to carry a synopsis or two of your work, and maybe the first 3-5 pages. Don’t be afraid to talk about your work and your goals as a writer. If you’re afraid to pitch yourself, then why are you there? Seriously. It’s not a big deal, don’t hyperventilate – unless you make a complete fool or yourself (which you won’t) or you impress the heck out of someone (which you will), you’re just a face in the “I wanna be published” crowd. So stand tall, take a deep breath, and put on your GAME FACE. Dress the part. I’d advise against jeans and a T-shirt unless it works for your platform, but looking professional gets you automatic “impression” appeal.

You’ve prepared, practiced, and polished. Now it’s game time. Get in there! Believe in yourself and your work!

Finally, the last key thing after you’ve wowed a bunch of top NY agents, don’t forget to follow up with anyone you’ve met after the conference. If you’re querying an agent who told you to query them, mention when and where you met them in your query. On the flip side of this, NEVER make up that you’ve met someone because they have ways and means of finding you out. Trust me, you don’t want to be that person. Even if you don’t query a specific agent/editor/author that you’ve met, still send them an email to say thanks or that it was nice to meet them. I cannot stress how important networking is in this business (in any business for that matter). See my post on networking.

Now give yourself a pat on the back, you’re on your way!

Columbus’ Top 4 Rules for Surviving Zombieland

01. Cardio (be fit; the fat guys get eaten first)
02. Beware of Bathrooms (zombies go for easy prey)
03. Seatbelts (self-explanatory)
04. Double Tap (always shoot or hit a zombie a second time just to make sure they’re really dead. Again.)

Zombieland definitely lived up to its 89% tomato-meter rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It was AWESOME! Let me start by saying I am the furthest thing from a zombie fan you will ever find. Night of the Living Dead gave me nightmares for years when I was a kid – when you’re fourteen and dreaming of half rotten corpses chasing you for fresh brains, it’s not like you go looking for zombie films of any kind. Period. It was a major feat to even get me to go see Shaun of the Dead, which I ended up quite enjoying despite the miles and miles of gore.  “Oh, my God! She’s so drunk!” I still chuckle at Shaun and Ed thinking the zombie chick in their back yard is drunk out of her mind.

That said, I do have to say however, (and I know some will disagree), that I loved Zombieland WAY MORE than Shaun of the Dead. Although the main character Jesse Eisenberg was more or less a wannabe Michael Cera, the quirky writing and the rapport between the four main characters more than made up for that after the first ten minutes. Woody Harrelson was fantastic, as bad ass as he was in Natural Born Killers, just with a sense of humor, a talent for killing zombies, and a manic obsession with Twinkies. Zombieland was certainly bloody enough – picture a wife chewing on her husband’s intestines and then cracking his arm bone to suck out the marrow in all its graphic gory glory. Next picture a soccer mom in a minivan being chased by a fairy princess party – 12 year old princess zombies? You got it. Notwithstanding the ample display of blood and guts, Zombieland was also a feast of comedy that had me laughing throughout. Add in a surprise cameo appearance by Bill Murray and a hilarious reenactment of Ghostbusters, and you’ve got some sheer comic genius. I laughed until my sides hurt. To top everything off, there’s also a sweet cat and mouse romance between Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) and Wichita (Emma Stone from Superbad), that gets cemented when he changes rule #17 – Don’t be a hero to Be a Hero by literally hammering a zombie clown (see insert) to save his love. You also won’t be disappointed by the awesome music soundtrack.

All in all, blood and guts and flesh-eating zombies aside, I give Zombieland a double-tap thumbs up. As Tallahassee says, “nut up or shut up!” GET THERE.