I also downloaded a few e-books from this website called Scribd, including a series about vampires. If you haven't already guessed, I'm a sucker for these kinds of stories... Excuse the pun. Although, in my defense, I've been a fan of vampire stories since I was twelve years old, when I saw a movie version of Bram Stoker's Dracula starring Gary Oldman and Winona Ryder (which I think came out in 1992) and also some episodes of Buffy (they were random, and I'd watch them when I had the time), as well as the original film that inspired the Buffy TV series. Since then I read Dracula, and I read Amelia Atwater-Rhodes's Den of Shadows series (and a couple of her shape-shifter stories), some stand-alone chick-lit novels featuring the bloodsuckers, and of course (which is probably in every pre-teen's literary canon -- I say this in the sense that these tweens will treat Meyer's stories as if they were Gospel truth. Shocked? Me, too.) the Twilight Saga. So enough explanation.
I like vampires. Even though I was completely terrified of them in the 1st grade after watching Nosferatu and those documentaries on the paranormal. I was so scared that I actually slept with my covers over my head, thinking that my blanky was a nifty shield against any bat that might crawl through my window looking to suck the life out of my neck.
Yeah, I know. I had a vivid imagination as a kid. Didn't you?
Anyway, if you're just looking for something entertaining, funny, and refreshing to read, I suggest you check out the Blood Coven series by Mari Mancusi.
Book 1: Boys That Bite
Book 2: Stake That
Book 3: Girls That Growl
Book 4: Bad Blood
I'm planning on reading them next, once I finish Jane Eyre and the last installment of L.J. Smith's Vampire Diaries. If you're interested in reading the Blood Coven series, just let me know. I can send you the ebooks.
I'm also planning to read the books by Charlaine Harris on which the HBO TV series True Blood is based. I'm still waiting for season 3 to start.
Ditto with The Vampire Diaries. I'm almost done with the last book. The only thing I'll be looking foward to in the fall would be season 2 -- it's getting really juicy, what with Damon suddenly trying to be good in order to impress Elena (who's already taken by Stefan and only sees Damon as a friend) and Katharine (YES, Elena's doppleganger) comes back to Mystic Falls!
While I have these two shows/book series in mind, I have to share my current TV infatuations (aside from Ethan Peck, who doesn't play a vampire, hehe). And the gorgeous guys are...
Alexander Skarsgard -- aka "Eric" on True Blood
Ian Somerhalder -- aka "Damon" on The Vampire Diaries
Vampires must really dig leather, the way Victorians had a fetish for lace, don't you think? "You can be my leather. Take from me my lace..." Hahaha!
They can bite my neck anytime! At least, the fictional characters that they portray on television can. I heard they have girlfriends in real life (go figure), so if I got anyone's hopes up... Sorry. Now that that's out of the way, permit me to throw a bucket of ice water over my head. Ahem.
I'm back. That was refreshing. Okay, I didn't literally do that. But I did wash my face and drink some water, which did the trick. So, where was I? Oh, yes. I just finished my vampire-obsession spiel, hehe.
As for my own writing...
For the past couple of weeks, let me put it in terms of Lolcats:
However, I also had some progress. After ignoring the story I've been working on for quite some time, I finally listened to the nagging voice in the back of my brain that kept telling me something was off. I just didn't know what it was at the time. But now I do.
The timing -- the pacing of the story was going too fast, with not enough conflicts in each chapter, and not enough appearances of a major character. Plus, I had some major editing to do with chapters that I felt didn't flow that well to fit in with the rest of the plot points. I've also had to do some character study -- that is to say, I had to imagine the world through the other characters' perspectives in order to understand their motivations behind their actions. They seemed kind of... hollow until I focused on them somewhat more, creating their backstories (even if I wasn't really going to use most of it). And so, with all of this bouncing back and forth, and some Facebooking in between (Sorority Life is ridiculous, but so addictive!), I tried my best. I even stopped searching for good music for a while because that tends to greatly distract me from ever getting anywhere.
Though I did find some more interesting songs -- some of them recommended by a couple of friends and others discovered on Purevolume or on one of the online AOL indie rock stations -- I eventually decided that I'd probably be better off writing in silence for a bit.
So far?
The silence (save for the whirring of the electric fan amid the summer heat) helped me regain focus a little. I was able to write a few more pages. Granted, there's always editing to do, but at least for the time being, I got somewhere. I also figured out how to add more scenes in between to make the plot richer with more conflict and more ways to torture my protagonist (not that I hate her or anything... but whining is a big thing with her, so if you plan to read any excerpts I decide to put up in the future, be forewarned, hehe).
In any case, I'm off to write again. And then explore the new literature blogs I found after I run out of steam, like this one that gives book reviews (sorry, they talk about vampires again -- but they talk about other things in their posts, too! I swear!): Litbites.
Until next time, friends!
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