Book Embargo

Bork Web is our friend Matt’s website. It is also a computer geek/random stuff website (seeing a trend here?). His posts range from working on FrontPage to making his own Star Wars lightsabers… and to that end, here is a video post…

How cool is that eh? So check him out. Great articles throughout and its another one worth the time.

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Ah, one of my faves. When I said, “I hope you know Johanna Lindsey,” well the same rings true for Julie Garwood. Her official website is here at Julie Garwood.com but you should also check her Wikipedia entry for its conciseness and lack of animation that her website has. One of my favorites from Julie is Prince Charming from 1994. She has some GREAT angst in that and such sweetness. The children are absolutely fabulous and it takes place in both London and the American West.

An image of some of her covers,

Wow huh! I can’t say enough good things about this author. She is definitely worth it to read. Her newer stuff is in the more contemporary suspense romance genre. Not my cuppa-tea so much.. I much prefer the historical, but still, all of her stuff is good. All of it.

Our good friend Adam’s website is another mish mosh of stuff. Mostly computer oriented, it is still enjoyable for the non-tech-heads (like myself) to read. One of my favorite recent posts of his is the World of Warcraft post.

Titled “You are not Prepared,” here is the image that goes along with it.

It is another ecclectic computer geek blog. Definitely worth the time to check it out.

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Ah the joys of series. Now, some may tell you that I hate series. This is only the case when I start reading the series with book #1 and books 2, 3 (or more) are not fore-casted for years. This is why I love Mitchell Graham. I found his Fifth Ring series years after the trilogy has been published! The Fifth Ring, Emerald Cavern and Ancient Legacy make up the trilogy, and my oh my, it is a good one.

A short review listed on his site,

“Debut novelist Mitchell Graham hasn’t just made a splash in the literary world with the publication of The Fifth Ring, he’s created a tidal wave! Everyone I know is talking about this wonderfully crafted, brilliantly narrated fantasy. ”
-Paul Goat Allen, editor of B&N’s Explorations

Yeah, I agree there!!!

Check this, from an interview with SFF World (which you should definitely read the rest of at their site),

Mitch claims he did not have a desire to write novels until later in life – despite his brush with greatness as a child. At the age of about 9, he wrote a letter to C.S. Lewis saying how much he enjoyed Lewis’ novel The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. To his surprise, Lewis wrote back thanking him for his letter and “commending a little closer study of the grammatical niceties of the English language.”

Mitch maintained his correspondence with C.S. Lewis for the next 3 ½ years. At that time Lewis’ letters stopped. Mitch was disappointed but hoped the letters would resume. Eventually, he received a letter from an associate of Lewis saying that Lewis had died. The associate wrote, “I know this is a poor substitute, but I’m sending you a copy of my book “The Hobbit”. A love of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth followed.

I know! GAH!!!

Check out his work. All three novels are available and TRUST ME: if there is any word of another in this series, I will let you know!!

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Okay, so I’ll admit it. I have been trying to find the first chapter of Eclipse so that I can post it here for you. To no avail.

This is what I did find out. There was NO LAYDOWN for the Special Edition of New Moon. I understand that people were saying there was one for May 5th. Yeah, no. This information was gained from Andy S. at Little Brown’s customer service.

That said, I believe that there are still restrictions on when the first chapter of Eclipse can be posted online. Stephenie will be the first to legitimately post it on her site, www.stepheniemeyer.com. So continue to check there!

And I was searching Youtube and found this. Enjoy!

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(First. If you are looking for the FIRST CHAPTER OF ECLIPSE. It is not here, it is not on the internet. Go to your local bookshop and read it, but rumor is that the first chapter can’t be posted online until July… no idea why. If it does get posted, I bet Stephenie is the one who will do that. Anyways, now the post!)

Did you know about the prom?

Stephenie Meyer hosted a Prom in Phoenix Arizona. Tied in with New Moon’s Special Edition (which includes the first chapter of Eclipse as well as other goodies), the prom was filled to the max. Stephenie read the first chapter of Eclipse, there were Twilight Teez for sale, photos, and contests for the best Bella and Edward, among others.

Here is Stephenie Meyer with the boys who were Jacob and Edward. As it says on my Flickr Page, this image is from www.ravenclaw.us/phoenix_prom_pictures.htm. Definitely go there for even MORE great photos!

I am sure that I mentioned the Lexicon to you all before. The Twilight Lexicon is a great collection site for everything Twilight. There is a report of the prom there, and here is a quote,

After she finished reading, she thanked everyone who helped to put the event together and then said that she could see that most people had come “stag” to the prom. A fast look around the room confirmed that as there were maybe 10 boys present who weren’t someone’s dad. So, Stephenie said she brought dates for everyone. From this side door entered “Edward” and “Jacob” both of who really looked the part. Edward proceeded to the stage where he held Stephenie’s hand in his gloved one and gave it a kiss. Not to be outdone Jacob gave her a warm hug.

So that was the prom. There were others around the country; Utah, New Jersey, From sea to shining sea. I hope everyone had a great time, and remember, ECLIPSE August 7th!!!!

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Ah, the love of Neil Gaiman. Seriously, have you ever heard this man speak???? If you haven’t, you need to get your act in gear. Additionally, if you have never read anything by him, you need to go into OVERDRIVE. He writes some GOOD Shi… Stuff.
The wonder and joy of Neverwhere (movie AND book), oh so yummy. I was blessed to meet Neil at Boskone(a Boston scifi convention), and it was so wonderful.

Now, onto the post!!! Stardust (also here) is being turned into a movie!

Here is a description

In the tranquil fields and meadows of long-ago England, there is a small hamlet that has stood on a jut of granite for 600 years. Just to the east stands a high stone wall, for which the village is named. Here, in the hamlet of Wall, young Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the hauntingly beautiful Victoria Forester. And here, one crisp October eve, Tristran makes his love a promise — an impetuous vow that will send him through the only breach in the wall, across the pasture… and into the most exhilarating adventure of his life.

A Rotten Tomatoes note of interest here. Additionally Here at Bookstandard there is some more technical info, actors, producing, etc etc.

Here is a link for the trailer.

You should DEFINITELY read the book first, though with some of his other stuff, like Neverwhere, the order is interchangeable because the movie was done first, and THEN the book. Gosh is Neverwhere great. gosh gosh gosh.

Okay, so August 10th this summer, GO SEE STARDUST!!!! woot woot

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Jennifer Scales is a normal girl. Until she hits puberty. Sadly for Jennifer, she doesn’t just have to have acne… she gets to turn into a dragon. And so it begins. A quote from Jennifer Scales and the Ancient Furnace.

PROLOGUE: THE RUIN OF EVENINGSTAR

On the day Jennifer Scales turned five, her family moved. That same morning, their quiet river town of Eveningstar, Minnesota died a horrible death.

Jennifer remembered only dim twilight against her window, her mother rousing her, and jeans and a sweatshirt finding their way onto her while her head drooped.

If she thought a little harder, she could remember walking through the crisp, brown woods behind her house until they reached the Mississippi River, stepping onto a flat, slippery boat that sunk a bit with her weight, and shivering a bit in her mother’s firm arms while her father’s voice calmly reassured her.

And if she relaxed her mind, which she wouldn’t be able to do until she was older, she could remember standing on a bluff beyond the other side of the river, watching her hometown burn from a safe distance under the crescent moon. She heard the roars of beasts — dinosaurs? — the howls of wolves, and the screeches of unknown things.

The morning of September 18, those things laid waste to Eveningstar. No one from beyond its borders ever tried to put out the fires, or bury those who died there, or even televise the incident.

No one went there. No one remembered there. Eveningstar, Minnesota, settled by Scandinavian immigrants and incorporated over one hundred years ago, fell into ashes and out of existence.

A review of Jennifer Scales #1 from A blog of Two Witches,

I have read Ms. Davidson’s “Undead and Unwed” adult fiction novels and enjoyed them thoroughly, so I was very hopeful in regards to this book. I knew going in that she had the ability to meld fantasy fiction and humor while not sacraficing characters or plot, but I wondered how her personal flair would translate for younger readers.

She won me over all over again!!

And another review from the SF Site,

Best known for her romantic comedies involving vampires and werewolves, MaryJanice Davidson teams up with her husband here to deliver the first in a new series, and they get things rolling with a fairly strong start. While much of Jennifer Scales and the Ancient Furnace is dedicated to setup and exploration of the series’ premise, it still offers a good, entertaining story filled with some intriguing turns and surprises. As concepts go, it’s relatively underutilized, and still feels fresh, giving off a Buffyesque vibe. Jennifer is a good, strong character with a lot of potential, and I look forward to future offerings in this series.

Book cover of Ancient Furnace looks something like this,

and book cover of the new book coming out on June 5th, looks like this…

Here is a ticker for the new Jennifer Strange novel. I for one, CANNOT wait. I really enjoyed the first two. And yes, the titles DO mean something…

MaryJanice Davidson and Anthony Alongi are married and let me tell you, they sure can work some magic on the pages. I haven’t read Davidson’s adult stuff, though the rumor is that it is hilarious, but I can vouge for Jennifer Strange. Indeed I can.

Ancient Furnace and Messenger of Light are available now and Silver Elm Tree is out in the beginning of June. So get reading!!

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First, I love that this is not a series. It is a sequence. So wonderful. That said, let me tell you about the books!!

From the Wikipedia page,

The Dark Is Rising is the name of a five-book series by Susan Cooper originally published in the 1960s and 1970s. The series is written as high fantasy, and depicts the struggle between the forces of good, called The Light, and the forces of evil, known as The Dark. The series is based on the Arthurian mythos, and is written primarily for older children and young adults. One of the books was a Newbery medalist, and another was an honor book.

The extra exciting part is that it is going to be a movie this year! Here is the pamphlet we got at work about it.

The Dark Is Rising is a 2007 film adaptation of the high fantasy five-book series The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper. The film is directed by David Cunningham and stars Ian McShane, Alexander Ludwig, Frances Conroy, Gregory Smith, and Christopher Eccleston. The Dark Is Rising is slated for a September 28, 2007 release.

You may not know this, but I love Christopher Eccleston. For that reason ALONE I will be going to this film, though now that it is a movie, I guess I have to get my act in gear and read the Dark Is Rising sequence eh?

Also, as you can see in the comments, there is a new Wiki just for The Dark is Rising. Check it out!

Hopefully, gentle readers, you are better than I and have already read it. If not, run to your local bookshop and pick it up!!! AND REMEMBER

Read then book, THEN see the movie!