strange and random happenstance

This summer George R R Martin is back in the news for FINALLY writing the 5th installment of his epic of Westeros, A Song of Fire and Ice. I remember a day back in November of 2006 when he said, oh, six months tops... six long years later... but back to that day six years ago. So, freak that I am, I preordered the book from Amazon UK, because the book was coming out a few weeks earlier. I had it shipped to my friend Jess in New York because I was going to be visiting her at the time, plus, quicker to ship to New York than Wisconsin. I lugged that book from New York to DC and through Ohio. I read it on trains and buses and in cars. I read and read and read so that I would be ready for his talk when he came to Madison in November. Ironically, his talk was spoiler free, so, there goes all that planning for nothing, but at least I could say how much I loved the book right? So, on the day of the signing little did I know that they where handing out numbers starting at 8AM. In I walk for the 7PM talk around 5. Thinking, oh, this is great, I'll be all early and get a low number. Low number ha! First off, my friend who was going to go with me was sick, so I was on my lonesome. Then I had to pick up his book for him so that I could get MY book signed (I don't think he's ever paid me to this day). And then I realized, wow, no chairs. I stood in the B section of the YA books overlooking the podium. Good place as places go, but... no chair. I remember idly flipping through Libba Bray's A Great and Terrible Beauty. I think once Martin finally took the floor he did a reading, I really don't remember much of the talk. I remember him going into detail about how to correctly pronounce the characters names, but other than that... I seem to have completely blanked on everything else he said.

But, then again, I could have completely blanked because it was a short talk followed by hours of waiting. While not at the very end, I didn't get my book signed till at least 11PM. I spent my time studying a book called the GRE for Dummies because I was thinking of going back to Grad school to be an art appraiser and auctioneer for Christie's in New York and needed to take the GRE, which I did the next month. But Martin was very nice, he signed my book with the token "Enjoy the Feast" and it was commented on how I couldn't wait, hence the British edition. So, in the end, not the most fun of talks, but again, an author that has become even bigger and having a personalized book with a wait that is nothing compared to his current signings, it was a good day.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 2 comments  

Labels: A Feast for Crows, A Great and Terrible Beauty, A Song of Fire and Ice, Borders, Christie's, GRE, GRRM, Libba Bray

I met Christopher Golden at a Buffy convention back in 2003. Now, this was to be my first big convention far from home, and yes, the Catskills are far from home and I think technically trapped in a different area, like a seedier version of Somewhere in Time. It was a graduation present to myself (though as it turned out I didn't graduate till a year later, long story...) Since this time I have now gotten quite good at navigating cons to meet my favorite authors. I've also found it a great place to find and meet new authors. Of course, this being a Buffy con, I was going for the Buffy people; Giles, Warren, Tara, Clem and Spike. Christopher Golden is part of the extended Buffyverse, having written for the comics, tie-in novels and video games. I didn't know all this at the time. I had a Buffy book sitting on my shelf that he wrote that I threw into my suitcase and called it a day. I should have researched! If I had I would have realized he was the writer to my favorite video game EVER. The EA Buffy game, besides being full of awesome and win, got me through a tough time. I had taken a year off from school due to many deaths in the family, as well as a close friend. When school started back up I was completely overwhelmed. I had not only the current semesters classes, but all the classes I took an incomplete in the year before. The only escape I had was my Buffy game. I played it whenever I could and shoving a stake through a little electronic vamp was pure joy. In other words, this is a roundabout way of saying I wish I had got him to sign my game... even if the second game has my favorite line ever: "Zander Harris doesn't need doors. Zander Harris makes his own." Followed by an explosion.

Back to meeting Chris. So, the signing! I don't know which day of the con it was, but there was one time where everyone got to get in a long line trailing through the resort and wait to get their stuff signed. By this point I had realized how funny Chris is through his panels and his co-hosting the auction with "Clem." I had also made the video game connection by this point and was looking forward to getting a few seconds to say hi and how much I love his work. Anyway, they set Chris up next to Amber "Tara" Benson because they where doing this little awesome side project called Ghosts of Albion. No one seemed to want to talk to Chris seeing as he was being eclipsed by Amber. I wanted to talk to Chris, and because of the "Tara" backup, I got to talk to him more than I would have normally. We where talking about the video game and he mentioned that there was actually a glitch in the game in which the vampires overly repeated a certain phrase, to which we said in unison "there's only one of you and an endless supply of us." My friend Sara looked at me askance and to this day that memory brings a smile to my face. I'm sad the Chris didn't come to the next years con, he would have made it better. But still, he wished me monsters and it made my day.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 2 comments  

Labels: Amber Benson, Buffy, Christopher Golden, Clem, Giles, Somewhere in Time, Spike, Tara, Video Game, Warren Meers, Zander Harris

The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: August 9th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 309 Pages
Rating: ★
To Buy

"Buster had suggested fedoras and rumpled suits, unfiltered cigarettes, tie clips. Annie thought perhaps matching black suits and Lone Ranger masks, crushed-up amphetamines, manicured fingernails. Buster, it seemed, wanted to be a detective and Annie wanted to be a superhero. They finally agreed that they needed something that would not draw attention to them, understated but still uniform in some way. Buster donned a white dress shirt, the sleeves rolled up past his elbows, a pair of dark blue jeans, and black leather sneakers. Annie wore a white V-neck T-shirt, dark blue jeans, and black leather flats. On their wrists, they wore the kind of watches that scuba divers swear by, heavy and solid and waterproof, synchronized and precise. In their pockets, a heavy wad of cash, pens that were half the size of regular pens - for surreptitious note-taking - a handful of Red Hots to keep them sharp, and the address for Hobart Waxman, their best, their only, chance at finding their missing parents."

Caleb and Camille Fang have spent their life making art performed in a public sphere that takes people out of themselves. The art is in the act, in taking common people and shaking up their lives in some bizarre and strange new way. Whether it's a father on fire calmly walking through a mall cradling his infant son or their two children playing the leads in a school production of Romeo and Juliet to add additional meaning and a new dialogue to what Shakespeare wrote. Their children, Child A and Child B, Annie and Buster, have been integral to their success. But their children aren't grateful. Annie's movie career is unraveling and Buster's writing failed before it really had a chance to succeed. They both need to find a place to recover and lick their wounds. For some reason they decide to both go home. Their parents are glad of their return until they realize they aren't getting the band back together. This isn't some new performance, this is their children reaching out to them for the first time ever. So Caleb and Camille do what they think is natural. They disappear. But is it a new piece or did something really happen to them?
 
Wes Anderson captivated me in 1998 when I went to our local "art house" cinema at Westgate Mall and saw Rushmore. I remember after the movie my friend and I drove to several different stores in an attempt to find the soundtrack to the film which left an indelible impression on us. Two years later I fell even harder for The Royal Tenenbaums as I spent a late Sunday night watching the movie in a cold theater on little Christmas. Wes Anderson's storytelling and artistic sensibilities and aesthetic became a way of life for me. In fact my library is painted the same pink hue as the Tenenbaum residence. To find a book thought of as the spiritual successor to The Royal Tenenbaums and touted as the next big thing made me rush to the bookstore to pick up The Family Fang. As with many books I purchase it has spent some time languishing on my shelves waiting to be picked up.

This book had so much potential, and much like Child A and B just prior to their parent's disappearance, it was squandered and wasted. The book does one thing right, and that's parody the art world, everything else veers between schlocky predictability and trying too had to actually be Wes Anderson. It's like Wilson never even tries to find his own voice but is trying too hard to be everything other then what it is. And when he just apes Anderson, see the excerpt above that proves my point, it's a sad echo of true artistry. Also, I am not even going in depth on all the continuity errors that add to the half-baked nature of the book. But the fatal flaw in this book is that it is not a book for an empathetic person to read. I couldn't distance myself from the pain that Caleb and Camille inflicted on their children. I was unable to move past this to embrace the wry dark humor. In those last few pages I developed such anger towards the adult Fangs that I could not contain it. I literally had to set the book down and walk away for awhile. How could anyone be so cruel and callous?

The fault with the Fangs, Caleb and Camille, is that they are shallow and cold-hearted people. They have long believed that children ruin art and while you'd think this attitude changed with how they incorporated their children into their art, you'd be wrong. Their children are nothing more or less to them then living props. They are their possessions. Extra ironic because so many of their pieces were staged in malls, the home of those who worship consumerism and possessiveness. When Annie is born Caleb only sees her as the destruction of his career until he is able to turn her to his advantage with "A Christmas Carol: 1977." When one of their performances with an infant Buster is described wherein Caleb is on fire walking with Buster in his arms I couldn't help think of Brian Eno's song "Baby's On Fire." The lyrics I think are more then apt for this book:

"Photographers snip snap
Take your time, she's only burning
This kind of experience
Is necessary for her learning"

The baby in that song is reduced to ash and Caleb and Camille are the idiots in the song who don't even see the damage they are doing to the baby, or in this case, their own offspring. And if they did I doubt they'd care. They never think of their children's emotions or well being, even willing to force incestuous situations in order to help their art. Then their children return to them broken and in need of help and what do they do? They leave them. Their children left their lives the day they decided that they didn't want to participate anymore so why help them? They just up and disappear. And to disappear in such a manner? It makes it even harder for Annie and Buster because they know it's a trick but their parents are too clever by half. The reveal at the end. That is where my anger stems from. To see what their parents never let them have, never gave them, to see everything is just art and their is no love there. Heartbreaking.

This emotional reveal would have had even more impact if the characters of Annie and Buster had been more then cookie cutter characters in the "present" scenes. They, quite literally, are just Child A and Child B, nothing more then simple simulacra of real children. You develop an affinity for Buster as the sad sack who really took the brunt of the performances as a child, but only within the context of the performance art. In the present he's very flat and one dimensional as a failed author. But nothing can compare to Annie. She's like a stereotypical failed actress. Lindsay Lohan at the beginning of her fall. Annie leaves her boyfriend, who is Eli Cash from The Royal Tenenbaums, she poses nude, sleeps with a few of the wrong sort of people and experiments with lesbianism before taking to drinking and going home. OK, there's nothing there that gives me depth or makes me care. Horrid parents with cardboard children, yeah, this is so a book I want to read again.

Yet for all the many wrongs this book inflicted on me I have to say Kevin Wilson knows how to parody the art world. I had to take two classes in undergrad that were entirely focused on modern and post modern artists. Performers from William Wegman to Chris Burden. I've never really been a fan of this type of art. There are those artists who fit within these categories who have actual talent, but by and large they are poseurs, much like my teacher for the class, who went in for shallow sensation and reveling in their own genius. Caleb and Camille Fang fit PERFECTLY into this group. Their work is exactly the type of sensation that would have been taught in this class and made my teacher drone on and on about their genius. If The Family Fang had stuck to these vignettes and was made more out of the performances then the dissolution of a family I think it could have been brilliant. This though isn't brilliant.

But the book did make me think more about post modern performance art. In it's way I think this book could be qualified as post modern, deconstructing the novel and rebuilding it in a way that doesn't work but comments on society. Back to performance art though. The type of "happenings" that the Fangs staged, especially the one where they shot their professor, couldn't survive in today's culture. These acts in a post 9-11 world would be viewed as too incendiary by the world at large. Yes, Caleb and Camille would love being labelled as terrorists, but the art itself, it just wouldn't work. They would be viewed as a threat and in this vigilant society I don't think they could ever get to the point of the art happening without being stopped. Perhaps that's the real reason they disappear. It's not that they can't do their art without their children, it's that the place in the world where they and their art fit no longer exists and they have become superfluous, much like this entire book.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Baby's On Fire, Brian Eno, Chris Burden, Eli Cash, Kevin Wilson, Owen Wilson, Performance Art, Romeo and Juliet, Rushmore, Shakespeare, The Family Fang, The Royal Tenenbaums, Wes Anderson, William Wegman

The Magician King by Lev Grossman
Published by: Viking
Publication Date: August 9th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The Magicians was praised as a triumph by readers and critics of both mainstream and fantasy literature. Now Grossman takes us back to Fillory, where the Brakebills graduates have fled the sorrows of the mundane world, only to face terrifying new challenges.

Quentin and his friends are now the kings and queens of Fillory, but the days and nights of royal luxury are starting to pall. After a morning hunt takes a sinister turn, Quentin and his old friend Julia charter a magical sailing ship and set out on an errand to the wild outer reaches of their kingdom. Their pleasure cruise becomes an adventure when the two are unceremoniously dumped back into the last place Quentin ever wants to see: his parent's house in Chesterton, Massachusetts. And only the black, twisted magic that Julia learned on the streets can save them.

The Magician King is a grand voyage into the dark, glittering heart of magic, an epic quest for the Harry Potter generation. It also introduces a powerful new voice, that of Julia, whose angry genius is thrilling. Once again Grossman proves that he is the modern heir to C.S. Lewis, and the cutting edge of literary fantasy."

Everybody keeps telling me how awesome the first book, The Magicians was... perhaps now is the time to see.

Ingenue by Jillian Larkin
Published by: Delacorte
Publication Date: August 9th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Bobbed hair. Short skirts. Cool jazz. Dark speakeasy. Anything goes. Meet the flappers, Gloria, Clara, Lorraine . . . and the rich young boys who love and loathe them."

I have been desperately craving some 1920s... I think this might hit the spot.

The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson
Published by: Ecco
Publication Date: August 9th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"For outré performance artists, Caleb and Camille Fang, everything in life is secondary to art, including their children. Annie and Buster (popularly known as Child A. and Child B.) are the unwilling stars of their parents’ chaotically subversive work. Art is truly a family affair for the Fangs. Years later, their lives in disarray, Annie and Buster reluctantly return home in search of sanctuary—only to be caught up in one last performance. The Family Fang sparkles with Kevin Wilson’s inventive dialogue and wonderfully rendered set-pieces that capture the surreal charm of the Fang’s most notable work. With this brilliant novel, the family Fang is destined to join the families Tenenbaum and Bluth as paragons of high dysfunction."

As soon as I read the discription, before seeing other people's comparisons, I instantly thought, The Royal Tennenbaums. The correlation alone means I'll pick it up, damn I love that movie.

Two for Sorrow by Nicola Upson
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: August 9th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 496 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"They were the most horrific crimes of a new century: the murders of newborn innocents for which two British women were hanged at Holloway Prison in1903. Decades later, mystery writer Josephine Tey has decided to write a novel based on Amelia Sach and Annie Walters, the notorious “Finchley baby farmers,” unaware that her research will entangle her in the desperate hunt for a modern-day killer.

A young seamstress—an ex-convict determined to reform—has been found brutally slain in the studio of Tey’s friends, the Motley sisters, amid preparations for a star-studded charity gala. Despite initial appearances, Inspector Archie Penrose is not convinced this murder is the result of a long-standing domestic feud—and a horrific accident involving a second young woman soon after supports his convictions. Now he and his friend Josephine must unmask a sadistic killer before more blood flows—as the repercussions of unthinkable crimes of the past reach out to destroy those left behind long after justice has been served."

I was recently recommended this mystery series surrounding the mystery writer Josephine Tey by a very reliable source, the writer Michael Norman. I recently picked up the first and am glad to see that I have more to look forward to.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Ingenue, Jillian Larkin, Josephine Tey, Kevin Wilson, Lev Grossman, Michael Norman, Nicola Upson, The Family Fang, The Magician King, The Royal Tennenbaums, Two for Sorrow

With my parents owning a publishing company, as a kid I was dragged to many a book signing. Mainly for books I would never read or want too, especially when I was 10. I do remember being excited about a book of cows, but that's the only one that sticks out, plus I just sold it the other day. There are pictures of me at signings, usually just my hand, because my brother being littler was always being carried so I had a tendency to be cropped out, as it where. The first talk/signing I can remember choosing to go to was Norman Juster. If I where to base my experience on this talk, I would probably never have gone to another. No two book signings are alike, and you really need to keep this in mind. Even the same author can give different levels of performance at different locations. Author tours are grueling, a new city everyday and having to (hopefully) perform in front of a large number of people is draining, as is the jet lag.

So, back to Norman Juster. Back in the 90s (yes, it was that long ago), Norman went on a book tour to celebrate the 35th anniversary of his seminal children's classic, The Phantom Tollbooth. The year being 1996, I had yet to have a drivers license and therefore had to rely on others, ie the parents, for transport. This is really where things went wrong. Later, after certain lessons where learned, I would always arrive early and not be worried about being the first person to step up to the signing line. As it happened, we arrived well before Norman talked, just not early enough to get a seat, or even get a clear view of him. This was at our original Borders, the one I have fond memories of before they decided to get two stories instead of the one and then promptly went out of business. Problem was, the didn't have a speaking/signing area. He was jammed up against the windows between history and the beginning of fiction. I was on the other side of a wall in the children's section with it's garish clown theme trying to listen to the crackly intercom that was attempting to broadcast his reading.

At this point I should mention that my ride, ie mother, had some school party she had to go to, so I was also hoping that the reading wouldn't go on long, otherwise I would not get my book signed. These where also the barter days. I had a very elaborate barter system in place, instead of cash, I found people where more likely to pay up if it was something cheaper (in their eyes) than cash. I'd do house chores for Red Dwarf tapes, and I was able to get the 35th Anniversary copy of The Phantom Tollbooth by giving my old copy to my mom's library at the school I used to go to. So, score for me, new copy, hardcover, and signed... but at the rate the event was going, I was worried the signed part wasn't going to happen. It did happen, just not with me there. Before he had even finished reading it was time to depart, and I was really sad, but also, pretty pissed. Here's this author talking all about his world and how much he loves The Wizard of Oz, as did I, and where was I? Getting in a car to be dropped off at home. As luck would have it, my mother knew one of the eager children whose parents didn't have to depart early for cake, so he got me the signature. So, I have the book, but I didn't really have the best experience... it was an experience, I'll grant you that, just not the one I was hoping for. The next year I entered undergrad and my life as I knew it was gone... or should I say my free time? I quite literally did not go to another book signing till the year I graduated, but those stories are yet to come.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Borders, Norman Juster, Red Dwarf, The Phantom Tollbooth

Now, I really really wanted to do Hitchcock Hoot'nanny, Revenge of the Owls (ok, that title is too weird, but I was thinking, "hoot" and Birds, and that's where it went). But I kind of got drawn back into Westeros (aka George R. R. Martin land), and there I am. I haven't read the books in the six long and painful years I have been waiting... so a re-read is necessary to make A Dance with Dragons a joy verses a puzzle. I know you all know what I'm talking about, just trying to remember what happened to whom and when, sometimes the book becomes a hassle versus a joy, especially with the sheer number of characters Martin juggles. Well, to make a long story short (too late) I have not done the requisite reading of books that Hitchcock based his movies on, again, GRRM, each book is about 1000 pages, easy to see why (plus I've been interviewing for some internships and working on my resume and portfolio). So, I had another idea I've been kicking around. Now don't worry, Hitchcock will return when the time is right, ie, when I've read the books, but now it's time to unleash my newest idea.

Author August! I try to go to as many book signings as I can, especially if it's for an author that I love. But with the internet and the publishing industry in dire straits, just look to Borders, one day, the book tour of old might be gone. I will weep bitter bitter tears if this comes to pass. Some of my happiest memories are from my brief interactions with authors at these events. So this month is devoted to author events I have been to. Hopefully it will shine a light on why I love these authors and how you should immediately run out and buy all their books. But I also hope that, even if it's just me shouting into the void, I will show the few people who read this that I love this aspect of publishing. I love my Kindle, but if I had to choose, it would be a real tangible book that an author can sign. So never ever stop the author tour! Even if all Brick and Mortar stores are gone, there are festivals and coffee shops a plenty. I'm sure we will never be so desperate as to get ride of the coffee shops?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A Dance with Dragons, Book Signing, Borders, GRRM

Downpour by Kat Richardson
Published by: ROC
Publication Date: August 2nd, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Harper Blaine is on the mend, but evil never rests-in the latest novel from the national bestselling author of Labyrinth.

After being shot in the back and dying-again- Greywalker Harper Blaine's only respite from the chaos is her work. But while conducting a pre-trial investigation in the Olympic Peninsula, she sees a ghostly car accident whose victim insists that he was murdered and that the nearby community of Sunset Lakes is to blame.

Harper soon learns that the icy waters of the lake hide a terrible power, and a host of hellish beings under the thrall of a sinister cabal that will use the darkest of arts to achieve their fiendish ends... "

A series in the same genre of Patricia Briggs' Mercy that I have been meaning to read and I can't wait to immerse myself in!

The Wild Rose by Jennifer Donnelly
Published by: Hyperion
Publication Date: August 2nd, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 640 Pages
To BuyThe Wild Rose
The official patter:
"The Wild Rose is a part of the sweeping, multi-generational saga that began with The Tea Rose and continued with The Winter Rose. It is London, 1914. World War I looms on the horizon, women are fighting for the right to vote, and explorers are pushing the limits of endurance in the most forbidding corners of the earth. Into this volatile time, Jennifer Donnelly places her vivid and memorable characters:

--Willa Alden, a passionate mountain climber who lost her leg while summiting Kilimanjaro with Seamus Finnegan, and who will never forgive him for saving her life;

--Seamus Finnegan, a polar explorer who tries to forget Willa as he marries a beautiful young schoolteacher back home in England

--Max von Brandt, a handsome German sophisticate who courts high society women, but has a secret agenda in wartime London.

Many other beloved characters from The Winter Rose continue their adventures in The Wild Rose as well. With myriad twists and turns, thrilling cliffhangers, and fabulous period detail and atmosphere, The Wild Rose provides a highly satisfying conclusion to an unforgettable trilogy."

Here's a book that's part of a trilogy otherwise known as, books that are so big, must read electronically to not break my back.

Circle of Fire by Michelle Zink
Published by: Little Brown
Publication Date: August 2nd, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"With time dwindling but her will to end the Prophecy stronger than ever, Lia sets out on a journey to find the remaining keys, locate the missing pages of the Prophecy, and convince her sister Alice to help--or risk her life trying. Lia has her beloved Dimitri by her side, but Alice has James, the man who once loved her sister--and maybe still does. James doesn't know the truth about either sister, or the prophecy that divides them. And Alice intends to keep it that way.

There are some secrets sisters aren't meant to share. Because when they do, it destroys them. This stunning conclusion to Michelle Zink's Prophecy of the Sisters trilogy will make saying good-bye bittersweet for readers."

Another book in a series I've been meaning to read... you know, sometimes Tuesday Tomorrow just makes me realize just HOW MANY books I have on my TBR pile. Sigh.

Across the Great Barrier by Patricia C, Wrede
Published by: Scholastic
Publication Date: August 2nd, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Eff is an unlucky thirteenth child - her twin brother, Lan, is a powerful seventh son of a seventh son. And yet, Eff is the one who saved the day for the settlements west of the Great Barrier. Her unique ways of doing magic and seeing the world, and her fascination with the magical creatures and land in the Great Plains push Eff to work toward joining an expedition heading west. But things are changing on the frontier.

There are new professors of magic for Eff and Lan to learn to work with. There's tension between William and his father. And there are new threats on the frontier and at home. To help, Eff must travel beyond the Barrier, and come to terms with her magical abilities--and those of her brother, to stop the newest threat encroaching on the settlers.

With wit, magic, and a touch of good pioneer sense, Patricia C. Wrede weaves a fantastic tale of the very wild west."

The second book in the Frontier Magic series is finally here... seems like it's been a long wait, probably because it has. Also, not liking the new photocover... I like the graphic simplicity of the first cover.

Always a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough
Published by: Clarion
Publication Date: August 2nd, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Since the gripping conclusion of Once a Witch, Tamsin Greene has been haunted by her grandmother’s prophecy that she will soon be forced to make a crucial decision—one so terrible that it could harm her family forever. When she discovers that her enemy, Alistair Knight, went back in time to Victorian-era New York in order to destroy her family, Tamsin is forced to follow him into the past. Stranded all alone in the nineteenth century, Tamsin soon finds herself disguised as a lady’s maid in the terrifying mansion of the evil Knight family, avoiding the watchful eye of the vicious matron, La Spider, and fending off the advances of Liam Knight. As time runs out, both families square off in a thrilling display of magic. And to her horror, Tamsin finally understands the nature of her fateful choice."

Sigh, more books I want to read... damn August is turning out to be a busy book month.

Home Improvement: Undead Edition by Charlaine Harris et al
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: August 2nd, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The editors of the New York Times bestselling Death's Excellent Vacation bring home a new collection...with a never-before- published Sookie Stackhouse story!

There's nothing like home renovation for finding skeletons in the closet or otherwordly portals in the attic. Now, for any homeowner who's ever wondered, "What's that creaking sound?" or fans of "how to" television who'd like a little unreality mixed in with their reality shows, editors Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner return with an all-new collection of the paranormal perils of Do-It-Yourself.

Sookie Stackhouse resides in these pages, in a never-before-published story by #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris. And New York Times bestselling authors Patricia Briggs, James Grady, Heather Graham, Melissa Marr, and nine other outstanding writers have constructed more frightening and funny fixer-upper tales guaranteed to shake foundations and rattle readers' pipes."

Another Sookie Short story which I will shell out the money for and will probably be crap... when will I ever learn? At least there's a Patricia Briggs story!

Eye of the Tempest by Nicole Peeler
Published by: Orbit
Publication Date: August 2nd, 2011
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Nothing says "home" like being attacked by humans with very large guns, as Jane and Anyan discover when they arrive in Rockabill. These are professionals, brought into kill, and they bring Anyan down before either Jane or the barghest can react. Seeing Anyan fall awakens a terrible power within Jane, and she nearly destroys herself taking out their attackers.

Jane wakes, weeks later, to discover that she's not the only thing that's been stirring. Something underneath Rockabill is coming to life: something ancient, something powerful, and something that just might destroy the world.

Jane and her friends must act, striking out on a quest that only Jane can finish. For whatever lurks beneath the Old Sow must be stopped...and Jane's just the halfling for the job."

The new Jane True book, which I already have thanks to Borders liquidation! Yeah, I'm sad they're going, but look, cheap books!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Across the Great Barrier, Carolyn MacCullough, Charlaine Harris, Eye of the Tempest, Jennifer Donnelly, Kat Richardson, Michelle Zink, Nicole Peeler, Patricia Briggs, Patricia C. Wrede

Ghost Story by Jim Butcher
Published by: ROC
Publication Date: July 26th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 496 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"When we last left the mighty wizard detective Harry Dresden, he wasn't doing well. In fact, he had been murdered by an unknown assassin.

But being dead doesn't stop him when his friends are in danger. Except now he has nobody, and no magic to help him. And there are also several dark spirits roaming the Chicago shadows who owe Harry some payback of their own.

To save his friends-and his own soul-Harry will have to pull off the ultimate trick without any magic..."

Are you one of the people (like me) who is still pissed about The Dresden Files being cancelled? Yeah, well, I hold long grudges, damn you Sci-Fi network, or SyFy, whatever stupid spelling you are now, I still am pissed. Luckily the books are still here, and now we're at lucky #13!

Spell Bound by Kelley Armstrong
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: July 26th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"At last, in the novel every Kelley Armstrong fan will need to own, all the major heroines and heroes of Otherworld are united.

It's been ten years since Bitten, the first novel in Kelley Armstrong's New York Times bestselling Otherworld series. In that time hundreds of thousands of fans have ravenously devoured the adventures of Armstrong's witches, demons, and werewolves. Now, in Spell Bound, she brings them all together for her most sweeping tale yet.

Savannah Levine is in terrible danger, and for once she's powerless to help herself. At the heartbreaking conclusion of Waking the Witch, Savannah swore that she would give up her powers if it would prevent further pain for a young orphan. Little did she know that someone would take her up on that promise.

And now, witch-hunting assassins, necromancers, half-demons, and rogue witches all seem to be after her. The threat is not just for Savannah; every member of the Otherworld might be at risk. While most of her fellow supernaturals are circling the wagons at a gathering of the council in Miami, Savannah is caught on the road, isolated from those who can protect her and unable to use her vast spell-casting talent, the thing she counts on most. In a story that will change the shape of the Otherworld forever, Armstrong gathers Elena, Clay, Paige, Lucas, Jamie, Hope, and other beloved characters, who soon learn that the greatest threat to supernaturals just may come from within. "

Another series that I NEED TO READ! At least, more books for me to read when I get there!

Supernaturally by Kiersten White
Published by: HarperTeen
Publication Date: July 26th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Evie finally has the normal life she’s always longed for. But she’s shocked to discover that being ordinary can be... kind of boring. Just when Evie starts to long for her days at the International Paranormal Containment Agency, she’s given a chance to work for them again. Desperate for a break from all the normalcy, she agrees.

But as one disastrous mission leads to another, Evie starts to wonder if she made the right choice. And when Evie’s faerie ex-boyfriend Reth appears with devastating revelations about her past, she discovers that there’s a battle brewing between the faerie courts that could throw the whole supernatural world into chaos. The prize in question? Evie herself."

The first book in this series, Paranormalcy was recommended to me by virtually everyone (yes, I have it in my pile) so I'm sure the follow-up is worth a look see!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Ghost Story, Harry Dresden, Jim Butcher, Kelley Armstrong, Kiersten White, Spell Bound, Supernaturally, The Dresden Files