Deborah Court's Blog, page 2

Indulgent Blog Hop: Book Giveaway, and a Cake to Indulge in!!!

Dear Readers,




since I'm part of the big anniversary Indulgent Blog Hop, hosted by the awesome book review site Guilty Indulgence, I am giving away three copies of "Bound to the Prince", "Virgin Dancer" or "House of Pleasure" (your choice) today, in any e-book format. To enter, please share the link to this blog on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+ - just use the buttons below this post, and leave a comment with your e-mail and which book you'd like. Good Luck!



Visit Ndulgent Bloggers by clicking on the logo. There is also a list of all the sites participating in the hop at the end of this post, so make sure to check them out. Aditionally, Ndulgent Bloggers are hosting a GRAND PRIZE of $100 GF from WINNER'S CHOICE of Barnes & Noble or Amazon - you can enter to win below.





The Indulgent Bloggers also asked the participating authors to write about something they love to indulge in. Now this is a topic I love! ;-) Well, apart from reading books or watching my favorite tv-series/period dramas on TV (especially if they contain Benedict Cumberbatch or Alexander Skarsgard), I love baking cake - and naturally, eating it afterwards. *lol*



Today I'd like to share the recipe of a very popular German sheet cake called "Fanta Cake" with you. Yes, it's actually made with Fanta, and it's delicious. I swear everyone loves it! It has such a fresh, light taste (although it's not "light" at all if we're mentioning calories). And the best thing is, it's very easy to bake, and it's almost impossible to do something wrong - which is like chicken soup for the soul if you, like me, burned a lot of cakes before, or if your planned cheesecake turned out a wobbly, yellow mass even your cat didn't like to eat. Now here's the recipe:







Fanta Cake (Fantakuchen) - A Popular German Cake




Ingredients:






4 eggs


2 cups sugar (if possible, try use vanilla sugar)


3 cups flour


1 cup oil (Sunflower is best. Any "light oil" like vegetable oil. Please don't use any of the "olive" oils beca)


orange, flavour


1 1/2 cups fanta orange
(or other orange soda)

2 teaspoons baking soda


1 teaspoon vanilla (you don't need this if you used vanilla sugar, but if you REALLY like vanilla a lot, go ahead and ad)


1 can sliced peaches, drained


1 cup sour cream


1 cup whipped cream


1/3 cup sifted powdered sugar


cinnamon




Directions: 




1. For the cake: mix together the eggs, sugar, vanilla and oil. Add
flour and then Fanta and mix well. At the end, mix in the baking soda
then turn immediately into an ungreased 9 X 13 inch pan (use baking paper). Bake at 180°C
(~350°F) for 30-45 minutes (time can vary depending on the oven) until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the
center comes out clean. Let cool.


2. For icing: Whip cream until stiff and then fold in the soured
cream and powdered sugar and "Whip it". Cut peaches into tiny pieces with a mixer and mix them carefully (using a spoon) with the whipped cream, then top the cake with the icing mass. Serve chilled.
Shortly before serving, sprinkle with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon.






xoxoxo

Deborah










a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wonderful Reads of the Month (September Issue)

Check out author Eri Nelson's wonderful book magazine, "Supporting Authors One Read At A Time" - Wonderful Reads of the Month. It features lots of information about writers and new releases, and it's free! The September issue is now online.



http://wonderfulreadofthemonth.blogspot.de/

New Feature: Favorite Blogger of the Month!

Dear Readers,




As a reader who loves romance of all genres, I am addicted to the many awesome book blogs I found on the internet. When I started to publish my own books, I sent my work to bloggers and began to correspond with them. I found that they are not only crazy about books, but also invest a considerable amount of love, time and effort to keep their blogs going (most of them without any financial gain). They read and review books, publish interviews, author spotlights and giveaways and are very helpful when it comes to bringing writers and readers closer together. Readers love to hear something personal about their favorite authors, and we writers enjoy nothing more than comments from book lovers who enjoyed our work. 




This is why I decided to start a new feature: The Favorite Blogger of the Month. We read so much about authors, I think it's about time that we also learn something about the bloggers. Starting this month, I'll interview the people who are responsible (in a good way ;-)) for some of the best and most informative blogs out there. Many of them will also be a part of the first Indie Romance Convention 2013, so I hope they'll tell us a bit about their plans for this event (I am very happy to be one of the attending authors). My Favorite Blogger of September is Laurie Garrison, a good friend who runs Bitten by Paranormal Romance . Welcome to my blog, Laurie! 



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Please tell us about yourself
and your blog. I have a wonderful husband, one
daughter, three cats, two dogs, three rabbits and a host of all kinds
of birds and squirrels I feed in my back yard. I love baking and
trying new recipes. I’m an animal lover that won’t buy any
products tested on animals. I also love playing video games. The Sims
PC games are my favorite but I love Need for Speed, so I love getting
on my Ps3 and playing race games with all of my friends.





I started reading
again after Twilight came out. It wasn’t long before I hit authors
like Sherrilyn Kenyon and J.R Ward. After that I started up a blog
just to keep my reviews. My blog is a modest compared to a lot of
others but I want to keep the paranormal romance first and far most,
so that the PNR authors have a place to show themselves.





Which genres do you read in private?
What are your most favorite books of all time? Anything
I read is wide open so everyone can see. My
top favorites are, Pleasures of the Night by Nina Bangs, Night Play
by Sherrilyn Kenyon, Grave Sins by Jenna MacLanie, Thief Anitra by Lynn
McLeod, Blackmailed by Annmarie McKenna and Wickedest Witch by Eve
Langlais




With all those books being offered to
you, you surely must be a bit picky about what you read. What
intrigues you most in a story? Are you influenced by a good blurb or
cover? ROFL. I wish I could be picky the sad
fact is I take what the reviewers won’t take, or if I don’t have
enough reviewers I’ll take almost anything. Reason is I hate to
have an author miss out on being featured on my blog, even if I don’t
like the book because I know someone will. The surprising fact is, I
end up likening a lot of them, but if I would have read the blurb or
any reviews beforehand I would have passed the book up. Sometimes I
think people can be too picky and miss out on something wonderful
because it’s hard to give you the whole take on a book in just a
few words in a blurb.





What intrigues me
the most is how the romance is carried out! I am a sucker for a
couple that can come together against all odds, fall in love and have
a HEA. It’s amazing but some authors can’t do this they, either
focus more on the story or action and lose focus on the romance.





No, covers and
blurbs doesn’t influence me one bit. I do like some covers better
than others but I have never bought a book just for a cover.





How on earth do you find the time to
manage such a busy blog besides your job and family life?


Let’s just say
some things goes undone LOL. I have been lucky over the last month
though because I have had an inflow of some wonderful reviewers that
are enjoying reviewing, so I getting a bit of free time, yay me!! But
I it’s just a little, I still don’t have enough to play my video
games. I think my Ps3 friends things I dropped off the face of the
earth, as a matter of fact, one even messaged me asking if I did.
LOL.





Be honest: Is it easy or difficult
dealing with us writers? I know that we can be an unorganized,
sensitive lot sometimes. (You don't need to tell names …)


Over the last
four years, I have only had to deal with two authors. One was fine
after I took off her review. The other well that was a different
story she pissed me off so bad that I wrote a post on my blog about
it. Yea, no one calls my reviewer the devil and gets by with it, even
if she was referring to all reviewers being the devil. But the thing
was that woman was all over all of the blogs causing problems. Other
than that all of my authors are wonderful, they’ll work with me in
any way that I need them. Heck some will even come up with a post for
me at the last minute. So, I feel very fortunate to have my great
list of authors that comes to my blog all the time.





You will be hosting the first Indie
Romance Convention next year! Please tell us how this awesome idea
originated, what you expect from the event and how readers can
attend.





How it originated
is rather a long story because this is something that I had been
toying with for years. My thing was I didn’t think I could pull the
authors, so I kept pushing it back until this year. I did write a
long post on the Indie Romance Convention blog about how I came about
the idea so everyone is more than welcome to read it.


http://indieromanceconvention.blogspo...




The 2013
convention is going to be on a small scale because I want to get a
feel of what these authors needs are. Yes, I have and will always say
Indie authors are different and they need to have their needs met. I
am someone who is going to meet those needs and make this an event
every year where they feel comfortable to come get the help they need
and spread the help and be able to meet their readers in a different
level that they never could before.





The registration
opens on October 1, 2012 which is now less than a month away. All
readers have to do is go to the blog and click on register and go
from there. But this will be changing in the coming months because we
will be moving soon to indieromanceconvention.com. As soon as the
designer is done, things will be moved but the blog will stay up and
if you plan on attending please join the blog because this will be a
good way to learn about authors you don’t know.


http://indieromanceconvention.blogspo...







Just for fun - some quickies:





Favorite movie: Weekend
at Bernie’s 1 and 2


Favorite TV series: Big
Bang Theory and Once Upon a Time


Favorite singer/band: Stephen
Tyler/ Areosmith


Most beautiful male celebrity:
I always liked the guy that played Aries on Xena, Kevin Smith, his
accident was very unfortunate.


Sexiest fictional hero ever: Devereux,
from The Vampire Shrink by Linda Hilburn

Best fictional villain ever: I
can’t recall the name of the villain but I remember the book he was
crazy. Deadly Heat by Cynthia Eden, I have never run across a villain
like him.


Best fictional heroine ever:
Cin Craven from Wages of Sin by Jenna Maclaine. Her hero Michel would
be my second pick of the sexiest fictional.


Your secret beauty tip: This
is so not my department LOL.


Your secret favorite cooking/baking
recipe: (full recipe or maybe online link)


I have so many,
it’s would be hard to choose. So I’ll just pick the one I am
stuck on baking at this time, even my daughter loves this.
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/cinnamon-bread-recipe

This bread is
really good hot and it’s great using it the next morning as French
toast.

Tips for Aspiring Writers - Getting started isn't easy

Dear Readers,




Every week I receive wonderful, encouraging e-mails from readers telling me they
enjoyed my work, but also from aspiring authors. Recently I read a lovely
mail from a young writer, Skye, who asked me how I found the courage to publish
my books, and if I could offer her any advice. You could easily tell from her
letter how creative she is, overflowing with ideas, highly motivated but also a
bit unsure about her own talent. She told me that she had written over fifty unfinished stories, a phenomenon most writers know only too well. This is
what I answered:




*****




Giving any advice about writing and publishing isn't easy.
There are many great books out there about writing, publishing and
self-publishing, and check out author sites, they often have great advice about
writing! I am not sure if this will help you, but I'll tell you a few things that, from
my own personal experience, are most important:



From all your ideas, pick one genre you feel most passionate about writing.
Most probably it's the same genre you love reading the most. Try to focus on
one project at a time, and don't write anything else until you finished it. I know
this is SO SO hard but you have to force yourself to sit down every day (and if
it's only 10 minutes to start with), and simply write what comes to mind. I know that it takes a lot of discipline and courage. I have countless unfinished
stories myself, buried somewhere in my desk and waiting to be written one day. 





Read, read, read. Reading not only improves your language and writing style, but also shows you how popular novels are structured. Try to write your book in a way that it will fit into one of
the popular genres later - it can and should be original, of course, told in
your very own voice. Sadly, most agents and publishers aren't interested in short stories (except erotica), so you should
aim for a novel. Which, by the way, absolutely doesn't mean that I don't love a good short story! (Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King are my personal favorites *bows to the masters*)



Write. Write. Write. You don't need to be perfect or even good right from the
start. Writing needs a lot of practice, like learning to play the piano. You
can always go back, revise and change things later. A great way to learn and
practise your writing is publishing fan fiction or writing for public forums. You'll get a lot of valuable
critique from the readers, but also encouragement. 




Writers need to develop a thick skin with time. You'll get rejected more than once - by editors, agents, and publishers, and
you'll have to deal with some harsh and painful reviews if you plan to publish in any way.
Now all writers I know are a oversensitive lot, especially when it comes down to our
own stories, but we can learn to deal with (and learn from) critique if it's constructive, and
ignore the haters. Personally, what keeps me going are mails like yours, and hearing from people who love my books. When I published my first book, I would have never, ever
dreamed about such a reaction. My readers' feedback is incredibly heartwarming,
and motivating. I know some dedicated, faithful readers who have become very dear friends to me, who have been supporting me since I started publishing my first chapters of Bound to the Prince on forums and fanfic sites. They kept pushing me to write more and more, and made me learn what readers want from a story.



Try to find some beta readers and someone who will proofread and edit your work if you have
finished one project and want to get it published. A professional cover
wouldn't hurt, either, if you want to go the self-pubbing way.



Sorry to say this, but most writers I know can't live just from the income their books provide them with. Many publishers pay a not-too-high sum in advance (and you may have to give some of it back if your book doesn't sell),
and you might get your first money months later. The publishing process itself
can take up to two years even if you found a publisher who will work with you.
So until the day you'll hit the NY Times bestseller list, it's always good to
have a day job.




Just do it! Write, and don't be afraid that you might not be
as good as other authors. You will be, and even better, you'll soon find your own
voice if you are patient and just keep writing. ;-)




xoxoxo

Deborah




*****




There is a new section on my website, www.deborahcourt.com, "For Writers". Check in regularly for some advice on writing and more
information that might be helpful for aspiring authors.

Indie Romance Convention 2013

I am very happy to announce that I'll be an attending author at the first Indie Romance Convention in October 2013 - organized by my friend and well-known blogger, Laurie from Bitten by Paranormal Romance. You can bet there'll be lots of awesome people around - wonderful authors, cover designers and bloggers (you'll find the full list and more information here on the convention's website). For me, it's the long-awaited opportunity to talk to my readers in person. So if you can make it possible, head over to Lebanon, Tn (near Nashville), and meet me at the convention! I'm looking forward to seeing you there. ;-)


Love,

Deborah

A Word or Two about Fanfiction

Dear Readers,




Fanfiction, or more commonly,
"fanfic" has recently risen from the internet underground and is on
everyone's lips, especially since the success of former Twilight fanfic Fifty Shades of Grey and its two sequels, which dominate the book
charts in many countries as I write this.




For you people out there who
don't know what fanfic is, or have never read any: According to Wikipedia, it's
"a broadly-defined term for fan labor regarding stories about characters
or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original
creator." In other words, fans use the characters, worlds and settings of
their favorite TV show, movie or book to write their own fiction. If you take a
look around popular sites like fanfiction.net or archiveofourown.org, you'll
find fics for nearly everything, ranging from Harry Potter via Supernatural, Twilight and Sherlock to True
Blood (the latter two are my favorites, I'll admit).




Since these sites are almost
completely uncensored and unlimited, there are stories from countless writers,
many of them even underage. For people who love to read I can only recommend giving
fanfic a chance. Some of them are surprisingly well-written, while others are painfully
awful. Explicit erotic sex scenes (the gay-themed ones are called
"slash") are quite common, but occasionally there are hidden gems
among them, much better than some published erotica. Sometimes you can't help
but wonder how a 16-year-old would know about some practices they describe so
vividly. But in the end, it's a wonderful thing that such talented young people
spend their spare time creating stories. Maybe some of them will become famous
and successful writers later on, you never know.




Naturally, not every creator of
an "alternate universe" is very happy about people who use
copyrighted characters and worlds without asking, especially when erotic
content is added (often between protagonists that were never meant to couple by
the original writer, for instance Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy). J.K. Rowling
publicly stated that she was ok with fanfiction as long as there was no
pornography or racism. I absolutely agree with her opinion on racism, of course. But when it comes to sexuality, there is no limit to teenage
fantasies. 




No matter what you do, they'll continue writing and reading it anyway. But maybe that's
just their way of dealing with the chaos their hormones cause in their bodies,
and this is not the worst way of coming to terms with it, don't you agree?
Creativity can never be wrong, as long as you don't hurt anybody with it. Personally,
I'd be very pleased if readers felt strongly enough about my books to write
fanfiction. It's a great compliment for an author, and a sure sign that readers
love to get completely immersed in one's fictional world. It means that you
succeeded in the most important goal a writer can achieve.




Although I wrote other stuff
before and have been working in the romance publishing industry for some years,
fanfiction was what originally brought me the first spark of writing
"Bound to the Prince". Originally, I wrote the first few chapters as
a fanfic for Prince Nuada, the compelling tragic villain from the movie Hellboy
- The Golden Army. But soon I felt that the character I imagined was so much
more, and very different from the movie figure, and I felt like creating a
fantasy universe of my own. So I kept writing, but didn't use any other
characters or locations from Hellboy. At some point I renamed my prince Elathan
(an old name from Celtic mythology, meaning "The Golden Warrior",
which I found befitting for my hero. By the way, you don't pronounce the
"t", the correct pronunciation is "Ela-han", just for those
of you who read my book. ;-)).




A beautiful thing about writing
fanfiction is the close relationship you have with your readers. They are
people who share your passion about what you're writing, and they give you
wonderful, invaluable feedback, helping you to improve constantly. I learned so
much during that time. At the beginning, I felt a bit self-conscious about my own
writing, but I kept posting more and more since those awesome friends asked me
to - and I've kept all their precious comments until today. I encourage every
aspiring writer to try fanfiction first, if you are afraid of beginning your
own first novel yet. I promise it will be the best lesson in writing you'll
ever have.




Yours truly,

Deborah




*****







Besides her published novels, Deborah Court wrote two True
Blood fanfic novellas exclusively for EricandSookielovers.com. You can also
find them here:




Piece of Glass (A vampire love
story, set in the present and the Viking era)

The Dark Queen (Sequel to Piece
of Glass, a vampire New Orleans murder mystery)

A Writer's Thoughts on "Deadlocked" by Charlaine Harris

When my friend
Erika from EricandSookieLovers asked me to give her my opinion - from a writer's point of view - where
Charlaine Harris might take Sookie's story after "Deadlocked", I
believed that this wouldn't be too hard a task.




But that was
before I actually read the book.




(Spoiler Warning! If you haven't read "Deadlocked"
already and intend to do so, please stop reading right now, if you don't want
to spoil your own fun.)




I carefully
avoided seeing any spoilers or reviews of Charlaine Harris's newest addition to
the Southern Vampire Mysteries to be able to enjoy this story uninfluenced. Now
that I've finished it and spent some time thinking about it, I must say that
this book was one of the best (while my favorite is still "Dead to the World"), but also darkest of the series, angst-ridden and sometimes even
despairing. I am well aware that Ms Harris's stories are most of all mysteries,
featuring a very unusual girl whose view of life is turned completely upside
down, and her way of growing into a stunningly strong, badass woman who learns
to adapt to all the hardships, all the madness she encounters.



Sookie's love
encounters are only meant to be the icing on the cake, but fortunately for us
readers, the author managed to create a vampire character so intense, charming,
clever, cunning and mindblowingly sexy that he just couldn't stay in the
background. We all fell in love with him - hard and gracious plenty, I might
say. ;-) And of course, we've always yearned for Sookie to have her happy end
with him - turned into a vampire or not, as his wife or human lover, well in
any way Ms Harris could make this possible.




William
Erasmus Compton. Vampire Bill.




Hey gals,
just kidding! Please don't hit me. I just wanted to cheer you up with a lil'
joke after that sinister finale of "Deadlocked". Of course I'm
talking about Eric. I want nothing more but for Sookie and him to end up
together, believe me. If you don't know me yet and would like to know how I
feel about him and Sookie, please read my first
("Piece of Glass", a time travel story set in the Viking era) and second
("The Dark Queen", a New Orleans voodoo mystery) fanfic on EricandSookieLovers. You'll also find both stories on fanfiction.net. When it comes to Eric and Sookie, all we really want to see (both in the books and on the show) is THIS:



























(All material belongs to HBO)




But well, I'm not Charlaine Harris,
and this is her story, not mine. And what I've learned about her writing so
far, is that she isn't an author who can be easily categorized. Her books can't
be reduced just to the romance; both the plots and characters are multi-layered
and cleverly planned. She once said in an interview that the world of Sookie
Stackhouse is her own universe, and she can do whatever she wants with it. And
she does, shocking and surprising us over and over again. If I could say one
thing about her, I'd guess that she just isn't predictable. And as much as I'd
love to predict how the story might end, I just can't because I don't know what
she will do. I'd believe her capable of anything, even of letting Sookie end up
with Sam as happy owners of Merlotte's and parents of a mind-reading,
shapeshifting bunch of children, or having Niall open the portal to Faery once
again and giving her a "happily forever after" living with her fairy
relatives.




Having said
that, I won't give you an in-depth review of Deadlocked, since others already
did an amazing
job of that. All I can do is try to view this story as a writer, not a
reader, and speculate a bit what an author who planned to bring a long,
much-beloved series to an end might do to plan the grande finale.




Gosh,
Deadlocked was depressing when it came to Eric and Sookie's love story (if you
could call it that anymore), wasn't it? Their first encounter was when she
caught him greedily drinking from another woman who definitely seemed to be
enjoying herself. The end was … Eric's absence after he left, probably shocked
and angry that Sookie didn't use the cluviel
dor to get them both out of an extremely difficult situation. The in
between was pretty frustrating too, apart from the vague mention of sex, and
Eric's hilarious comments about Bill and Pam when they came to visit on
Sookie's birthday.




Oh, how much
I missed the sexy, delightful Eric/Sookie scenes of the first books of the series, and I bet you did, too. But it all
seemed to be quite hopeless, didn't it? There still isn't any doubt that Eric
and Sookie love each other (although she starts to doubt that his love is
strong enough to fight for them being together). However, at the end of "Deadlocked",
I was so disappointed  I felt like
throwing my book against the wall. While I wholewheartedly agree  with Sookie's choice to save Sam's life,
using the cluviel dor's magic, for our favorite couple there seems to
be no way out but to break up and live separate (vampire-)lives, with Eric
marrying Freyda and Sookie probably ending up in Bon Temps, with whatever supe
love interest at her side. Would we even care? Who could ever compare to Eric,
anyway?




Ok - to put
it simply, my point is that everything points to Sookie ending up with Eric,
just because Ms Harris took great efforts in throwing huge, insurmountable obstacles
in love's way, using two whole books to slowly build up to this final climax (no
pun intended!). I also had the impression that she tried to gather up all loose
ends when it came to Sookie's fairy relatives and Alcide and his were pack, so
my guess is that she'll concentrate on the vampires in "Dead Ever After".



There will be murder and mayhem in Bon Temps, as always, blood, intrigues and
vampire politics, and I can't wait what the final chapter will bring. But when
it comes down to the core of the story, the story arch that lead us through the
whole series like a red thread (or should I say "stream of blood"?)
is the question if Sookie will have her happy ending, and with whom. We all
know that Sookie loves only one man vampire. Do you think that Charlaine
Harris will allow her heroine to find true happiness? And if so, will it be in
the way we all imagine, we all hope it will happen?




As much as
I'd love to, I can't tell you either. But whatever "Dead Ever After" holds
in store for us, damn - this series was a helluva ride so far! Dear fellow romantics,
let's hope that it will lead into a blood-red sunset, with our favorite heroine
in the arms of her immortal Viking. Go grab him, Sookie, and kick this Freyda
b**** back to the hole she crawled from! This is all I'm sayin'. ;-)












 With Felipe de Castro, the Vampire King of Louisiana (and Arkansas and
Nevada), in town, it’s the worst possible time for a body to show up in
Eric Northman’s front yard—especially the body of a woman whose blood he
just drank.



Now, it’s up to Sookie and Bill, the official Area Five investigator, to
solve the murder. Sookie thinks that, at least this time, the dead
girl’s fate has nothing to do with her. But she is wrong. She has an
enemy, one far more devious than she would ever suspect, who’s out to
make Sookie’s world come crashing down.




(Book Blurb from Goodreads, All rights belong to Simon&Schuster and Charlaine Harris)

Shopping for Love!!!

Dear Readers,



I just wanted to let you know that my dear friend and fellow author, Lynette Sofras, has her new romance out this weekend! Even better, it's FREE! Go and grab your copy - you know that good things never last. ;-) I read it, loved it. It's a sweet and heartwarming love story with a touch of British humour and realistic enough to make readers believe that this could happen to all of ous - meet an incredibly gorgeous guy in the isle of a supermarket and instantly fall in love. Enjoy!












Love can find you in the strangest places -
but it's never for sale!

They meet - of all places - buying tomatoes
in the supermarket and there’s no denying the attraction is mutual.  But Greg, a software developer, is still raw
from his painful divorce and Emma, his children’s teacher, is recovering from
her own heartache.  Then the reappearance
of Emma's career-obsessed ex-boyfriend and Greg's spiteful ex-wife threatens to
kill their new love before it has even begun.




Is Emma’s love strong enough to survive
Greg’s demanding past and the threats to both their careers?  What will be the cost of falling in love in a
world where everything comes with a high price tag?




Get your free copy here: 




 UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shopping-for-Love-ebook/dp/B0089CLOSS/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_img_1

US: http://www.amazon.com/Shopping-for-Love-ebook/dp/B0089CLOSS/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_img_1

Deborah Court's Movie Review: Snow White and the Huntsman

Beware: This review contains mild spoilers! -
"Mild" because: Hey, it's Snow White. You know what happens. (If not,
seriously consider grabbing a copy of Grimm's Fairy Tales and do some essential
reading.) If you'd like to watch the movie completely uninfluenced, please stop reading right now and come back later. Ye have been warned.




Since I saw the first teaser
trailer of "Snow White and the Huntsman", I was very excited about
this movie - especially after the second trailer, which showed a scene where Snow White
encounters mythical creatures like tiny fairies and a white stag in the forest. I'm also a big fan of Charlize Theron and couldn't wait to see her as the evil
queen. Yesterday, the wait was finally over: I couldn't believe it myself when
I was successful in convincing my husband to go watch this movie with me
- although it really wasn't his cup of tea (he would have preferred Men in Black 3 but bent to my iron will).




Visually, the movie is stunning,
even if it had a very distinct Lord of the Rings look. When Snow
White, the Huntsman and the dwarves walk across a magnificent mountain
landscape, the air shot looks ridiculously like The Fellowship of the Ring
walking towards the mines of Moria. I wouldn't have been surprised if Legolas
and Gimli had been among them. Charlize Theron, as I expected, really rocked
the boat in her role, she was painfully beautiful, regal and wonderfully evil
without overacting. Kristen Stewart has the perfect looks for her role, but I
am not sure about her style of acting Snow White. 




She was a wonderful Bella in
Twilight, playing that young girl who is uncomfortable with herself and angry
at the world, but in Snow White, she needed to deliver the innocence that's so important as a
counterpart to the clever, scheming queen. She played the part well, but I was
surprised by how few lines she had to speak, which seemed peculiar since she
was the main character. Chris Hemsworth (a great actor and always a joy to look
at) and the rest of the elaborate cast (it was great fun to detect the famous
actors hiding beneath heavy dwarf make-up) did their best, too, but even they couldn't
ensure that the viewers felt emotionally moved - which brings us to what was
really lacking in this movie: A good script.









While all the elements of a
fantasy story - heroes and villains, a quest, exotic landscapes and magic
creatures - were there, what was lacking was: a) a good, satisfying love story (Snow White has two gorgeous guys to
choose from -Thor and the handsome priest who fell in love with a mermaid from
Pirates of the Caribbean 4. Hello? Where is the romance, emotional conflict,
scenes that sizzle with physical tension?) and b) dialogue and characters that deeply moved the audience. Some
lines were so boring and meaningless that I waited for the characters to say
something else.




Here's an example: Snow White has
just killed a villain who intended to rip out a vital organ from her body
(slightly changed to avoid spoilers here, villain could be male or female); let's pretend for now that
it's the liver.




Villain: has just delivered a very evil and hateful speech before
our heroine kills her (or him) and breaks down, sputtering black blood and
aging rapidly

Snow White: *watches villain with tears in her eyes* "You
can't have my liver."

Me: *waits and listens*

Snow White:

Snow White:

Snow White:

Me: *waits and listens*

Me: I can't believe it. This was her final line in that scene. You can't have my liver. Wouldn't Snow
White say something in addition to that line, something cool, clever, or even
with a hint of black humor, to give this great villain the good-bye she (or he)
deserves? What about this: "You can't have my liver - or other vital organ
-, because it already belongs to the unbelievably handsome Huntsman who's madly
in love with me and will be warming my bed every night while you rot in hell,
you evil b*tch. (or insert suitable male cussword here) Besides, I was always
more beautiful than you. You should have wiped the dust from that blind old
mirror of yours before you made him choose who's the fairest. Oh, you're
already dead. Good. Guard, throw her over the castle walls for the ravens to
feed on." *rips crown from deceased villain's head*




And where, may I ask, was the
final, passionate kiss that everyone wants to see at the end of a fairy tale? Instead,
all we got was one of the male protagonists (I won't tell which one, not wanting
to spoil your fun) - washed and combed for once, coming around the corner while
Snow White watches him with tear-clouded eyes and a yearning look on her pretty
pale face.




Me: Finally! Now grab and kiss her before you carry her to her
chamber, you strong, sexy, handsome ..

Movie: *cuts to black, end credits*

Me: What the …? Are they kidding?

Husband: Let's go! *look of relief on his face* I think I need to
watch a splatter movie now.

Me: I think I need to rewatch Thor now to recover from all the Chris
Hemsworth lady boner teasing without results. And all three extended editions of Lord of the
Rings.




If you like dark fairy tales and
epic fantasy, go and watch Snow White and
the Huntsman! This dark fairy tale is visually exquisite, entertaining and
a good action-driven fantasy movie. What you shouldn't expect is too much depth
or a romantic love story. It's one of the films that makes you think what could
it have been if there had been a bit more of a background story. Now excuse me
while I put on a low-cut black dress and start commanding over my own little
kingdom here at home. I wanna be a badass queen, too! This makes me think of
Galadriel's words in Lord of the Rings:




"In the place of a Dark Lord
you would have a Queen! Not dark but beautiful and terrible as the Morn!
Treacherous as the Seas! Stronger than the foundations of the Earth! All shall
love me and despair!"

Blog Swap!!! Interview with Author Blak Rayne

Dear Readers,




Today I have a very special guest: Blak Rayne, my good friend and published author who, among other projects, writes romantic and homoerotic fiction influenced by the Japanese Yaoi genre. At the same time, Blak has graciously invited me for a Q&A with a book giveaway on her blog (May 23rd), which you'll find here, so we are doing an interview swap of sorts. ;-) 




Blak is not only a talented and successful writer, but also a lovely, fascinating and kind person whom I'd love to meet in person one day. As she tells readers on her website, she likes men, period, and she likes hers hot and powerful, to have secrets and burn up the pages. She says: "I like to believe there's a love story out there for everyone, it's just waiting to be told." Brava, bravissima Ms Rayne, I wholeheartedly agree! 










Q&A with Blak Rayne



 Could you please tell us something
about you?

Well, there is something new I’d like to mention. I have just started to
write under another pen name within a totally different genre. For me, this is
wonderful, and something I have been longing to do for many years. I can’t wait
to see the results!




When did you decide on being an
author?

Cliché as it sounds, early childhood, though my dream didn’t come to
fruition until much later in life (isn’t that always the way). 




What inspires you to write?

Anything really, my imagination constantly churns. But if I had to pick,
I’d have to say music. I was raised on music (my mother’s influence) along with
a passion for books (my father’s influence). I took years of piano–practical
and theory, self-taught guitar, played a little drums, and also ukulele. 




What is the premise of your book?

My current novel, which is nearing
completion is 'The Ideal Side of Love'; a short story about a successful
businessman, Stephen, who has struggled all his life in relationships until he
meets Myron. After years together, Myron dies of cancer. The only way Stephen
can cope is by immersing himself in work until he accidentally bumps into a
stranger. I won't go any further because I don't want to spoil the story. TISOL
is written in first person POV, which is very different for me, but I think it
really works for the story and characters.




~***~



  The Ideal Side of Love

‘Average, but extraordinary, and only twice in a lifetime.’

Stephen
Prichard is a resilient and self-made man that has it all, a successful
business, great husband, and a summer condo on the waterfront, until life
throws a curve ball. After twelve years together, his husband Myron dies of
cancer, leaving Stephen to confront a future of uncertainties alone.

Then fate lends a
hand, when not one, but two chance encounters with the same stranger put his
feelings to the test. First and second impressions are lasting. Stephen
longs for companionship, and the stranger is attractive, however, he’s also
enigmatic and cold, and the memories of Myron are still painfully fresh.

Can a man Stephen
barely knows renew his faith in love? But, more importantly, is he willing to
let go of the past?

 http://www.blakraynebooks.com

http://www.blakrayneblog.com

  ~***~








What is your favorite passage in the
book?

For TISOL I can’t say yet, as the
book is incomplete. 




Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Honestly, I’m a bit of both. If I’m writing an in depth story, I will
plot, otherwise I fly by the seat of my pants. But then again…some of my better
stories were written off-the-cuff. Yep, I’m a bit of both.




How do you develop your characters?

I usually start with a name. Then a simple image comes to mind–the way
the character looks, dresses, and so on; as the story evolves, so do they. In
other words, I may mould the character to his or her story, or circumstance. It
depends. Sometimes the story dictates the character.




How did you come to write m/m erotic
romance?

I’ve written hetero erotica before, some sex within my fantasy stories,
and even a little homoerotic, but I never considered writing m/m erotic romance
until a friend dared me to enter an online writing contest. I had to write an
m/m erotic story, and did so in five days, following the contest rules. I
didn’t win, but the feedback was decent, and I sent the story to a publisher
many years later.




Which books/authors influenced you
most and why?

I love to read when time permits. And, since I’ll read just about
anything, there are many authors I enjoy. As far as influence goes, I can’t
pick any particular one for their writing abilities because every author has a
unique written voice–even I do, but I certainly can for imagination; J.R.R.
Tolkien, Agatha Christie, C. S. Lewis, Morgan Llewellyn, Kazuma Kodaka, Robin
Cook, Terry Brooks, R.D. Wingfield, Joseph Wambaugh, Oliver Bowden, Brent
Weeks, Bram Stoker…




Which is your favorite hero and villain
in a movie or TV series?

I almost always root for the villain–well
those with half a conscience. You know the type–driven by a vengeful
spirit, but also emotionally torn by their own sinister actions. Which are
usually brought on due to an unrequited, lost or stolen love. Bram Stoker’s Dracula
is my favourite. He’s a prime example of a tortured soul seeking revenge in the
name of love. 




Is there a contemporary author,
musician or actor you particularly admire?

The only people I really admire are
the authors I’ve worked with, those I have gotten to know on a personal level.
Most have struggled, and I admire their determination, their achievements, and
how they treat others in the industry. 




What will be your next project?

Well, I have several erotic m/m novels awaiting my undivided attention.
And, adding to this, I have a ten part fantasy series I’ve been working on
faithfully for fifteen years, that needs editing, covers etc to reach
publication (this is under my new pen name). I’ve got so much on my plate at
the moment I can scarcely keep up. 




Do you have any advice for aspiring
writers?

First and foremost writing is all about passion–sharing your imagination
with others. Be passionate about your work. The second part is honing your
craft. Read what you like to write, learn from other authors this includes their
triumphs and mistakes. But the most important thing, do what you feel is right.
Stay true to yourself.