A Rather Lovely Soirée

Talk like Jane Austen Day

Event production by

Random Magic Tour

Oct. 30, 2011

*Shadow And Light*

You've arrived at a rather lovely soirée in honor of Talk like Jane Austen Day. Talk like Jane Austen Day is an annual event, but October 30, 2011 is a particularly special day, as it marks the 200th anniversary of the first printing of Sense and Sensibility (1811), Austen's first published novel. In honor of the day, we've assembled a delightful collection of interesting features on all things Jane Austen and her times.

 
Video Gallery of my favorite Austen movie adaptions

Pride & Prejudice (2005)

Staring: Keira Knightley,Matthew MacFadyen, Judi Dench, Donald Sutherland
Category: "Drooling over Mr.Darcy", " Beautiful soundtrack", "I want to live there"

Pride & Prejudice from 2005 is my favorite version of the book. I know the other has Colin Firth and it gets into more depths of the book but this one oh my! I like the cast, i like the acting, i LOVE the music, the cinematography, i like everything! And i like more this Mr.Darcy! XD 'Nuff said!

Emma (2009)

Starring: Romola Garai, Michael Gambon, Jonny Lee Miller, Blake Ritson
Category: "Funny", "Giggling","Light period movie", "Harry Potter cast"

I have also watched the Emma featuring Gwyneth Paltrow but it had not none of the magic of the book. The BBC Adaption it portrays perfectly the book, keeps it funny and light like it, with an amazing casting and acting and it last about 4 hours. What more do you want? My favorite Austen book!

Becoming Jane (2007)

Starring: Anne Hatheway, James McAvoy, Maggie Smith, Julie Walters
Category:"James McAvoy", "not so happy ending", "lovely places", "Harry Potter cast"

Even though we do not know the exact life in detail of Jane Austen, according i've read, i can say Becoming Jane stay close to what we knew. They were many differences but still is lovely way for you to learn some general things about Jane Austen with Anne Hatheway as her.

Sense & Sensibility (1995)

Starring: Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, Imelda Staunton, Hugh Laurie
Category: "Snape (Alan Rickman) is in and he is awesome!", "awesome cast", "great acting", "cute story", "Harry Potter cast"

Sense & Sensibility is another of my favorites adaptions. Probably with the best cast of all the movies. It's funny because i heard of many boys who actually like the movie XD Even though i didn't not enjoy the book that much i really liked the movie and i believe its strongest part are the cast. They did an amazing job in their roles and gave the story a touch that was missing.

Now, i'm off to watch some more Austen movies that seemed i missed. Just noticed that almost in all the movies above there is at least one Harry Potter actor in :p Also, if any cast member is wrong don't kill me..i've written all the names from mind and some of the movies i watched years ago.

What are your favorite Jane Austen Movie Adaptions?

Other Austen Thingies Reviewed:

Jane Austen: A Life Revealed

Mansfield Park (1999)  

Mansfield Park (2007) 

Becoming Jane (2007)

Movies VS Books: Emma
Pride And Prejudice (2005)
Pride And Prejudice (1995)

Northanger Abbey

About: Northanger Abbey was the first of Jane Austen's novels to be completed (1798–99), although it was only published posthumously in December 1817. The story follows the misadventures of Gothic novel aficionado

Catherine Morland. (More)

Download this book

Movie Review: Pride and Prejudice

P&P 2005

In this retelling of Jane Austen's novel set in 19th-century England, Mrs. Bennet (Brenda Blethyn) is a mother in hopes of marrying her daughters to prosperous gentlemen callers, especially when a wealthy bachelor moves nearby. Headstrong daughter Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) meets her match in Mr. Darcy.The classic novel of manners, society, and love includes much of Austen's rich commentary on human nature, and features extensive, gorgeous location shooting in and around historic English country homes.

REVIEW:
Awww...Pride and Prejudice...sigh...oh well...i recently watched the BCC version with Colin Firth so i thought why not to review it opposite the new one like i did with the Mansfield Park films. So, as usual we have the P&P '05 and P&P '95 for reference.

I have heard so many good things about P&P '95 that my expectations were on the highest level ever. And i can say i was disappointed. P&P '95 is about 6 hours long. And while i love Austen's stories and Pride and Prejudice was one of her best novels, those 6 hours were the death of me. Yes, it's goes in depth and the story is closer to the book than P&P '05 but i almost fall asleep. I watched it in 2 parts and i almost stopped in the middle. But i did finish and i'm really proud of myself now. I mean P&P '05 is more light and enjoyable. I think it's easier for a boy to watch it as well and that makes it special. P&P '95 is mostly for the really hardcore fans.

P&P 1995

On the casting now...hmmm...how do i say it nicely...i hate the casting of P&P '95. Okay Colin Firth and the Elizabeth girl were good choices but who the hell picked the rest? It's wrong. Elizabeth sister is supposed to be a beauty and she is not. Elizabeth is by far the most beautiful girl in the whole movie which doesn't match with the story. The whole cast from boys to girls feels wrong. They are too old or yeah well..they are bit not easy for the eyes. Yeah, that's mean but there was no one decent in. P&P '05 has beautiful, normal and more not beautiful people. They have everything which makes more sense in any world. Yes, beauty it's personal opinion but what can i say?

On the acting...P&P '95 Elizabeth and Darcy are amazing! They saved the movie for me! You could see their feelings and convince you about their roles from miles. The rest not so much. On the other hand, P&P '05 has average or really good acting to all of the characters. The cast has "professional" actors like Maggie Smith Judi Dench in.(those are the mistakes you do when you write multiple Austen posts at the same time! thanks Elena! the comment still stands^^). So in that aspect it was better for me as well.

Lastly, the environment and the music. To say it simply, P&P '95 it's just dead next to other. Especially the music of P&P '05 is one of the most beautiful soundtracks ever and make the movie and your senses alive and bring the magic to life.

Obviously, i'm an P&P '05 fan and opposite of P&P '95 i can watch it again and again. The only thing you actually gain (for me always) from P&P '95 is to understand Darcy and Elizabeth better since Colin Firth and Janifer Ehle are simply amazing to their roles.

P.S: There is also another P&P BCC version from 1980. And one more movie from 1940. Haven't watched any of those.

Book Review: Curse Of The Bane

The Spook and his apprentice, Thomas Ward, rid the county of witches, ghosts, boggarts, and other creatures of the dark. And there's some unfinished business to attend to in Priestown. Deep in the catacombs lurks a creature the Spook has never been able to defeat; a force so evil that the whole county is in danger. The Bane!
But the Bane is not their only enemy. The Quisitor arrives, intent on hunting down anyone who meddles with the dark. Thomas Ward and the Spook must prepare for the battle of their lives.

Curse of the Bane ( The Last Apprentice / Wardstone Chronicles #2) by Joseph Delaney
Hardcover, 480 pages
Published 2006 by Greenwillow

REVIEW:
I've read the 1st book of the series some years back but i did not continue with it since i found it a bit childish so i though, why not to put in away for a while. Now i got this one as a gift (btw, the hardback edition is just beautiful with black and white illustrations in and a Tom's notes at the end of the book) and i started reading.

Curse of the Bane is entirely on a different level than the 1st book. Yes the first one was creepy but i can't see how a kid (it's mostly a middle grade book i think - do not give to get a kid under 12-13) would read this one and doesn't have nightmares at night. It's dark, dangerous with lots of action,monsters,witches and other dark things. Delaney's writing will caught you from the first page and you won't put the book down until you finish it.

While you get to know more of Thomas, Spook and our little witch friend, at the same time you learn more about the world they live and the past. You will get to know new creatures and maybe see even Spook a little afraid. You see especially Thomas, to grow as a character and learn more about the world and not trust every one who tries to help him.

If you have doubts after the 1st book, there is no way to not love the series after this one. When i finished i just wanted to get into the next one immediately. They are a big series with about 7 books published if i'm right, so get read for lots of reading if you decide to give it a try. And buy the hardbacks editions with the cover above. They are awesome!

Things I have missed about Halloween

What most of you people don't know, and some of you might know is that my first officially taught language (meaning in school and stuff) was in fact English. "Then how come your English is so crappy?" you ask? Well simply because...well F**K you!!!! Just kidding...

I was around 3 when we first went to the states to deal with my medical condition but that one is a boring
story and blah blah. What happened is that during our stay there I actually went to kindergarten there. Yep, there between a bunch of Chicago kids going to their class around...somewhere there (I think it was Skokie) there was young me running around.

You are probably bored to tears right now asking yourselves "What the hell has this have to do with Halloween?". Well the fact is that I used to love Halloween and since most of you lucky bastards are experiencing it, I decided to write things that I remember from it and the reasons why I think it was cool.

Caramel Apples:

Quite seriously this is the first thing I miss the most from Halloween. I mean it describes everything! I still remember how excited I was every single time that I was allowed to have caramel apples since it was Halloween and was allowed to. Back then, I felt like I was the king of the world. Halloween meant caramel apples and no one could deny them from me. NO ONE!

Sweets/Trick or Treating:

Not sure if I ever went trick or treating, but I DO remember the tons of candy that was my birthright to consume back there. Yes, the pumpkin king was out to scare the crap out of everyone, and WE the kids were his loyal servants. And in return we got sweets. Who cares if it was cold, rainy or if there was a monsoon that made the roads flooding or whatever, candy was our right and woe to those that would deny us. Candy corn, chocolates, caramel apples, applejuice, pretty much even things that didnt even make sense for Halloween, we were all allowed to eat. And even if your parents would draw the line and state "You have eaten too much" there was always school where we could find candy from our awesome teachers, or maybe on a visit to a friendly house.

Also not sure but I think it must have been around Autumn when my parents scared the shit out of me when they talked about gingivitis (teridona, for you Greek friends) (also not sure if I translated it correctly)

Witches/Ghost/Undead/Warewolves/Vampires/Costumes/Pumpkins/Spiders:

Even as a kid I used to like the whole concept of ghosts and witches. Dont get me wrong, I was scared shitless of those things, but that didnt mean I wasnt fascinated by them. Hell I was 3 and "The Nightmare Before Christmass" was my favorite film (still is). So the fact that it was a festival with everything I found cool and nice meant that I would go bananas over it. I still remember as we gathered around at an old lady's class which unfortunately I dont remember her name. And me Ross and that other Asian girl we hanged out with when we were not fighting as we were "bound" to by our "clubs". Ok the previous sentence needs some explaining (At kindergarten i used to hang out and be BFF with 2 kids. Ross and that other girl i dont remember her name. I think they were both Asian people, well at least in my 3 year old mind they were, and we used to pretty much spend the time there together. As for the reason we fought with the girl is
because me and Ross had formed a club named team "Blue" or "hate pink" or generally something that from what I remember had to do with despising everything that was pink for the sole purpose of...well we hadnt really figured that out.

It was pink=it was girl=not boyish= we hated it. The other girl wanted to bust our balls so she formed team pink, and she annoyed the hell out of us stating that pink was the best color. Imagine that? THE NERVE!?)

So, anyway, there we were creating paper spiders with scissors which meant that we would get messy with glue so...HOORAY! Then we had the pumpkin drawings, the pumpkin lanterns which I found (still do) AWESOME! And at some point i swear we carved a pumpkin head on our own!

Pinatas:

Imagine this, you are young little me, with an ugly broken retarded leg, a cool prosthetic, an almost irresistible feeling to run around yelling and "adventuring" in your own 5 year old brain and holding a god damn baseball bat. Now imagine your confusion as you are holding a bat. Weren't you NOT supposed to use sticks to make noise? Now imagine you being told that you could not only use that stick and flail it around like a madman with pants on fire, but you can also use it to BREAK a carton replica of a horse/chicken/dragon or whatever. Not only that, but if you manage to break it you would get CANDY! Do I have to say more?

(I know the picture is large but how can I not put this one? Look at how much fun they are having. LOOK AT ALL THAT FUN!)




Theme/Feel:

Now this is the part which i think is most valid. I cant really explain it but there was something in the air around Halloween. There was something in the air full of mischief and general chaos that I found intoxicating. Dont get me wrong, i was not a troublemaker or a wild child. But i was no angel. I liked harmless mischief that did not put others to trouble. And Halloween had exactly that tone on it.

P.S Most if not ALL of the memories i described above were from a time when I was almost too young to remember. I have written down everything that I believe is true but there is always a slight possibility that many of the memories and feelings i have are actually made up by my brain. Whatever the case I hope you liked this Halloweeny post.


Happy Halloween everyone! and dont forget...

LONG LIVE THE PUMPKIN KING!

Book Review: Anna Dressed In Blood

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.
So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.
When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.
But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life. 


Anna Dressed In Blood ( Anna #1 ) by Kendare Blake
Hardback, 316 pages
Published 2011 by Tor Teen

REVIEW:
This book was never in my TBR. I thought it would be another ya love story which will be nothing like the cover or summary makes you believe. Then i won it. And then i read it. At the end i found out that it was just plain awesomeness!!

> Old idea, with hunters and ghosts but originally written. Even though the idea behind the story is not new, the story felt fresh and exciting. It made you forget every possible connection with other stories and just stay with it and only, and enjoy it.

>Bloody. Yes there is blood and violence and some really creepy scenes. I did not expect that at all. I was reading at 3am and the characters decide to go into one really creepy house, find a murderous ghost and have some killing with a lot of detail and i'm like "i'm not sleeping tonight after that O_O". And guess what. I did not sleep because i was scared. Dead bodies, evil husbands, evil witches, good ghosts, bad ghosts...they all make a spectacular combination of horror. Do NOT read at night.

>Great characters. 1. The main hero is a boy. You follow a boy's mind during the whole thing! It doesn't happen a lot lately. Anyway, Cas is a brave and kind guy and kind of lonely. I liked how he acted, how he was thinking, how he and his mother were close and cared for each other. 2.First time, the popular girl is actually a kind person? And it's doesn't hoop up with the main hero but with one of the 2nd characters? Really? How awesome is that! Finally something not cliche with no weird triangles and etc!

>The scenes are alive. You might already understood that in my number #2 point but i need to say that all the scenes, creepy,funny,sad feel incredibly alive. Like it's in your skin and you feel every little thing!

I' can't describe how excited i am for the next book! Want something scary and exciting? Then pick it up! I liked it that much, that i also created a photo-manipulation inspired by it!

Girl In Blood HQ by me

Steins Gate : Anime Review

Rintaro Okabe is a self-proclaimed "mad scientist" who believes that an international scientific organization named SERN is conspiring to reshape the world according to its own interests. He and his friend Itaru Hashida inadvertently create a gadget able to send messages to the past. The discovery and experimentation of this instrument become the catalyst of fundamental alterations of the present. Okabe is the only one aware of these changes because he possesses a Reading Steiner, the ability to retain the memories from previous experienced timelines. Oblivious of the consequences of their actions, Rintaro and his friends end up creating modifications of grievous proportions. He must then try to find a way to return as close as possible to the original timeline in order to save his precious lab partners.

Review:

Awesome... Amazing... One... More... Eeeeeepisode !!!
Seriously I couldn't stop watching, the storyline is addictive, beware, you may end up watching 24 episodes back to back.

The story is about a 17 year old Japanese inventor, named Rintaro Okabe, who is one of my favorite characters ever written. He decided to start his own lab and recruit some lab members to create unique inventions. The funny part is that he pretends to be an evil mad scientist with mad laughter and the whole package :D

Some day they accidentaly invent a microwave oven that has the ability to send text messages back to the past, and as scientists, they start experimenting with it. But here comes the butterfly effect to ruin the day... Every message has some of the intented effects but it also has some sideffects that are not always minor. Of course when the past changes the world runs on a different timeline so the memories of every lab member is rewritten to match the current timeline events. Only Okabe remembers the events of the original timeline because of a special ability his mind posseses called "Reading Steiner", so he is the only one who can see the results of the changes he wanted to make, but also the sideffects.

As you may have guessed at some point the sideffects become too massive to ignore them and Okabe has to reverse all the changes he made to the timeline. Will he succeed, or will he succumb to the needs that made him change the timeline in the first place ?

P.S. The storyline is tottaly cool, but what really excels in this anime are the characters, especially the lab members that are all either exceptionally funny or spooky and mysterious, that combination of characters and storyline have elevated this anime in my top 3 completed anime series together with Death Note and Code Geass.

Bookie Brunch - Trick Or Treat

Welcome to Bookie Brunch: Trick or Treat!!! Bookie Brunch as you may already know (or not) is a weekly discussion event on different blog each week and different guest!

Soooo...welcome to the Trick or Treat Week with surprise posts from the Bookie Brunch hosts and guests (check the linky). And by surprise i mean, no one has no idea what the other will post...reviews?giveaways? music?guestposts?or what? Let your imagination free and have fun!

Our treat is a special spotlight. Here in Greece, we don't have Halloween so i made the guys tell me what's they would like to dressed on Halloween!

Special Spotlight List: Halloween

Johnny said he will would like to be a ghost. He did not specify something else and when i asked for a photo he said "there no such thing. i will create my own ghost". I do believe the pic i found, could have been Johnny though. What do you think?

Athanasia's exact comment was "i would be a very very bad witch"...i'm wondering what she means like that...a more modern bad witch or just a bad witch? Again no pic was provided so we use your imagination. I can totally see her into this one though:

Now..i'm about to open Nina's email. Let's see...aha! I see another creative person in our family who wants a self made costume..interesting choice though "I'd be a Hippie. I know it's not scary at all, but I always wanted to dress into a hippie after this failed attempt when I was little. I'm not going to give you a photo of my costume, because I'm a big fun of homemade costumes, the ones you can create using pieces of your own wardrobe and make-up tools. "....I'm not entirely i understood though. Do you mean like the pic next to text?

 Let's see what Silvestro picked. hahaha..nice one!

Our little assassin! He even picked a pic. "Assassin's creed of course :P"Now that would be something i would love to see! Though i always imagined assassins a bit taller :p

As for me? Even though i don't like costumes i would have dressed as a classic witch. With the pointy hat and pointy shoes! I have long dark brown hair so i think it would be kinda scary ^^

And last but not least with have the Anonymous Minion F with a really strange idea...Rubik's cube...i don't know how he plans to do this but got luck man! He says "it's spooky as hell"

What's your costume for Halloween? Feel free to post photos too!

And don't forget to come back in the week for some scary, witchy book reviews,giveaways and something special from Johnny!

Movie Review : Crazy, Stupid, Love.

About: Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) gets the surprise of his life when he learns that his wife Emily (Julianne Moore) cheated on him with a coworker, David Lindhagen (Kevin Bacon), and wants a divorce. After moving into his own apartment, Cal begins frequenting a bar night after night, talking loudly about his divorce, until he attracts the attention of a young man named Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling). Jacob is a womanizer who successfully beds women each night, although a young woman named Hannah (Emma Stone) recently rejected his advances. Taking pity on Cal, Jacob agrees to teach him how to pick up women. Jacob takes Cal shopping, outfitting him with an entirely new wardrobe and begins teaching him the art of seduction. As they spend their evenings at the bar together, a friendship begins to blossom.

Review: Recently I saw this movie after my friends suggested it to me; but I also wanted to see it because of the cast. There were so many popular actors, Steve Carell as Cal Weaver, Ryan Gosling as Jacob Palmer, Julianne Moore as Emily Weaver and Emma Stone as Hannah Weaver. Some of them are actually my favorite. Ryan Gosling is the actor that impressed me the most, this was the first film of him that I saw and I really liked his style, his attitude and of course I liked him as a man!

To begin with, the story was not that unique but it had a very interesting twist before the end that I really did not see it coming. Generally it was movie that in certain points made me laugh out loud (when Jacob meets Cal at the Mall) and other times made me a little sad, it is a romantic comedy drama after all.

An other aspect that I liked was the realness of the characters. Jacob was a womanizer but in normal standards, also Cal's perspective of life and the relationship between him and his family was normal too. The movie of course had those moments that never happen in real life, like the speech Cal's son gave at his school but Cal's reaction even if it was too much it was real (when he started talking to the crowd he was cursing himself quietly at the same time!).

On the other hand there were some things that I did not like. Analeigh Tipton as Jessica Riley, the babysitter was not very good at her role, she was awkward and stupid (because she took naked pictures of herself). Also who hands their naked pictures to a 13 year old and tells him “To get through high school” it was sick..

Overall it was a great movie, I enjoyed it a lot and I totally recommend it to you.

Spooktacular Giveaway Hop

By I Am a Reader, Not A Writer & The Diary of a Bookworm

Over 400 blogs with giveaways - CLICK HERE

International Giveaway

(thanks to Michelle Muto for the copies!)

I have read and reviewed before Michelle's book (The Book Of Lost Souls) and Don't Fear The Reaper is the last one she released and i can't say how much i loved it. I have already read it as well in just few hours and it was amazing! I'll reviewing it soon soon enough :) Now, here is the chance for you to read it too ^^ Highly recommend it from me! It's original and exciting!

Grief-stricken by the murder of her twin, Keely Morrison is convinced suicide is her ticket to eternal peace and a chance to reunite with her sister. When Keely succeeds in taking her own life, she discovers death isn’t at all what she expected. Instead, she’s trapped in a netherworld on Earth and her only hope for reconnecting with her sister and navigating the afterlife is a bounty-hunting reaper and a sardonic, possibly unscrupulous, demon. But when the demon offers Keely her greatest temptation—revenge on her sister's murderer—she must uncover his motives and determine who she can trust. Because, as Keely soon learns, both reaper and demon are keeping secrets and she fears the worst is true—that her every decision will change how, and with whom, she spends eternity
Goodreads

Prize: 2 e-books of Don't Fear The Reaper
Rules:
-Open International
-You do NOT have to be a follower but it's always appreciated
-Deadline: Oct.31st




CONTEST CLOSED

The Three Musketeers, Movie Review

A hot-headed young D'Artagnan along with three former legendary but now down with their luck Musketeers must unite and defeat a beautiful double agent and her villainous employer from seizing the French throne and engulfing Europe in war.

REVIEW:
I haven't been on the cinema for about four months, which is a long time for me. So when a friend of mine asked me out to warch this particular one, I couldn't refuse.

Reasons to watch the movie: Taking it from the beggining, I'll admit it pulled me in from the start. You could say it will be spectacular. I liked the places, outdoors and indoors (but that's my interior designing instinct talking) and they did a great job with the effects. The fighting scenes were good, but I'm not an expert to judge badly and the acting was nice too. The costumes were amazing, but I don't know how much they were following the fashion of that period. I'll admit that I didn't know all the actors playing the Musketeers, but for this particular modern aspect of the novel all the actors were great. Plus, there are some technological achievements that I'm kinda sure weren't created that period, but they gave the movie a fresh aspect.

Reasons to not watch the movie: Well, here I only have one reason. If you are fun of the classic novel and you believe that taking something old and transform it a bit to create something new and modern, is bad, then you'll have a problem. I haven't read the book, but I've seen other, older and more classic version of it and I'm sure I know couple of the differences. For instance, the language is not that classic and sometimes you could hear modern phrases in the movie, but I can't be sure about the costumes or the places or any other detail that might be changed for that purpose. Also, you may find the whole style a little weird, but that's not a big problem. As I said, they were trying to create a new and fresh aspect of the book.

Bottom line, I recommend you the movie for the reasons above. I'm not sure that you'll like it or love as I did, but it was fun to watch and worth every penny I gave for the ticket. I didn't see it in 3D, but I loved it and I had a great night with my friends.

Paranormals Blog Tour - Author Interview

Aha! A new tour post is here! "Paranormals" Tour to be more precise with books giveaways, reviews, other giveaways, guestposts and much more, all about the already famous "The Paranormals" series! Today you will here an interview with the author and two giveaways at the end :) Visit the official Kismet Book Tours page for the full program of "The Paranormals" blog tour! Enjoy!

-Try to describe your book in one sentence.
Jenny Pox is about a girl whose touch spreads a deadly supernatural plague, and as a teenager, she finally meets one boy she can touch.

-Your genre in The Paranormal Series is YA Fantasy right?. You did that on purpose, or you just start writing?
It was definitely going to be fantasy because of the supernatural elements.  I didn’t make any effort to write a young adult book, but because the main characters are teenagers, it’s often described that way.  Not by me, though.  I’ve always thought of it as a horror novel, though I’ve learned “contemporary fantasy” might be the best label for it.

-Did you do any research before start or during of the writing of the books?
The first book included some research into ancient mythology.  The later books required more: I had to research the CDC, the methodology of epidemiology, the history of the Mexican province of Chiapas, and coca cultivation.  An odd assortment of research, really.

-Which scenes were the hardest to write?
Anything with strong emotion is the most difficult to write, because you want it to ring true and you have to take a very intuitive approach.  Probably the romance between Seth and Jenny, plus other difficult scenes, like the flashback to the death of Seth’s brother in the third book.


-Are you reading or writing something else at the moment?
I’m writing the second book in my Songs of Magic series (the first book, Fairy Metal Thunder, has already been released).  This is a much lighter series about fairies and rock music, and I’m having a lot of fun writing it.

-Did you always had in mind to be a writer or it just happened?
Always, since I was about six or seven years old.  I never seriously considered anything else.

-How important you find the communication between you and your readers? Do you reply to their messages or read their reviews?
Extremely important.  I’m always available to readers on Twitter, Facebook, my blog, and email.  If I don’t reply to somebody, it’s a mistake or things got lost in the shuffle.  Feedback from readers actually does help shape my choices, especially when writing sequels to books.  I pay attention to questions they have or areas of the story they would like to see explored further.

Now some simple questions and more fun^^

-Your favourite band/singer?
Probably Pink Floyd
-Twitter or Facebook?
 I use both, but I think I like Twitter better, it’s so light and easy
-Favourite place in the world?
My bed
-Last movie you watched at the cinemas?
 The final Harry Potter
-The last book you’ve read?
Currently reading War for the Oaks by Emma Stone
-And last one....printed or ebooks?
Ebooks!  I love everything about my Kindle.  I have boxes and boxes of unpacked books filling up my garage, so I’m hesitant to buy many physical books anymore.

Thanks for having me visit your blog!

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J.L. Bryan studied English literature at the University of Georgia and at Oxford, with a focus on the English Renaissance and the Romantic period. He also studied screenwriting at UCLA. He enjoys remixing elements of paranormal, supernatural, fantasy, horror and science fiction into new kinds of stories. He is the author of The Paranormals trilogy (Jenny Pox, Tommy Nightmare, and Alexander Death). Fairy Metal Thunder is the first book in his new Songs of Magic series. He lives in Atlanta with his wife Christina, his son John, two dogs, and two cats. 

website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads

About Jenny Pox - goodreads, amazon, B&N
Jenny has a secret. Her touch spreads a supernatural plague.

She devotes her life to avoiding contact with people, until her senior year of high school, when she meets the one boy she can touch, and she falls in love.

But there’s a problem–he’s under the spell of his devious girlfriend Ashleigh, who secretly wields the most dangerous power of all.

Now Jenny must learn to use the deadly “Jenny pox” she’s fought her entire life to hide, or be destroyed by Ashleigh’s ruthless plans.

Jenny Pox week:

Monday, October 17th - Bewitched Bookworms
Tuesday, October 18th - Fangtastic Books
Wednesday,October 19th - Coffee Table Reviews
Thursday, October 20th - Splash Of Our Worlds
Friday, October 21st - The Unread Reader

GIVEAWAYS(click on the photos)

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Paranormals Blog Tour - GIVEAWAYS

Giveaway #1 - Signed Jenny Pox

Welcome to our trick or treat giveaway! The Kismet Ninjas will be giving away lots of goodies to take home, so be sure to stay tuned to the tour! Today you can win a SIGNED copy of Jenny Pox. Just leave a comment in the post (with your email) and you will be entered automatically!

Giveaway #2 - Kindle Fire

The second give-away is a Kindle Fire, skinned in the winner’s choice of Paranormals artwork and loaded with an AMAZING indie library!  Simply fill out the form below (just once during the course of the tour) and you’re entered to win the latest and greatest from the biggest name in eReaders:  an Amazon Kindle Fire!  Open US/Canada.  See full contest rules here.

Fill this FORM

ALSO:

Our interview with the author, JL Bryan

Tour Schedule

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Movie Review : Bad Teacher

About: The film concerns a foul-mouthed seventh grade teacher who is dumped by her sugar daddy and starts to pursue a colleague, which provokes conflict with the school's model teacher.

Review: I am just going to say AMAZING !! actually I am not the best person for this review because I love Cameron Diaz. Since I was little she was a role model for me, just a goddess! I decided to watch this movie because of her, I would watch anything if she was in. also I really liked the plot from the first time I read it.

First of all the story is really good. Many women can relate to Elizabeth Halsey and also many women can relate to Amy Squirrel. The scenario is based in real life situations and that makes the movie very interesting. I enjoyed this movie a lot because all the actors were great, Cameron Diaz played a common role for her but she nailed it, I was very exited to see Jason Segel in something else (from How I met your mother), Justin Timberlake and Lucy Punch were very funny too. Generally there was a great chemistry between the cast and that made the movie even better.

I have read many reviews about this movie online and some critics are very harsh because they think that it has cruel humor and it crosses a line because it has to do with children. I disagree because it is a comedy, it presents the whole situation with humor and digression, I didn't feel offended by any part of it.

To sum up I have to mention Cameron Diazs' outfits. She was amazingly dressed and her shoes were the best I have ever seen in a movie, the costumes for Cameron Diaz were picked by Yulia Gershenzon. She is the costumer of Cameron Diaz in many movies.

Your Opinion

Yes i do plan to change template once again. We have this one for about 6 months i believe, and i have almost finished a new one. So probably at some time in December i will change it.

Now what i noticed at the new layout is that is even cleaner and faster than this one. Which both are good. And more light-y which would be a nice change.

My question now is, do you prefer to see "full posts" at the home page or "summary-read more" posts along with an avatar?

Full posts = are the ones we use right now

Summary posts= you need to click the read more to see the full post (pic below)

What i need from you is to vote at the poll bellow.





If you want to comment on something about the current template, or a change you would like to see feel free to tell me at the comments ^^

Thanks a lot!

Movie Review: Kung Fu Panda 2

In Kung Fu Panda 2, Po is now living his dream as The Dragon Warrior, protecting the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters, The Furious Five. But Po's new life of awesomeness is threatened by the emergence of a formidable villain, who plans to use a secret, unstoppable weapon to conquer China and destroy kung fu. He must look to his past and uncover the secrets of his mysterious origins; only then will Po be able to unlock the strength he needs to succeed.

REVIEW:
Finally we get to watch Kung Fu Panda! Not in 3D but it's better than nothing!

To tell you the truth  i don't remember well the first movie to compare but i know i loved this one! It's funny and clever!

The storyline alone is a bit funny. Because it's so normal to pick your emperor because he invented fireworks! The story in general is more connected to the past of both Po and the evil guy. So the team assembles and we have a kung fu vs weapons story with lot of incidents and actions in between.

I have to say i love Po. Like LOVE. He is so funny and actually a genious. Well, yeah he fails a bit but it's funny because his fails are actually things that could happen to a normal hero. Like when he tries an epic entrance but it's too far for anyone to here what he says or no one really pays attention. And when he manages to find his inner piece (because it's obvious from the start he will :p) he does some pretty epic things.

Of course i don't have to talk about how amazing the animation is. It's beautiful. Everything is so perfectly detailed, no matter how important are to the scene. Each animated movie better than the previous.I liked what they did to the "past scenes" where they switched to the usual old cartoon style instead of the usual black/white or blurry sequences. Also the movements of the animals and how they actually made snakes and peacocks to fight in kung fu style are really really good. Get ready for kick assing!

Kung Fu Panda is just an awesome movie for everyone. Kids, adults, young adults! I can't believe there will be someone who will not enjoy it. The humor is for all ages and there is tons of action for the older ones too. Especially if you watch it with company. (Plus, take a look at the cast O_O)

Cast: Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Gary Oldman, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogan, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Michelle Yeoh, Danny McBride, Jean-Claud Van Damme, etc....

Spotlight List: Favorite Male Character

Meme by Small Review

Spotlight List - Favorite Male Character

Faramir (Lord Of The Rings) picked by Johnny

Apollo (Greek Mythology) picked by Johnny

Gaara ( Naruto ) picked by Silvestro

Captain James Kirk (Star Trek) picked by Silvestro

Eric ( True Blood ) picked by Nina

Barney ( How I Met Your Mother ) picked by Nina

Toshiro Hitsugaya ( Bleach ) picked by Yiota

Jimmy The Hand ( Raymond Feist Book Series ) picked by Yiota

Dr. House ( House ) picked by Athanasia

Ross ( Friends ) picked by Athanasia

Who are your favorite male characters ever?!