I am a huge fan of mythology, especially Greek mythology, so I am absolutely stoked about the Immortals movie which is hitting theaters November 11th, 2011 — in fact 11-11-11 is a very auspicious number so everything looks like it’s coming up roses for this fantasy film! The uber busy man of steel himself Henry Cavill has the starring role of Theseus and from what I’ve seen so far this flick should be epic and definitely a lot of fun.

The Fall of Man

The creators of the film couldn’t get enough of this world that the movie is set in, so what did they do? Well, they decided to create a graphic novel to entertain us that much more! Immortals has spawned the graphic novel Immortals: Gods and Heroes and it looks epic! Here’s a video compliments of IGN.

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Now that I’ve embarked upon the exciting stage of changing writing genres and entered the realms of Horror, Chick Lit and Young Adult the need arose to search for cover art. So as I was browsing the array of artists in the Deviant Art channels, I happened to come across an artist of astounding talent during one of my recon missions via Google.

Her name is Cris De Lara and her skill with a pencil is amazing. And she’s Canadian! Yay! Honestly, she makes me want to take up my own pencil and sketch pad and rekindle another outlet of my own creative arsenal.

I love Cris De Lara’s drawings so much, I thought I’d share with you 5 of my favorite pin up girls that she’s drawn. She would be the perfect artist to do an illustration for a short story I did that has a romantic edge with a genie in a bottle twist.

What do you think of this awesome artist’s work? Do you like it as much as I do?

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Hi TSD Readers! I wanted to give you a quick update on what’s in store for you in the coming months. As you know The Pooka is coming out later this year and I’m hoping my second Persimmon book will have a publication date near Christmas time though that may not happen until the new year. I’ll be taking part in NaNoWriMo 2011 and during those 30 days I plan to complete my foray into Young Adult territory and that project will have a publication date of late spring next year. Coincidentally I will be needing beta readers for my YA project in March 2012 and I will be updating you on that topic in the coming months.

However, the point of this post is to fill you in on my current project which is a short story for the 2011 Scriborium Anthology tentatively titled A Very Scary Christmas which is coming out this Christmas of course. My short story will be included with about 9 other stories from the other Scriborium members and I am so excited about it that I have to share the news with you. The theme of the collection of short stories is a Christmas story with a paranormal or horror twist. The name of my story is “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”.

Here’s the synopsis:

Elspeth Stone hasn’t been home since she left for college after high school at the age of seventeen. Her decision to leave wasn’t supported by her family and she went without their blessing.  The only person she kept in contact with after the falling out with her family is her younger sister Erin. Now, 13 years later, Erin is pleading with Elspeth to come home for Christmas. Despite her resistance to the idea, Elspeth relents only because she hasn’t met her 5 year old niece yet and if she doesn’t come home this Christmas she may never get the chance since the child is ill and may be dying. The thought of going back to her childhood home fills Elspeth with the old fear and dread. Memories of the terror she experienced there, the horrors that went bump in the night and the evil thing that lurked in the shadows waiting for her surfaced from the dark recesses of her mind. As her sense of foreboding mounts, she doesn’t  know if she’s going home to reconnect with her estranged family or to confront the demons of her past.

And that’s how it goes. I might even be persuaded to give you a sneak peek and share a short excerpt here in the weeks to come. It’s going to be an exciting couple months, that’s for sure, and I hope you’ll come along for the ride!

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Check out this beautiful song by Neko Case. “I Wish I Was the Moon” also happened to be the title  episode 6 of True Blood. This is the episode where I fell for Bill again. It was this episode where I felt Bill truly redeemed himself and proved to me that no matter what he’s done, he really does truly love Sookie. That Sookie, she just has all kinds of supes falling inlove with her. And now that the season is over, do you think that Sookie made the right decision? Who would you have chosen? What would you have done if you were in her little faerie shoes?

I do believe that this song has become one of my new favorites. I feel a karaoke night coming on… Anywhoo, for you hard core Eric/Sookie lovers here’s a YouTube version here’s a link that’ll take you to their version of this song that was created by and avid Truebie. Gotta love it.

“I Wish I Was the Moon” Lyrics

Chimney falls and lovers blaze
Thought that I was young
Now I’ve freezing hands and bloodless veins
As numb as I’ve become

I’m so tired
I wish I was the moon tonight

Last night I dreamt I had forgotten my name
‘Cause I had sold my soul but awoke just the same
I’m so lonely
I wish I was the moon tonight

God blessed me, I’m a free man
With no place free to go
I’m paralyzed and collared-tight
No pills for what I fear

This is crazy
I wish I was the moon tonight

Chimney falls and lovers blaze
Thought that I was young
Now I’ve freezing hands & bloodless veins
As numb as I’ve become

I’m so tired,
I wish I was the moon tonight

How will you know if you found me at last
‘Cause I’ll be the one, be the one, be the one
With my heart in my lap
I’m so tired, I’m so tired
And I wish I was the moon tonight

I’m so tired, I’m so tired,
And I wish I was the moon
I’m so tired, I’m so tired,
And I wish I was the moon tonight

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Taylor Lautner and Lily Collins in the movie Abduction.

Taylor Lautner rose to fame as the werewolf Jacob Black in the movies based on Stephenie Meyer’s monster blockbuster the Twilight Saga. He is the third wheel in the love triangle that consists of him, Bella Swan and the sparkly vampire Edward Cullen. When rumors began to swirl after the first movie that Lautner might be replaced in the next films, millions of fans rallied behind the actor and petitioned for him to retain the role of Jacob for the remaining films in the franchise. It was a successful campaign as we all know now and I think a lot of it had to do not just with the passionate reaction of the fans, but also with the big slabs of beefcake muscle Lautner put on to better fit the part of werewolf.

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Twilight has infused the careers of a few of its actors with the clout needed to land leading roles. Kristen Stewart won critical acclaim for her role as Joan Jett in The Runaways (though she already had a pretty solid career, Twilight brought her into the spotlight). Robert Pattinson scored the lead love interest role alongside Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon in the movie Water for Elephants, while Jamie Campbell Bower went on to land the kingly role of Arthur in the Starz series Camelot.

Studios take notice of those actors who can draw an audience, harnessing their star power to bring in big numbers and hence big bucks. It is plainly obvious that though fairly young, Lautner has a huge following and studios are hoping that his success so far will translate into major bankability at the box office as a leading man.

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In the movie Abduction Lautner plays Nathan Price, a young guy who discovers that the people who raised him aren’t his biological parents. This discovery sets into motion events that has Nathan running for his life. In the trailer Lautner has a lot of moves that are reminiscent of Matt Damon in the Jason Bourne franchise of films. In fact, Lautner could very well be the next action movie star as well as a leading man.

The presence of Sigourney Weaver and Alfred Molina lend the film Abduction some necessary gravitas but it’s Lautner’s skills that will be under the microscope. There is a lot riding on him to make this film successful. There is no doubt that Lautner’s presence alone will draw a huge female audience, but will that be enough to not only kickstart but sustain his career in Hollywood as a guy that has the power to draw in a wide demographic range of viewers?

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Abduction is the first role for Lautner as a leading man and I’m curious what the box office numbers will be on Monday for his first solo performance. The success of Abduction rests firmly upon his heavily muscled shoulders and this weekend’s outcome will definitely answer the question of whether or not Taylor Lautner can be a leading man. If the bevy of fans screaming in adulation is any indication then there is every possibility that he can be.

Abduction is in theaters today.

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