Sweet Little Lies

Ava ran hard, her bare feet pounding the ground, oblivious to the rocks that poked and slashed at the sensitive skin there. The night air was cool on her skin, but all she could feel was the horrible heat spreading from her hammering heart to each of her extremities. It was the heat that he wanted, the sound of her terrified heart that drew him to her.

The books lied, a little voice in the back of her head told her. It was all bullshit. You never should have believed a word of it.

“I know!” The frustrated cry came out as a sob. “I know, I’m such an idiot!”

She heard the air move behind her and ran harder, knowing that death was at her heels, knowing that there was no way she was going to escape, but knowing that she had to try anyway. The wounds on her neck and chest wept blood, as though to urge her on. Run faster! the red liquid seemed to say. He’s almost on us!

She almost made it to the bridge; she could see the lights of the city as the forest thinned around her. Then she blinked, and he was standing in front of her, so close that she almost couldn’t stop. With a cry in her throat she tried to turn, but his arms snaked out and snatched her, pulled her to him, and suddenly his flaming red eyes were inches away from hers.

“What’s wrong Ava?” his cruel voice mocked. “Don’t you love me? Don’t you want to spend eternity with me?”

Tears spilled down her cheeks, but she couldn’t find the strength to answer. The books lied. Vampires are monsters after all.

With a vicious laugh, the horrible, beautiful creature pushed his claws through the flesh of Ava’s arms and ripped open her throat with his fangs, and all she could think was, The books lied. The books lied.

Horror Block Unboxing and Review for February 2015

In February I was horribly behind on everything and you guys didn’t see any of my unboxing videos until the first week of March, so this month I tried really hard to get everything out before the end of the month. Unfortunately, Horror Block is stymieing that effort because it is shipped at a different time from everything else I receive. Since I started on a slightly different schedule than my last job, I am now out West for only a day or two when Horror Block arrives, meaning I don’t get to even look at it until it’s been sitting around the house for over two weeks. That said, I would rather the one block be super-late than if everything I get showed up while I’m out West, which happened a couple of times last year.

And now that I’ve gotten that little babble out of the way, why not check out the unboxing video for February’s Horror Block:

It might come as no surprise to you guys that I was disappointed in this block, because it seems like I’ve been disappointed in everything lately. It’s just been a bad couple of months for subscription boxes, let me tell you. But let’s go ahead and look at the breakdown anyway.

Giant Microbe “Zombie Virus”: Though not exactly something I want a bunch of, I do have to admit that these giant microbes are kinda funny, and it’s somehow suitable that we got a “zombie virus” in our Horror Block. This is the only one of these little guys that I’ve seen that is actually a fictional virus, and I’m curious as to whether they entirely made him up, or if he’s based on something else. Either way, plushy, red-eyed zombie virus retails at $10.
Bride of Frankenstein t-shirt: A lot of the Horror Block t-shirts have been bordering on horrible, in my opinion. This one isn’t terrible, but it’s also nothing my husband or I would really wear. I believe this was a Shirt Punch shirt, so we’re going to go with $10 for the value.
Zombie Containment Unit: So, I couldn’t actually see anything inside when I was examining it during the video, but apparently this is one of those toys that has a little figure inside all the goop, and said figure is a glow-in-the-dark shambler. You can collect ’em all for $3 per containment unit.
Vampire Teeth slap watch: I get the feeling my daughter is going to wind up with a collection of watches, since my husband and I don’t really wear them. Not too much to say about this item; it’s a slap-bracelet watch with vampire teeth on the watch face. Kinda cute, and worth about $8.
Bitten novel by Kelley Armstrong: Now, the thing is, I’ll probably like this book well enough, because while I prefer the kinds of monsters that rip your guts out, I can also appreciate the “sexy supernatural” versions, so this is an okay item for me. But I hold to what I said in the video, which is that a lot of Horror Block subscribers were probably not impressed in the slightest by this item. My husband, for example, would probably have thrown it in the trash if it was his subscription box alone. Poor form, Horror Block. The book retails at about $10.
Rue Morgue magazine: And as always, we have the magazine, which I don’t usually read, therefore making it a bit of a wash item. It’s a good item for someone who likes reading these types of magazines; it’s just not an item for me. About $10 is what these magazines go for.

Total approximate value of box: $51
Total cost to me: $38

It’s getting difficult to keep track of the costs of these boxes since they keep changing lately, but I went back in my credit card charges to find that last month’s Horror Block cost me just shy of $38, and that alone frustrates me to no end, because I’ve been finding what’s been in the boxes has not been worth that. Yes, technically, the value is there, but most of the items we’ve been getting are things we don’t want. The zombie virus is probably the only item that will actually end up amongst our collectibles, and though I will read the book it feels more like a bonus item because I wouldn’t have ever purchased it myself.

All in all, I was pretty disappointed with this box, and I’m definitely thinking about cancelling it since my husband hasn’t been particularly impressed either.

Did you receive Horror Block for the month of February? What did you think? What was your favorite item? Least favorite? Please share!

Also, a reminder that I am running a contest throughout the month of March. For each comment you post on my blog throughout the month, you will receive one entry toward a draw for a hard-copy of my zombie apocalypse novel, “Nowhere to Hide”! Please note that in order to accept the prize, I will need you to give me a mailing address where I can have the book sent. If the winner drawn did not intend to enter the contest and/or does not want the book, I will draw another name. Please also note that obvious spam/duplicate comments/etc. will not be counted toward an entry…play fair! And good luck! ❤

A to Z Challenge Day 5: Eric Northman (the Viking Vampire)

Before we go any further, I’m going to ask you not to judge me. The fact that he’s a vampire and he’s sexy as hell should not dissuade you from reading the rest of this post. Please, continue on.

A lot of people are probably apt to include the Sookie Sackhouse novels (which spawned the HBO television show, True Blood) on the long list of “Vampire Romance Novels that I Would Not Touch With a Fifty-Foot Pole”, but I think that’s an unfair assessment. I understand entirely if you’ve developed a bad taste in your mouth for anything involving vampires, and yes, there is an outrageously large quantity of god-awful vampire literature out there these days, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be willing to give something a chance every now and then.

I gave the Sookie Stackhouse novels a fair chance because I genuinely enjoyed the first season of True Blood, and I’m glad that I allowed both versions of this story into my life because they have – in my opinion – a very healthy mixture of sexy romance and “Holy crap, these vampires are crazy, heartless, evil monsters!” One of the characters who exemplifies this is Eric Northman, the thousand year old vampire who was turned back when he was still a viking prince. He’s my favorite character in the series for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that he is played on the show by the extremely handsome Alexander Skarsgård. Depending on which medium you partake in – the books or the show – things are a little different, but in both versions Eric can be a deliciously sexy romantic one moment and a vicious, torturous killer the next. That, if I’m being perfectly honest, is exactly how I like my vampires. I won’t hang my head in shame and try to hide the fact that I enjoy the sexy vampire trope, but I also like my monsters to be monsters, so I thoroughly enjoy this mixture that author Charlaine Harris has put together. Many of the characters in the books/show (not just the vampires, but the other supernaturals as well) fall into this sexy/psychopath category, but Eric is my favorite amongst them because of the extremes in his personality. There are moments during which he seems to be the most loving, protective, emotional individual in the Universe, and then the next moment he’s tearing apart an entire room full of people. He is an amazing blend of swoon-worthy and frightening-to-the-core.

Regardless of your feelings toward the “new” generations of vampires, I would definitely suggest both the books and the show. Give them a try…you might be pleasantly surprised.

“What I’m Currently…”

Since yesterday was such a serious topic, I though I’d be a little more lighthearted today. I think it’s time for an installment of “What I’m Currently…”

“What I’m Currently Watching…”
At the moment I’m about halfway through season five of True Blood, with intentions of watching season six. I’ve already seen season five, but I’m re-watching it in order to rekindle my memories of what happened since I recently read a slew of the books that the show is based on (the Sookie Stackhouse novels). The two mediums take very different paths, so it’s hard to keep track of both at once.

That said, I love the show as much as I love the books. Whereas the books are written entirely from Sookie’s point of view, the show tells the stories of all of the characters – the humans, the vampires, the shifters and weres, and everything in between. There are several completely unnecessary characters in the books who have their own whole subplots in the show. There’s even one character who dies in the first book, but in the show he’s a very important character and is, in fact, one of my favorites. It all works out very nicely.

I realize that vampires and other supernatural creatures are not for everyone, but this show is worth giving it a try, in my opinion. For one thing the vampires are not flighty, sparkly, perfect examples of sex gods and goddesses who can do no wrong. Yes, there’s some romance involved in the show, but the vampires are also cruel, dangerous, and occasionally downright evil. Even the vampires that we’re meant to like regularly plot, kill, and torture, amongst other things. It’s a nice change of pace to have vampires who are protagonists but are also still monsters.

The show has a lot of other good points, but I don’t need to list them all here (*cough*incredibly hot actors*cough*). Just trust me on this one. Give the show a chance if you haven’t already.

“What I’m Currently Playing…”
I’ve finally gotten around to playing Soul Sacrifice for the Playstation Vita, and I have to say that I’m hooked. At first I was a bit confused because it’s one of those games that just throws you into the fray without explaining anything, but bit by bit you get filled in and everything starts to make sense.

At the core the game actually has a very simple premise: kill monsters and either save or sacrifice their souls to affect your character’s health and defense, or magic and attack power. Adding to that are a whole host of “offerings” (which boil down to your magic spells), “sigils” that you can equip to affect your stats, and the ability to sacrifice your own flesh (in the form of stat losses and the like) in exchange for one-time bursts of power to defeat difficult enemies. The whole thing is wrapped up in a strange but very interesting story.

To evidence just how interesting, I spent over two hours just reading all the background info on how each of the monsters became monsters in the first place. Two hours.

“What I’m Currently Reading…”
Make way for the Queen of all nerds. Though I haven’t touched it in two weeks because it’s too clunky to bring out West with me, I’ve been working my way through Marvel Avengers: The Ultimate Character Guide. My husband got me a whole slew of these kinds of books for Christmas because I indicated that I’d like to learn more about different superheroes because I’m an enormous nerd.

Evidence!

The “Avengers” edition of these books gives bios and short histories of any Marvel character – hero or villain – who has ever been involved with any of the Avengers storylines. It really is quite interesting (if you’re an enormous nerd) but I have to say that the best part of reading this book is when my three-year-old daughter plunks down next to me and starts exclaiming, “Look! It’s IronMan! Look! It’s Hulk! Look! It’s Thor!”

And finally,
“What I’m Currently Thinking…”
…is that I’ll have plenty of time to watch, play, and read, now that I’m unemployed again. Ha ha ah ha ha ha…*sob sob*

(Just kidding, I’m not actually sobbing, don’t worry!)

Fiction Fragment Fridays: Risky Love and Bloodlust

Well I am very sad to say that for the time being I have completely run out of Final Fantasy: Returning Hope to share with you all. I hope to continue on with the story very soon in the future, but in the meantime I’ll need other things to post on Fiction Fragment Fridays. For today I’m giving you a pair of drabbles that I wrote a while back while experimenting with telling two sides of the same story.

Risky Love

I was completely and utterly in love with her.

I looked into her deep onyx eyes and was totally lost. Her face was pale and flawless against my trembling fingers; her lips were full and red as fresh, wild berries.

“You ready, sweetie?” she smiled seductively, sweeping long strands of violent red hair behind her ears.

I gulped and nodded; she grinned and leaned hungrily toward my neck.

Yes, I was irrevocably, unconditionally in love with her…and I was ready to become a vampire to be with her.

I just hoped she loved me enough to stop drinking in time…

Bloodlust

He smiled at me and I felt an intense surge of love for him. It wasn’t right. I shouldn’t be able to love, being the monster that I am. But when he smiled at me, I could feel the beautiful pain in my chest. Perhaps…perhaps I had a soul after all.

I sunk my fangs into his tensed throat, holding his body tight to mine, and drank. His blood was warm and sweet and…he was better than anything I’d ever tasted, or ever would.

Yes, I definitely loved him, but was that love stronger than my thirst for his blood?

Fiction Fragment Friday: NaNoWriMo 2013 Edition Part 5

Ladies and gentlemen, we come to the last Friday of the month, and thus the last fiction fragment of my NaNoWriMo novel. It is with great pride that I post this last excerpt, because as of last night I passed the finish line and officially completed my 6th NaNoWriMo, making 2013 my 5th win. I did not manage to reach the self-imposed goal that I was hoping to strive for, but given that I’ve spent a great deal of the last two weeks preparing for both my daughter’s birthday party and the upcoming holiday madness, I am quite satisfied to have simply passed the usual finish line, thank you very much.

And so, here we are: I give you one final excerpt from what has been a truly random NaNo novel.

—–

Given that it was so painful to move it took me a while to figure out that I was chained vertically to a wall. I was hanging from both wrists, just high enough so that my toes could touch the ground. I could relieve some of the pressure on my wrists by standing on the tips of my toes, but soon that would start to ache horribly as well, so I was in terrible pain either way. I soon found myself crying openly.

Fiction Fragment Friday: NaNoWriMo 2013 Edition Part 3

NaNo in this household has been a rough go so far this week. I started out strong on Tuesday, but spent Wednesday in the city, Christmas shopping, and spent most of yesterday feeling violently ill. As such, the little headway I was making has been completely destroyed. On the upside, I’ve plowed through the boring beginnings stage of the story and have finally moved into some of the interesting stuff, so here’s hoping that I’m able to pick things up and move forward at a decent speed from here on.

Until then, here’s another short clip of Bloodlust….the story that will need massive revisions in the future. 🙂

—–

For a brief moment I was sure that everything I’d been through so far was just a dream. I’d dreamed the letter from Andrew, dreamed the Manda had agreed to come to Mexico with me, dreamed leaving my home and my family in search of vampires. I groaned at the thought as I opened my eyes, and was shocked to see a whole group of people looking down at me. The first was Manda, looking very concerned behind her black-lined eyes. The second was Andrew, looking equal parts worried and ecstatic. The third was the woman who had led us into the bar; there was a funny little grin on her face that indicated she was getting a big kick out of something. And the fourth was Lucas.

I immediately scrambled to my feet, though the movement made my head rush again. I was so embarrassed, but I put a big grin on my face, laughed like it was all a terribly humorous joke, and straightened my clothes as nonchalantly as I could. “Guess I haven’t been eating enough!” I lied. “So sorry about that, everyone!”

Manda and Andrew looked at me like I was nuts. The vampire woman let out a bark of a laugh that made me feel both at ease and amused. She was a happy vampire, that was for sure.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Manda was asking me. I nodded to her with a smile plastered on my face, but in reality I was watching Lucas out of the corner of my eye. He hadn’t moved to say anything to me, and his face hadn’t changed since the second I’d opened my eyes. He looked calm, completely stress-free, and maybe even a little bored. That worried me. It worried me a lot.

“Would you like a glass of water?” Andrew suggested, trying to play chivalrous. I waved him off. “No, no, I’m fine, really,” I assured the crowd in general. “But I could definitely go for something a little stronger.” I tried to look cool, but I wasn’t sure it was working.

I did notice, however, that Lucas’ lip twitched a little when I mentioned having a drink. He didn’t smile, not really, but something changed in his face. He waved to someone off to the side of the room and suddenly there was a pin-thin girl with a tray of drinks standing next to him. She didn’t even look at him as he picked a wine glass off of the tray and she took off the second he was done with her. He leaned forward and offered me the glass with an almost painfully seductive look on his face. “For you, dear lady,” he said. His voice melted over me like warm butter. I thought I might faint again but instead I forced myself to smile and take the glass from his hand. For half a second during the transfer his fingers brushed mine. They were cool, like he’d had them in snow. Just like my books always described.

 

Liebster Award

Yay! A blogging award! It’s been a while since I received one of these, and they’re so much fun! Grizz-Tion recently nominated me for the Liebster Award, which is given to bloggers with fewer than 200 followers as a way to recognize them and support the pursuit of new followers to their blog. The rules of the award are as follows:

1. You must thank the person who nominated you.
2. You must answer the 11 questions your nominator has left for you.
3. You must nominate 11 other bloggers.
4. You must ask 11 questions of the bloggers you nominate.

So first things first, thank you very much Grizz-Tion! I found Grizz-Tion’s blog when we both participated in L. Palmer’s Hello’s and High Fives post. I was attracted to Grizz’s excellent short story, Kyoko the Book Thief. Go see it! Go see it now!

Second things second, I must answer the questions that Grizz left behind:

1. Long hair or short hair, on people?
Depends on the person. Generally I like short hair on men and my preference is for longer hair on women, but it depends on what looks best on the person. Some guys look good with longer hair, and some women look better with shorter hair.

2. Which would you rather do: walk 10 miles or be forced to run 100 yards…both as fast as you could for that pace?
I find myself trying to imagine exactly how long 100 yards is… I would probably go with the 100 yards because as hard as it would be, and as sick as I’d probably feel afterward, it would be over a helluva lot quicker. 10 miles is a long freakin’ way to walk!

3. If you found out that your role model was actually the opposite of what you looked up to, how would you react?
Probably with tears and accusations. 😛
Honestly though, I’m not sure. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve looked at someone as a “role model”. I have people I look up to, but I have a pretty firm grasp on the idea that no one is infallible and that there is no one out there who I’m going to agree with on every aspect, so I pretty much accept that people are going to disappoint me, basically. Does that sound cynical? It sounds cynical to me.

4. Writing by hand in a crowded park, or writing all alone on a computer with no one around, and why?
Depending on my mood, I’ve preferred both, but honestly I seem to write better when there are some distractions around me. Something about silence and being alone makes it hard for me to think…maybe because I’m so used to having a dozen people milling around me at work, or having my daughter running around and my husband talking to me while I’m home. I’ve adapted an ability to write while surrounded by noise and movement, so it’s actually become harder for me to do it in a peaceful environment.

5. Desert island – only 1 book to take with you, just 1. Why did you pick that one?
I’m going to get a little saucy on this one: I choose Survive! by Les Stroud, because…duh.

6. If you were faced with 1 movie monster/bad guy/villain, which would you want to fight and why that one? (Be specific, no generic answers like zombies or vampires. I’m looking for Lestat, or the actual Wolfman.)
I had to think about this one for quite a while. There are a lot of great movie monsters and villains out there, and the thought of fighting most of them fills me with dread. In the end, I think I’m going to go with Darth Vader. Why? Well for one thing he’d probably just force-choke me and be done with it. For another, come on…Darth Vader, man.

7. What would you want the conversation to revolve around if you could sit down and talk to Jesus?
I’d want to talk about how his good intentions had spawned countless forms of ignorance, intolerance, and bigotry all over the world, and suggest to him that he really ought to come back and bitch-slap a few billion people.

8. Who should Cap’n Reynolds truly be with – Zoe, Kaylee, Inara, Saffron, or just stay alone and be bad-ass?
Inara, all the way. He should still be bad-ass and foolish, but it frustrates me to no end when those two get all SEXUAL TENSION! and *nothing happens*.

9. Les Stroud or Bear Grylls?
Neither. My vote is for the cameramen who have to put up with Grylls.

10. Personal choice for the event that will end civilization? Basically, how do you want the apocalypse to start?
You would think that my vote would be for zombies, but I’m not naive…I know that I would be one of the first poor bastards who gets eaten. Instead lets go with a giant meteor slamming into Earth. Maybe I’ll be one of the lucky ones who manages to stow away on the specially-built spaceships that takes off in hopes of establishing a colony on Mars.

11. Killing people just became legal, but only for those labelled huntable material. Which 3 celebrities would you want to be labelled as such and why?
Paris Hilton because she is quite possibly the worst role model for young kids who has ever walked the planet. Justin Bieber because omfg I’m so sick of hearing about him and his music is awful. Kristen Stewart because (despite and regardless of any opinion anyone else might have about her) I think she is quite possibly the worst actress I’ve ever seen and I can’t believe she keeps getting roles.

Third, I have to nominate more bloggers. I’m only picking five, rather than eleven, because (to be blunt) I don’t have time to go through all the blogs I follow and try to pick out 11 who have fewer than 200 followers. That said, I invite anyone who wishes to go ahead and continue on with this award as though I nominated them!

1. Lit and Scribbles with Jae

2. bellscave

3. Daniel Koeker

4. Can I Have a Breakdown After I Finish the Dishes?

5. Musings from the Writer’s Desk

Fourth, I have to submit 11 questions of my own:

1. When did you figure out what you wanted to do for a living, and did you succeed with your choices?

2. Why did you start blogging? Has that reason stayed the same or changed as you’ve blogged?

3. If you could bring one fictional character to life and have them be madly in love with you, who would you choose?

4. Be totally honest: do you really hate the sexy vampire trend, or do you secretly kinda dig it?

5. Tell me about something you’ve always wanted to do but never did, and why not?

6. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or My Little Pony?

7. Confess a guilty pleasure that you think other people won’t really understand.

8. Pick a pop culture phenomenon (a book, a movie, a video game, etc) that you absolutely hate and explain why.

9. Laid out before you are all the possible pizza ingredients in the world. What kind of pizza do you make?

10. Describe your perfect day of rest and relaxation.

11. Imagine your dream job (say, being a published author). Now imagine the most embarrassing/socially unacceptable version of your dream job (say, writing erotic literature for porno magazines). If you were offered this embarrassing version of your job and you knew that it was the only chance you were ever going to get at your dream job, would you do it?