Dylan Dog: Dead of Night

I've been seeing the trailer for Dylan Dog the last couple of weeks, and finally looked up the background on the movie and the comic. Originally it was published in Italy, but later was brought to the U.S. by Dark Horse Comics. The cover to the left is for the almost 700 page Dylan Dog Case Files, which was published in 2009. It includes the comic editions from Italy, finally printed in English. They give this description of Dylan Dog:

An ex-cop who now battles against evil as a "nightmare investigator," Dylan Dog is unlike any private eye you've ever met. If creatures from beyond the unknown are after you, and if you can hire him, he just might save your life.




The movie description from their Facebook page:
Brandon Routh stars as Dylan Dog, world famous private investigator specializing in affairs of the undead. His PI business card reads "No Pulse? No Problem." Armed with an edgy wit and carrying an arsenal of silver and wood-tipped bullets, Dylan must track down a dangerous artifact before a war ensues between his werewolf, vampire and zombie clients living undercover in the monster infested backstreets of New Orleans.

The actor who plays Dylan is the same one who played Superman in Superman Returns. He looks a little more edgy, and hopefully will be. This picture has a steampunk feel to it!


The movie opens April 29th, and I think it looks pretty cool. Here are a few links for more information:

Dylan Dog on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/DylanDogDeadofNight

Dylan Dog Film YouTube Channel:
Trailers and TV Spots
http://www.youtube.com/DylanDogFilms

IMDb Page:
Actors, Plot & Pictures
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1013860/

~Brenda

Where I've Been Hanging Out

I've been working more on my freelance writing, and my fiction, since the New Year, hence the lack of posts, especially reviews. I've been very active on Good Reads, and it's been working really well for me to put a book on as I start it under "current reads" then do a quick review when I'm finished. You can find my page here: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2844600-brenda

I also write for the Old Fashioned Living.com blog and website, so you can find me there too.

The blog is here: http://oldtips.blogspot.com/

I share recipes, cooking, garden and home tips on the blog. My articles are on the website, and I usually

Saturday I was hanging out at the high school auditorium where my son was in their production of Camelot. He's been doing tech for the plays the last couple years, but this was his first on stage performance as King Arthur's herald. He only had 2 lines, but he did a great job yelling them out on stage. Here is a picture of his scene:

I loved this picture though because he looks so suave, and pleased with himself:) The entire musical was great fun, and I adore anything related to King Arthur's legend.


I will try to post more often. It's almost spring, and I've started thinking about gardening. I think I might do some blog posts on herb lore and use. I love growing herbs, and cooking with them, but the lore is also fascinating.

~Brenda

Guest Post: Why Donate the Proceeds

Please welcome author Heather Kuehl with her wonderful reason for donating the proceeds of her new book, Blood Moon.

Dear Readers,

Once Eternal Press accepted Blood Moon, I was faced with a decision. I had a feeling that this book would do well, especially after the cliff hanger at the end of Malevolent Dead. I know, it sounds like I'm tooting my own horn, but it was for a good reason. I had wanted to give back to MUSC Children's Hospital for a while, but never had the means to do so. I felt, with Blood Moon, I could finally do that.

Why MUSC Children's Hospital? Two years ago I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, Cameron, but around 2 weeks of age I noticed something that was really hard to miss. He was vomiting up his food. The pediatrician thought it was acid reflux, and blew off my "vomiting baby," thinking that I was over reacting because I was a first time mom. I don't blame the pediatrician for thinking this; all first time parents overreact at one time or another. But I just knew in my gut that something was wrong. A week later and nothing was working, so I told the pediatrician that I wanted to do a test they had mentioned before where they do an ultrasound on his stomach to see if something was wrong. The doctor agreed and we were sent to MUSC to do the ultrasound. I had no clue what I was looking at, but the second I saw the white mass on the otherwise dark screen I knew something was wrong.

My son had a condition known as pyloric stenosis. It's where the muscle exiting the stomach closes, refusing to allow nutrients into the body. Prior to the early 1900's, babies would have starved to death from this because doctors didn't know what was wrong. They used to assume it was a milk allergy or some other ailment. Luckily, it was 2008 and the doctors knew exactly what to do. We were immediately admitted into the hospital, and seconds after we arrived in the ER the surgeon was there to meet us and explain what was going to happen. Once we got settled into the hospital room, the surgeon came back in and asked if we had any more questions. We saw him several times before the surgery actually took place the next day, and every time he was very nice and patient with us. The hospital staff was equally kind, even the nurses at 2am who had to help me change Cameron as he continued to vomit the nasty old formula that was in his stomach. No matter where we went, everyone was so nice. The day after his surgery Cam was eating like a champ and barely spitting up, and we were sent home with the surgeons home phone number incase we had any questions or concerns. A week later Cameron was fully healed, with only two little scars from the surgery.

Cameron just turned two back in November, and hasn't been affected at all by his condition or surgery. The doctors said that this problem is one that will never reoccur, so we don't have to worry about him having surgery for pyloric stenosis again. His two little scars are now just one scar, with one of them fading so much that I have to search for almost fifteen minutes in order to find it.

Ever since that day, I wanted to give back to MUSC Children's Hospital for their kindness, and helping my son. That is why I donated the proceeds for Blood Moon to them.

To learn more about MUSC Children's Hospital, please visit http://www.musckids.com/
To learn more about Pyloric Stenosis, please visit http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/digestive/pyloric_stenosis.html


Blood Moon is the third book in the Sarah Vargas series, picking up right where Malevolent Dead left off.

Blood Moon Blurb: After she broke her contract with the Blood Moon Corporation, Sarah Vargas knew that it was only a matter of time before they came for her. What she didn't know is what lengths they would go to make sure that she had no where to run. Everyone Sarah has every relied on is in danger during a time when friends become enemies, and Sarah quickly realizes that the Blood Moon Corporation will never give up until she is dead. The Blood Moon Corporation is coming, and even Sarah doesn't think she can make it out alive.

Buy Links
Blood Moon: Book Three of the Sarah Vargas Series, Eternal Press
Malevolent Dead: Book Two of the Sarah Vargas Series, Eternal Press
Fade to Black: Book One of the Sarah Vargas Series, Eternal Press
Promises to Keep, Eternal Press

Coming Soon
Epiphany, Decadent Publishing (TBA 2011)

Visit Heather Kuehl online at http://www.heatherkuehl.com/, http://www.heatherkuehl.blogspot.com/ or follow her on Facebook or Twitter.

Reaping What I Sow: Pink to Black

My daughter was the first grand daughter on both sides of the family. She was showered in pink, and ruffles...all things girly. My husband laughed and said when she was a teen she'd go Goth and everything would turn black. I giggled and said that was okay with me. Last year she announced her favorite color was now blue, and could we not buy her pink. No problem. Last week she spent money she was given for her 11th birthday. She found a new favorite doll:



You can't tell from the picture, but her skin is a light green. She's Frankie Stein, the daughter of Frankenstein and the Bride of Frankenstein. She also bought her:



This is Clawdeen Wolf. Don't you love her little ears? The one Emily bought was a little bit different than this one. Both dolls are awesome, and they have a website with games and activities. We printed out two bookmarks the other day. They have a note on the site that books are coming soon.

You can see it coming can't you? The Goth phase is around the corner, and what did I expect when I'm such a huge fan of all things paranormal? I'm okay with this, as long as she doesn't get a tattoo or radical piercing before she's 18. I'll confess that I wish this style had been around when I was a teenager because I would have been there, and done that:)

~Brenda

*Head Explosion*

The last two weeks has been very stressful, which has resulted in my having Writer's Block. Yes, my head may have exploded, which brought to mind this youtube video my 17 year old and I STILL laugh at, and I'm pretty sure he showed it to me at least two years ago.



Raisinettes, anyone?

~Brenda

YA Review: Angelfire

Angelfire
Author: Courtney Allison Moulton
Young Adult Title
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Released: February 15, 2011

Summary: First there are nightmares. Every night Ellie is haunted by terrifying dreams of monstrous creatures that are hunting her, killing her. Then come the memories. When Ellie meets Will, she feels on the verge of remembering something just beyond her grasp. Only Will holds the key to Ellie's memories, whole lifetimes of them, and when she looks at him, she can no longer pretend anything was just a dream.

I asked to review Angelfire because I was fascinated by the blurb for the book. It's the first in a series but didn't have the feel of some "first" stories. The main characters, Ellie and Will, are complex and fascinating. Will is mysterious, protective, brooding, and sexy without meaning to be. His personality is calm and steadfast, but yet he is powerful and will stop at nothing to protect Ellie. She is a typical teenager with school pressures, relationship drama and parental struggles. Once she discovers what she has to fight to protect her world, those pressures don't seem so difficult. In some ways she reminds me of Buffy during the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer minus the snarky vampires. I really enjoyed the interaction between the characters.

Ellie and Will's relationship is complicated and the author made my heart go out to both of them as the story revealed more and more about their past. Issues of trust and honesty are explored, as well as a theme of doing what is right for the greater good rather than personal needs.

Angelfire is fast paced and full of kick butt action, romance, angst, mystery and suspense. I recommend it to fans of Melissa Marr, Maggie Stiefvater, Karen Kincy and Claudia Gray.

Mom notes: This book is for mature teens, 16 and older. Though there aren't any sex scenes there are references to sex and drinking. It fits with the context of the scenes and shows the life Ellie and her friends have as Seniors in high school, but I wouldn't recommend it for younger teens. Over all the story is one of making the right choices, and while there is a rough relationship between Ellie and her father, her mom is a good parent who's trying to understand her daughter. I really appreciated that they talked over things, even when Ellie couldn't confide the entire truth.

About the Author
Courtney Allison Moulton lives in Michigan, where she is a photographer and spends all her free time riding and showing horses. She has always loved reading about ancient mythologies, studying dead languages, and telling scary, romantic stories. Angelfire is her debut novel.

You can learn more about Courtney on her website:
http://www.courtneyallisonmoulton.com/

Tracey O'Hara Does It Again

Death's Sweet Embrace
A Dark Brethren Novel #2
Author: Tracey O'Hara
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Eos
Release Date: 1/25/2011

Summery: After centuries of secret conflict, humans and parahumans have reached an uneasy truce. But unspeakable evil now threatens the tenuous peace. Teenaged shapeshifters are being slaughtered by a sadistic serial killer who rips their still-beating hearts from their paralyzed bodies. A task force forms to halt the madness, including the vampiric Aeternus Antoinette Petrescu, as well as Kitt Jordan and Raven Matokwe, members of enemy Animalian tribes . . . and forbidden lovers. A centuries-old blood feud has divided their shapeshifting peoples, and if their passion is discovered it will doom them both. But past hostilities must be put aside, for the killer they seek is but the first sign of the all-consuming nightmare of The Dark Brethren.

I asked to review Death's Sweet Embrace because I had bought and reviewed the first book in the series, Night's Cold Kiss in August (review here) and wanted to continue the series. First, for fans of Antoinette, let me say that she's in this book kicking ass and helping out fellow team members with training, morale and yes, line dancing. She's awesome.

This second book in the series brings back a lot of the characters we met in the
first book, as more is discovered about the Dark Brethren. The plot revolves around finding a serial killer that appears to be connected to the The Dark Brethren in some way. I have to say that I did not see the identity of the killer coming until the author laid it out. No clue. The twists and turns in this part of the story are complex, but not confusing. The action keeps the story fast paced and on track.

The main characters in this story are Kitt Jordan and Raven Matokwe, past lovers with issues that were never resolved. One aspect I loved of Raven's character was his role as a father. We don't often get to see this with heroes in urban fantasy. Raven's interaction with his two teenage daughters is touching, and it helps define his character.

I felt the tone of Death's Sweet Embrace was different than the first book in the series, but that turned out to be a good thing. I loved both books, and appreciated that the author brought different issues, characters and mystery to this story. It was a fast paced, action filled read with sexy romance that was an added benefit but didn't dominate the story. It also revealed new characters and continued setting up the series, which is really cool.

If you are a fan of urban fantasy, or paranormal romance you'll love Death's Sweet Embrace. I also felt it could be a stand alone story for those that haven't read the first book.

You can visit Tracey at her website:
http://www.traceyohara.com/

She's also at Supernatural Underground here:
http://supernaturalunderground.blogspot.com/

~Brenda