Breaking up with Vampire Diaries is hard to do

Have you ever heard the term hate watching? I first heard it from my daughter Sarah. She was watching Restaurant Stakeout and Mystery Diners on Food Network, shows I cannot stand and which I know she doesn't like either. So why, I asked, are you watching them? "Hate watching", she said, and followed that up with, "Don't hate me, bro."

Hate watching. Finding yourself watching something because you can't help yourself not to do it, even though you ate it. What an excellent term, and how very descriptive of what I've been doing with Vampire Diaries for a while now.














When Vampire Diaries first began, I wasn't interested in watching, but a former friend convinced me

to give it a try, and there just happened to be a marathon going on, so I did just that - and immediately fell in love with Damon Salvatore.

















He's handsome and sexy, and he has the most incredible blue eyes. And he's a vampire! What's not to love! I had already started to read the books, which I liked, and I realized immediately that major changes had been mind. Why, I don't know. Because the writers could? I've never understood why you like something, but feel the need to change the source material to something unrecognizable. That generally doesn't end well. It might work for a while, but sooner or later it fails. Look at True Blood and Dexter.

Let me state categorically that I have never liked Nina Dobrev as Elena, and she is a far cry from what the character was meant to be. Having said that, I preferred her to be with Stefan, and far away from Damon. I was not pleased when she left Stefan for Damon. I liked the unencumbered, bad boy, not the love-struck idiot he sometimes was.

One of my favorite scenes shows Damon doing a solo dance which was incredibly sex - right before he killed Vicki. I didn't care for her. Her brother Matt was a better character.

Over the few years I've been watching Vampire Diaries, it has decidedly gone downhill. Elena morphs from dead to vampire to alive in the blink of an eye. Stefan's stint as a Ripper - their term for a homicidal vampire who lives to kill - was ridiculous. What they did with Alaric, and the arc with his wife, was horrible. And Jeremy - I just wanted to kill him most of the time, especially doing his poor poor pitiful me periods. Bonnie.... not the same lovely girl as in the book, and often she was too judgmental for my taste, and although I like Caroline better, she had her moments. I liked when she slept with Klaus, whom I used to hate, but he grew on me. In fact, I like The Originals better than I do Vampire Diaries now. How sad is that?

The whole story arc with that ridiculous Kai (sp?) made me want to throw things at the TV, him and his awful family. And Alaric lost another girlfriend, this one pregnant. Tyler became a hybrid, and then not. Asshole and then... still asshole. Matt the asshole. Jeremy the asshole...

Where will it stop? Good grief. One day, I came to the realization, with the help of Sarah, that my continued watching of this show is ridiculous. After the end of the last season, where Elena goes into a deep slumber for maybe 60 years (although we know that won't happen, somehow she'll be brought back from that), I realized the next season will be filled with self-pitying Damon, and other stupid stuff.

The thought of watching that... well, I just can't do it.

So, although I love you, I'm letting you go. Be happy, Damon. The rest of you, I don't care what happens to you....

Rest in peace, Damon.

Vampire Bite Blog Hop

Velcome! And no, I don't want to drink your blood lol

Well, maybe later :)

When I saw the opportunity to participate in this blog hop about vampires, how could I refuse?  I couldn't!  Even though I have another one going on the same day, for Valentine's Day. But double your pleasure, right?  So now, on to my second Blog Hop! Stay tuned to find out how to win! And don't forget to check out the other participants of this fun blog hop here!

So, let's talk about vampires, shall we?

I have had a love affair with vampires ever since I read Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and watched the Bela Lugosi classic film version of the book. I thought he was intense and very sexy. When the film first came out, back in the 30’s, so did a lot of women. Bela had the perfect voice and accent to play the Transylvanian count. He came from Hungary, where he was actually a very successful and renowned stage actor. He came to Hollywood with high hopes, but things didn’t quite work out as he hoped, owing in large part to the very thick accent he could never lose. This was compounded by a drug addiction gained after surgery, which haunted the rest of his life, forcing him to take less than stellar roles, as many actors are forced to do to make a living. He died only a couple of days into the shooting of his last film—Plan 9 From Outer Space—and it shows. Low budget to begin with, they replaced him with somebody’s dentist, who was taller than Lugosi, and had him spend most of the film with his cape drawn over his face. The plot was almost non-existent, and ridiculous, and this rates as one of the worst films I’ve ever seen.

But I digress.

I also fell in love with Barnabas Collins, the tragic vampire from the long-ago ABC soap opera Dark Shadows, which was certainly unique in its use of the supernatural in a daytime series. I devoured the books, and drooled over the star, Jonathan Frid. There’s a story told in my family that I scared my little brother (who is seven years younger than I am) with tales of my vampire friends. So badly that he hung a crucifix from his bed for protection. Nice story, but patently untrue, and only told years after the fact. I’d be willing to swear my brother never possessed a crucifix. We never went to church, even.

But I loved vampires. Very much. So it was only natural that my first book should feature one. Originally, his name was Derek DeVille. I chose DeVille because that is the pseudonym that Dracula uses when he goes to London, in the novel. Derek was the name of a friend of mine’s young son, and I liked it. The two names fit. Derek he stayed for a long time. But back when I wrote it, there were no e-books, and getting published was a lot harder than it is today. So Dark Love was put aside for other pursuits. One of those was role playing, in games at such venues as Live Journal, Greatest Journal, and now Insane Journal.

For one of those games, I needed to make a vampire character. I couldn’t think of another name, so I used Derek DeVille, which was familiar to me. I figured what the heck, it’s still my character, and nobody would ever make the connection. Except that a strange thing happened. The role playing Derek took on a life and character all his own. One distinctive from the book Derek. And I decided he needed a book of his own.

Fast forward a bit. I’ve begun to be published, and I ask myself: what about Dark Love? I dust if off and think about submitting it. But I realize I can’t do it with a second Derek DeVille, not when I want to use the other one. So I need a new name. The first name I came up with was Gabriel Brandon, and I tried that, but it didn’t feel right. I finally settled on Eric Vargas, and I really liked that. So Eric he became and Eric he is.

Eric is blond, with long hair, usually tied in a tail at the nape of his neck. I love long hair in men—no lie. I find Eric very sexy. So does my heroine, Samantha Kane. Samantha is the name that would have been given to my son Chris, had he been born a girl. And as he was the last, I’ll never have a Samantha, except in this book.

I set the story in St. Louis, because I live there. The museum doesn’t exist, except in my mind. I used actual settings for parts of it, including the old Chain of Rocks Bridge. I gave Samantha my interest in vampires, and the Tarot, and my red hair.

Parts of the book were hard to write. In fact, there’s one chapter that even I have trouble reading. But sometimes you just have to go where the characters take you. Sometimes, too, it’s awesome how things work out when you write. I was stuck on the ending, not sure where to go, when something that was in the news at the time kept demanding my attention, and my brain put things together, and wrote an ending. Only after it was written, did I realize that it had been foreshadowed earlier in the novel. I just love when things work out like that. I won’t tell you what it was, that would be spoiling, and I try not to do that.

To this day, I still love vampires and love to write about them. I have other vampire characters to love and explore. And werewolves too. It’s a lifelong love, I’m sure.

Dark Love was published in January 2011, but late last year I pulled it from the publisher, and am currently seeking a home for it.

I’m still fascinated by vampires, in film and books. I’ve read all the Twilight books (and refuse to watch the films because the casting for Edward was so atrocious, plus the previews I saw looked like a bad made-for-TV movie). I’ve read some of the Vampire Diaries books and was talked into watching the series. I have to say this about that – I really don’t care for the series. There is only one reason why I even bother to watch, and his name is Damon Salvatore, aka Ian Somerhalder. He is sex on legs, and to die for! He is my avatar on FB, and incredibly gorgeous! He is also my dream casting choice to play Judas in the film version of Revelations. If he ever leaves the show… well, the show will die, so it doesn’t matter.

Another show I loved that featured a vampire was Moonlight. Mick St. John was to die for! How criminal that the show only ran for one season - which I happen to own, I might add. Good thing Alex O'Loughlin is in Hawaii now, shooting Hawaii 5-0, although I still miss Mick.

And of course, I'd be remiss at not mentioning the vampire whose actor stole my heart almost twenty years ago! I'm sure you'll recognize this very handsome face!

That’s enough about vampires for now, I know you have lots of other authors to visit, so have a great time!  Oh wait, the giveaway, right?

I will give two readers their choice of my books. If you want to play, tell me who is your favorite vampire and why. Don't forget to leave an email address, otherwise I have no way of reaching you!  Have fun!

Sweet Genius, Vampire Diaries and more Hawaii 5-0

Think of the new show Sweet Genius as Chopped for desserts. The comparison was made in the promos, so it's  not a farfetched idea. Of course there are differences, and that is what makes the show unique in its own way.

So, what's the first ingredient in a show such as this? A great host! They've certainly found that in celebrated cake designer Ron Ben Israel. I confess to being unaware of him before I saw the first commercial for Sweet Genius, but in my own defense, I haven't exactly been in the market for a wedding cake either.

He is, to put it simply, gorgeous! There's something about him that draws me, something in his eyes. I could not keep away from the show if I tried! He is very personable and had a commanding stage presence. I've watched two episodes now, and enjoyed them both.

The format is similar to Chopped, but there is no basket of mandatory ingredients, per se. You start with four chefs, who are intro'd as on Chopped, and Ron explains that there are three rounds: Frozen, Baked and Chocolate. The first round comes with a mandatory ingredient, and an inspiration which the chefs must work from. In the first episode, the inspiration was darkness. Other inspirations have been a pearl in an  oyster, a Fabergé egg, and a cat. During each round, there will be other mandatory ingredients which will be presented to the chefs, which they must incorporate into their dishes. At the end of each round, Ron (who is the sole judge) tastes each dish and critiques. He decides which one does not measure up and he informs that chef that he or she is not a sweet genius, and they leave.



If it's not obvious by now (and I'm sure it is) I'm quite taken with the host. Er, I mean the show. No, I said it right the first time, it's the host. I do like the show, yes, but he makes it for me. I also watch Just Desserts on Wednesday nights, but I have to say that Ron is a better host than Gail is. I like her fine, but I don't think she has the strength or charisma that Ron possesses. I'm intrigued with his accent, but I haven't placed it yet. I just hope he talks more and more in coming episodes.

Okay, moving on.

*********Spoiler Alert***********

Vampire Diaries started its third season. Not surprising in a way, but somewhat in others. As you may remember, the last episode of season 2 was a veritable blood bath and free for all. So now, we have Elena and Jeremy with no living relatives. The writers smoothed over that dilemma quickly by moving the plot up to Elena's 18th birthday (so far the issue of Jeremy as minor has not arisen, but more on that). Alaric is camping out with them, or something. He's sleeping on the couch because he can't bear to sleep in either the dead parents' room or his dead gf's room. I don't know if he's supposed to be a surrogate parental authority but by the second episode, he's out of there and ready to throw in the spiritual towel. Quitter!

As you'll also recall, at the end of episode 2, Damon was bitten by a were, and that is pretty fatal for a vamp.  It looks like curtains for Damon (except we know better, seriously the show would fold immediately should they ever lose Damon Salvatore), but Elena doesn't realize this, so she gives him a last good-bye kiss. Surprise, he lives! And now he's tasted her sweet flesh, he wants more, and he intends to fight for it. While Elena, although pining for Stefan (the martyr sacrificed himself yet again, such a good boy) she is drawn to Damon, which is obvious. As I said, Stefan's doing the martyr thing, having agreed to go with Klaus in exchange for saving Damon's life. So now they're on a rampage in Tennessee and Stefan is killing with abandon. Damon and Alaric are tracking him through news clippings, but Elena finds out, and she still believes in him. A road trip to Tennessee with Damon leads him to believe the same, after a face to face with his brother. So I predict another road trip in the future, maybe some hot Damon/Elena action (any coincidence that they are allegedly dating in real life? Could be publicity driven, who knows. Ian can do better, I think, he's gorgeous, she's just okay).

So, what about the rest of the cast? Do they still exist. They do (except for Bonnie who really hasn't been  seen yet). Jeremy  (who died and was resurrected by Bonnie) is seeing things he shouldn't be seeing - namely his dead girlfriends. He's creeped out, and he's creeping out Matt as well. Caroline and Tyler did the horizontal mambo, and the next morning Tyler's mom caught Caroline - literally - with darts in her back. One vamp down! She tested Tyler with vervain but it didn't affect him cause he's a werewolf. She called in someone named Bill, who's being played by the guy who played Noah Bennett on Heroes, and they have Caroline locked up. Tyler puts two and two together, and on the night of the full moon, he forces his mother to witness his transformation. Howdya like them apples, Mrs. Lockwood? And in the kicker, we learn that Bill.... duh duh duh...... is Caroline's daddy. Interesting twist. We'll see how this plays out. We need to get Bonnie back in the plot, and I believe Elijah is unaccounted for. With Jeremy seeing dead people, who knows what past cast members might be resurrected? And of course there is Katherine. I don't remember what happened to her at the end of season 2, that's how little I like her.

Chopped Champions has its grand finale tonight, more about that later. Just Desserts is interesting, but I can't say it's the best Top Chef I've seen. I'm interested in seeing Top Chef Texas when it starts, and also the Next Iron Chef. I notice Sarah recorded The Chew, so I'm sure I'll be seeing that too - Carla (think Top Chef and hooty hoo and  you'll remember her) and Mario Batale are the only names I recognized in their line up. But those are two good names.

*****more spoilers*****

I watched the second Hawaii 5-0 today. I love this show so much! Especially, but not entirely for Alex  O'Loughlin. But primarily.

The new governor - former lieutenant governor - reinstated 5-0 after evidence came to light that McGarrett did not shoot the governor, although it was not conclusive enough to pin it on Wo Fat either. But the governor made it clear that things have changed, and that Hawaii 5-0 will have accountability. Today he proved he meant it by assigning a new member to the team, a former Homeland Security agent. Steve isn't thrilled and tries to keep her at a distance. But she grows on him. Which might be a good thing, since Kono's review before IA doesn't go well, and she's stripped of everything. I'm sure in future episodes we'll see more of the late governor/Wo Fat/McGarrett's dad connection. The greatest thing about the second episode is a scene in which Steve, Danno and the new girl are riding horses into a cult compound, and the boys start their typical bickering and she turns to them and asks "HOW LONG YOU BEEN MARRIED"  Best line ever. Again.

Okay, next new show. Person of Interest. Thursday nights, CBS. Michael Emerson and Jim Caviezel lead the  cast. I would never have discovered this show had it not been for Hawaii 5-0, cause that's the only time I'm on CBS, and it was just a fluke that I saw the promo. But something about it intrigued me, so I decided to give it a chance, and I'm glad I did.

At the beginning, Reese (Jim C) looks like a homeless person when he's attacked by young thugs on the subway. They picked the wrong person and he smacks them down handily, drawing the attention of the police. One female cop in particular is a recurring character, and she seems to be onto Reese. Finch (Michael E) is a billionaire with a lot of time and money on his hands. They have one thing in common - people think they're both dead. In a nutshell, Finch recruits Reese to his cause. He has a computer which was programmed to look for areas of trouble after 9-11. Every night it produces a list of non-essential data which it dumps, but these are actually people. So Finch retrieves them, one at a time. All he has is a social security number, but no knowledge of what will happen. Is this the victim, or the perp? Or the catalyst? Reese's job is to watch and prevent something from happening.

I really enjoyed the first show. It seems to be well written, fast paced, and definitely interesting, despite having  commercials (we watched it live, normally I record everything). It's also from JJ Abrams, who brought us the Star Trek movies, plus some TV shows I'm not really familiar with, so we'll see how this goes. But I'll definitely be watching it again. It comes on right before Sweet Genius, so I have two hours of TV on Thursday nights to look forward to, and two hours of crocheting.


I think that's it for now. I can't imagine what I've really forgotten. Whatever it is, I'll pick it up later.

Until next time, take care!

♥ Julie