Calling All New Kindle Owners -- Egypt, 1906 now available for Kindle!!!

For the low, low price of $.99!!!

What happens when Miranda and her brother, Cray, encounter something older than the Egyptian pyramids? Find out right here!!

Writing Wednesday -- It's All In the Music!

I know this post is a little late, but I've taken advantage of the Christmas holiday to sleep in late -- er, I mean, get lots of other stuff done. Yeah, that's my story ;-)

Nothing like seeing True Grit to inspire on a rainy day like today! What did I think of True Grit? Please tune in on Movie Monday for the review. But, I will mention I saw a preview today and all I have to say is that thank the gods that a good exorcism movie is back! Check it out:

Yay!! I mean, I know we've had exorcism movies throughout the years, but this one looks really, really good. Anthony Hopkins, Ciaran Hinds -- stellar cast so far. And demons! Yay!!

Okay, so -- music. I just cannot imagine my life without a soundtrack. Have you ever been in a real-life scene, like a family gathering, or a moment with your child, significant other, or friends, and if said moment had been played out on the Big Screen, you know just what song would go with it? Yeah, me too ;-)

So it's no secret that music has been a big source of inspiration to me, not only as I write, but it's also helped develop characters and plot itself. "Cry Little Sister" gave me the idea for Miranda's big brother, Cray. No really -- it's true! "Long, Long Way From Home" and "Gallow's Pole" by Led Zepplin put Cray in jail, to be rescued by Mirrie. It feels so weird to write that out loud -- who would have thought that a song could inspire a significant point in a character's development, but there it is.

As far as what I listen to when I write, that runs the gamut. I'm not really into alot of modern music -- I could trip over a Maroon 5 or Muse song and not know it. I'm an 80's girl (like you couldn't guess!), so The Lost Boys soundtrack, and the Fright Night soundtrack have heavy rotation at the Hadaway house. Also songs like:

Middle of the Road
Boy In the Box
Addicted to Love
Notorious
I'm Alright
Hurting Kind
She Sells Sanctuary

When I edit, though, or when I'm really concentrating on a scene in a story, I can't listen to heavier music, or music with alot of words to it. I might switch to classical, or something a bit softer, like Kate Bush or my all-time favorite band -- Mr. Mister (who just recently released their 4th album, Pull -- it got shelved back in 1990 but the guys banded together, bought the rights, and it's out now!! It's awesome!!).

Speaking of writing and editing, I should be getting back to that now, but I just wanted to share a post today as to where some of my ideas come from, and to whom I listen as I'm spinning my tale. Oh, and this song, like 25 years later, never fails to get me revved up for a night out:

Happy Holidays!!!!!

Okay -- yes, Jamie, I still need to email you and get your addy so I can send you The Tale of the Vampire Bride -- I haven't forgotten!

Company is coming into town tonight so I'll be busy with them, editing, and writing, and holidays, so I'm signing off for now until after the Solstice.  I hope you guys enjoy your holidays, whichever one you celebrate, and take time out to do something good for yourself ;-)

Free Book Friday Winners (And A Slice of My New Work, Return)!

Congratulations to Jamie and Northern Frights Publishing -- the two lucky winners whose names were picked from a hat by Kiddo and her playdate friend (nothing but the best scientific methods over here, gang! ;-)

Okay, so with the holidays coming up and I'm taking a break from Free Book Giveaways because I know blogging will be slow while people celebrate time with their families and another year on this wonderful, crazy planet we call earth.

In the meantime, I'm still editing Return. Why is it taking so long, you may ask?  Well, I'm still getting my writing groove on, and I've not been working on it every day.  I know, I know -- but I am doing my best and still on target to hand it to my publisher by Jan 1 (heaven help her!).

So here's a slice from Return.  This scene appears at the beginning of the novel and features two characters from Release -- Denny and Ness (Vanessa).  Vanessa is Miranda's best friend, and Denny is the best friend of Mirrie's twin brother, Cray.  Both are Nephilim (not vampires).

I'm also introducing this scene because it was edited by Boone Brux, and Alaskan herself, and she was very helpful in showing me what I did right and things that might need to be changed (you can do research but sometimes, the internet and books don't tell you things that the natives know, ya know? ;-).

So here it is, from Chapter 2 of Return:

“Still don’t understand what the hell we’re doin’ here, Den,” Vanessa cracked her mouth as if she were partaking in that most annoying human habit, chewing gum.

“We are here, my Nephilim sister,” Denny held his annoyance in check as he answered her, “because Cray told me he wanted to spend a few days with Miranda, alone. We are to go back before Matthew’s arrival-“

“Yeah, yeah.” Crack! Snap! “I get all that malarkey. And of course I’m gonna be good when Matt gets into town -- I won’t make any jokes about his drowned rat of an ex-wife an’ all.” Denny rolled his eyes at the characterization of the deceased wife of Miranda’s fiancé. “But why the hell are we in Anchorage, Alaska? Jeez, Den – there ain’t nothin’ up here? Give me Times Square any day. Not to mention that we fit in much better now ‘n’ we ever did, with all those people dressed in black with the dyed hair and eyes and all. Awww look, I just got some of this sea-mud on my nice leather boots!”

Denny sighed inwardly. It was bad enough that major changes were coming to their “family” -- Mirrie getting married, finally, and moving away to start a family of her own. Then there was the boredom, the purposelessness Denny felt inside his own self.  Added to that he had to entertain Vanessa -- no mean feat, considering her tastes -- he only hoped that stray teenagers would wander down to the inlet to provide some amusement.

“I thought you might enjoy the fact that we get to stay on earth while there’s a bit of daylight around before the sun comes up, Vanessa. Besides, the water’s nice,” he gestured to Cook Inlet, just off to the right from where they stood on the beach.  Although the sun didn’t rise for another 2 hours at least, the northern latitude allowed some semblance of daylight to filter through the atmosphere, giving the appearance of early day, without the deadly rays of the sunshine actually burning and destroying their Nephilim skin.  

“It’s nice to pretend we can walk around in the daytime,” Denny continued, “considering Sheol has been pretty hateful there, of late, if you hadn’t noticed.”

Vanessa shrugged. “Still not the same as actually seeing the sun.” She scraped mud off of one boot with the toe of the other, giving the impression that she was done with that conversation.

How can she and I, both beings of the same nature, be so entirely different? Denny mused as the water lapped against the shore. It’s almost as if the more time she spends on earth, the less she feels. Quite the opposite of my own emotional development.  Lucky her! Mine have increased to the point where I almost cannot stand myself at times.

“Hey, Den,” Vanessa’s black eyes looked into his own, and Denny was surprised to see that there was some semblance of concern on Vanessa’s pretty visage. “Don’t be so glum about Sheol. You know that place has its ups and downs. Remember during the wars in Asia? Crazy then, too!” She patted his shoulder awkwardly. “It’s gonna be okay. I know it doesn’t have anything to do with Mirrie’s God-forsaken wedding, that’s for damn sure!”

“How do you know that?” Denny’s brows furrowed together.

“Duh? Because I listen for it!” Vanessa answered him as if he were the least intelligent being on the planet. Amazing how quickly she picks up and assimilates vernacular expressions into her conversations.

“Yes, I do remember the wars in Asia, Vanessa. But this time around, it seems different, doesn’t it? Like something’s about to happen, not any reaction to worldly events already going on.”

“What could possibly happen?!” Vanessa held out her arms, the still water of the inlet behind her emphasizing her point: Nothing! 

Just a second later, however, big ripples coursed across the water’s surface, as if something big had just been dropped into the middle. Denny looked to the left, and then the right, but saw no disturbance that would create such waves.

“Whoa! What the hell… Did you feel that, Den? An earthquake?” Vanessa tottered on her elegant, muddy boots, trying to keep her balance as if the ground beneath her feet were shaking. 

It wasn’t. Denny was feeling tremors too, yet the trees and buildings all stayed steady, immobile.

“The ground, it’s giving ‘way!” Vanessa pointed to his feet, which were being sucked into the silt.

“That can’t be, there’s no earthquake, nothing else is moving but us!” he argued to no avail, as his knees were now locked in the mud.  Vanessa held out her arms to help him, but the tremors wracking their bodies prevented them from touching.

BOOM!  What sounded, and certainly felt, like an explosion to Denny rocked through his body. He saw Vanessa try to move towards him but failing, having been  knocked off her feet, landing on her stomach.

She flung her hands out to him and he tried to grasp them in his own, but it was as if she were being dragged away by some unseen force. His last vision, before being sucked completely under the mud, was the look of absolute terror on Vanessa’s face as she screamed, “DENNY! NOOOOOO!”

Movie Monday -- The Tourist

Hello Everyone!  Hope you guys had a refreshing weekend!

First off -- if you're looking for my thoughts on The Walking Dead, please head on over to Something Wicked where they are posted today!

I want her dress.  And her date ;-)

I finally got out to see some movies, and The Tourist was top on my list for two reasons:  Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp (not necessarily in that order ;-).

Before I get into the movie, I have something interesting to share.  I went to the movie with my mother.  Mom and I typically enjoy the same movies, however, there are times when she says a movie is great and I'll see it and think, "Well, maybe she's got the maturity to appreciate it more than I do."  Another Jolie vehicle, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, was like this.  Mom swore it was so very good and stylish with excellent quips, and I didn't see any of that at all (sorry Mom!).

So I'm sitting there in The Tourist thinking, OMG, this is so stylish, and slick, and classy -- Mom has to be loving this!  Au contraire, ma soeur -- she hated it.  So you can take my review with a grain of salt if you'd like ;-)

What's the plot?  Well, Angelina is being watched by, from what I can tell, pretty much every police power in Europe (though mainly the Brits are at the head).  Apparently, she's the girlfriend of a man who stole ALOT of money from a gangster.  The British government want him to pay taxes on all the dough. The gangster wants his money back.  And Jolie gets summoned by said boyfriend, after two years of not hearing from him, to meet him in Venice.  On the train, she's to pick someone who looks like him -- height and build -- and pretend that the Tourist is really her boyfriend.  She picks Johnny, a teacher from Wisconsin (who likes reading spy novels), and the mistaken identity of course, causes problems.

Okay, the main reason Mom didn't like this movie, and I sort of agree with her on this point, is this -- the movie is basically you looking at Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp on the screen.  Angelina looks beautiful, wears perfect makeup (she's got the smokey eye down pat -- one time she even paired it with red lips, which I've always heard is a no-no, but she made it work), and the clothes are to-die-for.  The ladies of Sex and the City didn't look that good!

Yes, really, alot of the movie is watching Angelina walk around like she owns the movie (and if I had those clothes and makeup artist, I would too!).  Johnny Depp is interesting -- his character is more humorous than I expected, much more "down-to-earth" than I'd expected.

Actually the movie was not what I expected.  I thought there would be more action, I thought Depp wouldn't be so "American-bumpkin-tourist"-ish, and there were some slow parts (though now I see the point of them).

In addition to Depp and Jolie, Paul Bettany and Timothy Dalton and Rufus Sewell round out a very impressive cast.  Is the movie, with all the hype and cast, really that good?

Probably not.  There are slow parts, and I totally saw the end twist coming.  However, it's a good movie, fun to watch if you like watching Johnny Depp play down-to-earth and Angelina Jolie play femme fatale, gorgeous clothes, lots of British accents, and a few sparing, but good, action scenes.

Free-Book Friday -- Winner and New Giveaway!!!

Congrats to SandyG265 who has won a free e-copy of Erin Cole's Grave Echoes (you won't be disappointed in the least, Sandy!!).  Please email me your contact information to:  mirandadandridge@yahoo.com.  And a huge Thanks to Erin for offering.

Today is going to be a bit different -- I'm actually going to giveaway a print version of a novel, and that novel is one of the best I read last year -- The Tale of the Vampire Bride by Rhiannon Frater.

Ms. Frater is currently getting her zombie series, As the World Dies, ready for publication through Tor (it was originally self-published and a huge hit).  She's also working on the sequel to vampire bride, which is an extremely well-done novel in the tradition of Dracula, but with a stronger, more modern-minded heroine.  It's got everything -- old-fashioned vampires (they don't sparkle), character-development, plot, intrigue, romance, action.  Can you tell I loved this novel?  (Yeah, when I first reviewed it on my old blog I had to confess that I wished I'd written it myself!).  Here's the blurb:

All Lady Glynis Wright ever wanted was the freedom to live her life as she pleased. Unfortunately, her aristocratic parents want her to marry well and settle into a life of luxury. When her family becomes guests to one of the most fearsome and powerful vampires of all time, Glynis finds her fate is far more terrible than an arranged marriage. Trapped in the power of her new master, she fights for freedom, revenge against her creator, and the chance to be with the one she truly loves. Bloody, horrific, romantic and rich in gothic atmosphere, The Tale of the Vampire Bride is sure to thrill fans of the terrible, yet romantic vampires of literary past.

So, for a copy of The Tale of the Vampire Bride, who can tell me -- what's their favorite female vampire and why?  Please leave a comment below (as well as you'll also need to follow this blog to be entered in the contest), and the winner will be announced next Friday.

I also want to mention two of my buddies have giveaways going on throughout the blogosphere:

C.J. Ellisson is giving away her much-anticipated, finally-published genre-crossing, ground-breaking (do I have enough hyphenated adjectives there?) novel, Vampire Vacation.  This book was published originally for free on Facebook and got a HUGE following.  It's a mystery featuring a vampire protagonist, her husband, and hot sex -- so it's got plot AND fun rolled all into one novel.  You can check it out right here on Immortyl Revolution.

And Marissa Farrar is blogging over at Preternatura (which is a beautiful-looking blog, by the way), and giving away not one but two of her novels -- The Dark Road and Alone.  I can sympathize with Marissa -- people expect horror writers to be Rob-Zombie-looking types, when really, we're people just like you and me.  At least, we pretend to be -- that's part of our cover.... ;-)

Jo-Anne Kenrick is at Fang-tastic books today giving away her new release, When a Mullo Loves a Woman -- don't know what a Mullo is (I know I didn't!) -- stop on by and read all about it!

Whew -- that's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by and reading and hope you guys have a great weekend!

Thoughtful Thursday -- Who Inspires Me?

Yes, I know, I've been remiss and completely missed Writing Wednesday yesterday -- sorry everyone!  The good news is that I spent it writing!

I'm blogging today over at Write In the Shadows about my heroes -- I didn't put the clips to the movies, but I'm posting them over here because, well, just because ;-)

Yes, this one is 10 minutes long but it is so worth it and you will get these 10 minutes back in spades in inspiration:


<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2fVZOCw_TEs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2fVZOCw_TEs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

From The Electric Horseman:

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uEKd4MxenBg?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uEKd4MxenBg?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

And for my Australian fans:

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DZBXLYJwgt4?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DZBXLYJwgt4?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

ETA -- Okay, for some reason, the video embed codes aren't working.  So here are the links:

Black Stallion  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fVZOCw_TEs
The Electric Horseman:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEKd4MxenBg
Man From Snowy River  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZBXLYJwgt4

Movie Monday -- The True Grit Remake

Back when I blogged at All Things Smart and Scary, it was about this time last year that I'd taken a trip to Dallas, TX, and visited the legendary Billy Bob's -- it's a restaurant, bar, gift shop, and there's a rodeo arena in it, too (yeah, it's Texas!).

When I'd arrived, the place was populated with 13 year-old girls, their moms, and their profile pics -- turns out, they were casting that day for the True Grit remake.

Now, I'm kind of over the remakes.  It's bad enough they're re-doing Fright Night (sacred!), and now Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the 1992 movie) -- can't we have something fresh and original??  So on the whole, I'm opposed to remakes.

However, my interest in True Grit was piqued when I found out that it was being done by the Cohen "No Country For Old Men" Brothers and starred Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, and Josh Brolin.  I have to say, that's quite a cast.  I'd only hoped they would retain the iconic scene wherein Rooster Cogburn takes the reins in his teeth before bearing down on the bad guys with a revolver in each hand (yeah, it's cheesy, but it gives me goosebumps nonetheless!).

I'm thrilled to say that by the looks of this teaser-trailer -- they've kept it!  Yay!!  Also, I'm in love with this song by the Peasall Sisters -- very well done teaser and I can't wait to see the movie now (I'm even reading the 1969 novel by Charles Portis -- very good read, highly recommended)!

<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uco41pOKeJg?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uco41pOKeJg?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>

Sunday Night -- Yay! (And a bit sad -- The Walking Dead and Dexter finales)

Okay, so tonight I'm psyched up because the season finales of two very awesome, edge-of-your seat shows are on -- first off is Dexter (who is thisclose to getting caught by bad PI Peter Weller) -- is it wrong of me to hope Dexter doesn't get caught and he finds true love with Lumen and they rid the world of evil rapists?

[ETA -- ooops!  So last night wasn't the season finale of Dexter -- it's next Sunday.  Still a great, edge-of-your-seat episode and next week's looks even better!]

And then, The Walking Dead.  I have to say that I wasn't going to watch this show because I'm just not into the zombie genre (unless it's funny like Zombieland or Shaun of the Dead).  However, mom was watching this and it got me hooked -- you just can't wait to see what's going to happen next (and let's face it -- it was nice when the guy who beat his wife got eaten by a female zombie.  Yeah, I've got a mean streak that way!  ;-)

I was going to blog about Walking Dead over on Something Wicked this week BUT it's on Fridays over there, and I don't want to spoil Marissa or Jevron's week by announcing what happens.   So stay tuned for my analysis later this week on the Dead, and quite possibly I'll be posting Dexter's doings on Tuesday.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

FreE-Book Friday -- Winners and New Giveaway!!!

Congratulations to:

Dawn
Rob M. Miller
PoCoKat

who are the lucky winners in the first giveaway on this blog!!  Please email me at mirandadandridge@yahoo.com so that I can get your free e-books on their way to you (Happy Early Christmas) and thank you guys so much for participating!!

This week we've got one e-book of Grave Echoes to giveaway from author Erin Cole.  Erin and I have been blogging friends for a year now, and I can say that her novel is honestly quite spectacular.  It's a mystery involving the supernatural (or does it?? ;-), and it's a very well-written, character-driven story involving Kate Waters, a reluctant protagonist who becomes convinced that her sister's death wasn't just an accident.

Erin's writing, and you can view more of it over at her blog, Erin Cole Writes, (on which she's got an awesome holiday book list!), is just wonderful -- she's got a way of describing the scene that puts you right smack dab in the middle of it.  You can feel the words move around you, and through you, so that you're in the story, which I love.

Okay, so, to the one lucky winner of the e-novel of Grave Echoes, who can tell me -- who's your favorite witch/sorceress in history/mythology?

Thanks for stopping by, thanks to Erin for offering a free e-book, and have a happy Friday, gang!!

Thoughtful Thursday -- Do I Believe in the Supernatural??

OMG, last night's Twin Peaks-inspired episode of Psych was Puh-riceless!!!  They even had Julee Cruise re-do the Psych theme in the Twin Peaks style!!!  The pie, the coffee, the people breaking down and crying -- it was all in there!  I LOVED it!

As Twin Peaks featured supernatural elements, it's always interesting to explore what writers actually believe (do we believe that crap we write and watch?!  ;-)  Today I'm blogging about just that over in Write in the Shadows -- stop on by!

Writing Wednesday -- What's in a Sidekick?

Okay, so I'm still playing around with the content of this blog.  I'm back to blogging over at Something Wicked This Way Comes, on which I'll be posting mainly movie/book reviews (I'm currently discussing The Walking Dead and Dexter right now), and I'll be back on Write In the Shadows tomorrow (yay!!).

Typically I feature other writers on Wednesday, but I'm also trying to make this blog into something a bit more about my characters and my work (hence the title Dandridge Estate).  And since Psych (one of my favorite TV shows) is doing an homage to Twin Peaks (one of my all-time favorite TV shows), complete with many of the regulars from said show, well, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about Miranda's best friend, Vanessa.



I conceived the character of Miranda back when I was about 15 years old.  She started off as an alter-ego to myself, being good at everything I wasn't.  By the time I was a senior in high school and Twin Peaks was on the air, well, I'd decided that Miranda needed a BFF.  And thus, Vanessa, or Ness, was born.

I was inspired by the Twin Peaks relationship between Laura Palmer and Donna Noble.  In my mind, Miranda was more like the "good" character of Donna, while Vanessa represented the "bad" girl, Laura (I know, in the series it was a bit switched up, with Laura getting the focus while Donna was the sidekick).  However, Miranda was more complex, like the character of Laura (who had both good and bad in her -- hey look I read The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer -- that's how into the show I was!).

As time went on, Miranda's character evolved, especially when I was writing Release (I didn't realize I'd created the perfect Mary Sue until I started writing a novel, LOL!). She's now a bit more balanced, and no longer my alter-ego.

Ness, however, is still Ness -- still bad to the bone, with a heart of gold.  And I love her that way.  She has her shining moments in Release, but it's in Return that she faces trouble.  What kind of trouble?  Well.....  ;-)

Take care and be sure to tune in to Psych tonight!!!