Remember when we took part in the Nine Paths to Chloe King game earlier this summer to gear up for the new ABC Family show, The Nine Lives of Chloe King?  I hope you all took advantage of the numerous free gifts (jewelry, t-shirts etc) that we unlocked while playing. 

Because we completed all nine paths, I got to submit a question for cast member Alyssa Diaz (she plays Jasmine on the show):

And here is her video response:

 

So have you been watching the show?  It took a few episodes for me to get hooked, but I’ve been watching each week and it’s turning out to be exactly the kind of fun show that’s perfect for summer.  I’m a big fan of the impossible romance between Chloe and Brian.  I mean the poor girl can’t even kiss him because he’ll die…talk about a romantic obstacle to overcome.  You can catch it on Tuesday nights at 9/8c on ABC Family.

 

Dark Urban Fantasy author Adrian Phoenix is back again celebrating the release of the 4th book in The Maker’s Song series, ETCHED IN BONE (available now) and share some of her favorite TV shows too.  And since Adrian never comes without bearing gifts, there will be three winners total:  two winners get to choose one signed copy of any of The Maker's Song books: A RUSH OF WINGS, IN THE BLOOD, BENEATH THE SKIN or Etched in Bone. And one winner gets a signed set of all 4 books. See details below.

You can read all the previous Top 10 Lists HERE

TOP TEN SHOWS ON MY DVR

I love my DVR. It holds many wonderful things for me to watch when I’m done writing for the day. Of course, when I’m on a deadline, the wonderful things pile up on my DVR. LOL. Here’s the top ten shows on my DVR.

 

(Disclaimer: I don’t have HBO or Showtime at the moment or True Blood and Dexter would be among my faves. However, Sherri, my daughter of the heart does, and she records the programs so we can watch them together.)

 

1. Supernatural

I love this show. Have from day one. The writing is superb, the cast fantastic, the storyline riveting. The relationship between Sam and Dean Winchester and members of their extended hunter family—Bobby, in particular—is what really draws me in. I’m all about character, and so is Supernatural.

Top hottie: Jared Padalecki (Sam Winchester), but Jensen Ackles (Dean Winchester) is one helluva close second.

 

2. Sons of Anarchy

Holy hell. Sexy and dangerous, violent and complex characters. This show has it all. Sure, it’s about outlaw bikers, but we’re getting a look into a world we’d never see otherwise. And again, the writing, acting, and characterizations are superb.

Top Hottie: Charlie Hunnam (Jax Teller).

 

3. Burn Notice

A sexy burned (blacklisted) spy trying to clear his name while basically trapped in Miami with a few friends, his mom, and loads of enemies. Smart and funny and heart-wrenching all at the same time. Great writing and performances.

Top Hottie: Jeffrey Donovan (Michael Westen). (His actual looks are—for me—just average, but he’s charismatic and he definitely makes Michael sexy.)

 

4. Justified

Just the setting alone does it for me: Kentucky. We’ve got tall, lean, and sexy U.S. Marshals in cowboy hats, coal miners, the Dixie Mafia, back hills accents. Again, fantastic (and often funny) writing and performances.

Top Hottie: Timothy Olyphant (U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens).

 

5. Southland

A cop drama that transcends the genre. The storylines are riveting and realistic. I’m often sitting on the edge of the sofa when watching and the storyline has twisted in ways I never saw coming. Top notch writing and performances.

Top Hottie: There isn’t a character on this show that oozes sex appeal (for me)—which is fine. But the character I like the most is Regina King, who plays Detective Lydia Adams as a woman of heart and steel.

 

6. Vampire Diaries

I thoroughly enjoy this paranormal soap opera. It has nice twists and turns and shies away from doing the expected. I appreciate that. Sometimes I want to knock a head or two together, but I’m okay with that. I am being entertained.

Top Hottie: (He’s dead on the series! *sob*) Taylor Kinney as the werewolf Mason Lockwood, and a close second is the vamp who ripped Mason’s heart from his chest, Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder).

 

7. Community

One of the best comedies out there about an eccentric group of friends in a community college. Full of pop references and often parodies movies, TV, and even gaming. I LOVE this show! Great writing, but the characterizations is what makes the show.

Top Hottie: Joel McHale. But the character I like the most is Abed Nadir as played by Danny Pudi.

 

8. Ghost Adventures

These guys crack me up. I believe they are absolutely sincere in the ghost hunting, but their occasional frat-boys-gone-wild-and-a-little-stupid antics both amuse and irritate me. LOL. Still, I enjoy the show and watch every week.

Top Hottie: None.

 

9. America’s Next Top Model

Say what you will, I can’t look away from this show. My fave part is the photo shoots. I love seeing the behind the scenes—what the photographer wants and what the model manages to deliver. This show is like crack to me. I’m hooked. My one guilty pleasure.

 

10. Hawaii Five-O

Again, the relationships! The dynamic between Danny and Steve is what captured my heart—along with their snarky banter with one another. *sighs happily*

Top Hottie: Alex O’Loughlin (Steve McGarrett).

 

The remaining shows on my DVR are: Being Human, The Office, House Hunters International, The First 48, Modern Family, Dog Whisperer, Seconds from Disaster, Air Emergency (both bad before I take a flight anywhere. LOL), Blue Bloods, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Walking Dead, American Ninja Warrior, Stolen Voices, Buried Secrets, Face Off (the special effects artist reality show, not the movie), Spartacus, and the soon-to-start Camelot.

 

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Me and my cats (Amiga, Diabla, and Ember) live in Springfield, Oregon and dream about having a home in New Orleans one of these days (well, I do, anyway. The cats most likely have far different goals involving sleep). I like Springfield, so I'd keep my home here too (in these wild fantasies) so I'd have a place during the summer heat and humidity and, wow, why not a nice little cottage on the Oregon coast while I'm at it? And a few pool boys? I'm the author of two urban fantasy series, both published by POCKET: The Maker's Song series and the Hoodoo (Kallie Riviere) series.

 

Visit Adrian online:

Website|Blog|Myspace |Twitter |Facebook |Goodreads

 

Want to read more from Adrian Phoenix?

The Maker's Song
1. A Rush of Wings
2. In the Blood
3. Beneath the Skin
4. Etched in Bone

Hoodoo
1. Black Dust Mambo
2. Black Heart Loa

 

Giveaway provided by Adrian Phoenix

 

Two winners get to choose one signed copy of any of The Maker's Song books: A Rush of Wings, In the Blood, Beneath the Skin, or Etched in Bone. One winner gets a signed set of all 4 books.

 

Description of ETCHED IN BONE:

 

SON OF A FALLEN ANGEL. FORGED IN VAMPIRE’S BLOOD. SWORN TO A MORTAL WOMAN. IF DANTE FALLS, THE WORLD FALLS WITH HIM. . . .

THREE LEGACIES ETCHED IN BONE

More beautiful and powerful than any creature the world has ever seen, Dante Baptiste has become the supreme target of the three worlds that spawned him. The mortal agents of the Shadow Branch have tried to control his mind through psychological torture. The vampire elders who guide nightkind society have plotted to use him in their bloodthirsty bid for power. And the Fallen have waited for millennia for Dante to claim his birthright as their Maker. But Dante belongs to no one—except the woman he loves. . . .

ONE PASSION SWORN IN BLOOD

Determined to face the Fallen and the world on his own terms, Dante hopes to piece together his shattered past and claim his future, with FBI agent Heather Wallace at his side. But in Heather’s human family awaits an unexpected enemy. One who could rip Heather from Dante’s heart and fill the holes with bullets. One who could force Dante to choose his darkest destiny—as the Great Destroyer. . . .

 

Click HERE to read an excerpt from ETCHED IN BONE

 

Giveaway Guidelines

1. Open to Internationally

2. Leave a comment that includes a way to contact you if you win

3. Entries must be received by Midnight MST on March 12th.

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Interested in offering a giveaway on All Things Urban Fantasy? CONTACT ME

Throwdown Thursday is a weekly thing [hosted by The Neverending Shelf] where we tackle books with similar characters, covers, themes, etc. to determine which one rocks more. And it is up to YOU to determine the winner!

Last weeks Throwdown asked Which Kelly’s Urban Fantasy debut are you most psyched for? Sadly, I think most of you missed this throwdown because it occurred on Thanksgiving, but from the votes I did get, the winner was: Kelly Meding’s Three Days to Dead.

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           VS

Last week Laurell K. Hamilton announced on her blog that there would be no Anita Blake Vampire Hunter movie/tv show:

• The Anita Blake TV show on IFC is not happening. Now no wailing and gnashing of teeth about it. In the two years and some change since I sold the rights to my series its been very educational… It has been frustrating watching other shows in the genre I pioneered go on the air while we didn’t, but in the end I believe most things happen for a reason. I would rather have no television show than a bad one…
• I was writing vampires long before the publishing industry realized it was a hot market…
• What fascinated me at the beginning of the series was our world if we woke up tomorrow and all the creatures of nightmare were real and everyone knew they were real. It’s still what fascinates me. I was the first one to bring them out of the broom closet, or coffin, whatever, and throw them into modern medicine, law enforcement, politics, and society in general.–Laurell K. Hamilton

  As noteworthy as that news was, it was her comments on ‘pioneering the genre’ etc. that have caused the biggest response from the public.  Check out the backlash in the comments on ScifiGuy’s post if you want to see how heated some people got.  What I want to know is:

Have LKH’s comments and any perceived arrogance on her part damaged your opinion of Anita Blake (assuming the evolution of the series itself hasn’t done that already)?

  Now, to be fair, LKH is hardly the first author to make controversial comments, but do you think they will damage her sales?  Does an author’s public comments/opinions influence your feelings towards their books one way or another?  Or can you separate the two?

Throwdown Thursday

Throwdown Thursday is a weekly thing [hosted by The Neverending Shelf] where we tackle books with similar characters, covers, themes, etc. to determine which one rocks more. And it is up to YOU to determine the winner!

Last weeks Throwdown asked Which half-vampire is head-NECK-and shoulders above the rest? The winner by a narrow victory was: Catherine "Cat" Crawfield (Night Huntress)

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Is it just me or does the cover of Frostbite (Vampire Academy, Book 2) by Richelle Mead look an awful lot like the CD of  Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Album (1999 Television Series)?

Which one do you like better?

 

To answer my own question, I’ll provide the following gorgeous photo:

                            
          TV              vs               Books     
     

     

            True Blood TV series     vs   The Southern Vampire Series         

                                          by Charlaine Harris  

                    

                  The Vampire Diaries TV series  vs    The Vampire Diaries                                    

                                            by L. J. Smith   

  
                    

            The Dresden Files TV series  vs   The Dresden Files Series                       
                                             by Jim Butcher    

                 
            Blood Ties TV series        vs        The Blood Series                     
                                               by Tanya Huff   

My new poll question made me wonder, should we ever judge a book by its TV series?  With the debut last week of The Vampire Diaries based on the series by L.J. Smith, and the continued success of True Blood based on the series by Charlaine Harris, this is the perfect time to ask this question.

I have read at least the first book in each of these series and, with the exception of True Blood (wayyyyyyyy too much profanity for me, I couldn't finish the show), seen the first episode of each show.  I have to say definitely not.    The TV series are in each case only loosely based on the books they claim.  The Vampire Diaries is the most recent example.  The book was a catty and trite look into the life of a teenage girl who sets out to compete with another popular girl for the attention of the new hottie in school.  The second half of the book is a flashback to how the aforementioned hottie and his brother got vamped way back when.  Since I clearly thought so little of the book, why did I bother to watch the show?  Because I thought the previews looked much more Twilight than the books.  And so far, the previews proved accurate.  The TV show, while still for a teen audience, is much more thoughtful and will, I suspect appeal to adults as well.

Please chime in with your opinion and take the poll and leave a comment with your thoughts (please let me know if I overlooked a book-to-TV adaptation).