Shuffle Up -- Top Pick!

Such cool news -- Shuffle Up and Deal has been chosen as a "Top Pick!" of the month by RT Book Reviews Magazine. It's even featured on the front page of their website.

Reviewer Keitha Hart had this to say about it: "Fantastic! DiPlacido writes with humor and passion. The characters are well written and likable, and the shifting point of view is orderly and allows readers to mark the growth in the characters’ development. Love scenes are hot and inventive, but the attraction between the protagonists outside of the bedroom is just as enthralling. Readers will adore this unexpected gem that perfectly blends humor, sex and a satisfying storyline. " Full review available right here.



Yay!

Shuffle Up paperback available right here

E-book also available

Fireworks

This is one of my all-time favorite works of fiction. It's a novella about a fifteen year old in 1945 at a Japanese internment camp in Manila. This story by William Reese Hamilton lives up to its title. "Fireworks"

I Got a Right to Sing the Sartorial Blues

"I would love to rip you open and wear your ribcage as a hat!"

So says Lorena to Sookie. At this point, I'm not sure if Lorena drinks blood or just wakes up in the morning and does shots of crazy bitch to get her going. Ribcage hats -- if anyone could pull it off, she could. Or, also maybe Pam, but Pam would look hot in anything. And speaking of nutty women, how funny is Talbot? Bill murders a vampire in the foyer and Talbot just shrieks at his husband: "Does nobody care about our house!" Then, later, "You never take me anywhere!" They are so much more entertaining than the Baronnes ever were.

One style that's not so becoming on the ladies of Bon Temps is the "escaped from Juniper Creek" wardrobe, most recently seen on Jason's new love interest, Crystal. Seriously, is the HBO budget that stretched that they just raid each other's departments when in a pickle? Perhaps we'll see Barb or Nicki walking around in some of Sookie's old traveling clothes next season? Now that I think about it, maybe Eric's track suits are leftovers from Christofuh Moltisanti's closet! On the bright side, I do enjoy that they aren't bothering to clothe Joe Manganiello's Alcide at all! From wolf to naked, just the way we want him! But Jason and his pathetic letter jacket -- too funny.

And as for Eric, he's in tip-top shape, if garishly overdressed in a thin sweater.


Tsk tsk. On the upside, his flirting with Talbot is pure joy, not to mention his vicious attack on Queen Sophie-Anne, looking stunning in white pearls and pantsuit.


Those two together are just too smoking hot. And his love-hate with Sookie escalates! Get some Sook!

And I did love her showdown with the king. She went from tart to teary in under 30 seconds!


But once again stealing the show from Sooks was Tara. Tara! Tara, all trussed up in that awful nightgown and then Franklin, joining her in bed in his white silks. And then Tara not just biting his neck, but gnawing on it like it was a prize-winning rib at the state barbeque championships.


And then her choice of weapon -- that medieval spike-ball to bash in his brains, which she then wore as proudly as Lorena claimed she'd wear Sookie's ribcage!

Bill was appropriately dressed thanks to Lorena. She kept him in silver chains and his own blood.


You know how I feel about Bill getting tortured. It's always a welcome sight.

Poor Lafayette got his car all fucked up, before I could even figure out exactly what it was. (Someone? Anyone?)


Worse, he seems to have screwed the pooch with Jesus (that's Hey-soos, not the actual Jesus/Godricklike being) when Jesus finds out he's a drug dealer. He gets all sanctimonious and "take me home" on Lafayette. Seriously? How exactly did he think a cook at Merlotte's was driving a car like that in the first place? And why else would he be wearing gold eyeshadow and a kimono?

And as for Merlotte's -- I still don't really care about Sam's dog-fighting family. Fuck 'em. But I did love Arlene mouthing off to a customer about the peas: "Do you think this is Red Lobster?"

Next week, put on your Sunday best, people, because it's a truly pivotal episode, not just for the season, but the entire series.

Drama King

I want to talk for a minute about Entourage. This year hadn't really caught fire for me yet, but that's not unusual. Entourage has the luxury of a devoted viewership, so they can afford to have a few building-block episodes to set things up for the chaos of the rest of the season. Usually, I get a few more laughs from those early episodes, but it was still pleasant enough so I've been watching. Things took off this week for both Drama and Turtle. Though they're the supporting players to the supposed main draw of Vince and Eric, Drama and Turtle have definitely managed to steal the show outright over the past couple years. This could possibly be because Vince and Eric have hit a career point where they're at least safe. They may suffer aggravations or setbacks, but they're never really on the brink of disaster.

But Turtle is still trying to make his own way in the city, and he's still struggling mightily. This season is no exception, and just when he thinks he's making up ground, the bomb gets dropped that they're using him to get to Vince.

Meanwhile, it's no secret that I love Johnny Drama.


I think Kevin Dillon does a spectacular job playing him, too. Drama's an easy target, and he's suffered plenty of humiliation for laughs. At first glance, he comes off as an over-the-hill, preening, pompous fuck who's leaching off his brother. But Dillon is great at showing us the tiniest of cracks in his hard, self-loving veneer, giving us the insight that he's actually terrified of being a washed-up, arrogant sycophant. His constant humiliations are what represent the toughness of the Hollywood business, what can be so soul-crushing about it, to constantly be judged and deemed not good enough. But he's a scrapper, and he's intent, if not obsessed, with getting one more shot. It looked like he had secured his place with a hit network show, but in true Drama fashion, he went and fucked it all up.

But it's not like he trashed his good fortune for no reason. One of Drama's most endearing traits is his willingness to immolate himself for his family. In past seasons, no matter what was going on with him, he'd drop everything in a wink to help his baby bro. This past season, it was in defense of Turtle and Turtle's girlfriend that he effectively ambushed himself and destroyed what could've been his final shot at "success."

This year, he's got a producer in his corner, (the always awesome William Fitchner as Phil) and this guy has managed to produce the impossible: and Emmy-winning writer has written a script FOR Drama, and Phil has also gotten John Stamos involved, therefore securing network interest. The only hitch is that Drama now has to impress Stamos.

I love it when Entourage convinces stars to come on and play themselves as somewhat assholes, and they didn't disappoint with Stamos. During his supposed meeting with Drama, Stamos breezes past him, calling him "Jimmy" and sucking up to Vince. Vince eventually gracefully turns the attention back to Drama by having them play a game of ping pong. And that's when the Drama disaster begins. Drama kicks Stamos's ass. Stamos steams. Producer Phil freaks on Drama and tells him the sitcom is dead unless Drama manages to suck his way back into Stamos's good graces. It's a classic Drama scenario. Does Drama really have to back down and let Stamos publicly beat him to secure a job? Stamos cockily proposes the opposite. If Drama manages to beat Stamos again, Stamos will do his shitty tv show. This spells bad news for Drama all around. It made me squirm for him.

But, that's the beauty of where Doug Ellin has come with Drama. He used to be a punchline with his humiliation. But over the years, Ellin has taken him to heart with his fierce desires and unswerving loyalty and therefore has somehow elevated him to a sort of working-class hero for Hollywood. So when the game comes down, Drama of course loses, and then he takes it like a true gentleman. Stamos, of course, feels vindicated and agrees to do John's show now. YAY, Johnny Drama! And, of course, as Vince tries to console Johnny about losing in front of a huge crowd, Drama shrugs it off and says, "I threw the game." And we know he did. And we're really proud of him for doing it.

Lady Luck Giveaway

Hey everyone. I'm giving away a few copies of Lady Luck over at GoodReads. So if you're a member there, click on over and enter.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Lady Luck

by Susan DiPlacido

Giveaway ends August 05, 2010.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

If you're not a member of GoodReads, you can also enter by sending me your name and address, and I'll pick a winner and send out a book on August 21. Good luck!

Sookie Goes Rogue

Hot on the heels of the news that Sookie is the fifth hottest girl's baby name of 2010 so far, our little Southern Belle went a little X-Men with her troubling touch when she again flashed someone's face with her palm.

Back in Bon Temps, times weren't so good for Hoyt, who took an irritating girl out on a date to Merlotte's, obviously upsetting Jessica. No news on the decapitated body that Franklin left in the ditch which was Jessica's kill. I presume things will only get rougher for our redheaded lass before the season catapults to the halfway point. But it was pretty funny to watch her get feisty with Arlene and glamour her customers into not tipping her.

But truly bringing the funny? Franklin!


Franklin and Tara brought it all this week! Horror! Laughs! Action! Heartrending wailing -- that was hilarious! I'm usually slow to warm to new characters, but Franklin has won me over. And Tara is the perfect, horrified foil for him. I hope they spawn lots of British-backwoods vampire progeny to be pissed off all over Mississippi and Tennessee.


Closer to the "I don't give a fuck" scale, Sam sunk deeper into his blood family's mire. The suspense is not killing me to figure out what's going on there. And thoroughly embedded in the "rat's ass or less" part of my interest-level is Jason and his blonde. Evs.

On the better side, Debbie Pelt! What a trashy bitch! I know we have to suspend our disbelief quite a bit for this show, and I'm cool with that. But I just sat there thinking there is NO FUCKING WAY that a guy of Alcide's caliber would ever be with that chick! But I'm really glad that he is. Quality television is finding the characters who make crack-addicted strippers seems soft and sympathetic in comparison, and Debbie achieves that goal.

And then there's Bill. *sigh* Poor noble fucking Bill. He's busted by the king for withholding information, then turns a cold shoulder to Tara and her plight, but then goes all renegade to try and save Sookie, only making things that much worse. That's why I love this show. Bill just causes the shit rolling right on toward Sookie and is unable to help her, but she turns on her light-saber hand and zaps the crap out of a werewolf to save herself. Good ole Sooks!

And, of course, who can forget Eric? Hot on the heels of Franklin, vying for favorite new character, is the king's lover-progeny Talbot. This guy is hilarious, but his reactions to Eric were priceless. And even better was Eric smiling and flirting back, subduing his concern for Pam and keeping himself in check until his spots the Viking crown.


Then we get a great flashback to Eric being all "I don't care about being king" and screwing handmaidens in the barn until his father gets mauled by a werewolf. It's a little odd that he's never crossed paths with Russell over the past 1,000 years before, but, if it gets us sex flashbacks, I'm all for it.

Also not to be forgotten? Lafayette dates Jesus! I *heart* it!

Question of the week? Why must all vampires leave their faces all blood-covered after feeding? Are they all, as a species, completely unaware of wetnaps? Or even their own goddamn sleeve?

As the Pegasus Flies by Sue Nami

I've got a little something unique and quite entertaining for you today. (If you like Mad Men, I think you'll LOVE this.) Sue Nami's As The Pegasus Flies is a soap opera set at Reader's Digest in the 1950's. It's filled with a crazy cast of characters, wild sexual encounters, and more mayhem than a David Fincher movie. In other words, it's great fun!

You can check her and the stories out at the pegasus blog. (Start from the oldest post, as the characters keep reappearing.) And as an added bonus, she now carries the delightful stink of controversy, as she's officially been censored at Reader's Digest! That's how you know she's churning out some worthwhile reading, people! As an even bigger bonus, just in time for summer reading, her ongoing collection has been published. Now available for just $7.50 at Amazon is the print version of As the Pegasus Flies. Enjoy!

9 Crimes -- of Passion!

Ask and ye shall receive! See that. Just a little bit of grumbling about the previous episode, I float that idea that the way to make it up to us is to give us shirtless Manganiello, and VIOLA! It's better than a magic trick. Alan Ball knows how to keep his faithful female fans happy. First scene this week, and we've got shirtless Joe Manganiello. They are totally picking up what I'm putting down! All apologies to Alexander Skarsgard, who's still one sexy sonuvabitch, but I'm not quite sure we can make human beings more good looking than this:



Seriously, congrats to True Blood for snagging an Emmy nod for best drama, even if the cast did get snubbed. But when they roll out the award for best-looking cast, Blood will certainly be in the running. And this from a show that I totally bitched about the lack of sex appeal in the men in the first season. Then again, the first season was being carried by Bill. Pfft. Bill.

Speaking of Bill -- Cripes! He's up to his ass in alligators, again. He's back in Lorena's clutches -- again. He's got to stay away from Sookie for her own good -- again. He's procuring strippers as entrees for royalty -- again. Oh, wait, that's new. He's getting totally dogged by Eric -- again! I do love that one, though. Because frankly, if it's Bill's fangs in the Magister's pliers or Pam's, go right on ahead and rip Bill's fangs on out, baby. Anything to save our fabulous Pam! If you weren't about sick and tired of Zeljko's asshole routine yet, then him taking silver to Pam probably tipped the scales. But I did love that Eric was fully on board to sell Bill up the river to save his progeny!

Though his intentions are noble, Bill's breakup with Sook-ay sent her into desperate sobs. Well done, again, for Anna Pacquin. That chick can pull off drama like crazy with tears and snot and all sorts of sympathy. Another thing she's good at? Throwing sparks with nearly any costar. As ambivalent as I am about Bill, she and he were hot. And then Eric? Off the charts. I love the twist that it was him dreaming about her this week. We are so gonna get Sookie-Eric sex before this is all over. But for now, her cuddling up to Alcide and his shirtless body just makes perfect sense. And when she went all bad-ass brunette and wore black? HOT!

Let's see, what else happened this week? Oh yeah, Jason went deeper into his psychosis of wanting to be law enforcement. Evs. Tara got bitten and abducted by Franklin -- the fucker. I hope she ends up staking his ass. Lafayette drove his new car! And Eric saved him from a bunch of redneck methheads! How IS Lafayette supposed to deal with all this fucked-uped-ness? Sam, he's got hillbilly trouble with his homefolk. But he hired Jessica! Let's hope she's not filling the "waitress-to-be-killed-later" slot at Merlotte's. And then, last, but certainly not least was the appearance once again of that Patrick Swayze-lookin' werewolf. I did a double-take the first time I saw him, then when he cornered Sook last week I was all, "Huzzah?" Then, this week, I read the credits and see that his IS a Swayze! Just as I was hoping he'd say, "Nobody puts Sookie in a corner" she damn well did end up quite cornered in a roomful of crazed wolves. Now I tell you, what more can a show do to get that Emmy statue. Swayzes and leather-clad Sookie and werewolves and silver and exsanguinated strippers and shirtless hot guys. If it doesn't get the Emmy, it at least gets my appreciation.

House Money -- New Review

Though it's still not available in paperback, the good news keeps rolling in for House Money! (Medellin, I tell you. Medellin, baby. Please don't let me end up like Billy Walsh.)

This latest is from Night Owls Reviews, and it's a sentence that makes me shiver with glee. I swear, I did not write this, someone else did. Melinda said:
"Man oh man move over Jackie Collins for Susan DiPlacido sure knows how to write gangsta."

YAY!! I got compared to Jackie Collins! I lurve Jackie's Lucky series, and it was obviously a huge influence on me and that review is like --- YAY!

You can read the full review right here. And you should check it out, because it's got more good stuff to say, like:
"The scenes of Las Vegas were great in this story, the tension of who's going to get the Oasis was awesome and all the characters from her previous books appear here. That was the great part seeing Marina, Miguel, Lisa, Val and Vinny were a treat to read about. If you haven't read her series you should go get them."

Damn right!

You can find House Money right here in e-book.

Playboy

I have a huge collection of Playboy magazines. When I say huge, I mean I have every single issue (except one) from 1955 through 1998, including special editions like the Vixens and Lingerie. It's mostly in very good to mint condition, and I even have double copies still in the original plastic wrap for several of the decades. It's uh, well over 1,000 magzines. The only one missing is April 1958, and I technically have it, but it's "Playboy in Las Vegas" so I want to keep that one.

I want to sell this collection. So, if you or someone you know is interested, drop me a line. You can get me at susandiplacido @ aol.com. (remove the spaces) Bear in mind that the shipping alone on this collection is going to cost a lot

The Boys -- and Girls! -- of Summer

Entourage is back! What's going on, you ask? Well, Ari is racing around and taking and making calls and pulling strings. Vince is doing things to make sure he's not a pussy. E is playing kissy-face with Sloan and not powerful enough to take care of business so he's calling Ari. Drama is getting slighted, and Turtle is getting shit-kicked by a girl. Everyone is too rich. Same old, same old, with Nick Cassavettes tossed in for good measure. Nicely done. Douchebaggy, it may be, but I still enjoy it.

What I'm also enjoying is the summer premier of Hot in Cleveland. It's another spin on The Golden Girls, but this time around, Betty White is in the Sophia slot. The jokes aren't all that fresh, but the cast is so damn likable, with Jane Leeves, and Wendie Malick. I adore Malick. She can take a tired old bit and still make it work with a weird joie de vivre. And Betty White? It doesn't matter if they underuse her talents by getting a cheap laugh by making say something coarse, she's still adorable. And I think Jane Leeves is falling into the Johnny Drama slot of having bad shit happen to her and getting humiliated and then recovering. You just can't have enough Drama in comedy.

It Hurts Me To Say It, But...

Oh Shit. Maybe the glow is gone, or maybe I was just in a funky mood. But this week's True Blood had everything going for it. It was written by Alexander Woo, who's usually one of my faves, and it had blood, sex, and violence to spare. But the opening clunked for me, and then the closing took the camp barometer into "cheezy" territory.

Look, I know I have a bit of an usual love for Goodfellas. But it's possibly my favorite film of all time, and maybe that makes me a little too touchy. The opening scene this week picked up exactly where last week's left off, with Eric and a wolf lunging toward each other. A bit of mayhem ensued (all good) and then, naturally, Eric overpowered the werewolf and after exchanging a few unpleasantries in his best Bale-Batman growl, Eric ripped into his neck and pulled big chunks out. Again, all good! Then, as the werewolf bled out on Sookie's rug, he looked up at her and calmly said, "I got your rug all wet." No. Just, no. It was Joe Pesci as mega-psycho Tommy DeVito and he'd viciously beaten a man nearly to death when he was suddenly overcome with a remorseful look and he sincerely apologized to Henry, saying, "I didn't mean to get blood all over your floor." THAT was a chilling and perversely funny moment. The homage here just...No. No.

Of course, I don't blame a show for trying, and I certainly don't blame Skarsgard, who's looking finer than ever playing his changing part this year with all sorts of devilish charm and chagrined care.


But even better, finally, there's new competition for the fox of the season award. Oh, you know I'm talking about Joe Manganiello as Alcide. Talk about too good to be true! Though he was terribly overdressed for his entire first appearance, I didn't really care. He's THAT good-looking. He's this hot werewolf and I don't know, I think he acted okay, but I didn't really even listen to his lines because, well, look at him!


Naturally, we had Jason to fulfill the absurd naked scene this week, appearing pantsless instead of shirtless while he struggles yet again with feeling, I don't know, like he needs a calling or something, I don't really listen, not because I'm so distracted because he's so hot, but because I only laugh at his idiot lines and then tune out his crisis of conscience shit because I don't care.

Sam, of course, is sucking shit again after meeting his weirdo white-trashy family. Lafayette got a shiny new car! But there are strings attached, courtesy of Eric. And Terry is all happy about becoming a daddy, even though we suspect the baby is actually serial killer Renee's baby. Tara is getting wooed and then glamoured by creepy new vamp Franklin who seems to be stalking Bill. Bill! Poor Tara, the only times she's happy, she's under some sort of mind control. And oh yeah, Sookie is wearing white again. All good soapy shit that should keep things rolling along and right on track for Blood. Meanwhile, speaking of gorgeous things, let's talk for a minute about Pam. She was, as always, HOT getting her some Estonian skank. And she was hilarious with Jessica, who is getting so pretty she's almost show-stopping. I'm really not as down with the girl-love as Pam is, but something about Jessica and that red hair and those blue eyes and I just feel so bad for Hoyt.


What else? Oh yeah! Back at the king of Mississippi's crib, another rug got ruined, but this time it was hilarious the way Talbot threw a shit fit over it and then the king calls him on his tantrum is all, "It's like Armageddon around here when someone chips a dessert plate." I approve of the king and his court, most definitely! Of course, they, along with uber-bitch Lorena have screwed Bill over, but of course, we the audience loves when Bill is tortured so. He cries, he gnashes, but then he retracts his fangs and does as he must.


And then he cries and gnashes and tries to rape Lorena but she loves it too much so he twists her head all the way around and it looks just like a scene from "Death Becomes Her" and it's supposed to be this sick, dark, disgusting awful thing for Bill and we should be horrified and perversely amused maybe, I don't know, but it was just so fucking...cheezy. I don't know if it was the effects or the whole thing but when I'm supposed to be revolted by the action and instead I'm just appalled at the poor quality it's not a good sign. Truly, there's only one way to win me back now, and I think we all know what it is. Nudity, Manganiello, next episode. Something tells me I won't be disappointed.

House Money -- New Review

Just got in another review for House Money. It's from Coffee Time Romance, and Danielle had this to say:
I have to say I found House Money to be quite an intriguing tale...The ending was beautifully done and left me stunned. Ms. DiPlacido writes with so many twists and turns that I could hardly catch my breath before I was being led down another tension filled adventure.


This book is still currently only available in e-book version, but that just makes it a great buy.

Mundania E-Book - $4.99

Amazon E-Book - $3.99

Richard Thomas -- Transubstantiate

Richard Thomas's debut novel, Transubstantiate, a neo-noir, speculative thriller will be out on 7.1.10. To get all of the information just visit http://www.transubstantiate.net. There is a synopsis there, sample chapter, blurbs, a podcast, all kinds of stuff. He is also giving away five copies at GoodReads, and the contest ends on July 1st: http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/4178-transubstantiate.

Blue Blooded

Fuck. My beloved Azzurri have been knocked out of the group stage of the World Cup, the first time they've exited so early since 1974. It's considered a truly shocking (and humiliating) showing for the Italian team by the press and soccer fans. On the bright side, I won't have to sit and listen to fartface Ian Darke commentate and root against them any longer. On the downside, well, obviously, I'm sad because they're out of the World Cup.

But I'm also sad because there was a lot of hooha about how old this team was. Ultimately, I really don't blame age on their loss. Though, I guess it does say something when your world-class keeper is knocked out with a back injury. Sheesh. But if you ask me, and since you're reading this, I guess you might care what I think, Lippi just never got his shit together assembling a top flight squad on the pitch during this tournament. He had guys on the bench that he had no business keeping on the bench. Andrea Pirlo suffered an injured calf on the eve of the tournament, but when he was finally brought in the second half of today's game, it made a world of difference. He's just clever and classy and his footwork creates openings and opportunities to pierce opposing defenses. Why the hell Quagliarella didn't play until the end of ends was beyond me. He showed his craftiness by orchestrating a truly brilliant goal. Worse, Genarro Gattuso finally got on the field in the first half of the game, but was pulled before his teammate Pirlo entered, and every Azzurri fan knows that those two work incredibly well together. It's just...frustrating.

Slovakia deserved to advance, as they put forth a truly solid and at times punishing effort. And the Italians did look, characteristically, not too concerned about being down 1-nil during the first half and even first 20 minutes of the second half. However, once Pirlo and Quagliarella entered the game, all hell broke loose in the best way possible. As Ian Darke sat commenting about the potential lack of heart on the Italian team, once the Slovaks scored a second goal, you could almost see the blue course through Italy's veins and they started playing absolutely monster soccer. The final 20 minutes of the match was once of the most exciting I could've imagined, and if the final score didn't shake out how it did, it'd probably be legendary. First Di Natale struck, and then Quagliarella appeared to strike, but he was called offsides by about a fucking inch. And don't EVEN get me started on the goal that Quagliarella scored that wasn't called a goal, even though Slovakia's defender was inside the goal line when he kicked it out. Oh, it makes me so mad!

But, enough. It's done. In those final 20 minutes, the Azzurri made me proud. But it is an older squad, and captain Fabio Cannavaro and one of my faves, Rino Gattuso, have already announced their retirement from international play. And I fully expect that in four years, plenty of others will be gone. So it's the end of an era for this team. If only they'd had more than 20 minutes of attacking brilliance out of the 270 that they played in South Africa. Fuck.

Fur Fetched

So, what'd we learn this week on True Blood?

1) If you're going to stash a corpse in Bon Temps, you better have fast access to a chainsaw lest some body snatcher come along and screw you over. Poor Jessica! Even with Pam's coaching, the girl can't catch a break. And I loved how once again we got the undercurrent that Bill was a shitty maker for not teaching Jessica how to drain someone. He is the worst maker, ever!

2) Hoyt gets hotter by the episode. He's right, his haircut is badass.

3) Jason is a disaster. Judging by the title of the ep, I think we're supposed to consider him a beautiful disaster, but he's just a disaster. And yet, even he can upstage Andy and catch a drug dealer. YAY Jason!

4) Tara is a mess. *sigh* But Lafayette remains the coolest cat ever! And his mom is Alfre Woodard! I can't wait to see more of her crazy ass. I totally hope she gets in a brawl with Tara's mom.

5) Eric was in the SS? Where he hunted down werewolves. With Godric. Best part? He's trying like hell to be all supportive and seductive toward Sookie, but he still can't help snapping when she brings up Bill in relation to Godric. "Bill Compton is no Godric!" But he did manage to butter up Sook and worm an invite into her house. As cliffhangers go, though, since we already saw Bill destroy a pack of wolves by himself, it's not too fear inducing to see Eric face off against one.

6) Those wolves? Awesome. Good on Alan Ball for not going for CGI on this one. Werewolves? They use a dog for Sam's shift, so it makes perfect sense to use real wolves. And they're so much cooler than a creature effect.

7) Bill dousing Lorena in flames! Awesome! He tolerated that blood wine, soup and sorbet like a trooper, not to mention the king's pointed queries, but a bitchy maker is just enough, already! Set her on fire in a royal's house!

8) By far, however, the biggest laugh of the episode was Sookie impersonating Bill saying, "Sook-ay!" Well done, Anna, well done!

Buona Dea - Another Draw!

Madone! I know there's been plenty of crying in beers all through New York and New Jersey as the Azzurri only managed to squeak out another draw, this time against New Zealand, and I assume Italians across the pond are ready to shove a vuvuzela up Coach Lippi's ass. I wouldn't say I'm that distraught (though I wouldn't mind destroying a truckload of those stupid horns), but I am now pissed that Alessandro Del Piero and Luca Toni were left off this squad. Yeah, they're older, and Toni didn't perform that well in the 2008 Euro Championships, which probably contributed to the firing of then-coach Donadoni. But Toni IS a great striker, as is Del Piero, and, well, we're really having trouble scoring. Worse, Andrea Pirlo is still out, and Gattuso isn't being played, and Camoranesi only comes in for the second half. Defending has always been the Italians' forte, and even with Buffon out, they're hanging in there. But they made the 78th ranked New Zealand look like a brick wall at the goal. Wave after wave of attack, and they just couldn't break through. New Zealand's keeper DID have a brilliant game, but Italy just couldn't get it done, either. Thursday morning, if they don't scratch out a win against Slovakia, they could kiss their World Cup chances goodbye.

Then again, at least they haven't self-destructed in spectacular and public fashion like France! What a circus they are!

House Money Reviewed -- The Romance Studio

Also got in a great review for House Money. It's from The Romance Studio and Theresa Joseph had this to say:

"If you are looking for a fast and funny mystery, fuhgedaboudit, this is the one for you. Full of wiseguys, capos and made men this is an entertaining Las Vegas mob mystery. The characters in this story are what made it so enjoyable for me...The story itself was a roller coaster ride, I just didn't know what to expect next!..This is the first book I've read by this author but it definitely won't be the last...This is definitely one I'll find myself rereading and chuckling out loud at all the crazy antics again and again."

I'm telling you, if you want summer reading, I've got you triple covered this year.



Mundania Press -Paperback - $12.95

Mundania E-Book - $4.99

Amazon E-Book - $3.99

I know, I'm insufferable. But the Azzurri play again on Sunday morning, and then Sunday night is more True Blood (and I think the season premier of Entourage), so I'll have other stuff to jabber on about next week.

Shuffle Up - Midwest Book Review

Just got in a new review for Shuffle Up and Deal. This one is from Midwest Book Review, and they say: "Sexy, funny, and attention gripping from first page to last, "Shuffle Up And Deal" is a terrific read."

Awesome.

Bloodthirst -- Quenched

What a great week to be me. The World Cup with all the humming and the hot guys. And also the season premier of True Blood, back for its third season, and they really started off the season running.

First, and obviously most important, I must comment on Alexander Skarsgard. Apparently, the now multiple producers of Blood know what their fans like, and they've decided to give them plenty of it. Our first scene with Eric had him showcasing pretty much everything but his Swedish meatballs. Big props to all involved for keeping fans, uh, satisfied. It wasn't just a quick shot, but a long, full-length camera gaze upon his backside. But even funnier was how played the scene off with Sookie. Eric just kept standing in front of her, naked, obviously thrilled to be showcasing his Viking hardware while she stood there verklempt and flustered.

It was also great to have Jessica back, and the pickle the poor girl has herself in will certainly make Bill put her on an even tighter curfew once he gets himself straightened out. Speaking of Bill, I don't know when it happened, but I now have to admit that I love the lug. Poor bastard, getting kidnapped and drained and then feeding off an old lady but still having the Southern courtesy to erase her memories of it and slip her a few bucks. And he and Sam were high comedy in their hot-n-heavy blood induced dream sequence. That Alan Ball, I'm so glad he didn't pass up that opportunity after setting it up last year. It was possibly the best line of the episode, Bill seductively talking about the shower water was so...hard.

Coming a close second was Andy telling Jason that he had to turn his conscience off and his dick on. But Jason, unable to perform with his PTSD raging out of control. Good thing we had Eric to pick up the slack. Also? Pam! I've really missed Pam. And in one quick instant I even fell in love with Evan Rachel Wood's queen. When she screeched and threatened Eric and jacked him up against a wall with her enormous fangs protruding? Well, that's why it's HBO.