PLEASE NOTE: I’m now leaving this contest open until February 22nd. It will be open two weeks, not one.
The gist of the situation is this: “Simon & Schuster and Barnes & Noble are locked in a dispute over terms. Although the exact nature of the disagreement is not yet clear, B&N has significantly reduced its orders from S&S. Read More »
There’s been a bit of the kerfuffle on the interwebs (imagine that!) over The Hunger Games. It seems there is this awesomely gory book called Battle Royale (made into a movie the year before The Hunger Games was released in theatres).
Here’s the description of Battle Royale, per Amazon: In an alternative future Japan, junior high students are forced to fight to the death! Koushun Takami’s notorious high-octane thriller is based on an irresistible premise: a class of junior high school students is taken to a deserted island where, as part of a ruthless authoritarian program, they are provided arms and forced to kill one another until only one survivor is left standing. Read More »
Okay kids, we’re in the middle of yet ANOTHER move (three in a year - yes, I’m clinically insane), so I’m going to make this short and sweet. Random.org chose commentor 21 for the free vampire e-book! That would be YOU, Cat S. Since I went over board on Black Friday, I’ll have to send it to you a week from tomorrow. Spend that time perusing the awesomeness available and make your choice wisely. It’ll be like Christmas!
On a completely random note: folks, we are SCREWED in the event of a zombie apocalypse. Tallahassee will be too busy crying in his Wheaties to help us out. 
The horror!! The horror!!
The Internet is full of memes bemoaning the current state of vampires in fiction. Phrases like “real vampires don’t sparkle” and pictures of Antonio Banderas, Kiefer Sutherland, and the dude who plays Spike (I’m too lazy to Google his name, but our wonderful editor Carol has informed me it’s James Marsters and that he should be listed by name because he is the best. I called her blasphemous and have challenged her to a duel. Due to aforementioned laziness and my knack for cutting myself with sharp objects whilst wielding them, I am acquiescing and adding his name.) Read More »
For a few weeks, I was doing really well in compiling an Off the Fang and poll for you all, and I want to apologize for my slacking. I’ve been hit – hard – by the Bundy Curse and am still trying to crawl out from under the airplane that crash landed in my life.
In lieu of an actual column this week, I’m pimping a convention happening next month. The official blurb is:
Emerald City Steampunk Expo is a three-day celebration of the Steampunk Culture. There will be three days of concerts, gaming, demonstrations, comedy, oddities, cosplay, LARPing, stage shows and more. Read More »
Next stop on our meander down Memory Lane is an oldie but goodie: Hex and the Single Girl by Valerie Frankel. Not gonna lie – I bought the book because of the cover. How cute is the little frog in the bag?? Seriously!?!
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Every once in a while, I get sentimental. Could be the weather, time of year, or amount of alcohol consumed, but whatever the cause, I always end up skimming through one of my favorite novels. I might read just a paragraph or a chapter or I might lock myself in my bedroom and read the whole damn thing. The time spent with the novel isn’t the important part – the way I feel after I put it back on the shelf is.
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DISCLAIMER: I had no ideas for a column this week, so you get lovey dovey tripe and pictures of my son. Huzzah! Sing with me ! “We are (E-)Family! Einstein ain’t got shit on me!”
While sitting together on the couch, perusing our perspective Facebook pages – because the most romantic thing in the world for a couple to do is sit next to each other and e-stalk other people – I made the off-hand comment that I hadn’t met probably half my Facebook friends.
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DISCLAIMER: I am as disgusted by the Stop GR Bullies shite as everyone else. I think the issue with that site is clouding the REAL problem, though.
DISCLAIMER #2: If you have no idea what I’m griping about, don’t feel bad. In fact, do a happy dance in the buff! My Twitter-feed has been inundated with nothing but information on this supposed war between reviewers and authors. It’s enough to make me twitch! Oh…wait…I already do…crap…
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Okay, not really, but we can pretend, right?
School has taken me away, my preciouses, but I’m still knocking about behind the scenes, mainly writing really bad poetry.
No, I’m not kidding. I have to write POETRY for a degree in Foreign Languages and Liberal Sciences. But that’s not why we’re here…
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Disclaimer: We shall not be discussing the merits of Stephenie Meyer’s work, our opinions on the Twilight series, or the author who received the quote. Any and all commenters who do will be (silently applauded as long as you agree with me) deleted. : )
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As you’ve all probably gathered during our time together (and, sadly, apart), I have a thing for big boys. I don’t mean big as in rotund, but the stereotypical tall, dark, and handsome. Give me giant biceps, or give me death!
This slight obsession spawned a game I like to call “Find Random Cover Guy.” It began innocently enough in the hallowed aisles at Borders with my son and heterosexual life partner (who are, thank you very much, two different people).
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Get your minds out of the gutters. Sheesh, people, you’d think I’d taught you all to expect dirty, perverted things from me!
No, I’m not talking about men here, folks, or sex or what happens to Mike and Ike’s when you leave them in the car on a nice, summer day then try to take a delectable bite. Though, not that I think about dirty, perverted things…
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Love triangles. Whether you love ‘em or hate ‘em, you can’t deny their power in a story. It’s the epic battle of two men (I’ll explain the exclusion of women later) for the heart, body, and soul of one woman. How could we NOT fall in love with this blatantly obvious and horribly overused romantic trope??
Psst – the reason why I’m not discussing stories where two women vie for one man is because I hate them. Anytime there’s a character, be he side or main, going after two women, I get physically ill and have to put the book away lest I verbally castrate the male character. Why, you might ask, does this enrage me yet I find it acceptable for a woman to be in love with two men? Because it does. That’s the only reason I have. : )
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The SmackDown is keeping me busy as all hell, so this is going to be a super short post.
First: the winners!!
Winner of both the Gavyn Donatti series by Sonya Bateman and the Disillusionist series by Carolyn Crane: JOANI S!! (When you email me, tell me if you want an additional copy of Master of None. Willing to buy it if you know someone who’ll want it.)
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When last we heard from our ever-verbose host of Off the Fang, she was ranting and raving about kick-ass series that died too young. This week, she’s decided to step it up a notch and do something about the situation.
Clearly, she is insane, for not only is she NOT rich, but she’s referring to herself in the third person. May the orderlies at the insane asylum be well-muscled and surly…
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A while back, I mentioned series that have lived so long their lifespans rival those of the undead characters living inside them. This week, I’m flipping a bitch and discussing the exact opposite – series alive and well that were killed before their prime.
Sometimes, the death is at the hands of the creator. All literary deaths are noble, but this is the most understandable AND the most frustrating to readers. We bitch and moan about series that go on too long (don’t look at me! Glass houses, people — glass houses!), but hate it when we’re cut off from our beloved worlds. Read More »
YO. JONI J. YOU WON THE CONTEST LAST WEEK. Contact me by the end of the week, please, or I’ll have to reassign the prize.
This may be the only serious post I ever create for Off the Fang. The only reason I’m even writing it is because I’m living this mess. You see, I’m an employee of one of the Borders slated to be shut down. Before I get into all that…
There’s been a lot of talk online about the Borders bankruptcy: how it will affect authors, the publishing industry as a whole, and readers.
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I was going to do something cool like “my favorite fictional couples” or “ways to enjoy V day when you’re a multiple divorcee”, but Sunday crept up on me WAY too quickly and this is what I’m reduced to. Don’t judge! I’ve been busy!
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The usual disclaimers apply to this article: No personal attacks, no hurt feelings, and no being a dick. That is all.
Series are an addiction. Once I get a taste of a cast of characters, I can’t put them down, no matter how badly I may want to do so. I care about what happens to them, what trials they face and the lives lost in the process. But sometimes, just sometimes, those happy, joyful feelings of love and concern morph into a sort of acidic taste in my mouth that can only be called bitter indebtedness.
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Bitten by Books