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Birthday Fun…

I’m sure you’ve been wondering what I did on my birthday.

On Saturday, Anna, her hubby, and The Girl came by to spend some time with me and celebrate my birthday early. We went over to the Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard, which I am sure incredibly bored Anna out of her mind. The winery tour was a bit lame, but I’ve already been on tours of wineries before. Poor The Girl, she was so antsy and the tour guide/owner took his sweet old time and droned on a bit too long.

Hubby and I got to taste 4 different wines, and I bought a couple of bottles.

Finally, we headed back to the apartment to eat Chinese food and Anna’s famous meatballs!

Then we had cake. Check out my hubby’s glorious work–chocolate cake (my favorite) with cheesecake (my other favorite) topped with strawberries. Check out these shots:

Chocolate Cream Cheese Cake

Birthday Cake 2

Birthday Cake

I took my actual birthday on Monday off from work and spent it at home reading books and blogs, among other relaxing pursuits. Watching Jane Austen movies, etc. I want to thank all of you who stopped by to wish me a happy birthday. It made me smile.

What would you do on your birthday?

Call Me Ted by Ted Turner and Bill Burke (audio)

Call Me Ted by Ted Turner and Bill Burke on audio is an adventurous ride through Ted Turner’s life from his childhood to his “retirement.” This audio, which is 13 disks long, is read by the man himself. His southern accent and his passionate reading of this autobiography will make readers feel at home by his hearth as he recounts the biggest and smallest events in his life.

Not only is the audio read by Ted, but there are a number of side stories told by family members, an ex-wife, business colleagues, and others. From an early age Ted was shipped away from the family and his “abusive” father to military boarding schools where he learned self-reliance, discipline, and dedication.

In college, which he did not finish, he was known as two-beer Turner. He spent a great deal of time away from his own family and sailed in a variety of competitions. Turner is an exceptional, passionate, and accomplished man who is far from finished.

Some of the best stories in the book center on his creation of CNN–a 24-hour news channel on cable–which the broadcast stations, like CBS, NBC, and ABC, considered “chicken noodle news.” Creating the Turner company, transforming it from a billboard selling firm to a cable giant, he spent more than two decades on the couch in his office.

Some of his proudest moments, however, have been in philanthropy and diplomacy during the Cold War and since. From the Goodwill Games, which never earned much revenue, to his work with the United Nations, Turner continued to inspire others to be better than themselves to make the world a better place. He continues this work today.

The best surprise of this audiobook is the final question-and-answer session with Turner, where he says CNN should remain dedicated to impartial news broadcasting and end its emphasis on opinion–like that of the Lou Dobbs show. Turner also notes that alternative energy is needed today, not tomorrow; population growth must be stabilized; land must be conserved; and nuclear weapons must be eliminated around the globe. Turner says he is eager to write a sequel and have Tom Hanks play him in a movie about his life.

If readers love autobiographies, Call Me Ted is one that will knock their cowboy boots off. Turner is witty, strong-willed, opinionated, and a no-nonsense kind of guy with a lot to offer entrepreneurs and others in the business world, as well as those simply in need of a boost.

Giveaway Reminder:

1. The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society (5 copies); Deadline August 12
2. Mr. Darcy, Vampyre (2 copies); Deadline August 14

Examiner Interview with Kyle Semmel

Over at my Examiner.com location, I’ve got part one of my interview with Kyle Semmel from the Bethesda, Md., Writer’s Center talking about blogs and their role in promoting writing workshops and other events for the center.

I’ve known Kyle for quite a while now, but I’ve learned a great deal more about his writing and music tastes in the last few months.

If you haven’t checked out what he has to say, you should.

Check out D.C. Literature Examiner.

Focus Features Presents Pride & Prejudice (2005)

Focus Features’ Pride & Prejudice stars Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen and was released in 2005. What’s to love about this version of the classic Jane Austen novel is the performances, the score, the cinematography, the screenplay adaptation, and everything.

Keira Knightley plays Elizabeth Bennet and she does a beautiful job expressing the character’s emotions, prejudices, and nuances, and Matthew MacFadyen, who plays Fitzwilliam Darcy, plays off of her so well. The chemistry between the two actors sizzles on the screen, and the tension between the characters is palatable.

My love of piano music is catered to in the score of this movie from the scene with Elizabeth looking out over the countryside on her way to Pemberley with her aunt and uncle to the consistent pianoforte playing by the various characters.

While there are scenes from the book that are not in this movie, the pacing is perfect. Knightley easily portrays Elizabeth’s fire and her love for her sister. MacFadyen’s performance is equally captivating as Mr. Darcy from the touch of Elizabeth’s hand and the clenching and unclenching of his fist to the longing gazes he casts in Elizabeth’s direction.

The supporting cast is brilliant from Donald Sutherland as Mr. Bennet to Dame Judi Dench as Lady Catherine de Bourg, providing moments of laughter and anger.

***May contain spoilers***

Some of the best scenes are when it rains and Darcy professes his ardent love against his better judgment, the witty repartee between Darcy and Elizabeth at Rosings, the first dance between Darcy and Elizabeth, and the short exchange between Darcy and Bingley when he visits Jane after a long absence. The best scene of course is when Darcy and Elizabeth meet in the field early in the morning after his aunt visits late the previous evening.

Check out this P&P video set to music. Check out the trailer.

Focus Features’ Pride & Prejudice (2005) receives 5 bags of popcorn from me and makes the first movie for the Everything Austen Challenge.

Mailbox Monday #42


Welcome to another Mailbox Monday, sponsored by Marcia at The Printed Page. We’ve got books. . . yes, more books, this week. Ready for a photo of the beauties?

TBR Growing

From the bottom, up:

1. The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl for a TLC Book Tours on October 22.

2. The Walking People by Mary Beth Keane, which I won from Peeking Between the Pages.

3. Picking Bones from Ash by Marie Mutsuki Mockett from the Amazon Vine Program.

4. The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry for a TLC Book Tours on August 31.

5. Skylight Confessions by Alice Hoffman, which I snagged from our office kitchen. Some of us drop books in the kitchen to give away as freebies, and I got two this week and gave a third to Anna at Diary of an Eccentric. I haven’t read Alice Hoffman yet. Can you believe it?

6. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, which is also from the office kitchen.

7. FU, Penguin by Matthew Gasteier, which came a s a surprise from Random House.

What did you get in your mailbox? Have you read any of these, what are your thoughts? Do you like Alice Hoffman? What books of hers have you read?

Are You an Examiner?

I’ve been regularly posting articles at my D.C. Literature Examiner page, I hope everyone had been following along. The latest post is my review of Shapeshifter: The Demo Tapes Year 1, but you can also find links to my two-part interview with Susan Helene Gottfried at the end of the review.

Anyways, Examiner.com is expanding the number of locations they cover, and if you live near or in the newest 20 locations, let me know, I can send you some referral information. It would help me out as well, if you signed on with Examiner.com and started earning money for yourself too.

Here’s a list of their newest locations:

Mobile, AL
Green Bay, WI
Springfield, IL
Waco, TX
Savannah, GA
Colorado Springs, CO
Baton Rouge, LA
Rockford, IL
Midland Odessa, TX
Gainesville, FL
El Paso, TX
Evansville, IN
Anaheim, CA
Corpus Christi, TX
Scranton, PA
Topeka, KS
Lubbock, TX
Atlantic City, NJ
Reno, NV
Bakersfield, CA

Feel free to join us, earn some money, and spread the word about your local area to online readers.

BBAW Meme

My Friend Amy and the BBAW busy bees have asked three simple questions that will help readers understand Book Blogger Appreciation Week.

1) What was the highlight (something that happened, a post, an activity, etc.) of BBAW for you last year?

I was thrilled to see everyone visiting the various blogs, even new ones like mine and leaving comments and participating in memes, activities, giveaways, etc. I really enjoyed the posts in which bloggers interviewed one another–that for me helped to shed light on who some of these people are.

2) What is one new blog you discovered during BBAW last year?

Gosh, there were so many blogs I discovered last year, and for some reason right now I am drawing a blank. . . oh, wait, The Magic Lasso and Cafe of Dreams and Morbid Romantic.

3) What tips would you share to help others get the most out of their BBAW experience?

Remain calm–there can be a multitude of activities and giveaways and other events, but pace yourself. This is about building community, exposing yourself to different genres and people, and above all having fun.

Have a great time and go vote for your favorite blogs through August 15!

7th Virtual Poetry Circle

Don’t forget about the Verse Reviewers link I’m creating here on Savvy Verse & Wit.

Send me an email with your blog information to savvyverseandwit AT gmail DOT com

And now, for the seventh edition of the Virtual Poetry Circle:

OK, Here’s a poem up for reactions, interaction, and–dare I say it–analysis:

Remember, this is just for fun and is not meant to be stressful.

Keep in mind what Molly Peacock’s books suggested. Look at a line, a stanza, sentences, and images; describe what you like or don’t like; and offer an opinion. If you missed my review of her book, check it out here.

This week’s poem is from Emily Dickinson:

Hope is the thing with feathers (254)

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And Sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I’ve heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me

Let me know your thoughts, ideas, feelings, impressions. Let’s have a great discussion…pick a line, pick an image, pick a sentence. Most of all have fun!

Interview With Amanda Grange, Author of Mr. Darcy, Vampyre

If you missed my review of Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange, feel free to check it out.

Amanda Grange was kind enough to take time out of her busy schedule to answer a few of my questions about her latest novel and her writing. Don’t forget the giveaway following the interview.

Please welcome Amanda to Savvy Verse & Wit:

1. How difficult was it to return to Mr. Darcy of Pride & Prejudice following your successful book, Mr. Darcy’s Diary, and then transform him into an immortal vampire in Mr. Darcy, Vampyre? Could you explain part of the process?

I did it by taking a step back and seeing a larger picture, one in which Mr. Darcy had a terrible secret. Then I looked at Pride and Prejudice from this new vantage point and I saw that it fit in well. It gave Darcy a new reason for his aloofness, his reluctance to fall in love and his absences for long periods of time in Pride and Prejudice. I then imagined a future for Lizzy and Darcy where this great secret lay between them and I explored the effects that would have on their relationship as well as thinking about the extraordinary things that would happen to them. I wanted to create a story that would test their love to the limits, and the rest followed quite naturally from there.

2. Most authors dealing with classic characters fell in love with them early on, but wanted something more. Is this how you felt about Darcy, and what is it you sought to do that Jane Austen had not?

Yes, that’s exactly how it happened with me. I first read Pride and Prejudice when I was about 13 and fell in love with the whole Austen world, including Darcy, but I still wanted more. So I sought to provide more with Mr. Darcy, Vampyre, which of course is the one thing that Austen didn’t do.

3. If you were to create a playlist for Mr. Darcy, Vampyre, what five songs or scores would be on that list?

Interesting. I think one would be Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, I think that would go very well with the first chapter of the book. Then I’d have Yesterday by the Beatles, when Lizzy starts to realize that something is wrong. I’d have Angels by Robbie Williams for a part of the book where Darcy watches Lizzy sleeping, and Something by the Beatles for when Darcy is explaining his love for Lizzy. And of course I’d have Bat out of Hell by Meatloaf!

4. Do you have any obsessions that you would like to share?

You mean apart from Jane Austen? The thing about one obsession is that it doesn’t really leave room for any others (apart from chocolate!)

5. In Mr. Darcy, Vampyre, you’ve created an exciting and exotic world in which Darcy and Lizzy go on their wedding tour. What inspired you to write these vivid settings? Was there any particular paintings or travels that inspired you?

The inspiration came originally from The Mysteries of Udolpho by Mrs Radcliffe. Udolpho is mentioned a lot in Jane Austen’s own Gothic novel, Northanger Abbey, because both the hero and the heroine have read it and thought it was wonderful. In Udolpho, the heroine travels through France, crosses the Alps and goes on into Italy.

I wanted Lizzy and Darcy to follow her journey as an homage to Udolpho and I thought Janeites would really enjoy it as they would get the references. Having made that decision, I then based the descriptions on my memories of my own holidays in Europe. I remember my first holiday to Italy vividly. I had never been out of England before and the light was incredible. Here in England it’s often dull, with low lying cloud, and the colours are muted, but in Italy everything was dazzling.

There’s a bit in Mr. Darcy, Vampyre, when Lizzy and Darcy arrive in Venice, which says: “Light was everywhere. It poured from the sky and it danced from the water. It leapt from the gilding and twirled from the stones.” That’s exactly how it seemed to me the first time I went there.

6. Many readers are eager to know which character or characters authors most identify with, so in your latest novel, which of the characters do you identify with and why?

Hm, that’s difficult. I think I identify with Lizzy and Darcy equally. I try to put myself inside the heads of my characters when I write, and I found myself equally at home with both Lizzy and Darcy.

7. Which books have you been reading lately, and are there any you would like to recommend?

I’ve been reading Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie and I’d happily recommend it. I love Agatha Christie. Her plots are superb and I think her writing style is underrated. It’s actually very difficult to write in such a seemingly simple style and still hold a reader’s attention. I’ve now moved on to Mariana by Susanna Kearsley. I haven’t got very far with it yet but so far I’m really enjoying it.

8. Finally, following Mr. Darcy, Vampyre, do you have any other projects in the works? Do they deal with other classic literature or do you see yourself flourishing in the Pride & Prejudice market?

My next project is a prequel to Mr. Darcy, Vampyre. Oddly enough, I don’t have any interest in writing books based on other classic stories. Somehow it’s just Pride and Prejudice that keeps inspiring new ideas in me because I can’t get enough of the characters or the perfect love story of Lizzy and Darcy.

If you want to check out the other stops for Amanda Grange, go to the Mr. Darcy Vampyre blog.

Sourcebooks has kindly offered 2 books of Mr. Darcy, Vampyre for 2 of my readers in the United States and Canada.

1. For one entry, leave a comment about one of your favorite parts of the interview.

2. For a second entry, Tweet, Facebook, or otherwise spread the word about the giveaway on your blog, etc.

3. For a third entry, let me know if you already follow or just started following.

Deadline is August 14, 2009 at 11:59 PM


Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange

“Her attention was attracted by movement close at hand and she saw the dark shape of a bird–no, a bat–heading towards the window. She closed it quickly, leaving the bat to hover outside. As she looked at it she was seized with a strange feeling. She thought how lonely it must feel, being shut out; being a part and yet not a part of the warmth and light within.” (Page 67 of the ARC)

Amanda Grange’s Mr. Darcy, Vampyre, published by Sourcebooks, catches up with Mr. & Mrs. Darcy right before their nuptials and follows them along their wedding tour. As plans change and the Darcys spontaneously tour Europe, mingling with Mr. Darcy’s friends, Elizabeth begins to feel that there is a deep dark secret her husband is hiding from her.

Throughout the novel, Grange adheres to Jane Austen’s characters and the time in which those characters live. Readers of Pride & Prejudice may have wondered why Fitzwilliam Darcy was so reserved, but Grange provides a paranormal alternative to mere position and wealth considerations in the 19th century. The lush landscape and dramatic plot will suck readers into Mr. Darcy, Vampyre as they travel with Elizabeth and Darcy through Paris, Italy, and the Alps.

“She needed no urging. The sumptuous atmosphere was starting to oppress her and the strangely sinuous people were unsettling. She was relieved to get outside and breathe the fresh air.

Night hung over the city like a dark mantle, pierced with the light of flambeaux and, up above, there seemed to be a thousand stars.” (Page 47 of ARC)

Elizabeth is captivated by her foreign surroundings, but eventually she begins to feel weary of her new acquaintances and the tension in her marriage. Readers will grow anxious and paranoid just as Elizabeth does. From bandits and wolves in the woods outside a secluded castle to the reappearance of Lady Catherine de Bourgh and her ties to Darcy’s secret, Grange weaves a twisted narrative that leaves Elizabeth, Darcy, and readers on the edge of their seats.

Mr. Darcy, Vampyre is a paranormal continuation of Austen’s Pride & Prejudice that is executed successfully. Even though the title does the novel a disservice by telling readers Darcy is a vampire, Grange is a master of this time period and her imagination shines through in this novel. There are enough descriptive clues and dialogue in Grange’s novel that a different title would not have detracted from its paranormal quality. It took me less than 3 days to read this novel in the free time I had at home. Readers will be absorbed by this paranormal world. Mr. Darcy, Vampire is another notch in Grange’s repertoire, and if readers have enjoyed Mr. Darcy’s Diary (click on the link for my review), they will enjoy this paranormal novel.

Feel free to check out the Mr. Darcy, Vampyre blog. And stay tuned for my interview with Amanda Grange and a giveaway on August 7. Check out more of the Mr. Darcy, Vampyre tour on the book’s blog.

This is my first book for the Everything Austen Reading Challenge. What books have you read for the challenge? What movies have you watched?

Also reviewed by:
Cafe of Dreams
Diary of an Eccentric