Last week I emailed Jody all excited about this piece of news I had read on The Spellman Files Facebook page:

One result of Lisa and the Spellman’s recent break from each other is “Heads You Lose,” a mystery she co-wrote with David Hayward. It’ll hit stores in April 2011. Fear not, Spellman faithful: Lisa is currently “hard at work” on Spellman V: The Wrath of the Spellmans (okay, that’s not the real title), slated for a spring 2012 release.

A fifth book! As it turns out, Jody already knew there’d be a fifth book but I had gone into the last book, The Spellmans Strike Again, thinking it was the last we’d hear of the Spellmans. And it felt like a conclusion so it seemed to match my expectations. But I’m super excited that we’ll be getting at least one more book. I love these characters and I can’t wait to spend a little more time with them.

Which is why I’m both super stoked and somewhat apprehensive about the other Spellman File development announced this week… ABC is considering picking up a pilot based on the series!!

There is a small part of me that’s a little worried I’m too attached to these characters and that I won’t be able to handle someone else’s vision of them but I’ve always felt like the series would be perfect for the small screen. Due, in no small part, I’m sure to Lisa Lutz’s background in TV. Although, if I’m being honest, I still think it’s a better fit for USA than ABC. But when it comes to network TV ABC is definitely more accepting of quirkiness in a show and I’m hoping that means they won’t want to change too much of Lisa’s concept. Also, I’m big fan of Greg Yaitanes’ work so I trust that he’ll do right by the Spellmans. Just the fact that Lisa will be involved in a consulting position is a huge relief to me.

It’s way too early to be getting excited about a Spellman Files TV show, more projects never make it out of these development talks than do, but I’ve got my fingers crossed they at least get to make a pilot. And, ahem, as intriguing as it was to imagine Kristen Bell as Marilyn Munster, I’d much rather see her as Isabel Spellman. It’ll never happen but my inner Veronica Mars fangirl can dream!

 
Please join me in wishing Jody a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY! As I’m sure is obvious, this site would be nothing without her. One of my favorite things about Jo is how she loves books just as much as I do. Is it possible to have a book soulmate? Because she’s totally mine.

Jo… It’s your birthday and you know what that means?! I hope you’ve got some Floo Powder handy because it’s time to go to Hogwarts! Also, I borrowed Errol from the Weasleys so your presents should arrive soon… Although I can’t promise Errol won’t have dropped them a few times.

Seriously, though, I hope you have a great birthday. I love you to death and my days would not be the same without you in them. I will be forever grateful that our mutual love for Buffy Summers brought us together. Now when I read a book I know you’re going to love, I can’t wait to talk about it with you. I love our discussions about who Stephanie should choose, what adventures Kendra and Seth are up to now (OMG! I need to read Book 5!!), and what shoes Betsy is wearing now. In fact, I need to go email you…

I’m a HUGE fan of Angie Dudley over at Bakerella. She puts my cake decorating to shame. Better yet, she’s just as sweet as the treats she makes. I don’t know her personally or anything but her posts never fail to bring a smile to my face. Which is why I can’t wait to get my hands on her book, Cake Pops: Tips, Tricks, and Recipes for More Than 40 Irresistible Mini Treats, which hit shelves this week.

Even better Angie made a little video to promote the book and in it she shows you the basics of making cake pops. Awesome! (She’s also posted about making the video over at Bakerella.) I really need to make some of these soon. I’m making the cake(s) for a friend’s son’s first birthday next weekend. Maybe I’ll sneak some cake pops in there as an extra treat.

So, my fellow bakers, be sure to check out the cake pops section of Angie’s blog. If you like what you see, I’m pretty sure you’ll love her new book as much as I will!

They’re Watching
by Gregg Hurwitz

Summary
Patrick Davis attended UCLA with one dream in mind. Years later he thought that dream had finally come true when he sold his screenplay to Summit Pictures and production of the movie began with rising star Keith Connor in the lead role. Only to see it all unravel before his eyes. He gets fired from the movie and blacklisted in Hollywood for allegedly assaulting Connor. And, as a result of all the time he’s spent trying to make the movie a reality, his marriage to his college sweetheart, Ariana, is falling apart. But that’s just the beginning. One morning he finds a DVD hidden in the Entertainment section of his morning paper and he’s shocked to find out it’s a video of himself in his house following his daily routine. And then more DVDs arrive and he knows… They’re watching. And then they want him to do something for them and he won’t like the consequences if he doesn’t. Soon it becomes a race for Patrick to find out who is behind the DVDs and why before his life is changed in ways he won’t be able to escape.

Review
I was excited when I returned home from a recent trip to find this book waiting for me. I’ve been looking forward to checking it out (literally, I got it from the library!) for quite some time. It wasn’t quite as good as I was hoping but, overall, I did enjoy it. In fact, some parts were so good I hated putting the book down. Unfortunately, other parts dragged so much I actually skimmed a few chapters so that I wouldn’t just give up on it entirely. It’s possible others wouldn’t find those sections nearly as lacking as I did, especially since I read a review in which that section was described as “really fantastic.” Perhaps I’m just not as into the suspense and thriller aspects as others? At any given moment, the reader knows only what Patrick Davis knows about what is happening. And I suppose that works to leave us feeling just as confused and helpless and frustrated as Patrick. Except unlike Patrick, I’m not a character in a book being forced to endure something. I can walk away when it annoys me too much and I almost did. Luckily, once everything was revealed, I got back into it and quick. The plot is almost too big to be contained. As in, I’m not sure I buy that Patrick wouldn’t be looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life given the lengths we see his adversaries go earlier in the book. So the ending is doesn’t quite live up to the rest of the story but it is satisfactory and wraps everything up so you aren’t left wondering what just happened.

Verdict
I picked up this book based on the recommendation from someone who had read an advanced review. She described it as “quintessential summer reading fare.” Well, I didn’t love it nearly as much as she did but I can agree that is a perfect beach (or lying out by the pool pretending it’s the beach) book. You may or may not find sections of the book as slow as I did but you’ll definitely have moments where you can’t wait to turn the page and find out what happens next.

And now the second part of our interview with Seanan McGuire (read the first part here). This part is all about Feed and contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the book. If you have any plans to read it, please skip this post until you’ve finished it. (And in that case, make sure to enter our Feed giveaway for your chance to win an autographed copy!)

Continue reading for part 2 of our interview with Seanan Mcguire. CAUTION: CONTAINS MAJOR PLOT SPOILERS FOR FEED.

Last week I gushed over Feed and told you all about the release party I attended. This week we’ve got an interview with the author, Mira Grant (aka Seanan McGuire)! We talk to her about having books out under two names, writing, and Feed. No worries, though, you don’t have to have read the book for this first half of the interview.

Welcome Mira! I mean, Seanan. And Mira. Whatever! Thanks for taking the time to answer some of our questions.

Thanks for having me! I love interviews.

Do you feel at all like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde at the moment? How do you handle having books out under two names? Literally. Is there a difference in how you present yourself as one persona versus the other?

I dress a bit differently. For Seanan events, I tend to look like a happy pumpkin, while for Mira events, I focus on red, black, and camo prints. I have a lot of chainsaw jewelry, and that comes out for Mira. Mostly, it’s the topics that vary, since I don’t talk fairy tales when I’m Mira, and I don’t tend to get quite as many questions about virology when I’m Seanan.

I know you’ve probably explained this a thousand times by now but can you quickly touch on why the Newsflesh Trilogy has been released under a different name than your October Daye books?

I tell people it’s like when Disney created Touchstone to allow them to release R-rated movies. They were good movies, they were sometimes awesome movies, but they weren’t movies that were necessarily “Disney movies.” I love the books I write as Mira Grant, but they’re very, very different from the Toby books, and I want to set up that expectation right from the beginning. I don’t want people to pick up Feed going “Oh, I loved Rosemary and Rue, this is the same author, so it must be the same thing!” Even if you know that I’m both Mira and Seanan, the different name creates a different expectation.

You’ve got other books in development. Do you anticipate possibly having to publish those under different names too?

It’s possible that I may wind up picking up more pseudonyms in the future, since I want to write YA and maybe even straight romantic comedy. Maybe I can pull a Neil Gaiman and be able to publish as myself in a bunch of different genres, but that’s much more of a long shot than me someday announcing that I am suddenly three people.

Speaking of the Newsflesh Trilogy, you know I love Feed but why do you think it’s going to appeal to others? Or what about it do you hope will appeal to others?

Feed is about the truth. It’s about fear. It’s about family. And it’s about zombies, which are pretty popular these days. I think all those things will have a lot of appeal, especially in combination. Plus a lot of things explode, and people tend to like that sort stuff.

One only has to read a few entries in your blog to see that you’re clearly fan of horror, is that where this book was born? And what else, if anything, had a big influence on the story?

It is! I love horror, and I love virology, and these loves combined to give me functional viral zombies. It all sort of spread from there. Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing was also a big influence, as was Transmetropolitan, by Warren Ellis, and, weirdly, all those really lousy killer virus movies where no one respects the quarantine.

Continue reading Part 1 of our interview with Seanan McGuire.

Feed
by Mira Grant

This piece is opinion. Take it as you will.
But get your opinions the hell away from my news.

I love this book.

And I want all of you to read it. Except, if you hate it, I kinda don’t want to know. That’s horrible, right? But that’s how much I love it. I don’t want to hear people ragging on it. Every time I see a review of it posted somewhere, I hesitate before clicking on the link, fearful that it’ll be bad and I won’t be able to deal. I may have issues.

Mira Grant (a.k.a Seanan McGuire) is a good friend and, while I love her other books, Feed was the one I couldn’t wait to own. The one I was dying to place on my bookshelf. From the moment I read the very first beta pages (and it’s only gotten better with each new draft!), I knew she’d sell it someday.

It’s not my book but having essentially watched it evolve from a few cryptic comments in an instant message to a honest-to-God book on sale at your local bookstore, I’m a tad protective of it. Which is exactly why I told Jody I didn’t want to review it. Quite frankly, it’d be impossible for me to assure you I’m capable of looking at it objectively. Instead I’m just going to reiterate my love for it and strongly recommend you check it out for yourself. I’m pretty sure you’ll be standing on my side of the Feed fence before you get to the last page.

In related “Objectivity, what’s that?!” news, I totally flew out to San Francisco just to attend the Feed release party!!

Sadly I’ve had to miss Seanan’s other release parties but there was no way I wouldn’t be at this one. We’ve literally been planning my attendance for months. It was everything I could have hoped. Seanan even read something! (She’s not a fan of this reading thing. I say she better get used to it.)

The party was at the nifty Borderlands Books in downtown San Francisco, complete with cats! It’s an awesome store. We had a bunch of other sugary treats from Cups and Cakes. YUMMY! Oh! And we had brains! Ok, ok, brains cupcakes but, really, isn’t that the same thing? Since the book takes place after the zombie apocalypse (stop judging, it’s good I tell you!), you can’t have a zombie book release party without people eating brains. Pretty sure you’ll find that in a rule book somewhere.

As I said, Seanan read the first chapter of Feed which is pretty damn fun. Later she read again, not from Feed this time but one of her Fighting Pumpkin short stories dealing with the undead. Even more fun. Or, more importantly, funny. The story got lots of laughs and was the perfect way to wind things down. In between her readings she also answered a crap load of questions pertaining to both Feed and writing in general. If I were a better blogger, I’d have written some of these down so I could share them with you. Suffice to say, Seanan did a lot of research for this book and is well-known at the CDC. The vote’s still out on whether this is something to be celebrated or not. But I’m pretty sure it’s a huge honor for Seanan.

If you can’t tell, I had a great time. There’s nothing like celebrating a friend’s success with other friends. And those piles of Seanan’s books on the bookstore counter? Amazing. I’m so incredibly proud of her and happy I there in person to show her.

Oh! And I picked up couple copies of the book that Seanan was nice enough to sign during the party and we’ll be announcing a giveaway for those soon. Plus, those answers I didn’t write down? Turns out we may have a few of them to share with you after all. Check back in a few days for With A Good Book’s interview with Seanan!

Shades of Grey
by Jasper Fforde

Synopsis
I’ve yet to find a quick and concise description of this book. Consider that your first warning. The world of Shades of Grey appears to be our own, far into the dystopian future after Something that Happened where everyone is divided into color classes. Not relating to the color of their skin but to their ability to see color. Purples rule the roost while the Greys are basically slaves to all the Colors. The book follows Eddie Russett, a Red, as he accompanies his father on a temporary assignment in East Carmine. It’s there he meets a Grey, Jane, whose cute little nose has him reconsidering his future. It’s not long before his journey sets him on a path to the one place he never expected: the truth.

Review
I’m a huge fan of Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series. HUGE fan.
And even though I never connected with his Nursery Crime books, I was pretty excited when I heard about Shades of Grey. That was until I downloaded the sample pages available for the Kindle and struggled my way through a few of them. I quickly decided this was a book I wouldn’t be buying. But then it was a table at my library a few weeks ago and I decided I’d give it another shot.

I’d like to say it was easier this time around but I can’t. The first half of the book feels, at times, like reading a foreign language. Even when you recognize words that you know, their meaning escapes you. It’s pretty frustrating. If it hadn’t been this author, I’d have given up on the book within the first 100 pages. But then the story finally picks up and I was really drawn in by it.

It’s possible I would have enjoyed the book if so much of the satire wasn’t lost on me. There were a few things that drew chuckles from me but, for the most part, I was too busy trying to grasp the world Fforde was showing me to catch on to the ways it poking fun at ours.

Verdict
The number of people giving this book five star reviews astound me. It feels a bit like the Emperor’s Clothes. Not that I think the book is without any genius, I just don’t think it deserves the accolades I’m reading. Though it answers the initial questions it set up, what the book really does is leave you wanting to know what happens next. It ends just as we finally get to the real story and that’s where I think its true potential lies. Not such a bad thing for the first book in a trilogy. But then again I’m afraid most stalwart of Fforde fans will even get that far. Because, man oh man, getting through the first half is rough.

Psych: A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Read
by William Rabkin

Synopsis
After the PSYCH detective agency gets some top-notch publicity, Shawn’s high-school nemesis, Dallas Steele, hires him to help choose his investments. Naturally, their predictions turn out to be total busts. And the deceptive Dallas is thrilled that he has completely discredited and humiliated Shawn once and for all—until he’s found murdered. But the police have a suspect – found at the scene with a smoking gun. And she says Shawn took control of her mind and forced her to do it. After all, he is a psychic…

Review
This is going to be short and sweet – well, not so sweet really but definitely short. I picked this book up last year after being pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the first Burn Notice tie-in novel, The Fix. I had high hopes. Granted, the two books had entirely different authors but William Rabkin had actually written an episode of Psych back in season one. Surely he’d do a good job capturing the essence of these characters I love so much, right?

Wrong. Or maybe right. But, man, if this book is indicative of what these characters are really like inside their heads… Well, I’d rather stick with my interpretation of them. Because, while they sure sounded like my favorite characters and I do think he did a good job with their voices when it came to dialog (and there are lots of laughs too), I hated his take on their motivation for doing things, etc. I’ve seen people complain about Shawn being a jerk on the show and I’m guessing those people have the same view on Shawn’s actions as Rabkin.

Verdict
I finished the book but not happily and it didn’t take me long to decide I’d be skipping all future Psych tie-in novels. I will say that the Amazon reviews are all fairly positive so it may just be that I have a more idealized version of these characters in my head. But I’d caution fellow fans to try reading a chapter or two of the book before actually purchasing.

A Local Habitation: An October Daye Novel
by Seanan McGuire

This review of A Local Habitation is long, long overdue. The book actually hit bookstore shelves back in March and it’s good. Like really really good. Hope you’ve buckled your seat belt bceause, unfettered by the world building necessary in Rosemary and Rue, the second October Daye novel races right into the story and doesn’t slow down until it’s time to get off the ride. Altho, I recommend trying to take your time reading it. Otherwise you’ll end up like me, anxious to ride again and stuck in a line that wraps around this month and well into September 2010.

Here’s the part where I remind you I’m friends with Seanan. And the skeptics are right, I probably wouldn’t tell you if I hated the book. I mean I’d tell her but she’s trying to make a living at this writing thing so I’d be a little circumspect about blurting it all over this blog. Of course, if I hated it or even only mildly tolerated it, I wouldn’t be talking about it at all. I’m notoriously easy to please when it comes to movies and television. Not so much with a book. Fair or not, one bad book by an author can end up souring my opinion of even books I may have previously loved. I may not read serious books but I do take my reading seriously. So if I don’t like a book, I’m not going to recommend you pick it up at the library much less go out and spend money on it.

But A Local Habitation? Worth the money. Two books in and Toby has wormed her way into my heart. And, despite all she’s been through, she’s not the most cautious of people so that makes for a pretty nerve-racking read at times. Or maybe it’s because I do know Seanan? Anything could happen when Toby walks into a new situation. Anything. Luckily there are a few folks in the book who seem to feel exactly the same way. Even better, at least one of them is my second favorite character. So it’s not just me who gets a little anxious about Toby’s newest case.

What else can I tell you without actually telling you anything at all? How about my one negative? The mystery itself wasn’t that compelling. There are some clues early on that, once you realize what’s happen, may make you go, “Oooooh, now I get why…” But I wasn’t really drawn in by it. Part of that is due to the large number of mysteries I consume. It’s made me fairly picky about my mysteries. That said, I think it was also because I was so into the outcome of Rosemary and Rue and and I just never felt as connected to the characters involved in A Local Habitation‘s outcome. That said, how Toby is affected by it all was much more interesting to me. That’s the angle I found both thought provoking and touching.

Oh! My “couple” gets some play in this book. Not that they’re together or there’s any hint that they might be anytime soon. But we do get what I’m gonna call “proof” there’s something there. So naturally that makes me happy! And, yes, I am being purposely vague here. Get the book if you want to know what I’m talking about!

In conclusion, I’m already ready to re-read A Local Habitation and can’t wait for more Toby.^*

Review Note: Although I’ve since purchased my own copy, DAW Books provided a signed ARC for this review.

* Speaking of, DAW Books bought the next two Daye books back in March! Yay!