With the internet on and off (mostly off) this week, I have fallen behind on a few reviews, in which I hope to catch up with in the next few days. I did break my dreaded insomnia a few days ago, but now I am catching a cold. Last weekend I saw Dark Shadows at my local theater, which I thought was better than what I was expecting. You can read my review here on it.

Anybody watch True Blood? I liked it, but I could have done without the vampire incest and the Tara turning into a vampire. Tara is the worst character on the series, completely different from the books, and I wish they would just kill her off.

I actually watched TNT's Dallas last night. I recall my grandparents watching the series, so I was not completely clueless about the show. I thought it was alright, and fits in with being a sequel than a reboot.

The setting makes the story. One of the cool things about writing an epic story that is set in today’s world is the opportunity to include all the wonderful places that surround us. You’ve probably seen them on TV and may have been lucky to visit some. As the world becomes increasingly virtual, I found I was starting to forget what actually walking in these various places felt like.

So in My Merlin you have a chance to step into Ryan’s shoes and explore them with her. Here are a few that I have a connection to which make up a big piece of the My Merlin story.

Concord, Massachusetts – The birthplace of the American Revolution. “The shot heard around the world.” Why does My Merlin start off here? I thought it fitting that if the world should be turned-upside, the origins should be here. Concord (a town just outside Boston) has a wonderful flavor of American history and its rebellious spirit. One of the places I toured years ago was the House of Seven Gables. I always wanted an excuse to put this truly haunted house into a story. In Book 2, My Merlin Awakening, I got the chance.

Dancing Naked in Dixie
AUTHOR: Lauren Clark
PUBLISHED BY: Monterey Press
ASIN: B0082205JY
PUB DATE: May 9, 2012
PAGES: 267

    Julia Sullivan is a travel writer for the Getaway Magazine and she is given an assignment that takes her to Eufaula, Alabama to cover the annual Winter Pilgrimage event. Julia is use to traveling to exotic locations and going to Alabama doesn’t thrill her at all, but she doesn’t have a choice. Her new boss isn’t fond of her and to keep her job she has take the assignment.

    She is surprised to see how friendly the Eufaula locals are and takes in the Southern life, meeting quirky characters such as Shug, PD, Roger, and many others. Julia is emotionally drained for her mother’s passing and her battered relationship with her father. This simple assignment is turning into more of a life changing event, as she deals with her personal problems and unexpectedly finds romance.

I’m an avid Dark Shadows fan as I use to watch the original soap when it aired in reruns on the former Scifi Channel, and I recently watch the DVD of the 1991 revival series. I was aware of all the mixed reviews that Tim Burton’s remake received, but I still wanted to see the film. Dark Shadows happened to playing at my small local theater last weekend and I went to see the film at the Sunday matinee.

The film starts in the year 1760, where the Collins along with their young son Barnabas leave Liverpool and travel to the United States, where they open up a fishing port in Maine. Years go by and Barnabas (Johnny Depp) grows up to be somewhat of a playboy, fooling around a servant, Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green), who is actually a powerful witch. Barnabas falls in love with Josette du Pres and rejects Angelique’s affections, but the witch doesn’t like rejection. She forces Josette to jump off a cliff, and one by one the Collins die. All but Barnabas as Angelique has cursed him into a vampire. When the town people find out about the vampire, they chain Barnabas inside a coffin and bury him.

It’s now 1972 and a young woman named Maggie Evans is arriving at the Collinwood Manor. She is running away from her haunting past and uses the name Victoria Winters as she accepts the job as David Collin’s governess.

Recently, a scientist discovered a live 700-year-old male dragon in Asia and it is considered to be the world’s greatest discovery. Around the world everyone is at awe over the discovery. Even in Missouri, where Isabella Treehorn and her brother Kaelyn are struggling to get over the recent death of their mother, and dealing with their new life with Uncle Titus.

 Isabella starts to have strange dreams about talking dragons and the Lords of Death who want to kill her and the dragons. When she visits the Ming Dynasty Dragon Exhibit, she learns that she has the ability to talk to hear and talk to the dragon who calls himself Tianlong. Other dragons may exist, but there are others who want to hurt them. Tianlong’s mate, a female named Ling-L, is out there somewhere. Isabella along with her brother, uncle, and grandmother must find the last dragon before it is too late.

Last week I happened to catch the movie Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour on an Encore channel. I very seldom watch a movie during the day, let alone turn on the television, but after reading the title on the menu guide, I thought I would give the movie a try.

The Paranormal Hour begins with a seventeen-year-old Sarah Landon (played by Rissa Walters) returning to Pine Valley, California to visit her grandmother, Thelma Shaw. Before she arrives at her grandma’s, she has car problems and stops by a local repair shop where she hears part of a disturbing story. She doesn’t get the full story until she asks her grandma about it, who was more than glad to tell the tale.

A young man, David Baker, is cursed! On his 21st birthday, which is only a few days away, he will be killed by his dead uncle, Ben Woods. Years ago, Ben’s son, on his 21st birthday, was killed in a car accident that David’s mother caused. David was known as a good kid and was getting ready to go to college, but then he learned of the curse and cut himself off from the world. He has become obsessed with the paranormal, and is trying to find away to stop his uncle.