True Blood

I am really enjoying the new series on HBO titled TruBlood. If you haven't watched it and you love anything vampire, please do so. It must be so exciting for Charlaine Harris to see her characters become living breathing people on the silver screen! I find all of her characters interesting and even the vampires cannot help betray their humanness at times. It gives them more dimension and their own distinct personalities. Things get really interesting when Sookie winds up in the vamp bar Fangtasia and meets up with Eric Northman. He is another ancient vampire who wrestles with his emotions of greed, jealousy and envy, just like the rest of us.


Bill is living in his families ancestral home which happens to be across the cemetary from Sookie Stackhouses's home. He either had avoided the vampire nests or has left one to live among mortals. He explains to Sookie how vampires living in nests loose their humanity and become laws unto themselves which makes them more dangerous. One could say that about humans as well. When there are no checks and balances within our government or our financial institutions we forget the others outside of ourselves. We believe we are untouchable and therefore capable of anything.

Dangerous for humans as well as vampires.

The House That Ruth Built

I grew up with baseball. Along with my father I have four brothers. There was no contest in my house when it came to who got to watch what on TV. I always lost. Now a days there is a TV in every room but when I was a kid, we had one. Yes, just one TV! Last night I had the honor (on TV of course) of watching the Yankees play their last home game. I have only actually been to Yankee Stadium twice in my life. It felt like being in a museum to me. All that history packed into one place. Hallowed ground it is called. Yes, I find Yankee Stadium beautiful. It's all that history and memories that made it such a special place.

My husband grew up in the Bronx and he has memories that stretch back more than fifty years. His favorite player was Mickey Mantle. The day he died my husband cried as if he had lost a family member, or a dear friend. In a way he had. He had lost a piece of his personal history. Something that cannot be replaced but lives in our minds and hearts long after the person or place is gone. That is the beauty of memory. We always carry it with us.

Yesterday was also the last day of summer. My husband and I went to Spring Lake one last time. The beach was crowded with plenty of sunbathers and surfers. I said to myself, though this is probably my last day here this year, God willing I will return next summer. There is a comfort in that thinking. Next April, baseball fans will enter "the new Yankee Stadium" to watch their beloved team. Comparisons are only natural. Perhaps Derek Jeter said it best last night. He reminded us that we will make new memories to accompany the old. That's the secret I think. Sandwich the present between the glorious past and a promising future.

You can't go wrong.

Immortality

"The first condition of immortality is death."

Stanislaw J. Lee

I love this quote. A heady reminder that to achieve eternity one must lose their most precious possession; their life. Is it a fair trade? Is it one I would make? All novelists writing about vampires much address the issue of immortality with their vampires: is it a gift or a curse? In the last episode of TruBlood, Bill Compton and Sookie Stackhouse are walking past the cemetery where his wife and children are buried. How strange and disconnecting that must be?

I once asked my husband Marvin what if you could live forever? We were walking through the historic district of my hometown one summer night and the topic naturally turned to vampires. His response was so touching. He said that he would have a hard time watching his two children grow older than him and then die. Not being a parent I had never thought about it. In the natural order of things, most children do outlive their parents. To watch them age, suffer and then die much be surreal indeed and lend such a sense of disconnect to your life.

For a vampire, it must be so strange and sad to watch your mortal family do the same. In Immortal Obsession, one of the vampires is faced with his offspring begging him for eternal life when she is faced with her own death. When she is turned by another vampire, she forever carries a grudge against her father for refusing to give her such a great gift. This impacts his life in present day New York. The consequences of our actions and our decisions.

What would you do if given the chance at immortality? Be honest.

9/11

I see today as a day of hope as well as of mourning. Though seven years has passed I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard that a plane had "hit" the World Trade Center. Since it was a cool, crisp September day with not a cloud in the sky I thought it odd but not improbable. Then I got the word that another plane had hit and suddenly my country was under attack and those airplanes were carrying average people on their way to a business trip or to visit loved ones.

I worked at that time in a small private school nestled amidst the rolling hills of Central New Jersey. It was idyllic yet isolated. We had the internet and a television to keep us connected to the world. Staff who had family members who worked in Manhattan left in shock, while parents came to pick up their children. It was a time to stay close to loved ones. Fortunately, I worked with my husband at the time. I remember driving home in silence, happy to be heading home yet not wanting to turn on the television for fear what I would see.

When we had first heard the news someone asked my husband "what does this mean?" His reply was poignant and prophetic. He said quietly "it means that life as we know it is over." As the morning wore on we heard about a plane heading to Washington DC and then another plane hitting the Pentagon. It was too much to absorb in those moments. I remember calling everyone I knew just to make sure they were home safely. My nieces husband was out of town at the time but the building he worked in was right next door to the WTC. I began hearing stories, talking to those who witnessed much and lived to talk about it.

I remember regular television being preempted which I found to be a blessing. My neighbors all hung flags outside and we put bunches of small flags on our lawn. One by one they disappeared and I felt glad I had more than enough to spare. I wore a small American Flag pin in my jacket lapel every day. Traveling over the George Washington Bridge I saw smoking rising in the darkness as the sight still burned days later. It was all anyone could talk about and I remember watching people's faces as we all tried to go about our daily routine. They had vague smiles and vacant eyes.

Yet, we were suddenly a nation united; not black or white, gay or straight, Democratic or Republican, pro-life or pro-choice. We had no differences. We were one people, one heart that had been broken into a zillion smaller pieces. We were Americans and we bonded in our grief and loss. What I take away from that moment is the feeling of being united by an unspeakable tragedy. Joy brings us together, but tragedy forges unbreakable bonds.

I did spend the following weekend hiking in the wood. My husband and I took comfort and refuge there, away from the media and the pain of what we had lost. Through my tears I pray for those that died unspeakble deaths, for the survivors, for our nation and for faith in mankind. I pray that we continue to learn and grow from such unspeakable events.

It is still a quiet day as people go about their business; a sad day, but we have not forgotten.

Letters

Dear Amanda,

Despite the time we spent together, I feel as though I know little of you and you know even less about who I really am. I am referring to the man I was centuries ago, before I became a vampire in 1757.
I was born into the minor aristocracy in a place called Meudon, France in the outskirts of Paris. It was rural and I must admit I loved the country life; riding horses, walking with my dogs, fishing, wandering in the woods and feeling the sun on my face. Michel was my neighbor and best friend since childhood. I was in love with his sister and hoped to marry her one day. All I ever wanted was to be a father and live on the land that gave birth to me.
I am passionate by nature and I cannot live without art, music, literature and solitude. I am a deeply spiritual man though not a religious one. I am private yet honest and I hate hypocrisy. What do I miss about being mortal you ask me? I miss French food, a good bottle of wine, silence, the innocence of mortals, daylight. I sometimes crave my mother's rabbit stew, though I cannot remember her face.
I have fought hard to be more than a bloodsucking monster with no sense of propriety. I hate this age - it lacks romance and depth. You have a kind heart and a keen mind. You are cultured, with a sense of humor and morality, and a passionate, womanly soul. You would be a great mistress yet a miserable wife. Tis' a pity we had not met under other circumstances. Please remember, all men are not gentle and all vampires are not monsters. It is sometimes difficult to discern the difference, yet you have never judged me, despite the warnings. For that Amanda, I will be forever grateful.

Until we meet again,
Christian

Love and Loss

Suppose you discovered that the love of your life lived just beyond your reach and your touch? What price would you pay to look into her eyes, to hold her in your arms again and hear her sweet voice?
What happens to your heart when you live with a loss not measured in years but in centuries?
What do you do with a hunger for another that transcends space and time?
What would you sacrifice to be together again?
Suppose it was all possible?

The Dog Days of Summer

It's hot here in the Northeast! I have been sequestered in my air conditioned room writing away. Blood Kiss is taking shape. I am just on my third chapter. Christian is faced with new challenges. Something he thought was long gone is about to resurface. This will be his toughest moment.

He has suffered terrible losses all of his life, why being a vampire would he be immune to pain and misery?

Now that's a Novel!

I just finised Let Me In by the Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist and let me tell you, it was excellent. A page turner and a true piece of literary fiction. I found myself caring about all of the characters, even Eli the vampire. Despite it being a dark and cold novel I would recommend it to anyone who takes their vampires seriously!