May 31, 2007

Over on Midnight Moon Cafe, where we're having lots of fun and they're asking some interesting questions about stuff.

Also, my dear blog-friend Carl over at Stainless Steel Droppings has

1) posted another great interview with me, and

2) has a neat contest going on where you have a chance to win an Advance Review Copy of The Bleeding Dusk…that's right! Rises the Night is barely out in stores and Carl's sponsoring a contest for an advance copy of the third Gardella book, due in stores in February!

So hop on over to Carl's and to the Midnight Moon Cafe and see what's going on.

And have a great day! The sun's shining here. (Oh, and if you see Rises out there anywhere, let me know. Curiosity and all that….you know?)

May 30, 2007

Microsoft unveiled a new computer prototype today, and I love it! It looks like a coffee table, and instead of using a mouse or keyboard, you move your hands over the screen to "grab" instead of click and drag.

And apparently, you use a pen-type of instrument to write, instead of on a keyboard. Now that might have serious consequences for my creativity (I seem to only be able to write from brain to keyboard), but I'm wiling to try.

May 29, 2007

So, in case you hadn't noticed, there's only a week left until Rises the Night is released. Yay!

Actually, you might start seeing copies of it out and about before the 5th–sometimes that happens–so let me know if you see it, and where you see it. I'm hoping Target will carry it this time, so I'm particularly interested if anyone sees it in Target (and any other non-bookstore location). So please let me know!

Also, I'm going to be starting a new feature here on the blog. Since I don't have a bulletin board, nor do I have a Yahoo group for discussion, I thought I'd start answering questions from readers on a weekly basis.

So if you have a question in relation to the books, email it to me at questions at colleengleason dot com. I'll pick one per week and answer them–and spoilers are okay, because I'll post warnings.

And…if I pick your question to answer, you'll be entered in a drawing to win an Advance Review Copy of The Bleeding Dusk–I'll be drawing a winner sometime this fall when I get them.

So if you have a burning question about the books, ask away!

And finally, my friend Colette Gale is giving away a copy of her Phantom erotica novel over on The Spiced Tea Party today–all you have to do is ask her a question about her book or the Phantom of the Opera and you're in. You have until Thursday am to ask.

Plus, I'll be guest-blogging at a bunch of places over the next few weeks, and visiting a few cities for signings (Michigan, Albany NY, Philly PA to name a few)–so keep an eye on my Web site for appearance information.

Whew. How's that for a catch-up? How was everyone's weekend? 

May 25, 2007

…but you should stay until the end.

You have time to go to the bathroom, if you've been holding it for the 2.75 hour movie (or, if like me, you sneaked out during the battle scenes), and get back to the theater before the credits are over to see the twenty-second snippet at the end.

It doesn't give closure, per se (the whole freaking movie leaves you with wayyyy too much hanging), but it is a nice little moment.

(Or, you can read my spoiler here to know what happens if you don't want to wait/didn't wait. Highlight to read: The scene at the end is Elizabeth waiting on the island for Will to return, ten years later, and she's got a young ten-year-old boy with her. Will returns, and he's smiling.) 

So, I really liked the movie. I didn't love it, but I wasn't disappointed except for the fact that there's going to be (there has to be!) another one to tie up yet more loose ends.

I will say that I no longer feel guilty about the ending of The Bleeding Dusk (Gardella Three) because it is a bit of a cliffhanger, sort of–though not like The Empire Strikes Back, Dead Man's Chest, Veronica Mars Season One Finale, and the infamous Janet Evanovich book-end-cliffhanger. It's not that bad. So if I was feeling a tad guilty about it before, I no longer do. It's the way of the world, now, apparently.

Anyway, my favorite scene was the "wedding" scene–I thought it was handled very cleverly and broke up another scene that could have been tedious due to its length–and I also loved the "pirate roundtable" scene. That was great.

I liked the way the Jack/Liz thing was resolved, and how it was handled with Will, and the final resolution between Jack/Liz. Good. 

I loved Tia Dalma, and I'm certain we've not seen the end of her…no way.

Keith Richards was fabulous.

The Jack Sparrow Angel v. Devil-on-the-shoulder bit was good too.

All in all, I enjoyed the movie. It's not as good as the first one, I'm sorry–but it's a great movie. So go, enjoy, and watch for the ending. Or read my spoiler above.

What did you think?

May 25, 2007

I'm not sure exactly what to expect, but regardless…it'll be an interesting 2.75 hours.

It won't be quiet, that's for sure.

I just hope it isn't…well…horribly disappointing, like Shrek the Third was (for me).

Anyone seen it yet? What did you think?