Michelle Rowen
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Cirque du Freak movieI've been meaning to read this series of YA novels for a while, and they've gone and made a movie on me! Anything with vamps is cool with me, but add in the teen angle and I'm there (that sounded kind of creepy, actually).
But, really, how much fun is this?
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
New blogNew blog can be found at: www.michellerowen.com/blog/
Monday, September 22, 2008
Website changeThe website and blog might go dark for a few hours today. I'm trying to clear my server and upload my new WordPress-based site. Wish me luck! Hopefully, I'll see you all again real soon......
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Help with title - win an ARC of Stakes & StilettosOkay... I need help. My young adult novel, currently titled NIKKI DONOVAN: DEMON PRINCESS needs a new title! To sum up the plot, it's about a girl who discovers on her 16th birthday that her absentee father is actually a king, in the underworld, which makes her a half-demon princess and heir to the throne. There's some political intrigue, some romance, and some high school stuff as she tries to balance this bizarre new information with her regular life.
Preferably I'd like the title to be fun, but not flippant. Something like Julie Kenner's California Demon, Carpe Demon, etc., would be perfect however I can't very well use those titles (note: my book isn't set in California). Something that says teen, demon, fun, young, princess, exciting, paranormal. I also really liked the Demon Princess Diaries, but that was too close to Meg Cabot's series. I want a title that's easily accessible, gives an overview of what's inside at a glance, and remains original.
Easy right? *sweats*
Got any ideas to help me out? Post 'em here with my ultimate gratitude.
If you're able to offer up some suggestions, you're in the running for one of two copies of a signed ARC (Advance Reading Copy) of STAKES & STILETTOS which I've just received. This doesn't need a new title, thankfully. I'll draw a couple winners next Wednesday, Sept 24.
STAKES & STILETTOS - April '09Staked, cursed, and still single...
Newly-vamped Sarah Dearly wants her normal life back, but fate is fighting against her. She tries to get a nice, regular job and gets staked at the interview, only to be rescued by a masked vampire who calls himself the Red Devil. Then a wallflower-turned-witch curses her, making her a bloodthirsty, sun-allergic nightwalker—the worst vampire there is. As if all that weren’t bad enough, she can’t get married because her 600-year-old boyfriend, Thierry, is in a centuries-long marriage of convenience he can’t escape.
...it’s enough to make a girl start biting.
As Sarah’s nightwalker tendencies make her more dangerous, even to those she loves, she’ll have to counteract that curse, unmask the increasingly intriguing Red Devil, and—oh yeah—get a commitment from her man. But if that’s what it takes to secure her happiness, Sarah is ready...even if it means embracing her inner vamp to do it.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Winner, status, and SupernaturalThe winner of the copy of Demon's Hunger is Bobbi. Please send your mailing address to michelle@michellerowen.com and I'll get the book in the mail to you asap. Enjoy!
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My Blaze is all done and delivered to my editor along with my suggestions for a new title. It was a fun write. Hope it reads that way. Now I'm working on the short story for the Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance which is due on Monday. I had my story all set in my brain and now, 12 pages in, another hero has shown up who was supposed to be the villain. But he's not the villain. He's the damn hero. This annoys me because now I have to rewrite the first 10 pages to make it match. But in the end, I trust the muse. She knows. Plus, the new hero is WAY hotter than the first one.
Monday I start my YA edits. It's all good.
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So, last night was a VERY important night in the fact that it was the Supernatural season premiere. And yes, I will be discussing it here in all its glory so HIDE YOUR EYES if you haven't seen it yet, because here there be spoilers.
***SPOILERS***
So, after worrying all summer about Dean's fate -- the last we saw of him he was trapped like a ripped up fly on the web of Hell (or whatever that was) -- we find ourselves back with the premiere episode. How would Dean be rescued after spending ALL of last season trying to avoid this very horrific fate?
Luckily for Dean, and not so much for the viewers, the writers employ a deus ex machina of sorts (or really, quite literally) and magically export Dean from hell with barely any memory of how torturous it was. Not saying that I want my darling, pretty Dean to be damaged mentally by the experience, but how about a half an episode? You know, for payback for last season? Angel had to suffer 100 years in a hell dimension for turning into Angelus for Pete's sake. It took him, like, six episodes to recover from that!
But Supernatural is not Buffy. Never has been, never will be.
Anyhow, Dean wakes up in his coffin and easily digs himself out of the grave finding himself in the middle of what looks like an explosion or something. He wanders off to a gas station to drinks some water and get some skin mags (love that Dean is still Dean). I kind of thought he was still in Hell here, and that it would be looping madness or something really weird would happen, but nope. Dean's back. He's alive. And he's feeling and looking just fine. (I love you Jensen!)
He goes off to find Sam and Bobby. Bobby freaks out when he sees him until he begins to believe something freaky has happened. Sam freaks out too. They set about figuring out what happened. They go to a psychic (note to casting people: why do nearly all supernatural babes look like clones of each other? That same generic hot brunette look seems to be the preference which makes it hard for me to decide if I've seen the character before. Anyhow, my problem, I suppose.) The psychic tries to figure out what demon pulled Dean out of hell leaving behind a nasty hand print scar that looks like it should have some Ozonol applied to it. Psychic-chick sees the face of the puller-outer and her eyes melt. Cool! We don't have to put up with this new bimbo now.
Demons in diner get all angry with Sam and Dean but after Dean hits the possessed waitress in the face (another generic brunette. No comment on the excuse for hitting women thing which bugged me profusely last season) she doesn't reciprocate and S&D leave.
Sam goes to visit yet another generic brunette who turns out to be Ruby's new host body (I sooo preferred the other actress) and they chat, blah blah blah. Sam and Bobby go to summon the puller-outer because that seems like the wisest choice being that he's given to burning out the eyeballs of anyone who sees him. Sure. But that's Dean for you.
We learn that Sam has been practicing his psychic mojo and can now vanquish a demon with a fiery look. Woot.
We learn that atheist Dean was pulled out of hell by an angel who tells him God has an assignment for him. Or something like that. The angel is kind of hot, actually. I like the angel action, not so happy about how easy it was for Dean to escape hell, although I'm thinking he'll be paying for it in the eps to come. Some indication that he does remember what happened in hell (screaming and stuff) so he'll be dealing with some nightmares at the very least.
Overall, a very meh premiere, but since I judge Supernatural on a completely different level than, say, I did Buffy, I think it was great! I also judged Jean-Claude Van Damme movies unto and against themselves. A 9/10 JCVD movie was not the same as a regular 9/10 movie. Such is the case with Supernatural.
I love this show for the brothers, not for the super original and inventive storytelling.
My guess? God's will is for Dean to destroy Sam. Brother vs. Brother.
Now, could we PLEASE get a decent female character on this show??? PLEASE?????
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Want to win an ARC?Eve Silver is not only a fabulously prolific and talented author, she's also a very good friend of mine. She writes historical gothics, futuristics writing as Eve Kenin, and dark paranormal romance.
DEMON'S HUNGER is the second book in her dark and delicious "Compact of Sorcerers" series is out in December and I am lucky enough to have a couple of signed ARCs, and I'm giving one of them away this week on my blog!
Want to win? Post a comment to this post and I'll pick a winner on Friday. The caveat to this contest is that you need to have a blog (make sure your comment links to it) and be willing to post a review about the book. Sounds fair enough for a shiny ARC, doesn't it? And isn't this cover absolutely gorgeous?
I'll be giving the other ARC away as well, but I want to read it first. :-)
DEMON'S HUNGERby Eve Silver
Grand Central Publishing - December 2008
Forensic anthropologist Vivien Cairn fears she's losing her mind. Her libido has kicked into overdrive, and she's blacking out-leaving hours of her life unaccounted for and no memory of where she's been...or what she's done. But when a sexy stranger rescues her from a demon attack, Vivien realizes there's more than just her sanity at stake...
A seductive killer is luring victims, and Sorcerer Dain Hawkins finds himself walking a dangerous line between ancient duty and sizzling desire when the brotherhood-and Vivien herself-begin to suspect that her mysterious symptoms may connect her to the crimes. Can Dain save Vivien from the evil that threatens to claim her? Or will they both succumb to...Demon's Hunger...
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Status and a reviewStarting on my second draft of FEELS LIKE MAGIC today. The read-through was surprisingly clean. It is possible I am deluded, but I really like this story. Like, really like it. The characters and the situation they find themselves in is so much fun and super sexy. At least, I think so. ;-)
Just received word that my ARCs of STAKES & STILETTOS are jetting my way very soon. That seems mega early since the release date isn't for 6-1/2 months and the Amazon pre-order page isn't even up yet*, but I'm not complaining. The cover isn't even finalized which is why I haven't shared it here yet, but I guess time and tide wait for no ARC. I'm excited to see them. Will be having some ARC contests real soon.
I received a wonderful review from the Chicago Tribune for COUNTDOWN. Thought I'd share since it's my first time getting a review there. :-)
For Kira Jordan it's never a good day when you wake up chained in a dark room with the man who murdered your family. Kira quickly discovers that she and Rogan Ellis are the latest contests in a private reality show called "Countdown." If she and Rogan can survive the six increasingly difficult levels of the show, they will win their freedom, unless one of them kills the other first! Dark, edgy suspense, adrenaline-fueled action, and sexy romance come together brilliantly.
*however, Stakes & Stilettos and Tall, Dark & Fangsome are already available for pre-order on Chapters.ca!
Monday, September 15, 2008
Monday stuffToday I'm going to start my read-through of my Blaze and do my scene-by-scene breakdown and analysis of what needs to be tweaked. Does that sound fun or what??
I started my short story on the weekend as well and have a good 10 pages done on it. Turns out that, despite the poll results of a couple weeks ago, it's a vampire story. Hey, what can I say? I needed a hero who's been alive for a while, and the vampire was the winner. This is due next Monday. The Blaze is due two weeks Wednesday. My YA edits are due October 15th.
Should make for a busy month.
Plus, I'm working on a new redesign on my website with a friend who happens to have mad web design skillz. And no, it's not me. I'm outsourcing this time. Maybe then my books page (kind of important) will actually work for all browsers. That is the goal.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
The Query ProjectJackie Kessler posted her query letter for Hell's Belles as part of The Query Project, where published authors share their successful queries (see Jackie's post for lots more links on the subject). I think this is such a good idea and so helpful. When I was trying to figure out how to word my query letter I had a difficult time with it. It's hard to condense a 90K novel down to a couple of paragraphs.
When I had finished my book DEARLY DEPARTED*, which would soon go on to a title change of BITTEN & SMITTEN, and I had procrastinated and polished for as long as I possibly could, I decided it was time to look for an agent. At the time I had a subscription to WritersMarket.com and was able to search agents by what genres they accepted as well as what they wanted included in a query. I had also done an extensive (which helped in my scared-to-submit procrastination) search of authors and their agents.
The first agent I targeted was Jennifer Jackson. Since she repped Jim Butcher, and at the time I thought I was writing urban fantasy, I figured she was perfect for me. I sent off my query + chapters -- which I paid extra to send XpressPost.
While I waited (according to her website it was three weeks), I made my lists. My first tier consisted of about nine agents whom I thought were equally perfect. Second tier less perfect. Third tier, they'd do.
After reflection of my Jennifer Jackson query, I realized that I may have rambled a bit too much. I didn't stay on target to my main project and yammered about other things I was working on. It was a bit too wordy and not sharp enough. Sigh. So I revised the query letter. In fact, I took about two days working on it until I thought it rocked.
After a week, I got bored waiting for my first reply so I sent out three more.
1. Jenny Bent** -- Trident Media Group
2. Merilee Heifetz -- Writers House
3. Miriam Goderich -- Dystel & Goderich Literary Management
The Goderich one was able to go by email so I sent it off at 2:19 p.m. on Thursday, October 7, 2004.
At 4:01 p.m. the same day (!!!) I received a reply to the Goderich email, not from Miriam, but from another agent there. He requested the full manuscript and it was fine if I sent it by email. He warned that they already had a vampire author as a client so "and I'm not positive that two relatively lighthearted vampire novels will fit on our list. That said, I am more than happy to consider it."
(I keep all emails) :-)
Obviously a few minutes later I sent it to him willing myself not to get my hopes up but encouraged by the quick response.
I went away for the weekend. I came back.
A few things happened five days later.
1) I received a form rejection from Jennifer Jackson
2) I received a request for an exclusive partial from Merilee Heifetz's assistant
3) I received an offer of representation from Jim McCarthy @ Dystel
I was very excited about the partial request since Merilee is the agent of Neil Gaiman and LKH, but I decided I'd be stupid to turn down an actual offer. I had researched Dystel and was confident that it was a very reputable and high-end NYC agency. Four years later, I'm still very happy there. :-) Since I've sold 12 books since with the same agent, how could I be anything but??
So... this is what I sent Jim. The other two just got the query portion (as per their preference), not the bio (such as it was), and mini-synopsis. I also included the first five pages, but I won't tack them on here.
The bio is pretty bad. I had no credentials at all as you can see, but it gives a little taste of my personality. I guess.
NOTE: If you haven't read BITTEN & SMITTEN yet (and why haven't you??) there are spoilers for the story below.
Dear AGENT:
I am seeking representation for my first novel, a completed 94,000 word urban fantasy***.
DEARLY DEPARTED is the story of Sarah Dearly, a newly made vampire, and her adjustment to life as one of the fashionably undead. If the hunters on her tail weren’t enough, she also has to deal with her love triangle with a 600-year-old sexy (but suicidal) master vampire and one of the vampire hunters who can't decide if he wants to kill her or kiss her. She struggles to combine her comfortable, working-girl life with her new, unpredictable and danger-filled world, which includes her quest for the rumored ‘cure for vampirism,’ once she decides that life as a vampire, well...sucks. In the end, she realizes that when the world is out of control, the only thing you can trust is your heart. Provided there are no wooden stakes lying around.
I think of this novel as ‘Chick-Lit with Bite’ -- Bridget Jones meets Interview with the Vampire -- as it is filled with humor, romantic tension, and suspense, utilizing Sarah’s witty, lightly sarcastic, first person point-of-view. It will appeal to mainstream fantasy readers, vampire enthusiasts, hopeless romantics, as well as those who enjoy a good story, a good laugh, a few tears, and a happy ending. Although DEARLY DEPARTED stands alone as a novel, I have outlines for two potential sequels****.
I would love the chance to send you a few chapters, or the entire manuscript, and full synopsis of DEARLY DEPARTED at your request. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Michelle Rowen
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BIO
Michelle Rowen was born in Toronto, Ontario. She has been a graphic designer for nearly ten years. Dearly Departed is her first novel, combining her love of humor, urban fantasy, and strong female characters. She is currently writing the first book of an open-ended fantasy series.
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SHORT SYNOPSIS
After a bad blind date, Sarah Dearly learns she is now a vampire. While she doesn't mind the thought of eternal youth, the vampire hunters on her tail she could do without. They kill her sire right in front of her and proceed to chase her onto a bridge and into the arms of Thierry de Bennicoeur, a handsome 600-year-old master vampire whose suicide attempt she has just interrupted. He reluctantly puts his own plans on hold long enough to help keep her safe and aid her transition into her new life with the caveat that she leave her old life behind.
She quickly learns that being a vampire isn't all it's cracked up to be. She is fired from her job for sucking on her boss's paper cut finger; she's quickly losing her much-prized reflection; she sprouts her sharp fangs right in the middle of her cousin's wedding in which she is a bridesmaid; and worst of all, she attracts the attentions of a cute vampire hunter named Quinn who can't decide if he wants to kill her or kiss her. When Quinn is, himself, made into a vampire, her first instinct is to help him, but knows that by doing so she might be putting her new world at risk.
When she learns that there might be a cure for her current condition, she is willing do whatever it takes to get her out-of-control life back to normal. But when the price for the cure is to sell out Thierry – the man who's helped her when everyone else has turned his or her back; the man she may be falling in love with – will she still go for it?
In the end, Sarah learns that when the world is out of control, and when there are no easy answers, you have to trust your heart. Provided there are no wooden stakes lying around.
I think it worked because it's short, punchy, and to the point. It gets across that there's some romance (although at the time I didn't pitch it as romance) and humor and a breezy voice. The mini-synopsis touches on the highlights of the story, the funny bits and the hooks.
The only thing I'd probably change now was the first line of the query that states I'm looking for representation. Well, of course I am. Otherwise I wouldn't be querying an agent. Duh.
Anyhow, I'm very happy that it served its purpose. It got me a great agent for a book I still consider my favorite (don't tell the others, they'll be jealous).
*I still like my original title. I used to work my character names into the title and the only reason Sarah's last name is Dearly is so I could use it in that way. But it kind of stuck so her name continued to be the very unusual Dearly instead of changing it to Davis, or something.
**Never heard back from Ms. Bent. Not a peep. I'm expecting her to request a partial any day now.
***When this sold as a romance, i canceled my subscription to Locus and got one for Romantic Times. Who knew?
****Note: this was a little bit of a fib. I had an idea for sequels but not outlines. Had I known this would become a five book series, I would have made a lot more notes in the beginnning!!
Friday, September 12, 2008
FinishedFinished the first draft of my Harlequin Blaze!
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I'm a bit tired. That was a fast and kind of draining draft, but I...think... I'm really happy with what I have. I could be wrong. I hope I'm not. We'll find out when I start doing my read-through and second draft on Monday.
Until then, dance bananas, dance!
Monday, September 08, 2008
GiveawayAlyssa is giving away a signed copy of my firstborn, BITTEN & SMITTEN at her blog this week. Check it out for a chance to win...
http://www.alyssasbookblog.com/
Meanwhile, I'm plugging away on my Blaze. My pace is picking up -- just shy of 160 pages -- and I fully plan on being finished the first draft by Friday which will give me lots of time to shine up the second draft for my October 1st deadline...
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Thoughts on The Twilight Saga**** SPOILERS shall shamelessly abound in this post so... ****
****BEWARE THE SPOILER *****
I read TWILIGHT probably a year ago and was really pulled into the story. I'm a sucker (heh) for the vampire love story, after all, and Edward Cullen is one of the best and most intriguing vampires I've ever read. He probably even trumps Lestat for me mostly because Lestat wasn't that much of a romantic hero. I strongly disliked Bella's character and found her to be whiny, TSTL, and a total doormat. Unfortunately the book was told from her point of view. But I do recognize that just because a character is whiny, TSTL and a total doormat does not make them a bad character, just one that annoyed me. There are other main characters I've read whom I want to punch in the face, but it doesn't make them poorly written or wrong. It just means I didn't connect with them.
But I was enthralled with the love story and thought Edward was mega hawt. I liked the Mr. Darcy-esque way he tries to deny the attraction he feels for Bella. I liked his devotion to her. I like the emo boys. Angst, for me, works in a hero -- and Edward is wall-to-wall angst. I liked the idea that he was compelled to kill her being that he's a vamp and she's a human, but because he loves her so much, he can't. Which makes him resist any serious snogging because he might just eat her face. I liked the idea that Bella and Edward were kind of like a member of Overeaters Anonymous falling in love with a cupcake. I felt his struggle, because I like to eat cupcakes, not take them out to the movies and force myself not to nibble at their icing.
I bought the second two books in the series and they sat on the shelf until recently. Quite honestly, I've tried to avoid most vampire fiction while writing my Immortality Bites series because I didn't want to be influenced. Then BREAKING DAWN was released and I was intrigued by the bad reviews it was getting. I didn't read any of the reviews since I am a recovering spoiler addict, but I saw that where there was deep and abiding love for the series, there was now a lot of angry fans.
I picked up NEW MOON and started reading. In this book, Edward fears for Bella's safety when she (stupidly) cuts herself in front of his family of vamps and they collectively consider using her as a chew toy being that she's a frail, fragile yummy human. So he breaks up with her and leaves town with his family leaving Bella completely and utterly devastated because her sparkly boyfriend whom her entire world revolves around has skedaddled. She falls into a catatonic depression which lasts way too long. She needs to see a shrink. I don't know why they didn't force her to. She's got mental issues, this girl. Anyhow, she begins to come around (a little) when her friendship with Jacob Black, a slightly younger dude from a local Indian reservation, develops. He's everything Edward is not: supportive, friendly, funny, and enjoyable to be around. Plus, he's got a mega crush on depresso Bella for some reason. She constantly describes herself as unattractive, but obviously she's a hottie or all these guys would fall for her. So hanging with Jacob starts to give her a purpose in life again. Slowly. Although thoughts of Edward never go away.
Just as she's feeling better, Jacob starts acting weird. And the boy is growing daily, getting bigger and older looking. She figures it's just a growth spurt. But nooo.... Jacob is realizing the hard way that he is a werewolf and becomes a part of his tribe's pack. Werewolves are created when the threat of vampires grows. Yada. Figuring that Bella won't understand, he shuns her. She doesn't take no for an answer and pursues the now hottie Jacob even though she thinks of him just as a friend. Blah blah. Finally the truth comes out and she accepts it readily. After all, she already has a vamp in her life, why not a werewolf too?
So, she and Jacob (WHOM I FRICKING LOVE BY NOW BECAUSE HE'S AWESOME) spend all their time together. But when word gets to Edward that Bella has died (because she likes to jump off high cliffs due to her TSTL tendencies) he decides he's going to kill himself because he can't live without her. He needed to keep her safe from him and sacrificed his love for her so she could move on, but now that she's "dead" he's following her. He heads to Rome to get the vampire council to execute him. Bella drops Jacob like a hot potato and heads to Italy to stop him. She stops him. They nearly get killed. They survive and everybody's happy. Well, not Jacob, but he'll deal.
THIS BOOK WAS AWESOME. Except for Bella's strange depression, which of course was necessary to the plot, I just love Jacob Black. I joined Team Jacob during this book and I haven't turned back. Now, I loves me some Edward, but I really did feel that Jacob was the better choice for Bella. Instead of gazing at her sparkly perfect boyfriend for all eternity, she could have a real relationship with a living person who she felt a deep friendship for as well as an attraction. But, whatever.
Immediately I started on ECLIPSE, which I liked to call the "please sit down, Bella, and let us tell you a story" book. Lots of exposition in this one. The central thrust of the plot is thanks to the love triangle between Edward, Bella, and Jacob. Due to the deaths of bad vamps in the first two books, Bella is targeted by a vengeful vampiress who takes her sweet time actually getting around to attacking Bella. Bella, while I don't love her character, is consistent. She LOVES Edward, no matter what. This is a forever love. It's obvious. But she is feeling some very deep affection for Jacob as well. Some readers complain about a few parts when Jacob "forces" Bella to kiss him calling it sexual assault. NOT!! She loves the attention. SHE LOVES IT. And she leads Jacob along like a puppy dog with a crush. My heart broke for Jacob so many times in this book as he was used and abused by Bella who despite all of her protests always came back for more. Best scene in the book? The sleeping bag scene. Freaking hilarious. I did feel sorry for Edward. At the same time, and even after Bella acknowledges the fact that she's also in love with sexy werewolf boy, I knew she would never ever ever ever pick him over Edward. Edward finally commits to turning Bella into a vampire as she's wanted all along, but not until they get married. Bella protests (too much, IMO, considering she wants to be with him forever) until she makes him agree that he'll do it with her while she's still human. Props to Stephenie Meyer for never actually using the words "do it" or "sex" but getting what Bella wants across to the reader only too well. Edward agrees. Bella accepts his proposal. Jacob's heart is broken and he runs away from the town. SOB!!!!!
I took a few days off before starting BREAKING DAWN. After all, I do have some DEADLINES OF MY OWN RIGHT NOW!! Anyhoo... I picked it up knowing a couple of spoilers. One, that Edward and Bella get married, and two, that they have a baby. I figured this would all be in the epilogue. Nope, it's all in the first part of the book! They get married, they have their honeymoon where they do it -- again, props for having some sexy scenes without actually saying anything sexy!! Edward freaks out when he realizes that he's bruised Bella from head to toe as well as eaten a few pillows to take care of his oral fixation. She's fine with the bruises, but he's not. Anyhow, she seduces him a couple more times and badda bing -- she's pregnant! Whoopsies.The second section of the book is from Jacob's POV as he deals with his feelings for this now married woman who is supernaturally knocked up by her vampire husband. The pregnancy is not normal, it's excelerated, and the demon child inside her seems to be killing Bella. Jacob, obviously, is ready to KILL EDWARD with his bare hands. Edward is prepared to let him. He's devestated that Bella won't end the pregnancy. Long story short, Bella has the baby which essentially tears her apart, but Edward makes her into a vampire which is the only thing that keeps her from dying. Jacob decides to kill the demon child, but the moment he sees it...he imprints on it. Imprinting is how a werewolf finds its "soulmate." All romantic thoughts of Bella go out of his mind as the child (who ages quickly) becomes the central aspect to Jacob's life. The author strives to ensure the reader that this is an entirely non-sexual bonding, and I believe it, but I did still find it a tad squicky.
Must say, I was a little disappointed in this resolution of the Bella/Edward/Jacob love triangle. It was so central in the previous book that I felt it was cast aside a little too easily. However, I did feel that Jacob's imprinting on another person, or his death, was the only way to resolve it. Since I didn't want my darling werewolf to die, I was okay with this.
The last third of BD is Bella getting used to being a vampire, finding that she's able to control her hungers very easily for a newbie, and waiting around for the vampire council to show up and kill her spawn. It is very tense as the stand off happens, and since I didn't read any spoilers I was utterly convinced that everyone was going to die. When they didn't and the stand off was resolved without excessive bloodshed, I was very relieved. Everybody's happy. Everybody we like lives. The End.
Then I went and began reading the reviews I've been avoiding and finding that the main problem fans had with the last book is all about READER EXPECTATION. They expected a different book than they got. They hated the HEA ending. They wanted things to be more difficult. They wanted Bella to suddenly morph into a feminist.
Maybe it's because I read most of the series back-to-back, but Breaking Dawn worked for me. All the characters acted as they should have. I FRICKING LOVED THIS SERIES. Sure, I had problems with it, and sure I might have done a few things differently if I'd written it, but it satisfied me in a fangirl way that nothing has ever since Buffy was on the air. Maybe if I'd read ECLIPSE when it came out and had a year to ponder what was going to happen next, setting things in my mind through reading fan fiction and day dreaming, that I might have been more unhappy. As it is, I commend Stephenie Meyer for a hugely entertaining series that brought me back to reading since I've been disenchanted with almost everything I've read recently. These are characters I think about when I close the book. They are larger than life. For me, it worked. And I even started appreciating Bella near the end. The girl knew what she wanted: Edward. And she wanted a family. Family is the main theme of these books. Now I'm VERY disappointed that the author has ceased writing MIDNIGHT SUN, which was to be TWILIGHT from Edward's POV. I hope she changes her mind. In the meantime, I will read the first 12 chapters she has on her website -- but not until I'm finished the book I'm writing right now. It'll be a treat.
ALSO? CANNOT WAIT FOR THE MOVIE IN NOVEMBER. AHHHHH!
And my Team Jacob tank top should be arriving some time next week. Yes, I'm serious. :-)
