The Hobbit Hole VII - But not yet weary are our feet...

[Fedora]

Turtledove might be the one. That Newman Dracula book sounds interesting. I was just reading a series of short stories called Dracula in London:

Dracula in London (ed. P.N. Elrod)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Dracula lives! but more in name than spirit in 16 new period riffs on his legend. Going back to Bram Stoker's original novel, Elrod (Time of the Vampires) asked contributors to this anthology, "What ELSE was Dracula doing in London when he was not being chased by Van Helsing and company?" Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, in "Long-Term Investment," and Fred Saberhagen, in "Box Number Fifty," both have him duping ignorant human associates into elaborate schemes to conceal his coffins. Tanya Huff suggests he was drawn to social climbers and other predatory personalities in "To Each His Own Kind." In one of the book's most intriguing entries, Judith Proctor's "Dear Mr. Bernard Shaw," he is a theater patron who cannot understand how the deaths at the end of King Lear ennoble human suffering. Inevitably, Dracula rubs shoulders with a variety of Victorian-era celebrities, including Gilbert and Sullivan, Doctor Watson, Prince Edward, actress Ellen Terry and even a young Aleister Crowley. Inventive though they often are, few of these stories capture the subtle malignancy and terrifying misanthropy that has made Stoker's creation an indelible horror icon. Excepting Gene DeWeese's "An Essay on Containment" and Gary A. Braunbeck's "Curtain Call," which attempt to be more than mere outtakes from Stoker's tale, the majority are modern revisionist interpretations of Dracula as lover, dreamer, swashbuckler and bungler. For better or worse, they bear out the editor's professed fondness for any Dracula variation, "good and bad, sublime and silly."

[ItsOurTimeNow]

"For love of Evil" was one of my favorites.

The "Bio of a Space Tyrant" was ok...but for some reason I just couldn't get into it. I was more into fantasy than sci-fi. I loved his Xanth series when I was a teenager...I wanted so badly for it to be real.

lol...I even have a response letter from him that I've saved all these years. I wrote to him when I was 13, asking if he had thought of making a Xanth movie. He said that the technology "wasn't quite where he thought it should be" at that time.

SuchageekIam!

[Wneighbor]

Ha! You still look great! Only *you* think you don't!

I am home again and in skimpy clothes already. That oil change place had cars waiting outside each bay 4 deep. I had a book but didn't want to sit *that* long. I will go at 8AM tomorrow.

But, I did stop in at the little place just around the corner from the oil change place that has lots of body piercing jewelry. They had the cutest little American Flag CBB. But, I didn't get it. Was $25. I think I'll try to find one on ebay. :-)

[ItsOurTimeNow]

Sounds like quite the adventure!

I've got a massive plan for the house this spring/summer. The house is finished with ferring strips and horsehair plaster, which is part of the reason things are a bit "askew" here. Shoot, the house is about 100 years old, so there's only so much I can do, but the plan is to tear out the plaster and ferring strips upstairs (including the ceiling), bringing everything down to bare studs, then insulate and drywall. That ought to help some of the sag & warp that we have upstairs.

Either way, doing it myself will save a bucketload of cash. Granted, it'll take longer, but my time isn't all that valuable...lol

[ItsOurTimeNow]

Prayers coming your way from snowed-in RI!

Hope everything's ok!

[Wneighbor]

Oh man! Look at this!!! I would *love* to have this!

Can't even afford that at all though!

[JenB]

Jen, I read my first science fiction novel, The Rolling Stones, when I was six. That would have been back in 1964. I read my first romance novel in 1985. In the intervening 21+ years, I would not have touched a romance novel on a bet.

Then I picked a romance novel up, on the recommendation of a fan. It was a pirate bodice-ripper ... but it intrigued me. I was lucky, and soon after picked up Kathleen Woodiwiss ... hoo-boy! Good writing!

Hmm... well, I must admit the name-dropping reassures me a little. After all, someone with good taste in Heinleins... and the writing's good?

Tell you what ... I know you hate all historical periods, and I know you hate contemporary fiction. How about I send you a SF romance I like, and you tell me what you think? You don't even have to read the icky sex parts ... just the SF stuff.

Huh? I like historical fiction. If it's the right period... basically that's anything before 1600, or if it's Napoleonic Europe, or Victorian England, I love it. But I digress. SF is good.... SF romance?

The book I have in mind, in case you'd like to hunt it down yourself, is Shield's Lady, by Amanda Glass. Or you can try Sweet Starfire and Crystal Flame by Jayne Ann Krentz, together now in one book. (Jayne Krentz also writes under the name Amanda Glass.) If you can't find 'em, let me know, and I'll send you one of my copies.

I'll take a look! And I'll give it an open-minded try!

[Professional Engineer]

Oh man! Look at this!!! I would *love* to have this!

I'm almost afraid to ask, what is it?

[PurpleQ]

LOL! a belly button ring

[Wneighbor]

It's a belly button ring!!!

[Professional Engineer]

I used to really enjoy reading his commentaries at the end of the Xanth novels. I don't believe he ever got into that level of commentary in his other books.

[Wneighbor]

I just saw one at a little shop here that had an American flag on it! I was searchin' through ebay to see if I could find one like it and found that cross one in ebay!

[PurpleQ]

Too kewl! I really need to get a tat like you have. I have been wanting on really bad on the small of my back or on the back of my shoulder so that when I wear my halter tops in the summer it will be displayed so perfectly!

[Professional Engineer]

Umm, lemme guess...

[JenB]

Connie Willis fan! Whoo-hoo!

Read her others? "To Say Nothing of the Dog", "Passage", "Bellwether"?

[Wneighbor]

Which tat? Or one that is just that pretty artwork like mine? You know that guy that does mine is really an extremely good artist. He uses color like very few tattoo artists do IMO. He is excellent on seascapes and landscapes! But, anything colorful that he does is awesome.

[PurpleQ]

Like your seascape. Very colorful. I want some thing to do with my zodiac, ya know, water. Aquarius.

[Wneighbor]

Just be VEY careful who you get to do it. Some of 'em don't do as good a job as you'd want. If you decide to do it, I will take you to see my guy if you would like. Only thing is, he's an old biker and he doesn't like to do *real* artwork on folks that ain't tough enough to hang with the pain. Screamin, screechin, and cryin' just piss him off and you don't wanna do that cause he'll rush and it won't be as pretty.

I made him laugh when he started my first work. He asked me if it hurt. I said - "childbirth hurt and I sure like what I got out of it."

I don't mean an "old biker" like them guys that just bought evos in the last 10 years you know. This one's the real deal.

[Wneighbor]

Oh, but his place is as sanitary or more so than any hospital you'd go to. No worries about health and safety.

[Wneighbor]

Hey! Check this one out!!! It looks like you!