Sunday, September 12, 2010

Guest Blogger, Stephanie Draven

Please join me in welcoming author Stephanie Draven as the special guest blogger here today at Thoughts in Progress as she makes a stop on her virtual blog tour.

Stephanie’s debut novel is POISONED KISSES. She stopped by today to talk about ….well I’ll let her tell you, you might be surprised.

Hi all! You probably think I'm here to talk about my debut novel--a dark Greek myth-inspired paranormal romance with Harlequin's Nocturne. After all, it's my first book. What's more, I think I'm dying of anticipation to see it on book shelves. However, ever since I scored my first contract, I've been a writing machine. I eat, drink, and sleep books. Which is why I want to talk about my guilty pleasure! TV shows.

Like books, a television show tells a story, but it is a story more easily shared. My mother always told me that the tube would rot my brain, and maybe she's right, but I thought I'd list a few of my favorites:

Supernatural. When it comes to dark, twisted, paranormal pleasures, you can't beat this show. Clever writing and fantastic acting have carried a brilliant storyline that has spanned five seasons. Demons, angels, and monsters of every variety are a constant, but it's really a story about two brothers and their love for one another. It doesn't hurt that there's lots of eye-candy. I might be more of a Dean girl than a Sam girl, but they each have a special place in my heart. Ultimately, what made me fall in love with this show is the guts it has. It tackles the hard issues and goes where you wouldn't predict!

The Tudors. Okay, so I know what happened with King Henry VIII and his wives. I've read a bunch of books about the Tudor court and you probably have done the same. And yet, they remain fascinating. Especially when brought into super-sexy focus in Showtime's series. I love the costume and pageantry, even when the history is a little off. I don't mind that Jonathan

Rhys-Meyers is a skinny King Henry. Somehow, in spite of his crazy coked-up eyes, the whole show works.

Big Bang Theory. So this sit-com might be the worst-acted show on TV, but I don't care, because the writing is hilarious. The show is centered on two physicists, their geeky friends, and the pretty girl who lives across the hall. The main draw for me is Sheldon, a self-absorbed brilliant uber-nerd whose Obsessive Compulsive behavior is out of control! Still, I love him. What does that say about me?

General Hospital. This daytime drama is my guiltiest pleasure of all because I've been watching it since I was about ten years old. It was the one show that all my grandmothers watched, and even all these years later, I still chat to my Nana about her "stories." This particular soap opera has had some classic moments and some brave storylines and innovative writing, but it also has the power to enrage its fans by masquerading as a low-rent version of the Sopranos. There's been more than a few moments when I've told myself that I'll never watch it again...but then the next day, I get sucked in again.

So what are your guilty TV pleasures?

Stephanie, thanks so much for blogging here today. I must admit I was hooked on General Hospital for quite awhile but I haven’t watched it in about a year. Time to check it again. Now I’m hooked on Castle and Bones, among others.

Now a little background on Stephanie. She is currently a denizen of Baltimore, that city of ravens and purple night skies. She lives there with her favorite nocturnal creatures–three scheming cats and a deliciously wicked husband. And when she is not busy with dark domestic rituals, she writes her books. Stephanie has always been a storyteller. In elementary school, she channeled Scheherazade, weaving a series of stories to charm children into sitting with her each day at the lunch table. When she was a little older, Stephanie scared all the girls at her sleepovers with ghost stories.

She should have known she was born to hold an audience in her thrall, but Stephanie resisted her writerly urges and graduated from college with a B.A. in Government. Then she went to Law School, where she learned how to convincingly tell the tallest tales of all!

A longtime lover of ancient lore, Stephanie enjoys re-imagining myths for the modern age. She doesn’t believe that true love is ever simple or without struggle so her work tends to explore the sacred within the profane, the light under the loss and the virtue hidden in vice. She counts it amongst her greatest pleasures when, from her books, her readers learn something new about the world or about themselves. Stephanie also writes historical fiction as Stephanie Dray and has a series of forthcoming novels from Berkley Books featuring Cleopatra’s daughter. For more, check out her website at http://www.stephaniedraven.com


Here is a listing of her blog tour:
    Sept. 14 -- A Journey of Books
    Sept. 15 -- My Book Addiction and More!
    Sept. 16 -- Cheeky Reads
    Sept. 17 -- Access Romance
    Sept. 17 -- Romance Junkies
    Sept. 18 -- Cherry Mischievous
    Sept. 19 -- Cheryl's Book Nook
    Sept. 20 -- Dear Author
    Sept. 21 -- Falling Off The Shelf
    Sept. 23 -- Book Junkie
    Sept. 24 -- The Eclectic Book Lover
    Sept. 27 -- Paranormal Romance Blog
    Sept. 28 -- My Overstuffed Bookshelf
    Sept. 29 -- Bitten By Books
    Sept. 30 -- Found Not Lost
    Oct. 1 -- Romance Divas
    Oct. 2 -- Beck's Book Picks
    Oct. 4 -- Patricia's Vampire Notes
    Oct. 5 -- Anna's Book Blog
    Oct. 6 -- Dirty Sexy Books
    Oct. 6 -- Drey's Library
    Oct. 7 -- Readaholic
    Oct. 7 -- Vauxhall Vixens
    Oct. 8 -- Book Wenches
    Oct. 12 -- Long and Short Reviews
    Oct. 13 -- Drey's Library   
    Oct. 13 -- Coffee Time Romance &  More
    Oct. 16 -- Pink Heart Society
    Oct. 17 -- Romancing The Page
    Oct. 23 -- My Reading Room
    Oct. 27 -- Drey's Library


17 comments:

  1. Stephanie, I absolutely love the big bang theory. You're right in that the acting is pretty terrible but the set ups and punch lines are just so funny.
    Thanks so much for sharing your favourite television shows and best of luck with your blog tour.

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  2. Mason - Thanks for hosting Stephanie.

    Stephanie - Congratulations on your contract! I wish you much success :-). I have to admit that I haven't watched the shows that you mention, but TV shows certainly can give us a welcome break from writing. Enjoy the rest of your blog tour, and I wish you much success with that, too.

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  3. Stephanie, thanks for guest blogging here today. I catch myself trying to figure out the ending of TV shows sometimes rather than just enjoying them. LOL

    Cassandra and Margot, thanks for stopping by. Hope y'all have a wonderful Sunday.

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  4. Hi, Stephanie, like you and your grandmas, I've been watching General Hospital for year. Even my hubby watches. We laugh at all the outrageous things that happen: anyone being able to visit a prisoner in jail, a gun that's evidence being stolen off a cop's desk by a pretty girl, anyone being able to walk into ICU--and it goes on and one. What is fascinating to me though, is how many of the stars on the show are really good actors even if some of the plot lines are a bit crazy.

    Marilyn Meredith

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  5. Stephanie: congratulation on your book contract.

    When we were kids... yes, the rot your brain comment was big with the Moms... but I agree, there are a few good shows...

    Mason... I'm with you... Castle and Bones. Love them.

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  6. Hi, I enjoyed your post, Stephanie...I used to watch General Hospital in college, on the days with no classes; then I didn't watch it again until the late nineties. Now I'm hooked again!

    I also watch a few other soaps! My guilty pleasure...we've gotta have 'em!

    Thanks for sharing.

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  7. I like the Big Bang Theory too. I also think Three and a Half Men is funny. Survivor hasn't even started yet and I'm rooting for the "Old" ones to kick butt.

    This was a fun post, Stephanie.

    Helen

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  8. Hi everybody! I'm so glad to be here. I want to say that I also ADORE Castle. (Really, I'll watch anything with Nathan Fillion in it.)

    It's so great to hear from those of you who are fellow GH watchers. Meredith, I tell you, it enrages me when they allow all those stupid things to happen in the police lock up. It's lazy writing, but maybe I would resort to that too if I had to write a show EVERY DAY.

    And Laurel-Rain...was it Lucky Spencer that brought you back?

    Helen, I haven't seen Three and a Half Men...I'll have to check it out!

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  9. Also, I had so much fun talking about television shows that I forgot to talk about my book! I'm hosting a giveaway and doing all sorts of fun things over at my Virtual Launch Party so I'd be honored if folks would stop by! (I bought a lot of adorable charms, and I need people to give them to!)

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  10. I'm going to have to find some of those shows!

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  11. I've only seen Big Bang in your list but I have to say my guilty pleasure is Castle. It's a peeve to see writers who make tons of money and still have looks and dress well all the time but the chemistry between Castle and Beckett is amazing!

    CD

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  12. Good for you! I enjoy The Big Bang Theory as well.

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  13. Clarissa, I always laugh at the presentation of writers in Castle, but he's sure living the dream, isn't he?

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  14. Lovely interview! My TV tastes border on tacky--Family Guy, South Park The Office, & The Simpsons to name a few...

    Great blog! :D

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  15. I've been meaning to check out THE OFFICE!

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  16. Mason- thanks for hosting Stephanie.

    Stephanie - hoe you find the time to watch TV is beyond me- the only way I get anything done is because between the kids and the hubby, I never get hold of the remote,

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  17. Rayna, I admit that its been hard to get all my tv time in. It's a good thing I have Tivo so that I can record it all!

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I'd love to hear your thoughts on today's post. Thanks for dropping by.