American Horror Story Hotel a.k.a. Hotel Transylvania

One of these two is about some comical vampires who run around a hotel, talking funny, and playing around with other monsters. The other is a cartoon my little girls watched with their dad on Columbus Day when they had the day off from school. I jest--sort of.

Not so gaga over Gaga.

I've been a fan of American Horror Story for a while now, particularly of season one when it was actually about a haunted house.  The story line always kept me awake for several nights after each installment, wondering what the creaking noise might be or if I had closed the shower curtain all the way (no need for surprises there!). This fifth season has got me a little perplexed, although the appearance of Evan Peters in the second episode has me hopeful that things will improve rapidly.
I guess my Gaga meter is running low. I just can't seem to get on board with the Countess character she is playing. She's supposed to be a vampire--and that's my thing (after all, I have written a few novels about bloodsuckers) so I should be enjoying watching her and those sexy minions lap up blood from unsuspecting party-goers and the such, but I am finding her ability to say words and convey meaning a little lacking.  I'm not sure if she's throwing the rest of the actors off a bit or if her fellow cast members didn't quite get enough rehearsal time, but a cast that usually leaves me spellbound is not bringing the splendor this time around--with few exceptions.
And Peters always brings his A game, but his portrayal of millionaire JP March seemed a little cartoonish as well.
Kathy Bates and Sarah Paulson never skip a beat, and so far they have really stood out for me in this otherwise questionable season.
But it's early, and things can always get better--although I'm not sure they can get any more sadistic and creepy. We've already gone down some pretty unfathomably grotesque, macabre, and sexually explicit paths in the two offerings. It's hard to imagine anything worse than being super glued into the corpse of woman nailed to your headboard. But I'm sure the writers will come up with something. They always do.
Meanwhile, Hotel Transylvania Two was also pretty good, according to my daughters, who even a week later are still repeating the most famous line, "I do not say blah, blah, blah..."

NaNoWriMo is Coming!

It may sound like a setting in a fantasy novel, but NaNoWriMo actually stands for National Novel Writing Month, and it's write right around the corner. November 1 is the official launch, but that's still two weeks away, and I'm ready to write now!
So, I think I might start a little early. Unlike the 3 Day Novel Writing Contest, you can start your novel before November 1 so long as all of the words you count towards your total are written in November.  And since my goal of 50,000 words would be a very short work for me, I am confident in thinking that I could start ahead of time and still have enough steam in my story to finish out my goal.
I've been contemplating my writing topic for several months now, and I've decided to write a fantasy Christmas story.  I would love to get it out in time for this Christmas season, which means I need to be really nice to my editor, cover designer, and husband (cause he's gotta give me time to write!)
Here's the synopsis:
Serendipity Frizzlestitch lives alone in a small cottage behind the estate house she was born in. She keeps to herself almost exclusively. Her father died when she was a small child, and her mother and older sisters never quite understood Serendipity. One fateful day, a horrible accident leaves Serendipity all alone and doubting her worthiness to ever love or be loved again. She moves to the cottage to work on her father's passion--doll making.
Then one day, a letter arrives via the fireplace.  Serendipity's inability to decipher the words is a valid excuse to dismiss it entirely until a resounding knock on the door leaves her facing the first visitor (outside of her nursemaids) she has had in almost a decade.  She stands face to face with the handsome--and unusual--Cornelius Cane, Saint Nicholas's chief recruiter, who has come to whisk her away to the North Pole where she will be employed by the great toy maker to oversee the mass production of her dolls for all of the children in the world.
But Serendipity doesn't want to go, which leaves Corey facing the possibility of failing for the first time ever--something he cannot fathom.
He must find a way to get Serendipity to the North Pole....
And when he does, he must make her stay or else he may disappoint the jolliest soul of all.

Serendipity wants to make her dolls alone--not for Santa. (Pic courtesy of Defiant Art)

There are, of course, lots of twists and turns and mysteries to unravel, and potentially a love connection as well.
I've never written anything like this before. It will be my first holiday themed fantasy--full of whimsy and the unusual.
What do you think? I can't wait to meet my cast of characters and see what they have in store. I'd love to hear your thoughts.