Far away on the surface of a nondescript blue-green planet orbiting an insignificant yellow sun...

…there was a young man who read a wholly remarkable book called The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Yes, the whole radio series on CD finally arrived in my mailbox. There’s even a few episodes that I’d never heard before. As pumped as I am to get to the new (to me) stuff, I’ve got to listen to them in order. First, I don’t want to fast forward through any episode of such a life changing show. Reading / listening to Hitchhiker’s Guide inspired me to try and write a novel when I was in high school. And who would want to skip over something as glorious as the “Share & Enjoy” song? Second, I wouldn’t know what the hell is going on if I skipped to the final batch of episodes. One of the amazing things about the Guide is how vastly different each version is. They all stay pretty close from the destruction of earth through the trip to Magrathea, but they diverge greatly from there. The books, radio series, movie, even the old computer game and record shows (yes I said record…as in those waxy discs with grooves on them that play sound. I did listen to the Guide on there too) were all different. The beauty is that Douglas Adams made them that way. The man may be gone, but his stories live on. That’s the big dream for most writers.

In other news, Megan’s trying to get me to watch Superstars of Dance. I don’t know. Some of the dances are ok, but I miss the familiar hotties from Dancing with the Stars. Cheryl and Julianne fill out their little outfits nicely. Anna Trebunskaya looks great, but she looks like an ass kicker. She really fights those judges! And I know Edyta wears sparkly clothes like everyone else, but she just always looks naked. It must be some strange cloaking mechanism designed to distract and confuse the males watching the show. Anyway, (changing gears drastically) I get a kick out of the Chinese guy from Superstars. Thanks to him, I can now go to China and interact with the locals by looking down, pressing a button and saying, “Pa. . .ehht.” Anyone who’s seen the show knows what I’m talking about.

I’ve also been seeing commercials for Heroes. Ahhh, Heroes. A little while ago, I said I was through with this season, but might give the show another chance when they started a new story arc. You know what? That show’s already gotten about 5 strikes so it’s OUT. I cancelled the series recording for it on the ol’ DVR and it felt niiiiice. Now, when I see Heroes commercials, I feel relieved and lighter somehow. You know when you quit a job that you really hate and then you drive past the old building? Your soul just feels better because you don’t have to pull in there any more. That pretty much nails it.

The website is LIVE

Finally, after months of seeing a COMING SOON page at www.marcuspelegrimas.com, the real website is up and running!! If you haven't gotten a look for yourself, go check it out. If you arrived at this blog through the new site, then never mind.

There'll still be a few hiccups on the site every now and then, but my Webmaster Steve (That's his new title) will iron them out quickly enough.

One feature on the site that should be cool is the appendix. I've split that into two parts. The first is called MEG Files and will be info about different Skinners shown throughout the series. The second is the Skinner Field Guide, which will outline the different breeds of werewolves, Mongrels, Nymar and other creatures shown in the books. I'll get those going after the first book has had a chance to make the rounds and will add to them periodically. Since I'll be the one writing all of this, the information will remain 100% accurate.

I'm very pumped about the site because I think it turned out great. Also, according to other various sites, it looks like Blood Blade has been selling some pre-order copies and that bodes well in general. All I can do now is cross my fingers and keep trying to spread the word. Before too long, I'll be making the convention rounds. That'll be fun.

I just got tagged!

My Amazon exclusive Gears of War figure came in the mail. It's the one with the head frozen in mid-explosion after being hit by a round from a sniper rifle. Gruesome, but very cool. It also came with a set of COG tags, just like the ones scattered throughout both games. These, combined with the tags I got with the BSG box set means I have proper identification on both Caprica and Sera. It's the little things that make for some very big geeks. Oh well. Cheap thrills.

I also played the demo for the upcoming Lord of the Rings: Conquest. That's a game very much like Star Wars Battlefront, but in Middle Earth. Lots of huge battles. You can play as different types of soldiers and occasionally take the role of hero characters from the movies. Sound fun? It IS! Plus, there's split screen multiplayer so my wife and I will give the ol' controllers a real workout.

The Eagles beat the Giants today, which is cool. I'm not a die hard fan of either team, but I've been watching the Eagles this season. They're pretty impressive. Plus, my Dad's a fan so I went with them. Megan's pick all the way through to the Super Bowl is Baltimore. Her reasoning is that they're the Ravens and this year marks Edgar Allen Poe's 200th birthday. Some of the plays in that game did have the feel of being hexed by a renowned horror writer from beyond the grave. The Ravens did win their game yesterday and I'm not about to take anything away from Poe, so GO RAVENS!!!

I read USA Today, oh boy

Remember that interview I mentioned with USA Today? Thought I was kidding, didn't you? Thought this is so much so soon, that it's gotta be a joke, right? Ok, maybe that was me thinking those things. Seeing my name in USA Today is very weird (in a good, nervous way). Well, the mention appeared in today's Book Buzz section and here it is:

Box-office hits: 'Blood' lust:It's a happy new year for Stephenie Meyer: Her Twilight teen vampire series has the top four positions on the list, continuing the dominant best-selling run she had through the end of '08. Fans hungering for more vampire/werewolf drama can look forward to another author's take with the publication Jan. 27 of the romance/fantasy Blood Blade by Marcus Pelegrimas (Eos, $7.99), the first in a series. "This is a female-dominated genre," says Pelegrimas, referring to authors such as Meyer, Kim Harrison and Laurell K. Hamilton, "but in my books the romance is more from the guy's point of view." The romance, between two "Skinners" who hunt vampires and werewolves, "is more the guy being a guy and the woman keeping him in check."

The link for it on the USA Today site is: http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2009-01-07-book-buzz_N.htm

Pretty cool, huh? I know Twilight is huge right now, but it's strange to be mentioned in the same breath with such a phenomena. Here I am, seeing all the Stephenie Meyer coverage while eating cereal and now my name and book shows up in a national article with it. I just hope someone looking for a romantic fantasy doesn't take offense once the Nymar and Full Bloods start tearing people in half. There's definitely a spark between Cole and Paige, which is a big part of the story, but I never thought I was writing a romance. It's just funny to see what each person takes out of a single book. Publisher's Weekly focused on the Skinners acting as an enforcement arm of MEG and USA Today focused on the romance. It's great to hear all the different angles. That's the biggest difference between books and any other medium. Everything from name pronunciations to character descriptions and locales can be tweaked by every set of eyes looking at those words.

Nothing really new or groundbreaking in these observations. I just get a kick out of the whole interpretation process. That's probably why I do this for a living, right? Ok. I'll shut up now.

New Doctor

No, I'm not seeking out a new doc to help me through the stress of the upcoming release date. Apparently, this guy in the pic is the new Doctor Who. Of course, fans are up in arms because David Tennant was so popular, so great and oh so dreamy. I can vouch for the first two and my wife never gets sick of talking about the third (especially when he wears his glasses. At least she likes that sort of thing on dudes). Now she, like lots of others, are either not sure about the new guy or they completely hate him. Sure, the guy's head is on the large side and I don't know what the deal is with the hair (Megan just said the Flock of Seagulls thing annoys her), but The Doctor is supposed to be on the quirky side. I think most of the seriously angry and verbal detractors are new to the Doctor Who universe. The Doctor regenerates and changes it up. That's what the show DOES.

Not all of the unhappy ones are newbies. Some just really like Tennant and hate to see him go. I've got to agree with that. Tennant was awesome as The Doctor. I was also upset when Christopher Eccleston left. I thought he was great and was just getting set in his Gallifreyan ways when he regenerated. Then Tennant comes along and nails it. He's been doing well for a while and, for whatever reason, it's time to regenerate. My main concern is that the new guy looks a little too much like David Tennant. I was rooting for maybe a black Doctor or something else that hadn't been done or was nothing like the ones that came before. A woman Doctor? No. If this is supposed to be the same entity regenrating into new shells, I would think it would keep something as basic as gender. If a woman was chosen, however, I think the writers on the show would have given a good explanation and gotten me settled into the idea quickly enough. Plus, that would have really thrown a curve ball to everyone.

That's what this whole thing goes back to: faith in the show's writers. If there's been one constant in the newly updated Who, it's been the excellent writing and story lines. I will forever say that Blink is one of the best written TV eposodes ever and one of the few to pull off time travelling loops and twists with such ease. Unlike most time travel-heavy stories on TV, this one was twisty and turny (The Doctor would approve of such language, you know) and it STILL worked! Simply awesome. These writers, or any other writers entrusted to helm such a beloved franchise, have already proven themselves. I'm sure they didn't pick Matt Smith out of a hat. They wouldn't hand over a series with such a long history to someone they didn't think they could work with. I've watched the series since it was brought to my local PBS in the '80's and have liked some Doctors more than others. Still, there haven't been any, in my opinion, that were AWFUL. They all have their own unique thing going on which makes the show great.

Give the new guy a chance. His name is Matt Smith. Go on and say it. David Tennant will live on in DVD. Also, don't forget the occasional crossovers where past and present Doctors share a few shows. Now, for a very real and very personal gripe. Where's ROMANA???

Interview-a-palooza

Skinners isn't even out yet and the publicity machine is already rollin'. Yesterday, I did an online interview for Pop Syndicate. That's a great site with articles and reviews on everything from games and DVDs to movies and books. Pretty soon, it'll also have a sit-down with yours truly. I'll post a link to the interview once it's up. Hopefully, they cleaned it up so I don't sound like the rambling idiot I am. Heh.

Today, I got a call from USA Today. Yes, THE USA Today. It's a little piece for their Book Buzz section about Skinners and how I'm making my way in a genre dominated by women. That should be out this Thursday, so I'll post a link to that as well after it hits.

Apparently, the whole "man in a woman's genre" is going to be a big deal. I never really even thought about that until I was well into writing Skinners #2. I looked around at my own bookshelf and saw how most urban fantasy is written by women. Sure, there's Jim Butcher and a few others, but I suppose we are a minority in the vampire/werewolf category. I just never really thought about any gender issue. In the end, it all boils down to the stories, so I hope mine hold up. I'm also seeing Skinners pop up on lists of upcoming books or "stuff to look out for". I'm so pumped. It's getting really close!

If you gotta read an interview right now, don't forget the one at Popin's Lair. There's a link to that site under my link list at the side of this page. Don't mean to get all wrapped up in plugging my own crap, but I figured I'd hit it all in one big post.

In the normal life category, I picked up my BSG season 4 DVDs (dog tags and all). Also convinced Megan to buy a Fender bass replica for Rock Band. It's pretty cool, so I hope she'll let me try it out once or twice.

Assorted geekiness

I played some Gears of War last night...with my wife! Not only did she surprise me by getting into Left 4 Dead, but now she starts whipping butt on Gears co-op. I never get sick of that game and playing with Megan is even better. It warms my heart to hear her swear like a sailor when she gets sniped or growl happily when she chainsaws some Locust fool. To top it off, she's using some of her Christmas gift cards to get a Nintendo DS. I have truly made a gaming geek out of her. Yesssssss.

This Tuesday, Battlestar Galactica season 4 comes out on DVD. Unlike other shows, BSG has maintained its high quality level. Sure, some of the last season episodes were boring and spent too much time with dreams and political crap, but it got back to the good stuff quickly enough. I'm willing to give any good show some slack, just as long as they don't stay slacked. Slacked? You know what I'm saying. I'll be springing for the deluxe version at Best Buy, because it comes with a pair of Colonial dog tags. Those will look great hanging next to my desk, or around my neck when I'm debating who the last Cylon might be. Frak yeah!

To make my shopping dilemma worse, the complete radio series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was just released. Since I was inspired to write by Douglas Adams, I couldn't pass this one up. Looks like I'll have to cut back on stuff like food and electricity for a little while to pay for this. I also tacked on a cool Gears figure on Amazon.com of a Locust drone in mid-head shot. Nice, bright red blood streams and skull chunks spewing from the neck and everything. Plus, it comes with some metal Cog tags. See a theme here? All I need is a pair of official Fringe earrings to complete my dork jewelry set.