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Elizabeth Fais

Category Archives: Vampire

Secret American History

07 Saturday Jul 2012

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Historical Fiction, Supernatural, Suspense, Thriller, Vampire

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, Benjamin Walker, Book of Secrets, Diane Kruger, Historical Fiction, Jon Turteltaub, Justin Bartha, National Treasure, Nicholas Cage, Seth Grahame-Smith, Tim Burton, Vampire

The REAL Abraham Lincoln … Vampire Hunter

History prefers legends to men … It prefers nobility to brutality … soaring speeches to quiet deeds. History remembers the battle and forgets the blood. However history remembers me before I was a President, it shall only remember a fraction of the truth … [from the trailer below]

The premise of Seth Grahame-Smith’s bestselling novel, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, is awesome. Somehow though, I never got around to reading it. So when the movie came out, I had to see it. It was obvious from the trailers that the story was anything but a joke. Still, I couldn’t fathom how — given everything we know about our 16th President — the history could be believable. OK, so you have to buy into the whole Vampire’s-are-real thing. But after that … Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter is disturbingly plausible.

Which got me to thinking … What if? What if … what we’ve been taught about that time in history is only part of the truth? The possibility is awesome.

Hollywood has given us some other more-than-believable options for American history…

A Secret National Treasure Map

National Treasure is a perfect example … A secret from our nation’s past leads to the greatest adventure (and treasure) in history.

Benjamin Gates’ (Nicolas Cage) life-long journey leads him, and his nerd-savante sidekick Riley Poole (Justin Bartha), to an invisible map that is encrypted on the back of the Declaration of Independence.  However, what they thought was the final clue turns out to only be the beginning of their hunt.

Gates soon realizes that to protect the world’s greatest treasure, he must steal the most revered, best guarded document in American history before it falls into the wrong hands. In a race against time, Gates must stay one step ahead of his ruthless adversary (Sean Bean), elude the authorities, and unlock a 2000 year-old mystery behind our greatest national treasure.

What makes this story so believable are the historical facts that are woven into the story at every turn. Nine of the Founding Fathers who signed the Declaration of Independence were Masons. The invisible map (encrypted using Masonic symbols) points to the hiding place of King Solomon’s treasure — an unfathomable storehouse of wealth — that vanished after the Knights Templar (precursors to the Masons) uncovered it beneath King Solomon’s palace.

And let’s not forget the clue Gates discovers on the Independence Hall clock tower on the back of a hundred-dollar bill, or the special glasses needed to read the map — made by Benjamin Franklin himself, the inventor of bifocals — that are hidden in that very clock tower. And the final believability gem (pun intended) comes when Gates realizes the treasure is deep beneath Trinity Church (Trinity Wall Street at 79th Street in Lower Manhattan), which was founded in 1696. Again, the magic of … what if?

More National Treasure … in a Book of Secrets

National Treasure: Book of Secrets starts out with the promise of a great premise…

This time Benjamin Gates sets out to discover the truth behind the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, by uncovering the mystery within the 18 pages missing from assassin John Wilkes Booth’s diary. A Gates ancestor has been accused of being an accomplice in Booth’s crime, and Benjamin  believes the missing pages will clear the family name. His conviction drives him to uncover clues to the location of the mythical City of Gold, Cibola.

The historic facts laced throughout this story are viable. Such as the hidden inscription on the scale model of the Statue of Liberty on the Île aux Cygnes in Paris that points to the two Resolute desks; one of which is in the Queen’s chambers in Buckingham Palace, the other in the Oval Office of the White House. All well and good. But they lost me with the Mayan-style temple of gold beneath Mount Rushmore.

It might just be me. But the only way I’d believe that one is if they proved George Washington used his hatchet to cut crop circles to signal aliens (instead of chopping down that cherry tree). Because the aliens could totally have helped the Mayans build a temple of gold beneath Mount Rushmore. Which of course, is why George’s face is now on that mountain.

But seriously … a city carved into the walls at the bottom of the Grand Canyon — similar to Petra in Jordan — and filled with tons of golden artifacts would have been much more believable. I’m just sayin’. Are you listening, Jon Turteltaub?

I’m hoping National Treasure 3 — if and when it happens — brings the series back on track to its original suspense filled, believable glory. Without aliens, crystal skulls, or nuked refrigerators. Please!

How to lose an audience…

What I learned from these stories was … to keep a story believable the audience needs a consistent trail of plausibility that’s easy to follow. A logical set up of known historical facts woven throughout the story so they pay off in a believable secret history.

Let’s face it. On some level we all want to believe the secret history could be true. We want to believe, because it takes us out of our day-to-day lives and lifts us up into realm of infinite possibilities. That … What if? … place, where anything can happen.

A storyteller’s mistake comes when their plausibility trail hits a wall that requires us to pole vault over it. The end result … you lose us … an audience that wanted to go along for the ride, not go out for the Olympics.


What’s your favorite piece of secret history … American or otherwise?

Inquiring minds want to know!



Devil’s Kiss Giveaway!

30 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Badass, Knights Templar, Mystery, Paranormal, Sarwat Chadda, Templars, Vampire

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Devil's Kiss, Knights Templar, Mystery, Paranormal, Sarwat Chadda, Vampire, Young Adult

In honor of all the badass heroines ever, this week’s giveaway is a signed copy of Devil’s Kiss, by Sarwat Chadda. Billi SanGreal is a truly awesome heroine and badass demon slayer!

Review Redux ~ by The Ravenous Reader

Devil’s Kiss, by Sarwat Chadda

As the youngest and only female member of the Knights Templar, Bilquis SanGreal grew up knowing she wasn’t normal. Instead of hanging out at the mall or going on dates, she spends her time training as a soldier in her order’s ancient battle against the Unholy. Billi’s cloistered life is blasted apart when her childhood friend, Kay, returns from Jerusalem, gorgeous and with a dangerous chip on his shoulder. He’s ready to reclaim his place in Billi’s life, but she’s met someone new: amber-eyed Michael, who seems to understand her like no one else, effortlessly claiming a stake in her heart.  But the Templars are called to duty before Billi can enjoy the pleasant new twist to her life. One of the order’s ancient enemies has resurfaced, searching for a treasure that the Templars have protected for hundreds of years—a cursed mirror powerful enough to kill all of London’s firstborn. To save her city from catastrophe, Billi will have to put her heart aside and make sacrifices greater than any of the Templars could have imagined. (Goodreads Synopsis)

Click this link for The Ravenous Reader’s awesome review of Devil’s Kiss! 

Enter the FREE Giveaway! Here’s how to win…

  • Enter a comment on this post to have your name entered once.
  • Enter a comment on this post and tweet the link to this post including — #BilliSanGreal — to have your name entered twice.
  • The deadline is Sunday, April 1st at 12:00 NOON Pacific Daylight Time (no joke!).
  • I’ll draw a name at random and post the winner on this blog next Wednesday, April 4th.
  • You must live within the continental United States to qualify. Sorry, but international postage rates make shipping outside the USA cost-prohibitive.
In case you were wondering … this book was signed by the awesome Sarwat Chadda at Kepler’s Books, in Menlo Park, California.

Good Luck! May the baddestass win!

Buffy vs. Edward

28 Wednesday Mar 2012

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Paranormal, Supernatural, Vampire

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Edward Cullen, Slayer, Twilight, Vampire

Buffy the Vampire Slayer versus Edward Cullen

Sorry Twilight fans (I’m a fan too. Honest). No disrespect intended. This is just funny. A fight to the finish with the badass who blazed the Femme Phenom trail…Buffy the Vampire Slayer…doing what she does best!

And the “Out of Sight, Out of Time” WINNER!

…DRUM ROLL…

The winner of last week’s “Out of Sight, Out of Time” giveaway is …

Maya Sabrina

*Throws confetti!*

Please send me your Snail Mail information and I will get the signed copy of “Out of Sight, Out of Time” into the mail to you pronto!

The other entrants  will be automatically entered in this  Friday’s giveaway … a book with a badass protagonist you’ll truly love. Promise!

Thanks for playing!

A New Breed of Badass

25 Sunday Mar 2012

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Badass, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Elizabeth Fais, Emmie Mears, Femme Phenom, Paranormal, Supernatural, The Matrix, Vampire, Young Adult

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Al Pacino, Bruce Lee, Bruce Willis, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Carrie Anne Moss, Clint Eastwood, Denzel Washington, Die Hard, Dirty Harry, Emmie Mears, Femme Phenom, Hunger Games, Joss Whedon, Paranormal, Rambo, Sarah Michelle Gellar, supernatural, Sylvester Stalone, The Matrix, Trinity, Young Adult

Badass looked like this…

That is, until Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

Buffy was a new breed of badass … the Femme Phenom. (As in, phenomenal. Come on people, keep up.) Joss Whedon created Buffy, because he was tired of the  pathetic female characters in horror films who maybe screamed before letting themselves get killed.

So not Buffy. She saved the world. A lot. And always did it with a witty quip, while rocking the hottest fashion. She wasn’t just tough, she was feminine and had depth of character. Buffy continues to save the world, as Emmie Mears so aptly points out.

I mean, would there have been a Trinity (of The Matrix series) if Buffy hadn’t blazed the Femme Phenom trail? Not to mention the other terrific Femme Phenoms, in fiction and film?

Take Katniss Everdeen of the Hunger Games (the heroine of the uber-popular book series, now a movie), an awesome Femme Phenom. She’s strong physically, mentally, and emotionally. She has to be to survive the horrific Hunger Games. Check out May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor, if you haven’t read the books or seen the movie.

So… in honor of Buffy, Trinity, Katniss, and all the other hot badass chicks, I declare this National Femme Phenom Week! And to celebrate, I’ll be hosting a phenomenal giveaway! A book with a truly badass Femme. You won’t be disappointed. Promise!

Sign up to follow this blog so you don’t miss out!

Badass is the New Awesome…

At least … during National Femme Phenom Week!

So, tell us … who’s your favorite badass … in film or fiction?

And for the record, badass guys are a total hot commodity in my book.

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