LilMouse

Very good post, Steph.

I agree about the changes being necessary to make the story more visual. And I think the change of .
I loved seeing the parts on screen that Diana did not get to witness, like when the book appears and disappears.

Matthew Goode is going to be great as Matthew. He has that classy aura.

I can't wait to see more of Emily/Sarah and their house.

Stay to the Lights

I'm loving this adaptation.!

LilMouse

Do you live in the UK and that's how you're watching it?

True Charmed Blood

Definitely one of my all-time favorite book series!

Looking forward to seeing the TV show

meraki

I'm thinking about reading the book serie. It seems like a good one.

LilMouse

^ Definitely try it out. It's fun.

BehrItAll

I second that. It has mystery, romance, action, historical fiction, and science mixed with fantasy.


I agree with your thoughts on that spoiler.

That was one of my favorite parts, when the book disappears.

On September 24th I went to Barnes & Noble on the Upper West Side to hear Deborah talk about Time's Convert.


The main theme of Time's Convert centers around parenting. The book is split into three stories: Diana and Matthew with their 18 month old twins, Marcus reminiscing about his early life, and Phoebe's first 100 days as a vampire.

Phoebe's chapter titles are numbered to tell how many days old she is as a newborn vampire. New born vampires have a faster development and each day represents a year.

The Bishop-de Clermont family have been through the wringer and need a break. So they get a summer vacation with no dire life or death situations.

Being a historian, Deborah was somehow going to weave history into her book. Diana can't time walk in this story because she has too many responsibilities being a wife, mom, witch, and a professor with tenure, so Marcus reminisces about his life as a human and as a young vampire.

The story is also about kids rebelling, and Marcus is certainly a rebel having served in the American Revolution and being a fan of Thomas Paine. In contrast, his vampire father, Matthew, is from the Middle Ages, so they sometimes clash. Deborah has fun writing those moments.

Writing a story that took place during the American Revolution allowed Deborah to become a student again because her focus is the 16th century Europe.

Deborah said she wants to write more stories in the All Souls world like this, where it moves forward in time and we get to see how the twins grow but also incorporate elements of history. So it will be an ongoing series, instead of another trilogy where there is a beginning, middle and end.

Deborah writes long hand for her first draft. She writes in loops where she'll write a scene or maybe just two lines of dialogue, then do some research and go down that route before returning to a scene. She was writing The Serpent's Mirror about Matthew's life with the Tudors, but then Matthew "stopped talking" and Marcus wouldn't stop. And that is how we got this book first. She also is writing a story about Gallowglass.

She read a scene from Chapter 9 where Marcus meets Sarah Bishop during the American Revolution. She chose that scene because it was not considered a spoiler since it is mentioned in ADoW. (I liked that scene very much.)

The B&N special edition I bought has a deleted scene from Marcus' POV during Shadow of Night. The scene didn't fit with the theme of this book and was taking it off course. It was a nice surprise to get that little extra moment, especially since SoN is my favorite of the trilogy.




Now my review of the book:

My favorite part of Time's Convert was Marcus's story, especially the beginning, when he was a warmblood. The developing during those chapters was really well though out. However, the further the story went into is vampire life the more rushed and summed up it felt, especially when he was in New York and New Orleans. I also wish Matthew had more involvement with Marcus' life when he was a young vampire. Still, I liked the insight we got of Marcus and his life,liberty and pursuit of happiness.

As Deborah said at the event, the Bishop-de Clermont family have been through the wringer and need a break. Although their parts were slower and not suspenseful, I liked that they got to have a normal - or as normal as they can be - summer. There was some drama and loads of cuteness with cameos from beloved family members.

Phoebe's story was my least favorite part but that might have more to do with the fact that I was never that into her. She was just there in the trilogy, for me. I did like the insight into the infancy of becoming a vampire, the rules and the adjustments.

I think all together that each story was well balanced and the pacing was just right. Although it wasn't the story I was expecting to be published next, and I can't say it is my favorite book set in this world, it was an enjoyable read.

Favorite quotes:
This made me laugh, though I think it may be a dig at Harry Potter?
Nook- page 88: "But Matthew and I agreed long ago that we weren't going to hide who we were from the children. I don't want them learning what magic is from television and movies."
"Goddess forbid." Sarah shuddered. "All those wands."

Nook- page 89: "Rules may teach you to be blindly obedient, but they're no real protection against the world.

Nook- page 107: "It took me eighteen hours to bring that boy into the world, and no time at all for some idiot with a gun to steal him away." Mistress Bishop pulled a small bottle out of her pocket. "War is such a waste of women's time."

Nook - page 317: "If a vampire were to abstain from traveling to places occupied by his former enemies, there would be nowhere on earth left to go."

Nook - page 418: "I'm just a vampire, not Van Gogh."



3.5 out of 5 Griffins

Stay to the Lights

I gotta catch up on the last couple episodes though.

meraki

Planning to buy the first book soon.

I also watching the seire and I like it.

Stay to the Lights

That's great. It's a long book

BehrItAll

I want to share my Alex Kingston (Aunt Sarah) NYCC story:

I got a photo op and autograph. Alex was really fun and personable. During the photo op with the men she would life her leg up for them to hold. With the women she would pose in a spunky way pointing her two fingers toward the person.

With me, because I am so petite, she lightly rested her arm on my head. At her signing, as she signed my photo she said she was being naughty when she decided to pose that way. My sister said it looks like a jazzercise pose.

My sister and I told her we saw the first episode of A Discovery of Witches the night before and that she is just perfect for Sarah Bishop. We also thought she would pop in as a surprise guest.

Alex said there was supposed to be a full panel with the cast but then Deborah decided to premiere the first episode instead and there would be no time for a panel.

I loved the panel at SDCC and her excitement about the Bishop House. Alex's eyes lit up and she spoke about the amazing details the set designers put into it. We also learned that the Bodleian Library was a set. The exterior was shot on location but the inside is a set. They could have fooled me!

We told her we went to Oxford but couldn't go inside the Bodleian Library.

Before we concluded our conversation I told her I loved her on ER. She was thankful. She was so easy to talk to and down to earth.

LilMouse

I think she is one of the people we spoke to most (meaning for the longest time) at a NYCC signing. It was nice not to be rushed and she didn't make me feel nervous at all.

BehrItAll

Yea, her line was really short. Which was a relief because then we didn't have to spend all of out time on a queue.

LilMouse

It was surprising to see many short lines. Maybe it was the time of day.
It was cool to see Matt Smith next to her.

Stay to the Lights

I'm catching up on the show. On episode 5. I think there are 8 episodes?