When to Prequel Before or After?

Pride and Prejudice is a classic novel by Jane Austen that was originally published in 1813.

Seth Grahame-Smith wrote a parody of it which was published in 2009 titled Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. In 2010 he published a prequel titled Dawn of the Dreadfuls.

I never got a chance to read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies when it was first released. Recently, I was at the bookstore and inquired about it and was very excited that they had a copy at a reduced price. I love sales! And as I was doing a tiny squee, the sales girl mentioned the prequel.

The word prequel hadn’t registered yet, when she handed me the book; also, at a reduced price. Well, what was I to do but to speed walk to checkout? Which was exactly what I did.

Now, I have a decision to make. In which order do I read them? Should I read the story that came out first followed by the prequel? Or should I begin from the beginning by reading the prequel first?

I normally read books in the order in which they were released but that is also the order in which I have acquired them. I’m leaning towards reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies first but that little zombie girl on the cover of Dawn of the Dreadfuls keeps nagging at me with her little zombie voice to read her book first. How does one ignore zombies?

Luckily for me I’m still in the middle of a book, so that gives me some time to make a decision. Little zombie girl will just have to wait and find out which book I will read first.

Blog Award

I received the Stylish Blogger Award from Dawn Brazil. Thanks Dawn, you’re awesome! Dawn has a pretty stylish blog herself. Check her out at http://dawnbrazil.blogspot.com/.












As the recipient of this award I have to list seven things about myself that most people don’t know. In addition I have to pass the award on to other deserving blogs.

1. I have beautiful journal books but I don’t write in them. I want to use them and occasionally open them up with the intention of writing in them but whatever comes to mind at the time is never good enough and I can’t bring myself to mar such lovely journals.

2. I don’t really consider myself a writer. I’m just a daydreamer, really. Most of the time I don’t even want to write down the little stories that play in my head. I don’t know why. Maybe I’m afraid someone will read them. I know it doesn’t make sense.

3. I love swords and daggers. I want to learn how to wield a sword – in my fantasy it’s the short sword because I’m less than five feet in height so the long sword is out of the question. And since I grew up watching Kung Fu movies, how about a Chinese broadsword or a Japanese Katana while I look hot and sexy as I kick the evil minion’s butts. That’s another fantasy. Let’s keep this between us, okay?

4. I learned to do the split when I was nine years old because I wanted to be a cheerleader.

5. I make jewelry. I started in 2005 but then I was injured with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and stopped. Recently, I made some necklaces and earrings as gifts for friends and they were very pleased with my work. So, I have decided to start a business and sell the jewelry I make.

6. My other hobby is archery. I don’t get to do it often so I’m not that good at hitting the bull’s eye but I enjoy myself very much. The odd thing is that I’m right hand dominant but I shoot left handed. Why? My dominant right eye is near sighted so the target is blurry. My left eye is far sighted and the target is clearer. Weird huh?

7. I used to sleep walk until I was twenty. I don’t know how come I stopped. My mother doesn’t either. But to this day, she’s an insomniac. Thanks to me. Sorry mom!


Here are some great blogs that I found.

Sam at: The Slight Detour

Stephanie & Athenna at: Paranormal Haven

Rachel at: Parajunkee’s View

Of Mermaids & The Nightside

I’ve been absent for a bit but I can explain why. You see it all started when I went away for the weekend to celebrate Beltane. I had a great time with the festivities, the vendors, and the food. This year it was mostly potluck and everyone brought tasty dishes. I had my hair braided with flowers and I even had my face painted. Not many adults did that but I had planned on doing it and since I completely embrace my inner child, I was very, very happy that weekend.

Anyway, while perusing all the tables laden with artwork, jewelry, the tarot readers and an awesome clay artist amidst the drum lessons and the belly dancing performance, I happened upon an author’s table. Her name is Carolyn Turgeon and she had copies of her latest book, Mermaid, which I gladly purchased and she signed for me.

Carolyn retells the classic tale by Han Christian Andersen, The Little Mermaid. But in Carolyn’s version there’s another Princess in the picture. You have the Mermaid Princess, Lenia, and then you have another Princess named Margrethe, who is from a feuding kingdom. Both have fallen for the Prince and both have their reasons for wanting to be with him. Can you say love triangle? Well, I haven’t got to that part yet but I’m looking forward to it.

Since it was quite sunny, I found a lovely spot and promptly began to read her book. I’m currently on chapter twelve. Reading about Mermaids made me think about Mermaids and when I returned home I got on the laptop and looked them up. First I went to Carolyn Turgeon’s website http://carolynturgeon.com/, which led me to her blog and there I read interviews with other Mermaids (performance artists who do aquatic shows in full Mermaid regalia). However, during my internet search I came across a website (http://www.themertailor.com/site_flash/) where you can buy Mermaid tails. They’re absolutely fabulous! I wish I could swim. Looking through it I fell in love with these pictures.

But you see that isn’t the whole of it. What I didn’t tell you is that I was already reading the second book of The Nightside series by Simon R. Green which I had downloaded to my phone.


The Nightside series is about John Taylor, a private detective that specializes in finding lost things. The Nightside is the secret hidden dark side of London where it’s always night and it’s always 3:00 am. You can find all kinds of magic and futuristic technology, corrupt things living or dead, human or inhuman, and where just about anything is for sale.

So I’ve been reading two books at once. And you know how it is with e-readers, don’t you? Well, so far there are ten books in the series and I have all the books so it is very easy to end one book and continue with the next one. Which is exactly what happened and now I’m on book three. I highly recommend the series so check it out if it’s a genre you like to read.

And while I’ve been doing all this reading (which is good for my writing, right?); I haven’t really done any writing other than sending creative renaissance style e-mail correspondence with a friend of mine. I had lots of fun doing that. Besides that, I have a lot of laundry to do and I see the dust bunnies in my house tumbling about like they do in spaghetti westerns.

So, I hope I’m excused for being lax with the blog. I’m on chapter eight of Nightingale’s Lament and I really must get back to it. The laundry and the dust bunnies can wait.

Enjoy your reading and happy writing!