Thursday, December 30, 2010

True Blood Holiday Greetings From an Eric Northman Buff

On the night before New Year's, Fangtasia was a mess.
Outside was graffiti, and protesters did aggress.
Since Russell Edgington, on air, had sullied their kind,
With his gory revelation, their hands he did bind.

The humans, many humans now hated the fang.
They picketed their businesses with great harangue.
Vampires did lie low, and so they did wait.
The AVL was on damage control to wipe a clean slate.

Unfortunately, they'd had to upgrade security at the door.
They were trying not to escalate a human/fang war.
Though business was down, it still seemed bizarre.
At least they still had customers coming into the bar.

This night, however, there was more on the mind
Of club owner, Eric Northman. All offers he declined.
Since Eric first met her, he'd found himself intrigued.
It wasn't just attraction; only that, he'd be fatigued.

He hated that he'd hurt her by telling her about Bill,
But it had to be done. Compton's deceit showed skill.
Instead, he was torn; back and forth he did pace.
He'd had some regrets, remembering Sookie's face.

As he sat on his throne, peering out into the crowd.
His eyes wouldn't focus; his thoughts were a shroud.
He cared for her more than he wanted; it was true.
He thought about her constantly; his mood very blue.

It wasn't only about lust, he owed her a great debt.
She had saved his life, indeed no mere pet.
There was more to her than being part fae.
With her he felt vulnerable; she was more than buffet.

Pleased she was back, he now was resigned.
He wanted to really know her, if she was so inclined.
She'd been with the fae too damned long, a crime.
He knew that if was patient, she would yield given time.

Then closing his eyes, he recalled her response.
Most passionate, despite her 'I'm Beel's' nonchalance.
The kisses had stirred her as her hands she did run
Entwining up through his hair, with each savory one.

Opening his eyes, he saw Pam; she could be a pain.
She'd caught him brooding. Her eyes said, "What? Again?"
"You've been distracted and moody, I'll have to admit.
Quite frankly, Eric, I have had about enough of this shit."

"Go to her, Eric Northman, if it will put you at ease,
Just shag her senseless. Easier than shuckin' peas."
"Pam, please stay out of this. I asked for no advice."
"Oh come on, Eric, it's like she's got your balls in a vice."

"She is a mortal, Eric. Just show her your charms.
She's seen them anyway, and I don't mean your arms.
She saved you from certain death. I owe her a favor.
She'll forget that lying bastard, Bill Compton, I'll wager."

Then from the front door, there rose such a clatter,
They both came to full alert to see what was the matter.
Several women and two men stood all in a group
Trying to gain entrance, they were quite a troupe.

"That's the witch," said Pam. "From the magic shop,
It's not far from here, a mere jump, skip, and a hop.
Generally quite shy, she looks different in this light.
Why isn't she with family on this New Year's Eve night?"

Eric's vamp sense was tingling as they entered the club.
Whatever they wanted, this witch wasn't a young cub.
She was dressed as if she'd come for more than just beer.
If she was quite shy, she sure as hell was different here.

She was a woman on the prowl of indeterminate age,
A bit past her prime, her makeup could take stage.
Her fuck me heels were at least four inches high,
And her little black dress, came up on her thigh.

The witch looked up and down Eric's six foot four frame.
Definitely licking her lips, as her lust was aflame.
But Eric's nose flared as her gaze raked his torso.
She was looking at him like a shark with a dorsal.

"Fantastic," snarked Pam. "Like you need a cougar in heat.
She stares at you intently, like you're a big tasty treat."
"I know," replied Eric. "Let's not lose our composure.
Let's see what she's up to when she makes her disclosure."

"Are you Northman?” asked the witch as bold as she pleased.
"I've a business proposition." Eric wished her diseased.
Though Eric was really in no mood for this bitch,
He said, "Let's go to my office to hear your pitch."

Eric leaned back on his desk; inside he did fume,
As the witch and one companion did enter the room.
Pam came in last, having signaled Chow and others,
There was something amiss with these witch mothers.

Closing the door, Pam leaned back, arms crossed,
Though she hid her anticipation of the upcoming accost.
Asked Eric, though he thought her cold as a snake.
"Pray tell, what kind of offer, do you intend to make?"

"In reading the cards, I foresaw unnatural disaster."
Then she glanced at Pam, "For you and your master."
"You've a problem," said the witch. "You're in dire straights.
There's an army of humans standing outside of your gates."

"We offer you protection from who would harm
Your business, your livelihood, we'll be your right arm."
"And just why would you think we would accept such an offer?
Though business has slowed, there's still plenty in our coffer."

"Hypothetically speaking, what would protection cost us?"
Eric did ask of her as he disguised his disgust.
Witch eyes narrowed at Pam, "We would like forty percent
Of your business, your profits, we just need your consent."

"Bitch, in case you haven't noticed, this is not HBO,
And we sure as hell will not give you our dough.
Though he's older than dirt, Eric is so not oobatz.
This is not the Bing," fanged Pam. "Go guard Merlotte's."

"Pam, please," smiled Eric outwardly. "No need to get cross."
"Pray let her continue. Remember who's your boss."
The witch did smile wide, an evil one at that.
She had more than hair under her proverbial hat.

She had something up her sleeve; they'd have no guard.
Little did they know, she had not played her trump card.
She had been a simple witch, right down to her core.
But that little mouse, sure as shit was no more.

In her place, a demon sorceress, who'd caught her unawares,
And had simply taken over her body to gain all her wares.
It had been ages she’d been trapped, ages at rest.
Beggars can't be choosers, even if the body wasn't the best.

Changing her mind, he could probably come like a derrick.
She stopped smiling and moved purposely toward Eric.
The Viking was handsome. She did lust after him.
Her lips worshiping his body would be a mere prelim.

Eric expected her to leave, but she'd just smiled instead.
He wondered where she'd gotten such a swelled head.
Eric had seen that look before and raised his eyebrow.
He would let her hang herself, he did inwardly avow.

"It's really in your best interest to consent," she said.
As she sauntered her way to Eric. "Us getting into... bed."
She ran her witch finger up and down Eric's chest.
"It is better that you accept. This really is not a request."

"That's rich," snickered Pam. "I suggest you withdraw."
"I'm not leaving," replied she, her tragic flaw.
"I always get what I want by hook or by crook.
You shouldn't cross me. I don't need a spell book."

"Come, Mr. Northman, I think I'd like to amend my request,
Something more amenable to you and your nest?"
"I'll make you a new offer. I think you are quite the hunk.
Pleasure me for seven nights; the percentage will be shrunk."

Then the witch she did make her biggest mistake,
When she cupped her hand strategically, Eric did it break.
"You disgust me, you hag. I can't stand your foul stench.
Your lust is something that I would never fuckin' quench."

She screamed, clutching her hand, and wished him dead,
While Eric pulled his black tank top up over his head,
"I would never bed you, never fall into your embrace."
Eric threw his black tank right into her face.

"Get the hell out of my club! You haven't a clue!"
I'd rather fuck a rattlesnake than give it to you!"
The witch turned pink and then she turned red.
Pam bit the lackey. Her neck she did shred.

The witch noted her minion had met her death.
She cried out for revenge, doing her best Macbeth.
She'd started to chant in a language now dead.
It wasn't 'toil and trouble' that crackled 'round her head.

Even Eric gave pause, though over her he did tower,
But only when he saw that she possessed great power.
He opened his mouth, but his words were withdrawn,
As he blanched, shimmered, faded, and then he was gone.

"Eric!" yelled Pam, as more vamps came through the door,
Distracted mere moments, the witch and Eric were no more.
"Where'd they go?" asked Pam. "Did you see them leave?"
"Where the hell are they?" Her chest now did heave.

She squashed her fears, ordering, "Get rid of those witches!
Then I want you to search for Eric, in fields, and in ditches.
Bring him back in one piece, as soon as you can
Until I think of what to do and make a better plan."

The witches had made mischief right out in the bar
Before leaving in haste, by truck, van and car.
Customers were complaining. The crowd she did scour.
The drinks, formerly tasty, had now gone quite sour.

If they didn't find Eric soon, they'd all be unemployed.
Unbeknown to Pam, her master was now a void.
The witch, upon him, a loss of memory had bestowed.
At present, he was running down Hummingbird Road.

His flip flops were gone; his pace he couldn't slow.
He was compelled to run this path. Why? He didn't know.
He didn't know his zip code, let alone his own name.
He only knew he was a vampire in a tall, tall frame.

Then all of a sudden, lights came puttering his way.
He looked at them dubiously now feeling like prey.
What was this strange ship that ran on dry land?
What gods had this created, and how was it manned?

A woman called out from the craft, yelling a name.
Had she said, "Eric?" Perhaps it was a game.
Her voice finally calmed him in spite of his fear.
She knew him this woman, and she wasn't austere.

She questioned him closely to see if she could trust.
Apparently, she needed that, to her it was a must.
She covered him up, saying that he looked rather cold.
Inviting him into her home, bloody feet, she did behold.

She exclaimed when she saw Eric's bloody, gouged feet,
And she pulled out a chair for him to have a seat.
Looking at his jeans, she said, "Pull them off."
She came back with a pan of warm water and did cough.

He had removed his jeans; her eyes had gone wide.
Her reaction to him, from him she couldn't hide.
He knew what she was feeling. He'd had her blood.
Under what circumstances? Was she more than a bud?

To his vampiric state, she had no real blindness.
She bathed his feet gently, a real act of kindness.
When she said she would call those he didn't know.
At her place, they did ask her if she would him stow.

She showed him a place he could rest before dawn.
Then he slipped into her bed, without her, "Come on."
She did not even comment, though under the covers,
His hand she did seek and clasp, not unlike lovers.

Turning his head sideways to gaze at her sleeping,
He thought her quite lovely. She was his safekeeping.
He watched her until it was time to go to ground,
Reluctantly, his fingers from hers he unwound.

He went into the closet which was luckily obscure.
Something was special about her of that he was sure.
He'd get to know her; he'd be more than all right.
Then he dreamt of her as soon as it was light.

While Trubies and Bookies all wait for True Blood,
Here's hoping season four will not be a dud.
Now I bid you adieu as I leave you tonight.
With a taste of True Blood, I hope it didn't bite.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

"Deadly Vice" Chapter 3 Posted










Someone is hijacking loads and killing off drug dealers in South Dade, Florida. Detectives Sookie Stackhouse and Andy Bellefleur are called in by Lieutenant Castillo to become members of a newly formed Miami Dade Drug taskforce.
Detectives Gina Calabrese and Trudy Joplin have junkie hooker Ginger in protective custody, and Ginger spins the detectives quite a tale of strange activities at a club Thor, where her bartender boyfriend Longshadow works.

Although she and her new task force partner, Detective James "Sonny" Crockett, did not get off to a great start, Lieutenant Castillo has asked Sookie to go undercover with a reluctant Sonny to get close to club owner Eric Northman, and assigned Detective Bellefleur to partner with Detective Stan Switek.

Sookie is scarily accurate at getting into the heads of others but finds that some of the employees and patrons of the club are a trifle difficult to read. Once she meets Eric, a ladies man by all reports, Sookie finds that he is not exactly what she was expecting. She is bowled over by his Nordic good looks, deep blue eyes and charming demeanor, and Eric finds that he is not immune to Detective Stackhouse even though he is playing with fire when he suspects she is a cop.

Is Northman involved in the disappearances of numerous known drug trafficers and has he been hijacking shipments of blow from under the cartel's nose?

While Sookie is getting to know Eric, Sonny finds himself fascinated with Pam, a part-time stripper and co-owner of the club. Switek and Bellefleur take the bug van to stake out the comings and goings at the club, but Stan is having recurring sightings of his idol and being teased incessantly by the rest of the task force members.

Yes, Bubba is back. I thought this was the perfect venue since Stan Switek worshiped the ground that the singer walked on and even impersonated him on occasion.

Chapter three is available on FF.net.

Monday, March 29, 2010

New chapter of "Trust Me" posted to Fanfiction.net










I updated "Trust Me" this week by uploading Chapter 8 to Fanfiction.Net and EricNorthman.net. You will learn just how duplicitous Bill Compton can be and that perhaps there is more to Eric Northman than meets the eye.

Please, no pro-Bill daggers at the turn I have taken. It had to be done, and the TB writers were not getting there fast enough. They have shown that Bill has over and over again lied or kept things from Sookie, and she seems to forgive him every time. Eric is not a saint himself, but he has some growing to do.

In "Keep This Party Going," Eric respectfully asked Bill if he could borrow Sookie to help him in Dallas. Eric explained that he and Sookie had made an arrangement that if he didn't kill anyone, she would work for him when he needed her. When Bill refused to cooperate, Eric mentioned that, "if [he] wanted her, [he] could simply take her" and that he was showing respect for Bill by asking his permission for her assistance in the first place. When Bill flat out refused, Eric asked him if that was his final answer. Bill responded that it was, and Eric said, "Poorly played, Bill. Poorly played."

When Bill grabbed his arm and demanded Eric stay away from Sookie in "Timebomb," he pretty much challenged Eric's authority. Eric squared off in front of Bill, faced him fully, and smiled playfully, "Are you picking a fight?" That was one of my favorite scenes. Here is jackass Bill standing up to his sheriff and ordering him about like he had a right to. Eric towered over Bill to the point that it looked like a black ant trying to kick sand in the face of a lion and thinking he could get away with it. The fact that Eric likes a good fight gave him a prime opportunity to show Bill that Bill had no power over him whatsoever.

When Eric was left alone with Sookie, in the aftermath of the bombing, it was the perfect time for him to prove his own point to Bill that if he wanted Sookie that he'd simply take her. He did just that by tricking Sookie into sucking out the silver from his neck and chest.

Did Bill punch out Eric immediately after he found Eric thoroughly enjoying watching Sookie suck on his chest? No. He waited until the following night ("I Will Rise Up") when Eric had just been informed that the maker he had idolized for a millennium was going to meet the sun. Eric was clearly in shock. Yes, that was the moment Bill chose to punch Eric in the mouth, during a moment of weakness on Eric's part. It was poor timing and a bitch-ass thing to do. I can't believe Sookie didn't call him out on it. I know she was mad at Eric for tricking her, but Sookie knew at the Fellowship of the Sun that Eric had a lot of love for Godric. She knew Eric was hurting before she went up on the roof of the hotel.

I want to thank my friend Beth for a discussion we had about the dual meaning in Eric's words to Bill after Bill sucker-punched him in "I Will Rise Up." Eric said, "I'm part of her now. Get out of the way." Not only was he saying, 'Get out of the way, I want to leave the room,' but he was insinuating that she was now his and that Bill should step aside so that he could have her. Did you see the look on Bill's face at Eric's words? Watch it again sometime.

Since we (book fans) did not get the pink and aqua lycra, the 'yield to me' on the hood of Eric's Corvette, Eric staking Longshadow instead of Bill, or Eric paying for her driveway from the books as part of season two of True Blood, I wanted Eric to redeem himself a little bit, because even Eric could see that Sookie wasn't being looked after as a valuable member of his area and to him personally. I also wanted to have Eric start to see the value of humans similar to the way his maker had and to advance his interest in Sookie while Bill was absent. By having Eric do something, like getting someone to come and clean her home for her, was something that Bill should have thought of himself if he hadn't been so busy scheming to get her away from Eric by asking her to marry him. Eric may not apply what he has learned to all humans, but perhaps he'll start to see the value of Isabel's words to him.

I do think that Bill does care for Sookie beyond his orders. It was obvious by the look he gave the queen in "Frenzy" when she mentioned that she wanted to meet Sookie. He definitely wants to keep her to himself now. He is such a selfish individual though, that I just can't see them together for much longer. She will see through his bull shit. If that doesn't happen on the HBO series, then please drop by and read my fan fiction.

I  really enjoy all your comments on Fanfiction.net even though I am not able to get back to all of you about them. Best wishes.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

I Blame It on Gran

I have always enjoyed reading and unabashedly blame that on my gran, a retired school teacher, who signed me up for a library card at the Carnegie Library (a lot of them were named Carnegie in those days). It was love at first sight for me as an impressionable five year old. The touch and feel of the books, their bindings, the feel of the paper, the smell of the older volumes, all added to the experience. Admittedly at five years old, the pictures in the books were more interesting at first.

When Gran taught me to read and write before I was enrolled in kindergarten, I discovered that stories were more than colored pictures on the page. They could sweep their readers away to places they could barely imagine before picking up a bound edition, and I couldn't wait to be swept away.

Reading took over my life at a young age as I went from Dr. Seuss and fairy tales to Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. To this day, I enjoy time travel stories.

Moving on to mysteries, I went sleuthing with Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden, young mystery-solving teens.

As I grew older and became bored with teen crime solvers, I picked up my first science fiction novels by reading Ray Bradbury's Farenheit 451, Dandelion Wine, and Something Wicked This Way Comes. Andre Norton, Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke were next. A fan of the aforementioned science fiction novels, I equally absorbed Dark Shadows, The Outer Limits and Star Trek on television like a black hole singularity.

As a senior in high school, I needed an extra English credit and elected to take a science fiction writing class, never realizing that I would actually enjoy writing stories for the class. I had dabbled in poetry off and on before that but was surprised that I could actually write stories.

I drifted for a while into historical fiction then moved back to science and fantasy fiction. I devoured Terry Brooks' original Shannara trilogy and subsequent novels except for the Landover novels which were well-written but did not draw me in as a reader. Anne McCaffrey's Pern novels were next, and I was drawn into the world of telepathetic dragons and fire lizards. I still have all the Pern novels and occasionally re-read them. After reading Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman's Dragonlance Chronicles, I enjoyed other worlds that they have created as well.

In college, I enrolled in literature and writing classes though I have to admit that I was utterly burned out on Sylvia Plath and Walt Whitman by the end of that time thanks to graduate student instructors who spent nearly the entire semester on having their students analyze and write papers on works by Plath and Whitman to use in their theses. But I digress.

I didn't read J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings series until I was in my twenties. Though I thought the story was brilliant, the description of every rock and blade of grass along the way bored me to tears.

I discovered fan fiction about eleven years ago and began exploring other worlds writing fics for various fandoms. To date, my favorite mythological creature is the dragon. I have written a few stories about them including a fic in the Dragonriders of Pern universe though haven't posted it on Fanfiction.net due to Anne McCaffrey's restrictions.

The vampire genre has been another inspiration of mine, and I have written fics about more than one vampire mythology though only one of those mythologies is published on Fanfiction.net.

After watching the first episode of True Blood, I purchased Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris. I quickly bought the rest of the Southern Vampire Mysteries and the books with her SVM short stories, as well, and read them in a week. Although I like the HBO series, I enjoy the books so much more, and having watched True Blood, I can now visualize Harris' characters and can even hear the actors saying the lines if I reread any of the books.

If you haven't guessed by now, my favorite character from the Southern Vampire Mysteries is Eric Northman. There is just something about a tall, blonde, thousand year old Viking that latches onto a viewer or reader and doesn't let go. It doesn't hurt that Alexander Skarsgård, the actor who portrays Eric Northman, is extremely easy on the eyes.

My fan fiction activities at present are focused on writing stories for the Southern Vampire Mysteries created by Charlaine Harris. I have also started a True Blood-based story called Trust Me which is a re-telling of the end of season two of the series and which moves on to my vision of season three. My SVM fan fiction stories are posted on Fanfiction.net.

I am currently writing a stand-alone mystery and a fantasy series which I hope to have published when completed. I am also a moderator on HBO's True Blood Wiki. [Visit my profile].

Friday, January 1, 2010

Happily Dead Ever After: Becoming Eric Northman



















Read Happily Dead Ever After at Fan Fiction.net or EricNorthman.net. If you do not want to be spoiled regarding the story, then stop here. There are a number of spoilers below.

In 2008, I began writing 1,000-year-old Viking, vampire Eric Northman's back story before Charlaine Harris published book 9 in her Southern Vampire Mysteries, "Dead and Gone." I was fascinated by the depth of his character and his many layers in books 1-8 and thought, who was he? Why doesn't he like shifters and weres? Why does he show disdain for witches? What is the story behind his using Leif as his alias? Why doesn't he seek to rule in a higher capacity than sheriff in the vampire hierarchy? Why is he so captivated by telepathic barmaid, Sookie Stackhouse?

Sookie believes that he is Swedish like the actor (Alexander Skarsgård) who portrays him on HBO's loose adaptation of the novels, True Blood. Most of the Vikings were from Norway and Denmark in the Viking age, so after doing some research, I discovered that the history of Eiríkr Haraldsson, heir of King Harald Fairhair (sometimes referred to as Harald Finehair) fit Eric Northman perfectly. Harald was the first king of Norway, and his son Eiríkr was the second king of Norway.

Eiríkr was reported to have killed his many male siblings and earned the nickname Eiríkr Blóðøx (Eric Bloodaxe). He was also twice king of the Viking city of York in Northumberland in the 10th century. Eiríkr's brother Haakon succeeded him as king of Norway, and one of Eiríkr's sons became the fourth king of Norway. "According to the Heimskringla and Egils saga, Eric spent much of his childhood in fosterage with the hersir Thórir son of Hróald. Of his adolescent years, a remarkable picture is painted in Heimskringla, which recounts that Eric, aged twelve and seemingly possessed of prodigious valour and strength, embarked on a career of international piracy."

"The figure which Eric became in the Norse sagas is a heady mix of history, folklore and political propaganda. He is usually portrayed as a larger-than-life Viking hero, whose powerful and violent performances bring him many short-term successes, but ultimately make him flawed and unpopular as a ruler and statesman. The Heimskringla describes Eric as 'a large and handsome man, strong and of great prowess, a great and victorious warrior'."

Eiríkr's consort Gunnhildr, according to the "earliest saga Historia Norwegiæ, is described as the daughter of Gorm inn Gamli ('the Old'), king of Denmark (and hence a sister of Harald Bluetooth)."
[Historical references are from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Bloodaxe]

Although Gunnhildr was reportedly a witch--not a nice one either, I did not wish to alienate practicing witches of today, so for the purposes of the story, she is a sorceress.

Not wanting to completely immerse the Southern Vampire Mysteries' (SVM) readers directly into the Viking age, I decided to tell the story in alternate chapters from the present to the past. Odd numbered chapters are in the familiar SVM realm told in first person by Sookie Stackhouse. Even numbered chapters tell Eric's story from his birth in third person. "Happily Dead Ever After" is also a time travel story in which Sookie is sent back to meet 10th century Eirik. For my sanity, I am spelling Eric's 10th century name as Eirik and his consort's name as Gunnhild, dropping the r's at the end. Eric's sister Ingegjerd is called Inge by her family in the story, even though Inge is currently considered a masculine name in Scandinavia.

To help readers picture the Viking-age characters, here are those I picture as the players so far:

Alexander Skarsgård - Eirik Haraldsson (Eric Bloodaxe, a.k.a Eric Northman)

Top to bottom along the right-hand side of the photo above:
Stellan Skarsgård - Harald Fairhair (King Harald I of Norway, a.k.a Harald Finehair)
Brendan Gleeson as Olaf Haraldsson Geirstadalf, king of Vingulmark, later also Vestfold
Dennis Storhøi as Thørir Hróaldsson
Kristanna Løken as Ingegjerd Haraldsdotter
Gustaf Skarsgård as Per Thørirsson (adult)
Karl Urban as Leif Thørirsson (adult)
Alexander Skarsgård as a very young Eirik
Alicia Witt as Gunnhild, Mother of kings
Charlotte Salt as Hanne (Charlotte's video clip from The Tudors)

I will post more about the Sookie time travel arc at a later date when we get closer to that part of the story.