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Sunday, January 18, 2015

Blog Tour: Mini Review & Guest Post: Bound by Blood by Margo Bond Collins






Guest Post- Casting:


I think every author spends some amount of time dreaming of a movie made from his or her books—I suspect that an inordinate amount of time goes in to casting these imaginary films—at least, it does around here!




For this post, I'm casting only the adults in the novella. There are also two children, a five-year-old boy and a twelve-year-old girl, but when I started trying to cast them, I realized that the child actors I had imagined in the roles had all grown up! I finally decided that I would leave child-actor casting to the professionals, instead.

So here are my choices for those actors I did cast. Take a look at them, and then tell me, who would you cast in these roles?

 






Dr. Lili Banta, a doctor from a Filipino-American family

played by Vanessa Hudgens

Until I started writing this novella, I was unaware of just how many Filipina actresses I already knew and loved. Although Hudgens looks a little young for the role of Lili, I think she could definitely pull it off!





Amber Lounge Fashion Monaco 2012 - Show

 








Dr. Will Manning, a doctor in Houston, Texas, and Lili's ex



played by Patrick Dempsey

. . . because who better to play a handsome doctor?




Patrick Dempsey as Doctor Will Manning

 









Harry Iverson, a detective from Dallas, Texas


played by Jensen Ackles

. . . because he's Texan, and he's one of my favorite actors. I would cast him in everything, if it were up to me.



Jensen-Ackles-as Harry Iverson

 









Nurse Susan Yee


played by Zhang Ziyi

. . . because she is my favorite Chinese actress!





zhang ziyi as Susan Yee

 








Lili's grandmother, nicknamed Inang


played by Beverly Salviejo

. . . because she looks exactly like I imagined Lili's Inang.




Beverly-Salviejo-as Lilys grandmother







I would love some help casting the children! Who would you cast to play Kenny (a five-year-old boy) and Felicity (a twelve-year-old girl)?




____________________________





http://www.amazon.com/Bound-Blood-Night-Shift-Novella-ebook/dp/B00PB3AIGC/
 
 
 
 
Sometimes the monsters in the dark are real...



As a child, Lili Banta ignored her grandmother's cryptic warnings to avoid
children outside their Filipino community in Houston. When many of those other
children fell ill, Lili ignored the whispers in her community that a vampiric
aswang walked among them.



Years later, Lili returns to Houston to work for the Quarantine Station of the
Center for Disease Control—but she is plagued by dark, bloody dreams that
consume her nights and haunt her days. When a strange illness attacks the
city's children, Lili is called in to find its source, and maybe even a cure.



But in order to save the city, she must first acknowledge the sinister truth: A
monster stalks the night—closer than she ever expected....



_____________________________________________


Excerpt:


 
Sitting
straight up in bed, I gasped and threw myself back against the headboard, the
thud dying away along with the remaining shreds of my dream.




But
the word still ricocheted through my mind.




Aswang.



Until
yesterday, I hadn't thought of the term in years—not since I'd left Houston for
med school in Maine, determined to get as far away from home as I could.




But
this resurgence of the same, odd illness that had swept my city years before
was apparently also dredging up the old stories from deep in my subconscious:
the aswang, a vampiric woman who
lived a quiet life by day and fed on children in the night, flying back home on
bat-wings just before dawn.




My
unconscious mind had clearly also expanded on the idea, casting me in the role
of aswang and adding schizoid conversations with a chorus of internal voices.




Great. I'm
insane in my dreams.




And I'm a
monster.




Shuddering,
I wiped my hand across my gritty, raw eyelids.




_____________________________________________


Buy Links






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About the Author 




 
Margo Bond Collins is the author of urban fantasy,
contemporary romance, and paranormal mysteries. She has published a number of
novels, including Bound by Blood, Sanguinary, Taming the Country Star, Legally Undead,
Waking Up Dead
, and Fairy, Texas.
She lives in Texas with her husband, their daughter, and several spoiled pets.
Although writing fiction is her first love, she also teaches college-level
English courses online. She enjoys reading romance and paranormal fiction of
any genre and
spends
most of her free time daydreaming about heroes, monsters, cowboys, and
villains, and the strong women who love them—and sometimes fight them.




_____________________________________________


Connect with Margo


Email:
MargoBondCollins@gmail.com

Website:
http://www.MargoBondCollins.net

Blog:
http://www.MargoBondCollins.com

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/MargoBondCollin  @MargoBondCollin

Google+:
https://plus.google.com/116484555448104519902

Goodreads
Author Page:
http://www.goodreads.com/vampirarchy

Facebook
Author Page:
https://www.facebook.com/MargoBondCollins

Pinterest:
http://www.pinterest.com/mbondcollins/



 
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Review:


★★★★

Let me start the review by saying I've never read anything by Margo Bond Collins before Bound by Blood, nor have I read a lot of urban fantasy books at all. Still, I am a sucker for vampire stories still after all these years, and I couldn't resist giving this short story a read.

I'm impressed with how the author managed to drag me into the story and create world building in such a short space, but she did. I was never left confused or wanting more information, which is something to highlight in a novella. I also have to say that I really liked the folklore twist of the "traditional" vampire story by using influence from Filipino culture. This isn't a culture I know too much about, if I'm being honest, and it was really cool to have it featured in a story such as this one.

It is a bit violent and descriptive, but personally I found that to be a plus in the book's favor. It was well detailed and well written, and I would definitely go back to read more of Margo Bond Collins' work in the future. I'd recommend it to urban fantasy fans as well as lovers of vampires and those who are addicted to books about plagues and epidemics.

I was provided a copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

2 comments:

  1. Anyone casting Jensen Ackles as one of their characters immediately has my attention. I love his acting in Supernatural and he definitely needs more roles. Anywhoozles, I'd love to read this book, it sounds like I'd really enjoy the Filipino folklore twist mentioned in the review.

    ReplyDelete