Whatever Gods May Be/Hot Young Teens Killing One Another in "Hunger Games"

First off, my new novel, Whatever Gods May Be, goes for one day free, tomorrow, Wednesday, March 28, 2012 on Amazon/Kindle.  You'll have fun with the book; giant scorpions who try to save Mankind, and a little girl who may or may not be the daughter of God.  No spoilers in this blog.  Read the book.

Secondly, I saw "The Hunger Games", based on the best-selling young adult book by Suzanne Collins.  The movie was, quite frankly, very, very good.  Long, but did not feel that way at all.  Jennifer Lawrence, the young lead, is bitch-kitty hot, and a fine actress.  Stanley Tucci looks fetching in blue hair; and Donald Sutherland as the President is fine, if looking a tad bored, like his expression says 'okay, I know I'm lucky to be working, but when's lunch, and I gotta pee?'  Elizabeth Banks is unrecognizable behind bizarre white-face make-up in the ilk of the underground weirdos in Don Johnson's early opus into science fiction, A Boy and His Dog.  Die hard sci-fi fans will know exactly what I'm talking about; the rest of you - it will not matter - The Hunger Games is a five-star winner.  Excellent set direction and casting.

Paid Strange and the return of Dracula

Many of my friends have asked me over the course of months and years:  Why write a book on whoring?  How can you make the world a better place by de-pantsing men everywhere for their extracurricular activities with tanned, young strumpets who want nothing more than to subsidize their college tuition with a little extra coin?  Why create a tome that women can point to and say "See that?  You are a cheating bastard!" Why tell of our dirty little secrets?  Why, why, and again, why? 

I reply once more that the book was written to amuse and edify, not endorse a particular way of life.  I'm not recommending that you, Bob, go out and tap-dance in the lillies of paid strange, or you, Kyle, tell your wife to piss off, and then go pound Dusty like a tom-tom.  No, sir.  I merely wanted to entertain and elicit a chuckle from my readers.  Are we not weary of pedantic politics?  Do we not smart and weep in the face of so much horror in the world - murder, rape, child abuse, genocide?  The list goes on.  So, please, when you read the book, read it in context to what is transpiring across the globe at large ... and realize it is an attempt to bring a philosophical smile to your otherwise pulverized visage due to the slings and arrows of life, and the random nightmare that is sometimes referred to as human existence.

On another note, I undertook to bring my recent novel, Monster Vice to life, because I wanted to explore a different take on Dracula, and offer some scientific plausibility for the appearance of monsters on the planet, which include vampires, werewolves, demons from hell, trapped ghosts, succubi, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.  Dracula in my book has altered his name to Curadal (rearranging the letters in his name as such), ultimately revealing his true identity to our hero, Detective Dick Pitts of LAPD's Monster Vice.  Dracula maintains his reputation was buggered by Bram Stoker, his friend at one time, and that he is really a very gentle vampire, who lives off the blood of pigeons or coconut milk (due to its plasma-like isotonic properties).  The story follows Pitts, now partnered with Dracula (also an officer in Monster Vice) to track down a Master Vampire who is consigning children to eternal undead-ness.

The hook in Monster Vice - again assailed by some of my friends and colleagues - is that Dick Pitts was once bitten by a vampire, and the only way he can forestall his ultimate transformation into a 'fang' is to induce ejaculation once every 24 hours.  There is a scientific reason for this, and it lies in the neuropeptide called Prolactin.  Prolactin (and you can google this) is released into the body upon orgasm.  The theory behind Pitts' affliction is that only a body-flush of prolactin can ward off his impending 'change'.   Thus, he needs either sex, or its closer, and more lonely cousin, masturbation, in order to remain human.

I kinda liked the take - I was tired of crosses, holy water, silver bullets, and sunlight, being the only means by which to render vampirism null and void.  I much preferred my hero having to spooge himself silly to survive.  The mechanism in the story is rather amusing, because Dick Pitts oftentimes must tackle the Flogging of Freddy himself, and there is always a ticking clock against him.

So, there is my explanation to one and all on both books.  And in the words of Edward R. Murrow, good night and good luck.

New Science Fiction Adventure

I'm very happy to announce that Whatever Gods May Be is now published on Amazon/Kindle. It is a new science-fiction novel that spans a million years, give or take a century - from the time of Christ to a million years hence - on an Earth ravaged by plague, lingering radioactivity from a world war long forgotten, and populated by mutated vampires under the control of a monolithic bad ass called The Resistor. Into this madness of the future are thrust four accidental time travelers: two astronauts, a giant scorpion-like being called a Thelerick and Rizzdik Zolan - an anthropologist studying Earth from a planet 1,000 light years away. Their mission, if possible: Save Earth - and Mankind.

The book was written in 1983, when I was 24 years old, so holds a special place in my heart. Some may call it faith-based science fiction and stronger adherents to the genre will simply call it science fiction, with room for God-stuff to ponder. I thank you all in advance for taking a gander at Whatever Gods May Be. Remember, that no life lives forever, that dead men rise up never, and that even the weariest river... winds somewhere safe to sea.

Mutant Vampire Zombies From The 'Hood' Trailer

John Carter Review and an observation on free promos for KDP select

I took in John Carter this past Saturday evening, the 3D Imax experience, in Century City, California which borders Beverly Hills. I was fortunate that I did not encounter massive crowds; surprising because according to the IMDB (International Movie Data Base), John Carter came in this weekend at No. 2 at the box office, garnering some $32 million dollars, and a good chunk of change overseas. But lo and behold, I was able to obtain prime seating. The film thus far has received lukewarm to moderately okay reviews from so-called professionals; as an avid sci-fi enthusiast, I would like to consider myself a fair observer to science fiction fare in general, be it film or novel.

Edgar Rice Burroughs created John Carter even before Tarzan, a hundred years or so ago. The movie, I think, rather cleverly utilizes Burroughs as a character in the movie, and ostensibly, the autobiographer to John Carter as a real human being that lived, and chronicled his journey and adventures on Mars (Barsoom)to the locals. Some criticized the murky beginning to the film, but I rather enjoyed the luxury of getting into the Carter character, an ex-Confederate soldier, dealing with the aftermath of the Civil War in 1868 (3 years after the war ended), antagonistic ex-Union soldiers out in the west killing Indians, and bloodthirsty Apaches. All this preamble to the main story leads John Carter (Taylor Kitsch is the appealing actor) to a cave where he is transported some 40 million miles to Barsoom for kicks and giggles and a helluva lot of swordplay with the natives, and some slap and tickle with the planet's feisty princess (played by the very attractive Lynn Collins) of Helium (the token democratic city on Mars that is looking out for the welfare of the planet in general).

The plot can easily be discerned by checking out www.imdb.com, and I shall spare the reader needless details of story. Suffice to say that hardcore science fiction buffs will not view this movie unkindly. The CGI is rather spectacular, enhanced by the 3D facility, and surprisingly (for me) the acting was above par, for this kind of matinee tent-pole extravaganza. To be frank, I did not recognize the film's only two journeyman stars, Wilem Dafoe or Thomas Haden Church, under all the 'Thark' make-up. Tharks, by the way, are 14 foot tall natives to Mars that boast wild boar-like tusks.

Disney spent a helluva lot of coin to promote the picture, and spared nothing in production as well. Kitch as John Carter does a fine job as the young, tragic hero who has lost a wife and child in the Civil War, and suddenly finds his butt transplanted to Mars. To complicate matters, he falls in love with the one and only dateable pneumatic princess on the planet - the fetching Princess Dejah Tharis. This fable, at its heart, is a love story, between Carter and the Martian princess, with a backdrop of two opposing cities at war for supremacy over the planet. This will probably be a franchise, and a good one. I highly recommend that you all give it a gander.

On a final note, I tried Amazon's free promotional opportunities to re-introduce my science fiction novel, Mars, The Bringer of War, this past weekend. The book was offered, again, as free for one day. Mars enjoyed over 3,000 downloads, and I thank all the readers for their interest. Please feel free to comment, good, bad, or okay, as your sensibilities dictate. The promotional resulted in Mars currently occupying the #22 position of top 100 Amazon science fiction novels sold over the past five days, so I believe these promos work (this commentary is made mainly for 'newbies' to publishing on Amazon, not for veterans, who already recognize the benefits of free advertising).

My new book, The Art of Whoring, Adventures in Prostitution, is ending its free 2 day trial today, which commenced on March 14 (this past Wednesday). It is unlike any book you'll ever read or have read. The download response has been terrific, and unexpected, given the no-holds barred subject matter. Not for the meek of heart

I wanted to drop a very quick note on the roll-out of my book Mars, The Bringer of War. By roll-out, I mean the opportunity to download and read the book for free, this Saturday, March 10. I did not want to misrepresent to my readers that it is in any way, shape or form about the planet Mars, ala John Carter. The main character in my book just happens to be John Mars, the oldest astronaut in the fleet. But I do have a private fixation on Mars, something that has been an obsession of mine for some time. I do not believe I am alone. I actually wrote a screenplay dealing exclusively with the planet Mars, which I called, Olympus Mons. I tweeted on Olympus Mons a few days back. Olympus Mons is the highest mountain - or volcano, to be precise - in our solar system. It rises 110,000 feet above sea level - or, rather, Mars level. It is, of course, inactive, but if you were on top of this mountain looking out over the Martian landscape, you would actually see the curvature of the planet. To get some further perspective, a commercial jet airliner cruises at an approximate altitude of 30,000 feet, and Mount Everest is just under 30,000 feet at 29,895 feet high. So, picture (or imagine) a geological force of nature three times higher than these two references. Olympus Mons can actually be viewed in photographs taken from Mariner, and other probes we've sent to Mars. I shall endeavor to push the screenplay here in Hollywood, but am also contemplating turning it into a novel. Two years of research went into the script - from Martian vulcanism to Martian topography. In any event, I hope you all enjoy Mars, The Bringer of War ... and John Carter, which opens today, March 9. I'm told that the Edgar Rice Burroughs created this character some 90 years ago, the story still holds up. Little trivia to end this blog madness: John Carter was created before Tarzan - ERB's most famous character. P.S. Here is a link to some photos of Olympus Mons on Mars

Amazon Kindle

Here's the bookcover in all its glory.

Here's the link to my books, for those who have interest. Amazon. Thanks.

George P. Saunders is happy to announce the up and running action of his new website at GeorgePSaunders.blogspot.com.  My newest book, The Art of Whoring - Adventures in Prostitution, is now available on Amazon.com, the Kindle edition.  There will be a free dowload within 48 hours for those of you who have interest in a very misunderstood and romantic subject.  This is my first shot at blogging, so I'm keeping it simple.  I simply wish to make an announcement at this stage of the game that we're up and going.  One of my latest films, in a very different genre than whoring, is now in worldwide distribution, an action adventure/UFC fight driven picture - Supreme Champion.  So, that's it for now.  More on whores and action in the coming days.  Thanks all.