A vampire a day: Shakespeare Undead by Lori Handeland

Continuing with the theme of Shakespeare.  This is one of my favorite historical mashup books. I remember reading an interview where the author talks about how she cooked up the idea when all those ABRAHAM LINCOLN VAMPIRE HUNTER/PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIE books were out. I loved the idea of an undead Shakespeare (also used in ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE) and I really lked this book. I haven't read the sequel, ZOMBIE ISLAND, but I like the cover.

I'm a membe rof the Lori Handeland's FULL MOON CLUB--you get all sorts of nifty swag when you join--and a fan of her Night Creatures, Phoenix Chronicles, and Sisters of the Craft series. She's written more than 30 novels and they run the gamut from paranormal stand-alones to the series, to straight-out romances. I like it when an author I like is prolific. Go Lori!

Shakespeare Silliness: Lori Handeland's Shakespeare Undead

In the vein of Abraham Lincoln Vampire Slayer, urban fantasy author Lori Handeland created the mash-up novel Shakespeare Undead. The title character is not the Will Shakespeare we've come to know and love but a vampire necromancer who has lived a number of places before ending up in 16th century London. She clearly had a good time with her Elizabethan-era zombies--the sequel, Zombie Island, was published last month. (A review is coming.) Handeland salts the books with lots of references to the plays (too many for one cranky reviewer on Amazon) and Shakespeare lovers who don't take themselves too seriously should have a great time with the book.
I love the cover.  I know the fangs are a little cheesy but if a book is about a vampire playwright...you need to go with the cheese.

Vote and then Go Buy a Book!

If you're like me, you have a "to buy" wish list that's at least as long as your "to be read" pile. Here are two books you really need to check out. Alexandra Sokoloff's Book of Shadows and Lori Handeland's Shakespeare Undead.
I read Book of Shadows for a client some time ago and loved it. It's a really smart take on a genre that's often kind of dumbed down and a really fast read. (Sokoloff is a screenwriter as well as a novelist, so as you might expect, her books have a cinematic pace.)

The other book is one I haven't read yet myself. I'm a longtime fan of Lori Handeland and her new book Shakespeare Undead just sounds like a lot of fun. She's over at bittenbybooks today and tomorrow and the q and a makes her sound like someone you'd love to take to lunch. I do judge a book by its cover and Shakespeare Undead has a great one.