From December's Vol 44 No 12 Forum magazine review:

Thanks to Twilight and True Blood, vampires are hot and sexy again, but while
Blood and Coffee taps into that trend it is definitely more of a horror fantasy
than a straightforward erotic novel. Many of the characters here come to grisly
ends, so it's not for the squeamish, but Lisa Lane manages to keep the action
moving at a relentless pace while detailing Karen's conversion from human to
vampire and all the dilemmas she faces along the way. This is the first part in
a trilogy, and there are enough clues as to how the action will progress to
ensure those who like a bit of gore with their sexual tension will hunt down the
second and third volumes.
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For more information on The Darkness and the Night series, visit Ravenous Romance or stop by my Erotica Page.

To read the full review, you'll have to find the back-order for Forum's December issue.

Happy reading!

Lisa
 
 
Bitten by Books just reviewed The Darkness and the Night II: Cosmic Orgasm and The Darkness and the Night III: Twins of Darkness, giving Cosmic O 4.5 Tombstones and Twins of Darkness a whopping 5 Tombstones!

You can check out the reviews here.  I'm so excited to share these with you--The Darkness and the Night series was so much fun for me to write, and I'm so honored that all three have now been reviewed by Bitten by Books!
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Thanks so much, Bitten by Books, for the awesome reviews, and thanks to my readers, for joining me in the adventure!

Warm regards and happy reading!

Lisa
 
 
In the ‘70s and 80’s, George Lucas changed the face of sci-fi film with the first three Star Wars features.  New technology needed to be created in order to make the movies possible, and that technology took special effects to a level never before imagined.  Moreover, the plot was exciting, heartfelt, and insightful, capturing the hearts of children and adults alike.  The movies defined a generation and made sci-fi fans of both males and females from all walks of life.

Avatar is the Star Wars of the 21st century.

I went into the theater already knowing that I would be witnessing history in the making.  Having worked with one of the digital imaging technicians for the film, knowing his attention to detail and his eye for perfection, I couldn’t wait to view the completed product.  I knew I was about to embark on an amazing journey—but nothing could prepare me for the breathtaking masterpiece I saw today.

Avatar is by far the most visually stunning film I have ever had the pleasure to watch.  The digital effects were flawless, the story was beautiful, and overall the work was brilliant.  The characters were believable, even the digitally generated Na’vi, and the scenery was amazing.  I have read criticism that has called Avatar “Dances with Smurfs,” and I can only shake my head.  All filmmakers know that there are seven basic plots; storylines and characters can change, but they will always fit into one of those basic plots.  James Cameron meshed the plot most associated with Dances with Wolves and The Last Samurai, placed it on an alien planet, and added an impeccable hero’s journey.  There are no Smurfs, here—Avatar is thoughtful, meaningful, and artfully executed.

I only have a couple of minor criticisms of the film.  If you have not yet watched Avatar and do not wish to read any spoilers, please do not continue.

Spoilers
ahead.


This
is
your
last
chance
to
turn
away.

My main criticism is with the plot dumps at the beginning of the film.  While I realize that Mr. Cameron was working under time constraints and had no choice but to use them, the dialog felt a little choppy: characters were telling other characters pieces of information that they should have already known, in ways that seemed slightly out of place.  A revision in those couple of pieces of dialog would have made a huge difference in the beginning of the film.

My second criticism is the “unobtainium.”  The name alone takes away from the serious realism the rest of the movie achieves, the play on words being just too obvious.  More importantly, we never see any characters actually mine the precious metal—and it is never made clear just why it is so precious.  Online searches reveal that the mineral is supposed to be a superconductor and powerful energy source, but we are never given this information in the film.  We are told that Earth is a dying planet; wouldn’t something life sustaining be more worth fighting over?  Why are the humans mining “unobtainium?”  Why is it worth so much?  Can it save lives?  Can it save our dying Earth?  Eliminating the unobtainium and making the planet itself the commodity would have eliminated the out-of-place plot dumps about the mineral.

Thirdly, but just as importantly, Mr. Cameron could have reallocated several precious screen minutes to better use by making the main character’s initial loss of his twin brother available through plot dump, as opposed to actual footage.  The film is nearly three hours long (which does fly, given its amazing content); the beginning would not have suffered had the cremation scene been cut and the information about the brother been offered through a few well executed lines.

Beyond those small criticisms, I have nothing but positive words to offer about Avatar.  I laughed, I cried, I gasped with awe, and I left the theater feeling as though I had just watched a top-notch live action movie.  I did more than that, though; I witnessed the beginning of a new era in digital film and I experienced a story that will stay with me for years to come.

And I didn’t even watch the 3D version.
 
 
For those of you who have been waiting for The Darkness and the Night III: Twins of Darkness to become available at Amazon's Kindle store, your wait is finally over.  Twins of Darkness, which readers and reviewers alike agree is the best in the trilogy, is slowly earning the respect of erotic horror and romance readers alike.  I have been delighted with the response, so far:

The author’s style makes for effortless reading; Lane’s novel is interesting, variable and complicated without the heaviness often associated with stories of substance, and she balances her many characters and plot lines like a master.
        --Clayton Bye, The Deepening: http://www.claytonbye.com/

Book III is best experienced if you read its prequels. The characters take some time to understand if you do not know their history, but regardless they are very well written and exciting. This is certainly one of the most unique vampire novels I have come across. It is chock full of imagination and feeling; a totally fresh look at the dark side.
       --Loloty, Coffee Tome Romance: http://www.coffeetimeromance.com

Having read the first twenty-nine pages off and on, I continued straight through to the end. As I’ve already said, the plot is superb, and when such a plot comes along, I always marvel at the human imagination and what it can produce.
       --Fanny, Cerebral Reviews: http://cerebralreviews.com
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Make sure to rate and review Twins of Darkness, should you go through Amazon for your copy--which will make it more accessible to other customers who might also enjoy it's unique and provocative flair.

The story does stand alone--and may be better suited that way for those who do not have the patience to read an entire trilogy before reaching that much-desired "Happily-Ever-After" ending.  However, reading the full trilogy does make for a richer, even more provocative experience, as there are a number of plot twists that do intertwine throughout the different individual story lines.

However you approach the trilogy, all three books are now available through Amazon's Kindle store, and Twins of Darkness should join its predecessors' paperback status soon enough.  I will keep you posted.

Happy reading!
 
 
My thanks to Steven Hart and Erotica Revealed, for reviewing Lust in Space.  From the review:

"I found myself reading this book very slowly because it was so much fun at bed time to come back to its lively and imaginative adventures that sometimes remind you of Rocky and Bullwinkle.  It may help that my other reading is the modern history of the Middle East and a biography of J. P. Morgan.  But still, you get to liking these characters a lot.  They are sexy with a naïve sense of right and wrong just like bad boy, Captain Kirk.  The secret is that Ms. Lane has been able to harness all the cliché’s of TV Scifi, and tease them out to an entertaining place between parody and homage.  Lust in Space provides a lot of fun.  It gives good lift off."

Go to http://www.eroticarevealed.com/current_reviews.php?panel_id=1 to read the full review.  For more reviews on Lust in Space, as well as for my erotic horror series The Darkness and the Night and short stories, go to http://www.cerebralwriter.com/reviews.html.
 
 
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There has been much opinion expressed recently on the appropriateness of certain individuals and groups that entertain themselves by tearing apart the works of their fellow writers.  Knock on wood, my stories have (as far as I know) not fallen victim to such attacks, but I do have fellow author friends whose works have.  This puts me in an interesting position, allowing me a perspective that, I believe, lies squarely between most of the opinions thus far expressed.

 I do not have any firsthand experience with the sites in question, as I refuse to buy into the drama, but the implied level of maliciousness regularly expressed by followers of such groups leads me to believe that there are personal matters behind those behaviors.  Everyone is entitled to his/her opinion.  Who hasn’t disliked—or even hated—a book?  However, does one person’s dissatisfaction with a particular work merit such cruelty?  Might there be a more productive way of offering harsh critique?  Moreover, is a novice or self-published writer really the best person to be critically reviewing others’ published works?  Just because a person has an opinion on something, does that make the person an authority on the matter?  For example, I love to cook, and I cook well, but that does not make me a gourmet food critic.  Is anyone who belongs to #romfail or any similar group actually formally educated in literary theory, let alone remotely qualified to do what they are doing?  What degrees do these people hold?  How many books have they published, beyond vanity presses and self-publishing houses?

Or do they just have opinions—uneducated, demeaning, vicious opinions?

Let’s assume that the works in question do contain good examples of bad writing.  No one is perfect, and even the best of writers sometimes have an off day.  Even more, no one but the author and his/her editor knows just how much of a particular problem in a book is the result of poor editing.  Granted, it is an authors’ responsibility to ensure his/her publishing house employs good editors; for the novice author, this problem is not always as simple to remedy as it would seem.  Is it acceptable behavior to treat an author with such disrespect and nastiness, simply for having a book that was poorly edited?  Is it the intent to embarrass the author (and/or his/her publisher) out of the industry?  If so, do the offending individuals actually believe they are doing anything beyond upsetting and alienating their peers?

On a final note, I would love to know what kinds of reviews these “mean girls” are receiving for their books.  I would like to know how these people would feel if it were their books being offered up for sacrifice, and just how much fun it would still be if it were they who suffered the humility and heartache over having one of their beloved books torn apart—with quotes taken out of context—for all the world to see.

Some people need to grow a soul; please don’t feed their emptiness.  These people are mean for the sake of being mean and deserved to be ignored.  Enough said.

Please check out these blogs, which inspired me to write this post:

http://culinarycarnivale.blogspot.com/2009/08/mean-girls-of-romfail.html
http://nlberger13.blogspot.com/2009/08/how-i-spend-most-friday-nights.html
http://mrsgiggles00.livejournal.com/25967.html
 
 
Clayton bye of The Deepening on The Darkness and the Night III: Twins of Darkness:

What’s so different about Twins of Darkness? Well… The author’s style makes for effortless reading; Lane’s novel is interesting, variable and complicated without the heaviness often associated with stories of substance, and she balances her many characters and plot lines like a master. Also, this is not your typical vampire story, and although there was enough sex to make my  temperature rise, the story is not just a vehicle for eroticism.

Copyright © Clayton Clifford Bye 2009
Read the full review here.
 
 
Play LOUDLY--low audio level--WORTH IT!
 
 

Whipped Cream Reviews gave Lust in Space 4.5 cherries!  Read all about it here, or go to Whipped Cream for the full review!

 
 

Both of my stories in Men in Shorts got positive attention in the most recent 4-star review of Lori Perkins' erotic anthology Men in Shorts, posted at the Romance Studio.  Read about it here.