Recap by Kirsty Walker, who we got to know a little better a few weeks back and her essay in A Taste of True Blood is “True Stud.”

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(Editor’s note: we’ve left the English spelling of certain words to retain Kirsty’s voice in this recap.)

In my essay “True Stud” I examined the relative masculinities of the main male characters of True Blood and episode 3.3 was a smorgasbord of complex male behaviours.

Eric starts the show by displaying how he can straddle primal masculinity and metrosexuality. He’ll rip the throat out of a fleeing werewolf but will then apologise for getting your rug wet with the unfortunate creature’s blood. Was it just…

Since Peg Aloi recapped the latest episode of True Blood for us, I thought we should get to know her better. It’s also been a little while since we featured A Taste of True Blood contributor.

Peg’s A Taste of True Blood essay, “Night Is the Color of Blood,” is on the importance and meaning of color in True Blood, and it’s a fascinating read, full of things I had never considered about the show before.

Here’s her Q&A:

Who is your favorite True Blood character?

When a friend of mine in Florida found out I was watching True Blood, he texted me “Bill or Eric?” And I wrote back “Sam.” Then he texted back to say his wife…

Recap by Peg Aloi, whose essay “Night is the Color of Blood” in A Taste of True Blood examines the importance of color in the series.

One thing I enjoy about True Blood’s storytelling is the way nearly every episode ends on a high note of action and suspense, leaving viewers feeling like they can’t wait to find out what happens next. It’s a very apt approach to a series that deals so strongly with issues of addiction, no?

My Taste of True Blood essay was on True Blood‘s use of color, and season two’s cliffhanger ending was emphasized by the way the episode was steeped in color symbolism, with Sookie wearing lavender (a lighter version of purple, which signifies death…

Leah and I will be at Comic-Con this year, and we hope we see you there. It’s the perfect setting to talk about what we do and why we do it with some fans of our books and of the properties we write about.

Since we officially launched our imprint this past January, we missed the chance to secure our own table at the event. So we’re on the lookout for anyone who has a booth/table and is interested in sharing (both space and, bonus, cost, too).

If sharing your space and the bill is something you’d be interested in doing, please let us know. We’d be happy to partner up.

Regardless, we’ll be at the show and we hope to see you there.

By Alisa Kwitney

As thrilled as I am to have a juicy new season of True Blood to savor, season three’s premiere reminded me how much I disliked the cliffhanger at the end of season two.

The look on my face pretty much matched the look on the young female police officer’s as Sookie ran through the sequence of events. Bill had proposed marriage in a romantic French restaurant, she had gone into the ladies’ room to mull things over for a minute or two, and had come back, ready to accept, only to find Bill gone – kidnapped, she believes, because the table had been tipped over.

As Sookie demands immediate action, the police officer counters a more logical explanation would be…

Hopefully you’ve commented on all the giveaways around the web for A Taste of True Blood, so let’s take a little True Blood break with some more True Blood. We have another (hilarious and talented!) contributor to introduce you to.

Jonna Rubin‘s essay is all about Bill Compton’s transformation from hot leading man to who keeps inviting that guy to the party? Check out her answers to our questions below.

Who is your favorite True Blood character?

Eric. Oh, Eric. Eric! Can I say Eric again? Because yes, it’s Eric. I’m not even ashamed to admit that it’s mostly physical attraction that draws me in—Alexander Skarsgard is quite stunning, you know. Beyond that, though, of all of the characters, Eric has the most…

A Taste of True Blood is hitting shelves soon and True Blood is back on air THIS Sunday. We find both these things very exciting indeed, if you couldn’t already tell by our constant True Blood/vampire talk around here.

But enough about HERE, let me direct you elsewhere because there are a handful of giveaways going on around the web you’ll want to know about. They’re all for your very own (free!) copy of A Taste of True Blood and if you enter each contest, think how your chances will improve!

First up, the blog Bitten by Books. You have until 11:59 p.m. TONIGHT to enter this one.

Next, one of the anthology’s contributors, Jonna Rubin, is giving away two copies…

We’ve teased a few of our upcoming books (by asking you to vote on covers and, of course, running that contest for our Dollhouse anthology), but today we’re officially unveiling the titles and covers for all the Smart Pop books we’ll be publishing through the end of 2010.*

Next to each book you’ll find a sign-up form to be added to that book’s notification list—something new we’re trying out this year. Signing up for one of these lists means we’ll send you any big news associated with that particular book: a link when it’s available for purchase, naturally, but also any special discounts and a head’s up when we post free essays from it, so you won’t…

True Blood‘s third season kicks off this Sunday, and if you haven’t already cleared your schedules and set your DVRs, well, you are a far less obsessed fan than I am. I’m in countdown mode, and one thing getting me through the week is reading all our contributor Q&As for our True Blood anthology, A Taste of True Blood.

To recap, we’ve so far met Kirsty Walker, Daniel M. Kimmel, and Paula Rogers. Today, we have Joseph McCabe, whose essay “Pure Blood” examines why vampires are so damn intriguing by looking at the father of all vampire tales, Dracula, and tells how that story relates to the vampires in Bon Temps.

Until you…

Another day, another chance to get to know a talented contributor for A Taste of True Blood. Today, we have Paula Rogers who has written “To Live and Live in Dixie,” an essay on the good and bad of life in the South (and what True Blood’s southern setting does for the show). As Paula says, “True Blood set anywhere else just wouldn’t be True Blood.”

We asked Paula the same questions we posed to Kirsty Walker and Daniel M. Kimmel. Devour her answers below.

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Who is your favorite True Blood character?

Sam! There’s something so satisfying about watching a kind, levelheaded character slowly get angrier and angrier until he transforms into a…