A new book releases today which I recommend so highly, I’m on the back of the book cover: The Intersection of Fantasy and Native America, edited by Amy H. Sturgis and David D. Oberhelman. Here’s my endorsement:

With excellent and accessible scholarship, this book opens wide the door of Native American mythology and fantasy by connecting it with the fantasy many of us already know and love. I’m now convinced there’s a vast treasure store of fantasy I haven’t even begun to experience, and there’s nothing more exciting than that for the lover of fantasy fiction!

This is really great stuff – but being big fans of Dr. Sturgis here at The Hog’s Head, we knew it would be.  This book does a great job of finding common ground between Native American stories and those we already know, like Lewis’s, Tolkien’s, Rowling’s, and Gaiman’s. Order from the Mythopoeic Society or Amazon.com!

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Just a reminder that tonight at midnight EST is the deadline for entering the giveaway contest for a chance to win Where the Wild Things Are or H.P. Lovecraft: The Fiction.

I’ll record a video of the drawing and post it tomorrow!

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We can’t go back to the time when we wondered what was going to happen next. But one blogger – Jess – is at the point, and she’s blogging through, chapter by chapter, as she discovers the series for the first time.

This is a fantastic idea, and I’ve often thought of running blogs with the same idea with other works of literature. Should be fun for those of us who know what happened to watch someone discover it for the first time.

She’s working through Half-Blood Prince right now. Visit and subscribe to The Last Muggle to Read Harry Potter. And whatever you do, don’t spoil her!

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Our beloved Fawkes was named after Guy Fawkes, the man who intended to carry out the Gunpowder Plot to blow up the British Parliament in 1605. Depending on your particular political persuasion, you’re either celebrating the failure of that attempt, because government was not overthrown (”Bonfire Night,” tonight, is celebrated, and Guy Fawkes is burned in effigy), or you’re honoring Guy Fawkes for his attempt to overthrow an oppressive State.

Or you have no idea what Guy Fawkes Day is, in which case you can click here.

In any case, Happy Guy Fawkes Day!

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I can think of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.

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PotterCast #208 is up, and it contains a new segment from the Potter Pundits – the second half of the Gothic discussion. Amy H. Sturgis joins us once again.

Also, Zossima Press is offering a special Potter Pundits Package! Don’t miss this great deal on the Pundits’ books.

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Lots of great discussion this month, everyone. Definitely the best Hog’s Head Halloween yet! Looking forward to doing it again next year with more scary stories and movies.

We’ll be getting back into our Deathly Hallows Read-Through soon. If you’re behind, this would be a good time to catch up, as conversation and post frequency slowed down during our October festivities.

The Hog’s Head PubCast move to Farpoint Media is almost complete. There will be almost no noticeable difference for you, except that I’ll be producing shows more frequently and with higher quality sound, content and editing.

Thanks to all of you for making this the best discussion on Harry Potter anywhere!

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My progeny of evil have gained another year and are year closer to world domination.

re: 1, 2

Happy Halloween.

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Good luck and well wishes to any pub patron who might be participating in National Novel Writing Month, otherwise known as NaNoWriMo.

For those who don’t know, NaNoWriMo started way back in 1999 as a project designed to simply get people writing creatively.  The goal is to write 50000 words all in the month of November for a novel or a novel to be completed later.  Participants cannot use previously written material or co-author works, although they can do preparatory work like outlines or plot or character ideas.  The focus is simply on writing, quantity before quality.  Editing is encouraged after the contest, not during.

Our own Blogengamot member Library Lily is participating this year.  She blogs about it on her site.

So, here’s a question for you all: Have you participated in NaNoWriMo before?  Ever thought of doing so?  If you write, what sort of writing do you do?  And again good luck to anyone who is now madly writing away for the rest of November!

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You can enter today to win one of two great books: A hardcover edition of Where the Wild Things Are, or a now out of print copy of H.P. Lovecraft: The Fiction. As you can see from how expensive the one used copy is, those of us who bought it at the time for $12 are quite happy.

Entering your name for the drawing to win one of the two books is easy: Write in the comments section and tell us what your favorite scary monster from any kind of scary books/movies is (vampire, werewolf, zombie, dementor, etc.), and why.

There is a way to increase your chances of winning: Advertise either or both of my books, Harry Potter & Imagination or Hog’s Head Conversations on your Facebook, Twitter, blog, or any other means of internet communication that you use. Please use the Amazon.com link for each. For every use of media, your name gets entered one more time. So, if you tell us your favorite scary monster and advertise one of my books on Facebook and Twitter, your name has been entered three times. If you advertise both books at the same places, your name has been entered a total of 5 times. You see how quickly you can increase your chances of winning! Make sure you come back here and tell me in the comments what book(s) you advertised and where, or I won’t know you did it! Here are the links to use:

• Harry Potter & Imagination: http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Imagination-Between-Worlds/dp/0982238517/
• Hog’s Head Conversations: http://www.amazon.com/Hogs-Head-Conversations-Essays-Potter/dp/0982238584/

You have until midnight (EST) on Friday, November 6th. Members of the Blogengamot are not eligible for entering. Good luck!

PubCast #71 to be released later today.

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