Welcome, Trish Milburn

Hey, everyone! Welcome to the party! And please welcome our special guest blogger, Trish Milburn. Trish is a finalist in the American Title IV contest sponsored by Romantic Times magazine. The winner of the contest gets a publishing contract with Dorchester, so vote for Trish and show your support! We DWT girls have been so proud to have had good friends in the past two AT contests as well. Michele Ann Young's NO REGRETS, just released by Sourcebooks, was a finalist in ATII, and K.J. Howe was the runner up last year in ATIII with her marvelous book, ONE SHOT, TWO KILLS. So we're really excited to put our votes behind Trish this year.

Also, in the spirit of the party (and American Thanksgiving) we're offering a PRIZE today. Just comment on this post to be eligible to win some goodies. (If we're really lucky, Molly's new book, BABY MAKES THREE, hitting stores in December, might be involved!)

Trish figured out that we drunk writers have been rather obsessed by television these days and chose to blog about one of her favorites. Take it away, Trish.

From my early days of watching reruns of the original Star Trek, first-runs of Woman Woman and mini-series like V (all of which I’m sure would be reallllly cheesy if I watched them now), I’ve loved shows that deal with superheroes or delve into the paranormal. I loved to imagine being able to fly or fight the bad guys without worrying about being hurt. I liked the idea of being invincible or possessing special knowledge or powers and using it for good. That’s why the Season Passes on my TiVo include programs like Supernatural, Smallville, Heroes, Journeyman, Bionic Woman, Moonlight, and Blood Ties.

Today I’m going to focus on my favorite – Supernatural. Unlike some shows that start off with a bang in their first season or two but quickly fade in quality thereafter, Supernatural just seems to be getting better and better. It’s one of those shows that’s inspiring to me as a writer. In fact, it was part of the inspiration for my manuscript, Coven, which won the Golden Heart in the Young Adult category this year.

Here are my top five reasons to watch Supernatural:

1. The Winchester brothers – Sam and Dean Winchester are just about as cool as it gets. They hunt and kill demons and other paranormal baddies that most of the world doesn’t believe really exist. They’re following in the footsteps of their dad, John, who became a demon hunter after his wife was killed by a demon. But while the brothers share a mission, they couldn’t be much different. Dean is the bad boy who wears a worn leather jacket, listens to classic rock and drives a black 1967 Impala known to fans as the Metallicar, the trunk of which is filled with guns loaded with demon-fighting rock salk, knives and all manner of other weaponry. He’s a bit of a ladies’ man and has a hilarious sense of humor. While I’m a Sammy girl, I freely admit Dean almost always has the better lines of dialogue. This reminds of of a similar situation with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, another favorite of mine. While I’m an Angel fan, it was Spike who had more of the hysterical lines. Sam is the brainier of the brothers. In fact, he was at college at Stanford, getting ready to go to law school, when Dean ropes him back into the “family business” in the first episode. He was dedicated to his girlfriend until she was killed by the same demon that killed his mother. In the parlance of The Hero’s Journey, Jessica’s death was the point at which Sam gave a different answer to the Call to Adventure (he at first refused to go hunting with Dean) and Crosses the Threshold (similar to when Luke Skywalker leaves Tatooine after his aunt and uncle are killed in Star Wars. The brothers’ relationship is fantastically created by Eric Kripke and crew and wonderfully played by Jensen Ackles (Dean) and Jared Padalecki (Sam).

2. Overarching story – While each week’s episode doesn’t focus on the “big mystery”, it’s always there in the background, coloring everything. For a long time, the brothers sought the yellow-eyed demon who’d killed their mother and Jessica. Even though he’s been dispatched now, his effect on their lives still lingers. Sam is supposed to be some sort of “chosen one”, but we’re not certain if that’s a good or bad thing, considering the source of the revelation. We still don’t know how that particular storyline is going to turn out. And now we also have the question of whether the brothers will find a way out of Dean’s deal with the crossroads demon – his life at the end of one year in exchange for bringing Sammy back from the dead at the end of last season.

3. Monster of the week – What’s really cool is that Supernatural doesn’t get too bogged down in the big, dark, overarching plot. It’s broken up by monster-of-the-week episodes, some of them quite funny. They take myths and urban legends and craft episodes around them. We’ve had Bloody Mary, the Woman in White, a ghost ship and more.

4. Dialogue – When you’re watching Sam and Dean verbally sparring, you could actually believe that Jared and Jensen are actually brothers. Maybe it’s the fact that they’re both from Texas that helps them play off each other so well. Seriously, I laugh out loud at least once an episode. For some great Sam/Dean interchanges/snark, go to any of the following:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460681/quotes
http://wgntv.trb.com/entertainment/network/stv-supernatural-pkgquotes,0,7416597.special
http://blog.sofeminine.co.uk/blog/seeone_92921_1938494/my-fav-things-how-interesting/memorable-supernatural-quotes
http://www.fanbolt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27182

5. Secondary characters – My friend Mary is a big fan of Papa John Winchester, but I think my favorite secondary character is Bobby, a demon-hunting friend of John’s. He’s a crusty redneck of a guy, but he’s really funny and is a father figure for Sam and Dean now that their dad is gone too. I’m also intrigued by the demon chick Ruby who is evidently helping the brothers, particularly Sam, in their fight to kill or return to hell all the demons that were released when a gate to hell was accidentally opened. Another new addition this year is Bela, who seems to be matched more with Dean. A lot of fans have expressed a dislike for out-for-herself Bela, but I’m inclined to wait a while longer to see what the writers have in mind. And we got a hint of deeper layers for her in the episode “Red Sky at Morning,” in which it’s revealed that she killed someone in her family (deliberately or not, we don’t know). She looked pained and refused to tell the guys any details, so I’m intensely curious. I have all sorts of theories running through my head.

So if you haven’t seen Supernatural, check out seasons one and two on DVD and watch the current season three on The CW Thursday nights at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central.

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Trish's current finalist in the American Title contest, OUT OF SIGHT, mixes elements of her love for the paranormal and suspense. Jenna McCay, the heroine, can make herself invisible and goes undercover at the White House to determine who inside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is sending threats to the president. To vote for OUT OF SIGHT, go to http://www.romantictimes.com/news_amtitle3.php