I'd love to know what this licence plate game is.. got no idea seriously

well, there isdifferent ways to spin it!
The way we like to play is alomst like i spy...its the easist, someone picks a stae at random and everyone looks for the plate the winner is the one who gets to see the pate first! (its just something to do on a road trip!)....like padidle!(anyone ever heard of that one???)

as far as our descision prior to this....you are on your own reread and figure it out!

Ah no ... I have never heard of paddle before? Except now my mind has gone to a very bad place.

Our license plate game is:

Make a list of all 48 continental states before you leave home. As you travel, mark of each state's name when you see a plate from it. The winner is the one with the most states marked off at the end of the trip, or another predetermined length of time or stopping place. Extra points are awarded for Alaska, Hawaii and non-US plates.

mark "off" not of, geesh.

Denise that is pretty much how we played the License Plate Game in my family. But like Gena said there are different variations.

oh wow! you guys make it all profesional and stuff!! we just wing it...(when you have kids in the car! you can't expect to finish all the time before someone gets board!!

PADIDLE (not paddle).....its just a game we played at nightto pass the time....its kind of like punch-buggy! only you are looking for cars with one headlight on and one off...then you yell "padidle" and if you can prove it, you get to punch the person next to you!!

Okay, you guys keep bringing up Thomas' SpiderMan PJ"s and can I just say while it was hilarious in a Quick Bite, there was no way I could picture him in those after just finishing 'Vampires Are Forever'
Uh, no...way too sexy. He seemed so much more grown up and **** sexy.

So, was A Quick Bite not her first book???
I though it was considering the next book spoke of Lissianna and Greg's wedding???

I also loved how all the girls would show up one-by-one in their 'baby dolls' to pleade Lissi's case.
Makes me want to go back and re-read it.

Quick Bite is the first in the Argeneau series but it wasn't her first book that she wrote for the series. From what I understand she wrote Tall Dark and Hungry and Single White Vampire first when she was with Dorchester. Then she when she switched to Avon she wrote A Quick Bite.

I know what you mean. If I hadn't read VAF, I never would have gotten over the Spiderman PJs.

The wedding was in Love Bites But not detailed as it was just a few lines I belive, but Etienne and Rachael's wedding I belive had more focus on it in Single White Vampire.

Dorchester contracted for the three Argeneau brothers books first...so LB, SWV, and TD&H are published by them. That's why those book have the "cartoon" style covers. I don't know why they didn't contract for all four books, since Lissianna's book sets the foundation for the series.

When Lynsay moved to Avon, her agent and others did a LOT to get Dorchester to allow her to take the Argeneaus with her. Usually, characters stay with the publishing house that originally published them. Her first Argeneau book for Avon was AQB, where she wrote Lissianna and Greg's story. So, even though it is the first book in the series, they were published out of order. It just shows you her imagination and genius...to be able to go back and write the first book after writing books 2,3,and 4 in the series & keep it all straight! Also, the covers style changed, because Avon doesn't do "cartoon" style covers.

hth, wren

Up until his book, Thomas is usually portrayed as goofing-off around Bastien and Lucern. He basically does it to annoy them, because they treat him and Etienne like children. As if being over 200 is not "old enough" since they are over 400 years old.

But, there is much more to Thomas than they realize. He is very close to Lissianna, and he was wearing the borrowed spiderman pjs to annoy Bastien, letting Bastien think that Thomas thought that they were "his cool pajamas." Of course, Bastien is horrified at the thought.

In Vampires Are Forever, we get the chance to see just how strong Thomas is and also how his life affected him and his music. It's interesting that Vincent is Bastien's age, but knows Thomas much better because of his own career.

It's my never humble opinion that Lynsay did a great job rounding out Thomas' character! I loved him from the first, but VAF made him even more special!

wren

But Bastien shut himself off from anything personal from the family once Josephine left him, due to humiliation. He didn't realize until after he found Terri that everyone hated Josephine, and didn't want to hurt his feelings by telling him it wasn't such a great loss. He choose to cut himself off from his family and bury himself in work because of it.

As for Thomas, no matter how deep his character got in VAF and the fact that he has found Inez. I will always imagine him, SEXY, SEXY, SEXY in spidey pjs. Just yummy to think about. I only wonder if he's paraded them for Inez.

Let's hope so. It would be shame if he got rid them. A true tragedy

Oh yea....nothing like a spider hanging from a wall!!

spider-man, spider-man. does whatever a spider-man does!!

Oh god.. I think those spiderman PJs meant for an 8 year old would be really embrassing! But not Thomas! I think he wore them because he wasn't bothered about them and also knew his brother would be mortified

I know he wore them because Bastien thought he was going to embarrass him.....but he turned the joke on Bastien! CLASSIC!

Also because he knew he could give the girls a good laugh!
Not to mention, all that clingy fabric!!

Especially as Thomas knew that the pjs were really Etienne's...I think someone had given them to him as a joke when he was designing a superhero game or something. Doesn't Lissianna say something like that?

So, Thomas was really putting one over on Bastien by letting Bastien think that he thought they were his "really cool pajamas."

Yeah...I could go for a superhero Thomas! And in VAF, we found out he really can be a superhero! yummy!

wren

..clingy fabric..

Yeah Lissiana was talking about Etienne's computer game stuff to Greg I think it was and said that they were his, she had them lying around in the house because they were just a joke gift It served its purpose because I don't think Thomas has any PJs..

Hmmm...Acal...that was a really good mental picture.
Very naughty, but good all the same.

wren

"I love it when you swear in Portuguese" It was so funny how Bastien could speak Portuguese and knew everything she was saying!

I loved that part in VAF. I think that is why I liked her so much.

I didn't realize the pjs were Etiennes. It's weird some of the facts I missed in reading these books. I still can't get my head around the fact Etienne is blonde. I keep seeing dark hair in my head. Does anyone else do this?

I definetly see Lucian as blonde but not Etienne.

Yes and no..thou at times being a cold hard you know what could be a blonde

I know.. I had that same problem.. I was thinking od Etienne with brown hair! But I could get the blonde for Lucian no problem. For some reason its a lot easier for me to picture brown or black hair, had no problem with Bastien and Lucern

Julius was the easiest for me

Yep you both have a point. Acal I agree I never had problem imagining Julius. Actually the only one was Etienne. It sounds weird but he was the only one I didn't get a sense of who he was from his story.

You know its really really hard to picture Etienne with big muscles like Lucern when he programs computer games and sleeps in a coffin occasionaly! It gives you the idea of Dracula with glasses But then that sort of applies to Lucern who writes romance novels but has muscles that would do a bodybuilder proud! Strange when its not hard to picture Lucern's bulky muscles but it is with Etienne!

Well just a side point neither one would have to wear glasses. The nanos put a your peak physical condition so glasses out although Dracula with glasses is a funny scenario.

I know they wouldn't wear glasses.. but as a fassion accessory?

To look cool? I have been wearing glasses for 20 years and I never thought I looked cool. Maybe all this time I was stylin'

And profilin'.

Exactly. I was a trend setter and I didn't even know it. Wow all those kids who called me four eyes are in for a nasty suprise. I was just ahead of my time

Aren't we all. Just think when we get those nanos no more

That will be weird. I may have to pop the lenses out first before I completely discard them so I get used to not having them.

It's not so hard to see Etienne as a blonde if you think of it this way. His sister, Lissianna, is blonde
although she looks just like Margeurite except for her colouring. Jean Claude would have been blonde if he and Lucian were "identical twins," and I've always had the impression that they were.

So, JC's and Marguerite's two older children got her dark hair, and their two youngest children got his light hair.

Also, even though Etienne is big and strong, he doesn't have the bulky muscle mass of Lucern. Remember that Vincent said that Lucern was a warrior, when it was absolutely necessary to have that kind of muscle mass. By the time he and Bastien were in their "running around" years, there were other types of weapons available for fighting and duels. Vincent and Bastien don't have the muscle mass that Lucern does, nor do they "think as a warrior" like Lucern. I'm taking that from the fact that in VAF Lucern opens up and firmly tells them what they did wrong when they were using Inez as "bait" and they let down their guard, from a warrior's viewpoint. Also, Lucern always continued to "eat" a little to keep the muscle mass he had.

Etienne being blonde and his happy-viewpoint way of life may be part of why his "older brothers" still see him as a child. They don't see him as the "same" as the two of them, so they translate that into him just being a child instead of as a serious adult. Also, there are all kinds of shades of blond hair...I think his is probably dark blonde with natural highlights all through it...somehow that is what I picture when I "see" Etienne. Can anyone else say yummy dude and dudettes?

wren

NOPE!!!...so not going to comment on popping!!!


I know they say Etienne is blond like Lucian...I see Lucian blond....I like Jullius, but for some reason i keep pictureing Etienne as a light brown, or dirty blond but not BLOND!!

Sorry, above post was from me...I forgot Gypsy had been on the computer.

My gypsy-pixie is gone roaming out of town...hopefully not for too long. And, she makes the best coffee, but I won't bother when she isn't here for us to drink it and converse in the mornings!

Oh well, she'll be back soon, and there are where she will be, so she will be checking in on us!

wren

I know the facts added up and I always see Lissi as a blonde but just not Etienne. No matter how hard I try. I see Lucian as a blonde too. Not Etienne.

But Etienne was always a difficult character for me. I liked his story but his character was hard for me to get a handle on. I just didn't see a real sense of what made him. Maybe that's why I have a hard time of it. Don't know.

I dont know that was a difficult one to place, I did picture him as brown with blonde streaks, thats not blonde though!

I think it's more than just the hair color for me. I can't really picture in mind at all what Etienne looks like. It's just not fitting.

That irritates me when that happens

Me too and I have read this book several times. So I don't know why I can't see him.

Ahh! maybe Lynsay can hire an artist

Jill,

I see him well enough for BOTH of us!!

Hopefully, when you reread you can get a sense of "Etienne." Did you read the other brother's books before his? Maybe that is why you can't get a feeling of his looks and personality! Yep...reread of LB starts tonight.

I don't see brown hair at all...I see dark blonde hair (but it is still light) with lighter blonde highlights all through it...on the longish side, so you want to run your fingers through it! I also don't see a "surfer dude." That was just Thomas playing around to annoy the older guys.

On page 75, Rachel glances at Etienne, and he is described as having a perfect face, Tawny hair, and being sexy, blond, and strong. Earlier in the book, when she first "meets" him as her shooting victim, she notes that he is about 6'4", a muscular build, and with exotic silver-blue eyes. Btw, the color "tawny" is like a warm, sandy color. Does that help you get a picture of his hair in your mind?

Can you see that tawny blonde with those silver-blue eyes? Talk about yummy...uh-huh! Not a "surfer boy" look! Then, think...he's a game designer...well, that may mean fun, but the actual work means very intelligent and creative.

To me, he seems fairly easy-going and more relaxed than Lucern and Bastien, but that doesn't mean he is less serious. He is polite and has a warm voice, and it seems he replies with a slight sense of amusement, which tells me he has a really good sense of humor. It seems that a century between births plus the time it takes to grow to adulthood...well, that just makes each of the immortals personalities somewhat different because of the era in which they were born.

Does that help you "see" Etienne?

wren

Maybe Lynsay will get personalised images of them done up.. that would be so cool, I have a friend whos getting published really soon as shes gotten an artist to draw up her characters

Maybe she will...but I like what I see in my head from her descriptions best. That's why I like to read...you get to "see and hear" the characters in your own way, and you travel to places through the stories.

I've noticed they are making graphic art novels like the manga books out of some romance and paranormal novels. Not interested.

Drawings would do the same as having an actor play the character for me. It would color the way I view the character in most cases. Not all, because I do enjoy movies, but never as well as the actual book a movie is based on. That's just how I feel, though.

I do know Celeste Bradley has her own drawings of characters from her "The Liars Club" series on her website.

But, I still like the pictures in my imagination from the author's books best!

wren

I know but some people do like seeing a representation, its hard for me to grasp them if I don't actually see it. Its made it easier for me to picture LKH's characters since she had her graphic novels printed

I don't care for graphic novels. I don't want what seems like a "comic book drawing" of a romance or paranormal novel. Of course, I didn't grow up with "Manga" and I think anime cartoon drawings are not very pretty. That just may be a generational thing for me. My nieces and sons love anime and manga.

I guess I just see the pictures vividly in my mind when I read and I hear the characters talking. It's like...well, parts are told by a narrator, and the dialogue all has different voices for each character. I can "hear" the book read to me as if I'm listening to an audio CD version of the novel or I see the story unfolding just like watching a movie. Only better!

I looked up the description of Etienne so that I could get it right on my post and try to help Jill "see" him. However, in my mind, that was already the way I saw his blond hair and silver-blue eyes, and I already had a sound for his voice. I don't really know how to explain it...for me, when I read, it is like watching a movie and hearing the soundtrack.

It was the number one reason I became a teacher in real life...because that is how reading is for me.

wren

I don't like cartoons either, i've never touched a graphic novel, it was just the image, the hair and skin tone that helped me.

Same with me too wren it does feel like its been read to you, you get the inner voice popping up in your head like an audio track. However its hard for me to get a hard visual on character descriptions. It always seems elusive to me

Hmmm...I don't know how to help with visualizing the characters. Yes, I can see where having drawings from an author might be really useful for some.

wren

Thank you guys. I think you are right Wren. My first book was Lucian and he was already there. Then I went and got the whole series and started from the begining. Etienne was featured a lot in Lucian's book so I should be able to see him but I don't know why.

I don't read graphic novels either but then I was never a big fan of comic books period. But I do like watching a few movies that were based on graphic novels. Go figure