Betsy Snow White Bibliophile

Category: Nerd Life

  • Interview with the Vampire… Obsessed Girl

    I have been fascinated with the idea of vampires since I was an itty bitty weird girl checking out books on the supernatural and mythology from my elementary school library. Beautiful immortal beings who feed on blood, what’s not to love? I loved to read about the mythologies that lead to the idea, the legends and especially the amazing fiction about vampires that are available for teens and adults who love them. Here are some of my favorite books, or at least some of the most memorable to me.

    The Silver Kiss – Annette Curtis Klause: I remember reading this at 10 or so and loving it. I have read it again as an adult and it is still pretty good. It features a vampire child, which is super creepy, and a lightly goth over tone. The ending made me cry.

    Lost Souls – Poppy Z Brite: An interesting book that presents a very different idea of how vampires are created.

    Interview with the Vampire/ The Vampire Chronicles – Anne Rice: She rewrote the genre. Lestat is pure wickedness. I once used a monologue from Queen of the Damned for an audition piece.

    Dracula – Bram Stoker: The original. Renfield is the creepiest. Lucy is heartbreaking. And Mina is a goth girls dream.

    The Hollows/ Rachel Morgan books – Kim Harrison: Rachel is a witch and a bad ass. Her roomate Ivy is a Vampire. They live in a church. Chaos ensues.

    That is what I can think of off the top of my head. Do you have a favorite vampire book?

  • Bucket List For the Rest of 2019

    This is the list of things I would like to do before the end of 2019. Some of these may seem easy, but have issues associated. Many involve a lot of moving parts, so that makes them challenging. Let’s see how many I cross off. I will revisit as I get things done.

    • Wench photo with the Queen!
    • Get my major changed to creative Writing.
    • Attend both days the last weekend of Ohio Renaissance Festival
    • Finish Blogtober strong (I get a book if I do)
    • Rennie outing to Book Loft?
    • Participate and succeed in NaNoWriMo (Are you participating? Link me BetsySnowWhite)
    • Photo with Krampus!
    • Photo with Santa and the Wenches
    • Wench invasion of Columbus and Cincinnati Zoo.
    • Set up Christmas trees.
    • Christmas Party
    • Roaring 20s New Year Party

    I think that is it…though I may add and subtract things as I go along.

  • Elvira, A Love Letter to the Mistress of the Dark.

    Elvira, A Love Letter to the Mistress of the Dark.

    Elvira,

    I do not, in fact, remember the first time I ever saw you. I suspect it was watching the movie Elvira, Mistress of the Dark at an age that was far too young. It could also have been  when you hosted a horror movie late at night, or a guest spot on a show. What I do know is that immediately you had an effect on me. You were beautiful, and funny, and macabre which was not a common combination in the world. In coming years we would have Morticia Addams as played by Angelica Houston and Wednesday by Christina Ricci, but in the late 80s there was only one prime time ghoul for future goth girls to emulate and it was you.

    To this day you remain a treasure to me. Your campy, spooky sensibility never ceases to make me laugh. Your sexy to the point of hyperbole clothing is witchy clothing goals. Your bad ass never give a crap what people think attitude is something I aspire to.

    Though you had a competition once to find a replacement, I knew there was just no way to find someone who could so perfectly embody all the heart, innuendo and horror you imbue Elvira with.

    Please keep being you, and your alter ego, for as long as it is fun to do so. I will be right here cheering you on from Columbus, Ohio.

    Unpleasant Dreams,

    Betsy

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  • My Halloween Playlist

    Welcome to my virtual Halloween party! I have prepared an amazing playlist for you of my favorite spooky, creepy, witchy songs.

    Rasputina – Transylvanian Concubine

    Switchblade Symphony – Witches

    Delta Rae – Dance In The Graveyards

    Voltaire – Vampire Club

    Jill Tracy – The Fine Art of Poisoning

    Eliza Carthy – Blood on My Boots

    Vermillion Lies – Long Red Hair

    Poe – Haunted

    Stevie Nicks – Sorcerer

    Carfax Abbey – Cry Little Sister

    Katzenjammer Kabarett – Gemini Girly Song

    Comcrete Blonde – Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)

    kidneythieves – Before I’m Dead

    Nina West – Lisa Frankenstein

     

    Feel free to use for your next party!

    Happy Haunting!!

  • The State of My State…update.

    The State of My State…update.

    So…I have spoken with my advisor at school and as soon as I get my personal statement to her I will be officially changed to a Creative Writing major. I am so relieved and excited to get started on the right path for me.

    I am also going to do NaNoWriMo this year. I have never even tried this before, but I feel very drawn to write this year. I am trying to decide if I want to share what I am working on here or not. What do you think? Are you interested in reading my very rough drafts? Let me know.

    This week I am going to see Heels of Horror XII by Nina West on Friday, back to the Renaissance Festival on Saturday, a Halloween party Saturday Night and David Sedaris on Sunday. Whew! This is going to be chaotic fun. I have decided to be one of the gang members from The Warriors, specifically a Bowery Punk. Overalls, a rugby shirt and roller skates for the win!!

    My older sister will also be in town this week, so I get to meet her boyfriend who none of us have met. It is going to be a great week.

    Any big plans this week?

  • An October Wedding

    An October Wedding

    Today my cousin Robby married his wonderful now wife Sharon. It was a beautiful and meaningful ceremony officiated by Sharon’s sister Colleen. Robby and Sharon have bonded over there mutual love of certain nerdy/dorky topics, so the wedding was full of Harry Potter (Robby proposed to Sharon at Hogwarts in Universal Studios), Jurassic Park, Star Wars and other fun pop culture elements. Sharon wore a beautiful and simple white dress that was made for her, and a pair of white Converse Chuck Taylor’s. I am so happy for my cousin and I wish the two of them happiness and joy. Congrats you two!!

  • Have the Lambs Stopped Screaming?

    Have the Lambs Stopped Screaming?

    That title is loosely related to what I wanted to talk about today which is that it is finally chilly enough to wear the amazing Death’s Head Moth Cape that I bought from a local seamstress and fiber artist Rachel Walker.

    In April at the Ashville Viking Festival my mom came up to me a told me she can’t believe I am not feeaking out about the death head’s moth cloak in that booth. I hadn’t even seen it. We went in and I made some kind of insane high pitched squee noise and asked if I could take it off to look at it. Rachel graciously allowed me to do so, and it was such a gorgeous work of art I knew I would have to have it.

    I asked how much it was, and it was a bit above my ability to pay immediately ($300) so I asked if she would consider accepting payments. I could give $100 immediately and pay monthly through paypal for the rest. She agreed and I have never been so excited in my life. She still had some sewing she needed to do on the piece including adding me big pockets inside.

    I actually picked it up at the Ohio Renaissance Festival the second weekend, but it has been so hot I have not gotten to wear it yet. I finally got to wear it this weekend and it is currently one of my favorite things.

    Cape Porn!!

  • This is Halloween – Podcast Edition

    I am an avid podcast listener, in fact I listen to podcasts or audio books all day at work. My podcast obsession began with My Favorite Murder, which could be considered a spooky podcast in itself, and has bloomed into me listening to many many podcasts of all kind. Today I am going to suggest for you my favorite spooky podcasts to get you in the mood for Halloween.Ghosted by Roz Drezfalez – Drag Queen Roz invites her friends to tell their ghost stories. Listen to the Elvira episode to hear how good this podcast can be.Snap Judgement presents: Spooked – Host Glynn Washington sets up stories of the unexplained and paranormal told by the people who experienced them. Super creepy and wonderful.Teen Creeps – Hosts Lindsay Katai and Kelly Nugent read the pulpy gore filled teen books from the nineties. You will laugh and really want to dig out those books to reread.Shadows at the Door Podcast – A bit like a radio drama an author and an actor present a scary story and then discuss the underlying themes. The stories are spooky and the conversations are interesting as a writer.The Angel of Vine – Set up like a true radio drama this podcast has a star studded cast and only 10 episodes. This is a beautifully produced noir murder mystery.Do you have a favorite spooky podcast? Have you listened to one of these? Let me know in the comments.

  • Anniversary Thoughts – Seven Year Itch?

    Anniversary Thoughts – Seven Year Itch?

    Today is the seventh anniversary of the day I married the best man I have ever met. Seth and I have gone on a great many adventures together in our seven years of marriage (and five years of dating before that) and we will be on many, many more. I cannot imagine my life without him in it. I am beyond blessed and so grateful to have him in my life. Thank you, Seth, for teaching me, making me laugh, loving me so much and for catching me when I fall. My heart is yours for always.

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    Our wedding was a supremely personalized and hand made event and I loved every piece of it. My mother was our officiant and made my jacket, the vests for the guys and the skirt for my niece. Our friend Cliff made the steps leading to the front of the stage and our “cake topper” which was a diorama of Seth and I in our wedding clothes fighting zombies encased in a lovely dragon skin box, with lights. My sister-in-law baked all of our cupcakes and helped with general wedding crafting. My mother-in-law helped us with crafting. My sister helped us with crafting. I made the bouquets and the boutonnieres, designed the programs, etc. Seth made our hand-fasting cord, flowers for the bouquets and our rings out of chain maille plus helping with everything else. Seth and I wrote the ceremony and our vows. It takes an army to create a wedding as beautiful as ours, and we were blessed to have some of the best people involved.

    Photos are all by Capture Life Photography

  • Are You Going to Renaissance Faire? Part 2

    So…I became a wench.

    And on the forums at wench.org I met many new wonderful women from all over who were from all walks of life. Including my lovely friends Gellis Indigo (Jean) and Grace (Sarah). In 2006 I worked for a booth at the Ohio Renaissance Festival for several weeks with a coworker, and Gellis and Grace came by to meet me in person with Gellis’ rogue husband Kyas (Pete). This photo is of the three of us a couple of years after this first meeting.

    As time would go on Jean and Sarah would become the Madame and Vice-Madame of IWG 57 which was the local for Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. We would travel together to Michigan to be with our fellow Local 57 wenches because Ohio Renaissance Festival at the time was not open to an active Wenches Guild presence. We had fun, but there was always the underlying feeling that we were outsiders. We tried to get unofficial wench events together at home but never got the response we would have liked.

    Fast forward to 2018 when my friend and fellow wench Susan says to me that she would like like to start an Ohio Local for the IWG. I agree and the two of us set out on a mission to create an Ohio local and to get permission from the Ohio Renaissance Festival to be part of faire. We met with some resistance from our formal local, but eventually we were granted the designation of IWG Local 73 – The Wenches of Myth. We got our official status just before opening day 2018. After our first vote I would be voted Madame, Sarah would be Vice Madame and Susan would be our Arbiter.

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    The 2018 season at Ohio Renaissance was spent networking, meeting wenches, and finding out how to get our official status.

     

    In Spring of 2018 Susan and I had a meeting with the entertainment director of ORF. We talked about our vision for the wenches at ORF. It ended with us feeling really positive that we were going to get the blessing to be part of Faire. The official word came in July, we would be welcome at ORF. The first official Ohio local would be an official part of the festival.

    Sarah, Susan and I began plotting and planning. We came up with ideas for games and events. I came up with the idea for a game that would end up being called wench collecting. We would have a meet up to decorate our Collect Me pins.

    Since the beginning of ORF labor day weekend we have given 3 toasts in pub sing, walked in several parades, played wench collecting twice and had 5 new wenches join with promises of many more. We are beyond proud of how successful our first season has been and hopeful for many many more!