Um, krad?

"Resist the urge to bite it" (in reference to Snyder's finger) made my mind go to a scary visual place.

Great little piece, though. Probably the most Buffy-esque thing I've read out of all the novels I've seen.

pat32082 | August 09, 00:21 CET

LOL- but I want Buffy to bite his finger! Come on KRAD, just a nip???

looking | August 09, 03:02 CET

I liked the 'big eared spider' part.

I was impressed with the exerpt from Krad's last book, and I'll probably buy that one and this one if they're as good as the previews.

whosflyingthisthing? | August 09, 03:31 CET

Speaking of Buffy, is the Chosen Collection being re-released with new packaging inside?? Amazon is accepting pre-orders. Just curious.

Hmmm, if KRAD wrote it I just might pick this up.

ChosenOne5376 | August 09, 03:32 CET

So getting this!

Harmalicious | August 09, 03:55 CET

Thorougly enjoyed the excerpt, I'm definitely going to read this!

YellowBear | August 09, 04:20 CET

Yay Snyder!

Will the book include an explanation of what Ring Day is for those outwith the US high school system? It doesn't get a spot in most high school movies, unlike cheerleading and the prom, and Wikipedia didn't help. I assume it's some kind of "buying of the class ring" event?

Craig Oxbrow | August 09, 04:50 CET

I am a product of the US high school system and I have no idea what Ring Day is.

TamaraC | August 09, 04:52 CET

The day you get your class rings in senior year.

Don't worry, Buffy, I didn't get mine either. Pointless.

pat32082 | August 09, 05:03 CET

Thanks, pat32082. I guess that wasn't my scene.

TamaraC | August 09, 05:22 CET

I definitely didn't have a ring day. we had a ring time where the ring company inundated us with brochures about the shiny pieces of metal we can spend hundreds of dollars on and never wear again unless we were from exceptional schools or great athletes.

my ring is in a box, at the bottom of my jewelry box.

YellowBear | August 09, 05:23 CET

Thanks everyone! And Ring Day is the day that high schoolers get their rings. In my school, actually, we got them junior year. But, for a variety of reasons, I thought it was better to set this book in the third season, so I had Sunnydale High do the ring thing for seniors.

krad | August 09, 05:32 CET

I got them in junior year too.

So does Faith figure into your story or is she on a"walk-a-bout(sp)"?

Donna Troy | August 09, 05:47 CET

No, Faith's very much a part of the story. I placed the novel between "The Zeppo" and "Bad Girls" because the former episode ended with both Willow and Giles being injured. In "Bad Girls," they were both healed, which means -- since neither of them has the soooooper healing of a vampire or a Slayer -- there had to be several weeks between those two. More than enough time for a novel-sized adventure. *grin* And it also meant I could use Faith as a good guy.

So no, Faith's not on walkabout, since I'm not beholden to Eliza Dushku's schedule. *chuckle*

krad | August 09, 07:22 CET

I came from a 'burb outside of Rochester, NY and we didn't have no stinkin' Ring Day, either -- just a lotta hard sell, too, browncoat -- I opted out of the ugly-and-overpriced-ring-buying. But I often wanted to bite the fingers of my teachers and school officials, and refrained -- settled for kicking one of my gym teachers. It was satisfying. Oh, and of course, wrong, very wrong.

Also visited Keith's website, and enjoyed some other excerpts -- thanks a bunch.

[Re: BUFFY] "Because it's about adolescence, which is the most important thing people go through in their development, becoming an adult. And it mythologizes it in such a way, such a romantic way—it basically says, 'Everybody who made it through adolescence is a hero.' " -- Joss Whedon, Onion AV Club interview with Tasha Robinson, Sept., 2001

QuoterGal | August 09, 07:41 CET

Thanks for the explanation - can you deliver it to someone like Giles in the book in-character? :D

Craig Oxbrow | August 09, 07:44 CET

So excited. I look forward to Buffy/Faith scenes.

Donna Troy | August 09, 08:19 CET

That whole excerpt takes me back to when Buffy was great. Can't wait to get this novel.

SpikeBad | August 09, 09:05 CET

Looks good, krad! (Even though, you know, no Spike. *Sigh.*) And still waiting for my "fearsome foursome," so I guess you'd best keep 'em comin'!

I just realized something. You're my supplier, dude! I have to have my 'verse fix, and you're my best source! Not my only, mind you. But my best. Soooo, like one of the posters on your site said, "Write fast."

SangChaud | August 09, 13:28 CET

What? You all marry in High School, and all the same day, in the US? :P

More seriously, what is this "ring"?

Le Comité | August 09, 13:28 CET

Seems like another so-so American tradition; More at Wikipedia.

Ashley | August 09, 13:58 CET

Ah, so you guys buy rings to commemorate leaving school ? Since you attend school until you're 18 the UK equivalent would be leaving 6th form college and over here we tend to go to the pub to commemorate that. This may or may not be significant ;).

Saje | August 09, 14:26 CET

Well to be fair we generally head to the pub to commemorate the end of the week or even the end of the day. Hell some people head there to commemorate waking up ;)

Paul_Rocks | August 09, 14:30 CET

True. Hmm, 11:41, surely there's a few beers in it being a prime number of minutes past the hour ? ;)

Saje | August 09, 14:41 CET

Having gone to school both in the U.S. and U.K., and still not getting what Ring Day was, I am enjoying this thread. And yes, Paul_Rocks, sometimes waking up is best commemorated in pubs. Also leaving school, end of the workday, and, Saje, "a prime number of minutes past the hour." Or, as me dear departed Da used to say, "Well, somewhere the sun is over the yardarm. Cheers!"

SangChaud | August 09, 14:44 CET

Ha, mine says the same thing (despite never having been in the navy) !

(he also had a t-shirt, long since worn to tatters, that said on the front 'Some people drink to excess...' and on the back '...i'll drink to anything'. Not unfond of a drop my Dad ;)

Quite a nice little extract that krad, captures the feel of Buffy dialogue (and for some reason the image of a big spider with Snyder's head sprang pretty readily to mind ;).

Saje | August 09, 15:26 CET

Cheers to your dad, Saje! And mine was never in the navy, either. He just knew a good excuse reason when he heard one!

Okay, back to krad's book, yeah, the idea of conflating Snyder and spider is an excellent one. The imagery is just right there! Hell, the words even rhyme. I'm going to bed now. . . .

SangChaud | August 09, 15:44 CET

Yep, that was fun! Might this be the first Buffy book I check out in quite some time? I think so.

GVH | August 09, 16:31 CET

According to the Wiki entry for this book Wesley is possibly in it. Not sure how he could fit in though if the book is set before "Bad Girls". I'm wondering/hoping that Wesley is in it, i miss the goofy Wes from Season 3.

Also, for those who can't hold on til krad's next book ("Blackout"), checkout "Go Ask Malice". I thought it was superb..

Dalton | August 09, 17:49 CET

Quote of the day, material :)

zeitgeist | August 09, 18:46 CET

QuoterGal: You're welcome! Glad you liked my site. *grin*

DonnaTroy: As it happens, Chapter 1 is a Faith-and-Buffy scene....

SangChaud: No, no Spike, sadly, but hey, there's plenty of him in Blackout. And I'm writin' as fast as I can.....

Le Comité: As others have indicated, we have a tradition in the U.S. where you get a class ring, one that symbolizes the school you attended. Often folks get them both from high school and college. I have rings from both Cardinal Spellman High School and Fordham University.

Saje: Oh, we go to the pub, too. It's not like you have to choose between getting drunk and getting a ring -- you can do both! *grin*

GVH: Actually, I think the next Buffy book you should check out is Blackout, which should start showing up in bookstores in a week or two. Really. You should. *nod*

Dalton: Wesley will not be in the book. That Wiki entry was probably based on older information, when I hadn't settled on a specific third-season spot for the book. I was hoping to include Wesley, but I had forgotten (until I went through the whole season on DVD again) that Wesley showed up in the same episode where Faith killed the deputy mayor. I really didn't want to tangle up the novel in the whole end-of-season-countdown-to-the-Ascension-Faith-goes-bad mishegos, so that meant no Wesley. I may go fix the Wiki entry, actually......

krad | August 09, 20:34 CET

Dalton, I agree.

Go ask Malice was one of the best I have read in awhile. I was surprised how much the author got Faith's voice and spirit int he book. In most books with her, she just comes of kinda cardboardy. This is really a must read.

Thanks, Krad. So was it intresting to write any Faith/Xander scenes, given their secret has not come yet?

Donna Troy | August 09, 21:55 CET

Hey KRAD, my bro graduated from Cardinal Spellman, cool!

ChosenOne5376 | August 10, 01:31 CET

DonmnaTroy: There haven't been any scenes with the two of them yet. We Shall See. *grin*

ChosenOne5376: Really? Cool! I graduated in 1986 -- and yes, the 20th reunion is this year. Wibble.

krad | August 10, 05:46 CET