What do YOU think will be in the next book?

[guardians-song.livejournal.com]

Yes, the vague plotline is obvious, but what crazy twists will be included? Will a weretardigrade be added to the harem? Will any of the non-golden/blue/black tigers ever be seen again? What new powers will Anita acquire in this book? What disturbing new lover will she gain? What character will become a Jealous Hater and be condemned forever? Who will leave the harem? What moment(s) will leave the snarkers horrified for the next week?

My guesses:

• Given the amount she's been Facebook-blogging about birds, we'll get a bird this time. Werephoenix, anyone?
• No, they won't.
• I honestly wouldn't be surprised if she acquired the ability to summon Captain Planetiger through an elemental-weretiger orgy at this point, but instead I'll go for the ability to eat souls. (Which she will of course do while powered by love and life, of course. All her recent abilities seem to be focused on becoming a sexual Dementor, so it makes sense for her to go for the full set.
• Olaf.
• Both Larry and Asher are on the outs with Anita, so I'm predicting that they become the New Richards next book. Possibly Larry turns out to have been closeted - er, heteroflexible - all along, gets bitten by a werehyena, and runs off to Asher's new city to be Jealous Whiner Hater Babies with him for the rest of time.Stranger things have happened in this series.
• Does she have any regular vampire lovers aside from Jean-Claude and Asher? (Damian parted on good terms, London flounced, and Wicked & Truth aren't around that much, if I recall correctly.) I predict that, if she does, they'll get booted. Hamilton seems more into the therianthropes these days.
• Olaf, the possible soul-sucking power, and... Anita taking over Micah's hometown with her new-found powers, claiming that it was all justified because it was necessary to protect them from the Lover of Death and they were close-minded haters anyway.

What are your predictions?

And one semi-unrelated question - Since Hamilton recently quit the Merry series... has anyone else noticed elements from Merry gradually leaking into the Anita series? A greater emphasis on magic and the elements, an obsession with non-human eyes, and a greater emphasis on love-power, off-hand... And now Anita's eaten the local Goddess.

That said... I'm wondering what more will make its way over. Will we see a wereoctopus named Notsholto? Will the Hand of Flesh make a guest appearance? Will Anita start glowing during assimilation of the latest harem member?

Thoughts?

Comments

[zombiegoat.livejournal.com]

All her recent abilities seem to be focused on becoming a sexual Dementor...

That's very strong. However, she hasn't quit the Merry Gentry series, unless my Googling has misled me horribly. She's been threatening a new installment for about a year now.

[guardians-song.livejournal.com]

http://www.laurellkhamilton.org/2012/06/kiss-the-dead-tour-seattle/

I have tried everything and anything I can think of, but in the end Merry won’t play ball. [...]
Eventually I’m pretty sure you’ll get the next Merry book, but I don’t know when.

She says she'll write another book, but... will she? She's not exactly known for remembering things she's put aside. (See: every subplot she's ever dropped.) I'm taking it as a de facto declaration that Merry Gentry is over.

[shadwing.livejournal.com]

The new Merry Book has been "Will come out next year" since DM was released in 2009 and was an epic disaster that may have had something to do with Merry moving from Balltiane to Penguin.

[rodentfanatic.livejournal.com]

Anita can feed on lust AND anger now, so I think she'll go for the whole set and start being able to feed on fear too. Hell, maybe she'll just get ALL the powers of each vampire bloodline.

I stopped reading at NiC but I started reading Skin Trade recently and if I didn't already know better from keeping up with the series via this comm, I'd have thought she'd shag Olaf and/or Edward by the end of it, so yeah, betting we'll see him. Especially since I hear he might be a werelion after his last appearence, making him fully fuckable to Miss Monster Queen even if it's not a young pretty boi.

If we get more avian shifters, yeah, it'll be something "cool" like phoenixes, owls, or hawks/eagles/etc.

[guardians-song.livejournal.com]

Given Hamilton's stretch-plotline-out-as-long-as-possible techniques, I'd wager one bloodline per book. Heck, she's "heteroflexible" now - The Dragon is no longer safe from the ardeur. Anita may end up devouring ALL the Council with her crotch and becoming Anita Noir.

Yep. The werelion part is what threw it over the edge.

Owls are not ~teh sexxxy~, though. ...Actually, given her love of mauling obscure mythology for boytoys, I predict a were-eagle named Eliwlod (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliwlod) may end up being hotly pursued...

[rodentfanatic.livejournal.com]

A friend of mine is betting on ravens!

[fadeinthewash.livejournal.com]

Having watched Labyrinth last weekend, I'm going to beg to differ on the sexiness of owls. :D

[plastraa.livejournal.com]

It would be nice if she could feed on everything...confusion, boredom, lack of interest, derision, disgust...and each would remind her of some sort of hostess cupcake treat. :)

"His confusion broke over my skin with a cookies and cream flood to my senses. It's heady flavor assuaging my hunger even more than Micah's huge manly manhood."

OK seriously I think I am getting alarmingly good at this.

[brightlotusmoon.livejournal.com]

Wait, she quit the Merry series? Huh. Interestingly enough I liked that porny trash. Did it wrap up decently, by these standards? Please do spoil me if you wish.

[4tonedeaf.livejournal.com]

Sorry to disappoint you, but she didn't 'end' it perse. The story was left up in the air with the awaited birth of her babies.

[brightlotusmoon.livejournal.com]

Crap. Okay, so it's on hiatus, I guess.

[socksonaboat.livejournal.com]

Calling it now, ravens. They're just so mysterious and pretty! And there's so much mythology behind shapeshifting ravens even though she's not going to do any of it!

[guardians-song.livejournal.com]

And she can name him Nevermore! And he can cry to her about how his heart was broken by his evil jealous hater love, Lenore! And...

[socksonaboat.livejournal.com]

And he can have long dark raven hair that trails a foot behind him but somehow stays clean!

[plastraa.livejournal.com]

And he can have long dark raven hair that trails a foot behind him but somehow stays clean!

HAHAHA! Yes the hair on her men, ridiculous.

[rodentfanatic.livejournal.com]

OHEYYOU

yeah, one of the mods here has a running joke about how one of these days wereravens will appear and she will be their Poe XD

[kira-snugz.livejournal.com]

i would actually read it if there was a wereoctopus. or several. one of them needs to be a hockey player though.

[guardians-song.livejournal.com]

Come to think of it, a wereoctopus might redeem the series...

[plastraa.livejournal.com]

If there was a weretargigrade (waterbear) I WOULD read that book! :) I think they are adorable. But I don't think it's likely. I just can't see her having sexing times with an eight legged creature no matter how cute he might be. ;)

[guardians-song.livejournal.com]

Yes, but the hypothetical narration would be amusing.

"I felt myself spilling over the moss spilling over me as my inner waterbear chewed in contentment. In that moment, I was content to do nothing but dine upon this blue-green ambrosia for the rest of my life..."

[plastraa.livejournal.com]

"The claws of his eight little legs dancing over my skin like a line of ants on parade at a picnic, where the watermelon's bright cherry red sits on display and the sweet nectar calls them.

'Do, it...DOOOOO it,' I implore him, and finally, finally he places his little sucker face to mine and I can taste him. At last.

I press my lips against him like the wonder twins activating their ring powers and feel him shudder. The love I have for him encompasses my entire being, body and soul he has captivated me. Donald, my were-spider is hanging on his silk above us watching as he spins his web."

Ok yeah, I don't know. Just making it more special. :P

[plastraa.livejournal.com]

I should have made the spider were fancier, with maybe a rainbow web or something...but forgot to look at my "What would LKH do?" manual of writing. Alas, I might never reach the pinnacle of using bad food allusions and non-sexy sexy times metaphors. :(

[plastraa.livejournal.com]

And later at a pissing contest with some of Anita's harem...

""I'm Anita's mossy moss greeny blue-ish grey, moss piglet, water bear to call!" Eutardigrada, or as I liked to call him Tradi said posturing with four of his eight legs toward my rainbow-trout-were lover Preston, who floated in his tank of lake water silently fuming in rage.

Donald reeled himself back up his silk line to better survey my other true loves his 8 eyes taking in the testosterone filled room. I could imagine him idly wondering how sturdy a strand of Nathaniel's hair might be for it's web making capabilities."

ha, I think I might be getting the hang of this thing.

[rodentfanatic.livejournal.com]

I could imagine him idly wondering how sturdy a strand of Nathaniel's hair might be for it's web making capabilities."

Hahhaha!

[lunar-sims.livejournal.com]

Rainbow-trout-were lover Preston. DEAD. I AM DEAD. YOU WIN ALL THE INTERNETS BUT MUST THROW ME A GOOD FUNERAL.

[plastraa.livejournal.com]

I want any of the characters that have so far escaped Anita's massive LOVE to get out of St. Louis never to be heard from again. Then I can at least pretend they are off doing non-creepy stuff elsewhere. Well and in Edward's case, creepy stuff but without the threat of having to have sex with Anita at some point.