Season 1 Is Over…Now What?

True Blood‘s first season has come to a close in a manner befitting the series as a whole – packed with action, romance, vampires, mystery, suspense, humor and sadness. We discovered the identity of the Bon Temps killer, dispatched him, dealt with the aftermath, and promptly ran across another murder victim. And now comes the long wait until summer when season 2 begins. How will you fill the time? We have some ideas of our own to share:

Reading is FUNdamental

• Looking for more Sookie? You’ve got 8 books already published in the Southern Vampire Mysteries to help slake your thirst, and the 9th book in the series is due in May 2009. Of course, if you want to avoid any possible spoilers for True Blood, you’ll want to skip the books. On the other hand, season one was enough different from Dead Until Dark that the “bookies” had plenty of surprises. We love the books and think you will, too, but felt morally obligated to label this suggestion with a SPOILER WARNING.
• Perhaps you’d like to venture off into other vampire series? We recommend Mary Janice Davidson’s Undead series, starring Queen Betsy. It’s laugh out loud funny and, well, not exactly heavy lifting.
• Another lighthearted series about the supernatural that we enjoyed is Vegas Vampires by Erin McCarthy, about a pair of sisters who find themselves entwined with powerful vampires living in Las Vegas.
• Looking for something more dramatic? You must try Charlaine Harris’s other series, the Harper Connelly Mysteries. Harper’s unusual skill is the ability to find dead bodies and “see” how they died. I eagerly await new books in this series as much as I do new Sookie books; it’s that good.
• Of course no list of supernatural/vampire books is complete without mentioning the ubiquitous Twilight series series. If you haven’t already checked this out, it’s worth taking a look to see if it’s your cup of tea.

Keep the TV Set Warm

• Looking for another smart, funny, sexy vampire series to watch? Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel are musts for any self-respecting vampire fan. From the mind of the incomparable Joss Whedon, the wit and satire of these series have made them true “cult classics”.
• For truly spine-tingling vampire fare, try Dark Shadows, a “daytime serial” featuring Barnabas Collins, a 200-year-old vampire.
• Fans of the vampire detective genre will also want to check out Forever Knight and Moonlight (coming January 20). As we’ve mentioned before, Pam and I are big fans of Moonlight, so we’re especially looking forward to that DVD release. The Sci Fi Network will also be airing Moonlight‘s first (and only *sob*) season on Friday nights beginning January 23.

Stay tuned to True-Blood.net

• If you haven’t already, join the True-Blood.net Forum to talk about season 1 and speculate about season 2 with other fans.
• Keep an eye on True-Blood.net for news about season 2 as the show goes back into production. We will be running more contests and other fun activities to fill the time that you won’t want to miss!

What will you be reading and watching to fill the time between seasons? Post your suggestions below and we’ll add them to the list!