Boy Toys? – Happy Meals from The Clone Wars

By the time I pulled out of the driveway today on my way to practice my Yoda training with Jedi Ganner the horse, I had dallied around a little too much. I was running late and I was hungry. Being a certified geek girl, my first thought for a quick meal brought me to the conclusion that, child or not, a Happy Meal would fit the bill – because of course The Clone Wars are again the featured franchise tie-in toy.

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Star Wars Tales From the Past Step Into the Future

Tomorrow the Star Wars Expanded Universe novels backlist goes digital, with over 100 titles being made available as ebooks. In the upcoming weeks, I’ll be highlighting books on that list that I’ve enjoyed as a Star Wars fan in a Summer Reading Roundup. I’ll also feature specific books from the backlist in my new series Looking for Strong Female Heroines, in which I’ll suggest story arcs that will fill your fangirl cravings for heroine-centric tales.

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Do Franchises Need Traditional Publishing Houses?

Harry Potter fans might be a little disappointed that Pottermore isn’t more Harry Potter books, but I bet franchises are watching with carefully. This is the first major franchise to take the big step away from the traditional publishing houses to self-publish. With the upcoming changes in the editorial leadership at Lucasfilm, I’ve been wondering if Star Wars might be considering the same bold leap away from Del Rey.

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REVIEW: Fate of the Jedi: Conviction by Aaron Allston

My overall reaction to Conviction is similar to what I felt about Vortex, and it echoes what others have said about this book, as well. On the one hand, standing purely on its own terms, Conviction has solid writing, good characterization, and some classic Allston hilarity. On the other hand, Conviction is seriously dragged down by the weakness and defects in the story design of the Fate of the Jedi series as a whole.

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