Case of the Haunted Hearts, Scene 1: Setting the Stage

Wait … “Scene,” not “Chapter”? Why, yes, dear reader, you’ve run into this book’s little writing gimmick: There are little film script flourishes everywhere. So each chapter is labeled “scene”, and most of the little section breaks have stage and/or camera directions. It’s not quite as annoying as I make it out to be, but when I first encountered it I rolled my eyes and went “ugh.”

Anyway, let’s get introduced to some characters, shall we?

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Case of the Haunted Hearts: First Impressions

Hey, JW … you were recapping Shadow and Bone! Why are you interrupting your recap of Russian Stuff with a recap of a young adult (emphasis on the “young”) mystery series?

Well, a few years back I may have mentioned in my FAQ that I would recap Rachel Roberts’ post-Avalon: Web of Magic work. And she’s finally released something: Case of the Haunted Hearts, the first book in her Hollywood Detective series.

To be honest, out of all of Rachel’s post-Avalon projects, this was the one I anticipated the least. I didn’t care about some modern day Nancy Drew hanging around Hollywood backlots and solving show-biz mysteries. Give me Avalon: Shadow Warrior already!

While searching for info on the Avalon: Web of Magic animated series a couple of weeks ago, I found out that Case of the Haunted Hearts was released in late May. The only advertisement was this picture of the book’s cover on the voyager.world Instagram.

Coming Soon To Your Screen!#hollywood#detective#rachelroberts

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YES, THIS IS THE COVER. I thought it was a teaser, but then I checked Goodreads and bought the book and … unfortunately, this is the final cover. Look at that horrendous font treatment! Those colors! That illustration of the protagonist! The only bright spots on this cover are the illustration of a glam rock Phantom of the Opera and Christine, and the series title (which reminds me of the Hollywood Cop movie poster).

What to expect from this recap:

  • Comparisons to Avalon: Web of Magic
  • Movie clips
  • Music videos
  • Complaints about a certain writing gimmick
  • Anchorman references
  • A little too much information on my formative years in LA
  • A bunch of other obscure references because why not

NEXT TIME: Lights! Camera! Character introductions!

Avalon Production Update, 17 July 2017

Your weekly round-up of updates on the Avalon: Web of Magic animated series!

From Instagram image comments:

  • Re: animation style: “we’re exploring using the unreal game engine for cgi animation” [source]
  • Re: Ozzie’s character design: “everyone agrees he needs some work. We’ll tweak him pre-series start” [source]
  • Re: series and episode lengths: “we have 26 half hours for the initial order, but the studio is doing all kinds of tests” [source]

Production Art:

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Tangentially Related:

  • Rachel Roberts published a new book: Case of the Haunted Hearts. It’s the first of the Angel West YA mystery books that was teased on Red Sky Entertainment’s site post-Avalon: Web of Magic (and mentioned in our interview with her). I will start posting recaps here on Wednesday. This means that I’ll be putting my recap of Shadow and Bone on hold — which I’ve neglected to update for a couple of months on account of me being annoyed with the Protagonist and her Love Interest.

Avalon Production Update, 3 July 2017

Your weekly round-up of updates on the Avalon: Web of Magic animated series!

From Instagram image comments:

  • Re: voice cast: “our Canadian production partner has brought in a casting agency in Vancouver to cast the demo and the actors are all amazing. Once we get the network order we will approach potential star talent for the series as we would need a firm order for stars to commit.” [source]
  • Re: adapting the books: “pretty much follow the books, breaking them up in serialized eps” [source]
  • Re: Rachel Roberts’ involvement: “[…] Rachel’s in charge of story editing and wrote the pilot script” [source]
  • Re: series length: “I can tell we are designing 26 episodes for season 1” [source]
  • Re: fan involvement: Production claims “we’ll need lots of help getting the word out.” [source]
  • Re: convention promotion: “too soon, we have to get our network on board first to announce the go” [source]

A Personal Note to the Production Staff:

I’d love to officially help publicize the show! (Instead of unofficially, as I’m doing now.) You’re welcome to contact me via the handy Contact the Archive link above.

A Minor Update

I’ve updated the FAQ with information on the Avalon: Web of Magic animated series.

Also, the producers of the series have been answering fan questions and regularly updating their Instagram … which means that I get to make Production Update Round-Up posts! That way you don’t have to dig through image comments for new information. These will start next Monday.

For now, I’ll leave you with physical proof that the Avalon production team is aware that a fandom exists. And by “proof,” I mean “they gave a shout-out to our friends at Jewel Riders Archive.”

Throwback and shoutout to jewel riders archive#keepthedreamalive

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