Review: The Vampire Diaries epi. 16 "There goes the Neighbourhood"

*Warning, may contain spoilers if you've not seen the episode as yet*

Oh my freaking God! Can you say more surprises than a b'day party? The Vampire Diaries aims to, and pleases, yet again.

Okay, so generally I don't do an epi. by epi review of TVD (as we so fondly refer to it on Twitter), but tonight's epi. was one of those that had me audibly gasping.

From Damon's "OUCH" (my reaction btw) moment in the beginning. To Jeremy's "Ooooh... Naughty Jeremy" (also my reaction) moment close to the end... and then his subsequent request of Anna at the very end that left me thinking: "Wait, it's April 1st, he must be joking right?"

Tonights epi. of TVD thickened the plot in my opinion, in 3 particular areas:

a) As concerning the vamps who have now wandered out of the tomb.... and dare we say Damon has met his match? 
"I have 400 years on you, little boy. I'll rip you from limb to limb, in the blink of an eye and you know it." -  tremble in awe at the power of Pearl, as she digs into Damon's eyes (There was my audible WTF "OUCH" moment).

b) The evolution of Matt and Caroline's relationship (poor Caro, I soo feel for her, and Candice Accola is so deserving of kudos for the beautiful display of vulnerability she is able to portray that allows the viewer to connect with her on that level).

c) And the (surprising to say the least) twist that now presents itself in the Jeremy / Anna dynamic. If or as you all may recall, Jeremy regained his memory (from Damon's suggestive "I'll make him forget" thrall) in an epi. sometime last Fall. 

Now Jeremy is intrigued (and a tease to boot) by poor confused Anna  - (here be another young actress, Malese Jow, who in my opinion, emoted effortlessly the angst of being a teen... and a vampire no less. After he (Jeremy) "accidentally" cuts into his palm, he attempts to tempt her with his blood. (There was my "Ooooh... naughty Jeremy" moment). 

It's only been the second half of the 1st season and already TVD has thrown more plot twists and curve balls at us viewers than ... Acrobats at a Circus? a Baseball game? a Winding road? Choose your appropriate metaphor a/o simile a/o hyperbole, whatever, - but fasten your seat belts, it's (probably) going to be a bumpy (set of) night(s) ahead of us in the weeks to come... and I for one look forward to it! ;o)

Interview with Skyler White author of "and Falling, Fly".

Just in time to coincide with St. Patrick's Day today VampirePhile has the pleasure of an interview with Skyler White, author of the provocative debut novel and Falling, Fly (which is set predominantly in Ireland).

VampirePhile: Hello Skyler, welcome. First off I must give kudos on a great read. As I mentioned in my review, I found your writing to be very lyrical, insightful and thought provoking. 

So my first question is then, for those reading who may not yet know about you, tell us a bit about yourself: such as how you got started? How long you've been writing?

Skyler White: I’ve used writing as a problem-solving tool for as long as I can remember. Somehow, I think more clearly when I’m writing than I do otherwise. But I’ve only been writing for publication for about five years, and this is my first published book. Before that, I’d been a ballet dancer and a stage director. I worked in advertising for a while and I had an Internet start-up venture, back in the day when those were fashionable. I had developed a line of dogma-free prayer candles, but I hated the production part of it. I felt really good about the way they looked and how every part of them was ethically and environmentally sourced, but I hated making and boxing and building them. The more I sold, the more I had to do that, so I was in the stupid place of being disappointed when new orders came in.

I kept trying to develop new products instead of selling the ideas I’d already had, and finally my husband and my best friend (both of whom I’d roped in to helping me with design and marketing) sat me down and pointed out that what I really loved was the thinking and the writing, and maybe I should find a different pursuit that allowed me to concentrate on those aspects more. It wasn’t easy to hear, but I’m so glad they helped me see it, because I’m much happier now.

VP: So you mentioned (re: and Falling, Fly) in your bio on your website, that: “I wrote it because I needed to meet Olivia. Because I was interested in the difference between wanting and being wanted.”

Were you able to reconcile these differences and how?

Skyler White: You’re the first person to ask me that. It’s a hard question. But yes, I think I did find reconciliation between the two impulses, although it’s something I have to remember. I revert back to old patterns very easily.

For me, it was about getting in touch with the un-lady-like hungers, with being able to say “I want” rather than “He wants me.” I still like feeling desirable, and a lot of times, my awareness of being attracted to someone shows up first in the thought “he likes me!” or “is she coming on to me?” But I’m learning to turn my attention from looking for clues about how the other person feels to looking at my own feelings. I try to focus directly on my wanting. Which is hard. Because wanting is a kind of pain. It’s an awareness of lack. You want what you don’t have.

Once you have something you wanted, you feel appreciation or enjoyment or boredom, but not wanting anymore. Not desire. That implies lack. And I find myself quick to transfer my longing towards things I can gratify. I’ll have a snack or go shopping rather than simply experience the feeling of wanting. But I’m trying to learn to be OK with just the wanting. It’s not something I’m good at yet.

VP: I love the new type of language you use, for example “psycast”, what method (if any) did you employ for creating your unique words? And what made you decide to use the word “quills” rather than “fangs”?

Skyler White: Thank you! I had tremendous amount of fun playing with language while writing.

Psycasting came out of “broadcasting” or “telecasting” put together with the character Psyche from Greek mythology, who is a close relative to the sisters.

I really didn’t want to use the word “fangs” at all because they have an animal connotation that I didn’t want to invoke. My vampires aren’t animalistic at all. They’re barely even humanistic. “Quill” comes out of animal terminology too, but it implies feathers, (or porcupines!) and wings. And because they’re angels and have (or had) wings, a feather-vocabulary seemed more appropriate. The fact that writers used quills was kind of a fun bonus, too!

VP: What do you find attractive about the world of the Paranormal?

Skyler White: Its readership! There are simply no more generous, open-minded readers out there. As a writer, if you want to experiment with genre, with form, with language, with worlds or ideas, there really is no other space you can mix and match with so much freedom.

VP: and Falling, Fly is a beautiful title, especially for the image it evokes. How did you come to choose it? And what does it mean to you?

Skyler White: Thanks! It ended up giving me fits, what with the lower case “a” and the comma, but it really did mean a lot to me, so I’m glad we stuck with it. There are a couple of levels to the title for me. The first is the simple idea of commitment. It’s the “you can’t learn to dive in the shallow end” lesson of courage and reward. If you want to fall in love – hell, if you want to write a book – you have to hurl yourself off the parapet not just once, but every day. You have to take risks.

But it’s also a metaphysical thing. When we fall from grace, when we toss ourselves out of heaven, out of safety and supplied answers, only then to we have the possibility of reaching a paradise of our own creation under our own strength. Only once you’ve had your heart broken can you love. It takes experience, good and bad, to grow into our full selves.

VP: and Falling, Fly touches on a few particular, poignant issues, especially as it relates to women: desire (being desired) and love. Do you feel that as women today (esp. in this media driven time), that we have it harder, than say our fore-mothers?

Skyler White: I don’t know. I think it’s hard to be a woman today, but it’s a different kind of hard than it was a hundred years ago, but I’m not sure which is harder. I know I wouldn’t switch places with my foremothers if for no other reason than the child-mortality numbers, but I don’t think we’re living in the golden age of freedom that the revolutionaries in the sixties were hoping to create for us.

VP: Who are some (other) women you may admire, be they authors or not, and why?

Skyler White: What a cool question! I’m going to restrict myself to public women, although I’m lucky to know many really admirable women personally. Marion Zimmmer Bradley: for her (early) sexual and religious boldness and for her (early) fandom. Margaret Atwood: for (later) embracing of genre fiction, her feminism, consummate craftsmanship, and politics. Antonia Fraser: for her scholarship, feminism and marriage. Barbara Kingsolver: for her honesty, skill, diversity, and the way she talks about parenting. Wow. There are so many more before I even branch out from writers, but they were the first four who came to mind.

VP: and Falling, Fly and your other upcoming release In Dreams Begin both feature Ireland. Why Ireland? And could you divulge a bit more about In Dreams Begin?

Skyler White: “Why Ireland” actually has a lot to do with the story of In Dreams Begin. Ireland is where I’m from genetically, but because I was adopted at birth in the late 60’s, that’s about all I know about my biological history. When I wanted a “back home” for Olivia, Ireland seemed resonate on a personal level, appropriate on a story level, and since I’d been in 2005, I’d already done the research!

In Dreams Begin (and the title is the first piece of Yeats’ quote “in dreams begin responsibilities”) is the story of a contemporary graphic artist who falls asleep on her wedding night and wakes up in the body of Maud Gonne, a famously beautiful, six-foot tall, red-headed Irish revolutionary who may have been part faerie. The amateur occultist who channeled Laura into Maud then introduces her to WB Yeats, and the two – Victorian romantic poet and time-shifted, modern cynic – fall rather helplessly in love.

It was a very research-intensive project, but real history was remarkably cooperative. Yeats was heavily involved in the occult, and experimented with all kinds of things including astral projection and a “spiritual marriage” with Maud who, traveling the Irish countryside, was widely referred to as the “lady of the Sidhe,” a kind of faerie famous for the theft of brides.

VP: A just for fun question to finish - With the current “undead” trend in film and TV being ever so popular with True Blood, Twilight, Vampire Diaries etc – seems like the fans want more fangs! What are some vampiric works you’d like to see adapted for the big or small screen? And, if you haven’t already, would you try your hand at penning a script?

Skyler White: I haven’t tried screenwriting. I’d like to, and I’m curious, but I feel like I’d need to learn a lot before I gave it a shot. It’s very different from writing a novel.

I think Julie Kenner’s “Good Ghouls” vampires are ripe for TV or film, though.

VP: Well thank you very much Skyler for stopping by and giving VampirePhile and its readers the opportunity to discover this world of yours. We would like to wish you continued success with the new release. It’s been a pleasure having here and definitely looking forward to more from you in the future.

Skyler White: Thank you so much for inviting me, and for such really difficult, interesting questions.

Skyler White is author of dark fantasy novels ‘and Falling, Fly’ (Berkley, March 2010) and ‘In Dreams Begin’ (Berkley, March 2010). She lives in Austin, TX. Read more about Skyler on her website: http://www.skylerwhite.com

and Falling, Fly is now available at: Amazon.com /  Barnes & Noble /  Borders /  Powell's / IndieBound .

Review of author Skyler White's "and Falling, Fly"

The angel of desire is damned . . .

Olivia is a vampire bored with modernity. Tattooist,
boyfriend, black-metal singer: everyone you don’t love
tastes the same. Since the fall from Eden, she has hungered
for love, but fed only on desire. Dominic O’Shaughnessy is a
neuroscientist plagued by impossible visions.
When his research and her despair collide in Ireland’s L’Otel
Mathillide – a subterranean hell of beauty, demons and
dreams – rationalist and angel unite in a clash of desire and
damnation that threatens to destroy them both.

*

VampirePhile’s review of and Falling, Fly

I had the pleasure of reading Skyler White’s and Falling, Fly on an uninterrupted 10 hour train ride (5 hrs in each direction), and I was very glad I had had that time to delve into her world. And what an intriguing world it was.

Honestly and Falling, Fly is unlike any other vampire based genre novel I have read. A captivating concept of a world in which: “Every vampire is a fallen angel of desire, and we nourish our deathless beauty on what we fleeting inspire in mortals who live, but briefly.” (p.16).

A place where science, mythology and magic meet and create an interesting, thought provoking meld.

Skyler weaves a world that is, at the same time beautiful yet gritty, beginning in the first few chapters in America, then continuing across the Atlantic to Ireland in the hell that is L’Otel Mathillide.

Centering on the two complex protagonists, Olivia (the fallen angel of desire) and Dominic (the self medicating neuroscientist), and each ones quest for understanding, acceptance and freedom.

Dominic seeking to understand himself “mentally”: Is he crazy? Why does he have so many memories of lives previously lived? Can he erase these memories with the skills of science?

Olivia, is seeking to be understood “physically”, and once seen for what she really is (a fallen angel, now vampire) through eyes that are not blinded by her beauty, she can thereby gain her freedom from the trap of unfeeling mortal flesh.

I found that, and Falling, Fly put to question the notion of the superficiality of desire. Are we only considered desirable, if we meet the requirements of what is dictated or expected? And if one does not fit into it, are we thus damned, undesirable and unworthy?

Furthermore the language in which Skyler writes evokes a wonderful sense of lyric and poetry (that was not lost on this fellow poet). Her use of metaphor helps to drive the story along in the minds eye, conjuring images that add to the uniqueness of the novel. For example: “Tonight, I will hunt with Adam’s rage on ruined shoes, and I will feed full-tooth. Desire denied consumes.” (p.22)

As well, personally, I like Skyler’s approach with the points of view in the novel. Using the “I” point of view for the strong female persona of Olivia, yet not over shadowing (and giving equally to) the voice of the male protagonist Dominic.

To quote Julie Kenner (USA Today bestselling author): “Skyler White’s and Falling, Fly puts a unique and intelligent spin on the vampire legend… will have readers turning pages… and thinking about the book long after they’ve reached the end.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Skyler White's and Falling, Fly makes for a provocative and intriguing debut, that takes you on an intellectual ride, that's well worth reading!

*

Be sure to join VampirePhile later on this week, when author Skyler White will be stopping by for an interview.

Of Death & Dying (Corey Haim)... Angels... & Bite Bits!

Of Death and Dying

"Death by Stereo!"

This past Wednesday 10th of March 2010, we vampire fans, and more over Lost Boys lovers were hit with the news of the passing of actor Corey Haim.
Genre bloggers across the bloggersphere expressed sentiment and sorrow at this news. From Marta Acosta on Vampire Wire  to Nicole Hadaway on All things Smart and Scary, who credits the movie's influence on the writing of some of her characters.   
It was a tragic end to one of the better known icons of the 80's.

I'm an almost '80's baby, thus I was only about seven years old when the Lost Boys first came out, and Corey would have been about what, fourteen? I know I must have been still way too young when I finally saw the movie (as I do recall seeing it before I had ever even read Anne Rice or Dracula and I was initiated to those authors between the ages of 11 and 13).
But that's what you get, I guess when you grow up in a cinephile family.

I can't tell you how many times I've watched the Lost Boys. Every time it comes on television I watch it, and mind you, I already own the special edition DVD. I've watched it so many times that I know practically every line of dialogue by heart!

And although Corey was not "my crush" (neither Corey was for that matter... I was always a Jason Patric girl, even though he was waaay older, like 13 yrs older!), I still enjoyed the chemistry between the cast, esp. the two Corey's.

With Corey's passing and given what we have heard about the demons (in the form of drugs) which had possessed him over the years, one can only hope that this former Lost Boy, has now found peace in Angels arms.

*

And Angels

And speaking of Angels, just some three months ago I speculated in a blog post that Angels may be the new Vampires, after reading all the hype surrounding Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush, Hush, and seems perhaps I was on the right "wing" of thought.
There has been a heavenly reign of releases recently (and blog posts to match).

- Over at VampChix there's a post on Dark Angels: the Fallen and the Nephilim , as they celebrate(d) Angel Week.

- Fang-tastic Books has an Angelology Excerpt and Giveaway.

- While the VampBoyz featured Paul Bettany in Legion as their Boy of the week!

- A little before that (a few weeks ago) author Nicole Hadaway wrote a review of Anne Rice's Angel Time, which Anne also mentioned about on her FaceBook page.

- And soon (next week), yours truly will have a review of author Skyler White's provocative new novel of fallen angels, now vampires in, and Falling,Fly. As well as an interview with the author.

*

Bite Bits

 And speaking of vampires (don't you just love a good segue? :). Aforementioned author Nicole Hadaway is having a Giveaway Contest to win season 1 DVD of Blood Ties. The contest runs 'til next Friday 19th and is open to US & CND residents.

Also, a reminder (for all of us North of the American border) Canada's Space Channel still airs /re-airs episodes of Blood Ties, Fridays at 10am and Saturdays at 11am.
As well they (said Space channel) will be premiering season 1 of True Blood this Sunday 14th March @ 10pm.
I already saw and own the S1 DVD, but I'm such a "sucker" for the show (and vamps in general...but ex-nay on the "ilight Tway") that I'll most be watching it all again.

And info to the end - I just learned from self same Canada's Space Channel, that they will be airing The Lost Boys on Sunday 14th.

*

And in memory of dear Corey, here is the music video of G Tom Mac's  Cry Little Sister

Bite Bits: Gabrielle Faust, Tanya Huff, Anne Rice & ... Kyle Schmid?

Gabrielle Faust (who can also be found on Twitter by the same name, re: Gabrielle Faust ), author of the Eternal Vigilance book series, is in the process of adapting a script, with acclaimed indie director Anthony Brownrigg, for the first novel in EV series. And a petition has been started to collect signatures to "show...enthusiasm for this creative project and prove to possible movie studio executives that there is a demand for this film to be made". Here is a link to the petition: Help Make Eternal Vigilance into a movie! 

The goal is to collect 500,000 siggy's by the end of 2010. And I for one, am in hope that they will be able to achieve this goal (hence why I've decided to dedicate a blog post about it).

As an avid, die hard vampire fan(g) girl, I would be lying (to myself and you) if I said that I didn't want to see more vamp fare out there.

I most certainly would. 

But that doesn't mean that just for the sake of making vampire film (or Tv series), it should be: come what may, or anything goes, be it good or bad!

Not at all!

But when something merits being explored, when it has the "chops" (pardon the pun), to potentially become something great (or even greater than it is), then one can only hope it be given the chance to do so.

I mean, when you think of it, there have been some (books-to-film) which have been given the chance to become more than what they are, but have left some of us, (of the more logic mind in my opinion), thinking; "Really? ... but it wasn't all that good!" ( insert obvious Twilight reference here)...

And just in case there is wonder as to what makes me qualified to critique what merits a good or bad piece of literature or film - well I cut my teeth on Dracula and Anne Rice novels at the early age of 12 and 13. Not to mention, at an even earlier age (6? 7?) on some classic films of varying genres, from Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles to silent films, musicals and foreign language...

But I digress!

Faust's EV series continuously garners positive critical appeal, some of which can be read here: http://www.gabriellefaust.com/about-the-book 

So it's with a love for things that go "bite in the night" that I'm hoping and supporting that this book-to-film, gets to see the light of ... a studio set!

And yes, Gabrielle just happens to be a "HUGE" fan of actor Kyle Schmid (the embodiment of vampire Henry Fitzroy from tv's Blood Ties)... But that's beside the point!

*

And speaking of Blood Ties, Tanya Huff, author of the Blood Books, on which Blood Ties is/was based, and from where we got our beloved vampire Henry Fitzroy (as played by Kyle Schmid ) is now on Twitter! Re: http://twitter.com/TanyaHuff 

*

And speaking of authors, the (former?) vampire queen B herself, Mrs. Anne Rice, has, for want of a better term, "taken notice" of actor Kyle Schmid (it all comes back to him in this blogpost doesn't it? LoL!).

Albeit it was mainly to comment on the visually aesthetic appeal of the young actor - as fans posted photos in response to her (Rice's) FaceBook post that day regarding, one Matt Bomer of the tv show White Collar . 

Rice (referring to Bomer) said (and I quote): "I just love Matt Bomer. It's so difficult to determine what makes beauty; poise, voice, demeanor, all this is part of the mystery along with killer blue eyes and gorgeous dark hair, and gorgeous facial bone structure."

To which a fan of hers (and Kyle's I presume) replied: "Hi Anne, that description of Mr. Bomer (re: beauty; poise, voice, demeanor, ... killer blue eyes and gorgeous dark hair, and gorgeous facial bone structure) is also closely reminiscent of another actor (albeit younger than the aforementioned). This is actor Kyle Schmid!"

The pic posted by said fan must have caught the authors eye, for she then took the time to comment on it. You can see her comment here on her FaceBook page!

So who knows, reliable sources tell me (i.e. someone who had emailed her and received a response) that although she had "never heard of Blood Ties", she will "check it out when she can."

So in this world of "never knows", we may just yet hear her comment on more than his "aesthetic appeal", but his damn fine acting chops as well! ;o)

*

And as I'm on the Kyle Schmid trend in this post, I might as well go full circle and add a fan made youtube video here, wherein, Kyle as his character vampire Henry Fitzroy, stars.


This vid (in my opinion) brings to mind a line of dialogue from the Blood Ties epi 5:55, where Henry says to Vicki: "I don't need to make a sexual advance... I am ONE!"

Well, you be the judge! 

Happy V-day! Here are some Vampires for Valentines Vids.

So I scoured the web (youtube) to find a plethora of certain Vampire related vids for Valentines.
Here are a few (several) featuring my top three Vamps du Jour ( or more specifically du Nuit!) : Henry Fitzroy (Kyle Schmid), Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgard) and Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder). Enjoy the double V-day (Vampires and Valentines) Love!

**Note: the order is from bottom up (i.e. last is 1st)**

And of course finishing with the Honarable H himself, Henry Fitzroy:

And of course as they say, when it's nice, do it twice, so here's another Vampire for your Valentines more Honorable Henry:

Oh well what, the hell! When it's this nice, you do it thrice! More Vampire for Valentines, means more naughty, haughty Henry (as portrayed perfectly by Kyle Schmid ) :

Followed by... the E-man, Eric Northman (and the True Blood crew):

Starting with... the D-man, Damon Salvatore:

Sympathy for the D-Man: Damon Salvatore

**Caution, may contain spoilers if you’ve not seen the episodes yet! **

If you tuned in to these episodes of the last two weeks of the Vampire Diaries: Children of the Damned and Fool Me Once (Thurs. Feb. 5^th and Thurs. Feb. 11^th) respectively, then like most (if not all) of us who diligently and dedicatedly watch each week, you would probably have been at the edge of your seat (or close to tears after last night), with all that was going on therein, especially as it relates to Damon. 

In short we could have called these two episodes: The Damon Diaries!

In Children of the Damned, we were taken back, waaay back to a time of corsets and waistcoats (1864). And we were made privy to "from whence he came", that is to say: The innocence of Damon Salvatore, before he went all "Grr Argh" vampire. 

That episode of TVD (as it is often referred to on Twitter ) was a roller coaster ride of revelations from beginning to end (and yet had still left us with cliffhangers) including: more as to why Anna (Jeremy's "cute stalker chick") wants to find the grimoire almost as badly as Damon does, and why Damon told Stefan (back in the pilot episode): "I promised you an eternity of misery, so I'm just keeping my word."

The Damon of "Then" (1864) was devoted and in love with Katerine, even after knowing that she was a vampire. He was so in love that he was willing to have himself turned to be able to stay with her.

Unlike Stefan, Damon was very perceptive of their father Giuseppe Salvatore and protective of Katherine, and he knew that Giuseppe would not understand nor accept the fact of Katherine's true nature, even if they'd all come to love her.

Hence Damon beseeches Stefan, no matter what, not to disclose anything to their father Giuseppe. But as Stefan reveals, he had "put my fate in my father and Damon put his fate in me and I destroyed that."

And so leads to the first act of betrayal on Damon by Stefan.

Then of course in the same epi. (Children of the Damned), we saw the further betrayal of Damon by the “lovely” Elena. After she (albeit afterwards regrettably) told Damon that she was “telling the truth” about Stefan’s loyalty in helping Damon release Katherine. 

The look of hurt that Damon gives Elena on her betrayal could not be hidden. I tell ya, if looks could kill…

Well as if that wasn’t enough, switch to last nights (Thurs. Feb. 11^th) episode: Fool Me Once. Just when you thought that Damon would have his “happy ending”, lo and behold we find out that Katherine, the love (and death) of his immortal life – WAS NEVER IN THE TOMB! 

And furthermore that she has been alive, undead and well all this time, never once coming to seek out, “the love struck idiot” (as Anna called him) that is Damon.

Thus by the end of the episode, Damon is left betrayed and bereft. And you wonder why he has trust issues?

It is with regard to all these harrowing happenings over those two episodes, why I can’t help but feel sympathy for Damon. 

Yes, true I am already a fan of the D-man – reason being from the beginning that I was a sucker for this bad boy – but now added to that, is also the fact that beneath his "cocky much" exterior, we see there is much more to Damon as he is now, in the present day and moreover WHY he came to be the way he is, i.e. “acting” the bastard.

Stefan may be considered by some the better brother to like, but Damon is by far the rebel with a cause, that cause being - “Love”! 

Happy Valentines… Vampire Diaries, Dearies! ♥

**Note: The Vampire Diaries will be on haitus, returning March 25th!**

Love Cures Cancer (or a former Vampires Valentine request)

So this post is mainly in promo of a cause near and dear to the heart of one human who used to play a vampire (and with any hope and luck will one day play a vampire again :o).  

Kyle Schmid ( the embodiment of vampire Henry Fitzoy) and one of the founders of  the Love Cures Cancer charity made this announcement, earlier this week via his official FaceBook page :

Kyle Schmid Ladies and gentlemen the countdown is on. One week until Love Cures Cancer 2. The second annual party to raise money for the Los Angeles Children's Hospital. Please do your best to make a donation or spread the word! February 10th it kicks off at Voyeur in Hollywood!

  More info can be found on the LCC site: Love Cures Cancer.

And here is Kyle's PSA from last year: