If you were a fan of Degrassi: The Next Generation growing up then you remember Andrea Lewis. She played Hazel Aden the snotty sarcastic popular girl who had a sweet side. Since ending her role in Degrassi, Andrea has taken the world by storm. From releasing her album; 5-4-3-2-1, to starring in the Nickelodeon movie Spectacular! and launching her website ThoseGirlsAreWild.com —this girl has done it all. We also get to hear a little bit about the pilot show she is working on based on her popular website. Through this pilot, Andrea shows us that’s it’s okay to be a fun and silly girl. You don’t have to conform to what society deems as normal behavior for a women. That is something that I think Defective Geeks and Those Girls Are Wild Ladies have in common. Were all just trying to have a good time.

Below I talk with Andrea about being on Degrassi and the plans for ThoseGirlAreWild.com.

We are excited to present to you a guest blog written by author, Piper Maitland, about her main character from ‘Acquainted With the Night.’ – an epic story about immortality and the fate of mankin. There are very frightening vampires and very sexy characters. Read more below to find out what her book is about.

Contest! We are also giving away ONE copy of her book. TO ENTER:  Leave a comment with your e-mail/twitter/facebook or any way we can contact you if you are picked as the winner! Contest ends Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011.

Without further ado, please enjoy Piper Maitland’s blog.

Caro Clifford: the Flawed Heroine

“Well behaved women rarely make history.”
–Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, historian and author

Grey isn’t a color you will ever see in Greek Orthodox art—medieval artists lived and worked in a black-and-white world. But shades of grey are vital when it comes to building a modern fictional heroine. When I began writing Acquainted With the Night, I wanted Caro Grimaldi Clifford to be a fundamentally flawed heroine. She doesn’t always say the right thing, nor does she always act heroically. I knew it would be risky, but I was tired of playing it safe with my characters. As Caro came to life, her personality traits became layered, with room for her character to grow in the second book.

Many of you may know Kristin Kreuk from her role on the hit show Smallville. Since then, she had been on the hit series Chuck, Ben Hur, and starred in Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li. I recently had the pleasure of conducting a phone interview with Kreuk to promote her new movie Irvine Welsh’s Ecstasy.

Kreuk plays the character Heather, an unhappily married young woman who decides to explore the world of raves and then meets and falls in love with Lloyd, played by Adam Sinclair (click here for his interview). In this interview, Kreuk talks about her character, what the story meant for her, and the importance of finding yourself to find happiness.

Just like her co-star, Kristin Kreuk was absolutely charming and a delight to interview. She was sweet, thoughtful, and also has great taste in superheroes! I swear, everybody from this movie is so cool. Read the interview and find out for yourself!

by Lisa Foiles

Look, I know what you’re thinking: “Lisa Foiles isn’t qualified to write a Top 10 list! She’s only good at Top 5 lists, like on her Internet show called ‘Top 5 with Lisa Foiles,’ which was awesome until she canceled it and made all of her fans super cranky!”

Well, I’ll have you know that the number ‘10’ is, mathematically speaking, twice the number ‘5.’ So, in mathematical terms, this list could potentially be TWICE as awesome as one of my normal Top 5 lists. Sure, there’s no silly video and you have no idea if I’m wearing a cute outfit while typing this or not, but I assure you – Comikaze Expo has so many awesome events and special guests to talk about, this list practically writes itself.

photo by Comikaze Expo

Sit back, relax, pour yourself a non-alcoholic beverage if you’ll be driving or are a child, and get ready to purchase wheelbarrow-loads of $12 Comikaze tickets, because this list is the most convincing piece of “journalism” you’ll read all day:

#10. Comic books, comic books, comic books!

Comikaze is ALL about comics: The event will have a DC presence, as well as all of the best indie publishers. We’re talking over 200 vendors! That’s a significantly large 3-digit number! And with Comikaze’s $12 tickets, you’ll have plenty of moneyz leftover for shopping.

There’s been a lot of buzz in the nerd community about Los Angeles’ newest and most kick-ass comic book convention, Comikaze Expo. The woman behind the legend is Regina Carpinelli, a real life Wonder Woman and she has been working non-stop (seriously… non-stop) to make this convention mind-blowing-ly awesome.

I started talking to Regina by chance when they contacted Defective Geeks because they picked up one of our cards from Fortune Cookie’s artist alley table at Anime Expo. Right away she embraced our team and our blog like we were old pals and we met her in person at San Diego Comic Con this year. She has kept us involved with Comikaze ever since and we love her for it. Can I just gush for a moment and say what a funny and energetic lady geek she is?

Comikaze Expo is going to have an epic first year and we think you better be there with us. You bet Team Defective Geeks will be representing. For now, get to know Regina a little better and read our interview with her.

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How did you come up with the name of the convention? What’s the story behind the octopus logo? Do you wish you could have a real, giant octopus as a mascot during the convention?

CARPINELLI: We chose the name “Comikaze” for a few reasons. We feel that there is only ONE “Comic-Con” and it lives in San Diego. A lot of other shows use the name Comic-Con to ride the coattails of San Diego’s success, but they are in no way affiliated. We have a lot of respect for SDCC, but we wanted to create something unique; we are our own brand. The name Comikaze makes perfect sense, since we planned on doing a full on LA Invasion. We pretty much “Kamikaze’d” the geek world – we just came out of the blue!

Our sweet reader Rhona has one swanky friend who has turned her geeky passion into her career! Stephanie Sheh went from being a member of the UCLA anime club to being a successful voice actor and director for many anime series.

Stephanie is best known for providing the American voice for Orihime from Bleach and Hinata from Naruto and she was the co-director for the voicework of Resident Evil 5.  She is also pursuing an on-camera career and plays mini Olivia Munn on G4’s  “Attack of the Show” and was a part of an  ABC pilot with Damon Wayans and Jane Lynch.

But her work doesn’t stop there. She’s got a very philanthropic side as well. She started the not-for-profit group, We Heart Japan, with fellow friends in the anime industry after the devastating March 11th 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Towering at a height of 4’9″, Stephanie is living proof that big things come in small packages. Like dynamite.

How was it like going from being a member of fandom to becoming a strong presence in the American anime industry?

SHEH: It’s  a dream come true, I guess! But at the same time there are certain things that I miss about being a fan. That’s not to say that I’m not a fan; I’m just not the same type of fan. When you’re working in anime and go to your voiceover sessions or writing scripts at the same time and adapting, or reviewing, or directing, you’re watching anime while you’re doing it. The last thing that you think to do when you have free time is to watch some more anime.

Many of us (at least people my age) grew up watching a lot of Nickelodeon and we all remember All That, a live-action comedy sketch show that mimicked Saturday Night Live— except it was for kids! I’ve spent a lot of afternoons watching the show and giggling. Many of the former All That cast members are reuniting for the first time at Comikaze Expo. How fun is it to see all of them all ‘grown up’ as well?

Alisa Reyes, one of All That‘s child star and now currently gorgeous actress with shows like NYPD Blue and Boston Public on her growing resumé, will be at the convention as a guest of honor.

Seriously though, how pretty is she? Not only is she super busy acting on screen, Alisa has also done many voices for animated shows. Plus, she is also writing, singing and producing movies! She certainly have come a long way since her Nickelodeon years. For your chance to see Alisa in person, along with Kel Mitchell, Lisa Folies, Katrina Johnson, Jack DeSena and many more, please join us at Comikaze Expo on November 5th and 6th this year at the Los Angeles Convention Center in downtown Los Angeles.

Alisa was very kind to take the time and answer some questions for Defective Geeks.

How excited are you to have an ‘All That’ reunion at Comikaze Expo? Are you surprised by the amount of fans who have responded postiively to the event?

REYES: It’s truly amazing. The fans from day one is what makes the show what it still is today. All That is currently airing on Teen Nick right now because they petitioned to get it back on the air. The show has been a hit for a decade and being a part of the original cast is an honor. I am not at all surprised by all the love and support because its been like that since the beginning. When you have a generation that loves this type of show, then it’s an uphill journey of nothing but love. That’s why I am so psyched to do this expo.

Ashes, Ashes focuses on survivor, Lucy “Lucky” Holloway, a teenage girl. While an epidemic killed her entire family and most of humanity, Lucy avoided becoming sick and dying from the plague. Then when natural disaster decided to wipe out what was left of human civilization, she still found a way to live.

Despite all the loss she had suffered through Lucy is still very much a teenager, clumsy and insecure. All on her own she found the courage to keep waking up every day with just a single survival guide to tell her how to live. It is lonely and brutal. Lucy thought she would have to keep hiding and scavenging for what little food was left for the rest of her life, however long that may be.

Then one day she met another survivor, a teenage boy named Aidan. Lucy had an aversion to other people and had trouble trusting them. In the end, people need other people and faith pushes Lucy to Aidan’s direction. She joins a community of other survivors where she learns again what it was like to live and work with other people. She also faces her fears, finds deeper courage and new truths begin to unravel. Is there hope for human beings to survive?

Ashes, Ashes is a dark imagining of what could happen to our world and exposes the fragility of human beings. The author, Jo Treggiari  hones in to a world that gave you a feeling of: this could happen. Yes, I do recommend you read the book especially if you like young adult dystopian novels. It is very well written and the touch of suspense will definitely hook you. I love that the female main character is honest. Even though I am way past the age, she felt like a true teenager and someone relatable despite the extreme situation she is in.

I love Jo and I “twitter” with her constantly. I finally asked her to do an interview for the blog and was delighted that she said yes!