Mundie Moms

Thursday, September 23, 2010

The Haunted Blog Tour & Giveaway














We are thrilled to be apart of The Teen Book Scene's Blog Tour for Jessica Verday's The Haunted. Recently we were able to ask Jessica a few questions about The Hollow & The Haunted.

In three words, how would you describe your series?

Dark, Atmospheric, Haunting

What inspired you to become an author, and how long did it take you to write your first novel?

It took me about a year and a half to write THE HOLLOW, and I was inspired to become an author by my lifelong love of reading. One day I just realized that if I loved reading books so much, maybe I should try my hand at writing them!

I really liked that you use The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in your series. Did you find it hard to build your world for The Hollow and The Haunted around the legend itself?

I took a trip to the town of Sleepy Hollow, NY right before I started writing THE HOLLOW. Touring the cemetery and seeing Washington Irving's house really helped cement the visual in my head of how I wanted the series to play out. The town was so beautiful and full of such rich history that it wasn't hard at all to weave modern day Sleepy Hollow with the Sleepy Hollow from Mr. Irving's story.

Which one of your characters has grown the most since you started writing the series and in what way?

I think that would have to be Abbey. I always saw her as a strong character, but in THE HOLLOW she had to learn to cope with the loss of someone important to her. In THE HAUNTED, Abbey gets to display her strength instead of being paralyzed by her grief.

What can we except to happen to Abbey and Caspian in The Haunted?

Hmmm, well I can't give away too much, but I can say that in THE HAUNTED Abbey goes back to Sleepy Hollow to deal with the ghosts of her past.

What author has had the greatest influence on your writing?

My reading tastes are very eclectic (everything from medical fiction to horror to romance to true crime), so I can't really settle on just one author. I like to think that I've been influenced by many.

To find out more about Jessica's series, you can visit her sites here:


You can read my review for The Haunted here http://tinyurl.com/2atrtba

Thank you to The Teen Book Scene for putting the blog tour together!

Thoughtful Thursday-Bloggers Speak Out

Last Sunday sparked huge debates and out cry over an article that Dr Wesley Scroggins wrote. I have to say, Thank you to him, as without his remarks, authors, readers and bloggers wouldn't have united like we have to take a stand not only against book banning, but against crimes that happen to women, children and men. His comment about rape is porn, which he was referring to from Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, is what really got me. You can read my post here http://tinyurl.com/29sy6sk

Natalie at Mindful Musings contacted us and numerous other bloggers to come together for Bloggers Speak Out. She's put together a wonderful post that many of us are using, filled with links to those who are speaking out, hosting giveaways, and are taking a stand.

Thank you to Natalie for putting this together and allowing us to be apart of it. You can find Natalie's post here http://tinyurl.com/29exmno

Bloggers Speak Out is a movement sparked by the recent article, "Filthy Books Demeaning to Republic Education" by Dr. Wesley Scroggins that was published in the Springfield, MO News-Leader on September 18th. In this article, Scroggins vehemently advocates the censorship of books in schools, and specifically requests that the following books be removed from the Republic school system: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler, and Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. To show our support of these authors and to fight against book banning and censorship, we have decided to take action and speak out.


Below is a list of links of bloggers speaking out against book banning and censorship--in the form of giveaways, posts, and reviews. Some are "officially" participating in what we're calling Bloggers Speak Out, and others are posts that we've found around the blogosphere. If you get time, you should definitely check them out!

Giveaways of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

**All giveaways will end on 10/3, unless otherwise noted**


Other Giveaways
**All giveaways will end on 10/3, unless otherwise noted**


Other Posts Against Book Banning and Censorship



Important Articles on the Subject

"Filthy Books Demeaning to Republic Education" (the article that started it all)
"Republic School Book Choices under Fire" (Springfield News-Leader)

Thank you to Natalie at Mindful Musings for putting this amazing blogger post together!!
**Credit goes to Natalie for all the great links and putting this post together.

Zombies VS Unicorns with Holly Black & Justine Larbalestier, TONIGHT in NYC


TONIGHT @ 6 PM--The great Zombies vs. Unicorns debate will be held at Symphony Space in NYC. Holly Black, Justine Larbalestier, Libba Bray, Scott Westerfeld, Maureen Johnson and are just a few of the authors who will all be there to settle the Great Debate once and for all! Which is better, Unicorns OR Zombies!?

If I lived closer, I'd so be there. Thank you to two of my friends who live in NYC, we will have two Mundie Mom reps there and I'm looking forward to hearing all about it. You can find out more information and get tickets for the event here: http://tinyurl.com/2wcf8hw

Here's a little bit about Zombies vs Unicorns:

The editors of the new collection Zombie vs. Unicorns Holly Black(The Spiderwick Chronicles) and Justine Larbalestier(Liar) (pro-unicorn and zombie, respectively), gathered strong arguments for both sides in the form of short stories by an eclectic group of YA novelists. At this event the editors are joined by contributorsMaureen Johnson (13 Little Blue Envelopes), Libba Bray(Going Bovine), Scott Westerfeld (Leviathan), Naomi Novik(Temeraire series), and Alaya Dawn Johnson (Racing the Dark), who will argue for their side. What side are you on? Team Zombie or Team Unicorn? Ages 10 and up.


WHICH TEAM ARE YOU ON?

Are you leaning towards Team Unicorn? I think I am. Team Unicorn's captain is Holly Black and her team consists of:

Meg Cabot, Kathleen Duey, Margo Lanagan,

Garth Nix, Naomi Novik, Diana Peterfreund


If you're leaning toward's Team Zombie , your Captain is Justine Larbalestier and the rest of the your team consists of:

Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Alaya Dawn Johnson,

Maureen Johnson, Carrie Ryan, Scott Westerfeld

You can vote and find out more about Zombies vs Unicorns, Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier at Simon and Schuster's site here:



Thank you Simon and Schuster!

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