Mundie Moms

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Giveaway Winners!!

CONGRATULATIONS to our latest round of Giveaway Winners!!!!

Clockwork Prince limited edition BEA swag:
#311- Nat Cleary
#785- Karen Golding
#132- Rachel Hoyt

Signed Moon Spell & Drip Drop Teardrop Novella Winner is:
#21- Allision Quinn

TLA prize pack
#206- Elizabeth Tankard
#244- Katie Pape

All winners have been notified and have 48 hours to reply or new winners will be drawn. Don't forget to enter our other giveaways we have going on. You can find them in our right hand side bar.

Tempest Rising Blog Tour


We're the next stop in the Teen Book Scene's blog tour for Tempest Rising. If you're looking for a fantastic summer read I highly recommend picking up Tempest Rising. You can read my 5 star review here.

Thank you for being with us today Tracy!! What books do you think Tempest would recommend?

Hi Katie, thanks so much for having me. It’s always fun to talk to another Texan

Tempest isn’t as much of a reader as I am, simply because she doesn’t have the time—between her art, surfing, taking care of her brothers and trying not to turn into a mermaid, she kind of has her hands full. But there are a few books that Tempest loves and a few that she absolutely hates (her chemistry book is number one on this list, lol). So, her recommendations are:
  1. Kook: What Surfing Taught Me about Life, Love and Catching the Perfect Wave by Joseph Heller. A total homage to surfing, this book somehow manages to be both fun and touching.
  1. Saltwater Buddha: A Surfer's Quest to Find Zen on the Sea by Jaimal Yogis This book really sums up Tempest’s feelings about the ocean, her fascination and love of it, but also the fear and repulsion it generates in her as well. The push-pull is one of the things that keeps this book so interesting, and one of the things I worked hard to show in Tempest Rising.
  1. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe, just because it’s such a great book about being who you are no matter what.
  1. Life With Picasso by Francoise Gilot, because Picasso is Tempest’s favorite artist. This book is a fascinating look at who Picasso really was.
  1. Smithsonian Ocean: Our Water, Our World by Deborah Cramer, because Tempest doesn’t go into things blindly. She knows (almost) everything there is to know about the Pacific Ocean.
  1. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, because though Holden Caulfield gets in a lot of trouble, he lives by his own code of honor and Tempest would really respect that.
  1. Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? By Joyce Carol Oates, because both are questions that plague her.
  1. The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson because it is such an incredibly, beautiful YA novel. The prose is gorgeous and the story heart-wrenching.
  1. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver because it too is beautifully written. It’s also a story whose inevitability would completely appeal to Tempest.
How about you? What book do you recommend? Leave a comment for a chance to win some fun Tempest swag and a Victoria’s Secret lipgloss.

Book Review & Interview with Between author Cyndi Tefft

Published by Creatspace/selfpublished
Released on June 1st, 2011
Source- ARC from author to review
4 stars- I really enjoyed it

It just figures that the love of Lindsey Water's life isn't alive at all, but the grim reaper, complete with a dimpled smile and Scottish accent.

After transporting souls to heaven for the last 300 years, Aiden MacRae has all but given up on finding the one whose love will redeem him and allow him entry through the pearly gates.

Torn between her growing attraction to Aiden and heaven's siren song, Lindsey must learn the hard way whether love really can transcend all boundaries.

Between has a little bit of everything. It's a well written debut with a paranormal love story, a dash of history from the 1700's Scotland and unique setting in the world between life and death. I was pleasantly surprised with how quickly I found myself drawn to the story.

After a horrific car accident Lindsey finds herself in a beautiful world caught between life and death, and it's there she's comforted by the handsome Aiden MacRae, who just so happens to be the one who transports souls to heaven. I liked the chemistry these two characters had and I loved getting to know them both a little more from their back stories, which was done by casting. They're able to manipulate the world they're in and take each other back into a part of their previous lives through their memories.

While awaiting to go to Heaven, Lindsey and Aiden are able to spend a lot of time together and quickly get to know one another. I loved getting to know Aiden who died during the 1700's in Scotland. Cyndi did a wonderful job with the research she put into Aiden's mannerisms, the way he talks and acts. It made his character feel authentic. It was a bit humorous when Lindsey introduces Aiden to one of her memories and has to explain was basic technology is. I loved how vivid the settings are described, from the Between, to 1700 Scotland to the present day in the Pacific Northwest. I also really liked Aiden and Lindsey's characters. They have great chemistry, and just as things start to progress with them, Cyndi throws in a big unexpected twist. The only compliant I have is how rushed I felt Aiden and Lindsey's relationship was.

Between is a great story and it's one I enjoyed reading. It has a unique setting, an eternal love, a good romance and my favorite part was the Scottish influences. The story itself has a lot of adult cross over, and I would even consider this more adult than I would YA. Lindsey's voice has an older feel to it and some of the topics discussed like marriage, the well written religious undercurrent, and even some the things that go on between Lindsey's parents give the story it's adult feel. There are some intimate scenes and some sensual context that I think would be more appealing to adult than YA readers. It's a good story and one I would recommend to older teen readers and adults. I'm looking forward to reading it's sequel.

____________________________________________

I'm excited to have Cyndi on the blog today talking about her debut release.

Congratulations on your debut novel! How would you describe Between in three words or less?
Afterlife love story

What or who inspired you to be a writer? What has your writing process been like?
I didn’t actually set out to “be” a writer. I was watching a video interview with Stephenie Meyer where she talked about having a dream and writing it down. She was a normal, stay-at-home mom and I thought if she could do it, maybe I could, too!

At the same time, I was reading the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon and fell in love with Scottish history. I’ve always had a thing for romantic tales, so I decided if I were to write a book, I’d want it to be a good-versus-evil kind of book, but with a Scottish hero. So I began mulling it over from there.

Part of the reason I wrote the book was just to see if I could. I tend to get bored very easily (ooh, something shiny- what’s that??) so no one really thought I’d be able to stick it out to the end. My husband had a deal with me that he’d take me out to dinner for every 25 pages I wrote. After things really got rolling on the story, that deal changed to 50 pages and so on. It was really the characters themselves that kept me interested and helped me get to the end.

I am really intrigued by your mythology. What inspired it?
I was thinking about writing a good-versus-evil story, but the angels and demons scenario had been done before. So I came up with the idea of creating a realm between heaven and earth where people guided you from one plane to the next. The grim reaper is a well-known concept (a role that I call a Transporter), but I made it my own by defining the rules of the space in between, as well as who would become a Transporter.

The freedom to manipulate a world, to create your own rules, is wonderful as a writer. There is certainly no theology to the realm I created—it’s purely fiction—but I had a great time molding the characters and their setting!

Which of your characters has surprised you the most in terms of their character growth?
I knew the growth I had planned for Lindsey so while she does grow over the course of the book, it was no surprise. Lindsey’s dad, however, was someone who caught me off guard. The scene where he breaks down over the divorce with her mom was extremely personal and touching for me. I needed a box of tissues close at hand to get through it. You’ll see more of his growth in the second book as well.

What are 3 writing must haves (three things you need to have when writing)?
Focus, Diet Pepsi and the internet. If there is too much going on (kids are trying to get my attention, husband keeps interrupting to ask a question), I can’t get in the zone. It doesn’t have to be completely quiet (though I prefer it), but I do need to be able to tap into that part of my brain where the characters call home. Diet Pepsi is my drink of choice (either with or without vanilla vodka!) and the internet is essential so I can confirm historical details, word spellings and definitions as I go.

Do you listen to music when you write? If so, what song keeps you motivated?
I listen to classical music when I write, particularly Brian Crain. I’ve heard his album Sienna about 3,872,298 times now (give or take)! Sometimes I listen to Scottish folk music as well. I can’t handle anything with lyrics while I’m writing, since I love to sing and will get easily distracted by singing along!

Thanks so much for having me on the blog. I had a great time!

Thank you for being with us today Cyndi. Be sure to visit Cyndi's site here and follow her on twitter here.

Thoughtful Thursday- The Mortal Instruments Movie

There has been a lot of talk about the casting of Jace the last couple of days and like many of you, I was torn on the casting choice. That's not to say Jamie can't be Jace. I had always pictured someone like Alex P who had what I thought "the Jace" look. Yesterday any doubt I had about Jamie diminished when I read Cassie's interview w/ MTV's Hollywood Crush. I'm quoting the parts of the interview that made any worry I had subside. The bold is Hollywood Crush's questions to Cassie.

Let's get down to the nitty-gritties. Why is Jamie so perfect for Jace?
I have seen his audition tape. They sent it to me because they were so impressed with it, and they wanted to get my feedback. People have been asking me what scene he filmed. The answer is a bunch of different scenes. He did scenes where he had to be funny. He did scenes where he had to be romantic. He did scenes where he had to be angry and badass and he pulled that all off amazingly.

He auditioned with Lily, and he and Lily had incredible chemistry that sort of blazed off the scene. I'm just sitting here watching this on my computer, and you know, he was not the only person they've ever sent me to look at. I've gotten lots of headshots and this and that, and I'm watching the audition and I literally started crying because that was my Jace and Clary on the screen. And it's an incredible feeling to see that even as an audition. This is amazing. He was snarky funny where he needed to be snarky funny, and he was badass where he needed to be badass. And he and Lily were incredible together.

In fact, after all the auditions, because she's done auditions with a bunch of different actors, she wrote to the head of the studio, Clint Culpepper of Screen Gems, and she was like, 'It's Jamie. It's gotta be Jamie.' He told me that, this was before he had seen the audition, he told me that he wrote back and he was like, 'He's a rock star hipster kind of guy. Do you think he can be a badass warrior-dude, as well?' And she wrote back and said, 'That is Jace standing there. When you watch the audition you'll see what I see.'

What does it feel like to finally have Jace cast? It's been such a long process.
First, it's an incredible relief. There have been so many... There is all this stuff that goes on behind the scenes and fans are like, 'Nothing is happening.' And I'm like, 'Lots and lots of stuff is happening.' They're auditioning hundreds of guys and looking at all of these people, and nobody is quite right. It feels like the search for the Fountain of Youth—you're never going to find it. So you can't go forward with the project until Jace is signed off on.

I think another thing that people don't realize is how many people have to sign-off on something like that. There's like seven or eight producers on this movie. I don't even know who they all are. And they all have to sign-off on this. And then it has to go to Sony and the head of the studio, Amy Pascal, and she has to sign-off on Jace. So everyone has to agree that this is the right guy. Getting everyone to agree—imagine trying to get a group of eight randomly selected people to agree on something. I really was starting to think that they were never going to find a guy that everyone agrees on. Then Jamie comes along and does this blow-you-away audition. So they were like, 'Okay, this audition is amazing. We have to bring him back and test with Lily.'

Another thing that impressed me about him was that he asked—I got a message relayed to me through the studio, wanting to know what Jace would wear. He is the only actor who tested for this role who asked this.

Cassie goes on to say that he wore exactly what she told him to. Be sure to read the entire interview here. Sophie has said from the get go that she could see Jamie as Jace where I was a lot more hesitant. After reading this interview has made any reservations I had about Jamie playing Jace desolve. If Cassie says he's Jace, than he's Jace. To me, at the end of the day if she's happy with who they cast than I'm happy and I'm not worried about it anymore.

_______________________________________________

Yesterday we along with Alyssa at The Mortal Instruments Source and Natalie with the TMI Examiner had the chance to weigh in the casting of Jace with MTV's Hollywood Crush, seen here. We were asked what our followers were saying and what our thoughts where on the casting choice.

Now that Jamie has been cast and you've read Cassie's thoughts, are you still hesitant? Do you feel better knowing that Cassie says he's Jace? We can't wait to hear more casting news and we're looking forward to the progression of the movie being made.

STARCROSSED by Josephine Angelini

On behalf of Harper Collins, we are pleased to announce that Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini is now available!

The book is part of the summer series, THE DARK DAYS OF SUPERNATURAL, which includes seven new books full of paranormal thrillers, supernatural romance and otherworldly adventures!

Be on the lookout for more of The Dark Days of Supernatural titles - coming soon. Don't forget to check out Illusions by Aprilynne Pike, Divergent by Veronica Roth, and Die For Me by Amy Plum, Vampire Kisses 8: Cryptic Cravings by Ellen Schreiber and Something Deadly This Way Comes by Kim Harrison- available now in stores.

Don't forget to check out the official Dark Days App. Download it now here


STARCROSSED
Author: Josephine Angelini

Synopsis: How do you defy destiny?

Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.

As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart.


----------------------------
----------------------------
Be sure to visit Harper Teen at the following places:

Website, Facebook, Twitter, get the Dark Days App, and visit their Event Page
----------------------------
Tour Schedule:

Naperville, IL

Tuesday, June 7th, 7:00 PM
Authors: Veronica Roth, Aprilynne Pike, Ellen Schreiber, Tara Hudson, and Amy Plum
Anderson’s, 123 W Jefferson Ave

Portland, Oregon

Wednesday, June 8th, 7:00 PM
Authors: Veronica Roth, Aprilynne Pike, Ellen Schreiber, Tara Hudson, and Amy Plum
Barnes & Noble, 12000 SE 82nd Ave,

Austin, TX
Thursday, June 9th, 7:00 PM
Authors: Veronica Roth, Aprilynne Pike, Ellen Schreiber, Tara Hudson, and Amy Plum
Book People, 603 North Lamar Boulevard

Tempe, AZ

Friday, June 10th, 7:00 PM
Authors: Veronica Roth, Aprilynne Pike, Ellen Schreiber, and Josephine Angelini
Changing Hands, 6428 S McClintock Drive

Lansing, MI

Saturday, June 11th, 4:00 PM
Authors: Veronica Roth, Aprilynne Pike, Ellen Schreiber, and Josephine Angelini
Schuler Books & Music, 2820 Towne Centre Blvd

You can read my 4 star review here.

Labels