Mundie Moms

Monday, May 31, 2010

Mundie Moms Author Chat with Holly Black AND Sarah Rees Brennan TONIGHT @ 9 pm EDT


*Our chat will start at 8 pm CST/ 9 pm EST. To join, hit join and enter a screen name.

*Please know that we will be discussing White Cat by Holly Black AND Demon's Covenant by Sarah Rees Brennan, which were both released earlier this month.

*We do our best to make sure all comments are published, so that Holly and Sarah can answer your questions. With the high volume of guests expected tonight, not all the questions may be answered in the hour time frame of the chat. If that is the case, we will be sure to send them to Holly and Sarah so that she can answer them, after which we will post them on the blog and our forum.

*In respect to to both author's time, we will only publish comments that pertain to their current writings, and book.

*We will not post any personal questions or comments.

* Any rude, disrespectful, or spam like comments will not be published.

*Thank you and we look forward to chatting with everyone tonight!


**No part of this chat is allowed to be used with out our permission**

Mundane Monday #35

Today we are doing something a little different. In observance of Memorial Day, we want to take a moment and say Thank You to those brave men and women who serve our country and to their families. We also want to take a moment and remember those who have given their lives for our country and for the Freedoms we enjoy.


Sunday, May 30, 2010

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by The Story Siren and was inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie! It's a list of books we've received this past week for review, borrowed from friends or the library, received as a gift and/or bought.

This week was full of surprises! I can't wait to talk about these wonderful reads.

From Publishers/Authors For Review:
* Grace by Elizabeth Scott, published by Dutton Books (from Elizabeth Scott)
* Nightshade by Andrea Cremer, published by Penguin (signed, from a secret friend)
* Selling Hope by Kristin Tubb, published by Feiwel and Friends (from the publisher)
* The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller, published by Razor Bill (from the publisher)

Bought:
* The Demon's Covenant by Sarah Rees Brennan (UK edition)
* Eclipse (movie tie in, don't judge me lol) by Stephenie Meyer

Won/Gifted:
*Angel Star by Jennifer Murgia (signed and came with a beautiful Angel Star necklace and books marks, from Jennifer Murgia)
* The Rise of Renegade X by Chelsea Campbell (signed and won from CJ Redwine's blog)
* A lovely post card from Volterra, Italy that a friend (Stacey from Page Turners) sent when she was over there. I had to add that to this week's post.

Thank you to Razor Bill, Penguin, Feiwel and Friends, Elizabeth Scott, our secret friend, Jennifer Murgia, CJ Redwine, Chelsea Campbell and Stacey for the wonderful reads this week!

What goodies did you receive this week?

Book Review- The Sons of Liberty (Graphic Novel)

By Alexander Lagos and Joseph Lagos
Illustrated by Steven Walker and Oren Kramek
Published by Random House Teens
Released on May 25th, 2010
Source- Random House
3 stars - It was a good read

Forget everything you though you knew about America's early days-history packs a punch in this full color, two fisted, edge-of0your-seat adventure!

Graham and Brody are runaway slaves blessed with extraordinary powers. At first they keep a low profile. But their mentor has another idea, one that involves the African martial art dambe..and masks.

Visual and visceral, this is a tale that could only be told as a graphic novel. With it's vile villains, electrifying action, and riveting suspense, The Sons Of Liberty casts new light on the faces and events of pre-Revelultion America, from Ben Franklin to the French and Indian War. American history has rarely been this compelling-and it's never looked this good. (taken from the cover)

What do you get when you mix beloved American history, with character's who have paranormal powers? You get a dark, edgy, riveting, action packed graphic novel.

The story follows two young male slaves who are on the run. When someone tries an experiment on them, they are left with little memory and super human powers. The novel opens with some scenes from 1777, and as we journey through the novel, we will see life as it was in 1760, the start of the boy's story.

Shady deals, the fight to free slaves, Benjamin Franklin's journey for a better America, life as a slave and the war with England are just a few topics found within this novel. I think The Sons of Liberty will be quickly swept up by those who not only love graphic novels, but those who like history books with a twist. Marvel comic fans will love the illustrations, as they're done by Marvel comic veterans. This is a graphic novel I'd recommend for those 14 years and older.

You can find out more information about The Sons Of Liberty here http://www.thesonsoflibertybook.com/

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Selling of ARCs

The other day, right after BEA, we read that people were selling their ARCs on ebay. It's not only frustrating to hear that, but it's illegal. To help do our part, we quickly tweeted a reminder to book lovers that it is ILLEGAL for anyone to sell ARCs. Not only is this a slap in the face to the authors, but also the publishers.

This is why it's frustrating to see ARCs for sale. Publishers spend a lot of time and money on ARCs. To those who don't know, ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies) are books sent out by publishers and sometimes on occasion by the author themselves, to readers who help promote book releases. Receiving an ARC is a privilege, not a right. Not all bloggers receive ARCs, but when you do, it's exciting to read and share your review about a book that will soon be published. Reading reviews posted by those who have read the ARCs gets other readers excited for the book's upcoming release.

It's a privilege to receive an ARC, and when you get the ARC, it's for free. Those who turn around and sell ARCs are abusing their right to share something they received as a gift. It states right on the ARC, "Advanced Reader's Edition (or Copy) NOT FOR SALE". I know that if I wasn't involved with book reviews, I would have no idea that ARC's weren't allowed to be sold. I would have thought they are an early edition of the published book.

What can you do with an ARC if you don't want to keep it? ARCs are great to send on ARC tours, donate to your local library, school libraries, shelters and even giving them away to your blog or website followers.

Our hope is to shed some light on the issue. This is something that effects not only the publishers, but our favorite authors, whom we all love to support, and who have spent countless hours working on their books. We can all help support this cause just by spreading the word on our blogs, our websites, on twitter, on facebook, and where ever you'd like, that it's ILLEGAL to sell ARCs.

Our friends/affiliates at Behind Yellow Eyes have a great post about the selling of ARCs here-

Please let us know if you have an questions. We'd love to hear what your thoughts are.

Freebie Friday

We are a little late on posting this, but better late than never. Today's Freebie Friday is for a *SIGNED* Rick Riordan pb of Percy Jackson and a fun Percy Jackson necklace from Dee Designs (http://www.etsy.com/shop/jd1360)
to go with it.

We had the chance to meet Rick a couple weeks back when he stopped in Austin to sign books for The Red Pyramid and we have to say, he's a very nice guy and we enjoyed meeting him.

To enter, please fill out the form below. Good luck to everyone!




Thursday, May 27, 2010

Thoughtful Thursday- Book Donations

Reading is a passion of our's and in helping spread the word about reading, maybe we all can make a difference in someone's life by giving them the gift of a good book. Today's Thoughtful Thursday is book donations. There are so many places in need of books, from shelters, to libraries, hospitals, nursing homes etc. We wanted to name a few organizations who are going out of their way to make a difference in someone's life by donating books.

Books For America- Did you know that "61 percent of low-income families have no books at all in their homes for their children. I was totally shocked when I read this. Books for America is trying to change this." Their mission is- "Building and improving libraries in Washington, DC area schools, shelters, prisons and more; supporting reading programs; and providing children in the Nation's Capital with their first take-home books!" (taken from their site http://www.booksforamerica.org/)


Books For Soldiers- "Regardless of why the military is deployed, the men and women of our armed services are there for us. They deserve our support and if we can make their deployment easier, then all the better." (taking from their site http://www.booksforsoldiers.com/) What better way to show our support to those deployed over seas, fighting for the freedoms we enjoy, who may be restricted to their bases, than sending them books.

Books For Africa- "Books For Africa. A simple name for an organization with a simple mission. We collect, sort, ship, and distribute books to children in Africa. Our goal: to end the book famine in Africa." (taking from their site here http://www.booksforafrica.org/)

There are many more organizations who help promote literacy, not just in the US, but world wide. There are many local places in every town where book donations can be made. Since we can't possibly list all those wonderful organizations, we highly recommend looking into your local organizations who are in need of books.

If you have a favorite place you donate books to, please feel free to share the link
with us.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Waiting On Wednesday-Torment

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights an upcoming book release we're looking forward to.

By Lauren Kate
Published by Delacorte Books for Young Readers (a division of Random House)
To Be Released on September 28th, 2010

How many lives do you need to live before you find someone worth dying for? In the aftermath of what happened at Sword & Cross, Luce has been hidden away by her cursed angelic boyfriend, Daniel, in a new school filled with Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans. Daniel promises she will be safe here, protected from those who would kill her. At the school Luce discovers what the Shadows that have followed her all her life mean - and how to manipulate them to see into her other lives. Yet the more Luce learns about herself, the more she realizes that the past is her only key to unlocking her future...and that Daniel hasn't told her everything. What if his version of the past isn't actually the way things happened...what if Luce was really meant to be with someone else?

I have patiently been waiting for Fallen's sequel since last fall. With the sneak peak that Lauren posted last week that you can find here (http://tinyurl.com/26t4vs4), September can't come fast enough. The cover is breathtaking, the story is captivating, this is one book we can't wait to read.

What's your W.O.W.?

Freebie Friday Winner!

Thank you to everyone who entered our Freebie Friday giveaway for a pb of Melissa's Fragile Eternity and a signed book mark by Saundra Mitchell. Our WINNER is Chloe Palka! CONGRATULATIONS! We have sent you an email and we'll be sending your goodies out to you shortly.

Don't forget we two more giveaways going on right now for Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson, and signed goodies from James Dashner and Brandon Mull.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Cassandra Clare News!!!

Cassie sent out some EXCITING news tonight!!

I'll be signing paperback copies of City of Glass and discussing the teaser chapters of Clockwork Angel and City of Fallen Angels!

Wednesday August 04, 2010 7:00 PM
Barnes and Noble
Union Square
33 East 17th Street, New York, NY 10003,
212-253-0810

Be sure you mark your calendars now, as you don't want to miss this event!!

*Click on the City of Glass sentence to be taking to the COFA excerpt*

Torment by Lauren Kate *sneak peak*

I have no idea how we missed this! Lauren Kate posted last week a sneak peak from her up coming release, Torment. Torment is the sequel to Fallen which was released last fall. You can read the awesome, will leave you wanting more, must read sneak peak here http://laurenkatebooks.net/category/blog

Exciting Crescendo News!


In case you missed it, our affiliates, FallenArchAngel have posted some EXCITING news! You can now READ the prologue and 1st chapter of Crescendo here http://bit.ly/KQ8uT

Crescendo will be available October 19th and Hush, Hush will be released in paperback September 21st!

Be sure to go and read the first chapter!!! It's amazing!

Book Review-Everlasting

By Angie Frazier
Published by Scholastic
To Be Released on June 1st, 2010
Source- Scholastic
4 stars-I really liked this book. Go pick it up.

Sailing aboard her father’s trade ship is all seventeen-
year-old Camille Rowen has ever wanted. But as a girl of society in 1855 San Francisco, her future is set: marry a man she doesn’t love, or condemn herself and her father to poverty.

On her final voyage before the wedding, the stormy arms of the Tasman Sea claim her father, and a terrible family secret is revealed. A secret intertwined with a fabled map, the mother Camille has long believed dead, and an ancient stone that wields a dangerous - and alluring - magic.

The only person Camille can depend on is Oscar, a handsome young sailor whom she is undeniably drawn to. Torn between trusting her instincts and keeping her promises to her father, Camille embarks on a perilous quest into the Australian wilderness to find the enchanted stone. As she and Oscar elude murderous bushrangers and unravel Camille’s father’s lies, they come closer to making the ultimate decision of who - and what - matters most.

Set in 1855, Everlasting is a wonderful historical fiction, with a sweet love story at the heart of it. Filled with an adventure that starts in San Francisco, continues on the high seas and ends in Australia, Everlasting has the perfect blends of romance, beautiful historical settings and a wonderful mythology that will leave you wanting more.

I really liked our main character, 17 year old Camille. She's grown up sailing on her father's ship and is preparing to go on her last sailing with her father. As Camille is looking forward to this last trip with her father, she's also contemplating her engagement to Randall Jackson. While she loves him, she's not in love with him. That fire she wants to feel when she's with him isn't there, but it's there with Oscar. Oscar has been apart of her father's crew for the past couple years. There's an undeniable connection between Camille and Oscar, but by society standards, they'll never be together. Camille is torn between honoring her father's wishes, which is honoring her family's name, and following her own path, which is following her heart.

After tragedy strikes their ship at sea, Camille is left with trying to make sense of the secrets her father kept from her and soon finds her self on an adventure of a life time. With Oscar by her side, she sets off to find what her father was coming to Australia for. Their adventure is full of danger and with the help of Ira, their loyal and hilarious side kick they meet in Australia, they may be able to find what they're looking for before it's too late. Camille seems to have an ancient curse on her that keeps getting them in trouble and in near death circumstances. Is it really a curse, or a warning of horrible things to come?

With a majority of the book set in Australia, I really enjoyed reading about their adventures in the outback, on the sea, and in the port side towns. Angie did a brilliant job at wrapping me up in her story of love, life and adventure in 1855. The characters are real, the love story believable and the adventure we go on with them is engaging. This visual story has no shortage of all the elements I enjoy in a good book. The ending was great and I really hope there will be more books to follow.

Be sure to join us June 1st when we chat with Angie about her book. Be sure to pick up your copy of Everlasting one week from TODAY!! You can learn more about Angie and Everlasting on her site here-http://www.angiefrazier.com/

Happy Release Day To:

























Kristina McBride's The Tension of Opposites

Lisa Mantchev's Perchance To Dream

Sherrilyn Kenyon's Infinity, the Chronicles of Nick

*Join us on June 8th when we'll be chatting with Lisa Mantchev and be sure to visit her site for some amazing release day celebrations! http://lisamantchev.livejournal.com/

Twitter Tuesday - Becca Fitzpatrick and FallenArchangel.com


When I saw this tweet it made me think -- hmm, what fun news do our affiliates at FallenArchangel.com have in store? Be sure to hop over to their site at NOON EST and see what they and Becca Fitzpatrick are doing.

And I know what you're thinking, does it involve Patch? Be sure to click over and find out!



Monday, May 24, 2010

Kiersten White's Paranormalcy Giveaway!

Kiersten is hosting a give away on her site for an ARC of her soon to be released book, Paranormalcy. We are dying to read this and are looking forward to it's release. To enter to win, please visit her site here - http://kierstenwrites.blogspot.com/2010/05/hey-look-contest.html

Mundane Monday #34

Happy Mundane Monday!

"Well, I'm not kissing the mundane," said Jace. "I'd rather stay down here and rot."
"Forever?" said Simon. "Forever's an awfully long time."
Jace raised his eyebrows. "I knew it," he said. "You want to kiss me, don't you?"
- Jace & Simon, City of Ashes, pg. 171


The Turning by Helen Ellis Blog Tour

We're excited to have an interview with author Helen Ellis, author of The Turning: What Curiosity Kills, published by Source Books, on our blog today.

Plucked from foster care, May Richards hit the jackpot with a loving family, an apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and as pot in the elite Purser-Lilley Academy. But she might lose it all if people find out about The Turning.

Something not human is inside Mary. Her mind is reeling and her body is rebelling. She succumbs to urges and desires she never imagined. And then there's the bizarre physical transformation....

Struggling with her metamorphosis, May is sought out by two boys who share her secret. Will she reject the destiny they swear is hers? Or will she find out what curiosity kills?

You only get one chance to decide if you'll never turn again....

What inspired you to write, The Turning?


I dreamed that I woke up with an inhuman face. Looking in my medicine cabinet mirror at 3:00AM, I could see in the dark. And what I saw was that I was in need of some serious electrolysis.


Which character did you enjoy writing the most and why?


I loved Yoon, the older bad boy who in turning terms is “on the fence.”

He loves to turn because it offers him freedom from his litany of chores at his parents’ Upper East Side deli. The downside is side effects. There’s a reason why Yoon always wears yellow dishwashing gloves.


If we were to ask Nick to describe The Turning in three words, how would he describe it?

Great question!

Answer: Invasive. Crippling. Hot.


I liked that you were diverse with the characters and that you gave Mary and her sister a lovely home after years of being in the foster care system. Are their characters inspired by people in your life?


Honestly, their characters and home life are inspired by my husband and my interest in adoption. We have talked about it for years and always thought we would adopt older children. When I created a family for Mary and Octavia, I created an extension of the family my husband and I already have. Mr. and Mrs. Richards are close versions of us. The apartment they live in is ours. I took our very true scenario, added Mary and Octavia, and then made believe.


Do you have any writing advice you could share with our followers who are aspiring writers?


Don’t waste your writing time researching. Write. Rewrite.


What inspired you to be a writer?


I’m at the point in my life, where I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be a writer. I think the desire was born in me—a trait like blue eyes and an inexplicable fear of whales.


Who are some of your favorite authors?


Today, I’ll give you two: Ann Napolitano, author of Within Arms Reach and A Thousand Eyes (2011), and Hannah Tinti, author of Animal Crackers and The Good Thief. I met these novelists in graduate school and they have been my writing workshop for nearly fifteen years. Their writing makes me write better. Their friendship makes me a better writer.


Thank you Helen for taking the time to answer our questions!

You can find out more about Helen by visiting her site here-helenelliswrites.com and following her on Twitter here twitter.com/theturningbooks.

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