Mundie Moms

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Deleted City of Lost Souls Scene


Cassie posted a lovely little *spoiler free for those who have read the TMI series* teaser today on Tumblr & we wanted to make sure you guys had a chance to read it here, incase you missed it here.

Clary shook her head. “There’s more to honesty than … than an arrangement of words. They say faeries can’t lie, but you lie in your intentions, your attitude, your demeanor —”
“And humans do not?” The Queen’s gaze slid across Clary and Simon. “This vampire, this Daylighter you bring everywhere with you — he is the one whose kiss you did not desire, here in my Court, is he not? Do you care for him at all, or is only the Mark of God on him that causes you to bring him with you, like a shield? And you,” she added, turning to Simon, “you who loved her, now you lend your not inconsiderable power to the project of finding the one she loves more? Where is the advantage to you?”
Simon cleared his throat. “Perhaps that is the difference between my kind and yours,” he said. “Sometimes we do things that aren’t to our advantage.”
“Ah,” said the Queen. “Stupidity, you mean.”
“I wouldn’t call it that.” Clary couldn’t help being impressed — the last time they had been here Simon had been too uncomfortable and out of his depth to say more than a few words; now he was holding his ground. “Now, do you want the ___ or not? We have business to attend to.”
“I could take it from you,” said the Queen. “The girl will not be difficult to dispose of, and as for you, Daylighter, those who serve me serve with their lives. A suicide rush could greatly inconvenience you, despite your curse.” She ran her eyes over him lingeringly.
“I am the adopted daughter of Council member Lucian Graymark,” said Clary. “I am close with the Lightwoods of the Insititute. Is it worth earning their wrath and ire just to revenge yourself upon me for tricking you? Besides — I’ve always heard that faeries appreciated cleverness. You wouldn’t want it said that you can’t appreciate a good trick, even at your own expense, would you?”
Clary saw by the narrowing of the Queen’s eyes that she had gambled hard — maybe too hard — on the faerie woman’s pride; but a moment later, the Queen was smiling, and the creatures in the walls shrieked appreciatively. “Tricky like your father,” she said, and Clary felt it like a kick in the stomach. “Very well. What would you like of me in return for the ___? I shall decide if your proposal merits a negotiation.”

Book Review: Crave


Published by: Harlequin Teen
To Be Released on: October 18th, 2011
Source: ARC from publisher to review
5 stars: I Loved It

Savannah Colbert has never known why she's so hated by the kids of the Clann. Nor can she deny her instinct to get close to Clann golden boy Tristan Coleman. Especially when she recovers from a strange illness and the attraction becomes nearly irresistible. It's as if he's a magnet, pulling her gaze, her thoughts, even her dreams. Her family has warned her to have nothing to do with him, or any members of the Clann. But when Tristan is suddenly everywhere she goes, Savannah fears she's destined to fail.

For years, Tristan has been forbidden to even speak to Savannah Colbert. Then Savannah disappears from school for a week and comes back…different, and suddenly he can't stay away. Boys seem intoxicated just from looking at her. His own family becomes stricter than ever. And Tristan has to fight his own urge to protect her, to be near her no matter the consequences…. quoted from Goodreads

An enticing mix of forbidden love, magic, betrayal, and heartache, this romance will leave your craving more. Melissa Darnell's beautifully told love story mixed with a rich vampire and witch mythology creates on of this year's most spellbinding paranormal romances.

Sav is a unique character I liked getting to know. She's feisty, level headed and fun. She also has an inner strength I admired about her. She's someone who at one time she had a lot of friends, and has since become some what of a loner, all because of something that happened during her childhood. One day "the clann" kids, along with her childhood crush were no longer welcome to play with Sav, let alone talk to her anymore, and she's never really understood why. "The Clann" are kids who come from a powerful line of witches, and they not only rule the school, but their parents run the town. They also have a long standing dislike for vampires.

I liked that this story is set in high school, because not only is Sav trying to blend into her surrounding, but she also has to deal with high school drama, the feelings she still has for her childhood crush and taking crap from her one time childhood friends. The entire storyline moved along quickly, but it went even faster once things change drastically for Sav, who develops some weird symptoms that in the process change her, quite a bit. Not only does she learn she has some pretty impressive powers, but she finds out her father is a powerful vampire, her mother is a witch and she's a Dhamphir. A mix of both a vampire and a witch is not only unheard of, it's dangerous, especially since she's a one of a kind. Now both the Clann and the Vampires fear her and want her dead, and her childhood crush wants back into her life.

My favorite aspect of the story is the romance. The love that the feelings Sav and Tristan have for each other started back when they were young kids who used to play together, and it's remained the same even though they've spent years not being able to talk to each other. I love that their romance started years before the story starts and it's one that only grows stronger as Sav and Tristan are now back in each other's lives. I really enjoyed watching how they rekindled their feelings, while at the same time deal with the threat that comes from their forbidden romance. My favorite part of their love story resolves around a tree and a box of valentine hearts, which I won't say any more so I don't give anything away. That whole story in itself had me sigh.

Crave is such a refreshing, intoxicating paranormal read. The mix of paranormal lore and the rich mythology Melissa created to bring her story to life made it hard for me to put this story down. The story line itself is fast paced, engaging, and includes some surprising twists that were both predictable ones I didn't see coming. It's a story with a well written forbidden love story I enjoyed getting lost in and in-depth characters I enjoyed meeting. I'm really looking forward to reading the next book in this series!

The Blogger Behind The Book on GReads



One of my favorite TX bloggers, GReads was so kind to invite me on her blog today for her The Blogger Behind the Book, one of my favorite blog features. Stop by & say HI, find out my favorite Jace moment and what my favorite blogging moment has been so far.

Thank you so much Ginger for having me!!! Visit GReads's site HERE

Author Interview: Anna Dressed in Blood author Kendare Blake

Today I'm thrilled we have Kendare Blake on the blog! Her debut book Anna Dressed in Blood was released August 30th, 2011 by Tor Teen and you can read my review for it here.

Here's a little bit about Anna Dressed In Blood:

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life.



Anna Dressed In Blood is such a fabulous debut. It's a creepy, horrifying ghost story mixed with excitement, murder and romance. What was your favorite element to write into the story?

My favorite thing to write is always the characters and the dynamics between them. Action scenes can really make the fingers fly across the keyboard and horror can raise the hair a bit, but I love writing dialogue maybe the best. And also, thank you for the compliments!

I really liked the way you allowed me to get to know Anna. She starts off as a terrifying ghost, but by the end of the story I really liked her character and I felt sympathetic towards her. What is something you admire the most about Anna?

I admire that fact that she's not completely off her nut. Because that's what I would be, if I was her. There's a real strength to Anna, and not only in her arms. She's very strong willed, strong-minded. I always admire that in people. Even if they're not dead.

I adore Cas and his voice. Did you find it hard to write a book from a guy's point of view?

You know, I didn't. What does that mean? People seem to think I'm pretty butch. And my name isn't crazy feminine, so one or two have actually thought I was a dude. The hardest part to write from inside a male head was probably the mushy parts. Because who knows about that? Personally, I think boys are just as neurotic and obsessive as anyone, at the start. But until we have confirmation, it's a tad difficult.

Which of your characters surprised you the most in terms of how much they changed from when you first started writing Anna Dressed In Blood to finishing the book?

Probably Carmel. The queen bee. I didn't really know what she was when she first showed up, thought she might just hang around until Cas met Anna and disappear, but she's persistent. There's a pragmatism to her I didn't count on, and I like her so much more than I thought I would.

Anna Dressed In Blood has setting that's both beautiful and creepy, but in a good way. What inspired your setting?

Well, I went to Thunder Bay to do location research. It's a beautiful, varied area and I didn't need to do much to it besides set the tone. With Lake Superior, clusters of old Victorians, bleak cemeteries and a number of haunted waterfalls, that town did all the work for me. Thank you, Thunder Bay!

Are you able to give us a little hint about what we can expect in the sequel, Girl of Nightmares?

Weeeelll....I don't know how much I should say. Uh, you can expect to learn more about the athame. You can expect more ghosts, and more magic. And travel. Anna's story isn't quite over yet.

Thank you for being with us today Kendare! We really appreciate it!

Thank you so much for having me at Mundie Moms! Maybe I can stop by again, if you enjoy Girl of Nightmares?

And of course!! We'd love to have you back. We're looking forward to reading Girl of Nightmares!
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Be sure to visit Kendara on her: website| blog| twitter| facebook| goodreads

You can purchase Anna Dressed in Blood from: Amazon| Barnes & Noble

Austin Teen Book Festival 2011 & Giveaway


This past weekend was such a blast! This was my third year to attend and my second year volunteering at the Austin Teen Book Festival! This year was bigger than ever with over 2,000 attendees and over 20 authors. It was even mentioned in Publisher's Weekly!!!


This year's keynote speak was Scott Westerfeld. This was my second time meeting Scott, and can I just say I love listening to him talk. I met him when he and Cassie came to Houston right after City of Glass came out and it was before Leviathan was out. It was cool to see Scott again now that his whole series has been released.

Alternaworlds panel

Here's who came out to Austin:

PEN FATALE features Gabrielle Zevin (All These Things I've Done), Mary Pearson (The Fox Inheritance), Jessica Brody (My Life Undecided), Alyson Noel (Everlasting), moderated by Margo Rabb (Cures for Heartbreak).

ALTERNAWORLDS (fantasy) features Scott Westerfeld (Goliath), Maureen Johnson(Name of the Star), Jonathan Maberry (Dust & Decay), and Brian Yansky (Alien Invasion); moderated by Rosemary Clement-Moore (The Splendor Falls).

REAL LIFE IS MESSY (edgy fiction) features John Corey Whaley (Where Things Come Back),David Levithan (Every You, Every Me), Melissa Walker (Small Town Sinners), Coe Booth(Bronxwood), and Geoff Herbach (Stupid Fast); moderated by Varian Johnson (Saving Maddie).

I HEART LOVE STORIES (realistic/romance fiction) features Simone Elkeles (Perfect Chemistry), Stephanie Perkins (Lola & the Boy Next Door), Jenny Han (We’ll Always Have Summer), Jennifer Zeigler (Sass & Sensibility), and Christina Mandelski (The Sweetest Thing); moderated by Cristina Garcia (Dreams of Significant Girls).

SUPERNATURAL SUSPENSE (fantasy) features Heather Brewer (Vladimir Tod),Jackson Pearce (Sweetly), Tera Lynn Childs (Sweet Venom), Sophie Jordan (Vanish), and Andrea Cremer(Wolfsbane); moderated by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Blessed).

I had the opportunity to help with the I Heart Love Stories
and Real Life is Messy panels

I also had the chance to work over David Levithan's signing. It was a lot of fun seeing so many teens, teachers and librarians who have connected with his books. It was awesome for me so many teens and their parents come to this event. I love seeing how each of the authors connected with their young readers. The only compliant I have is that I never took any pictures (sobs), but I did have a blast!

I loved seeing so many authors come out to this event. I enjoyed getting to spend some time with a few of my favorite authors, Stephanie Perkins, Andrea Cremer, Sophie Jordan, and Tera Lynn Childs, and getting to chat with many of the authors who came out, like Heather Brewer. There's a few authors I FINALLY had the chance to meet like Maureen Johsnon, Jackson Pearce, David Levithan, Simone Elkeles, Christina Mandelski, and Christina Garcia. Even some of our own Austin area authors were there like Tracy Deebs, whom I loved chatting with.

I LOVED seeing so many bloggers there! It was a crazy fun event, and I'm totally bummed I didn't get any pictures with them. I enjoyed meeting some of the local teens who follow Mundie Moms (waves HI), and getting to see Ginger, Jess, Kelsey, Yara, Cari, Missie, and of course working with Jen, Stephanie & Girls in the Stacks again. I know I'm leaving off other bloggers I got to chat with and I'm so sorry!! It was great meeting and seeing everyone.

The whole event was a blast. Even though it was crazy, busy, we did have fun both on the floor and behind the scenes. Here Jackson Peace, myself and Stephanie are getting a good laugh at Cythnia Leitich Smith getting on bended knee to present David Levithan a flower. See, authors do have a sense of humor! lol

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You can see all the pictures via ATBF's here, which is where this picture was found. I'm already looking forward to next year's ATBF! If you have the chance to, I highly recommend coming out to this fun, FREE event. You can see about last year's event here.

GIVEAWAY:
Now, I've got something for one of you lucky followers! A SIGNED paperback copy of Andrea Cremer's NIGHTSHADE! To enter, please fill out the form below. YES this is open internationally! You must be 13 yrs & older to enter. 1 entry per person please.

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