Mundie Moms

Thursday, August 30, 2012

TMI Movie News: Filming Re-Cap Day 8

TMI Movie Filming continues today with more scenes being filmed at the Hotel Dumort via the Royal Cannaught Hotel. While I've not seen a whole lot of pictures from today's filming surface, TMI fbpage treated TMI fans to this:


The Mortal Instruments movie page posted a picture of Director Harald Zwart (left) and director of photography Geir Andreassen (right) bring the City of Bones to life on set! Check out this picture here:


The page promises fans that more stills from the Mortal Instruments talent and crew to come! I can't wait to see more pictures.

Fortune Magazine Interviews Cassie & Her Dad

Yesterday I read this seriously awesome interview that Fortune Magazine did with Cassie and her dad. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall in the room they were interviewed in, because this is one of my most favorite Cassie interviews to date, and I love that it was done with her and her dad. 



I was really tickled that Fortune wanted to do an interview with me and my father, because though we both write books, he writes books about business strategy and I write books about teenagers whacking demons with swords. My dad cracks me up (as I’m sure you can tell in the photo) as he has a snarky sense of humor. Sadly the end of the interview got cut off, in which Fortune asked me if I was ever worried about writing young adult books because there were already too many.

My dad: Aren’t you ever worried that there are too many magazines?

Me: Oh, Jesus. *drags Dad out of office*



(picture from Fortune Magazine's article)

David A Kaplan had the chance to interview Cassie, along with her successful author and professor father, Richard Rumelt. The interview that was posted yesterday was seriously fabulous! I can only imagine what it's like to be in a room with Cassie and her dad together. 

Here's just a few examples of the Q&A:

Per FM:  Richard, you're a well-known academic and have sold tens of thousands of books. Cassandra, you're a well-known author for a certain segment of the mass market—and have sold even more books. Is there a connection between the two careers?

RUMELT:  It's all genetics [laughter]. I'm very proud of her. She's blossomed fantastically.

CLARE: My father is a big believer in nature over nurture.

******


Per FMWill Richard have a cameo in the movie?

CLARE:  No, but there is an evil dad in the movie.

RUMELT: I'd rather have my own film. I'm actually beginning a project of trying to video CEOs about certain strategy issues.

CLARE:  I have asked specifically that they include my cat.

**********

This is also one of many examples of why I love Cassie. She is so charismatic and real. Check out the entire interview here

Book Review: ORIGIN by Jessica Khoury


Published by: Penguin Teen/Razorbill
To Be Released on: September 4th, 2012
Source: ARC from publisher to review
4 stars: I Liked It
Pre-Order from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Pia has grown up in a secret laboratory hidden deep in the Amazon rain forest. She was raised by a team of scientists who have created her to be the start of a new immortal race. But on the night of her seventeenth birthday, Pia discovers a hole in the electric fence that surrounds her sterile home—and sneaks outside the compound for the first time in her life.


Free in the jungle, Pia meets Eio, a boy from a nearby village. Together, they embark on a race against time to discover the truth about Pia’s origin—a truth with deadly consequences that will change their lives forever.


Origin is a beautifully told, shocking new way to look at an age-old desire: to live forever, no matter the cost. This is a supremely compelling debut novel that blends the awakening romance of Matched with the mystery and jungle conspiracy of Lost. -quoted from Goodreads

With it's original storyline and mix of science fiction, mystery, and fantasy, ORIGIN is debut I think a lot of YA fans will enjoy. Set in the heart of a tiny village in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest, this story introduces readers to wide range of characters/scientist who's controversial work is both secretive and dangerous. At the heart of their project is Pia, a timid teenage girl who's had zero contact with the outside world and was born/created with an extraordinary gift. Despite the fact it was a little slow during parts of the beginning, it quickly turned into a high stakes, fast paced read with a lot of action, danger, and moments of suspense.

The story's incredibly beautiful, yet extremely reclusive setting really set the tone for this book. It's dangerous, secretive and adds that feeling of the unknown to the book. Jessica's vividly detailed writing made it incredibly easy for me to picture the lush, humid Amazon rainforest where Pia lives in her glass room at the compound where she's been raised. Ironically the jungle at first seems more secluded, secretive and dangerous than that of the walled place Pia lives in. As the story progresses further and as Pia starts to uncover the horrible truths about the place she thought was her home, and discover more about herself, the jungle is what starts to offer her safety and a glimpse of what the future can hold. I liked how the story and the mood of the book changes and shifts with setting, and Pia's discoveries. 

Pia for me is a character who I normally would have had a hard time liking. For someone who's immortal, she starts off being incredibly naive, yet at the same time someone who's very book smart. She has zero experience with anything and anyone outside her compound, yet her quest for wanting to know more of what goes on outside the walls that confine her is one of the things that interested me the most about her. It made her more human like in many ways. Her quest for wanting answers gave me a small glimpse into the person Pia grew into. I admired the fact that she didn't always accept no as an answer or the half truths she was sometimes given. 

Eio, the "wild" guy from the jungle on the other hand intrigued me from the moment he was introduced into the story. I really enjoyed getting to read about him, and learning about the ways of him and his people. I loved how strong, fearless, and resourceful he is. His mannerism, his actions and even his thought process fit the profile perfectly of someone who was raised in the jungle. The relationship between Pia and Eio grew in the way I had expected and hoped it would. At first it's timid and unsure, and then grows into something sure and fierce. It's accepting, promising, and real. 

If you enjoy a well written storyline full of twists, secrets, and plenty of danger this one is for you! ORIGIN is a great stand alone read, and one I'd recommend picking up!



Don't miss today's ORIGIN blog tour stop here. You can read an excerpt from the book and read Jessica's thoughts on ORIGIN. 

ORIGIN Blog Tour

I'm thrilled about today's tour stop and to be apart of Penguin Teen's The Breathless Blog Tour for debut author Jessica Khoury's ORIGIN. You can read my review for ORIGIN here. Today I not only have an excerpt for Jessica's book to share with you, but Jessica's has stopped by to share her thoughts about ORIGIN with us!



ORIGIN excerpt:

Now, there is only one thing I want: someone else who knows. Knows what it is to never bleed. Knows what it is to look ahead and see eternity.

Knows what it is to be surrounded by faces that you love, faces that will one day stop breathing and start to decay while your own will remain frozen outside of time.
None of them know. Not Mother, not Uncle Paolo, not any of them. They think they can understand. They think they can empathize or imagine with me. But all they really know is what they can observe, such as how fast I can run or how quickly bruises on my skin can fade. When it comes to the hidden part of me, the inner, untouchable Pia, all they can really know is that I’m different. (Origin, page 7)


Thoughts from Jessica

Whether or not I would want to be immortal is something I’ve thought about quite a bit since writing Origin. It’s a fascinating question and there’s no easy answer. I’d love to live forever just because I want to see how the world will change, for better or worse. I want to know if we ever cure cancer or walk on Mars. But I think immortality would grow stale after a time; I can imagine that even our magnificent planet would soon run out of wonders and I’d grow restless and impatient to move on. There’s a whole other world after this — I wouldn’t want to be held back. So maybe if there was a compromise available, and I could live for three hundred years or so and then move on, I might say yes to that — as long as I could take someone with me. As Pia recognizes in Origin, it can get awfully lonely being the only immortal.

About ORIGIN:

Pia has grown up in a secret laboratory hidden deep in the Amazon rain forest. She was raised by a team of scientists who have created her to be the start of a new immortal race. But on the night of her seventeenth birthday, Pia discovers a hole in the electric fence that surrounds her sterile home—and sneaks outside the compound for the first time in her life.


Free in the jungle, Pia meets Eio, a boy from a nearby village. Together, they embark on a race against time to discover the truth about Pia’s origin—a truth with deadly consequences that will change their lives forever.



Origin is a beautifully told, shocking new way to look at an age-old desire: to live forever, no matter the cost. This is a supremely compelling debut novel that blends the awakening romance of Matched with the mystery and jungle conspiracy of Lost. -quoted from Goodreads




Links:


Breathless Reads: Facebook | Tumblr | Scribd Sampler

Jessica on the Web: Website | Twitter | Facebook





Follow The Tour

Monday 8.27 - The Book Smugglers
Tuesday 8.28 - Pure Imagination
Wednesday 8.29 - Steph Su Reads
Thursday 8.30 - Mundie Moms
Friday 8.31 - Forever YA

Monday 9.3 - Novel Thoughts
Tuesday 9.4 - Page Turners
Wednesday 9.5 - Frenetic Readers
Thursday 9.6 - Bookshelf Banter
Friday 9.7 - The Story Siren

Monday 9.10 - Green Bean Teen Queen
Tuesday 9.11 - The Book Muncher
Wednesday 9.12 - The Book Cellar 
Thursday 9.13 - Book Chic
Friday 9.14 - The Compulsive Reader

Tonight's Author Chat w/ Kiersten White *rescheduled*



I am so excited about tonight's chat with the bleeping awesome KIERSTEN WHITE! This will be a spoilery chat and we'll be discussing everything about her fabulous series. Join us tonight at 8 pm CST! *more details will be posted soon* 





If you haven't already, be sure to pick up Kiersten's Paranormalcy series! You won't regret it!

**UPDATE- You guys I am extremely bummed, that due to my not feeling well we are having to reschedule tonight's chat. I feel horrible about having to do this, and with the over 100 author chats I've hosted I've never had to reschedule a chat due to being sick. THANK YOU to Kiersten for understanding and to you guys for promoting tonight's chat and understanding. I can not wait to chat with Kiersten in the coming weeks!

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