Mundie Moms

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Splintered Blog Tour: Guest Post / GIveaway


I'm excited to be today's stop in the Splintered blog tour hosted by the Mod Podge blog tours. Today's feature is a guest post from author A.G. Howard and a giveaway courtesy of Abrams books.  


Ninth stop: Wonderland’s Secrets
On the ninth day of Splintered, we return to the library for the unveiling of two secrets. We’re ushered into a hidden room where the evolution of Lewis Carroll’s original artwork and Splintered’s cover art are on display. I have to admit, it felt like Christmas to me when I received that first mockup (far right easel):



The title was spelled wrong and the font hard to read, but the picture was stunning. Choosing vivid colors lent a whimsical feel which is important so the reader goes in knowing to expect some strange silliness along with the creepiness. The model is beautiful, but also looks very innocent, like my MC. I loved the fact that her face is partially covered by her hair (speaking of her hair, the model’s is exactly how I pictured it!). I liked Alyssa being front and center, and how subtle details were woven in (the bugs and flowers who talk to her, the snaky vines). The only problem? There needed to be more darkness … shadows and a disturbing mood. This was a bit too angelic / Garden of Eden. So with a few creative details, the artist and designer settled on the final version (middle easel).


With the addition of the key around her neck, and tarnishing her innocent doe-eyed expression to the wild and haggard version (because believe me, she goes through some crazy stuff), the artwork and mood was perfect. Much darker, while still retaining the whimsy. And the vine-like font for the title sealed the deal.


As for the original Wonderland secret? Lewis Carroll (aka Charles Dodgson) actually went through an interesting evolution with the illustrations of his manuscript. In the beginning, it was illustrated by Dodgson himself. He had 37 sketches (which can be found in an 1887 facsimile edition). John Tenniel provided the wood engraved illustrations that are in today’s published version of the book. His illustrations of Alice don’t portray the real Alice Liddell, who had dark hair (see the portrait hanging on the wall). But Carroll’s did, as demonstrated by the sketch on the far left easel. Contrary to the author’s original vision, John Tenniel’s artwork immortalized Alice as a blonde, blue-eyed sprite.


Speaking of sprites, they will be our next visit over at Pages From My Thoughts tomorrow! Sprites have a very unique way of lighting up a Christmas tree; maybe, if you’re lucky, you can capture some of that magic.

About the Book:


Published by: Abrams Books
To Be Released on: 1/1/13
Pre-Order from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own. -quoted from Goodreads

Sounds like a debut you want to read doesn't it? Trust me, you do! You can enter to win your own copy here!!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

32 comments:

  1. Yes I am definitely enjoying the tour :D the book sounds fabulous!

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  2. I am really enjoying the tour. Thanks for the giveaway!

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  3. Oh, this looks good. Thanks for the giveaway. I'll have to check out the other stops.

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  4. Katie, the post seems to be missing the picture that goes with it (artwork on easels). Let me know if you didn't recieve it and I'll resend the image. And thanks for hosting today!

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    1. So sorry Anita! Yes, please re-send the picture. Thank you!

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  5. I still remember the first time I saw the proposed cover. My jaw dislocated from the fall. STILL IN AWE.

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    1. BTW, I'm commenting off of memory here. I didn't see the images in the post up there ^^ :)

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  6. This is the first time I have stopped by, but I love everything i see! I would love to read the book.. it's definitely the type of book that I usually enjoy:) Keep up the great posts, I can't wait to see what comes next!

    babydjs_mom@yahoo.com

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  7. That does sound like a fun read...I'll have to keep an eye out. :)

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  8. I'm excited because it's nice to see Lewis Carroll's stories getting redone. It will be great to see just what Howard has in store for readers. :)

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  9. I am so happy to hear you guys are excited about this book. It is so good!

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  10. I love re-tellings! Can't wait for SPLINTERED! <3

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  11. I love a good retelling and that get's me excitied! I've heard nothing but great things about this book and I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy!

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  12. I love the tour, and the book sounds fantastic!

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  13. I just found the blog tour...but I love the cover! I can't wait to read Splintered=)

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  14. I just found the blog our but it sounds great

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  15. Your my first stop actually but I'll be stopping by the other stops. I love blog tours! Great giveaways, author interviews, more on books, it's great! Thanks for the chance!

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  16. There's a blog tour going on?! Well, ding-dang! I'll definitely be stopping by the others. I'm so excited about this book. I can't wait to read it. Thank you for the giveaway!! =D

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  17. I didn't know that about Lewis Carroll. Yay for learning new things!

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  18. I'm excited because this book has been getting so much positive reviews and I love any retelling of any of the classic fairytales and such. I'm so excited for this book!
    Thanks for the giveaway!
    Cheers!

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  19. I seriously am looking forward to reading this book. I love Alice and wonder land so this new twist is something I cant wait to read.

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  20. I absolutely love the cover of this book and the new twist on Alice in Wonderland! Thanks for being part of the tour!

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  21. I love the cover, so it's nice to hear the thought put into it!

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    1. WAAH technical difficulties! Anyway, what a cool tour! I love how you guys are showing visuals and throwing out insight into the world of Splintered. It's making me super excited for the release ...and I was pretty excited to begin with. I'm a huge Alice in Wonderland fan, and I've heard a lot of awesome-ness about Splintered. Wow, this comment ended up being super long. D:

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  23. So excited for this book! It seems great :D

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  24. Thanks for the giveaway! I'm most excited about Splintered because I love retellings and reinterpretations of older stories/fairy tales in general. I recently read Alice in Wonderland and am curious to see how this book relates to and deviates from the source material.

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  25. Yes! I'm loving the tour and I'm excited to read Splintered because of its intriguing storyline and awesome cover :) Heard lots of good things about it!

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  26. I am loving the tour! I've been dying to read Splintered for a while now because I love Alice in Wonderland retellings

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  27. I am SO excited for this!! I love finding new things out about the book. Cant wait to read it.

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