Mundie Moms

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

TMI Movie News from CASSIE!


Fans, as you may know Cassie meet with TMI movie directors and producers today! I know, we're so excited by this news. On her way to the airport to fly out from LA, Cassie had this to say,

movie news dutifully delivered!

So I can’t post much; I’m running off the airport, literally, to catch a plane home.

I had a great meeting last night with Robert (of Constantin — the people who own the movie rights to City of Bones) and Jessica (screenwriter, along with Marlene King) and the director, who had such incredibly detailed questions about the film that I found myself having to pull out my iPad and reread City of Bones because even I couldn’t remember what happened. But he did, which is an excellent sign!

Anyway, it was a great meeting — we went on for hours till they kicked us out of the restaurant and everyone was incredibly enthusiastic. Now here is an actual piece of actual news: I know people have been fretting because Lily has so many projects (she’s a popular girl) so I checked in and she is locked down schedule-wise for an August 15 shooting start date for City of Bones.

Yes, that’s an August shooting start date. So there, an actual piece of news. :) They’re hiring a casting director now to start on the rest of the cast, and Lily has what’s called “meaningful consultation” on the roles of Jace and Simon (meaning she gets to put in her two cents, which only seems fair since she has to kiss them both) — we know she already threw in for Jamie but I will say that she definitely likes someone for Simon that a lot of you all like. Who knows, maybe she can talk him into it. Girl with good taste, our Lily.

And that’s all for now, I run to the airport, but I’ll have a bit more for you later — like the director’s name. ;)


EXCITING news isn't it!?! I can't wait to hear more and see this movie on the big screen! You can read Cassie's post about this here.

Book Review: The Savage Grace by Bree Despain *spoiler free review*

Published by: Egmont USA
Released on: March 13th, 2012
4.5 stars: I Really Enjoyed It!
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Series: Book #3 in The Dark Divine Series

A troubled soul. An impossible choice. A final battle.

Wrestling with the werewolf curse pulsing deep inside of her, Grace Divine was finally able to find her brother, but it nearly cost her everything. With her boyfriend, Daniel, stuck in wolf form and Sirhan's death approaching, time is running out for Grace to stop Caleb Kalbi and his gang of demons. If she fails, her family and hometown will perish. Everything rests on Grace's shoulders.

The final installment in The Dark Divine trilogy brings Daniel and Grace's love story to a breathtaking conclusion -quoted from Goodreads


Wow! What a conclusion to a great series. The Savage Grace is packed full of action, a lot of emotion, and the stakes are much higher for each of the characters in this book. With the dramatic ending of The Lost Saint, this book picks up right after that one left off. Daniel is still in wolf form, Grace is dealing with a lot of self-doubt, looking for a way to fix Daniel, help her family and the "lost boys" who left Caleb's pack and have now joined Daniel's. Though the first part of the book was a little tough for me to get through, because of all that Grace is dealing with and trying to find, the second part is jam packed with action, twists and a shocking betrayal. I loved the direction this story takes, the newer characters and their roles in this story, and the excitement from all that happens within this book.

Bree did a fabulous job with how she wrapped everything up. She answered questions I had from The Dark Divine and The Lost Saint, and still left a few questions unanswered which was extremely fitting given how this story ends. I loved the way the characters grew in this story, and though Grace becomes a strong character I had hoped she would be, Daniel and Jude are the two characters who surprised me the most with their transformations. Even a few of the secondary characters surprised me, like Slade. I am of course biased and I adore the character named after me, Katie Summers and the predicament she finds herself in. I loved getting to know the secondary characters more and the bigger roles they each played in The Savage Grace. Bree introduced them in The Lost Saint, but this time around it was nice to actually get to know them and see them in action. Believe me, some of these guys are hard not to fall in love with.

Being a wolf girl fan, I loved that Bree made her werewolves relatable. They're all flawed and trying to deal with the card they've each been dwelt. Being able to see how each character has had to learn to deal with their inner wolf vs their human side and learn when it was okay/acceptable to give to their true wolf side and when it wasn't, made them that much more realistic for me. Bree also provided some heartbreaking back stories for a few the "lost boys" that made it that much easier for me to sympathize with them, and understand all they had to give up from their human life and what drove them to be who they are now. That also it easier for me to accept them as followers of Daniel, vs the killers they were made to be in The Lost Saint. I loved the natural wolf hierarchy that is present in this story as well.

One of the things I really liked about this book is the action! There's choices certain characters have made through out the series that catch up to them in this book which lead to some deadly consequences for them. At the same time, this also allows for a couple of the characters to really shine and step into roles they might not have done other wise. I know I'm being a bit vague on that, but I don't want to giveaway any spoilers. I will say, I love the direction this story went in and how things ended. Huge kudos to Bree for not being afraid to kill off some of her characters, and believe me there's one that really shocked me. I respect an author who doesn't wrap up everything all nice and neatly at the end of a series. With all action and the big fight that takes place near the end of the story, there needed to be some casualties. This made all that happens feel realistic for Grace and Daniel's story.

There's also plenty of romance in this book and some fabulous kissy scenes between some of the characters. I loved that while the romance is apart of the story, it's not the driving force behind it. Love is really driving the force behind all that happens in this story. The Savage Grace is a fantastic conclusion to this exciting series and to Grace's story. It had everything I was hoping for and then some. I think fans of this series will be surprised at some of the twists Bree throws and will be satisfied with how it ends. Again, I'm trying to choose my words carefully so I don't give anything away. I recommend picking this book up today!

Don't miss my interview with Bree talking about The Savage Grace.

Interview with The Savage Grace author, Bree Despain

In celebration of The Savage Grace's release day today, I'm thrilled to have author Bree Despain on the blog today. I can't believe this series is coming to an end. *sniff, sniff* This series is one that's been dear to me, because I was one of the few bloggers who was able to be a part of Bree's street team for the launch of The Dark Divine. That was my first experience after starting this blog with being able to really help promote a book and series before it was even out. Through that, I won a contest Bree held and got a character named after me in The Lost Saint, and she's also in The Savage Grace, and that character is Katie Summers. Thank you Bree for being here today!


Hi Bree! Thank you for joining us today and congratulations on today's release of The Savage Grace! Over the course of the series, which character has changed the most for you? How have they changed?

I think Daniel changes the most--especially in THE SAVAGE GRACE. However, I can't really say how without it being pretty spoilery. I can tell you that one of my BFFs called me up after reading an advanced copy of TSG and said something like, "I'm just blown away by what you did with Daniel in this book!"

I approached every character in this series as someone with a different potential to live up to. Some of them reach that potential, some surpass it, and others fail. (Some of them horribly so.) But I'm not going to tell you which characters do which . . .

What's something you've come to admire about both Grace and Daniel?

Something I wanted to explore in Grace and Daniel's relationship is the idea of what it means to be a couple. I think they traverse the rocky waters of relationships and test out different ways of being a couple throughout the series. Sometimes (like in THE LOST SAINT) they are determined to be so independent as individuals that it harms their relationship (and puts them in mortal danger). But towards the end of the second book, and this is explored a lot more in third book, I think they come to learn that the best couples are interdependent. (Which is NOT the same as being co-dependent!) An interdependent couple is made up of two independent individuals who learn to function as equal partners, depend on each other when needed, and bolster each other up. I think they learn how to function as a really great team--and I admire them for that.

Grace for me is a character who's gotten a lot stronger as the series continues, and I've really admired her determination to do what she feels is right despite what those around think. Do you see any of yourself in her character?

I see a lot of myself in Grace. Many of the things she struggles with are the same things I struggled with as a teenager--and in my adult author life, too. Grace is always grappling with living up to expectations, balancing family with other outside duties, and she struggles with the idea of not being able to accomplish what she needs to do quickly or efficiently enough. These are the same things I struggle with as an author, mother, wife, and daughter--and I have to admit that it is kind of cathartic to get to work these problems out on paper.

You have a lot of wonderful secondary characters. Did any of these characters surprise in the roles they've played in Grace and Daniel's lives?

Yes! So many of the secondary characters developed in ways I didn't see coming. In the outline of the second novel, April Thomas was barely in the book. But as I started writing, I realized how much I missed her and ended up giving her a much bigger role in the story as the "Alfred to Grace's Batman." With her elaborate costume designs for Grace and her "bedazzled stakes" she brought a ton of humor and heart to the story that would have been lacking otherwise.

There are also two brand new characters in THE SAVAGE GRACE who totally took me by surprise with how much I loved them. The first is Brent, a nerdy, sarcastic, werewolf with a penchant for blowing things up. At first he was going to be a pretty minor background character, but I loved him so much he ended up becoming one of my favorite characters--and he ends up playing a pretty pivotal role in the climax. The other character was Slade. He's a tattooed former street racer with a bad attitude--who also ended up being one of my favorites once I started delving into his back-story.

You know I have to ask this, because I'm anxiously awaiting to read about her; are you able to tell me a little something about Katie in this book? Does she make a move on Daniel? *snickers*

I had a lot of fun with Katie in this book! Let's just say that she gets unwittingly tangled up in Grace and Daniels affairs--and she might just "get her man" in the end. But you will have to read the book to find out how!

In The Lost Saint there was a lot of shocking revelations and a few emotional scenes, as I'm sure there will be in The Savage Grace. As a writer what do you do to get through writing some of the more emotional scenes?

I cry! Which is a little embarrassing to admit! I come from a theatre background and I approach writing in a very "method acting" sort of way. I feel what my characters feel, and if they are crying or feeling very emotional, chances are, I am crying along with them.

Funny story: My writing room is a sun-room that faces a beautiful lake. Well, last summer, someone plunked a port-a-potty down right outside my writing room (it was for the construction workers who were building a new house down the street) marring my normally gorgeous view. The worst part was that the port-a-potty door faced my favorite window. Well, one day I had just finished writing a romantic yet heart-wrenching scene in my writing room. The tears were streaming down my face and I was all caught up in the tender emotions, when I looked up from my laptop just as a big, grizzly, construction worker walked right out of the port-a-potty. We locked eyes for a moment--mine full of tears--and then he hightailed it out of there as fast as he could! After that, it was really hard to focus on writing emotional scenes while knowing someone might be pooping right outside my window. I can't tell you how relieved I was when the port-a-potty disappeared a few days later.

Do you have a reward system in place to help you meet your daily writing quota? If so, what's your favorite thing to reward yourself with?

I don't have an everyday reward system, but when I am on deadline, I like to hold my favorite Tivoed shows ransom until I've done enough work in the day to earn the right to watch one of them. The best writing reward I've ever gotten was that my husband promised to buy me a kitten when I finished writing the last Dark Divine novel. He actually ended up buying me two kittens (I can be very persuasive)! We call them "the kittens divine."

If you could write in one of your favorite literary characters into this series, who would you choose and why?

Okay, so he's not technically a "literary character" but I would love for Grace to get in a tussle with Spike from Buffy The Vampire Slayer. I love him to no end. Watching Grace battle it out with him would be so much fun.

*********

Thank you Bree for stopping by and visiting with us today! Enjoy your release day celebrations!!

You can follow Bree via her Website | Blog | Twitter

Don't miss Bree's launch party TONIGHT at King's English! Info here.

You can purchase The Savage Grace from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble



Published by: Egmont USA
Released on: March 13th, 2012
Series: Book #3 in The Dark Divine Series

A troubled soul. An impossible choice. A final battle.

Wrestling with the werewolf curse pulsing deep inside of her, Grace Divine was finally able to find her brother, but it nearly cost her everything.

With her boyfriend, Daniel, stuck in wolf form and Sirhan's death approaching, time is running out for Grace to stop Caleb Kalbi and his gang of demons. If she fails, her family and hometown will perish. Everything rests on Grace's shoulders.

The final installment in The Dark Divine trilogy brings Daniel and Grace's love story to a breathtaking conclusion -quoted from Goodreads

Stop back by later this morning to read my review for The Savage Grace.

Happy Book Birthday To:



















































































































There are a lot of fabulous books out today! You can view more of the this month's releases here.

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