Mundie Moms

Friday, October 12, 2012

Cassie Clare Takes a Stand Against Bullying & Address Hate Blogs


October is Bullying Prevention month, and myself along with TMI Source, the Mortal Institute, Mortal Instruments News and few other fans sites have all posted about the topic of bullying (click on the links to read the articles). The most moving post on bullying comes today from Cassandra Clare, who's recently been the target of much hate and cyber bullying. I've posted a few excerpts from her post below, but I highly recommend reading her entire post here.

So why did I make this post? Because you *are* so great because you make fanart/gifs/cosplay/write book reviews/post pictures of yourselves looking pretty. Because it’s hard to put yourself out there, to put any creative work or any part of your personality out where it can be judged (and it will be!) Because it’s hard to tell people how you really feel. Because though I really do believe that cyberbullies strike out because they feel powerless, those faceless/nameless ask box comments telling you that you are ungrateful, should be punished, don’t deserve good things, are scary and awful. Because though it doesn’t mean you’re weak to feel hurt by this stuff, I want you to take away from this that sure, this hurts my feelings, but I’m okay. I’m fine. I have a great life. I have a great marriage (My husband’s comment my deciding to make this post was “I see you have decided to take on the most galactically awful people on the Internet, GOOD IDEA”) I have great friends (who are not actually using me for profit and gain, because that’s not actually how people act, and as I pointed out before, they’d have to be psychic) and I do exactly the job that I want to do: telling stories, and trying to make them good ones. And I have you guys. And I have my own voice, my chance to talk. If you take away one thing from this, it’s that when you are being cyberbullied or harassed, don’t feel that you need to stay silent out of shame or because trolls shouldn’t be fed. Talk about what’s happening to you. Expose what the bullies are saying, because when you write it down in the clear light of day, it looks just as revolting as it is (“Cassandra Clare acts like she can say anything because she’s Jewish” .) And take harassment to the proper authorities to deal with. Many, many people have told me that Tumblr is unresponsive to instances of harassment and threats, but try anyway: if you’re under 18, go to your parents, if you’re over 18, consider legal advice; either way consult any of these sites: www.ncpc.orgCyberbullying.uswww.stopbullyingnow.com for good information on what to do.
I’ll only add that I don’t want anyone taking on the hate bloggers or arguing with them to defend me, or to defend my books. There’s no point, it actually does encourage them, and your job online is to have fun, not come to my defense. Put down the inner Jace (“I will kill everyone!”) and channel the inner Alec (“I don’t think that’s a good idea, dude.”) Consider how absolutely ridiculous hate blogs look to pretty much anyone who isn’t really familiar with the topic in question. ( I googled “Pioneer Woman hate blog” because it was mentioned in the hate bloggers article I linked to that such blogs existed and I couldn’t think of what anyone could possible hate about a woman who posts lasagna recipes to the internet — and I’m still not exactly sure after reading it, but I have come to understand that to some people, including crushed Oreos in a recipe is a deeply serious crime. I have also come to understand that these are not people I ever want to know.) I know you’re thinking, “But wait, I thought you were saying to speak up and not be silenced!” I do want you to speak up, especially considering that October is Anti-Bullying month — speak up about bullying in general, about your own experiences and friend’s experiences, about the appropriate venues to go to for help with bullying and harassment, and if you are getting hateful messages, don’t feel ashamed: go ahead and publicize them, say “This is what people are saying to me.” But don’t engage with harrassers: they see that as legitimization of their behavior. Be better than them. It’s not a high bar. :-)
Take a deep breath every time you think about engaging, and do something positive instead — post a gif, write about a book you like, reach out to someone who’s been bullied, post a picture of yourself looking pretty/fierce/badass/awesome. If you’re a TMI fan, have fun with the fact that we’re starting to get movie photos and reports, and then there’ll be a teaser, and then a trailer, and basically the next year should be a big jar of candy for Shadowhunters. :)
I have never talked to the hate bloggers, and have no plans to ever talk about the them again, but I refuse to be shamed or silenced by them. After taking a hiatus, I decided that I am going to go right on doing what I was doing before : interacting with you guys, posting snippets, and answering your questions.  I’ll be onset next week, so expect hands! :-

Stealing Parker Blog Tour: Guest Post w/ Miranda Kenneally / Giveaway

I'm thrilled to be the next stop in the Stealing Parker blog tour. Today's stop includes a guest post from author Miranda Kenneally, as well as my review and a giveaway! Welcome Miranda to Mundie Moms! Thank you for stopping by today.


Curveball Dodging:  Miranda explores the importance of recognizing your own self-worth instead of placing value on other’s opinions.

This is a topic that’s super important to me.

When I was seventeen years old, I decided to apply for colleges outside of Tennessee. I wanted to try new things and see the world. I’d felt like that since I had gone to France when I was fourteen.

I applied to American University in Washington, D.C., and I was ecstatic when I got in. In high school, I had a 3.9 GPA and I made mostly As. Sure, I partied some and didn’t take school all that seriously, but I had drive and I knew I wanted to attend a great school so I would have great opportunities later in life.

After I received my acceptance letter to American University, the school guidance counselor called me into her office. She suggested that I go to the community college in the next town over, because I would probably fail in Washington, D.C. She thought I wouldn’t make it at a big school.

I went home, brokenhearted that she didn’t believe in me. But then I realized it didn’t matter what the stupid guidance counselor said. I wanted to go to D.C., so I was going there. End of story. 

In my book STEALING PARKER, Parker places way too much emphasis on what other people think. She lets the prejudices of others determine her behavior. People think Parker’s a lesbian just like her mother, so Parker decides to show them she’s not. She quits the softball team, loses 30 pounds, and makes out with lots of guys. Instead of people thinking, “Oh, Parker’s not a lesbian like her mom,” they think, “Oh, Parker’s kind of slutty.”

You can’t do something you don’t want to do in hopes of making people think a certain way about you, because nobody thinks the same way.

During the book, Parker learns what she thinks about herself is what’s important. She realizes that until she does what she wants to do, she’s never going to be happy and people aren’t going to know who the “real” Parker is.

Who is the real you? Have you ever let someone else decide your path?


Published by: SourceBooks
Released on: October 1st, 2012
Source: ARC from publisher to review
3 stars: It's A Good Read
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Red-hot author Miranda Kenneally hits one out of the park in this return to Catching Jordan's Hundred Oaks High.

After her family's scandal rocks their conservative small town, 17-year-old Parker Shelton goes overboard trying to prove that she won't turn out like her mother: a lesbian. The all-star third-baseman quits the softball team, drops 20 pounds and starts making out with guys--a lot. But hitting on the hot new assistant baseball coach might be taking it a step too far...especially when he starts flirting back -quoted from Goodreads

What football is to Catching Jordan, baseball is to Stealing Jordan. One of the things I really enjoy about Miranda's books is the way she mixes together sports, with first crushes, those "fabulous" teen high school years, and the message she conveys in her books. It's that perfect blend of sports, and realistic teen romances all in one. I swear if I had these in high school I would have loved them. The other things I like are the rich character relationships, the strong female voices, and the family dynamics that are the back bone for these two books. The romances and trying to figure out which character is going to win over the protagonist's heart is a wonderful added bonus as well.

For Parker everything turns upside down when her mom leaves her family behind to go off with her girlfriend. Not only is this shocking, and a punch to the gut for Parker, it's ruined everything for her. Growing up in the town Parker does, everyone knows everyone else's business. What happens at church, bleeds over into the school and gets around town. Now that her family's be ostracized, it's changed the way friends look at and how people treat her. Her own family has been disconnected with each other. Nothing is the normal she thought she once had, and the only way Parker knows how to cope with all this is to become a totally different person. Which she does. She gives up softball, the sport she connected over with her mom and excelled at, she also losses weight and makes it her mission to go a little boy crazy to prove she isn't gay like her mom. 

It's during this process of acting out that I sympathized with Parker. I understood her wanting to distance herself from anything that brought back memories of the happier times, and of her doing anything that made it hard to think of the pain and hurt her feels now. Though I didn't always agree with her decisions, I understood why Parker made them, well some of them. In the process of Parker learning to cope with her new "normal" and trying to move on from the hurt and the why of everything that's happened, she surprisingly sets her self up for some things to happen. I admired that Parker owns up to her choices. She accepts responsibly for she does, she learns from her mistakes and ttries to fix the problems she caused because of it. It takes a big person to do that, and I felt that part of her growing up and becoming a stronger character was due to her owning up to what she had down, realizing the effect it had on her, and those around her, feeling bad about it, and really truly wanting to fix it. 

She has some great support from her best friend, whom I totally adored, and I loved what Miranda did with the relationship between Parker and her mom. Just like life, not everything is going to go back to the way it was, and for Parker, I liked that she was able to accept that, and become the best she could be, not what others thought of her and wanted her to be. I think that message right there is a powerful one to convey to your readers. I thought Miranda did a fabulous job with way she does just that. She created a relatable character with Parker, presented a realistic storyline, and in bringing the two of those together, she wrote a book that fans of her writing will totally enjoy. This is a fabulous companion to Catching Jordan, and much like it's predecessor I think fans will laugh, swoon a few times and find something relatable about it's main character. There is some mild sexual context in this book.

The Giveaway:

Thank you to Sourcebooks I have one copy of Stealing Parker to giveaway! To enter, please fill out the form below. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Cover Reveal Blog Tour: The Dollhouse Asylum by Mary Gray


Welcome to The Dollhouse Asylum Cover Reveal Tour, hosted by Novel Thoughts! Each day this week a different blogger has revealed part of the the cover leading up to this Saturday's cover reveal on This Week in YA. Be sure to check out each of this week's posts here

In case you missed yesterday's piece, be sure to stop by Bookalicious to check it out. 

About the Book:
The Dollhouse Asylum is an upcoming debut by Mary Gray, and will be out October 2013 from Spencer Hill Press. Be sure to keep reading to check out my piece in the cover reveal, find out a little bit more about Mary's book, and to find out more about Mary. 

About the Cover:
The cover was designed by fellow blogger, Jeremy West from Novel Thoughts.


Synopsis Part 5: “But if they play it wrong, they'll die.”


Interview with Mary Gray:
Could you please share one quote from The Dollhouse Asylum with us?? 

This is a special treat! The book is still in edits, but I have a nice quote that my editor approved. 

"I used to pride myself on not letting others change me, but Teo knew how to burrow inside my heart and squeeze. Around him, I’m this pathetic, whimpering child. Fragile. Breakable. Like I’m obsessed with what he thinks. Not because our lives are on the line, but because seeking Teo’s approval has become this sick goal. And I’ve lived this way for so many months, it’s like I need to be rewired. The problem is that I don’t know if I can be."

When can readers pick up your debut? 

If everything plays out right, we'll have ARCs at BEA and ALA next year. The book officially comes out October 2013, but spread the word and click "to read" on Goodreads!

About The Author:


 Mary Gray has a fascination with all things creepy. That’s why all her favorite stories usually involve panic attacks and hyperventilating. In real life, she prefers to type away on her computer, ogle over her favorite TV shows, and savor fiction. When she’s not immersed in other worlds, she and her husband get their exercise by chasing after their three children. The Dollhouse Asylum is her first novel.

Follow Mary:
Be sure to follow Mary Gray on Twitter and her website to keep up to date with her and The Dollhouse Asylum! Be sure to also add this book to your Goodreads and share it with your friends! you don’t want to miss this one!


The Tour:
Be sure to check out This Week in YA for tomorrow's big cover reveal!

What do you think of the cover? 


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