Mundie Moms

Friday, April 18, 2014

The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa, Blog Tour: Author Interview & Giveaway



Welcome to today's tour stop for THE FOREVER SONG blog tour, celebrating the release of Julie Kagawa's The Forever Song. I'm so thrilled to have Julie on the blog today to talk about her newest release. First, here's a little bit about THE FOREVER SONG.


The Forever Song
Released: April 15th, 2014 by Harlequin Teen

Series: Blood Eden book #3 (final book)
Add it to Goodreads 

Allison Sekemoto once struggled with the question: human or monster?
With the death of her love, Zeke, she has her answer.
MONSTER.
Allie will embrace her cold vampire side to hunt down and end Sarren, the psychopathic vampire who murdered Zeke. But the path is bloody and long, and Sarren has left many surprises for Allie and her companions—her creator, Kanin, and her blood brother, Jackal.
The trail is leading straight to the one place they must protect at any cost— the last vampire-free zone on Earth, Eden. And Sarren has one final, brutal shock in store for Allie. In a ruined world where no life is sacred and former allies can turn on you in one heartbeat, Allie will face her darkest days. And if she succeeds, triumph is short-lived in the face of surviving forever alone.
My Interview With Julie Kagawa


Hi Julie! Welcome back to Mundie Moms!! You know I have to ask, if BinBons was playing a character in your book, who would he play? *snickers* You know I can't not ask something that's BinBons related.


Lol, ah Binbons.  Er, Ben Barnes.  Well, he's my perfect Ash, as you know, but if he wanted to go a little dark, I think he'd make a pretty good Jackal, too.  What'dya think?


I love the title of your book. Can you tell us a little bit about the process for choosing a book title? Was it easy to come up with The Forever Song or was it a title that came to you after you finished writing the book?


After The Immortal Rules, we (the publishing house and I) knew we wanted to continue using titles with immortal or eternal in them.  The Eternity Cure came to me pretty easily, but I at first through the third book should be called The Forever Requiem.  But my publisher said the title was too long, and didn't have the flow of the other two, so we changed it to The Forever Song instead.


Allie has dealt with a lot in this series, especially in The Eternity Cure, and now in this book. What is something you've come to admire about Allie?


She never backs down from a fight, even if she's vastly outmatched.  And she stubbornly holds on to her humanity, even when it would be easier to let go and become a monster.


Which character has been the most fun for you to write/get to know?


Oh, that's easy.  Jackal has been a huge surprise and a lot of fun, both to write and to see reader's reactions to his snarkery.  (I'm making that a word.)   

You are the queen of ripping our hearts out. WHY do you torture us? Oh wait, sorry that wasn't my real question. lol How do you get yourself through writing the more emotional and challenging scenes?

I love writing dramatic scenes.  The harder and more painful, the better.  I love emotional writing, and if I can make readers feel the character's pain, I know I've done my job well.

Let's talk about the cover. I really like the cover for The Forever Song. Did you have a hand in the cover design? What was your initial reaction when you saw the finished cover?

I have very little say in the cover choices, but I do love the cover for The Forever Song.  I love the infinity sign made of birds, and the purple background, like a new day is rising. It's simple but perfect, and reflects the story well.

What's one of your favorite lines / quotes from The Forever Song?

Well, my very favorite would be a huge spoiler, so I'll go with a classic Jackal being Jackal.

"Hey, old man," Jackal called in a mocking voice, "you forgot to say 'if you kids don't stop I'm going to turn this car right around and then no one will go to Eden.'"

Can you tell us what you're working on next?

My next series is called the Talon Saga (book 1 is simply Talon), and it's about modern day dragons and their war with the Order of St. George.  


Find The Immortal Rules and The Eternity Cure


The Immortal Rules (Book 1):  Goodreads  | Amazon

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a walled-in city.
By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.
Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them—the vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself dies and becomes one of the monsters.
The Eternity Cure (Book 2) Goodreads | Amazon

How do you face the end of eternity?
In Allison Sekemoto's world, there is one rule left: Blood calls to blood.
She has done the unthinkable: died so that she might continue to live. Cast out of Eden and separated from the boy she dared to love, Allie will follow the call of blood to save her creator, Kanin, from the psychotic vampire Sarren. But when the trail leads to Allie's birthplace in New Covington, what Allie finds there will change the world forever - and possibly end human and vampire existence.

Watch the Book Trailer



About Julie Kagawa


Julie Kagawa was born in Sacramento, California. But nothing exciting really happened to her there. So, at the age of nine she and her family moved to Hawaii, which she soon discovered was inhabited by large carnivorous insects, colonies of house geckos and frequent hurricanes. She spent much of her time in the ocean, when she wasn’t getting chased out of it by reef sharks, jellyfish and the odd eel.
To pay the rent, Julie worked in different bookstores over the years, but discovered the managers frowned upon her reading the books she was supposed to be shelving. So she turned to her other passion: training animals. She worked as a professional dog trainer for several years, dodging Chihuahua bites and overly enthusiastic Labradors, until her first book sold and she stopped training to write full-time. 
Julie now lives in Louisville, Kentucky, where the frequency of shark attacks are at an all-time low. She lives with her husband, two obnoxious cats, one Australian shepherd who is too smart for his own good and the latest addition, a hyperactive Papillon puppy.
Find Julie via: website |  blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

The Giveaway



Each tour stop is offering up the winner’s choice of either THE IMMORTAL RULES, THE ETERNITY CURE or THE FOREVER SONG- whichever book of the series you might be missing!


There are also 2 grand prizes:
  • 1 winner will get a complete set of Julie Kagawa’s books, including The Iron Fey Saga and The Blood of Eden Saga!
  • 1 winner will get a $100 gift card from either iTunes, Amazon or Barnes & Noble!
Please enter via the Rafflecopter form. Giveaway is open to US/Canada and ends May 2nd!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule 

Monday, April 7th - Harlequin Paranormal Romance Blog
Tuesday, April 8th - fiktshun
Wednesday, April 9th - The Page Turners
Thursday, April 10st - Books and Things
Friday, April 11th - Ticket To Anywhere

Monday, April 14th - Two Chicks on Books
Tuesday, April 15th - Parajunkee
Wednesday, April 16th - Refracted Light Reviews
Thursday, April 17st - Bewitched Bookworms
Friday, April 18th - Mundie Moms

Monday, April 21th - A Book Obsession
Tuesday, April 22nd - The Book Cellar
Wednesday, April 23th - Supernatural Snark
Thursday, April 24st - The Busy Bibliophile
Friday, April 25th  - Tyngas Reviews


The Taking by Kimberly Derting; The Taking Excerpt Blog Tour



Hello and welcome to today's stop in THE TAKING excerpt tour. I'm so thrilled to share the next excerpt in the stop. First, here's a little bit about Kimberly Derting's upcoming release.


THE TAKING 
Author: Kimberly Derting
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: April 29, 2014


The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer meetsThe Fifth Wave in this chilling and explosive new series. The last thing Kyra Agnew remembers is a flash of bright light. She awakes to discover that five whole years have passed. Everyone in her life has moved on—her parents divorced, her boyfriend is in college and dating her best friend—but Kyra's still the sixteen-year-old she was when she vanished. In order to find out the truth, she and her friend Tyler (the only person who seems to understand her since she got back, he also happens to be her ex-boyfriend's brother) the two of them decide to retrace her steps from that fateful night. They discover there are others who have been "taken," just like Kyra. Only, Kyra is the first person to have been returned past the forty-eight-hour taken mark. With a determined, secret government agency after her, Kyra desperately tries to find an explanation and reclaim the life she once had . . . but what if the life she wants back is not her own?

READ AN EXCERPT
“Thank god,” I mumbled against his chest, the only place that felt safe. I no longer cared that I was still wearing my uniform, dirt and sweat stains making it rank. “Thank god you’re here. I’ve had the strangest morning. The strangest night. I have no idea what’s going on.”
The arms around me tightened, but only slightly, and then I heard his mother’s voice, so achingly well-known to me that tears brimmed in my eyes. “Tyler? Who is it? What’s going on?”
I hadn’t noticed Tyler, Austin’s kid brother, but it was a relief to know I was no longer alone, that I was surrounded by familiar faces when everything else was so out of whack.
I drew back from Austin so I could see his mom. “It’s just me,” I told her. “I just came over because—” I wasn’t sure how I’d planned on finishing my explanation, but I never had the chance.
Tamara Wahl dropped her coffee mug. The ceramic shards became projectiles as it shattered, sending pieces flying in every direction. Coffee pooled at her feet, but she just stood there, staring at me, her mouth gaping.
“Mom, it’s Kyra . . . ,” Austin said, and for the first time I realized that this was all wrong too. I looked down at the arms, still at my waist, and noticed the wiry hairs on them. They should have been flaxen, closer to blond than brown. Even the arms, the skin, seemed somewhat too pale, as if this version of Austin hadn’t just finished his annual lifeguard certification—something my Austin had most definitely done.
His voice, too, was not right. It was deep, yes, the timbre just shades away from Austin’s.
I was almost afraid to look at his face.
And that was when he caught me for the second time. The moment I realized that he wasn’t Austin at all; he never had been.
This was Tyler Wahl. Tyler, who looked far too much like his older brother—my seventeen-year-old boyfriend—in looks, in stature . . . and, most of all, in age.


Tyler, who, the last time I’d seen him just the day before, had been only twelve years old.

Be sure to check out the next excerpt at Fangirlish. If you missed the previous excerpts, you can read the first one here.

TWITTER CHAT!  Mark your calendars for Tuesday April 29th! We'll be chatting LIVE on Twitter with Kimberly. More details to come!

Looking to purchase a signed copy of THE TAKING?! Be sure to check out or call these stores:

#TMITuesday / Shadowhunter Fan Art

Happy Friday Shadowhunters! Here are some of the recent Shadowhunter Fan Art pieces Cassie has recently shared. Click on the highlighted post title to be taken directly to Cassie's posts.

#TMITuesdays




For fun, one of Cassandra Jean’s postcards of scenes from City of Heavenly Fire. Above, Raphael, Magnus and Luke.
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Mark 
Heeeeyyy, can you tell us anything about Mark Blackthorn??? PLEASE? I feel like he’s going to be a sex god — kay-the-quinn
But why would you think that?



Joking aside, I feel we should revisit this question after City of Heavenly Fire. You’ll meet him in that, and can make up your mind accordingly!
Only a month and a half till CoHF. Very excited for you to meet the Blackthorns and rejoin Clary, Jace, Alec and the others for their last adventure.
*Picture by Cassandra Jean of course. Note the pointy ears! Mark is part-faerie, it’s one of the most interesting things about his story.

Latest Cassie Clare News


Hi Shadowhunters! Here are some of Cassie's recent posts, just in case you missed them.


CLOCKWORK PRINCESS SPOILERS (posted here)
"Well, you’ve heard this a lot but.. I LOVE your books! Your stories have changed my way of feeling things, every character (even the villains) made me see a little of me. Your mind is brilliant and I love you for sharing it with the world! I have a question for you. I’m a BIG fan of Tessa, Will and Jem. I wonder what year and how long Tess and Jem were together. If City of Bones is going in 2007, they got together in the 90s or in 2000? Because we see Brother Zachariah, so.. That’s it! Sorry for my bad english. Can’t wait to see you in Brazil! Much love <3 em="" hiclickhere=""> “
Well, the Clockwork Princess epilogue is dated in the book. 2008. So we know that that’s when Tessa and Jem got together, because we see it.
I’m pasting in the timeline for the series below, because the question of where the Clockwork Princess epilogue fits in is a popular one! There is no answer to how long Tessa and Jem “were together” because — they only just got together, so recently that they are not together as of City of Lost Souls or the beginning of City of Heavenly Fire. 
Timeline:
I had to redact a bunch of this ask’s spoilery bits but I think I managed — in essence, I’ve gotten a lot of asks about where the epilogue of Clockwork Princess fits into the timeline of TMI.
Here’s the basic timeline of the TMI books:
CoB: takes place in August 2007, the year the book was published.
CoA: begins in very early September 2007-  a few days to a week after CoB ends. 
CoG: begins in September, about 1 week after CoA ends. The whole book takes place in 1.5-2 weeks. It is mentioned that the leaves on trees are beginning to turn fall colors.
CoFA: begins in Mid-October (Halloween decorations are up, Simon mentions the month) and ends around the third or fourth week of October. In CoFA, it is also mentioned that Clary has been training to fight demons for 7 weeks.
CoLS: The prologue is set in late October. The first chapter begins two weeks later, in the 2nd week of November.
October had 5 weeks in 2007. Here’s a link to a 2007 calendar:
The Clockwork Princess prologue takes place in 2008.
We don’t know when in 2008, but we do know enough to know it takes place after the events of City of Lost Souls. It is either during or after the events of City of Heavenly Fire
As for Bro Z, he appears in City of Fallen Angels and City of Lost Souls. It is explained in City of Fallen Angels that he was among the few Silent Brothers who was not in the Silent City when Valentine attacked, and therefore survived.
So yes, basically, the epilogue of Clockwork Princess takes place in the future of the characters in City of Lost Souls. You can search it for clues about Heavenly Fire if you want. :)


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 Cassandra Clare’s ‘City of Bones’ read by ‘Parenthood’s Mae Whitman — EXCLUSIVE | EW.com »
City of Heavenly Fire, the final book in The Mortal Instruments series, comes out in only six weeks on May 27, 2014. That means you have six weeks left to revel in the saga of Clary and her golden boy Jace and her dark angel brother Sebastian and the most loveable dork/vampire Simon and the man-eating, demon-killer Isabelle and poor, lovesick Alec. After this, guys, it’s finito.
As we roll up to the final book, Simon & Shuster is releasing a new edition audiobook for City of Bones, which will be narrated by Mae Whitman, who plays Amber Holt on Parenthood
The last installment of The Bane Chronicles, The Course of True Love (And First Dates)was published as an e-book on March 18th and Simon & Shuster has just finished the audio version narrated by Gareth David-Lloyd. David-Lloyd starred in the Dr. Who spin-off Torchwood
Whee, Mae Whitman — as I announced earlier this week - and we were thrilled to get Gareth David-Lloyd, who played Ianto on Torchwood to read the last installment of Bane. Gareth has a gorgeous voice, and Jack and Ianto on Torchwood (pictured above!) were a seminal example of queer representation in pop culture science fiction and fantasy. After such a great lineup of readers, this is a terrific note to go out on — hope you guys are as happy as we are!


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"You’re not Will" (click the title to be taken to Cassie's post)
Hi, Cassie! So, it has been more than a year since the release of CP2 and I still didn’t get over it. I feel both happy and depressed when I think about this series. And I know that we will still see the characters in TLH, but it will not be the same, because it will be in their children points of view. So, I was wondering… you have written many extra scenes for TMI, and scenes from different characters POVs (like Jace’s, when it was Clary’s POV in the book). Are you planning on sharing with us any more scenes like that from TID? I wouldn’t mind at all a POV of Jem’s, specially that scene from the CP2 epilogue ♥ Thank you so much, and I’m super excited for CoHF and your coming to Brazil! — fairchild-gray-fray
I’ve never written the scene on the bridge from Jem’s point of view because Jem knows way too much about what happens in City of Heavenly Fire. It would, bizarrely, be spoilery for TMI. So maybe TMI is done; we’ll see. 
If you want to read Jem’s POV on the bedroom scene with Tessa in Clockwork Prince, though, I wrote that. It’s called An Offering of Moonlight. I’ll paste it in, though many of you may have read it before — it’s not new. Under the cut, from the chapter “Fierce Midnight” in CP. There’s also “Burning Bright" which is Jem’s perspective on meeting Tessa for the first time.*
*And now  I noticed the first thing Jem ever says to Tessa is “You’re not Will.” Huh.
** Ooh, Cassandra Jean gave me a Jessa scrap the other day. Now I get to use my scrap!


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