Mundie Moms

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Vote For Your Favorite City Of Fallen Angels Fan Made Cover

Thank you to everyone who's entered our City of Fallen Angels Cover Contest!!

Now it's time for you to pick your favorite cover. Take a look at these 5 covers and be sure to fill out the form below by voting for your 1st and 2nd choices. 1 entry per person. Voting will end on the 12th, and the first and second place winners will be announced on the 15th.

#1- by Niki

#2- By Sarah

#3 - by Tynga

#4- By Carlene

#5- By Ashlie

Interview & Giveaway with Wendy DelSol, author of Stork











Today we are excited to have Wendy DelSol, author of Stork on our blog. Here's a brief synopsis of Stork:

When she moved from L.A. to north-of-nowhere Minnesota, sixteen year old Katla Leblanc expected the local fashion scene to be frozen in time. What she didn't expect was induction into the Icelandic Stork Society, an ancient order of women with the mystical ability to connect unborn children with the right mother. Not only is Katla the youngest member ever, but Hulda, the society's wise leader, immediately bestows the coveted Second Chair on her.

As if the business of should delivery weren't enough, Katla alos has her parents' divorce and a new hight school to deal with-not to mention a bad decision involving Wade, king of the social scene. But Katla isn't one to sit on her designer-jean-clad behind, and soon she's making new friends and writing the fashion column for the school paper.

Things would be looking up if it weren't for editor-in-chief and star quarterback, Jack. They have nothing in common and argue every time they meet, yet Katla is inexplicably drawn to Jack-as though he has a secret to share with her alone.

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Stork is a very unique paranormal read and one I really enjoyed. What inspired you to write the story?

A long time ago, while watching the TV show Unsolved Mysteries, there was a segment about a young boy who claimed to have a pre-birth memory of flying above the earth and choosing his mother. The story stuck with me. Years later, when spinning what-ifs for a YA paranormal, I combined that story with symbolic image of childbirth: the bundle-bearing stork. The next step was to create an ancient society of human Storks, women charged with the pairing of the undecided among hovering souls with the right mother.

I was completely entranced by your beautifully detailed folklore, and history with the ancient Icelandic Society. What inspired you to incorporate the Icelandic history and lore?

Hoping to heighten conflict as well as a sense of mysticism for the area, I decided to make Kat the new girl in town. I set the story in northern Minnesota and gave her a California background to create a dramatic change in locale and climate. The pockets of Scandinavian settlers in Minnesota were a factor in this decision; Norse Lore and its potential for world building immediately came to mind. I chose an Icelandic—albeit entirely fictional—community for several reasons. For starters, its very name evokes a cold and foreboding place. Also, I’ve long had a fascination for the enigmatic island.

The Icelandic Stork Society has a hierarchy of empowering women. Are any of them based on women who have made an impression on your life?

For the elderly Stork Society, Hulda in particular, I had in mind historic and folk references to wise women or white witches, benevolent practitioners of magic and healing.

If you were a character in your story, who would you be friends with? Why?

I would definitely be in awe of Kat’s confidence and spunk. Because I’m more Penny than Kat, I’ve always been drawn to outgoing individuals. An observer by nature, I’m more than happy to play sidekick to another’s commanding presence.

What do you admire most about your main character, Katla?

I most admire Kat’s adaptability and open-mindedness. She’s young and sheltered and arrives with a bit of a better-than attitude. I attempted to show her growth as the story progressed. I also like her ability to see the humorous or lighter side to life’s obstacles.

I'm really looking forward to reading Frost. Are you able to tell us a little bit about what we can except in Frost?

Frost, book two in the trilogy, begins with a snowstorm the likes of which the area has never seen. The freak blizzard stirs international interest in their microclimate of cooling trends, and Jack scores a student internship with the researchers. Meanwhile, Kat is wrapped up in the complications of her latest soul placement and with rehearsals for the high school’s musical production of The Snow Queen, so is slow to recognize a dark force among them. It is scheduled for release with Candlewick Press in September of 2011.


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We're looking forward to reading Frost. Thank you Wendy for joining us today!


You can find out more about Stork by visiting Wendy's site herehttp://www.wendydelsol.com/

You can read my review for Stork here http://tinyurl.com/26rfccv


Thank you to Wendy, we have a copy of Stork we're giving away on the blog!!! Please fill out this form below, and this is open to the residents of the US and Canada.


Twitter Tuesday - Saundra Mitchell

Yesterday, Saundra Mitchell tweeted the final cover of her soon-to-be-released novel, The Vespertine. For those who have a netgalley account, be sure to request it and you will soon hear the rustle of long gowns, feel the anticipation of a filled dance card and wait anxiously to see if that boy who is oh, so wrong for you, shows up.

Here's the blurb from Aprilynne Pike, author of Wings and Spells:
"Written in a passionate, inviting voice, The Vespertine is a rich, historical novel of otherworldly power, forbidden romance, and questionable motives. From the very first line, readers will be swept up in Amelia's plight to discover her own powers and find the courage to face her fears, her blossoming love, and even accusations of murder."
Carrie Ryan, author of The Forest of Hands and Teeth and Dead Tossed Waves adds:
"I savored every word of The Vespertine; I knew it was an amazing book from the first page and I was entranced until the very last. Saundra Mitchell's descriptions are almost truer than truth—you feel them rather than know them."
And here's the synopsis:
The summer of 1889 is the one between childhood and womanhood for Amelia van den Broek-and thankfully, she's not spending it at home in rural Maine. She's been sent to Baltimore to stay with her stylish cousin, Zora, who will show her all the pleasures of city life and help her find a suitable man to marry.

Archery in the park, dazzling balls and hints of forbidden romance-Victorian Baltimore is more exciting than Amelia imagined. But her gaiety is interrupted by disturbing, dreamlike visions she has only at sunset-visions that offer glimpses of the future. Soon, friends and strangers alike call on Amelia to hear her prophecies. Newly dubbed "Maine's Own Mystic", Amelia is suddenly quite in demand.

However, her attraction to Nathaniel, an artist who is decidedly outside of Zora's circle, threatens the new life Amelia is building in Baltimore. This enigmatic young man is keeping secrets of his own- still, Amelia finds herself irrepressibly drawn to him. And while she has no trouble seeing the futures of others, she cannot predict whether Nathaniel will remain in hers.

When one of her darkest visions comes to pass, Amelia's world is thrown into chaos. And those around her begin to wonder if she's not the seer of dark portents, but the cause.
It sounds wonderful, doesn't it? Well, I can tell you that it is and I may just be re-reading it for a second time. You see, I love a well written book that uses magic in a believable way and presents a romance which threads around unexpected corners of a plot line. I may just be sighing thinking about it right now.

The Vespertine will be released on March 7, 2011 and I encourage you to pre-order it at your favorite bookstore. For more information about the world, characters and the music of the story, be sure to check out Saundra's website.

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