Mundie Moms

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Book Review & Interview with HEREAFTER author Tara Hudson

Published by Harper Teen
Released on June 7th, 2011 TODAY
Source- ARC/Book from publisher for review
5 stars- I Love This Debut

Can there truly be love after death?

Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead. With no recollection of her past life—or her actual death—she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but will him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive.

Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world . . . forever.

A beautiful, haunting love story that will leave you wanting more. HEREAFTER is a captivating and intriguing debut that will take you into the world between life and death and leave you feeling hopeful till the very end.

Hereafter is a stand out YA paranormal book. Tara's writing is beautiful in it's prose and the way it flows. Not only was I able to really understand Amelia, but I felt like I became part of her world and I couldn't put the book down. It's vivid and engaging, and every little details from the world she's created to her characters brought her story to life. I couldn't get enough of it.

From the moment the books starts, readers are immersed into Amelia's world. She's been wandering alone, along the banks of a river that claimed her life years before. Not able to remember much of her old life, she's forced to relive her nightmare over and over again until the day she saves Joshua from sharing her fate. From the moment these two meet, an undeniable bond is formed and something begins to change within Amelia. Though she's died, Joshua makes her feel alive again. Being a seer, Joshua is one of only a few who can see her. Amelia and Joshua are well developed, indepth characters who's romance I couldn't get enough of. They're accepting and drawn to each other and it's their unwavering determination to make their relationship work, even in the midst of the forces both in life and the afterlife that try to tear them apart, that was so enduring.

HEREAFTER is a an amazing ghost story unlike any one I've read before. It's unique, and with it's fascinating paranormal romance, it's one that stands out as one of my favorite reads for this year. Tara does such a great job at making her story believable. Though she wraps up a lot of the plot, she leaves a few things open giving me hope that this is the first book in what I think is going to be a must have series.

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Tara is one of 7 authors who will be going on tour as part of the Dark Days of Supernatural Tour. Be sure to go here to find out all the tour information. Today I'm honored to share with you our recent interview with Tara.


Congratulations on your upcoming release of Hereafter! How would you describe Hereafter in 5 words or less?
Ghostly mystery and impossible love

I'm a sucker for a good ghost story, especially when it has a love story at it's core, which Hereafter has. What inspired you to write Amelia's story?
My initial inspiration came from two bored, pushy girl friends! They both knew that I majored in English Writing in college, and that I had a few story ideas percolating. So one rainy morning, they both demanded that I entertain them on their lunch break with something fresh to read. I whipped up a story about a ghostly encounter – drawing on early memories of my family’s overgrown cemetery – and delivered it to them via email. When they demanded more, I just kept going!

You have a wonderful link on your site that shows readers a little bit of the setting for Hereafter. Did these pictures inspire your setting or did you already have a vivid picture of what your setting looked like when you sat down to write your story?
I actually took those pictures on one of my research trips for HEREAFTER. The pictures showcase my family cemetery, as well as Robber’s Cave State Park in Wilburton, Oklahoma. When I was a child, my grandparents owned a ranch in Wilburton. I’ve always been intrigued by that region of Oklahoma – how beautiful and mysterious it is. So when I started to write HEREAFTER, I thought Wilburton was the perfect setting for creepy events.

What is one thing you and Amelia have in common? What do you admire most about her?
Amelia and I both have a tendency to over-think things – to analyze so much that we drive ourselves crazy. One of our differences, however, is her ability to stop analyzing and act. I definitely admire that about her character.

Many of us Mundie Moms are wives and mothers like yourself, and we struggle to find the time to write. What's your secret on being able to find the time to write?
It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do: carve out time between a day job and a family for my passion. I honestly couldn’t make it work without my support network, which includes my husband, parents, mother-in-law, and a cadre of amazing girlfriends. Everyone single one of them has stepped up when I needed one hour on a Tuesday night or three hours on a Sunday afternoon to type! Also, I keep a notebook in my purse so that I never lose those crazy ideas that strike during inconvenient moments.

What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
Don’t give up! Nothing worthwhile comes easy, and that includes your writing. Whether you are struggling to finish your first draft, find an agent, or adhere to your publishing house’s deadline, you can do this. You know why? Because you love it.

Is there one YA book you've read as an adult you wish you had read as a teen?
BEFORE I FALL, by Lauren Oliver. By reliving the same bizarre day over and over, the main character discovers so much about herself and what’s really important – a process that I wished I’d have experienced even earlier!

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To learn more about HEREAFTER, you can go here to learn about the story, the world, and listen to the play list. To keep up with Tara's latest news you can visit her on her website and follow her on twitter.

Luminous Blog Tour: Character Interview with Consuela


Published by Dutton
To Be Released on July 7th, 2011

As reality slips and time stands still, Consuela finds herself thrust into the world of the Flow. Removed from all she loves into this shifting world overlapping our own, Consuela quickly discovers she has the power to step out of her earthly skin and cloak herself in new ones-skins made from the world around her, crafted from water, fire, air. She is joined by other teens with extraordinary abilities, bound together to safeguard a world they can affect, but where they no longer belong.
When murder threatens to undo the Flow, the Watcher charges Consuela and elusive, attractive V to stop the killer. But the psychopath who threatens her new world may also hold the only key to Consuela's way home.

Today we have Consuela, the main character from Dawn Metcalf's debut, Luminous, visiting with us.

How would you describe yourself in three words or less?
Loyal with curves. :-)
You have a fascinating ability to shift from your own skin into a new made from the world around you. What's been your favorite skin to shift into and why?
The skin of air. It was my first and the most freeing. Looking back on it, maybe it's the one that's most like me, too. Just letting go and running with the feeling was so...unlike me and yet it's exactly the sort of thing that I've always wanted to do. Getting that chance was totally amazing!

Aside from being able to shift, what do you think your most interesting character trait is? Why?
Well, I'd like to think that I was interesting before I could make new skins! But, okay, I wasn't into sports or debate or anything like that, and being able to save people is way more important, but I liked to think that I've always cared about helping people. I've been part of my church youth group forever and I like the feeling of making a difference for somebody else, even if I never met them. I helped build a house with Habitat for Humanity and volunteered at a soup kitchen every month; recently my friend and I did a holiday card drive for soldiers abroad. We had over five hundred cards! If I was to pick one character trait that I am proud of, it would be my faith in people. Getting in touch with people one on one is really an incredible experience.

What is one of the things that you admire most about yourself? What do you admire most about V?
I guess I'd call it empathy: I like to think about how other people see things so maybe I can relate.
V? I admire the way he takes responsibility. It's sort of like a sense of justice, that he's willing to step up and do something, not just watch stuff happen. That takes a lot of courage, especially when you're the one at fault.

If you had the power to change the world around you for the better, what would you change and why?
Maybe walk a mile in someone else's shoes? If everyone could put aside why someone else is different or wrong and tried to look at their life with a little more compassion, maybe we wouldn't act like such selfish jerks on the world stage. I think the hardest thing to do is to stop pointing the finger at someone else and start pointing the finger at ourselves. I like the bumper sticker "Be the change you want to see in the world." It's trite, but it's true.

Thank you Consuela for being with us today!
Thanks, Katie!


The next stop on the on our LUMINOUS Blog Tour is Books with Bite-

Today's stop on our LUMINOUS Blog Tour was brought to you by the letter:E. Collect all the letters along the blog tour, unscramble the puzzle, and win a secret surprise as well as an extra entry in the LUMINOUS Grand Prize Giveaway, June 30th! Details at www.dawnmetcalf.com.

LIVE author chat with Jeri Smith Ready, TONIGHT!!


*Our chat will start at 8 pm CST/ 9 pm EST. To join, hit join and enter a screen name.

*We do our best to make sure all comments are published, but not all the questions may be answered in the hour time frame of the chat.

*In respect to our guest's time, we will only publish comments that pertain to their current writings, and book.

*We will not post any personal questions or comments.

* Any rude, disrespectful, or spam like comments will not be published.

*Thank you and we look forward to chatting with everyone tonight!

**No part of this chat is allowed to be used with out our permission**

Book Review- Ten Things We Did

by Sarah Mlynowski
Published by Harper Teen
Released Tuesday June 7th- Today
Source: ARC from Publisher
4.5 Stars- Enjoyed it a lot!!!

Synopsis (From Harper Teen): 2 girls + 3 guys + 1 house – parents = 10 things April and her friends did that they (definitely, maybe, probably) shouldn't have.

If given the opportunity, what sixteen-year-old wouldn't jump at the chance to move in with a friend and live parent-free? Although maybe "opportunity" isn't the right word, since April had to tell her dad a tiny little untruth to make it happen (see #1: "Lied to Our Parents"). But she and her housemate Vi are totally responsible and able to take care of themselves. How they ended up "Skipping School" (#3), "Throwing a Crazy Party" (#8), "Buying a Hot Tub" (#4), and, um, "Harboring a Fugitive" (#7) at all is kind of a mystery to them.
In this hilarious and bittersweet tale, Sarah Mlynowski mines the heart and mind of a girl on her own for the first time. To get through the year, April will have to juggle a love triangle, learn to do her own laundry, and accept that her carefully constructed world just might be falling apart . . . one thing-she-shouldn't-have-done at a time.

Imagine living on your own at sixteen years old with one of your best friends and no parents, yeah that would have been a dream come true for me and many others when I was a teenager, well April our main character makes it happen. After her father drops the bomb that they’re moving with his new wife to Cleveland, far away from April’s friends and long time boyfriend, she quickly comes up with a plan with her friend Vi to convince her father to let her live with Vi and her mother. The way that they plan this whole thing and actually got her father to agree to it seemed impossible but was also pretty hilarious, I was laughing out loud between the emails that April’s father and “fake Vi’s mother” kept sending back and forth.


Now that April is living with her friend who’s mom is traveling and has left them both alone for the next few months she plans to lose her virginity to her boyfriend Noah, who she’s being with for a couple of years and helped her through the depression that she went through after her parent’s divorce. She plans on it being special and she is convinced that she’s ready but something’s going on with Noah, he’s starts acting weird and doesn’t seem as excited as he was a few months ago. The reader right along with April begin to notice the changes in Noah, he starts acting distant, like he’s hiding something, it seems a little suspicious and April’s uneasy feelings about her relationship felt very vivid and true, that I started feeling the same uneasiness and angst right along with her. It was quite emotional because you know there has to be something going on but you just don’t want to admit it and you keep hoping that you‘re wrong. Since Noah has become so distant, and doesn’t spend as much time with April, she starts getting closer to Vi’s friend Hudson, she finds him easy to talk to and begins to feel attracted to him, and well who wouldn’t really? This guy was great, he was there for her every time that Noah wasn’t and he was sweet, funny, much more mature and caring, he was a good guy.

I loved that each chapter is titled with one of the ten things they did, and they are all hilarious, like paying $3000 for a cat, buying a hot tub, or harbored a fugitive. The chapters were lengthy, each had a story to tell and they included a few flashbacks of April’s life, which was helpful in connecting with her character. The writing was fun and easy flowing, you get to the end of the book in no time because it hooks you from the very beginning, and you really don‘t want to stop reading it. I thought April’s voice was pretty realistic for a teenager, I'm sure that most including me would have done those crazy things hoping not to get caught and it was fun seeing it all through April’s eyes, feeling her emotions and nervousness, anger and thrilling happiness at having this sudden freedom. There were also a few heartbreaking moments toward the end that made me so angry that I wanted to punch someone in the face. Ten Things is definitely a fun realistic read of teenage angst, letting go, falling in and out of love, broken families and lasting friendships. I loved this novel, it was such a fun ride with great likable characters that I couldn't get enough of and made it hard to put the book down.

The Dark Days of Supernatural Tour


The Dark Days of Supernatural Tour kicks off TODAY! The 5 city tour will host authors like: Aprilynne Pike (Illusions), Veronica Roth (Divergent), Amy Plum (Die For Me), Ellen Schreiber (Cryptic Cravings), Kim Harrison (Something Deadly Comes This Way), Josephine Angelini (Starcrossed), and Tara Hudson (Hereafter).

Aprilynne Pike Veronica Roth

*click on their pictures to be taken to their Harper Teen pages*

With stops in:

Naperville, IL
Tuesday, June 7th, 7:00 PM
Authors: Veronica Roth, Aprilynne Pike, Ellen Schreiber, Tara Hudson, and Amy Plum
Anderson’s, 123 W Jefferson Ave
*Livestream event

Portland, Oregon
Wednesday, June 8th, 7:00 PM
Authors: Veronica Roth, Aprilynne Pike, Ellen Schreiber, Tara Hudson, and Amy Plum
Barnes & Noble, 12000 SE 82nd Ave,

Austin, TX **
Thursday, June 9th, 7:00 PM
Authors: Veronica Roth, Aprilynne Pike, Ellen Schreiber, Tara Hudson, and Amy Plum
Book People, 603 North Lamar Boulevard

Tempe, AZ
Friday, June 10th, 7:00 PM
Authors: Veronica Roth, Aprilynne Pike, Ellen Schreiber, and Josephine Angelini
Changing Hands, 6428 S McClintock Drive

Lansing, MI
Saturday, June 11th, 4:00 PM
Authors: Veronica Roth, Aprilynne Pike, Ellen Schreiber, and Josephine Angelini
Schuler Books & Music, 2820 Towne Centre Blvd
*Livestream event

Be sure to visit
http://www.facebook.com/PitchDarkBooks for the live stream events, which will be happening on:

Tuesday, June 7
7:00 PM (central)

Saturday, June 11
4:00 PM (eastern)


I am so excited about Thursday night's event, because we have teamed up with Harper Teen and we'll be sharing with you our author interviews from the event, as well as tweeting live and writing up a blog post the following morning about the event. AND don't miss your chance to WIN The Dark Days prize pack with our giving away going on HERE. You also have a chance at winning a signed hardback of one of these books from Thursday night's event here. We'll also have swag we'll be giving away the following morning.

Be sure to follow the Dark Days on Twitter, Facebook, their website, and don't forget to grab their itunes application and grab a copy of their events calendar. Be sure to go HERE to grab your widget, read a sample of each of the books, get more author information and see the events calendar.

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