Mundie Moms

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

City of Lost Souls Outtake

Mortal Instruments Stuff by ~Lavender-Ink
Cassie tweeted the link to the City of Lost Souls' scene she promised all of us if Jace won the YA Crush Tourney against icy and deadly, Ash from The Iron Knight. Here's the full scene:
Maia was waiting for them in MacCarren Park, on one of the narrow paths dusted with the skeletons of fallen leaves. She wore a gray leather jacket and a soft pink hat, pulled down over her ears, from which her wildly curling hair escaped in a golden-brown halo. She waved tentatively as they neared her; the first words out of her mouth were:

“Did you hear about Luke?”

They all nodded — Simon had told Isabelle and Jordan what he knew on the L-train ride over — and she fell into step beside Jordan as they went through the park, a moving foursome. Jordan had his hands in his pockets and was talking quietly to Maia, werewolf to werewolf. Simon glanced at Isabelle,walking quietly beside him.

Weak November sunlight had come out from behind the clouds and picked out reddish highlights in her hair. She smelled like his own apple shampoo and Shadowhunter. “So,” he said. “Do you want me to ask why you were passed out in my bed last night when I came home, or not?”

“I didn’t pass out in your bed,” she said, as they swung left on Manhattan Avenue. The G train stop was there, and a guy was leaning against the railing, picking out a tuneless song on a guitar. Across the street was a Thrifty store where you could still get ice cream cones for 50 cents. “I passed out in your living room and Jordan put me in your bedroom.”

“He did?”

“Well, if it wasn’t Jordan, someone broke into your house and put me in your bed. Personally I prefer the Jordan theory. Less creepy.”
“It’s not that, it — what were you doing, drunk, with Jordan? He doesn’t drink much.”

“I’d imagine not. He has awful taste in tequila.”

“Iz.” Simon put his hand on her wrist. “I only want to know why you came over.”

She turned her head away from him, her shining black hair slipping across her back. There was a small Mark on the lower left side of her throat, just above her collarbone. It looked vulnerable, somehow. Simon wanted to brush it with his fingertips, but kept his hands in his pockets. “Everything sucks,” she said. “I saw Helen and Aline last night. We had dinner. They’re just so happy, and I keep thinking —” She bit her lip. “My parents are getting divorced, I think,” she said. “Alec is happy but I never see him. Jace is [redacted-sorry guys!]. Max is dead. Clary —”

“I get it,” he said, gently. “You needed someone to talk to and you couldn’t think of anyone else.”

“No!” Isabelle said, frustration clear in her voice. “I wanted to talk to you. I always — I mean, I like to talk to you. Even if things weren’t like this, I would . . . “ She looked at him, sidelong. “I mean, we did date.”
“But it wasn’t — it was never serious,” Simon said awkwardly. “I didn’t think you wanted . . .”

“Did you? Want it to be serious?” Isabelle asked. There was a certain stiffness in her voice — pride, Simon guessed. Isabelle wasn’t the sort of girl who made the first move with guys. She wasn’t the sort of girl who had to.

“Did you?”

Isabelle made an exasperated noise. “Look, I didn’t come by last night because you’re number six on some list and everyone else is unavailable. I came because — I like you. You make me feel better. Maybe it’s something about your face.”

“My face makes you feel better?” So she was saying he was reassuring, sweet, dependable, all of those things; things he knew Clary thought he was; things that hadn’t helped her look at him instead of Jace, not for five minutes. And Isabelle liked her guys dangerous, not . . . reassuring. Reassuring was for stuffed animals. How could you be a vampire and not be sexually threatening? He wasn’t sure, but somehow, he’d managed it.
He was saved more torturous conversation by their arrival at Magnus’ apartment, the lobby of which, as usual, smelled like a combination of cat pee and old pizza. Simon made his way up the stairs after Isabelle — remembering the first time he’d been here, crushed out on Izzy and secretly hoping to make Clary jealous, not that that had worked. Magnus’ apartment had been full of rainbow smoke and Downworlders; now, as they filed in, it was quiet and full of late morning sunlight.

Magnus, Jocelyn and Alec were seated around a long rectangular table. Magnus was clutching a cup of coffee, wearing a dark green jumpsuit with yellow racing stripes, his dark hair an unruly mass of bed-head. Alec looked like . . . Alec. He raised his eyebrows at his sister as she came into the room, but didn’t seem inclined to kill either her, or Simon.

But Jocelyn looked at Simon with eyes as piercing as nails.“Where’s Clary?” she said, tightly.
Remember tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. CST, Jace needs our votes for the Final Round of the YA Crush Tourney.  And you know, we can't let Jace down. #teamjace

YA Crush Tourney: The Final Round

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Jace Mini Sketch by toniii
I know that our laptops, PCs and smartphones will be poised at 8 a.m. CST tomorrow for the final round of the YA Crush Tourney. But we do face a rather impressive opponent, Zach from Jeri Smith-Ready's Shade/Shift series. I mean, which Mundie Mom can honestly say that Zach at the prom wearing the kilt didn't cause an increase in our heartbeats. So, Cassie has delivered quite the prize package. Here's what's at stake (quoted from Cassie's site):
Thanks to all of you Jace won his round in the YA Crush Tourney against that devious Ice prince, Ash! And as a celebratory prize, I posted the Jace POV Manor House scene from City of Glass.

Now, tomorrow Jace goes up against sexy Scot Zachary Moore from the excellent Shift and Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready. If you haven't read the books, I recommend them, and Jeri — who I met briefly at Romantic Times — is a doll. So if you gotta go Team Kilt, I understand. But since this is the last round of the Tourney, which means whoever wins the round wins the entire contest, it's time to pull out the big guns.

1) TMI fans, I want you out spreading the word! Link to the Tourney on Twitter any time after 8am tomorrow (use the #teamjace hashtag ) on Facebook, on your blog, on Tumblr — anywhere! Go here and leave a link to your post and you'll be entered into a contest to win all sorts of awesome things like a set of personalized books, TMI jewelry, signed posters, chapter samplers for upcoming books, and other coolness.

2) So I took a poll (a short one) http://twtpoll.com/1646lf and here's special content that won. It's what I'll post if Jace wins.

a) The unedited version of the Dirty Sexy Club scene (a Jace and, well, guess who, scene from City of Lost Souls) . . . before I toned it down.

I will also throw in the second runner up:

b) A substantial teaser of a *spicy* scene from CP. Tessa and...someone. ;) Because why should ID be left out?

Bonus: If Jace wins by more than a thousand votes, I'll post one of Magnus and Alec's kissing scenes from CoLS. ;)

3) And finally, if Jace wins, I'll donate $500 dollars to Reading Is Fundamental, the same charity that the Mortal Instruments jewelry store supports. http://www.etsy.com/shop/hebelmet
So, Mundie Moms, tomorrow at 8 a.m. CST, be sure to go to the YA Sisterhood blog and you know, do what Jace would want you to do -- vote for him. I know, I know our minds are still at the Manor Collapse scene. *reaches for a fan*

This Guilty Blood: Manor Collapse Scene form Jace's POV

Only You by adorelulu
We're happy to report that Jace won the YA Crush Tourney round against the icy but formidable Iron Knight, Ash. And true to her word, Cassie gave her fans what we've been begging asking for politely, the Manor Collapse scene from Jace's point-of-view:

Over the years, many people have asked for this — Jace’s point of view of the “hot and heavy” scene in THIS GUILTY BLOOD, Chapter Nine of City of Glass. (Page 206-211 in the American hardback CoG.) I’ve taken a few liberties here — the scene goes on a few moments past what happens in the printed version of CoG — but then so did the original draft!

The bits below in italics are the bits from the original book, to help you mentally locate the placement of the scene.

Clary heard a sharp pattering noise all around her. For a bewildered moment she thought it had started to rain—then she realized it was rubble and dirt and broken glass: the detritus of the shattered manor being flung down around them like deadly hail.
Jace pressed her harder into the ground, his body flat against hers, his heartbeat nearly as loud in her ears as the sound of the manor’s subsiding ruins.

* * *

Later, Jace would remember little about the destruction of the Manor itself, the shattering apart of the only home he’d known until he was ten years old. He remembered only the fall from the library window, scrambling and rolling down over the grass, and catching hold of Clary, spinning her down and under him, covering her with his body while pieces of the Manor rained down around them like hail.

He could feel her breathing, feel the racing of her heart. He was reminded of his falcon, the way it had curled, blind and trusting, in his hand, the rapidity of its heartbeat. Clary was holding him by the front of the shirt, though he doubt she realized it, her face against his shoulder; he was desperately afraid that there wasn’t enough of him, that he couldn’t cover her completely, protect her entirely. He imagined boulders as big as elephants tumbling across the rocky ground, ready to crush them both, to crush her. The ground shuddered under them and he pressed harder against her, as if that might help somehow. It was magical thinking, he knew, like closing your eyes so you didn’t see the knife coming at you.

The roar had faded. He realized to his surprise that he could hear again: small things, the sound of birds, the air in the trees. Clary’s voice, breathless. “Jace — I think you dropped your stele somewhere.”
Oh for the love of dropped steles...so yes, there's more over on Cassie's site. Click, but realize that it only gets hotter. Is it just the summer temps outside or is it hot in here, MMs?

Twitter Tuesday - Lara Zielin

There is just something about the synopsis for The Implosion of Aggie Winchester that pulls me into the story:
Sixteen-year-old Aggie Winchester is that rare mix of principal’s kid and Goth girl — a rebel, or so she’d like to think. The truth is, she doesn’t know who she is or who she wants to be. She only knows she doesn’t want to be a target. Her dark makeup and clothes, along with her tough best friend, Syliva, who bullies freshman and cheerleaders alike, make Aggie feel safe. She doesn’t know what she’d do without Sylvia always having her back.

But when Sylvia finds herself pregnant and determined to turn her booty calls with the most popular boy in school into something real — like family — Aggie finds herself utterly alone and, even worse, the target of her own best friend. Add to that an ex-boyfriend who maybe wants to get back together or maybe just wants to have sex; a new boy with equally unclear intentions; and per principal mom who might be involved in the school scandal of the century, and Aggie’s having a trying junior year. In fact, she’s ready to implode.
I just purchased the book which was released on August 4th and I'm really looking forward to reading it.

Lara is part of the Girls Taking Over the World Tour with Saundra Mitchell, Christine Johnson and Rhonda Stapleton. Check out their August 25-27th tour dates stopping in IN, KY and OH. Are they coming to a town near you? This is a book tour that you shouldn't miss. You can follow Lara's twitter feed for more information on the book and tour.

Happy Birthday, Cynthia!

Second Base by *chelsea-bee
Our admin, Cynthia, is celebrating her birthday today and we tried hard to think of an appropriate way to say thank you for everything she does on the blog and forum. We figured that what a Mundie Mom would want the most (besides a tray of cupcakes) is a quiet moment with her favorite fictional characters and a chance to re-read a well loved scene. Who remembers this moment? (page 239, City of Bones):
   The rat huddled in the hollow of her palms, squeaked glumly. Delighted, she higged him to her chest. "Oh, poor, baby," she crooned, almost as if he really were a pet. "Poor Simon, it'll be fine, I promise--"
   "I wouldn't feel too sorry for him," Jace said. "That's probably the closest he's ever gotten to second base."
   "Shup up!" Clary glared at Jace furiously, but she did loosen her grip on the rat.    His whiskers were trembling, whether in anger or agitation or simple terror, she couldn't tell. "Get Magnus," she said sharply. "We have to turn him back."
   "Let's not be hasty," Jace was actally grinning, the bastard. He reached toward Simon as if he meant to pet him. "He's cute like that. Look at his little pink nose."
   Simon bared long yellow teeth at Jace and made a snapping motion. Jace pulled his outstretched hand back. "Izzy, go fetch our magnificent host."
Cynthia, we wish you the very happiest of birthdays and here's to that quiet moment so you can read a favorite chapter or two. Please take a moment to wish her a happy birthday in the comments and be sure to check out her book blog -- A Blog About Nothing. She has some cool giveaways going on right now.

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