Mundie Moms

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Days of Blood & Starlight Blog Tour: Excerpt


Welcome to today's tour stop in Little Brown's Official Days of Blood & Starlight Blog Tour! If you have not yet picked up this book, DO IT NOW! You can read my spoiler free 5 star review for it here. It's really more of a 10 star book than a 5 star one. Laini Taylor's sequel is AMAZING! Today I'm thrilled to be able to share an excerpt from the book, along with Laini's thought on the quote she choose. 




p. 321
There was a note … in archaic Seraphic, in a feminine hand, and stamped with a wax seal depicting a scarab beetle: Thank you, but we must respectfully decline your overture, being more enjoyably occupied at present.

Ah. This page. Well, this chapter is called “A Basket of Fruit” and it has to do with a certain character’s brazen response to a declaration of war. Perhaps more than anything else, DAYS is about the habitual perpetuation of war, the seemingly inescapable cycles of hatred and violence and reprisals, and how individuals caught up in it lack the power to affect it or act against it. (Or do they?)

So there’s this thing that happens involving the not-very-nice emperor of the seraphim, and it’s dramatic, and a catalyst for major events in the book, and it’s also the shadowy introduction of a mystery character, a hinted-at personage. 

To whom do the feminine hand and scarab seal belong? Hmmm … 

Ahh, this trying to describe a scene without spoilers? It’s tough! What can I tell you? Events have transpired involving magic that greatly piques Akiva’s curiosity, and a death that have finally goaded him into action. Big action. Writing the chapter (55) that precipitates all this, was one of those awesome writing moments of really rolling along and everything clicking into place, where I feel energized and invincible, caught in some tide of story where my fingers do not fall still on the keyboard. These moments are so precious, and not as frequent as they could be, and I tend to remember them with a kind of golden glow around them. A choir of angels singing, ha! 

I guess it’s kind of a merciless chapter; terrible things that happen in it. As soon as I finished writing it, I thought to myself (and Tweeted to the world) that I had just written the scene I would likely use for readings. Now I’m not sure if I will though, as it is a scene that contains neither Karou nor Akiva, but new characters to provide context for the state of their world, what they are fighting for/against.

In any case: the feminine hand, the scarab seal. Keep your eyes peeled for this character. Hint, though: you may have to wait until Book 3 to really find out what she’s all about … 


About the Book:


Published by: Little Brown
Released on: November 6th, 2012 
5 stars: I Loved It!
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Karou must come to terms with who and what she is, and how far she’ll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, mysteries and secrets, new characters and old favorites, Days of Blood and Starlight brings the richness, color and intensity of the first book to a brand new canvas. - quoted from Goodreads




Don't miss the other Days of Blood & Starlight excerpts posted here:

11/5: Page 44 – Forever Young Adult 
11/6: Page 115 – YA Bibliophile 
11/7: Page 245 – The Book Smugglers
11/8: Page 321 – Mundie Moms
11/9: Page 413 – The Book Rat

Laini's on TOUR! Don't miss meeting her at the following upcoming stops:


** AUSTIN, TX ** this event is happening TONIGHT! I'll see you there!

Thursday, November 8th
7:00 PM

PHOENIX, AZ

Friday, November 9th
7:00 PM

Saturday, November 10th 
Barnes & Noble (Desert Ridge)
3:00 PM

LOS ANGELES, CA

Thursday, November 15th
4:00 PM

Friday, November 16th
Barnes & Noble (Glendale)
7:00 PM

KANSAS CITY, MO

Monday, November 19th
Organized by Rainy Day Books

Tuesday, November 20th 
Barnes & Noble (Zona Rosa)
7:00 PM

AND, don't miss Laini Taylor LIVE with Little Brown's Live at the Lounge event on November 13th! Fans of Laini's will be able to LIVE chat with her via the video chat taking place HERE.


You can learn more about Laini on her website and connect with her on twitter at @lainitaylor. And remember to follow Little Brown on Twitter via @lbkids, for the latest news on Days of Blood & Starlight

Thoughtful Thursday: Hurricane Sandy Donations / KidLit Cares

*image from google*

It's been over a week now since the nation braced it's self for an unbelievable sight, in what some reported as a 1,000 wide Hurricane, Sandy hounded the east coast and left an unimaginable path of destruction behind. Claiming lives, thousands of homes and business, and effecting millions of lives not just nationally, but worldwide as well. Hurricane Sandy, the most destructive storm to ever hit the US (according to National Geopraphic) left her mark on more than just the US, as she caused destruction and claimed lives in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba and the Bahamas before moving to the US followed by Canada. 

Now like many of you who weren't in the direct path of this storm I sit here in my warm house feeling a little guilty, because I do have a roof over my head, and clothes and everything else I take for granted in home, while thousands of my fellow Americans no longer have these things. The ironic thing about that is I would gladly give many of these things I have to those who just lost everything, but have no way of doing so. While it's impossible for me to deliver goods like that, I did some research and have found places you can donate to online, and if you're in the area, locally. 

Places like The Red CrossSalvation ArmyMobile Cause, Shelter Box (I know there are many other places) are all taking donations. FEMA as well as Serve Gov have a lot of useful information about donations, local donation places, how you can volunteer and other info pertaining to helping those who are still trying to put their lives back together after Hurricane Sandy. According to the Huffington Post, if you're not in the NE and want to donate, these following online shops are donating part of their proceeds to helping Hurricane Sandy victims out: 

 "Of course, donations to The American Red Cross or the Salvation Army are valuable, but how about shopping for a cause? The holiday season is coming up, so get started on your holiday shoppingand know that part of the money you spend is going to those in need. E-tailers likeeBayStylebop and Penfield are donating percentages of their proceeds to The Red Cross"

If you're in the local area, you can find a list of Donation Centers for the NJ are here and NY  here. In all the research I did in trying to find places to donate to, I did find that blood donation was in high demand. Blood donation can be done locally as well as where you live at. You can visit the American Red Cross site, which is linked above to find donation places. As always, please be sure you look into any place you donate to, before you do a cash donation. Make sure they're a legit site/company, have a secure site, and that either 100% of the proceeds or at least 99% of the proceeds go to those in need. 


The amazing community of YA and Kidlit authors always seems to come together in time of crisis, and put together an amazing benefit to help the victims in need. We've seen it happen before with other destructive storms and flooding, and the amount they've always been able to raise is amazing! Kid lit author Kate Messener has put together Kit Lit Cares to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy. Be sure to go HERE to check out all this auction entails, and see how you can help donate to help aid in helping those effected about this storm. 

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