Mundie Moms

Monday, May 13, 2013

Happy Birthday Sophie!

I'm sneaking on this evening to post a little something I'm sure Sophie is going to hate, BUT it's her BIRTHDAY and this needs to be done.



Happy Birthday Sophie!! I know you're not a fan of me posting it's your birthday, but this is a day you deserve to be spotlighted. I don't know what I'd do without you! You are more than just a friend, you've become a sister to me. You do more for me than you'll ever know. I hope today you're treated like the Queen that you are. I'd love for you to CLOSE YOUR EYES and THINK OF ENGLAND.... at least for a moment.

Here, I brought you gifts to help you envision England.....

1) You can't close your eyes and think of England without seeing your first crush


2) If that doesn't help you, your second, um, British boy might. 

 


 3) And if that doesn't help you think of ENGLAND, I know this lovely Gent will, your humbled Mr Darcy aka Colin Firth (see how I gave you two gifts in one) ;) That's not all, let's examine a few of the Mr Darcy looks....


Here's the "I'm sad I can't be with you on your Birthday Sophie" look 

Here's your "join me for dinner & we'll have a stroll in the park" look 


The "I don't think my present my will do" look

The "Do you find me dashing?" look

And last, but not least the "Care to join me for a swim" Yes I know I shared with last year, but I know you won't complain. ;)



Oh and I almost forgot, since I can't be there in person to take you out and spoil you tonight, here are some cupcakes


and a big ole' HAPPY BIRTHDAY wish!! Love ya!



*all images found on google, except the one of Sophie & I*

Blog Tour: Truth or Dare by Jacqueline Green; Meet Sydney Morgan

Welcome to today's Little Brown blog tour stop for Turth or Dare by Jacqueline Green. Today on MM's I'm introducing you to one of the characters, Sydney Morgan. Below you can read an excerpt from the book featuring Sydney & my interview with Jacqueline about her character.


In Jacqueline Green’s highly charged debut thriller, perfect for fans of Pretty Little Liars, an innocent game of TRUTH OR DARE spins out of control for three girls who find it’s no longer a party game. It’s do or die.
It all started on a whim: the game was a way for Tenley Reed to reclaim her popularity, a chance for perfect Caitlin “Angel” Thomas to prove she’s more than her Harvard application. Loner Sydney Morgan wasn’t even there; she was hiding behind her camera like usual. But when all three start receiving mysterious dares long after the party has ended, they’re forced to play along—or risk exposing their darkest secrets.
Paranoia builds as each little slip of paper taunts the girls with dares that threaten not just their reputations but also their lives. How far will Tenley, Caitlin and Sydney go to keep the truth from  surfacing? And who’s behind this twisted game?

Check out this excerpt from Sydney from Truth or Dare:

Without thinking, she reached into the glove compartment and pulled out the photo she kept tucked behind her registration. The shot itself wasn’t anything special—a mediocre image of buttercups sprouting between blades of grass. But it meant more to her than any other photo she’d ever taken. It was her first attempt at photography. And the first photo she’d taken with Guinness.
She’d been thirteen then, and recently sent off to the Sunrise Center, a treatment center for adolescents not far from Echo Bay. All she’d wanted was to burrow away in her new white-walled room for the whole summer and never come out again. But her counselor had insisted she take a class in the art-therapy program. She’d chosen photography at random; it sounded more fun than knitting and less messy than papier-mâché.
But in one session she was hooked. It wasn’t just the ritual of taking a photo she loved—how the viewfinder let her hide from the world even as she was studying it, how in the instant between the shutter opening and closing everything became silent—but also the boy who was assigned as her mentor. Guinness.
He was a little older than her, and had been in treatment for long enough that he’d earned mentoring responsibilities. She was instantly awed by him. And because his dad had a summerhouse in Echo Bay, they’d had something in common right away. He’d been the one to explain perspective and composition and lighting to her. She loved his passion for photography and the way he furrowed his brow when he studied a shot. She loved how serious his eyes were and the unusual tattoo that wound around his wrist: three thin black lines. When she finally worked up the courage to compliment him on the tattoo, the smile he’d given her had almost broken her heart. “Things aren’t always what they seem, Sydney,” he’d said. At the time, she’d had no idea what he meant. All she knew was she wanted desperately to find out.






  • Hi Jackie! Thank you for being on Mundie Moms today. How would you describe Sydney in 5 words or less? - photographer, loner, loyal, sarcastic, dreamer 
  • What is something that you've come to admire about Sydney?I admire how passionate she is about photography. It’s not just a hobby to her. It’s a dream—and her ticket to a better life. 
  • Is there anything about Sydney readers may not get to see while reading Truth or Dare, that you'd like people to know about her? Her mom has always been one of her best friends. In this book, her mom is really swamped at work and so isn’t around a lot, but for most of Sydney’s life, her mom has been her one steady constant. She had Sydney when she was only twenty years old, so sometimes she feels more like a sister to Syd than a mother. 
  • What do you feel is one of Sydney's greatest strengths? What's one of her weaknesses?I think they’re actually one and the same. Sydney is incredibly independent. She doesn’t define herself by a social circle or how many party invites she gets or Facebook friends she has. I think that makes her incredibly strong. However, it also tends to keep her from letting new people inand in that way, it’s her greatest weakness as well.  
  • Sometimes characters have these quirky things they do that make them seem relatable. What's one of Sydney's quirky little habits?Sydney wears a thin gold band on her pointer finger that was a gift from her mom, and she has a habit of twisting it whenever she’s nervous or uneasy.   
  • What is one thing Sydney can't live without?Her camera, hands down! 



  • Published by: Little Brown / Poppy
    To Be Released on: May 14th, 2013
    Purchase it from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound
    Add it to Goodreads

    When a simple round of truth or dare spins out of control, three girls find it’s no longer a party game. It’s do or die.

    It all started on a whim: the game was a way for Tenley Reed to reclaim her popularity, a chance for perfect Caitlin “Angel” Thomas to prove she’s more than her Harvard application. Loner Sydney Morgan wasn’t eventhere; she was hiding behind her camera like usual. But when all three start receiving mysterious dares long after the party has ended, they’re forced to play along—or risk exposing their darkest secrets.

    How far will Tenley, Caitlin and Sydney go to keep the truth from surfacing? And who’s behind this twisted game?

    Set against the backdrop of Echo Bay, an isolated beach town haunted by misfortune, Truth or Dare is a highly charged debut that will keep readers in suspense from beginning to end.



    Mundane Monday #184- Jem & Tessa Then and Now

    Happy Mudane Monday! Today's post is one that will be SPOILERY if you have not yet read Clockwork Princess. Don't read any further if you don't want to be spoiled.

    Yesterday Cassie shared a post card image we've all come to love, which is this one featuring modern day Tessa holding the hands of a certain someone we all guessed was Jem. 



    Now we get to see the full picture. Here's what Cassie said

    Some time ago the lovely Cassandra Jean did a series of postcards leading up to the release of Clockwork Princess. This was one of them. Whose hand Tessa was holding was deliberately not shown, but under the cut is the finished card … and a little extra artwork too, just for fun. Warnings for shipping and spoiling.


    Jem and Tessa in modern day on Blackfriars Bridge, 2008.


    Jem and Tessa in Clockwork Angel, on Blackfriars Bridge. 1878

    I can't wait to read City of Heavenly Fire!

    Shadowhunter Tarot Card Set #16: Sebastian

    Cassie featured another Shadowhunter Tarot Card set over the weekend, and this time it's that of Sebastian!


    So Cassandra Jean has finished the complete Shadowhunter Tarot, so for the next … seventy-something days I’ll be posting a card a day (okay, maybe not every day — I tend to get distracted!)  in order, from the first card to the last. Some will be under spoiler cuts; some you’ll have seen before — I’ll explain why each character has the card they have. 
    Sebastian takes the Death card. Death is a card in the tarot that promises enormous change. It seems fitting for Sebastian, who is intent on bringing change to the Shadowhunter world, come hell or high water.
    I like that Cassandra Jean has incorporated both the dark Cup and the bones of a horse, considering the passage from Revelations: “And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.”

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