Keeper of the Black Stones Blog Tour: Book 2 title reveal + sneak peak!

I reviewed the totally awesome Keeper of the Black Stones back in January and now I'm excited to reveal to you all a sneak peak of book two, and yes, the title! To kick things off, I will start with something fun.

Ten Things We Didn't know About Tatiana

1) Tatiana speaks five languages (English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Romanian). She’s fluent in every language, and used to taunt her father in Romanian whenever she got mad at him.

2) She’s practiced martial arts since she was five years old (tai-kwon-doe). She achieved black belt earlier than anyone else in her class, but did it quietly, because she doesn’t really believe in bragging. She does, however, love knowing that she could beat anyone else in the class.

3) Since her mother’s death four years ago she’s been going to prep schools and living in dorms rather than living with her father or grandfather, who she doesn’t really like. She’s currently staying at KUA (Kimball Union Academy) in Plainfield, NH, where she’s studying languages, literature, history, and marshal arts. During vacation she has to travel home to Vermont to stay with her grandfather, but she spends most of her time away from him.

4) Her favorite place in her grandfather’s home is the tiny room in the eaves of the barn. She found it when she was ten, and realized that no one used it for anything – it was full of old tack, grubby clothing, a wealth of cobwebs, and several very large spiders. She promptly cleaned it out and claimed it for her own. Since then she’s installed a small television, the most comfortable chair in her grandfather’s house, and a mini fridge. She’s also been steadily stealing books from her grandfather’s three libraries, and building her own. He’s never said anything, and she doubt that he cares. This is where she disappears for days on end. She calls it her Neverland.

5) Favorite Movie: The Princess Bride. She won’t admit it, but she’s a romantic at heart, and cries whenever Wesley tells Buttercup, “As you wish.” She’s also kind of jealous that Wesley becomes a pirate. It’s on her list of things to do one day.

6) Favorite dessert: cheese cake, with raspberries and chocolate syrup on top. She likes New York style, not that fluffy whipped kind. She likes to say that whipped cheese cake is for sissies. Her favorite restaurant, thanks to the cheese cake obsession, is Junior’s in New York City.

7) She plays the clarinet, and she’s incredibly talented. She thinks it’s a girly thing to do, though, and doesn't tell many people. But she’s already been invited to join the New York City orchestra when she gets older.

8) Favorite sport: riding horses. It’s one of the only things that makes her grandfather worth the trouble, in her opinion, because he buys her horses that no one else ever could. She’s been in state and national competitions, and done extremely well. One day she’d like to be in the Olympics. If she has the time. Her riding abilities have come in handy so far, considering she practically had to teach Jason how to sit on a horse.

9) Tatiana keeps a journal, but she’ll never let anyone read it. It’s the only place where she’s truly honest, and it would make her extremely vulnerable for anyone to hear what she actually thinks.

10) She was diagnosed with Lyme disease when she was three, and nearly lost her life. Now nothing scares her. She figures she almost died once, and it wasn’t that bad. Why would she worry about dying again?

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And now here is a sneak peak from book two......

A Rebel’s Stone

Have you ever had a dream so real that when you woke up, for one brief moment, you weren’t sure where your imagination stopped and reality began? Where you forgot who you were and how you got there, and had trouble remembering even your own name?

I only ask, really, because that’s been happening to me a lot lately.

I realize this sounds crazy, but it’s not too hard to imagine when you think about what I’ve seen over the past few weeks. God, has it only been that long?

I guess I should probably start at the beginning, for this to make any sense at all. Months ago, John Fleming, an old friend of my grandfather’s, introduced him to an archeological discovery. A large stone, which looked more like a kitchen counter than the find of the millennium. His son had found it on an archaeological dig, and taken it to Dartmouth College to unravel its secret.

Fleming showed the stone to my grandfather – Doc to me – because he was a mathematician. See, the stone had hundreds of symbols engraved on its surface, and Fleming thought he’d be able to read them. In the end, of course, he did a lot more than that. He deciphered their meaning, yes. And then he listened to their instructions. Turned out the stone wasn’t just a dusty old relic carved out of granite by an ancient civilization. Or rather, it was, but it was also something a lot more. A portal, capable of doing the impossible. Capable of transporting someone back in time, into the very history of our books and stories. And it wasn’t the only one.

Allowing that journey, of course, means allowing us access to that history, and the people that made it. And that, my friends, is the crux of the problem.

My grandfather recognized immediately how dangerous the stone was. He knew that going back in time would endanger history, and the fate of the world itself. Unfortunately, Nicholas Fleming, John’s son, looked past the danger and saw the fame and fortune that such a discovery would bring. Unwilling to listen to my grandfather’s warning, Nicholas armed himself with a weapon and his twenty-first-century knowledge, climbed onto the stone, and went merrily back to Old England, to reappear some five hundred years before I was born.

My grandfather, with his ability to read the stones, identified Nicholas’ destination and went after him. His plan was to bring the man home, to safety, but that goal was quickly overshadowed by what Nicholas was doing. Because within days of finding him, Doc realized that Nicholas’ ambition had gone far beyond money and glory. He had decided to reshape history to his liking, starting with the War of the Roses. And in changing history – for reasons that still escape us – he was putting the entire world in danger. He had to be stopped.

You might be asking yourself how I got involved in all of this. Devine intervention, coincidence, bad luck? Well, that’s the million-dollar question that keeps me up at night. And I still don’t have a good answer. Not one that would make sense to anyone other than myself. The simple truth is that I also have the ability to read the stones. And I can do it better than my grandfather. I can travel back in time, yes, but I can also do more. Somehow, and I know how crazy this sounds, I can talk to the stones. Learn from them. Use them as the tools they actually are. And it’s all with one goal in mind: to preserve our past. To maintain history and, with it, the thread of time, and the world around us.

How do we do that? I have no idea. But I can say with a bit of pride that we’ve already started. Doc and I, with the help of my friends, Tatiana, Paul, and Katherine, and my recently acquired body guard Reis, defeated Richard III at the battle of Bosworth, despite Fleming taking his side, and thus helped to close the door on the Dark Ages. We stopped Nicholas Fleming from throwing the world off balance by changing the outcome of that one important war. So we’ve already started our fight for history and the world.

Unfortunately, Nicholas Fleming, now known as Dresden, escaped. Doc believes that Dresden has no true relationship with the stones, and therefore can’t predict their line of travel. Based on that, he thinks that Dresden’s last trip on the stones must have ended up at the bottom of the English Channel, or atop Mount Everest under several feet of snow. He doesn’t believe that Dresden survived his escape. He thinks that we’re safe, now that Dresden has disappeared.

But I know differently. I know what I saw when Dresden escaped, and the stone he was on made sure I understood. In reality, Dresden was sent to Germany in the year of 1939, right when the Nazis were coming to power. He didn’t know where he was going, but I’m sure he made it there safely. And I have to find him. No matter how much Doc tries to convince me otherwise, the stones don’t lie. Dresden is still out there, somewhere. And I have to find him and stop him, before he does anything else to damage history.

Because the world won’t be safe until I do.

Jason Evans

Keeper of the Black Stones

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About the Author

PT McHugh didn’t start out as a storyteller. He was, however, born into a family that encouraged imagination. He became a fan of history in school and then went to college to become a construction engineer, to build a world of straight lines, angles, and equations. He was just as surprised as everyone else when he realized that he believed in magic, and might just know the secret of how to jump through time. Since then, he’s been researching the possibility and learning everything he can about history. Just in case the opportunity arises. PT was born and raised in New Hampshire and currently lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with his wife, two daughters, and a dog named Bob, daring to dream of alternate worlds and cheering for his beloved New England Patriots.

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The Sisters Tale Gazette - Be Back Soon!

Hey all! So, obviously our blog has been kind of, really quiet, the last several months. When we went on hiatus in early 2013,  we never planned on it going this long. We thought maybe a month or two. And then, you know, somehow, time went by fast (as it usually does) and here we are and it's almost August. To be honest? This is exactly what we needed. We read just for fun, these past months and it was glorious. Our batteries are recharged and we are close to coming back and be the best blog we can be. We have thought of new exciting content for our blog and strategized up a way to write reviews that our not only our style but fun for us. To top it off, we have a beautiful new, clean layout that we are just thrilled with (though it's still being worked on). Our one year blogoversary is August 31st, so that's the date we are preparing to come back full force. Also, for that day, we are planning a huge giveaway, so be on the lookout. We wanted to thank our readers who have stuck with us through this long hiatus, we really appreciate it!

In the meantime, we'd love it if you could follow us on Bloglovin'!

So, tell us what you've been reading lately? What are some of your favorites, new or old, that you've read so far this year? 

Review: Trail of the Chupacabra by Stephen Randel

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THE REASON I READ THIS BOOK WAS BECAUSE... I absolutely adored The Chupacabra, the first book in the series, and I always said that if another book was written, I would read the next one as soon as possible. I love these characters and I just could not wait to see what happened next. This is why I chose to be apart of the blog tour, even though this blog is technically still on hiatus. I just had to make an exception!

I WOULD DESCRIBE THE OVERALL PLOT AS... a delightful, dark comedy-adventure told from multiple points of view and full of snappy, quotable dialogue. What starts as an "innocent" monster meeting ultimately leads the characters on a crazy adventure south of the Mexican-American border battling the cartels and the unforgiving desert. There was a pretty big plot twist in the middle that took me by surprise and I commend Randel for getting me on that one. The ending was earned and opens up the series for even more adventures [someone get these characters on television please!]

THE WORLD-BUILDING/SETTING WAS... incredibly well-developed. Although this story is set in the "real world" along the Mexican-American border, Randel does a superb job at giving the Mexican desert that otherworldly feeling where perhaps finding the legendary chupacabra is indeed possible. There is so much tension and danger, that anything can happen to anyone.

I FOUND THE CHARACTERS TO BE... classic archetypes with a modern twist, each with their own "unique" voice.  A first glance, a majority of the characters tend to selfish and harsh caring only about their personal agendas. However, Randel always writes his characters as having depth and whimsy as opposed to being shallow and silly. They may do bad things, but their motivations are always interesting and deeply personal; for it is in their relationships with other characters that make them seem the most human. For example, Avery is an incredibly hard character to love, but he is an interesting character to follow. He's still that [un]lovable, paranoid, self-centered freak from the first novel, but manages to display a tiny dose of humanity for his best friend Ziggy (someone he does not treat well at all for most of the book). Another example is El Barquero ("The Ferryman") aka the Mexican Jack Bauer and his nearly mythic reputation. He may commit horrible acts of revenge (killing and blowing stuff up), but he shows vulnerability with his friend Cesar and in his thoughts of his deceased family. General X-Ray of militia STRAC-BOM wants to be an important leader so much (and avoid feeling like a failure), that he invented an enemy for his men to to fight. Even series villain El Padre shows a softer side with his "son", The Butcher. The characters' motivations are what grounds them in this "hyper-reality".

THIS BOOK IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE... it showcases the very real violence along the Mexican-American border. Like in first book, the legendary chupacabra is a metaphor for this violence. While the beast is out for the blood of goats, much human blood is spilled in the on-going war with the cartels to stop their trafficking of drugs and weapons. The fictional militia STRAC-BOM may be hilariously inept, but real militias do exist and take matters into their own hands, posing even more problems for border agencies. Also, immigration policy is a hot-button issue, especially today and particularly concerning Mexican immigrants and their path to possible citizenship in the USA.

OVERALL, THE TRAIL OF THE CHUPACABRA IS... an exceptionally, well-written sequel that is just as entertaining as The Chupacabra. It is a great summer read. I cannot wait to see what adventures are next.

QUOTE: "You're a very strange man." "Thank you. Genius is almost always misdiagnosed." 

Rating: 4/5

Trail of the Chupacabra: An Avery Bartholomew Pendleton Misadventure

by Stephen Randel [Stephen Randel, CFA, was born in Houston, Texas. He is a graduate of Texas Christian University. Steve now lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with his wife and their two rescue dogs].

Summary: Avery Bartholomew Pendleton is back, and he’s just as crazy as ever. Avery is a paranoid loner obsessed with global conspiracy theories who spends most of his time crafting absurd and threatening letters to anyone who offends him. That means pretty much everyone. Still convinced of the existence of the mythical Mexican chupacabra*, Avery enlists the assistance of the Southwest Texas Revolutionary Armed Confederate Border Operations Militia (STRAC-BOM) and their manic leader, General X-Ray, to help him invade Mexico. Accompanied by Ziggy, a burned-out hippy, and an uncommonly large iguana named Nancy, the group follows the advice of a New Orleans voodoo priestess and heads straight into the Mexican desert. Unfortunately for the motley gang of explorers, Mexico can be a dangerous place if you cross the wrong people -- specifically, the Padre, a vicious drug cartel boss, and El Barquero, a murderous gunrunner who has crossed Avery’s path before. What unfolds is a laugh-out-loud dark comedy of insane humor, unforgettable characters, and chilling thrills.

*No chupacabras were injured in the writing of this book.

Pages: 348        
                           
Buy The Book @ Amazon 

Part of Sage's Blog Tour

Excerpt: Persistence of Vision by Liesel K. Hill (Blog Tour)

EXCERPT

The men with Marcus had fallen back, leaving him out in front of them before the oncoming Trepids. The ground was littered with those they’d already killed, but the approaching wave of violence was gargantuan in comparison. Maggie’s heart quickened with fear and she wondered what they would do. Marcus, standing twenty feet ahead of the others, still holding that wooden staff, would surely be crushed.

He stood perfectly still, staff in hand, as dozens of Trepids rushed toward him. It was an army, coming toward him like a moving wall. The other cave-dwellers were taking slow, tentative steps backward, toward the cave.

“Joan, what’s he…?”

Joan still held fast to Maggie’s wrist, but she gave Maggie a reassuring look.

With the Trepids less than ten feet from him, Marcus finally moved. He hefted the staff in his left hand, tossing it up a few inches so he could get ahold of it further down. Then he took a knee while also slamming the staff into the ground. He timed it perfectly so that his knee and the butt of the staff hit the ground at the same time. The wave of energy that radiated out from him was unlike anything Maggie had ever felt. She felt it in the ground below her. It came up through her shoes and into her body, spiking her heart rate and making her skeleton vibrate against her flesh. The very mountain quivered, as if from a seismic aftershock.

Everything was moving in slow motion; the power radiating from Marcus had caught and absorbed everything around him. His warped bubble of energy had trapped them all and, for only a heartbeat, connected them…

Then it was gone. Sudden vertigo made Maggie step backward with one leg to catch herself. It was like a dream where you feel like you’re falling until you kick yourself awake. The instant her foot hit the ground the dizziness was gone, and then there was only silence in the cave and Joan holding Maggie’s hand, looking at her speculatively.

Maggie looked out to where the battle had taken place. Her mouth dropped open. All the Trepids who’d been coming—every single one of them, and there must have been close to a hundred—had fallen to the ground. The utter silence made Maggie’s breathing sound loud, and she knew they were all dead. He’d killed them all.

Review: Hansel and Gretel by Brothers Grimm [Project Fairytale]

Hansel and Gretel are both smart, plucky, and resourceful children. They are both proactive characters whose cleverness drive the story and are the villain's ultimate undoing (Hansel's ingenuity and Gretel's trickery). It can be tricky to give children a characterization without making them seem to perfect, but I thought these two siblings were portrayed well and without Stu-like tendencies.

The bond of the "blood" family is the predominant theme in this book. It is more powerful than "hunger": for food, for power, for lust...and like in many fairytales, love is wielded like a weapon to defeat evil. The children want to get back to their father so badly, that it motivates them to kill (granted it is in self-defense, but they still kill someone and that will change them forever). It is also interesting to mention that the step-mother in this story is portrayed in a negative light, further reinforcing the trope of "evil" stepmothers in fairytales. Perhaps this trope lives on to further push the idea that the bonds of blood can never be truly broken.

It is interesting to note that Gretel is the only female to survive this story. This seems to be the case because Gretel values love over everything else. Both the step-mother and witch are shown to be selfish and power-hungry. This characterization leads ultimate to their deaths. Still, the females in this story tend to hold the most "power". While Hansel is a resourceful child, it is Gretel that defeats the witch by pushing her into the oven. Just like it is the step-mother who convinces her spineless husband (the father) to abandon the children in their "best interest"; just like it is the witch who lures children with sweets. The women's prerogative definitely drives this tale.

Finally, I love the unique depiction of the witch in this story as a red-eyed, near-sighted, cannibal who has the same sense of smell as beasts. It just makes the villain that much more scary.

Feature and Follow Friday (23)

Hello everyone! It's another Feature & Follow Friday! It's been a blast meeting everyone and following so many blogs. We hope this week will be just as successful as last week! 

Feature and Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee.

This week's question is...

Q: Confess your blogger sins! Is there anything as a newbie blogger that you've done, that as you gained more experience you were like -- oops?

I don't know that I messed up or anything, but I tend to get overwhelmed alot with everything and the blog takes a backseat. That was one of the reasons we went on hiatus because we needed to figure out more of a schedule. We're still working out the kinks, you know? Especially when you're active in other types of social media and have to read and have real life stuff. It's a real balancing act and one hopefully we'll get down pat real soon.

Let me know what you think in the comments! Or if you want, you can just say hi!

Review: A Tale Dark & Grimm [Project Fairytale]

This middle grade novel tries too hard to be like Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. It really wants to be super quirky and gross-out funny, but honestly it comes off as contrived. The main storyline follows Hansel and Gretel as they leave their own story and weave in and out of other fairytale re-tellings.

Hansel and Gretel are pretty resourceful considering their young age, but they seem to purposely get themselves into trouble by doing "stupid" things. I realize they are children, but in other versions of this story (including the original), the children are exceptionally smart and tenacious.

My favorite story by far was "The Three Golden Hairs". In this story, Hansel outwits the Devil in hell. It reminded me of the famous myths where the hero uses his wits to defeat the villain, free the oppressed and save the day. It was also the turning point of the larger, serialized story; armed with new found truths, Hansel emerges stronger than ever (just like the heros of mythos before him).

On the other hand, the worst story by a mile is "As Red as Blood". Gretel, who should have been more street-smart at this point in the story, falls victim to a monster simply because he was gorgeous. I felt the storyline was incredibly offensive on so many levels considering Gretel is a child and should not be having a "love" story; even a negative one. It was gross to see a man pursue her and for her to think it was legit. I am assuming the author intended it to be a learning experience, but I felt like it went too far. In fact, this story was not needed at all. It provided nothing to the greater plot except to make the writer squirm.

I did like how the larger story came together at the end. There is a clever twist with the last story featuring a dragon. The ending was really well-fought for by the two lead characters and definitely well-earned.

Interview: P.T. McHugh on Keeper of the Black Stones

PT McHugh didn't start out as a storyteller. He was, however, born into a family that encouraged imagination. He became a fan of history in school and then went to college to become a construction engineer, to build a world of straight lines, angles, and equations. He was just as surprised as everyone else when he realized that he believed in magic, and might just know the secret of how to jump through time. Since then, he’s been researching the possibility and learning everything he can about history. Just in case the opportunity arises. PT was born and raised in New Hampshire and currently lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with his wife, two daughters, and a dog named Bob, daring to dream of alternate worlds and cheering for his beloved New England Patriots.

website - goodreads - twitter - facebook

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1. So, I just wanted to start off by saying, I loved Keeper of the Black Stones. My first question would be, how long have you been a writer and do you have any advice for aspiring authors? Thank you for the kind words up front, I’m humbled and a little overwhelmed. I've been writing for fun for years, ever since college. I never really tried to get published, but with a lot of support from my family (especially my wife), I finally decided to give it a try. The result is the book you have in front of you. In regard to advice, the best I can give is “Just go for it.” I know it’s been said to death, but it’s true – the only way you can learn is to do it. Try to find time (for me it was always at night after everyone went to bed because I'm a chronic insomniac). Sit down and “find your own voice.” And don’t let detractors get you down. Even your own family and friends may be less enthusiastic than you would like, when it comes to your passion for writing. But that’s not the important thing. It’s up to you to keep pushing, keep learning, and improving. And enjoy the process. Don’t assume you’re going to complete your manuscript, sign a seven-figure deal, and retire on the beach somewhere. That’s not going to happen. Instead, be proud of your “hobby” and continue to improve on your skills. In the end, you never know!

2. Tell me about how you came up with the idea for Keeper of the Black Stones. What made you want to write a time travel story? Did any time travel stories (books, films or tv) inspire you? I simply love history. One day I asked myself a question: what would I do in that situation if I was there? Better yet, what would I have done if I was there when I was only fourteen? As a boy I loved A Connecticut Yankee in King Author’s Court, so I guess you could say that in some sense that particular book may have influenced me.

3. I was very impressed with you how handled the mechanics of time travel in your book. Was it challenging coming up with the idea of the stones and how they would work? It’s funny that you mentioned that, because honestly my editor and I (Carrie White, who was and is still of course amazing) spent several nights playing with the concept of how time travel would work. See, I wanted to make several hours in our time last weeks or months in the past, as far as a conversion goes, but we didn't exactly have a standard ratio. Carrie kept telling me, “Look, you have to KNOW that kind of thing, even if you never tell the reader, because at some point it will become important.” So in the diary sequence I spell out a formula I put together, knowing full well that in some cases it didn't quite work. And if you remember, Doc even states as much by saying, “The equation should work, but I'm missing a variable I can’t quit figure out.” It means we’re working on it. Carrie and I have a rough idea of what the translation is, but we've left plenty of room for it NOT to work. In the end, we have to be open to the idea that there’s NOT an exact formula. Jason might know, but he’s certainly not telling.

4. I really enjoyed Jason and his journey throughout the book. He was just a regular kid in the beginning but by the end, it's fair to say his life is never going to be the same. Did anyone in particular inspire Jason's character? Jason is a mixture of several of my friends growing up, and someone who I wished I could have been. I wanted Jason to be someone you could easily cheer for, but at the same time I didn't want him to be the stereotypical low kid on the totem poll – that’s been done to death. I wanted him to be full of doubt, curiosity, and wonder, just like most all teenagers. I started with a basic idea of who he was, and he grew from there to become who he is. Honestly, though, he wasn't that person when we first started writing the book. I guess all characters are probably like that.

5. I really LOVED the group dynamic in the book. It's refreshing because I don't see that enough in Young Adult Fiction. Besides Jason, what other characters did you enjoy writing the most? Tatiana was by far my favorite character to write. Ironically, she wasn't even in the original manuscript. Carrie told me up front that I needed a prominent female character, no buts about it. I argued, but I ended up writing her, and now she’s the girl I wish I knew in high school. Her personality and physical beauty is a composite of my wife and my two daughters. Beautiful, intelligent, stubborn, courageous, and terrifying if you cross her. She’s a riot to write.

6. Tell me a little bit about your writing process during Keeper of the Black Stones and what it was like having your story published. Honestly it was nothing like I thought it would be. In the movies you see a writer zip off the last page of his manuscript before lighting a cigar and pouring himself a glass of champaign. That wasn’t my experience, not by a long shot. First I wrote the first manuscript, was lucky enough to get it signed, and went into the editing process. You know when I knew I was done editing? (Long pause). My editor told me right, that’s enough, we’re ready, and sent the manuscript to the formatter. There were still a lot of things I would have changed, though I like what we came up with, but editing could have gone on forever. Seriously it’s a lot of hard work and dedication on all sides (publisher, editor, and author), and you could kill yourself going over it again and again. You learn quickly that it’s a team process; your editor is just as tied in to the story as you are. And lastly, you learn to keep writing, reshaping the story and writing it all over again … and again … and again. You’re not done when you think you are ,and when your editor finally says that you ARE done, it kind of catches you by surprise.

7. If you could summarize what Keeper of the Black Stones is about to you, what would you say? What would you like readers to get out of it ultimately? The story to me is about friendship, coming of age, and adventure. I wanted the reader to be engaged with the characters, and I wanted a story that was enjoyable to read for both adults and kids. I always wanted to create a story – or in this case a series – that made you think. I’m by no means a historian, but I am a very big fan of history, so that was a natural place for me to start. There’s just so much material there to work with – so many what ifs! I’m hoping that people learn to enjoy history a little more and perhaps go out on their own and learn more about a particular time period that interests them.
8. The ending made me want the next book RIGHT AWAY. The time period the story seems to be heading to next will be absolutely make a compelling read. Can you give readers out there any teases about what to expect with book number 2? Hm… well the plot’s much bigger in the second book, because it can be, now that we know the characters. They’re learning to work as a team now, and that brings both challenges and rewards. And Jason is getting even … well, bigger. He’s going to face tougher choices this time, and risk a whole lot more. I’m afraid that’s all I can give you right now.

9. How many books are there going to be? Is it going to be a trilogy? Currently we’re under contract for a trilogy. We’re knee-deep into the second book and outlining the third. Between you and me, though, there’s talk of seven books, perhaps even more.

10. Lastly, if time travel was possible, where/when would you go and why? Great question and a tough one. There are so many times and places that I’m crazy about experiencing, so it’s tough to select one. If I had too, I would say early 18th century. For some reason, the Napoleonic wars fascinated me. Of course if I lived through them I’m sure I would feel differently. But in the early 18th century so much changed throughout the world… it would be fascinating to take a simple glimpse up close. Maybe Jason will get that chance, which will give me the opportunity to live through him!

Thank you Patrick for that fantastic interview! Don't forget everyone, Keeper of the Black Stones comes out TODAY, so head on over to Amazon, etc and buy it, or request it at your library asap!

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Scooping The Screen (21)

Welcome to the 20th edition of Scooping The Screen, our own original feature in which books on television and in film will be spotlighted. This feature will be posted at varying frequencies, so please keep checking our site for further updates (although I hope to have it out at least once a week).

~BOOKS ON TELEVISION~

NBC has cancelled Do No Harm after two episodes. Law & Order: SVU repeats will fill the slot. [HR]

The Walking Dead returned with a series-high 12.3 million viewers for its midseason premiere on Sunday, February 10th. [HR]

The CW has renewed Supernatural, Arrow, and The Vampire Diaries for the 2013-2014 season. [TVLINE]

CBS has released the first teaser promo for Under The Dome, premiering this summer. Amazon has also negotiated with CBS to stream the episodes four days after their air date on its Prime service. [DHD]

HBO has released another teaser promo for Game of Thrones and another in-production video focusing on Iceland. Season 3 premieres March 31st. The first real trailer for the show is due to hit on-demand on February 25th. [WIC]


Pilot News: NBC has ordered Anthony Zuiker's Alice in Wonderland sequel which will be in contention for midseason 2014; The CW's Amazon pilot will be potentially shot off-cycle; Lifetime's adaption of Witches of East End will have a 10-episode first season to debut later this year; Emma Roberts has landed the lead in FOX's Delirium pilot;

THIS WEEK ON BOOKISH TV...
(click on each poster for the episode preview; only new episodes are listed)

S U N D A Y, February 10th


M O N D A Y, February 11th

T U E S D A Y, February 12th


W E D N E S D A Y, February 13th


T H U R S D A Y, February 14th


F R I D A Y, February 15th

S A T U R D A Y, February 16th
Nothing scheduled

What are YOU looking forward to this week?

~BOOKS IN FILM~

#ShareMortalLove has released new images for Simon, Isabelle, and Alec to celebrate the upcoming release of The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. [TMI FB]

An adaption of The Book Thief will begin production this month in Berlin. The film stars Emily Watson and Geoffery Rush and will be directed by Brian Percival. [HR]

Development News: Vampire Academy will be made into a movie starring Ringer's Zoey Deutch and directed by Mark Waters; Australian director Scott Hicks will helm an adaption of Fallen; Charlize Theron will star in Dark Places; Emily Van Camp will play the female lead in Captain America 2; Chris Pratt will play Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy; Universal has picked up the rights to Julie Kagawa's new supernatural book series; FOX 2000 has won the rights to Blackout by John Rocco; CBS Films and Sony are both developing re-tellings of Oliver Twist

BOOKISH FILM TRAILER OF THE WEEK........

Jack The Giant Killer, based on the Cornish faiytale, will be released in theaters on March 1, 2013. The film stars Nicholas Hoult. [x]



Well, that concludes this edition of Scooping The Screen. I hope to have additional editions out regularly.

Feature and Follow Friday (22)

Hello everyone! It's another Feature & Follow Friday! It's been a blast meeting everyone and following so many blogs. We hope this week will be just as successful as last week! 

Feature and Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee.

This week's question is...

Q: Happy Mardi Gras! If they were throwing the HOTTEST books off of a Mardi Gras float -- what would you do to have them throw to you…?

Well, I'm not sure if I would recommend anyone throwing books at you off of anything. I mean...what if someone decided to throw a hardcover copy of Storm of Swords at me? Or Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix? I mean that might literally kill me...and as much as I love reading, I don't think reading should kill. *looks* But seriously, I'd just prefer getting books from the library and/or Amazon.

Let me know what you think in the comments! Or if you want, you can just say hi!

Feature and Follow Friday (21)

Hello everyone! It's another Feature & Follow Friday! It's been a blast meeting everyone and following so many blogs. We hope this week will be just as successful as last week! 

Feature and Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee.

This week's question is...

Q: What is the first thing you would do if you woke up to find yourself in your favorite book?

If I woke up in the Harry Potter books, the first thing I would do is find my way to Hogwarts and hope Dumbledore was still alive. I'd tell him my story and hope he would hire me as one of his teachers. Maybe he could open up another section of Muggle Studies? LOL. Then I would hope and pray Voldie wouldn't hear of me...but I would also befriend Harry, Ron, and Hermione as well. It would be fun times! :)

Let me know what you think in the comments! Or if you want, you can just say hi!

Scooping The Screen (20)

Welcome to the 20th edition of Scooping The Screen, our own original feature in which books on television and in film will be spotlighted. This feature will be posted at varying frequencies, so please keep checking our site for further updates (although I hope to have it out at least once a week).

~BOOKS ON TELEVISION~

Pilot News: The CW has picked up The Selection (new version) and The Hundred to pilot; Fox has picked up Delirium and Sleepy Hollow; ABC has picked up S.H.I.E.L.D. and Venice, based on Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet

THIS WEEK ON BOOKISH TV...
(click on each poster for the episode preview; only new episodes are listed)

S U N D A Y, January 27th
Nothing scheduled this week.
M O N D A Y, January 28th

T U E S D A Y, January 29th

W E D N E S D A Y, January 30th

T H U R S D A Y, January 31st
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F R I D A Y, February 1st

S A T U R D A Y, February 2nd
Nothing scheduled

What are YOU looking forward to this week?

~BOOKS IN FILM~

CBS Films is adapting Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. This modern-day version will be called Oliver Twisted. [HR]

David Fincher may direct the adaption of Gone Girl produced by Reese Witherspoon. [HR]

Ron Howard may possibly direct Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book as a live-action feature. [HR]

BOOKISH FILM TRAILER OF THE WEEK........

World War Z, based on the book by Max Brooks, will be released in theaters on June 21, 2013. The film stars Brad Pitt and Mireille Enos. [x]



Well, that concludes this edition of Scooping The Screen. I hope to have additional editions out regularly.

Feature and Follow Friday (20)

Hello everyone! It's another Feature & Follow Friday! It's been a blast meeting everyone and following so many blogs. We hope this week will be just as successful as last week! 

Feature and Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee.

This week's question is...

Q: What is the last book that kept you up late into the night just to finish it?

The last book that kept me up late at night was Shades of Earth by Beth Revis. I stayed up pretty late on a weekday to finish the book even though I was risking a lack of sleep. But I just had too! Shauna had already finished it and I was tired of her secret glances of knowing what happened. So I MADE time to finish it. Sleep be damned! Speaking of Shades of Earth, we will be having a special co-review about this book soon! The series is special to both of us! So look out for that!

Let me know what you think in the comments! Or if you want, you can just say hi!