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Showing posts with label Siege and Storm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Siege and Storm. Show all posts
The #YAMM March Madness tournament is almost to its finale! The final
two have been chosen did your favorite make it through to the championship
round?
The champion will be crowned after this final vote, so make sure you
vote and spread the word for your favorite! *Ahem THE TESTING* ;) You may
vote once a day at any of the four blogs below but, remember the same poll is
on all of our sites so your vote will only count once per site per day.
The championship round will run until Tuesday at 8 PM EST (5 PM
PST)!
Yay welcome to day 1 of our Top 10 of 2013 event! We're so happy that you all are participating with us! 2013 was a strange year for me. I've only read 75 books as of today. I hit a huge reading slump during the summer and didn't read anything in July or August. But after the slump I cam back with a vengeance lol I caught up to my goodreads challenge pretty quickly. The people at Goodreads have a cool Your Year of Books when you sign up for the challenge. If you want to see all the books I read this year go HERE! So today’s topic is Best Books I've Read in 2013 (Doesn't have to be released in 2013, just a book you've read in 2013). And I had a hell of a time narrowing it down to just 10 so there are a few honorable mentions added to this list. If you want to know anything about the books I chose just click on the title and it’ll take you to the Goodreads page!
And make sure to stop by my co-hosts sites Fiktshun and Magical Urban Fantasy Reads for their lists! Oh and make sure to sign up with the linky to share your lists! And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!Details are at the end of this post!
Monday,
December 23rd - Best Books I've Read in 2013 (Doesn't have to be released in
2013, just a book you've read in 2013)
1. Splintered by AG
Howard. This was my favorite of the year hands down!!!!!
2. The Bitter
Kingdom by Rae Carson. This series is on my all-time favorite list!
Rae is an amazing writer and Hector will definitely make my forever book
boyfriends list!
3. Siege and
Storm by Leigh Bardugo. Freaking fantastic book!!!!! Definitely
think it’s better than the first I has a new love peeps! Strumhuond!!!!!!!!!!
4. The
Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd. Megan’s storytelling is amazing
and dark and twisted and she also ramps up the creep out factor! There’s also 2
hot boys to choose from!
5. Unravel Me by
Tahereh Mafi. It was awesome, amazeballs, mind-blowing!!!! Loved Warner ooh and
Kenji!
6. The Cadet
of Tildor by Alex Lidell. An amazing High Fantasy make sure to grab this
one!
7. Scarlet by
Marissa Meyer. Even better than Cinder
and Wolf and Thorne stole my heart away from Kai!
8. These
Broken Stars by Meagan Spooner and Amie Kaufman. I just
finished this one on December 18th and I already had my list set and
ready to go! But I HAD to move one down to the honorable mentions because this
book was EPIC!!!! I can’t wait for book 2!!!!
9. In The
Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat
Winters. One of the best ghost stories
I’ve ever read! And I loved that it was set in San Diego during World War 1 and
the Spanish influenza outbreak. It was creepy and awesome! Oh and I fell for my
first ghost Stephen!
10. The
Beautiful and The Cursed by Page Morgan. It’s historical paranormal
with gargoyles and one of the best books I read hand down in 2013!
Honorable
Mentions
Sweet
Peril by Wendy Higgins. Kaidan Rowe is just too sexy for words and
he made me melt into a puddle of goo in this one!
Gold by Talia
Vance. I beta’d this for Talia and OMG it is better than Silver!!!! All you
team Austin girls get ready to swoon :D
Sentinel by
Jennifer L. Armentrout. I love Jennifer’s books and even though I was sad to see
the series end Sentinel was the perfect ending!
The
Eternity Cure by Julie
Kagawa. Loved this one! Love all of Julie’s books! I also have a new found
fondness for Jackal.
The
Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas. A High Fantasy part of the time
and a historical Fantasy the other part. This one reminded me of Harry Potter a
bit just with older characters and trust me you will all fall for Titus :D
Through
The Ever Night by Veronica Rossi.
Another one that was as awesome as the first and this one had more Roar
so I was a happy girl!
Fragments by Dan
Wells. I will freely admit I wasn’t the hugest fan of the first book. The
second in this series though was awesome and I can’t wait to read the finale!
Did any of my favorites make your list? Fill out the linky and let me know! And good luck with the giveaway :)
Hey y’all! I am so excited to have Leigh Bardugo here today for a few
reasons! I adore her books, I adore her, and she’s talking about music that she
wrote and actually sings!!! Yes peeps Leigh can sing as well as write a
fabulous book!!!! So without further ado I give you “Winter Prayer” and why she
wrote it!
If you flip to
the back of Shadow and Bone, you'll see that my official bio claims I can
sometimes be heard singing with my band, Captain Automatic. Unfortunately, it's
been a long while since we've rehearsed or played out at a club. This is a pic
taken after one of my favorite shows we played at Safari Sam's.
The club no
longer exists, and since that photo was taken, two of the guys in it have
become dads, one of them bought a house and started his own business. And the
lady with the bad case of red-eye landed her dream job and wrote a fantasy trilogy.
But I still miss
music and I often find myself driving around making up songs. One of these
became "Winter Prayer," the song we released as part of the Siege and
Storm pre-order campaign. Honestly, I was really scared to put it out there.
But the song isn't just something I made. It represents work from so many of my
amazing friends, and I wanted to share it. So how did "Winter Prayer"
go from me mumbling on my cell phone to an actual song?
1. The idea: I
have a mind like a sieve. A sieve from a giant's kitchen. So, when I get an
idea—whether for a story or a song—I record it on my cell. A little over a year
ago, I was trapped in traffic on the way back from dinner, playing around with
a folk melody that was stuck in my head and thinking about a particular scene
toward the end of Shadow and Bone. An idea for a lyric popped into my mind and
I sang it into my phone. That became the first verse of the song and it never
changed.
2.
Though I've occasionally dabbled with bass, I have this problem wherein I
don't, y'know, practice. So I called up our lead guitarist (who can play
something like twelve instruments) and I sang him the melody. He came over and I
described the way I wanted the song to start slow, pick up speed, and wind back
down all while keeping to this same repeated melody. We cobbled together a
version of it on my upright piano and recorded it on my laptop. This is a bit
of the (very) rough recording:
3. The song
didn't feel like the right fit for Captain Automatic. I wanted a bigger,
lusher, more orchestral feel. I reached out to my friend Aaron who is a
composer and producer. (He and his wife had actually both been a part of the
original Captain Automatic lineup.) Once
he was on board, I sent him the recording and a bunch of links to different
musical references—everything from Florence + the Machine to Bulgarian folk
songs. The first time he came back to me, the sound wasn't quite right—too
dirge-like, too dignified. I wanted something a little wilder, that felt like
it could be sung around a campfire. On his next try, he got it just right. We went
back and forth a few times, trying some different things with pacing and
instrumentation, and had his wife Laura Recchi step in to record temporary
vocals. "For me," says Laura, "this song evokes a sense of place
and imagery. I can see the snow, the light and shadows, and I feel the
excitement and fear of the journey. I'm also a sucker for a good folk tune in a
minor key."
Laura and her daughter Aurora rocking Tsarpunk
style at the Shadow and Bone launch party. I look a little sinister. Like maybe
I'm gonna steal that baby. Or her hat.
4. Once we had
the basics down, Aaron brought in Richard Adkins on percussion. With the rhythm
in place, it was time for me to do my part. We recorded at Aaron's house and I
have to admit it was stressful. I don't have a lot of training and I'm keenly
aware that I'm no Florence Welch. If I'm not flailing around on stage, I tend
to get very self-conscious about my voice. But Laura and Aaron were endlessly
patient and I got to record plenty of takes.
5. To fill out
the sound, Aaron had his friend Daniel Fabiano improvise a part on violin, and
Laura and her friend Belinda Wilkins became the choir. Yup, that's just two
ladies belting it out in Aaron's living room. (They're actually singing in
Ravkan.)
Aaron emailed me
the file and we went back and forth, playing with dynamics and ironing out some
of the rough edges. Here's what he had to say about the process:
"It's
always nice to work with someone who has a clear idea of what they are going
for. All I had to do was fill in the 'musical blanks,' so to speak.
It also helped
that Leigh and I used to perform together in a band, so I was familiar with her
voice and her performance style. Although we tracked drums in a 'real' studio,
we took the DIY approach of turning my living room into a mini soundstage to
record marching/stomping, violins, and slavic choirs—all using the magic of
multi-tracking. It was a lot of fun!"
For a while, I wasn't
sure what to do with the song so I just let it sit. Then I worked up the
courage to send it to my agent and she passed it along to the publisher. A few
weeks ago, my editor at Macmillan got in touch to ask if I'd be willing to have
"Winter Prayer" used as part of the pre-order campaign. Like I said,
it was scary to think about putting something this different out there, but I
also hated the idea of just letting it molder. I spoke to Aaron and he
suggested having a friend of his mix and master the track before we took it
live.
7. Nik Freitas
worked his magic at his studio, Poppy Peak:
"When I
first got the recorded session of the song, I opened it up and scrolled down the
screen and realized there were a lot more tracks than I thought! At first
listen I could hear where the song wanted to go, I just needed to clear up some
of the instrumentation with equalizer and put more emphasis on certain parts
like the bass drum and lead vocal. Once that was sounding good sonically, the
song's emotional tone was more in focus and all the other instruments
seemed to sit better and do what they needed to do in elevating all their
parts. I'm really happy with how the song turned out."
I like
to think Nik is still trapped behind that piano.
We went back and
forth a few times, but somehow, we all knew when the song was where we wanted
it to be.
It can be easy
to say we don't have time for art or to do the things we love, that we're
simply too busy. But I believe my writing benefits when I take the time to be
creative in other ways. Music has an immediacy to it that writing doesn't. It's
there and then it's gone and no two performances are ever alike. When I'm
singing or playing, I'm not thinking about all the things I have to do or what
is or isn't working in a draft, I'm just in the moment. It's less a distraction
than a shift in focus, and sometimes it's just where inspiration is hiding.
When I wrote
"Winter Prayer" and recorded it, I really had no idea what I would
use it for, if anything. But putting it together gave me
a chance to make music and work with some of my wonderfully creative friends.
No matter how crazy life gets, I never want to lose that.
Haven’t heard about Siege and Storm? Check it out!
Darkness never dies.
Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina
must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her
identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can’t outrun her past or her
destiny for long.
The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a
dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With
the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned,
determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows,
Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther
away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power,
and the love she always thought would guide her–or risk losing everything to
the oncoming storm.
Leigh Bardugo was born in Jerusalem, grew up in Los Angeles, and
graduated from Yale University. These days, she lives in Hollywood, where she
indulges her fondness for glamour, ghouls, and costuming in her other life as
makeup artist L.B. Benson. Occasionally, she can be heard singing with her
band, Captain Automatic.
Her debut novel, Shadow & Bone (Holt Children’s/ Macmillan), is a
New York Times Best Seller and the first book in the Grisha Trilogy. Book 2,
Siege and Storm, will be published in 2013. She is represented by Joanna
Stampfel-Volpe of New Leaf.
Hey welcome to the last day of the Top 10 Books of 2012! We hope you
all have been having fun! To close out the week we’re looking forward to 2013
so today’s topic is….. Top 10 Books I'm looking forward to in 2013. (This list should
be comprised of books released ONLY in 2013)
Ok I’m being a big time cheater here! I’ve read most of these books
already but I needed to share how awesome they are on and there’s not a top 10
it’s a top 12! I’ll put READ next to the ones I’ve read lol.
1. Siege and Storm by Leigh
Bardugo READ. Freaking fantastic book!!!!! Definitely think it’s better than
the first I has a new love peeps! Strumhuond!!!!!!!!!!
2. The Madman’s
Daughter by Megan Shepherd READ. This is definitely going to make my best of
2013 list. Megan’s storytelling is amazing and I’m already dying to get my
hands on book 2!
3. Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi
READ Yep and it was awesome!!!! Loved Warner ooh and Kenji! And remember to check out my Day 2 post I'm giving this one away!!!!!
4. The Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell
READ An amazing High Fantasy make sure to grab this one!
5. Scarlet by Marissa
Meyer READ. Even better than Cinder
and Wolf and Thorne stole my heart away from Kai!
6. Dark Triumph by RL LaFevers
READ. I loved Sybella in Grave Mercy
and her story was amazeballs and heartwrenching!
7. Ashes on the
Waves by Mary Lindsey. A story based off of Edgar Allen Poe’s Annabel Lee?
Yes please!
8. Apolloyn by Jennifer L.
Armentrout. Dying for this one after reading Deity and Elixir!
9. Unbreakable by Elizabeth
Norris NEED MOAR BEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh and Strutz J
10. Through The Ever
Night by Veronica Rossi READ Another one that was as awesome as the first
and this one had more Roar so I was a happy girl!
11. Gold by Talia Vance
READ. I beta’d this for Talia and OMG it is better than Silver!!!! All you team
Austin girls get ready to swoon :D
COVER TBD
12. Tarnish by Katherine Longshore.
Anne Boleyn before Henry VII? Um how awesome is that? I can’t wait to see
Katherine’s take on her!!!!!
Did any of my favorites make your list? Fill out the linky and let me
know! And good luck with the giveaway! Today’s giveaway is hosted by Mindy from
Magical Urban Fantasy Reads!
