Guest Post by J. Nelle Patrick (Tsarina)

Hi guys! Today, I'm really excited to introduce J. Nelle Patrick (a.k.a. Jackson Pierce) onto Bookcase to Heaven™ to talk about Anastasia, one of the side characters in her February 27th YA release, TSARINA (Razorbill), as part of the TSARINA Blog Tour.

One of my all-time favorite animated movies is Anastasia (1997) and I am absolutely smitten with Dimitri and Anastasia-- definitely my favorite animated couple, hands-down. TSARINA is about Anastasia's brother, Alexei, and all the political intrigue, decadent luxury, fanatic mysticism (think: Rasputin) of the Tsarist era. Just take a look at the cover-- so pretty, isn't it?

There's a giveaway at the end of the post, so do hop by to try your luck.

Now, without further ado, let me pass the blog over to Jackson!

Imperial Russia swirls with rebellion.

The Reds are gaining ground, and the loyal Whites struggle to hold Saint Petersburg. But Natalya isn’t afraid. Wrapped in fur and tucked inside her lavish home, she feels safe. Alexei Romanov, heir to the Russian throne and her first love, has told her a secret: Hidden within the Winter Palace lies a Faberge Egg enchanted by the mystic Rasputin. With it, the Romanovs will never fall from power. The Reds will never take the country. And one day, Alexei will ascend the throne and Natalya will be beside him— the tsarina of Russia. 

But when the Reds raid the Winter Palace, the egg vanishes and the Romanovs are captured. Natalya must find the egg to save Alexei, her way of life, and her royal future. To do so, she’s forced to ally herself with the enemy— a young Red named Leo who wants the egg for his own purposes. But as they brave a war-battered landscape of snow and magic, Natalya realizes that the world isn’t as simple as it seemed back in Saint Petersburg. Nothing– not friends, not politics, and not love– are as clear as Red and White.

The Anastasia Story

Anastasia.

She’s everyone’s favorite Romanov. In fact, she’s usually the only Romanov people know by name. If you’ve been reading the other posts in this blog tour, you already know that the animated Anastasia movie is basically all lies (link to that blog post here, please!). Why?

Because she’s the one who supposedly escaped and survived the executions.

Before I go on, I have to tell you something— this blog post is going to get kind of dark. So, to help, I’m going to put some photos of kittens here and there. If things are getting too dark for you, look at the kittens, okay?

(http://www.bilgilinks.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/kedi10.jpg)

Okay. Here we go.

Who was Anastasia?

Anastasia was the youngest of the Romanov sisters— her brother, Alexei, was the youngest over all. She was a pretty delightful and mischievous kid— one of the family doctors said she “held the record for punishable deeds in the family”. She played outdoors, liked acting, and was especially close to the other younger sister, Maria, who she shared a room with. When she grew older, she would visit the Red Cross hospital and play checkers with wounded soldiers and occasionally write poetry. Simply put, she was pretty cool. I think you would have liked her.

http://31.media.tumblr.com/7df128ae9ebc99751eb9458e8745d12f/tumblr_mo8iuf1BW51qbioujo1_500.gif (Anastasia and her siblings)

What happened to her?

The entire Romanov family was executed in Ekaterinberg by a group of Reds who’d had them under various forms of house arrest for over a year. The execution was brutal— I won’t go into detail, but know that I cried over it several times while researching TSARINA. Actually, if I think about it too hard, I still cry over it.

(http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/16200000/Kitten-pic-cute-kittens-16292210-1024-768.jpg)

Why do so many people think she survived the execution?

When the bodies of the Romanov family were excavated in 1991, they’d been exposed to the elements so long they were skeletonized. Through DNA and skeletal analysis, they were able to sort out who the Tsar and Tsarina were, as well as the handful of servants that had been executed with them. They also were able to identify Olga and Tatiana, the oldest two Romanov sisters, and then a third skeleton, which they believed to be Maria.

And then they were out of skeletons. Anastasia and Alexei weren’t there.

Actually, it could have been Maria and Alexei that were missing— the Russian scientists said that Anastasia was that third found skeleton, and it was Maria who was unaccounted for, while the American scientists working the case said it the third found skeleton was Maria and Anastasia was the missing daughter. Maria and Anastasia were similar in size and, obviously, would have the same mitochondria DNA since they had the same parents, so it was impossible to tell for sure. For the sake of this post, let’s assume Anastasia was the missing daughter.

So, doesn’t that mean it’s possible she and Alexei survived?

It never was particularly likely, seeing as how the soldiers who were there that night insisted that everyone was killed. I mean, why kill the servants and the dogs (seriously— they killed the family’s dogs) if you’re just going to let a legitimate heir to the throne survive?

But, the whole matter was put to bed in 2007, when two final skeletons were found in the forest near Ekaterinberg. These skeletons were in really bad shape. While the other skeletons had been burned and buried, these had been cut up, smashed, and appeared to have acid damage. The theory is that the Reds didn’t want anyone to know that the royal family was dead— at least not right away— so they wanted to do a really, really good job of hiding the bodies. Because Anastasia and Alexei were the smallest…

(you’re going to need a kitten for this)
(http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/16100000/Cute-Kitten-kittens-16122946-1280-800.jpg)

…the Reds used their bodies to test out various disposal techniques— like dissolving them in acid, burning them, throwing them down a well, etc. When that didn’t work, they decided it was easiest to just bury the rest of the family and leave Anastasia and Alexei’s bodies elsewhere. They were hoping that anyone who found the bodies would assume these were just regular-old-graves, since the number of bodies wouldn’t match the number of missing Romanovs.

I heard some lady says she’s the real Anastasia.

Yeah, that lady is lying. Or maybe she’s just confused. I don’t know. Over the years, dozens of people have claimed to be Anastasia. Some have even claimed to be Maria, Tatiana, or Olga, and a few men have insisted that they’re Alexei. I would love itif that were true, but it’s not. DNA proves that the entire Romanov family is accounted for, now. Even if we can’t be totally sure whether it was Maria or Anastasia temporarily lost with Alexei, we now have seven bodies to match with seven family members.

Where is Anastasia now?

Before Anastasia and Alexei’s bodies were found, Russia held a state funeral for the other Romanovs, and interred them in the St. Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. You can see video from the funeral services here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIuXXR8n9Sc

When Anastasia and Alexei were found, their bodies were interred alongside the rest of their family. They’re all together now in the St. Catherine chapel of the Cathedral.

Here is something that I think you should remember though: The most interesting thing about Anastasia isn’t the theory that she might have survived. The most interesting thing about Anastasia is that, really, she wasn’t that interesting. She was just like you, or me, or any other teenager. She happened to be royalty, sure, but she also loved her siblings, was a bad speller, ate too much chocolate, and had a purple bedroom with butterflies on the walls.

So, instead of remembering what didn’t happen— her escape— maybe we can remember the things that did happen, and the Romanov family as they really were: People.

People with kittens, in fact:

(http://www.livadia.org/ana/1907-1912/6.jpg)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J. Nelle Patrick is the pseduonym for twenty-nine year old Jackson Pearce. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with a slightly cross-eyed cat and a lot of secondhand furniture. She graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in English and a minor in Philosophy. She auditioned for the circus once, but didn’t make it; other jobs she’s had include obituaries writer, biker bar waitress, and receptionist. She currently coaches a winterguard at a local high school.


Jackson began writing when she got angry that the school librarian couldn’t tell her of a book that contained a smart girl, horses, baby animals, and magic. Her solution was to write the book herself when she was twelve. Her parents thought it was cute at first, but have grown steadily more concerned for her ever since.

Jackson is also the author of a series of retold fairytales.

GIVEAWAY (Yay!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

xoxo,
Sel

Guest Post by Anne Applegate (The Last Academy)

Today, we are welcoming Anne to write a guest post for Bookcase to Heaven™ as part of THE LAST ACADEMY blog tour organised by Shane @ Itching for Books. 

I suggested  “A Day in the life” of one of the characters from The Last Academy.  Anne jumped the chance to spend a little time with Lethe’s Drama teacher, Mr. Cooper, better known to the students as Coop. In the book, he’s a mischievous fellow, but here you’ll find he’s got a bit of a dark side.  Enjoy! 

THE LAST ACADEMY

Curtis Sittenfeld's PREP meets THE SIXTH SENSE in this spine-tingling, unforgettable debut.

Camden Fisher arrives at boarding school haunted by a falling-out with her best friend back home. But the manicured grounds of Lethe Academy are like nothing Cam has ever known. There are gorgeous, preppy boys wielding tennis rackets, and circles of girls with secrets to spare. Only . . . something is not quite right. One of Cam's new friends mysteriously disappears, but the teachers don't seem too concerned. Cam wakes up to strangers in her room, who then melt into the night. She is suddenly plagued by odd memories, and senses there might be something dark and terrible brewing. But what? The answer will leave Cam--and readers--stunned and breathless, in this thrilling debut novel.

Release date: May 1st 2013

Publisher: Point

Purchase: Amazon

A Day in the Life of Coop 

Coop’s Null Hypothesis

BY ANNE APPLEGATE

God, I hate kids.  I’ve seen a million of them over the years, stinking of bubblegum and deodorant and excitement, bright futures ahead of them.  Not like me.  I’m the most senior educator at Lethe.   And as Barnaby Charon says, I’m tenured.    

Late at night, Barnaby and I sit together in the Faculty Room.  We drink cup after cup of coffee and discuss the human condition.  His teeth clink against the ceramic mug with each sip.  This habit will eventually cause either his teeth, or my sanity, to break.  But I don’t let on.  I needle him with questions.  Where do the children go after he knocks on their dorm room doors, late at night?  Why do the ones who come back have no memories?  He tells me everything, but never what I really want to know:  why won’t he take me? 

“You know the reason.” He dismisses my pleas and drains his mug.  Clink.  Does the man have no lips at all to pad his teeth?  I think you are lying, I conclude now, after all these years.  I think some inexplicable part of you would be lonely without me.  I turn to the window, gritting my own teeth.  Outside, in flashing form, students sneak out of their dorms, off to discover all the secrets of youth.  Lucky fools. 

Tonight, I ask a new question.  “Are there others like me?” 

Barnaby lets out a hiss like water on a campfire.  My heart thumps faster in my chest.   I’m terrified of him, but I press my luck, hoping beyond hope that tonight I will hear something new.   I say, “There’s a place called Devil’s Hole.  A…a  spring-filled cavern out in the middle of Death Valley.  They say it’s bottomless.”  I take a deep breath.  In 1965, two boys went skin diving down into the depths of Devil’s Hole and never returned.  Rescuers searched four days, diving down 150 feet into the caverns.  Rumor has it one of the boy’s gear eventually washed up…  on the shores of Baja, California. 

“Who is ‘they’?”  Barnaby asks. 

“I saw it on TV,” I flush, aware of how grasping it sounds.  But I know a little something about caves and being lost in them.   About disappearing into them.  Devil’s Hole is like a piece of steak stuck between my teeth, only it’s a thought in my brain. 

Clink.  “You are the Null Hypothesis, Mr. Cooper,” he answers.   We’ve had this conversation.  In medicine, accepting Null Hypothesis means a potential treatment had no effect.  To us, it has become shorthand to mean I will never escape this place, no matter what I try.  My fate is null.  I cannot accept it. 

Sometimes, when a student is ready to leave, I weep.  Nobody seems surprised – after all, I’m the drama teacher, all about theatrics.   They don’t know the mad thoughts that run through my head, how I would skin them and wear their bodies as a disguise if I could, just to get out of here.   

Tomorrow, Spring Break starts.  For the first time in untold years, I’ve got big plans.  I’ll get in my car and start driving.  Death Valley is only six hours away – I can be there by dark.  I have no scuba gear, but if you know me, you’ll understand I won’t need it.   See, Barnaby dodged my question: Are there others like me?  Now I can’t stop hoping.  Maybe there are even two like me.  Maybe I will find them at Devil’s Hole.   Maybe there is a way to escape the null. 

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ABOUT ANNE

Anne Applegate was born in Chico, California.  Most of her childhood was spent moving across America with her family, nomad style.

When Anne was fourteen, her parents sent her to boarding school so she could spend four years in a single educational system.  As it turned out, her family then promptly settled into a small mid-western town and lived there for the next sixteen years.  Anne still hasn’t figured out if this means something.

After graduation, she went on to Tufts University in Medford, MA, where she had a wicked good time. Eventually, she  wound up back on the west coast, where she married a fantastic Californian guy.  Together, they have three children.

For the last twelve years, Anne has lived  in San Luis Obispo County.  This is by far the longest time she has stayed in any one place her whole life.  She immensely enjoys living  where 1) the sun always shines and 2) she isn’t the weirdest person in town.

www.anneapplegate.com | twitter.com/AnneApplegate

GIVEAWAY (Aw, yeah!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

xoxo,
Sel

Guest Post by Julianna Scott (The Holders)

I have with me today one of the best guest posts I've ever read. And it's on beta males! There are dictionary references thrown in, a showdown between a beta male and an alpha male & a few mocking pokes at the quintessential bad boy which every girl dreams of.  In short, this post completely won me over. Totally worth reading :)

17-year-old Becca has spent her whole life protecting her brother - from their father leaving and from the people who say the voices in his head are unnatural. When two strangers appear with apparent answers to Ryland's "problem" and details about a school in Ireland where Ryland will not only fit in, but prosper, Becca is up in arms.

She reluctantly agrees to join Ryland on his journey and what they find at St. Brigid's is a world beyond their imagination. Little by little they piece together information about their family's heritage and the legend of the Holder race that decrees Ryland is the one they've been waiting for. 

Then, Becca meets Alex, a Holder who is fiercely loyal to their race, and for some reason, her and Ryland. There's an attraction between Becca and Alex that can't be denied, but destiny gets in the way, and they are all in for a surprise that will change what they thought they knew about themselves and their kind forever.

THE HOLDERS is a modern day fantasy about incredible powers and extraordinary people.

The Beta Male

Why They Are More Swoon-worthy than Alphas

By Julianna Scott

Ahh… the beta male. Say what you will about the appeal of the macho, alpha, bad boy, but I have always had a soft spot for beta heroes. They are sweet, thoughtful, intelligent, and often as soft spoken as they are in control. And while all this might be painting the image of a whimp in your mind, don’t be fooled—beta heroes are anything but weak. It has nothing to do with the appearance, or physical attributes, nor does it denote cowardice or frailty. Urbandictionary.com defines beta male as…

“A man who is content with nontraditional gender roles; i.e., he is not threatened by intelligent and/or powerful women, and he does not have to be in control of every situation to maintain his sense of self. (Frequently, he does manifest a quiet kind of confidence and control over his surroundings, but it's not important to him that this is noticed by others.)

A beta male is often introverted, intelligent, and introspective. Though he may have been branded a "nerd" growing up, the adult beta is frequently a thoughtful, capable, and fascinating individual whom many women find appealing.

Alpha males, especially those of lesser intelligence and abilities, tend to feel threatened by beta males, who are increasingly preferred by women in modern times.”

…and personally, I love this description.

I think deep down we all want a beta male. Sure the image of the alpha is appealing at times, and who hasn’t heard someone say “I love a bad boy”. But, sorry, I don’t really buy that. I mean think about it—no one really wants a bad boy, they just want the ‘bad boy’ image. They want the hot guy in leather with the chip on his shoulder, but who is actually a romantic at heart and will say pretty things to you behind closed doors. Or they want the leader of the pack who might be ‘too tough’ to say romantic things, he feels them and you can see it in his eyes. Or maybe it’s the guy who has slept with hundreds of women but it ‘didn’t mean anything’ until he met you. Those all work great for romance novels, but that’s about the only place they work.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love a good tortured alpha or romantic bad boy every now and again, we all do. But I have long thought that beta heroes are underrated both for their general appeal and their hotness-factor, and I for one, am out to change that.

And on that note, allow me to introduce, Alex Bray.

Alex is a twenty one year old young man, and is the male lead in The Holders. He was raised in Texas, though unfortunately he didn’t exactly have a normal or even happy childhood. Alex is a Holder whose specific ability is called Casting. This means he is able to make others see and hear things that are not there. For example, were he in room with two other people, he could make one of them believe that they are standing in the middle of the street in Paris, have the other believe a window in the room thay are in is open when it is in fact closed, and anything in between, and all at the same time if he so chose. In his ‘castings’, he can change as much or as little as he likes, while he remains able to see both reality and the images he projects. When he was fourteen, he was brought to St. Brigid’s academy in Ireland where he learned to control and use his ability, and he has lived there ever since. Now he is one of the scouts who go out and look for other young Holders so that—if need be—they can be brought to St. Brigid’s.

He is sweet and definitely a caretaker at heart, always doing what he can to help all the people in his adopted family at St. Brigids. He is very smart, speaks Irish Gaelic, and has completely embraced being a Holder. Though the best thing about him has to be that despite his horrible childhood, he isn’t broody or distant. He appreciates the life he has now and realizes how truly lucky he is. Now that isn’t to say that his past doesn’t still haunt him, as of course it does, but he doesn’t let that define who he is now.

The only downside is that being one of the youngest Holders living full time at St. Brigids, it can get lonely at times. Not to mention that romantic relationships don’t exactly come all that often for Holders. If they come at all. However, all might not be lost, and I have a feeling that should Alex ever fall in love he will do so absolutely and completely.

Alex is, in my opinion anyway, is a great guy, totally swoon-worthy, and someone I would have dated without a second thought. Here’s hoping you fall for him too, and fight the cause for all beta males out there. Nice guys don’t have to finish last! :-)

ABOUT THE LADY BEHIND THE BOOK

Julianna was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and spent the majority of her educational career convinced she would be a musician. However, after receiving her music degree from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, she realized that she'd been born in the wrong era for her dreams of singing jazz to adoring fans clad in zoot-suits and flapper dresses to come true, and began to wonder if her true calling might be elsewhere.

While Julianna had always excelled in writing throughout school, she'd never considered it a career possibility until about three years ago, when she'd gotten her first story idea and decided to go for it. She grabbed her laptop, started typing away, and has never looked back.

Find her on her official site | book site | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest 

Guest Post by Kristin Bailey (Legacy of the Clockwork Key)

Legacy of the Clockwork Key

A teen girl unravels the mysteries of a secret society and their most dangerous invention in this adventure-swept romance set in Victorian London.

When a fire consumes Meg’s home, killing her parents and destroying both her fortune and her future, all she has left is the tarnished pocket watch she rescued from the ashes. But this is no ordinary timepiece. The clock turns out to be a mechanical key—a key that only Meg can use—that unlocks a series of deadly secrets and intricate clues that Meg is compelled to follow.

Meg has uncovered evidence of an elite secret society and a dangerous invention that some will stop at nothing to protect—and that Meg alone can destroy. Together with the handsome stable hand she barely knows but hopes she can trust, Meg is swept into a hidden world of deception, betrayal, and revenge. The clockwork key has unlocked her destiny in this captivating start to a trilogy.

Release date: March 5th 2013

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Pre-order: Amazon

ABOUT THE LADY BEHIND THE BOOK

Kristin Bailey grew up in the middle of the San Joaquin Valley in California. As a kid she enjoyed visiting the beach, camping and skiing with her two brothers.

Now she is a military wife and mother of two young children. She is also terrible about spoiling her pets. She has one fluffy mutt, two cats who think they own the world, and a fish tank with a quartet of fat fish, and two secretive striped ninja-assassin snails.

In the course of her adventures, she has worked as a zookeeper, balloon artist, and substitute teacher. Now she enjoys writing books for teens who enjoy mystery and adventure as much as she does.

www.kristinbailey.com | twitter.com/KBaileyBooks

GUEST POST

Everyone knows that the best thing about a Young Adult novel is the boys. How smoothly and quickly they steal our hearts pretty much makes or breaks a novel. 

Without further ado, I pass the blog over to author Kristin Bailey, for her to talk about the boys in her book and how they carry the plot of LEGACY along with Meg.

Of Mechanicals and Men

The boys of The Secret Order

By Kristin Bailey

One of the difficult things about writing a first-person novel with a female protagonist is that the book by default tends to focus on the heroine. I wanted to take a step back for a moment and introduce you to the men of Meg’s world. While I'm terribly attached to all my characters, these two have won my heart, and it’s only fair to share the spotlight at least once.

Enter the Hero…

William McDonald is fascinating to me. I'm not quite sure where he came from. When I first had a concept of the type of person I wanted to join Meg on her adventures, I knew I wanted him to be a foil for her. She’s outgoing and has a tendency to make rash decisions, while he is very circumspect and cautious. The thing I probably love about him the most is that in spite of his reserve, he just can’t help jumping into the thick of things with her. I think secretly he longs for the excitement and I'm certain he loves Meg because she has shaken up his world and makes him feel alive.

Will is roughly eighteen years old, although I'm not exactly sure of his age. He is a boy that carries a very tragic past. He was born a Scottish Traveller. His family was attacked when he was about six years old. The vicious hate crime left his father severely beaten and young Will watched him die on the side of the road next to their wrecked wagon. Will was found shortly after the tragedy by one of the Amusementists. He took the boy in out of pity and set him up to work in the stables.

Giving Will such a distinct ethnic identity was tricky. I didn't want to fall into “gypsy” stereotypes, though Will feels the weight of that label and the scorn that was attached to it during the Victorian era. I also didn’t want to glamorize it. I just wanted Will to feel real to me. I decided to do my best to put myself in Will’s shoes and to figure out what would be important to him as an individual. While he bears the burden of his “unseemly” beginnings, he was raised in London and only has foggy memories of his childhood.

Will has a great deal of personal pride. He is driven by a deep sense of responsibility and more than anything he wants to feel he has earned whatever skills and gifts have come to him. He’s intensely loyal and intelligent and tends to think things through. What I love most about Will is that he’s a guy you can depend on, with just enough edge to make him exciting, add some swarthy good looks and deep chocolate eyes, and it’s no wonder Meg gets very flustered every time he’s near.

Then there’s the duke…

Just don’t let him catch you calling him “Your Grace.” Perhaps my favourite character in the entire trilogy is Oliver, otherwise known as the Duke of Chadwick. In this first book of the trilogy, I needed a character that could explain to Meg what the Secret Order of Modern Amusementists were all about. That meant that one of the Amusementists had to come into the picture. As part of Amusementist tradition, Oliver goes by his first name only in Amusementist company, and I think he prefers it that way. Oliver is dedicated to the idea that a person’s worth comes from his actions alone. When push comes to shove, you can count on Oliver to be the one shoving you into a situation you’re not sure you’re entirely ready for.

A dashing mix between a professor and a swashbuckling adventurer, Oliver acts as a sort of older brother/mentor to Meg. With wild curling hair, a wicked grin, and a complete inability to hit the side of a barn with any sort of projectile, Oliver is a character that is easy to love, unless you happen to be the one girl that has always held his heart.

I hope you enjoy meeting Will and Oliver in Legacy of the Clockwork Key as much as I enjoyed writing them.

Happy reading!

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GIVEAWAY (Aw, yeah!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

To win a deluxe swag pack, enter into another giveaway here, in a previous interview I had with Kristin. 

MY TWO CENTS WORTH

Thank you, Kristin! 

I think I'm totally Team Oliver after reading your post :) I've got to love a guy with curly hair (since I've some on my head too) and his way of doing things echoes my personal motto-- "you never gain anything without trying".

I love large ideas, bold enterprise, adventures and plunging into the thick of things.

Now a question to you:

Scottish boy Will or the curly-haired duke, Oliver?

Leave your thoughts in the comment section below!

xoxo,

Sel

Guest Post by Cindy C. Bennett (Rapunzel Untangled) + Giveaways

Rapunzel Untangled 

Author: Cindy C Bennett

Summary:

A Girl Trapped in a Mansion.

A Mysterious Old Woman.

The Boy Who Will Change Everything...

Rapunzel is not your average teenager. For one thing, she has a serious illness that keeps her inside the mysterious Gothel Mansion. And for another, her hair is 15 feet long. Not to mention that she’s also the key to ultimately saving the world from a certain destruction.

But then she meets a boy named Fane, who changes all she has ever known, and she decides to risk everything familiar to find out who she really is.

Filled with romance, adventure, and mystery, Rapunzel Untangled is one story you won’t want to put down. Discover the true meaning of love and friendship in this modern twist to the classic fairytale.


Published February 12th 2013.

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Today, we have the author of RAPUNZEL UNTANGLED here at Bookcase to Heaven™ with a great guest post.

I asked her to share with us on what she thinks are the Top Ten Best Scenes in her modern fairytale re-telling and she gladly complied :) This is the fastest way to get to know the book and for you to see if it's your cup of tea!

If you like how the story sounds after reading these ten scenes, enter the two giveaways below (one for US and one for International readers), cross your fingers and hope to win.

May the Force be with you! I now pass the blog over to Cindy ;)

xoxo,
Sel

GUEST POST

"Top Ten Best Scenes in Rapunzel Untangled"

It wasn't easy narrowing an entire book down into ten scenes. These ones are either my favorites, or ones I had the most fun writing. These scenes are sequential rather than in order of preference, each with a short excerpt to give you an idea of what the scene is.

1. Gothel’s first sighting of baby Rapunzel: Gothel supposed she could force herself to be patient. She'd waited this long, hadn't she? She would have to move quickly to prepare, but she could do it . . . she had to do it. She put the car into gear and followed the unsuspecting pair from the parking lot.

2. First contact between Rapunzel and Fane on Facebook: She heard the small noise telling her she had a message. Fab Fane Flannigan has accepted your friend request. She grinned, then shuddered. You have a message: “Hi, mysterious friend. There isn't much info on your page. Who are you, RG?”

3. Rapunzel arranging to meet Fane: RG: I live at Gothel Manor. The cursor flashed for so long without response Rapunzel thought he'd signed off. FFF: Are you saying you live at GOTHEL MANSION???  RG: My mother calls it Gothel Manor, so maybe that's different? FFF: No, Rapunzel, there's only one that I know of. Promise me one thing. Don't Google your house.

4. Their first face-to-face meeting: Fane glanced up at Rapunzel from beneath long, dark lashes and her breath caught in her throat. She’d never been so close to a boy before. She'd never been so close to anyone before besides her mother. His eyes dropped to her mouth and she unthinkingly licked her lips, remembering the kiss she’d watched in the movie earlier. His eyes came back to hers at that, and something within their depths, something intense and hungry, sent a skitter down her spine. He slowly lifted his face toward her. The movement caused her to draw a breath. As if that broke whatever spell held them, he blinked and backed away from her. He moved back to the sofa, and she felt the loss of ... something. She just wasn't sure what.

5. Just before leaving her room for the first time: "I brought you one more thing." Fane pulled a screwdriver out of his backpack and held it up triumphantly. "This is our key, Rapunzel. This is how we get out of this room and explore the house."

6. Fane uses Rapunzel’s hair to “climb up”: A loud crack reverberated in the morning air as the trellis sagged away from the wall. Rapunzel threw her braid toward Fane. He tugged against her hair as he scrambled up, falling to the floor with Rapunzel beneath him. He stared at her, his face inches from hers as they both breathed heavily in the aftermath of his near fall. Suddenly, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly against him. "Thank you," he whispered in her ear before standing, pulling her up with him.

7. First kiss: “Will you kiss me before you go? I don’t want to live my entire life wondering,” Rapunzel said. “Wondering if a kiss can kill you?” Fane asked. “Wondering what it feels like,” she answered. He leaned forward, never taking his eyes from hers. His lips moved gently across hers, soft and warm, the pressure slight but firm. His whiskers tickled her chin. Rapunzel’s pulse beat a frantic staccato in her chest at their closeness. Finally he lifted his mouth from hers, and the loss was immediate. He wrapped his arms tightly about her, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

8. A conversation between them via Skype: “Fane,” she admonished. “Stop teasing me.” He laughed. “Where would the fun be in that?” “You know I can just turn you off if I want, right?” she said, holding one finger threateningly over the power button. “Not possible,” he said, waggling his eyebrows comically. When she didn’t respond, he said, “Well, that was a wasted double entendre.” “What’s a double entendre?” she asked.

9. Her first visit to a playground: Rapunzel climbed on the monkey bars. Standing beneath her, Fane dramatically called, “Rapunzel, throw down your hair.” Rapunzel laughed and dropped it through the bars. He grabbed hold the end of it and began climbing as if it were a rope. “Lean down.” He pulled himself up, kissing her through the bars. Finally he dropped back to the ground. “Come down. It’ll be much easier to kiss you down here.” Rapunzel was happy to comply.

10. Fane finds Rapunzel locked in the dungeon: At the sound of his voice she dropped the glass shard, shattering it. The sound drew Fane’s flashlight her way. She rushed forward and launched herself against him. His arms wrapped around her as he stumbled back, his hands running down her braid. “Rapunzel,” he said. His arms tightened, lifting her, and he buried his face in the crook of her neck. He held her tight for long minutes before finally lifting his head and saying, “I can’t believe I finally found you.” He kissed her then, wildly and urgently.

About the Author

  

Cindy C Bennett was born and raised in beautiful Salt Lake City, growing up in the shadows of the majestic Rocky Mountains. She and her husband - who happens to be her high-school sweetheart - raised two sons and two daughters. She's now blessed with two daughters-in-law as well. She developed a love of writing in high school when a teacher introduced her to the joys of escaping reality for ten minutes each day in writing.

When she's not writing, reading, or answering emails (notice there's no mention of cleaning, cooking, or anything remotely domestic), she can often be found riding her Harley through the beautiful canyons near her home. (Yes, she rides a Harley.)

You can find Cindy on her blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads.

For International Peeps (like me):

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For Lucky US Fellas:

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A huge thanks to Cindy for writing this awesome guest post! Love her & Fane ;)

Guest Post by Jeanette Battista (Leopard Moon)

You lucky Kindle people, I have a good news for you! :)

To help spread the word about the fact that Jeanette Battista's LEOPARD MOON, the first book in the Moon series, is available for free at Amazon for the Kindle until the end of January (that's three more days to go) I've invited the author to the blog to share a guest post about her experience writing the book. 

The Moon series consists of four books-- LEOPARD MOON, JACKAL MOON, HYENA MOON and HUNTER MOON-- and is a series that author Melissa Marr says, "... is filled with action and romance, shape shifters and strong heroines."

The guest post follows below, but first here's some information about the book and author and places you can find them both online!

Leopard Moon (Moon Series, #1)

Author: Jeanette Battista

Find it: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Summary:

How do you disappear when you come from a family of predators?

A wereleopard, Kess is forced to flee her home and family in Miami once her brother's obsession with her turns violent. She runs from city to city, trying to stay one step ahead of the investigators her family has dispatched to bring her home. Kess ends up in the mountains of North Carolina and attracts the attention of Cormac, a young man with a secret of his own. As she attempts to live as normal a life as her were-nature allows, her brother Sek continues to hunt for her. He believes she is the key to revitalizing their weakened clan and is driven to extreme measures to ensure their continued existence. As Kess' relationship with Cormac deepens, Sek closes in, threatening Cormac's life and Kess' freedom.

When the moon rises, the hunt is on….

Published March 7th 2012.

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Dimitri Williams Photography
Source: Author's website

About the Author

Jeanette Battista graduated with an English degree with a concentration in medieval literature which explains her possibly unhealthy fixation on edged weapons and cathedral architecture. She spent a summer in England and Scotland studying the historical King Arthur, which did nothing to curb her obsession. To satisfy her adrenaline cravings—since sword fighting is not widely accepted in these modern times—she rode a motorcycle at ridiculously high speeds, got some tattoos, and took kickboxing and boxing classes. She gave up the bike when her daughter came along, although she still gets pummeled at the gym on a regular basis.

When she’s not writing or working, Jeanette spends time with family, hikes, reads, makes decadent brownies, buys killer boots, and plays Pocket Frogs. She wishes there were more hours in the day so she could actually do more of these things. She lives with her daughter and their ancient, ill-tempered cat in North Carolina.

Find her: Goodreads | Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook

I'll be honest--I wasn't planning to write a book like Leopard Moon. I had an entirely different story in my head at the time, but it just wasn't coming into clear focus. That's the funny way writing works though: there I am, sitting at a red light on my way to meet my friends for a birthday martini and pedicure, listening to Florence + the Machine and WHAM! The song Howl comes on and this whole lovely scene just starts unfolding in my head. There was Kess, running through the woods, ripping off of her clothes as she triggered a change into a black leopard. And there was Cormac, standing in a different part of the woods being beaten mercilessly by the villain. I didn't know Sek was going to turn out to be Kess' brother, but I did know who he was as a character and what he wanted.

It was truly a gift: the entire final fight scene just unspooled itself along with the song lyrics. Each beat of the song matched a key point in the fight. The more I listened, the more I realized that the lyrics could apply to all of the characters in the main triangle at some point in the story I suddenly wanted to tell. And I wanted that story to be more than just boy meeting girl-- I wanted that story to be about girl saving boy, but more importantly about girl saving herself. The song Howl gave me Kess first and Sekhmet second, so a lot of what I tried to do with them was to show them as two halves of a whole, two sides of a coin. Howl, at least to me, wasn't a love song at all--it was a song about possession and obsession and all of those things that show up in our animal drives, that we'd like to forget exists.

So when I began to craft Kess and Sek, Howl played on a continuous loop. And though the song speaks of wolves, I knew these two had to be cats. Wolves have a more social nature and are more easily understood by us-- I think it comes from them being a a precursor to our beloved dogs. Cats are an unknown quantity, strange and separate, even if they choose to share space with us. I wanted real darkness there, not just a brief bit of danger that would be easily resolved. Obsession and mental illness gave Sek that scariness, but also--I hope--a bit of sympathy. He really does love his sister and wants what is best for her and his clan. I never intended to excuse his behavior, but I did want to try and understand it.

Just like the song made me understand that narrator of that story. I can only hope I did half so well.

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To meet Kess, Cormac and Sek in this first book in the Moon series, head over to Amazon to download the Kindle eBook for free until January 31st.

It can be found HERE!

Hope you guys enjoyed reading this guest post!

I hopped over to Youtube to check Howl and it really is quite awesome :) After all, it inspired a book.

So, have fun reading this while I sigh at my own iPad with the acute awareness of a lack of anything Amazon...


xoxo,
Sel