Hey guys! Garrett and I have been at a loss for posts lately, but we finally have a small event we can write up....
The third book in Kathryn Lasky's Daughters of the Sea series is being published on March 1, and since that is coming up soon, I'd thought I'd do a little post on it, answer a few questions people have asked me about the series ect.
Here's the synopsis from Goodreads:
A choice between love and survival . . .Lucy's family is excited to spend the summer in Bar Harbor, Maine. Her minister father is pleased to preside over such a prestigious congregation, and his social-climbing wife is ecstatic at the chance to find a rich husband for her daughter.Yet Lucy wants nothing to do with the Bar Harbor social scene; she's simply excited to spend the summer by the sea, watching the waves from her favorite spot on the cliff. Despite having never gone swimming, Lucy feels an intense connection to the ocean, and meets a handsome ship-builder who shows Lucy a world she's never known, yet somehow always longed for.However, her mother will stop at nothing to keep Lucy and the ship builder apart, even if it means throwing Lucy into the arms of a wealthy man with a dangerous secret. Can Lucy break free and embrace her destiny as a daughter of the sea? Or is she doomed to waste away in a gilded cage, slowly dying of a broken heart?
Alright, sounds pretty cool right? I've actually had more than a few people inbox me on Goodreads and ask some things about this particular series, so here are some things you should know before starting the book:
1. You should read the the books before it (Hannah and May respectively). May didn't particularly depend upon Hannah as far as plot details and such, but it was good to read them together.
2. This series is decidedly more middle grade than Young Adult, which is not a bad thing. I still liked them, but the writing is descriptive yet simple and there isn't a whole lot of complexity, but they are interesting. That might change with this installment however. May leaned more towards Young Adult than Hannah (there was a love interest, some family drama, whereas Hannah was firmly set in the middle grade).
3. It''s turn of the century historical fiction, which I personally loved. Mermaid books are either urban fantasy or set back in the ancient days of the Greeks, so this is a really fresh perspective on the legends and lore. Lasky is well researched in the era, and presents it very well for young and old readers.
4. This book is the set-up for the finale' due in the fourth book. While there haven't been a lot of details released about the last DOTS book (Ha! DOTS! That's cute!) we do know that it ultimately involves the sister's going home to the sea. I'm hoping to see more of that in this book.
What are y'all's thoughts? Looking forward to it? Happy reading :)
-Randi
Showing posts with label merpeople. Show all posts
Showing posts with label merpeople. Show all posts
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Interview with RANDI!
And now the long awaited final chapter!
1. How long have you been interested in mermaids? How exactly did you get interested in them?
I got hooked (haha, punny!) after seeing The Thirteenth Year admittedly. The acting was bad, but the whole idea intrigued me. Then I found H20 and then I started having whacko dreams about merpeople, and then I figured I'd write some books about them. And thus began the obssession.
2. If you could be in any mer-book or movie (human or mermaid) which would it be?
Hmmm, I really liked Kathyn Lasky's Daughter's of the Sea series, but you couldn't go back and forth, so that'd be a con... I'd have to go with that one though. Or maybe The Fins series. I haven't finished it yet, but at least you can get a bit of land, a bit of sea.
3. Which merworld would you NOT live in?
Much as I loved the book, I wouldn't want to live in Lost Voices, because of all that's implied when you get a tail, that trauma that gets you there and all. Plus, they were all at each other's throats at some point in the book. I'm sort of a hippy, I can't take drama like that very well.
4. What's been your favorite post on the blog?
I really liked following the build-up to Lady Gaga's mermaid video, because I thought that video was pretty cool :) But don't get me wrong, I love posting on the blog and every little blurb is special.
5. What's your most anticipated mer-related thing of any sort to happen in 2012? (It's ok if there's more than one).
Ooooh, you know, I'm excited about the films coming up. I want to be a director when I get older and I'm excited to see some of the films that are in development. Oh, and tons of books too.
6. What do you think of the recent upsurge in mermaid popularity?
It's a little bittersweet in the sense that I thought I was being super unique writing about mermaids, but I've also found more people who are into merpeople because of it. Like this blog for example ;)
7. So you're a big music fan. What songs or bands do you think would make a great mermaid soundtrack?
I'd actually assembled a playlist for the blog, but I haven't got around to posting it yet. But for bands, Florence + the Machine wihtout a doubt. Florence herself is so like a mermaid it's hard to imagine anyone else, though if I did, I'd probably come up with Tori Amos or someone sort of like that. And for composers, Alexendre Desplat (The last two Harry Potter movies, The King's Speech) or Hans Zimmer (Pirates of the Carribean, Inception, ect).
8. What other interests do you have besides mermaids?
Well like I said, film, music, writing, books, and I'm on a quest for rainbow knee socks and Dr. Suess Chuck Taylors. I have a wizard rock project called Love Wrocks, that plays songs about Harry Potter, Doctor Who, The Hunger Games, and a bunch of other cool stuff. I'm just looking to explore all kinds of stuff to see what I like and do best.
9. We've gotten to interview a lot of authors. What's been your favorite interview?
Well I got to interview Maijia Barnett, author of Black Waters, which was cool because I really enjoyed the book, but Sarah Porter was awesome as well.
10. You've written a series of mermaid-themed books that you said you might publish on Kindle someday. How did you get the idea for the series?
Awww, now I feel bad, I should've plugged your writing too! But yes, I am writing a merpeople series. The overview name isn't decided yet, but the first book is Dancing Barefoot, the second is Bottle It Up, and the third is Falling or Flying, which I haven't finished the last one yet. All the titles are song names, and extra points as to who can guess all three in the comments, heheheh. But I got the idea from the aforementioned whacko dreams I had about merpeople, and I was really looking in to developing an underwater universe and people but incorporate the land to. It's going pretty well. But not ready for le Kindle yet!
11. Just for kicks, what was the last movie you watched?
I think it was Sucker Punch or Kill Bill. I'm on an action movie kick. I think I liked Kill Bill better though. I need to watch Sucker Punch to determine what's real or not though.
12. Do you have any other blog type things besides this one?
YES! www.distractedgenius.blogspot.com and I'm on Tublr as well under the same name.
13. So, what's YOUR favorite food?
Hmmm.... I'm a Greek food person, so baklava, but there's also this popsicle stand that sets up at our local Farmer's Market, and they make Peach And Cream popsicles that are delicious.
1. How long have you been interested in mermaids? How exactly did you get interested in them?
I got hooked (haha, punny!) after seeing The Thirteenth Year admittedly. The acting was bad, but the whole idea intrigued me. Then I found H20 and then I started having whacko dreams about merpeople, and then I figured I'd write some books about them. And thus began the obssession.
2. If you could be in any mer-book or movie (human or mermaid) which would it be?
Hmmm, I really liked Kathyn Lasky's Daughter's of the Sea series, but you couldn't go back and forth, so that'd be a con... I'd have to go with that one though. Or maybe The Fins series. I haven't finished it yet, but at least you can get a bit of land, a bit of sea.
3. Which merworld would you NOT live in?
Much as I loved the book, I wouldn't want to live in Lost Voices, because of all that's implied when you get a tail, that trauma that gets you there and all. Plus, they were all at each other's throats at some point in the book. I'm sort of a hippy, I can't take drama like that very well.
4. What's been your favorite post on the blog?
I really liked following the build-up to Lady Gaga's mermaid video, because I thought that video was pretty cool :) But don't get me wrong, I love posting on the blog and every little blurb is special.
5. What's your most anticipated mer-related thing of any sort to happen in 2012? (It's ok if there's more than one).
Ooooh, you know, I'm excited about the films coming up. I want to be a director when I get older and I'm excited to see some of the films that are in development. Oh, and tons of books too.
6. What do you think of the recent upsurge in mermaid popularity?
It's a little bittersweet in the sense that I thought I was being super unique writing about mermaids, but I've also found more people who are into merpeople because of it. Like this blog for example ;)
7. So you're a big music fan. What songs or bands do you think would make a great mermaid soundtrack?
I'd actually assembled a playlist for the blog, but I haven't got around to posting it yet. But for bands, Florence + the Machine wihtout a doubt. Florence herself is so like a mermaid it's hard to imagine anyone else, though if I did, I'd probably come up with Tori Amos or someone sort of like that. And for composers, Alexendre Desplat (The last two Harry Potter movies, The King's Speech) or Hans Zimmer (Pirates of the Carribean, Inception, ect).
8. What other interests do you have besides mermaids?
Well like I said, film, music, writing, books, and I'm on a quest for rainbow knee socks and Dr. Suess Chuck Taylors. I have a wizard rock project called Love Wrocks, that plays songs about Harry Potter, Doctor Who, The Hunger Games, and a bunch of other cool stuff. I'm just looking to explore all kinds of stuff to see what I like and do best.
9. We've gotten to interview a lot of authors. What's been your favorite interview?
Well I got to interview Maijia Barnett, author of Black Waters, which was cool because I really enjoyed the book, but Sarah Porter was awesome as well.
10. You've written a series of mermaid-themed books that you said you might publish on Kindle someday. How did you get the idea for the series?
Awww, now I feel bad, I should've plugged your writing too! But yes, I am writing a merpeople series. The overview name isn't decided yet, but the first book is Dancing Barefoot, the second is Bottle It Up, and the third is Falling or Flying, which I haven't finished the last one yet. All the titles are song names, and extra points as to who can guess all three in the comments, heheheh. But I got the idea from the aforementioned whacko dreams I had about merpeople, and I was really looking in to developing an underwater universe and people but incorporate the land to. It's going pretty well. But not ready for le Kindle yet!
11. Just for kicks, what was the last movie you watched?
I think it was Sucker Punch or Kill Bill. I'm on an action movie kick. I think I liked Kill Bill better though. I need to watch Sucker Punch to determine what's real or not though.
12. Do you have any other blog type things besides this one?
YES! www.distractedgenius.blogspot.com and I'm on Tublr as well under the same name.
13. So, what's YOUR favorite food?
Hmmm.... I'm a Greek food person, so baklava, but there's also this popsicle stand that sets up at our local Farmer's Market, and they make Peach And Cream popsicles that are delicious.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Mermaid Films: Part 2 of 5 Location
So you have your incredibly talented cast, your suited-to-the-film director, now you need to know where to film your epic mermaid movie of awesome. We'll go by your type of movie and how you can play off your location to the best advantage of a film.
For your typical epic high fantasy sort of film (it can be one with a darker portrayal of merpeople or it can work with a lighter tone as well), you'll want to go to where most epic fantasies are filmed: New Zealand. You've got plenty of beautiful locales to do your scenes on land (if you have any, which odds are you will) and many more for the water bits. If you don't believe me, just watch the Extended versions of The Lord of the Rings a couple times.
For a dark take on an Urban fantasy, I'd go with Boston or Washington D.C. Washington is a little harder with the water scenes, but there are great bodies of water in the proximity. Boston might be a bit easier in that aspect however.
Or, if you're going in the vein of the beloved "Splash" New York of course :) Another interesting though would be Canada. I've always thought of setting some mermaids up in Canada. Maybe that's just me.
Either way, lemme know what you think guys!
Much love and sonic screwdrivers,
Rnadi
For your typical epic high fantasy sort of film (it can be one with a darker portrayal of merpeople or it can work with a lighter tone as well), you'll want to go to where most epic fantasies are filmed: New Zealand. You've got plenty of beautiful locales to do your scenes on land (if you have any, which odds are you will) and many more for the water bits. If you don't believe me, just watch the Extended versions of The Lord of the Rings a couple times.
For a dark take on an Urban fantasy, I'd go with Boston or Washington D.C. Washington is a little harder with the water scenes, but there are great bodies of water in the proximity. Boston might be a bit easier in that aspect however.
Or, if you're going in the vein of the beloved "Splash" New York of course :) Another interesting though would be Canada. I've always thought of setting some mermaids up in Canada. Maybe that's just me.
Either way, lemme know what you think guys!
Much love and sonic screwdrivers,
Rnadi
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