I saw two of my favorite books turned into movies this week.
First, City of Bones, I attended the midnight showing. This series has been a favorite book of mine for 3 years now. I reread the books to have a fresh memory of what happens in time for the movie release. I almost think it is best to forget all about the books before seeing its movie. You know very well they are going to have to change things to make it fit into 2 hours. Here are the seven things that I’m glad made it into the movie:
***Spoilers***
Clary is a heroine and not a damsel in distress. She is fearless and precisely how she acted in the book. (She was a little less redheaded than I imagined but it worked.)
Jace’s instant attraction to Clary and need to be with her even though he is a wounded soul.
Alec’s obsession with Jace must have gotten edited out because you didn’t see it much but when Clary accused Alec of being in love with Jace and he throws her against the wall was right on.
The Silent Brothers with their lips sewn shut and gouged out eyes were creepily perfect.
Simon with his Made in Brooklyn t-shirt was by far my favorite character in the movie. He stole the show with his broken-heart and big brown eyes.
Valentine is the perfect bad guy you almost feel bad for but in the end he is truly evil with a lot of fight scenes.
I was worried about how they would tastefully approach the end of book one. Like a lot of readers I was afraid people would be turned off by the revelation that our love triangle became incest with Clary and Jace being siblings. The movie addresses the issue and didn't make it at all creepy.
Well done, it was a great show. I’m planning to take my husband to see it. It has plenty of action and even if you haven’t read the books you will enjoy and understand the story line.
NEXT STAY TUNED FOR MY MOVIE REVIEW OF "AUSTENLAND"...
I attended the Changing Hands Bookstore official launch party - bus tour - book signing for CLOCKWORK PRINCESS-The Infernal Devices #3
One big thrill for me is meeting my favorite authors and learning where they get their inspiration from. Cassandra Clare said she meet with a friend who's a tattoo artist and they talked about the different designs and meanings and the idea of Shadowhunters having tattoos to help them have special powers was born.
At her launch party she played the movie trailer for City of Bones which is coming out August 23rd 2013. http://youtu.be/4axPibsp4Ao
Cassandra Clare told how she was in England sitting in a park plotting for Clockwork Princess and a large worm crawled onto her blanket and she said, "there's going to be a worm in the book."
And indeed the book has a large vicious worm attacking the shadowhunters and this is where the book starts out. Tessa shows up to help in her wedding dress and ends up getting blood all over it. Jem takes a turn for the worse and needs more medicine. With Tessa & Jem engaged, Will has to push his love for Tessa aside. More than anything he wants to see his best friend Jem happy.
Mortmain is determined to get Tessa for his own evil plan to get revenge on the shadowhunters. When he buys up all the medicine that will keep Jem alive Tessa has to put her life on the line to save the man she loves.
There are lots of tie-ins with the Mortal Instrument series through out Clockwork Princess. It made me want to reread the whole series starting with City of Bones.
If you don't want the biggest spoiler of all don't read the family tree on the inside flap of the book. I did that. Ugh!
Cassandra Clare is a great writer and she intertwines a bizarre supernatural world within our world. This wrapped up the series nicely and it was a great end to The Infernal Devices.
I'm rethinking my book
as a YA. ANYTHING BUT NORMAL is first person POV of an eighteen
year old girl but I'm not sure if my words and actions are in a true YA voice.
I have to reread my novel to see, "Am I a YA author or Adult
author?"
One of my biggest pet peeves about submissions
is reading queries from authors who are clearly trend-chasers. Currently, the
biggest offender: adult writers who call their novels YA.
AGE is not the determining factor of a YA."
I believe my novel fits in the YA
category because Krystal is thinking and acting as a YA but I’m afraid my voice
is a little more mature than an 18 year old Goth girl.
Tell me what you think. Here’s the first page
of ANYTHING BUT NORMAL;
Never
run your horse towards home. Mother’s warning came to mind but the last
thing I wanted was Mom to ruin my one enjoyment, riding my horse. Besides,
Black wouldn't overpower me. We were like one when I was in the
saddle. I snapped the reins, pressed my heels in, and yelled “YAW!” The sudden
burst of speed was exactly what I needed. I took in a deep breath of the crisp
Wisconsin air and caught the scent of wildflowers as flashes of gold and lilac
blurred past me. I've always loved springtime when the flowers come
to life after a harsh winter. Like my life, it represented a new beginning. I
was Eighteen years old and had just moved to a new town, ready to make changes
for the better. I leaned down to experience the thrill of riding fast on a
1,300 pound horse as his mighty legs hammered the dirt.
I
shivered when the hairs on the back of my neck stood up and my blissful
mood disappeared under the all-too familiar awareness of someone watching me. A
biting wind whipped around and plastered my hair across my face, temporarily
blinding me. With the reins in one hand, I pulled the hairs off my face with
the other hand. We were approaching the woods at a dangerous speed.
I
caught a glimpse of someone behind a tree as birds scattered in a mass exit.
Black spooked and I didn't have a good grip as he drove his front
legs into the ground. His sliding halt and abrupt stop sent me flying over the
top of his head. I grasped frantically to stay upright but instead found
myself plummeting to the earth. I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain…
What do you think? Does
that sound YA or Adult?
And while we’re at it, I'm
questioning my whole genre. I have coined my novel as YA Paranormal
Romance. My heroine is dealing with Demons and Angels in her life.
"Paranormal romance focuses on romance and includes
elements beyond the range of scientific explanation."
Does my
story have to have more prevalent paranormal themes involving vampires, shapeshifters,
ghosts, or time travel to be considered paranormal?
My
story is not overly religious but the idea of Demons and Guardian Angels
interfering and helping in our lives are a religious theory. Would my story
fall into a religious category like inspirational fiction?
"There are some books that easily and obviously fit, such as
the Chicken Soup for
the Soul series, clearly written for the purpose of
providing anecdotes that provide inspiration to the readers. Finding a good
definition for the sub-genre of inspirational fiction is a little more
difficult."
Like I said, this blog
rocked my writing world but maybe I needed to rethink this. I need to know where my
book fits so I can find the right agent or publishing company to love my book
as much as I do.
We start right
into the story after City of Fallen
Angels left off and Jace went missing from the rooftop and Sebastian/ Jonathan the-demon-blood-dead-guy was now missing
with Jace. Everybody is looking for Jace. Alec senses he is still alive but
something is not right. After two weeks of missing the Clave changes their focus and stops looking for Jace.
Clary and her friends go see the faire Queen to see if she can help them find
Jace. She agrees to help them if they bring her two Shadowhunter rings that allow
those who obtain the rings to speak telepathically. At the institute, Clary was
about to steal the rings when Jace and Sebastian show up to retrieve some books
on dark magic. Clary hides and is shocked to see Jace going along with
Sebastian like they are best friends.
Jace shows up in Clary’s
bedroom and tells her that Sebastian has a good plan and she needs to go with
him. He also tells her that he is linked to Sebastian and they can’t kill one
without killing the other. Clary decided to join Jace, this way she can find out what
they are planning. If she wears the ring and Simon wears the other ring they can
speak to each other. She has to play along with Sebastian
and pretend she is starting to trust him as a brother. After getting drugged at
a night club her ring goes missing and she has no way to warn the others about Sebastian’s plan to let free the worst demons on the world.
I thought this
was the final book of The Mortal Instruments but since it left a lot undone I’m
hoping it’s not. I liked the different story-lines that were going on throughout the book. Jordan and Mia who are werewolves are helping the shadowhunters
find Jace. Jordan hopes he can rekindle his relationship with Mia and that she will
be able to forgive him for turning her into a werewolf. Magnus and Alec are
having relationship problems as Magnus is immortal and Alec is not. Alec runs
into an old lover of Magnus’s and is trying to find a way to become immortal or
make Magnus mortal. Isabelle can’t stop thinking about Simon, Clary’s vampire
BFF, and Isabelle is struggling with finding a way to let him know she’s interested.
Clary has to find a way to save Jace before the shadowhunters kill him because
he’s connected to Sebastian and his evil plan. There is a lot happening all at
once and “Team Good” as Clary calls her group of friends has to stop “Team Bad”
before it’s too late.
It was an exciting and nail-biting read. If you like vampires, werewolves, demons, angels, fairies, warlocks, (did i forget anybody?) and whole secret society saving the world from the unknown, then you'll like this series. Cassandra Clare has a great imagination and makes her characters go through all kinds of hard times. Good news! They are turning the first book City of Bones into a movie.
Simon with his Made in Brooklyn t-shirt was by far my favorite character in the movie. He stole the show with his broken-heart and big brown eyes.
