Welcome, one and all! It's time to get this party started.
Top 7 Character Songs Countdown
A while back, you might remember the Ever Afters Blog Tour that passed through here. I had the great pleasure of sharing the musical playlists that helped Ms. Bach create her Characters. Let's just say I became slightly addicted. Fittingly, the soundtrack for this Blog Party! will be my Top 7 favorites from these playlists.
So before you go any farther, cue the music!
From the playlist of Rory Landon, here's #7.
Quote of the Day
Of Giants and Ice, pg 136
Today's lineup is FANART. And just look at what magnificent fan art it is! All that time and effort and love! I wish I could draw half this well, but I guess some people are fan artists and some people throw online party bashes to show off all the fan artists' magnificent work. ;)
This is as close as I get to fan art.
First up, we have some shipping magic with the best mermaid couple since Disney's The Little Mermaid. Next to Chaurora, Ben and Chatty are my favorite pair. A lot of that probably has to do with their love of cheesy jokes. I mean, have you seen my Corny Joke of the Week in the sidebar?
I LOVE stylized quotes, and these two from Chase in Of Sorcery and Snow are gorgeous. One for the heart-fluttering 'awwww' factor, and one for the funny bone.
From the drawing board of Hannah C.
I stumbled across this Chase and Rory while Googling and I'm so, so happy it turned out to be one of the contributions! Dancing together at the ball, which is only one of my very favorite moments. *sigh* Aren't they so cute together?
Sorry, is my Chaurora showing?
By that spectacular talent, Jolie J!
Anyone else have chills from this one?
The Tale of Rory Landon, a Haley R. original!
Aren't these absolutely MAGNIFICENT?!
From the upcoming Lazy Blue Daisy
Remember how I said I'm not great with art? Pretty sure that's because
my sister got all the crafty/drawing mojo. She continues to astound me
with her limitless artistic ability, but these dolls really take the
cake. She's already made a Link and Zelda pair (plus chicken) and a 10th
Doctor, but when she asked what I wanted most of all? No contest. Now I have my very own Triumvirate.
Who doesn't love that scene after Rory kills for the first time and Chase comforts her? Now you can see it illustrated.
From the pencil of Clare R.
I was completely blown away by this piece. And then I noticed the reflection in the sword. Equal parts gorgeous, exciting, and chilling. If you weren't excited for the finale yet, you will be now! An-ti-ci-pa-tion...
courtesy of Fiona R.
Last but not least...
This is a picture of Shelby Bach's Reader Art Wall, full of fanart sent in by her readers, and I have to say they're fantastic. Any of the artists here today?
GIVEAWAY!
You didn't think I forgot about this part, did you? Of course not! I've been planning this giveaway for months, and I can't wait to show you.
Drum roll, please!
One set of those freaking fantastic Ever Afters dolls. That's your own personal Chase Turnleaf, Rory Landon, and Lena LaMarelle, right out of the pages!
That's right! These three beauties right here want to come over to your house.
The giveaway ends at midnight on the 30th of June and I'll announce the winner on the 1st of July, amidst the revelry of finally getting your hands on a copy of Of Enemies and Endings. The giveaway is only available to residents of the US.
Thank you all so much for stopping by for the party's kick-off! If you have fanart of your own to share, just put a link in the comments; I'm sure everyone here can't have enough Ever Afters fanart.
Join us tomorrow to talk about yourFavorite Bookin the series.
For those of you following this
blog tour around, welcome! For my usual readers, WE'RE ON THE EVER
AFTERS BLOG TOUR! *hyperventilates*
This has been my favorite series for four years running, so I am beyond excited for the opportunity to share some exclusive content from author Shelby Bach! Sit back and enjoy the music stylings that inspired some of our favorite characters.
EDIT: Because Grooveshark.com has shut down, these handy little playlist icons no longer work. I've put together a YouTube playlist with all the songs mentioned below. Enjoy! -Amanda (5/3/15)
Rory
is a powerhouse with a lot of emotion, so the songs that represent
her feature powerhouse vocalists, loud percussion, and emotional
lyrics. For me, Bastille's "Laura Palmer" and Florence +
the Machine's "Heartlines" are all about following your
instincts in spite of external pressure. Joy Formidable's "Whirring"
and Paramore's "Careful" capture Rory's efforts to protect
her friends and family, whether it is from her own emotions or her
own destiny. "Hero," by Regina Spektor, has to get special
mention—at almost 900 listens, it is the most-listened track on my
iPod: it helped me find Rory's emotional core throughout the series.
I love the lines "I'm the hero of this story/don't need to be
saved" and the way Spektor sings them—wavering between sadness
and determination.
Lena
Lamarelle
Disclaimer:
Although I tried to make sure all songs in this post would meet with
approval from Lena's strict grandmother, the last one in this
playlist doesn't. Skip "That's Alright" for those of you
who want to avoid (mild) cursing.
Lena’s
music starts off lighter and more pop-oriented than Rory’s. “One
Step at a Time” represents Lena’s longing to be a magical
inventor like her famous ancestor, Madame Benne. With Lenka’s “The
Show,” Lena is starting to feel torn between putting in the hours
she needs to become an inventor and keeping up with Rory and Chase,
who don’t seem to need her as much as she hoped they would. “Be
OK,” by Ingrid Michaelson, has a frantic positivity that totally
nails Lena when she is panicking but trying hard not to. The Laura
Mvula tunes represent Lena as she is later in the series—“Can’t
Live with the World” is how supportive Lena can be to her friends,
and “That’s Alright,” which is totally my favorite, shows Lena
realizing that she is in control of her own talents and her
own life.
Chase
Turnleaf
At
the beginning of The Ever Afters, Chase could really “Use
Somebody,” as the song goes. He needs good friends even more
than Rory and Lena, who live with extremely loving (though sometimes
overbearing) families. The line that captures Chase in OneRepublic’s
“Secrets” is “I need another story.” (If you’ve read Of
Witches and Wind,
you know why.) “New Low” captures how much Chase feels trapped by
the lies he tells. “Changing” and “Demons” capture a lot of
the things Chase wishes he could tell Rory, especially after she
finds out about his past.
Rapunzel
Sometimes,
a certain artist completely meshes with my take on a Character. For
Rapunzel , that is definitely Imogen Heap—her songs have a lot of
eerie, beautiful harmonies, and her lyrics are definitely hard to
understand, much like Rapunzel’s dialogue. Actually, you could say
that about all these songs. Mirah’s “Generosity” captures
Rapunzel’s frustration about EAS judging her by her family’s
actions, and “Silhouettes” reminds me of Rapunzel when she makes
peace with her role in Rory’s life.
The
Snow Queen
The
Snow Queen, a.k.a. Solange, is both sinister and lovely, and the
songs that represent her also share those qualities. However,
"Possibility,” with all its lost and haunted hope, represents
Solange in her youth, before she became immortal and started calling
herself “The Snow Queen.” Note: “Après Moi”—with its big
chords and its bloodthirsty self-preservation—helped me define the
Snow Queen, much like “Hero” helped me with Rory. Actually,
they’re by the same artist. That's kind of on purpose. It helps me
remember how much my hero and villain have in common.
Chatty
Chatty,
Rory’s mysterious new friend in Of
Witches and Wind,
doesn’t talk much (you’ll have to read the book to find out why).
A lot of my characterization usually comes through dialogue though,
so I had to work extra hard with Chatty. The music helped.
“Expression” reminded me that you don’t have to use words to
express longing. “Epicy,” “Something in the Water,” and “Salt
Water” both have a hyper, bouncy quality that Chatty gives off—like
she is just about to pull a prank on someone.
I have a feeling I'm not the only one to be listening to these playlists all day long. A couple of my favorite songs are in Chase's playlist, so I guess it's no wonder he's my favorite character of the series.
Pump up the music and get ready for more fun! We've got access to a great discussion guide for Of Giants and Ice. New Leaf Literary is also hosting a BOOK GIVEAWAY for signed copies of the series thus far. Plus, the blog tour continues until Nov 8, and here's the complete list because I know you don't want to miss a thing. (See that Aerosmith lyric I threw in there? Anyone? ...Bueller?)
Shelby Bach was born in Houston, Texas and raised in Charlotte, North
Carolina, but while writing THE EVER AFTERS, she moved almost as many
times as her main character. She came up with the idea for the series
right before she left New York City, and she finished the first book, OF
GIANTS AND ICE, in Montana—the second, OF WITCHES AND WIND, back in
Charlotte. Driving up the West Coast to research the settings for the
third book, OF SORCERY AND SNOW, Shelby fell in love with Portland,
Oregon and settled there. She would love to set up a Door Trek system in her apartment to visit
her family and friends around the country, but she makes do with much
slower and less fictional transportation. These days, while finishing up the fourth and final book, she also works part time for a
real-life afterschool program. It is strangely similar to the one where
her stories are set—except the students study math instead of fairy
tales. Shelby’s Social Media Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Of course I can't resist including the cover for the upcoming fourth (and final *sob!*) installment of The Ever Afters (coming June 30th, 2015). It's so gorgeous, I can't stop staring at it!
If you want to know more about The Ever Afters -or just hear me rave about them- you can also check out the book reviews and other videos I've done for this amazing series. I'm not kidding when I say that everyone should read these.
