The Iron Queen Court Blog Tour--Intro

Meghan: Hi everyone! And welcome to the first stop on the Iron Queen Court blog tour! Me and my…uh…colleague are here to discuss the tour and tell you about the awesome prizes you can win for following it, to celebrate the release of The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa. Why don’t you tell everyone about that, Grim?





















Meghan: Okaaaaaaaaaay, I guess I will, then. So what is the Iron Queen Court blog tour? Well, to put it simply, there are three courts of Faery: Summer, Winter, and now the newest court, Iron. And we want you do declare your allegiance to the court of your choosing. In a moment, Grimalkin will introduce the court captains, their blogs, and the tour schedule so you know who will be where on that day. Not only can you win some very unique prizes for following the tour, but some very special guests will be dropping by to add to the fun. To find out who will be there, you’ll have to follow the tour and see!

Okay, Grim. I did the hard part. It’s your turn to introduce the court captains, the tour dates, and the prizes. So stop pretending to take a nap and start introducing! We gave you a favor for this, after all.

Grimalkin: *Sigh* If I must. But if I fall asleep out of boredom, it is not my fault. Let us get this over with.

Monday, January 24: Stop 1, Stacey at PageTurners Blog. Summer Court captain Stacey has a custom iPod loaded with songs of the Summer Court to give away. Stacey shows good sense in her alliance. You may want to pay attention to her.

Tuesday, January 25: Here I must pause to note the long awaited release of The Iron Queen, and the final epic battle with The Iron Fey. I know how the story ends, do you? Perhaps you should remedy that.





















Wednesday, January 26: Stop 2, Gail at Ticket To Anywhere. Gail is an official Winter Court captain, and I fear this lamentable lapse in judgment may be due to a certain uptight faery prince. Gail will give away an original drawing by Julie Kagawa herself.

Friday, January 28: Stop 3, MundieMoms. These ill-advised humans have stepped forward as captains of the Iron Court. A surprise prize pack might be given away, but I will not tell you what it is. I am told humans have a strange affinity for surprises.

Monday, January 31: Stop 4, Kristi, the Story Siren. Kristi is a Winter Court captain, and she, too, has a custom iPod to give away, this one loaded with select songs of the Winter Court. I am not certain Kristi realizes that iPods and ice do not always a good pairing make. Take your chances.

Wednesday, February 2: Stop 5, Galleysmith , another Iron Court captain. *hisses* Here Julie Kagawa will share information about creating the Iron Realm. This I must read myself, for I cannot fathom any reason to create such an abomination. Galleysmith will have another one-of-a-kind drawing by Julie for you to win, this time of the Iron Court.

Friday, February 4: Stop 6. Nicole at Word For Teens is a Summer Court captain, and I fear a certain obnoxious redhead of the smart-aleck variety may be present. Nicole will be giving away another of those surprises you humans are so fond of. Visit her blog, if you dare.

Monday, February 7: Stop 7. Bookalicio.us , another ill-advised Iron Court captain, who has a custom iPod to give away, loaded with songs of the Iron Court. Beware. I heard they tried to get the gremlins to sing, but it went horribly awry.

Wednesday, February 9: Stop 8, The Bookish Type . This Summer Court captain will reveal the inspiration behind Kagawa’s vision of the Summer Court, and will be giving away a one-of-a-kind drawing by the author. Possibly of a most pleasing subject.

Friday, February 11: Stop 9. Erica at The Book Cellar. This staunch Winter Court captain may have invited a dark, brooding and icy guest. If you’re interested--and if you don’t mind being an icicle--visit her blog to see what her guest is giving away.

I hope you kept up with me, humans. I fear for your safety if you stray from the blog path. Do not come crying to me should you find yourself wandering about with your clothing inside out, humming a strange melody.

Ye gods, that was tedious. I am going to sleep now. Do not bother me for at least a century or two. *Disappears*

Meghan: Uh, thanks Grim. So, anyway, that’s the tour! Doesn’t it sound exciting? To summarize, here is a list of the things you could win:

Custom Summer Court iPod w/ songs
Winter Court artwork by Julie Kagawa
Surprise prize pack
Custom Winter Court iPod w/ songs
Iron Court artwork by Julie Kagawa
Surprise prize pack
Custom Iron Court iPod w/songs
Summer Court artwork by Julie Kagawa
Surprise prize pack

So visit your favorite blogs, declare your court allegiance, and enter to win! And don’t forget to pick up a copy of The Iron Queen on January 25! Trust me, it’s going to be epic.

For the latest buzz on the books, you can also visit the Iron Fey Facebook fan page as well as our digital home away from the Nevernever, Enterthefaeryworld.com

Good luck, everyone!

-Meghan Chase
-Grimalkin

Teaser Tuesday

Grimalkin here.

Oh, were you expecting the author? She is a bit indisposed at the moment. *Ignores thumping sounds coming from the corner closet.* I will be your host for today's Teaser Tuesday, as some authors have forgotten the Winter Prince is not the only character in the story. I warned her that ignoring me would have dire consequences, but it seems she is not the only one who is guilty of that. (See below Teaser.)


***

Ash and Puck shared a brief glance, and then Ash pushed himself off the wall to stand beside me. “Lead the way,” he said, nodding into the darkness. “We’ll be right behind you.”

“For the record,” Grimalkin stated as we ventured, single file, into the black, “I do not think this is a good idea. But, as no one listens to the cat anymore, I will have to wait until we are completely lost to say ‘I told you so.’”


***

*Sniff*

Ridiculous humans. It is never a good idea to ignore the cat. But I am bored now, so I will leave you with your regularly scheduled author. If she ever gets out of the closet, that is.

*Saunters away ignoring muffled cries for help from closet door*

The Team Ash/Puck Faceoff

Grimalkin here. I could introduce myself, but that seems unnecessary. I am a cat. And I have been asked by the author to host this Team Ash/Team Puck fiasco as, apparently, she believes I am a neutral third party who will not care either way which team wins or not.

She is right. I do not care. In fact, find it vaguely amusing that these two have accumulated any followers at all, as they are both impulsive and reckless and lack any sort of feline charm whatsoever...but now the author is glaring at me, so I suppose we should get on with it. Hopefully, this will be over before my nap.

Anyway, on to the Faceoff (!), insert fabricated excitement. Here are your contenders, human readers. And if you hear someone laughing hysterically in the background, worry not, it is just me.






Ash: Prince of the Winter Court. Dark, brooding, icy, and dangerous. Surprisingly graceful dancer and handy with a sword, but with the bad habit of threatening to kill you every time Mab shoots you a dirty look. As an added bonus, he can keep your drinks cold without using ice.







Puck: Oberon's jester and a nuisance to fey and humans everywhere. Words he would use to describe himself: witty, playful, mischievous, devilish. Words others would use to describe him: I cannot list for fear small children might see it.


Not much of a selection, if you ask me. But, to each their own. Apparently there are prizes for choosing a side, as well. The things humans do to entertain themselves.

Rules and prizes:

So, if you wish to vote for your favorite team, and perhaps win one of FOUR signed copies of THE IRON KING by Julie Kagawa (there is also a doodle of ME gracing the pages beneath the autographs, so that in itself is reason to grab one.), head on over to the team captain's blogs--shown below--and comment for your chance to win. Remember, there are FOUR copies up for grabs, so the more blogs you comment on, the greater your chances to win.

Oh, yes, and there might be a few painted Grimalkin rocks up for grabs as well.














And one more thing. One lucky grand prize commenter will win a signed ARC of THE IRON DAUGHTER. I understand that these are extraordinarily hard to come by, so it would be foolish to miss this opportunity. Besides, I am in the book, saving the day once again, so you will not be completely bored out of your mind.


So, now that you know the stakes, here are the links to the Team Captains blogs. Go...make your comment, cast your vote, throw tomatoes at members of the opposite team, whatever you wish to do. The Faceoff will run to the 3rd of May where, after the carnage dies down, the bodies are gathered up, and the votes are counted, we will see whether Team Ash or Team Puck has prevailed.

Team Ash
Gail: Ticket to Anywhere
Erica: The Book Cellar

Team Puck
Nicole: WORD for Teens
Stacy: Page Turners

So, in conclusion...wait. You really want me to say this? Sighs. Oh, very well. If I must: Ice or fire? Team Ash or Team Puck? Who will reign supreme? Only you can decide the winner. Choose your side now.


Good gods, I sound like a cheesy movie commentator. There will be repercussions for this, Kagawa. I WILL come to collect, have no doubts about that.

Grimalkin

Teaser Tuesday

Oh yeah, almost forgot today's Teaser Tuesday.

I've not been on the ball, lately. But, since the previous post was about Grimalkin, what say we do another Grimalkin teaser? Oh, and don't forget to check back for the 100 follower contest to win a Grimalkin rock. *see below post.

"Nothing." Grimalkin raised a hind leg and scratched an ear. "Maybe the Nevernever will hold out until the end of the world. Maybe it will disappear in a few centuries. Everything dies eventually, human. Now, if you are quite done with the questions, we should keep moving."

"But if the Nevernever dies, won't you disappear as well?"

"I am a cat," said Grimalkin, as if that explained anything."

Teaser Tuesday

.

Haven't been keeping up on Teaser Tuesdays lately. I blame the holidays. And deadlines. And NaNo. But, I'm back, and so here is today's Iron King teaser, featuring Meghan and everyone's favorite favor-collecting feline, Grimalkin.


"You knew," I accused him as he sat down and licked a paw. "You knew who I was all along. That's why you agreed to take me to Puck--you were hoping to blackmail Oberon."

"Blackmail," said Grimalkin, blinking languid yellow eyes, "is a barbaric word."



That's today's teaser. What's yours?

Interview with Grimalkin

Recently, I was interviewed by the wonderful Sharon of sharonluvsbooksandcats, but I wasn't the only one. She also interviewed Grimalkin, the clever, favor-collecting cat from my book THE IRON KING. (I had to promise Grimalkin a favor to get him to do it.) Interview is as follows:


Welcome to my very first cat and author interview post. For my very first catterview I would like to welcome young adult author Julie Kagawa and the cat from her debut novel The Iron King, Grimalkin. To learn more about Julie and her debut novel check out her website.



This is how Julie described Grimalkin to me:


Grimalkin: Big, longhaired gray cat with golden eyes. He's actually a Cait Sith (pronounced cat shee), which is a type of faery cat. He can be somewhat condescending and arrogant, and thinks cats are vastly superior to anything else. His favorite trick is turning invisible (much like the Cheshire Cat), and has the habit of vanishing abruptly when you're not looking. He looks out for himself, and will not put himself in danger if he can help it, but he knows more about Faeries and Faeryland than almost anyone. But his help usually comes with a price; Grimalkin is big on collecting favors, and has many, many creatures who owe him something.
Other than that, he is a normal cat. He likes napping in the sun, chasing small creatures, and other feline activities. Don't try to pet him, though, or you might recieve a swat.


Grimalkin:


1. Describe a typical day in your life in five sentences or less.

Grimalkin: *Yawn* I wake up. I eat. I sleep. I contemplate the state of the universe and then sleep some more. I snack. Sometimes, if I am feeling devilish, I will even consider a nap. Exciting life, is it not?

2. Do you have any other Cait Sith pals, or are you a solitary cat?

Grimalkin: I do not have “pals,” human. And I find my own company vastly superior to anyone else's.

3. What is your favorite thing to eat?

I am rather partial to freshly caught piskie. If you can get past the piskie dust and stringiness, they are surprisingly tasty. I have always wondered what Tinker Bell would taste like.

4. Can I please adopt you?

*Snorts* Adopt? As in, claim ownership of me? What a ridiculous notion; no one can own a cat. I will consider an application of servitude, however, if your credentials pass inspection.

5. Do you think that you could beat the Cheshire Cat in a fight?

Please. Where do you think Lewis Carroll got the idea for the Cheshire Cat? I found him wandering around Faerie one day in a daze, about to be eaten by ogres, and led him back to the mortal realm. In return, he put me in a book. Crazy mortal.

And now, it is time for my nap. Goodnight, human. If you have anymore questions, please do not hesitate to ask my human over there. She will take notes.

Julie:


1. Describe a typical day in your life in five sentences or less

Wake up. Check email. Get breakfast. Check Twitter, contemplate writing. Bang head on desk, plead with characters to do something interesting, stare into space, check email, write a few sentences, erase what I just wrote, sigh, rinse and repeat.

2. Are you glad that Grimalkin is just a fictional cat, or would you like to adopt him too?

Oh good god. He would drive me insane. And I'd be in debt up to my eyeballs, trying to meet his demands. He could probably take over the world, if wasn't such a hassle.

3. Do you think that you could beat Grimalkin in a fight?

Grimalkin doesn't fight, but he does have “friends” that owe him a favor. (dragons, trolls, goblins, ect.) I wouldn't want to risk it.

4. Can I adopt you please? ;)

Just provide me with Arbys and an unlimited supply of Mountain Dew and I'll be happy.

Teaser Tuesday

This week's Teaser Tuesday is at the request from Sharonluvsbooksandcats. She wanted a Grimalkin teaser. So, here it is:

"W-What do you want?" I asked, thankful that my voice only trembled a little bit.

The cat didn't blink. "Human," he said, and if a cat could sound patronizing, this one nailed it. "Think about the absurdity of that question."

*****

Sharon is also going to be interviewing me and Grimalkin soon, so be on the lookout for that! Should be ... interesting.

A Rockin' Contest! (Pun intended)

Today I have decided, at the urging of Khy, Sharon, and Vania, to host my very first contest. This contest will be different than anything you have seen before because, unlike other, saner authors, I will not be giving away books, bookmarks, posters, postcards, ect. I will be giving away rocks.

Yes, you heard me. Rocks.





These rocks, to be exact. This is what they looked like Before:




And this is what they looked like After:




You might ask: "why only gray cats? Why not black cats, or calico, or siamese?" And that is a very good question. But you see, there aren't any black cats in my upcoming book, The Iron King, but there is one highly sarcastic, big gray cat named Grimalkin. And when I asked Khy if I should paint Grimalkin or unicorns, she went with him. (Actually, I believe her exact words were "NO UNICORNS!")

So, there you have it. Three unique, hand-painted Grimalkins are up for grabs, so there can be three different winners, and I'll throw in a few Iron King bookmarks as well. The contest will last until the first of October, plenty of time, and I've decided to open it up to everyone on planet earth, so good luck. Rules are as follows:

+1 for commenting. In which you must comment on who you like better: Ash or Puck. If you don't know who Ash or Puck are, you can visit my website at www.juliekagawa.com or read through the Very Faery Interviews on this blog. (p.s. This was their idea, so if an angry Puck shows up on your doorstep wanting to turn you into a hedgehog because he lost to Ash, its not my fault)

+2 for tweeting

+2 for following/being a follower

+3 for linking this contest


And there you have it. Good luck, everyone. See you on the 1st.