Altered Endings

VIPM (Very Important Pack Member) Cher went out of town this past weekend. Like any normal and sane writer, she asked me to promise to finish her manuscript for her if her plane went down. I, of course, solemnly vowed not ONLY to finish it, but to do so without aliens OR ghosts.

See, her writing style is very angsty YA realistic fiction, whereas mine only kinda flirts with reality. During this convo I got to thinking: what if our favorite authors, who span a wide range of styles/genres, were to switch up and suddenly write endings to someone else's books?

If Carrie Ryan had finished Mockingjay for Suzanne Collins, would an army of reanimated tribute corpses have overtaken Panem? Or, what if Stephenie Meyer had finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows? Would Voldemort have been vanquished with diplomacy?

I thought it'd be fun if we thought up a few mismatched endings and then asked our readers for some ideas as well. I think it's a neat way to illustrate that even in the same genre, everyone would write something COMPLETELY different if given the same source material. Viva la individuality! ;)

Mashup endings, eh?? LOL. I'd like to think that Cassandra Clare would tackle Pride and Prejudice. Except true to her ending in City of Bones, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy would have the potential disastrous ending of perhaps being related?!?! We wouldn't know for sure until the final book in what would then be a trilogy. Ooooh, more Mr. Darcy. *happy sigh*

And think of a Jace-like Darcy saying this line, "In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”

Somehow I KNEW you'd find a way to bring Jace into this convo, Sophie. *winks*

Isn't it funny how something simple would change the whole book, though? Like, if Douglas Adams picked up in the last chapters of The Lord of the Rings? Sauron would've been poofed into a flowerpot by some sort of fluke in a time-space-drive. Which, you have to admit, would have been AWESOME.

*tries to picture Voldy as a flower* Yeah, that could work. He's got that Bald Head Villain Thing going for him. I'm picturing him as a Gerber Daisy.

As for Jace, of course, I had to drag a Hot Boy with Sword into the discussion. You expect it from me, after all. Speaking of that very topic, what if Sarah Rees Brennan wrote the ending of Prince Caspian?? Would a Demon become a ruler of Narnia?? Everyone shout with me, "For Narnia!"

Personally, I'd like JK Rowling to take over the ending of ANY book, since she gave us the best ending ever to the Harry Potter series. Well, best in my opinion anyway. She should have written the end of the Twilight series. There would be a huge battle scene with flying curses (the vampires are suddenly able to do magic, of course) and lots of biting. And, in addition to all of the Volturri, someone important from the Cullens would have to die... I'm thinking Renesmee. What? No one likes her anyway!

Oh, Renesmee AND Jacob! Because he would fly into a furry rage and get himself killed too, then. *cackles with glee* *wonders how this turned into Twi-rewrites* *decides that I don't care*




I tried to stay away from Twilight. But if you're talking rewriting the end of a book... well, that's where I go, natch.





Stacie, you took the thought right out of my head. As soon as I read Leigh's message and simultaneously laughed and cringed at the thought of SM writing the end of HP (she probably would have had Snape and Harry skipping through Hogwarts together), I started fantasizing about J.K. Rowling's rewrite of Breaking Dawn's last few chapters. I'm quite confident that *her* ending would have been epic. While we're throwing characters into the fire, would anyone object to adding Rosalie to the carnage?

That's true. Sweet innocent children do die in books especially if their death moves the plot along. *thinks about a certain young character in City of Glass* A death like that allows for a lead character to go all out on the revenge angle. Demons be damned. So J.K. would have rocked that. *pictures a very vengeful Edward and stifles a squeal*


Oooh... Vengeful Edward. *shivers* *in a good way* Wait, what were talking about?





Also, there was a moment on the plane when I thought my dream of being lost with Sawyer would *finally* come true, but my celebration was cut short when I realized, "Leigh didn't PINKY SWEAR that my novel wouldn't end with all the characters being beamed up to some faraway planet!" *looking at Stacie and Sophie for re-enforcement*


*sigh* It's hard to pinky-swear over the internet, Cher. Don't you trust my word that there would be no ghosts OR aliens? I wouldn't do something sneaky, like put in ghosts AND aliens, because technically that's not JUST ghosts or JUST aliens. Nope. Not I. *whistles innocently*



If I find out that an alien has made its way into my story, you're going to have a real-life ghost to worry about. ;p





Note to self: Cher is scary when her WIP is threatened. *winks*

So, WF readers, what mashed-up-ending-combos would YOU like to see? (Or what would you be unable to look away from, like an awful train wreck?) Tell us!!

Banned Books Week: We Have a Winner!

Leigh and I are so happy to announce the winner of our #Speak Loudly/ Banned Books Week contest! We used Random Integer to pick our winner:

Picksee77 is our winner! We love all of Picksee's comments here at Whimsical Fic-ery, and she has reduced us to tears (in laughter) with some of her Lazy Book Club responses. (Namely the "Nah..." from the Graceling Book Club, in case you're wondering Picksee - Leigh and I were crying over that.)

And, though she won with her twitter post, we loved Picksee's original comment:

I must admit that I've never paid much attention to the banned book list, even though, I know I should. I looked today, and it REALLY is the place to find books to read! The books I've read, I've loved. And the ones I haven't, I've really wanted to and just haven't (Sorry Slaughterhouse Five...you've been on my list for years and our copy got lost somewhere-I promise to get back to you!).

But, my favorite on the list is Catch 22. Yossarian is one of my all time favorite literary characters. I'll think of him randomly and smile. He's just trouble. And he doesn't have an internal editor-so if a thought comes in his head, he says it, including his fears. Which, is kind of fearless. I also love the way it reads--it's not an easy read, but it's fun to read. The concept of Catch 22, or circular logic, is throughout-and the story has this depth and commentary on bureaucracies and war etc--but, on the flip side-it's just an interesting story that is really very funny and then dark. If you want to just read it for the story, you can! If you want to read it and think about it and unwind the Catch 22's, you can! I read it well after school was over and it was on my list of, "how did I miss this one again?" It wasn't because it was banned, just, somehow I didn't take the class that covered it. I'm glad I finally picked it up. It is now one of my all time favorites.

Thanks for doing this point - I think I take it for granted sometimes that books such as these get banned. And, I shouldn't because Fahrenheit 451 (a close second to Catch 22 from the list) is about banning books-and I had nightmares about it every night that I read it-I should be more aware. What's happening with Speak is just outrageous and sad and I probably wouldn't have known about it if it wasn't for you ladies--so thank you for the awareness!

Two of my favorite books! If you haven't read Catch 22 or Fahrenheit 451, definitely take Picksee's advice and pick them up! Congratulations Picksee!! Email us and we'll send you your loot!

Reading Rainbow: Banned Books Week Edition

It's Banned Books Week starting September 25th and we're ready to celebrate here at Whim Fic with a giveaway! But first, Leigh and I thought it would be fun to recommend our favorite banned books for today's Reading Rainbow.

My favorite, hands down, is Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. I'm kind of in love with Vonnegut - I'd say he was my first literary crush. I'm completely serious when I tell you that I had to pull over and cry when I heard he died. His books mean that much to me. I've read almost everything he's ever written, but Slaughterhouse Five is one of my favorites. It's a brilliant book.

The Banned Books List I found here on the ALA's site is practically a guide for where to find GOOD books! I love many of them, but I think one of my favorites is A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. This was really the first Urban Fantasy I ever read, before I even knew there was a distinction. I was blown away by the idea that there could be mysterious worlds not hidden by doors in cupboards, but by time itself. It cemented my love for science fiction and fantasy, spoke to the awkward girl I was at the time, and reassured me that there was magic - in some form - waiting for me.

There are so many great books on the banned books list it was hard to narrow it down to one book. I have to go with To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Atticus Finch was probably my first literary crush and the story still sticks to me to this very day. I might even go so far as to say this book influenced me in such a way that I am a better person for having read it. To Kill a Mockingbird reminds us all to be decent and kind humans and to always do the right thing. So yeah, I can totally see how this book ended up on the banned books list.*rolls eyes*

So there you have it. We've shared ours and now you must share yours. Why? Because you could win fabulous prizes! First, to honor Laurie Halse Anderson's book Speak, we are giving away a copy of the award-winning book. And, I promise to read it too (I'll order my copy when I order the winner's copy). In case you haven't yet heard about the #SpeakLoudly campaign, please go read Laurie Halse Anderson's blog post about her book being the recent target of this guy. Also, don't miss Myra McEntire's response at her blog - it's worth the read (I was in tears). Leigh has also written a wonderful post on parenting and censorship at her writing blog, so be sure to check that out as well!

We'll also be giving away a Whimsical Fic-ery tee that was inspired by this post.


It's pretty fantastic. Leigh even wore hers at the Decatur Book Fair!

Leigh, Myra McEntire, and Victoria Schwab

Okay, so to enter the give-away just follow these steps:
1. Leave a comment with your favorite banned book in the comments section of this post. Feel free to tell us why it's your favorite (because we like it when you're wordy). That will give you one entry and make you eligible for an extra entry (see #2).
2. If (and only if) you have left a comment with your favorite banned book, then you are eligible for one extra entry by tweeting about this post and the giveaway. But you must link to your tweet in a SEPARATE comment in the comments section.
3. Do all of this before Friday! We'll pick a winner and announce on Saturday. Good luck!

And, sadly, this is only open to US residents. I hate to even say it. Don't be mad. Please?

(And if you already own Speak, we can send you a different banned book instead. Don't worry - we're flexible. And whimsical.)

Reading Rainbow: Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

I don't do this to you all very often, but I'm going to do it today. *deep breath* STOP what you are doing and go buy Paranormalcy by Kiersten White! *exhales*

Seriously, I am in love with this book!

From Goodreads:
Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie's always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal.

Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

I totally judged this book by it's cover and was expecting a very dark story, which I like, but I love a dark story with a load of humor thrown in even more. That's exactly what Paranormalcy was. I was giggling at the first line. No wait, I was giggling at the title of the first chapter, "Oh Bite Me," and didn't stop from there. Evie and her bleeping bleeps are hilarious and she's such a great character. Sure, the girl loves sparkly pink more than I thought I could handle, but with Evie, it works. She is the kind of character who reminds you to take joy in the little things - even high school lockers.

And Lend. He might be my new favorite book-boyfriend. As always, I don't want to say too much, but Lend is about as perfect as they come. No sword, but he has plenty of other attributes that make him swoon-worthy. AND THE KISSY SCENE! This book has one that should be at the top of our list! I will probably go back and read it again as soon as I finish typing this.

And the story! It was fresh and FUNNY. This was one of those books that made me want to hole up and read for the entire day. I thought about it while I wasn't reading and couldn't wait to get home to my book and sink back into Evie's story. So, GO - READ!! And then tell me what you think, of course.

Follow Kiersten White on twitter here and read her blog here.

DBF or "How I Fangirled For Two Days & Didn't Get Kicked Out"

Last weekend I bribed convinced my husband to take me to the Decatur Book Festival. All I had to hear was the word "book" and I was sold, but then I found out that Rachel Hawkins and Cassie Clare would be there. I think my head might have exploded from the awesome. I also may have ordered a Hot Boys With Swords bag. And I may have convinced several authors to sign it. (Picture at the end of the post!)


Let me tell you: they all lived up to it. I couldn't believe how genuinely NICE all of the authors were! They were funny, they were insightful, and they were real. (I touched a few of them!!) (*fangirls*) See?

Me (Leigh), Myra McEntire, and Victoria Schwab taking a ninja-stealth-pic with Cassie Clare

Saundra Mitchell and Jessica Verday were absolutely adorable talking about what went into creating their fantasy worlds. (I mean adorable in the best sense of the word, by the way.) Saundra explained her not-at-all-creepy use of Google Maps Street View: she used it to pick the spot on the highway to make her fake town for Shadowed Summer.


Rachel Hawkins and Nancy Werlin were wonderful as they discussed their (sometimes different) views on paranormal literature. Rachel had a TON of perfect examples/quotes. She pointed out that Buffy took a normal teen experience ("I slept with my boyfriend and now he won't talk to me") and turned it into: "I slept with my boyfriend and now he wants to kill me." Nancy talked book covers for a bit, and about how even if a book cover doesn't fit a book (*cough* there's-no-cat-in-Hex-Hall *cough), that doesn't mean it's not a good cover. If you've read the book and can COMPLAIN that it's not right, then the cover did it's job. So, it was the right cover. Deep, no?

Also? Rachel let me touch her blue streaks. Because she is.. wait for it... AMAZEBALLS!

Rachel Hawkins, who says I didn't scare her off

Of course, I also got to listen to Cassie Clare read from CoFA and have her sign my book! AND my Hot Boys With Swords bag. She is every bit as awesome as you have heard, and she spent at least two hours sitting in the heat signing books. She deserves her #1 on the NYT bestseller list and THEN some.

"Team 'They Should Be Doing It" - Cassie Clare, "Yes!" - Nancy Werlin, and "Caspian FTW! HBWS + RH = 4-eva!" - Rachel Hawkins

But most of all? I just flat-out had fun meeting a TON of people who I recognized from the blog, from Twitter, and just from their general good-taste-in-books! Vania, who makes awesome book trailers, is so nice! (I've already decided I want her to do my headshot someday!) You should all watch out for these debut authors (who were so ridiculously sweet and I can't WAIT to read their books!): Myra McEntyre (Hourglass), Victoria Schwab (The Near Witch), and Michelle Hodkin (The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer).

In short? I loved it, loved them, and so incredibly lucky to have had the chance to meet everyone who was there. Book people ROCK!

Reading Rainbow: Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel

I was recently tweeting with Julie Kagawa (and you know we love Julie around here!) and asked her what book she was planning on reading during her vacation. Vacation books are a big deal for me. I put so much importance on them that when Julie said she was thinking of reading Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel, I figured I would have to read it too.



From Goodreads:
Lenah Beaudonte is, in many ways, your average teen: the new girl at Wickham Boarding School, she struggles to fit in enough to survive and stand out enough to catch the eye of the golden-boy lacrosse captain. But Lenah also just happens to be a recovering five-hundred-year-old vampire queen. After centuries of terrorizing Europe, Lenah is able to realize the dream all vampires have -- to be human again. After performing a dangerous ritual to restore her humanity, Lenah entered a century-long hibernation, leaving behind the wicked coven she ruled over and the eternal love who has helped grant her deep-seated wish.

Until, that is, Lenah draws her first natural breath in centuries at Wickham and rediscovers a human life that bears little resemblance to the one she had known. As if suddenly becoming a teenager weren’t stressful enough, each passing hour brings Lenah closer to the moment when her abandoned coven will open the crypt where she should be sleeping and find her gone. As her borrowed days slip by, Lenah resolves to live her newfound life as fully as she can. But, to do so, she must answer ominous questions: Can an ex-vampire survive in an alien time and place? What can Lenah do to protect her new friends from the bloodthirsty menace about to descend upon them? And how is she ever going to pass her biology midterm?

Okay, so maybe you're thinking, "Another vampire book. Really?" But, wait! This is one of those vampire stories that turns the tables, and I loved it for that. You won't get the "Oh look! I'm a beautiful vampire with lots of money and my eternal life is so fabulous and don't you want to be me?" story here. Nope. Rebecca Maizel looks at the dark side of being a vampire. They cannot feel anything under their touch, they cannot cry without horrible pain, they feel desperate longing for human emotion, and any sort of human happiness inspires the need to inflict suffering. You won't find many friendly neighborhood vamps in this story. And, I liked that.

Now, that's not to say I liked the savage nature that Lenah had as a vampire. What I like is how this book explores the desire to be human and what exactly that means. It crosses the age-old story of a high-school crush with the story of a centuries old vampire queen. And it's wonderfully done.

The ending of this book left my jaw on the ground, but thankfully there is a chapter from the next book included, so you won't be left completely dumbstruck. And make sure you read the chapter - I almost feel like it could have been part of this book instead.

Have you read Infinite Days? Are you planning on adding it to your TBR list?

Waiting on Wednesday: Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

So you may have noticed the absence of Reading Rain-bow this week. Truth be told, I'm suffering from a Mockingjay hangover. (If you want to join in the discussion on Mockingjay - go here.) And you might also be aware that Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare was released this week. So, I'm a little distracted. We'll just carry on with our regular scheduled programming - Waiting on Wednesday!

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine.

Lately I've been hearing a lot about Nightshade by Andrea Cremer. Every book blogger that has read it has been buzzing about it and the reviews on goodreads are amazing. And, the cover is beautiful and deadly all in one. I love it.

From Goodreads:
While other teenage girls daydream about boys, Calla Tor imagines ripping out her enemies’ throats. And she wouldn’t have it any other way. Calla was born a warrior and on her eighteenth-birthday she’ll become the alpha female of the next generation of Guardian wolves. But Calla’s predestined path veers off course the moment she saves the life of a wayward hiker, a boy her own age. This human boy’s secret will turn the young pack's world upside down and forever alter the outcome of the centuries-old Witches' War that surrounds them all.

Seriously? Witches War? I'm in. Also the reviews on goodreads:

This is a very sexy YA novel. Lots of insanely hot werewolves. Grrr... Suspense up to the very end. (from author Lisa Desrochers) Okay, again, "insanely hot werewolves," and I'm in.

From the reviews, I also learned that we have a Chick Who Can Kick Our Asses as a heroine (yes!) and a book that far surpasses the blurb. (I was a little judge-y of the blurb too, to be honest). So, I'm definitely going to be lined up to get Nightshade when it comes out on October 19, 2010 in the states. I just wonder if I can wait until then.

What about you? Have you heard about Nightshade? Planning on reading it? Lucky enough to have already read a copy?