Vlog: Tips and Advice for New Bloggers!

May 6, 2014May 6, 2014Leave a comment

I’ve been blogging for What A Nerd Girl Says for nearly TWO years now, sildenafil and I absolutely love it, more about and I love how much my life has changed since starting it. I love the people that I’ve met, and the things I’ve gotten to do, and I love writing for it.

I got a ton of feedback from you guys, all the time, and I LOVE hearing from you and one thing that I get a lot is “I’m starting my own blog; do you have advice?”

And you know, I always do the best that I can to give the best advice that I can. I have been doing this for two years but I don’t know everything and I’m learning every day how to be a better blogger and to have more and more fun with it.

So I decided to reach out to my blogger friends, and get some advice from them to share with you guys! It turned into an awesome vlog, which you can check out here:

There is a TON of great advice in this vlog, if I do say so myself, but there was also a ton of advice from these bloggers that I could not fit into the vlog so I wanted to share it below.

ADVICE and TIPS!

“Don’t be afraid to be controversial. Show up. Make your site look good. Keep your brand consistent.”

–Jackie, Seeking Bazinga

“Be serious. Don’t do it for the wrong reasons (like for perks or special admittance to events) – it shows in your work. If you genuinely love it, you’ll want it to be great, and it will be better for it.”

“Seek out other bloggers who share interests and work together.”

–Amber, Grown Up Fan Girl

“Be honest about what you write/blog about. Be true to yourself and your love for it. Be yourself. Don’t be afraid about what others will say.”

“It’s not a competition! Just do what you love! Write what you love! Share what you love! Everyone else is doing it…so don’t be afraid to share as well. Blogging is supposed to be fun where people can share their thoughts and feelings about whatever they want to share!”

–Jasmine, Movies Shows and Books

“Take notes because sometimes you have the olds and forget what you wanted to write about in your review.”

–Alethea, Read Now, Sleep Later

(This is one that I’m DEFINITELY going to start doing…)

“Patience. I’m still new to the whole blogging thing and I love it. As a starter things get slow but honestly just wait you’ll get it.”

–Kristen, Recently Acquired Obsessions

“I’ve learned if you are blogging for a particular fandom, competition can fester even if you don’t mean for it to. Fight against the urge to fall into the trap of trying to beat people, as hard as that can sometimes be. There is always someone who will feel threatened when you gain followers and they don’t. Just be true to the followers you have. Don’t be afraid to share your own personality. You can be consistent, but don’t forget to be real and to be nice. The golden rule should apply.”

–Amber, The Mortal Institute

“There will always be petty drama. I don’t care what bloggers you deal with. Just ignore it, blow it off. It’s never going away. My advice; never respond to it nor let it show that it bothers you. If you do that the you’ve let them win and you’ll forever be miserable. Just do you and be you and eff everything else.

That doesn’t mean you can’t make friends. I’ve met 3 of my closest besties from this world but it’s not often that happens or that jealousy will get the best of them. Especially if you come up with a really stellar feature to do. It’ll kill them that they didn’t think of it first and some may even try to sabotage you and your blogging rep. The blogging world is very, very similar to high school drama which is crazy considering a lot of bloggers are at least in the late 20’s.

So. Have fun with it, don’t let anyone bring you down and you’re golden.”

–Amy, Lady Reader

“Seeing as I’m still new to the whole blogging thing I’d just say do it because you love it. If you love books so much and fangirl over characters then put those feelings out there, if you love a certain celebrity, then do a whole post about them. Don’t be afraid to show the real you.

Oh and the followers will come haha. Just because you only have 60 followers (me) and other people have love thousands, don’t let that put you off. Like everyone has been saying; it’s not a competition. It’ll soon lift off. Even if you don’t have a lot of followers, it doesn’t mean that you’ve failed. Be proud of it. Love it. Talk to your blog like you would talk to a friend.”

–Hayley, Geek and Book Nerd Site

“Do you. Love what you do. Do what you love because it’s what you truly enjoy and don’t do it for the recognition. There will always be people with more connections, even people who have less traffic will sometimes get better perks and it may feel sh*tty for a bit. Just…you have to have that passion for what you’re actually doing on your site. The perks are few and far between and you have to view them as a present. A thank you for all your work. The studios don’t owe you anything and as soon as you seem entitled to them, you’re done. Be kind, to a point. Be a hardass when protecting your reputation and brand – this is a must no matter how meek and kind you want to be (I feel like I am the epitome of meek and kind, this was a learning experience). If you view the perks as the be all end all you will go crazy and destroy your mental health (I’m saying this from experience).”

–Kimmy, Page to Premiere

“Do it because you love it. Don’t ever do it because you think it’ll get you perks. That’s completely the wrong reason to have a blog. Work hard, have a passion for it, love it, get involved. When you show how much you love it and how much you love the community that comes with it, the rest falls into place. The rest is just an added bonus to the fun that you have just writing your blog. I don’t get paid to run my blog, and yet I spend a TON of time, and money and effort on it. Why? Because I genuinely enjoy doing it. I enjoy the community that I’m a part of because of it, and I enjoy meeting people who are like me. I enjoy writing it, and I enjoy interacting with anyone who comes my way. The perks that came are just an added bonus and they are still so far and few between. Start a blog because you are passionate about something and you want to share that passion with others.”

–Sara, What A Nerd Girl Says

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I hope you enjoyed watching the vlog and reading all of the fantastic and amazing advice from all these wonderful bloggers. I hope you’re able to check out each and every single one of them because they are all TRULY awesome!

And if you have a site, please definitely share in the comments because I would love to check it out!

And a HUGE good luck to all of you who hope to start one. I hope that we didn’t scare you off (haha!) and that you’ll be writing alongside us VERY soon!

Happy Blogging!

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TMI Read-a-Thon: Favorite City of Ashes Quotes!

May 2, 2014May 2, 2014Leave a comment

Hello everyone! I am currently hosting a TMI Read-a-Thon, sales re-reading all the books of the Mortal Instruments series in anticipation of the release of City of Heavenly Fire. You can join in by clicking this link.

Every Friday, viagra dosage for the next couple weeks, treatment I’ll be posting my favorite quotes from each Mortal Instruments Book!

As this is my first week, of course, these are all my favorite quotes from City of Ashes.

Enjoy! And make sure to share yours in the comments!

Ontario Teen Book Fest-Author Spotlight on Jessica Brody

May 2, 2014April 30, 20141 Comment

I am so so so incredibly excited to be kicking off the official Ontario Teen Book Fest blog tour! The Ontario Teen Book Fest is SUCH an important event to me, buy and I’m happy to be putting this tour to bring as much attention to the event possible.

Last year’s event brought so many amazing authors into my life. I went to the event, side effects only having been familiar with Morgan Matson, Jessica Brody, Marie Lu, and Stephen Chbosky. I left the Fest with a gigantic bag stuffed full with books and friendships with authors like Ann Stampler and Leigh Bardugo and the duo of Lex Thomas and ANDREW SMITH and Gretchen McNeil and Carrie Arcos and Jennifer Bosworth. It was an incredible experience and I can’t wait to experience that again!

But first, the blog tour!

When: May 17th, 9 am to 5 pm

Where: Colony High School
3850 E. Riverside Drive
Ontario, CA 91761

This event is a completely free and un-ticketed event! Priority seating WILL be given to teens, but come one, come all! There will also be giveaways and raffles at the Fest, also free!

You can visit the website, to see the full schedule of the day by visiting the official Ontario Teen Book Fest website.

Books WILL be available for purchase at the event, available from Mrs. Nelson’s Book Fair Company :) They are an amazing company so definitely bring your books from home, but try and support Mrs. Nelson’s by purchasing a book!

Its going to be an incredible event and I’m honestly counting down the days! I hope you can come along for the ride, in the days leading up to the event. I’ve got some great bloggers helping me out to profile these amazing authors. Check out the full blog tour here!

May 2nd: Spotlight on Jessica Brody — What A Nerd Girl Says
May 3rd: Spotlight on Elana K. Arnold — Nite Lite Book Reviews
May 4th: Spotlight on Lauren Miller — A Bookish Escape
May 5th: Spotlight on Livia Blackburne — The Thousand Lives
May 6th: Spotlight on Lauren Kate — She Reads She Blogs
May 7th: Spotlight on Katie Alender — Movies, Shows and Books
May 8th: Spotlight on Catherine Linka — Fangirl Feeels
May 9th: Spotlight on Sarah Skilton — Read Now Sleep Later
May 10th: Spotlight on Lissa Price — Recently Acquired Obsessions
May 11th: Spotlight on Jessi Kirby — What A Nerd Girl Says
May 12th: Spotlight on Katherine Ewell — iFandoms Collide
May 13th: Spotlight on Mary Pearson — The Windy Pages
May 14th: Spotlight on John Corey Whaley — Read Now Sleep Later
May 15th: Spotlight on Robin Benway — Adventures of a Book Junkie
May 16th: Spotlight on Ava Dellaira — Fangirl Feeels

So today’s kick off spotlight of the tour is on the one and only:

Jessica Brody!

Jessica Brody is the author of several adult and young adult novels including The Fidelity Files, 52 Reasons to Hate My Father, My Life Undecided and her young adult science fiction trilogy, Unremembered, Unforgotten and the yet to be released, Unchanged. Unremembered has just recently been optioned for film by Reliance Entertainment and Kintop Pictures. Her books can be found not only here in the U.S. but also in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, Norway, Denmark, China, Russia, Brazil and more! She currently splits her time between Los Angeles and Colorado. You can find her at:

Her Website / Her Facebook / Her GoodReads / Her Twitter / Her Instagram / Her Tumblr / Her YouTube

Her Books

In all honestly, she has kind of a lot of books and you should definitely check her out at the many links above so that you can read them ALL. For this, I’m just going to profile two.

Being America’s favorite heiress is a dirty job…but someone’s gotta do it.

Lexington Larrabee has never had to work a day in her life. After all, she’s the heiress to the multi-billion-dollar Larrabee Media empire. And heiresses are not supposed to work. But then again, they’re not supposed to crash brand-new Mercedes convertibles into convenience stores on Sunset Boulevard either.

Which is why, on Lexi’s eighteenth birthday, her ever-absent, tycoon father decides to take a more proactive approach to her wayward life. Every week for the next year, she will have to take on a different low-wage job if she ever wants to receive her beloved trust fund. But if there’s anything worse than working as a maid, a dishwasher, and a fast-food restaurant employee, it’s dealing with Luke, the arrogant, albeit moderately attractive, college intern her father has assigned to keep tabs on her.

In Jessica Brody’s hilarious “comedy of heiress” about family, forgiveness, good intentions, and best of all, second chances, Lexi learns that love can be unconditional, money can be immaterial, and regardless of age, everyone needs a little saving. And although she might have fifty-two reasons to hate her father, she only needs one reason to love him.

When Freedom Airlines flight 121 went down over the Pacific Ocean, no one ever expected to find survivors. Which is why the sixteen-year-old girl discovered floating among the wreckage—alive—is making headlines across the globe.

Even more strange is that her body is miraculously unharmed and she has no memories of boarding the plane. She has no memories of her life before the crash. She has no memories period. No one knows how she survived. No one knows why she wasn’t on the passenger manifest. And no one can explain why her DNA and fingerprints can’t be found in a single database in the world.

Crippled by a world she doesn’t know, plagued by abilities she doesn’t understand, and haunted by a looming threat she can’t remember, Seraphina struggles to piece together her forgotten past and discover who she really is. But with every clue only comes more questions. And she’s running out of time to answer them.

Her only hope is a strangely alluring boy who claims to know her from before the crash. Who claims they were in love. But can she really trust him? And will he be able to protect her from the people who have been making her forget?

From popular young adult author Jessica Brody comes a compelling and suspenseful new sci-fi series, set in a world where science knows no boundaries, memories are manipulated, and true love can never be forgotten.

Interview!

Nerd Girl: Okay, first off: tell us, how absolutely excited are you for the Unremembered movie, and what do you hope they capture from the book to the screen:

Jessica: GAH! I’m SO super excited for this movie! My books always feel like movies when I’m writing them and when they’re developing in my head so this is a huge dream come true for me! I have full faith in these producers to adapt the book to the big screen. But one thing I really hope they’re able to capture is the waging war between nature and science that runs through all three books of the trilogy. What really makes us human? And when science starts messing with human nature (as it often does even today!), what are the consequences? Does it make us any less human? These are the questions I sought to answer in the book and I hope they translate to the screen as well.

Nerd Girl: Sera is an extraordinary main character and, because of that, sometimes it might be hard to remember that she is a teenager. However, she goes through very “teenage” things like first love and discovery. Was it important to you to make sure she experienced that to make her familiar to the reader?

Jessica: Well, thank you so much for saying so!

At first, I thought it would be difficult to make Seraphina relatable. Being that she’s a genetically modified super human with no memories (not your every day teen to say the least!) But as I started to write the book, it became apparent that Seraphina went through the same struggles as all my other teen contemporary characters. Like most young people, she’s trying to figure out who she is, how she fits into her world, who to trust, what she wants her legacy to be. These similarities surprised me as I wrote but now that I look back, it makes me so much sense. Being a teen is being a teen. Regardless of how beautiful you are, how fast you can run, how much you remember. It’s a transitional period in your life. A time of discovery. And it was a discovery process for me to realize this but in the end, I’m happy with the message that’s portrayed in the book.

Nerd Girl: Both Unremembered and Unforgotten have cliffhangers that make any reader want to throw their book across the room. What is the trick to creating a really good cliffhanger?

Jessica: I think the trick to ending any book with a cliffhanger is making sure you wrap up all the BIG loose ends of the current story. There’s a difference between making the reader want to know what happens next and completely frustrating the reader because you, the author, didn’t do your job and finish the story. In both Unremembered and Unforgotten, I was very careful to make sure the major conflicts and storylines were resolved. THEN and only then, did I introduce the next major conflict to come in the form of a cliffhanger.

Nerd Girl: You can switch places with one person for a day: who would you pick and why?

Jessica: Taylor Swift. I’m such a nerd fan of hers! I just think she’s so dang adorable and talented. I would love to be in her shoes for a day. I’m sure it’s not all it’s cracked up to be (a theme I plan to explore in a future book one day), but it’s still something I’d love to experience.

Nerd Girl: In Unforgotten, the characters bounce back and forth between various time periods. What is the hardest part about writing a book in different time periods?

Jessica: Probably the research. In Unforgotten, the book takes place in three time periods: 1609, 2032, and 2115. These are all very different settings. And two of them haven’t even happened yet. So after I finished researching life in the 17th century, I would then have to crack open a book about what we can expect in the future. It was like changing college majors in the middle of the semester, from a history major to some kind of speculative technology major!

Nerd Girl: Have you ever had a ‘fangirl moment’ and who was it with?

Jessica: I had a major fangirl moment the first time I read Rainbow Rowell. I had just read Eleanor and Park and I went to one of her signings in LA. I waited until her long line of fans had died down before getting my book signed and introducing myself. We spoke for a little while and she asked what I had written. Then she asked if they carried it in the store. They did. And she actually BOUGHT Unremembered while I stood there and watched. And she asked me to sign it. I was so speechless and beside myself. To this day, I can’t believe Rainbow bought my book! GAH!

Nerd Girl: Because this is for the Ontario Teen Book Fest, all about the teens, what is your favorite memories from when you were a teen?

Jessica: Okay, this is super JUVENILE, but one of my favorite moments was when I was thirteen and the guy I’d been crushing on for weeks asked my best friend if she thought I would go out with him, if he asked me. I still remember the giddiness I felt when she passed on the message. The whole delivery was SO middle school but I don’t care. I was ecstatic!

Nerd Girl: Last question: who is your fictional crush?

Jessica: Gosh, it changes by the day. Today, I’ll go with Sky from LOVE LETTERS TO THE DEAD. I just read it and it was amazing! I’m excited to meet the author, Ava Dellaira, at the festival this month!

Giveaway!

Oh yes! There is a giveaway! With three prizes. It starts today, and ends May 20th, three days after the actual fest.

The prizes include:

Grand Prize: Ontario Teen Book Fest Poster Signed by All Attending Authors and a Swag Pack!

Of course, its not signed yet but it will be!

First Prize: Ontario Teen Book Fest Signed by All Attending Authors!

Second Prize: Ontario Teen Book Fest Shirt Signed by All Attending Authors!

The shirt will also be signed at the Fest as well!

And its easy to enter, in the rafflecopter below! Sorry, no international this time around!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Join In on What A Nerd Girl Says’ Secret Beach Read Buddy!

April 30, 20144 Comments

I am so excited to finally announce that the What a Nerd Girl Says Secret Beach Read Buddy.

Now, stuff if you’ve participated in my Secret Santa or Secret Valentine, seek you already know the drill. Scroll down to the bottom and find out what information I need from you!

If you have not participated before, here’s the 411:

Everyone likes getting packages, and a fangirl (or boy) loves getting packages with books. Back in December, I participated in The Broke and Bookish Secret Santa gift exchange and it was so incredibly fun and I decided to do it with my closest fangirl friends, and everyone had a blast. So then I decided to extend it out into my blogger world and did a Secret Valentine and again, it was super fun. So I’ve decided I’m going to try and do this four times a year: Valentine, Beach Read Buddy, a fall one which has yet to be named and Santa.

So basically, it goes like this… you sign up, and you get yourself a buddy. You will be provided with a little sheet of information on them: who they are, where they live, what sort of books they want to read, what fandoms they like and information like that. Its YOUR job to create a gift for them. Think a book or two, maybe an extra goodie or two. You ship it off to them and in return, someone will ship something to you!

Its SO MUCH FUN!

Check out some pictures from the Secret Valentine gift exchange!

Totally fun, right? It is and I hope that you can all join in for the Secret Beach Read Buddy.

I do want to make something clear though: Secret Beach Read Buddy is just a title, you don’t have to get “beach reads” for your buddy. I’m not actually a beach read sort of girl haha. You’ll get information about the type of books your buddy likes, so it’ll be easy cheesy.

Also…THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!

As much as I’d love each and every single one of you to participate, please do not do so if you can’t commit to this. It takes time, money and effort and I want to make sure that everyone receives a gift. A few people last time did not receive gifts and yet they sent them out and that’s unfair. Please be aware that this will cost money to purchase the gift and to ship it out to your buddy. Only commit if you are 100% sure that you can do this!

Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, here is how you participate.

Send an email with the following information to whatanerdgirlsays@gmail.com by MAY 14TH, in order to participate. If you do not send in the information by MAY 14TH, you canNOT participate.

Your Secret Beach Read Buddy will be sent out to you by MAY 17TH, and you will need to send out your gift by JUNE 15TH.

There are a few more rules that are required, basic things, but those will be sent out in the email when you receive your Beach Read Buddy.

For now, here is the information that is needed:

Your Full Name

Yes, your full name: First Name, Last Name. We cannot send a package out to “Amy”. It needs to be “Amy Smith”.

Your Website/Blog/Twitter/Tumblr

This is if you WISH to share. It can help your Secret Beach Read Buddy get to know you better :)

Your Full Address

Please, please, please double, triple, quadruple check that you send this information in correctly. I hope that packages make it to the correct house! Please send it in the format that it would be written out as on an envelope.

5-10 Books You Are Interested in Reading/Your GoodReads Link/Your Amazon Wish List

All three or two or one of these will work. Please keep in mind: list books that you will NOT be buying in the next month or so. If you buy a book on your Amazon wish list, please remove it ASAP. Make it as easy as possible for your SBRB to buy you a book you do not already own!

Please, please, please DO NOT request hardcover versus paperback. Please do not do that. That is incredibly rude. Your Secret Beach Read Buddy is putting together an awesome package for you, out of their own pocket, and they may purchase you two or three soft cover books as opposed to one hardcover, in order to make your package that much better. Set aside your book preferences for this, because its a FUN thing!

Fandoms You Love

Share! Are you a Potterhead or a Shadowhunter? Do you love Doctor Who or Supernatural or Disney, etc? This helps your SBRB find little goodies for you!

Anything Else You’d Like to Share

Do you collect bookmarks or keychains? What sort of snacks do you like to munch on while reading? That sort of thing.

International or Not?

Anyone can participate from any country. But there are some things to say:

If you would prefer not to ship international, please let me know! This is incredibly important. If you don’t let me know, I can’t guarantee you won’t get someone in a different country.

If you are IN a different country, you’ll probably be shipping to another country. I can’t guarantee someone from your country will be participating so please keep that in mind when you sign up.

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Easy, right? Just don’t forget to send this information in by MAY 14TH! Any later and you cannot participate. Don’t forget to send this information by MAY 14TH to whatanerdgirlsays@gmail.com.

Can’t wait!

Tuesday Top Ten-Favorite City of Ashes Moments!

April 30, 2014April 30, 2014Leave a comment

I realize, viagra dosage of course, this web that it is Wednesday so the whole Tuesday part of the title is a little untrue. I was cleaning my room today, web and well, I guess I got a….book lover injury. I was lifting a stack of books, I kid you not, and I hurt my back. I’ve literally been in bed the rest of the day and I haven’t been able to move all day. I’ve been so massively uncomfortable. So not only do these books hurt me, you know, emotionally and mentally, but also physically .

Only me, guys. Only I would be rendered completely useless by a stack of books haha.

But now I’ve realized that I’m not going to get any more comfortable than I already am (not) so I might as well write this post because I promised!

This is part of my TMI Read-a-Thon, which I hope that you can join in on! You can check out the post here.

Now let’s count down my favorite moments from the City of Ashes novel!

10. When We Meet Maia

I love Maia and I don’t think we get to see enough of Maia in the books and I don’t think that Maia gets enough credit. It was awesome to get another girl in this book besides just Clary and Isabelle. I love the confidence that Maia has and I love that she’s a female Downworlder. She’s tough, but emotional. I love everything about her. I love that we are in her head when we first meet, so we get her back story with her brother, Daniel, and her ex-boyfriend who turned her into a werewolf. I love that she becomes so important. I really don’t think she gets enough

“Maia never trusted beautiful boys, which was why she hated Jace Wayland the first time she ever laid eyes on him.”

9. When Jace Defies His Father

I think this is an ultimate moment and I don’t know that people really stop to appreciate how incredibly hard it is for Jace to do this. Valentine is the bad guy. Of course, he is. We, as the reader, see the absolutely horrible things that he’s done, is doing and plans to do. But for Jace…this is the man who raised him. He may have done so harshly but that doesn’t stop Jace from loving him, and from having an affection for him. For the first ten years of his life, Valentine was all he knew. He taught him, made him the person that he is, and Jace loves him, and was conditioned to obey him. To defy his father was a huge choice that he had to make even if it was the right one. I thought it was a beautiful moment in the story and a beautiful, growing moment for Jace.

“He must have been pretty pissed when you said no,” Alec observed.

Jace looked up from his bleeding wrists and stared. “What?”

“I said–“

“I know what you said. What makes you think I said no?”

“Well, you did. Didn’t you?”

8. When Imogen Herondale Dies for Jace

I think I appreciate this moment a whole lot more once we find out the real truth of Jace’s parentage. At the time, I was baffled by it. I couldn’t understand how this woman who showed so much hatred and disdain and disrespect toward Jace could suddenly jump in front of him, and get killed by a demon. It absolutely blew my mind. But when we realize that she is his biological grandmother, that the line of Herondale is not over, I think its a beautiful moment. She is the first person, besides Valentine, Hodge and Jocelyn, who figures out the truth about him and she jumps in front of him, to save the last bit of her son, Stephen, that she has left. Agh. I’m getting emotional just thinking about it .

Breath hissed through the Inquisitor’s teeth. “It can’t be,” she murmured. “You can’t be–“

7. When Simon Becomes a Vampire

I know that some people probably don’t like that part, and that they would have rather had Simon live as a mundane or die, period but I think that him becoming a vampire was almost necessary. Simon, to me, was just never going to be able to keep up with the Shadow world. He was a mundane, no matter how much I really liked him, and a mundane just didn’t fit into that world. I think that by becoming a vampire, he was better fit into the world, even as a Downworlder. I also think that it weirdly gave him confidence and it helped for him to gain the respect of Jace and Alec and others. I liked when Simon became a vampire. I really felt like he belonged in the story from that moment on.

“Now what?” said Isabelle, with a hard edge to her voice. “Now he’ll die?”

“And rise again. Now he will be a vampire.”

6. When Jace Jumps out of the Malachi Configuration

Seriously there’s not much to say about this part except it makes Jace a total badass. And it hints at what the Seelie Queen said about him and Clary being Valentine’s little experiments. Jace is capable of so much, if only he gives himself the chance to believe in himself. So yeah. Jace is just a badass in this scene.

“I am Valentine’s arrow,” Jace whispered. “Whether he knows it or not.” And he jumped.

5. When Maryse Asks the Inquisitor to Release her Son

I wish Jace had been there at that moment to see this. Because Maryse is seen as hard, and unyielding, as the leader of the Lightwood family and the one that got them involved with Valentine and the Circle in the first place but I always believed that there was so much more to her. She had three children and she took in Jace, and I believed she loved each and every single one of them. Even when she was telling Jace to leave, all I could think of was that she loved him so much that she couldn’t bear to think of him as Valentine’s child. So the moment that she stands up to Imogen and tells her to release her son, I felt like cheering. This is a huge part of the reason why I call him Jace Lightwood and not Jace Herondale. His family is the Lightwoods, and Maryse proves that here.

“And the first thing you’re going to do is free my son from that accursed Malachi Configuration.”

4. When Jace Lets Simon Drink His Blood

Can we just address the fact that these two barely tolerate each other, if like each other, and they’re in constant competition over Clary. I keep thinking, they’d like each other more if they weren’t both fighting for the love in Clary’s heart. So when Jace discovers that Simon is not dead, and he immediately cuts into his skin to save him…I was just blown away. I mean, I didn’t think that Jace would leave him for dead, but the fact that he immediately saved him, without any thought or pause, I was just like, jesus, Jace. He spends the entire series doing the right thing, even through his flaws and mistakes, and he doesn’t even realize it. The relationship between Jace and Simon definitely changes here.

He leaned down, pressed his bleeding wrist against Simon’s mouth. “Drink my blood, idiot,” he whispered. “Drink it.”

3. When Clary Creates the Fearless Rune

Of course, this scene is incredibly important to me. I have the fearless rune permanently tattooed on my shoulder. This scene, the creation of this rune, is near and dear to my heart. But there’s more to that, of course. I love that we are beginning to see the abilities that Clary has. I love that Jace is thinking of the Fear demon, and what he’ll need to get past it. I love that when Alec gets the Rune put on him, he immediately becomes fearless. But I love the best that they don’t need the rune to be fearless, that they learn to accept their fears and to get past it. I think that’s why the fearless rune means so much to me. You can’t be fearless; there’s no way. But you can accept and conquer them and deal with them, and I think everyone does that.

The pencil moved. She was almost sure that she hadn’t moved it, but it slid across the paper, describing a single line. She felt her heart skip. She thought of her mother, sitting dreamily before her canvas, creating her own vision of the world in ink and oil paint. She thought, Who I am? I am Jocelyn Fray’s daughter. The pencil moved again, and this time her breath caught; she found she was whispering the word, under her breath, “Fearless. Fearless.” The pencil looped back up, and now she was guiding it rather than being guided by it. When she was done, she set the pencil down and gazed for a moment, wonderingly, at the result.

2. When Clary Uses the “Open” Rune

Clary literally destroys an entire ship! AN ENTIRE FREAKIN SHIP! With one massively powerful rune. She is the one that saves the day, the untrained mundane-Shadowhunter girl. The one that people tend to overlook over and over and over again. The only people that always believe in her are Jace and Simon and they both believe in her at that moment and she explodes. She annihilates. She’s beautiful and powerful and incredible and she saves the lives of so many people. And its only book two. Its like, what on earth is this girl capable of? what is she going to do next?

Clary staggered to her feet. “That’s not what it says,” she whispered. “It says open.”

1. The Seelie Court Scene

I mean, duh. I love incest as much the next person ;) Seriously, I fell massively in love with Jace in the first book and I was like, chanting, “Clace, Clace, Clace” the entire first book. When you find out they are brother and sister, it felt like the sickest, cruelest joke ever. So when this moment happens in the Seelie Court, where they are forced to kiss and forced to confront their feelings for each other, head on, I was ecstatic. I thought…they’re going to try and make this work. Despite the craziness of it, they’re going to try and be together because they totally belong together. They make each other better. That scene was sexy and desperate and you felt every emotion along with him. It’s also my favorite scene because of the Jace POV of the scene. They are both feeling so similar to each other, so desperate and hopeless and in love, and you feel every tiny bit of it.

“While this is all very amusing,” said the Queen coolly, leaning forward, “the kiss that will free the girl is the kiss that she most desires.” The cruel delight in her face and voice had sharpened, and her words seemed to stab into Clary’s ears like needles. “Only that and nothing more.”

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Those are some of MY favorite City of Ashes moments! What are some of yours? Don’t forget to share in the comments!

Weekly Fangirl Round-Up!

April 25, 2014April 24, 2014Leave a comment

It has come to my attention, this not for the first time, that there has been something missing from the What A Nerd Girl Says blog for quite some time.

And what’s missing is news.

Now, here’s the thing: I’ve made it perfectly clear, time and time again, that this is NOT a fansite, not a news site, not anything like that. What A Nerd Girl Says was created as a place where I talk about all the nerdy and fangirl-y stuff in my life to people besides my boyfriend, who probably wants to strangle me every time I squeal over Theo James’ abs…

I’m not a news site. I just can’t keep up with the insane amount of news that is out. Its just impossible! And frankly, I just don’t have the time. I just don’t. I’m an aspiring YA novelist, I go to all these events, I just don’t have the time. I could get others to help me write the blog but I have a control issue so its basically just me.

That being said…I feel like I need to add something to this blog. I’ve recognized that I’ve been able to garner a fair amount of followers in the near two years that I’ve been blogging and so that is where the Weekly Fangirl Round Up comes in.

Every Friday/Saturday, I will post the weekly round-up, with quick bits of fangirl news for the week, so that they are all congregated in one place. I will do my best to link them, that way you can have a chance to read a full article about said news.

I will also post the links to all the blog posts that I’ve posted that week, in one convenient spot.

Sound good? Perfect. Here’s Weekly Round Up Number 1!

News!

Plans to film Sherlock Season 4 later this year have reportedly been scrapped, however Martin Freeman has hinted that a one episode special may be in the works!

A new The Fault in Our Stars trailer will be premiering in theaters before the Leslie Mann and Cameron Diaz movie, The Other Woman, this weekend. Make sure to head out to see this brand new trailer for the movie that hits theaters June 6th!

J.K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy is slated to be a three episode mini-series on HBO. I’m massively excited for this, and think that its going to be phenomenal!

John Green makes Time Magazine’s Top 100 Influential People issue. Did we ever doubt it for a moment?

The Hobbit Part 3’s title has been changed from The Hobbit: There and Back Again to The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is back? A third movie is in the works, based off of the final book in the series, Sisterhood Everlasting, following the girls years after their last Pants adventure. No talk of whether America, Blake, Alexis or Amber will be returning to the film.

Mindy McGinnis’ Not a Drop to Drink has been optioned for film! Yay!

Artwork revealed from the inside cover of City of Heavenly Fire, the last book in Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series, hit the interwebs this week, featuring Isabelle and Alec Lightwood!

Casting Call for extras needed for Insurgent Filming! They’re looking for older men and women so if you ever wanted your mom and dad to be kind of cool…here’s their time!

Posts/Vlogs!

What A Nerd Girl Says Mortal Instruments Read-a-Thon!

Tuesday Top Ten: Favorite City of Bones Moments!

WonderCon 2014 Vlog Recap! Best Weekend ever!

The Fake Geek Girl Thing Needs to Go Away!
A vlog about the fake geek girl stereotype and how I’m absolutely tired of it!

Book of the Week: City of Bones

City of Bones: Favorite Quotes

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Did I miss a bit of news! Leave it in the comments, and I’ll be sure to share it with the nerd girl world!

Have a great weekend everyone! Stay tuned next week for more awesome nerd news!

What A Nerd Girl Says

Nerd Life is Just So Much Better Than Regular Life

Category: Uncategorized

Vlog: Tips and Advice for New Bloggers!

ADVICE and TIPS!

TMI Read-a-Thon: Favorite City of Ashes Quotes!

Ontario Teen Book Fest-Author Spotlight on Jessica Brody

Jessica Brody!

Her Books

Interview!

Giveaway!

Join In on What A Nerd Girl Says’ Secret Beach Read Buddy!

Also…THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!

Send an email with the following information to whatanerdgirlsays@gmail.com by MAY 14TH, in order to participate. If you do not send in the information by MAY 14TH, you canNOT participate.

Your Full Name

Your Website/Blog/Twitter/Tumblr

Your Full Address

5-10 Books You Are Interested in Reading/Your GoodReads Link/Your Amazon Wish List

Fandoms You Love

Anything Else You’d Like to Share

International or Not?

Tuesday Top Ten-Favorite City of Ashes Moments!

10. When We Meet Maia

9. When Jace Defies His Father

8. When Imogen Herondale Dies for Jace

7. When Simon Becomes a Vampire

6. When Jace Jumps out of the Malachi Configuration

5. When Maryse Asks the Inquisitor to Release her Son

4. When Jace Lets Simon Drink His Blood

3. When Clary Creates the Fearless Rune

2. When Clary Uses the “Open” Rune

1. The Seelie Court Scene

Weekly Fangirl Round-Up!

News!

Posts/Vlogs!