Quintana of Charyn Blog Tour Schedule

The blog tour for Quintana of Charyn officially kicks off tomorrow! Who else is excited?! Thanks to all the lovely bloggers and fellow Melina Marchetta fans who volunteered to participate in this blog tour. We hope everyone has fun reading all the posts during this blog tour! (FYI: There's a tour giveaway in each post, so be sure to enter!) Here's the schedule of what you can expect for the next nine days:

November 1

132 Minutes - Book Chat

Joie de Lire - Excerpt

November 2

Bookittyblog - Review

A Girl Books and Other Things - Top Five Characters

November 3

Carina's Books - Review

Whole Lotta Mama! - Favorite Character

November 4

WinterHaven Books - Review + Giveaway

We Fancy Books - Excerpt

November 5

Joyous Reads - The Romance
Love is not a triangle - Review

November 6

Collections - Fanart

The Ink Spills - Series Review

November 7
A Book and a Short Latte - Series Cast

The Readers Den - Excerpt + Giveaway

November 8

The Fairytale Nerd - Reasons to Read the Series

GrowingUp YA - Dream Cast

November 9

132 Minutes - Melina Marchetta's Guest Post
132 Minutes - Shelf Envy + Wrap-up

US Cover Reveal: Quintana of Charyn

Quintana of Charyn was released last week in Australia, but it's still on its way to being released in North America. Thanks to Raquel S. at Candlewick for allowing us to reveal the fierce cover for the North American edition of Quintana!

Previous books in the Lumatere Chronicles

Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta 
Release Date: March 12, 2013 | Pages: 528 | Publisher: Candlewick

Pre-order: Amazon - Barnes & Noble - Book Depository

The climactic conclusion of Printz Award winner Melina Marchetta’s epic fantasy trilogy!

Separated from the girl he loves and has sworn to protect, Froi and his companions travel through Charyn searching for Quintana and building an army that will secure her unborn child’s right to rule. While in the valley between two kingdoms, Quintana of Charyn and Isaboe of Lumatere come face-to-face in a showdown that will result in heartbreak for one and power for the other. The complex tangle of bloodlines, politics, and love introduced in Finnikin of the Rock and Froi of the Exiles coalesce into an engrossing climax in this final volume.

Quintana of Charyn Prologue

Melina Marchetta has posted the prologue to Quintana of Charyn! The prologue is in Quintana's point of view, and you can read what Melina has to say about Quintana's perspective on GoodReads. It's pretty fascinating. The prologue is pasted below, but please keep in mind that it contains MAJOR spoilers to the ending of Froi of the Exiles. So, don't read it unless you've already read Froi!

Quintana of Charyn Teaser Quotes

Melina Marchetta posted examples of the six point of views that will be featured in Quintana of Charyn! All of them are posted below.

And here where we’re hidden, I sleep in a corner. My dreams are consumed by She who has stealth. I feel her, I fight her, I grit through my teeth, ‘Keep far from my king or I’ll tear you to pieces.’ I call out your name to help fight this demon. I call out your name.
‘Froi! Save Charyn’s son.’

---

'Are you calling me a liar?’ Isaboe asked softly. ‘Because I’d be careful of that, my love.’

---

‘But I failed,’ Froi said, pained to think of how much he had.‘You don’t know how that feels.’
Arjuro’s laugh was humourless. ‘You are saying those words to the wrong man, Froi. Failure is more of a twin to me than my own brother.’

---

Phaedra of Alonso’s death was a never-ending pain that gnawed at his insides. It made him a prisoner in his own cottage.

---

Up in the distance the whistle of the wind sang to her from the mountain. From Lucian’s mountain. It beckoned and taunted and she wanted to run towards it. To be enveloped in its coat of fleece and to hear its safe sounds.

---

Outside the inn, Finnikin watched the man and woman before him. They were of the same height. Both reed thin. And they loved each other. That was the fact Finnikin wanted to forget. That he was about to assassinate a man who loved someone.

Thoughts on the teasers? I am loving them and also kind of freaking out over the last one!

Ferragost Review

Ferragost by Melina Marchetta
Release Date: August 7, 2012
Published in: Review of Australian Fiction - Volume 3, Issue 4

"Lady Celie of the Lumateran Flatlands is visiting the Belegonian spring castle on the isle of Ferragost. Cut off from the rest of Belegonia by poor weather, she is confined to the island with four others, including the mysterious castellan of the castle. When the body of one of the guests is discovered on the rocks outside the east tower, Celie is not only considered a suspect, but finds herself embroiled in events that are entwined with her own kingdom's cursed history, as well as the future of the entire land of Skuldenore."

Every spring the King of Belegonia and his family stay at the Ferragost castle located off the coast of Belegonia. This year they invite Lady Celie of the Lumatere Flatlands to join them at Ferragost. While the arrival of the royal family is delayed by the weather, someone is murdered at Ferragost Castle and Celie decides to help the Castellan of the isle, Banyon, solve the murder. But it becomes tricky when Banyon suspects her of the murder and accuses her of being a spy for Lumatere.

Although it's a short story, Ferragost pretty much has everything I love to find in a Melina Marchetta story! There's always a surprise (or two or three!), something I never see coming. Even when I think I have the mystery solved, I never would have guessed the real reasons behind the characters' motives and actions. It tends to leave me in awe with my mouth hanging open and wondering how Melina Marchetta always manages to do this to her readers.

Melina's characters and the relationships in her stories are some of my favorites ever. Celie and her relationship with Banyon is no exception. On the outside Celie looks frail, but on the inside she's a total badass. I adored her! I also loved Banyon and Celie's interactions with him. Banyon doesn't seem to trust her and comes off as really rude, but there's an attraction there between them. So you can imagine the tension that builds whenever they're around each other. Celie will play a role in Quintana of Charyn, and I'm really really hoping Banyon will too! Even if it's a minor one, I don't care. He is up there with how I feel about the other male leads in the series. It amazes me how quickly and easily I can fall in love with Melina Marchetta characters. They are just that awesome.

According to Melina, Ferragost takes place around the same time as events in Quintana of Charyn but doesn't spoil anything. If you're a fan of the Lumatere Chronicles, I highly recommend you read Ferragost! It'll make you want the final book in the series even more, but at the same time it'll satisfy you and be the fix you need while you wait for QoC's release.

(Ferragost is featured in an issue of the online journal Review of Australlian Fiction. More info here. And it can be purchased here!)

Ferragost in Review of Australian Fiction

Review of Australian Fiction is an online journal that publishes short stories every two weeks by established and emerging Australian authors. RoAF invites an author to write a story, and then that author chooses an emerging author to be featured with them in an issue.

In the case of their upcoming issue (volume 3, issue 4), they invited Melina Marchetta and she chose Kirsty Eagar, the author of Raw Blue. Kirsty Eagar's story is called Molasses and set in the Australian city of Rockhampton. Melina Marchetta wrote a story called Ferragost, which is about Lady Celie, a character from the Lumatere Chronicles.

Volume 3, Issue 4 will be available on August 7 for purchase at the price of $2.99AUS on the Review of Australian Fiction's website, exclusively through Booki.sh. Accounts are free on Booki.sh, and it is the ONLY site where you'll be able to access issues of Review of Australian Fiction. RoAF's ebooks are DRM-free, though, and once you make a purchase, you can download it as an Epub file and you'll be able to convert it to whichever type of ebook format you need to.

If you have any questions, you can tweet Review of Australian Fiction @AustFicion or find their email contact info on their website. Thanks to the editor Matthew Lamb for providing all the info about Review of Australian Fiction and Booki.sh!

So while we wait for this exciting issue to be released, you can read an extract of Ferragost that Melina Marchetta posted here. It already sounds good! Be sure to add Ferragost to your GoodReads bookshelf and check back on 132 Minutes soon for an early review.

Synopsis: Ferragost and Quintana of Charyn

Penguin Australia's official synopsis of Quintana of Charyn has been out for awhile, but we actually never posted it on the blog until now. We also have the synopsis of Ferragost, a short story in the Lumatere Chronicles, from Melina Marchetta. According to Melina, it takes place at the same time as the events in Quintana of Charyn. We'll have more information on that soon. In the meantime, here are the synopses:

Ferragost

Lady Celie of the Lumateran Flatlands is visiting the Belegonian spring castle on the isle of Ferragost. Cut off from the rest of Belegonia by poor weather, she is confined to the island with four others, including the mysterious castellan of the castle. When the body of one of the guests is discovered on the rocks outside the east tower, Celie is not only considered a suspect, but finds herself embroiled in events that are entwined with her own kingdom's cursed history, as well as the future of the entire land of Skuldenore.

Quintana of Charyn

Quintana of Charyn is the spine-tingling and unforgettable final volume in the Lumatere Chronicles, which began with Finnikin of the Rock and Froi of the Exiles. An achingly satisfying and masterfully plotted novel from the pen of internationally best-selling and multi-award-winning author Melina Marchetta.

Separated from the girl he loves and has sworn to protect, Froi and his companions travel through Charyn searching for Quintana and building an army that will secure her unborn child's right to rule. While in the valley between two kingdoms, Quintana of Charyn and Isaboe of Lumatere come face to face in a showdown that will result in heartbreak for one and power for the other.

News in Less Than 132 Minutes #3

- For the International Reading Association's ENGAGE site, Melina Marchetta wrote a post and included photos about the landscape in the Froi of the Exiles: Researching the Landscape in FROI OF THE EXILES

- Melina revealed the cover for the Australian ebook bundle of Finnikin of Rock and Froi of the Exiles on GoodReads.

- If you missed the reveal for the lovely Australian cover of Quintana of Charyn, you can check it out here! Quintana will be out this October in Australia and March 2013 in US.

- MM finished the first draft of Quintana of Charyn back in February! She shared on GoodReads what she planned on doing during her break from working on QoC.

- Also back in February, MM updated us on her travels in Europe, which helped with the setting in QoC. Find out more at her blog.

- The ladies at whatchYAreading? had Melina Marchetta Week during the week of Froi of the Exiles's US release (March 12-16) where they shared their thoughts on some of Melina's books and they also had a really wonderful interview with her!

• Finnikin of the Rock and Melina Marchetta Week
• Froi of the Exiles
• Jellicoe Road
• Saving Francesca and The Piper's Son
• Interview with Melina Marchetta

- Chachic at Chachic's Book Nook hosted Marchetta Madness this past week (March 18-24)! There were lots of fan posts from readers and also authors where they shared their love of MM's novels, including an awesome guest post from MM!

• What was for your first Marchetta?
• Elizabeth Fama - Melina Marchetta, From the Perspective of a New Fan
• Jo @ Wear the Old Coat - An Ode to Marchetta’s Men
• Trish Doller (Jonah Griggs)
• Brandy @ Random Musings of a Bibliophile - How Saving Francesca Often Saves My Day
• Flannery @ The Readventurer (The Piper's Son)
• Megan Whalen Turner (Parents in MM's novels)
• Nomes @ Inkcrush (Looking for Alibrandi book + movie)
• Lisa and Maja @ The Nocturnal library (Finnikin of the Rock & Froi of the Exiles)
• Joy @132 Minutes - Evanjalin of the Monts
• Alexa @ 132 Minutes - Before I Read a Melina Marchetta Novel
• Kirsty Eagar (Chatting with MM in a video)
• Melina Marchetta - The sequel, the companion novel, the audience and me.
• Random Facts + wrap-up

- There were also more great fan posts written during and for Marchetta Madness Week!

• Alex @ A Girl, Books and Other Things
• Favorite Secondary Characters
• At the Movies: Looking for Alibrandi
• A Romantic Spotlight
• Aaron @ Guy Gone Geek - The Duality of a Narrative
• Lissa @ The Real Book Critique - Magic Writing by Melina Marchetta

- And on Twitter, @PenguinBTL found out about a new word to descirbe 'mega fan hype and activity': fandemonium. They came up with a few words of their own!

Marchetenmonium! haha There's been plenty of Marchetenmonium going on around the web these past two weeks with all the Melina Marchetta posts, and there's definitely some here at 132 Minutes. :D Thank you all for visiting this fan page!

Aussie Cover Reveal: Quintana of Charyn

Between the Lines has revealed the Australian cover of the October 2012 release Quintana of Charyn! Check out their post here. And now here is the lovely cover:

Previous covers in the Lumatere Chronicles

Loving the green and the overall mood and design. And such a great cover model! So happy that they didn't choose a picture of a drop-dead gorgeous girl for the cover. Plus, I think the messy hair and fierce stare and pose (she looks like she's ready to hurt someone! hehe) makes it even more Quintana. The designer of all 3 covers in the series is Marina Messiha. She did an amazing job! Seriously cannot wait for this book's release!

More on Lumatere Chronicles & Quintana of Charyn

On her blog, Melina Marchetta updated us on her travels in Europe, which helped with the setting in Quintana of Charyn. She even included some really interesting photos, like the one posted above, that showed how she imagined some areas and buildings in the novels. (The LE MONT picture was cute!)

At the end she had some answers for the Lumatere Chronicles that readers are definitely interested in knowing about:

"QofC will end the current story. There is no new Lumatere Chronicles in the works, but I think I may write a short story or two about the secondary characters.

And then if I let my imagination wander, I think of Jehr in Yutlind Sud. And whether the Osterians are really as boring as the Lumaterans and Charynites think they are. And if one day the whole land of Skuldenore has to band together because they'll be attacked by offlanders. And of course those bare headed novices in Sendecane."

Trying not to squee over that last paragraph. All we know is that whatever comes next, we'll devour read it. We'll read anything you write, MM!

(Please do not continue reading this post if you haven't read Froi of the Exiles or don't want to know anything about what happens in Quintana of Charyn! Just giving a fair warning!)

News in Less Than 132 Minutes #1

Instead of making separate posts for each of these quick updates, I decided to start a new feature here called "News in Less Than 132 Minutes." (Maybe a bit cheesy, but I like it. hehe) These news posts will also include some updates from posts posted in the fan page in the past week or so.

- Melina Marchetta won Favorite Aussie Author in the PengTeen Awards. Congrats!

- MM shares how she got her writing process started for the day of November 18. *gasps* This proves that authors are normal people like us!

- The Piper's Son has been nominated in YALSA's Reader's Choice for Realistic Fiction. Congrats again and good luck!

- US paperback for The Piper's Son will have a different cover from the US hardcover. Cannot wait to see it!

- Froi of the Exiles is available on NetGalley for book reviewers. Here's your chance if you can't wait for the North American March release.

- The 'Lumatere Chronicles' will be published in Brazil! Awesome!

- Quintana of Charyn, the third book in the 'Lumatere Chronicles', will be released in Australia on October 2012. Yay! Less than a year away!

- Melina Marchetta might write another middle-grade novel featuring Danny Griggs, including a possible cameo from Jonah Griggs, for next year. Who else is excited!?

- She also shares some differences between the Jellioce novel and film. Love that we'll be able to experience even more Jellicoe, but in a different way!

- And MM is working with a friend on a 10-part TV series about Jessa McKenzie, 4 years after Jellicoe. So cool! Let's hope it works out! *crosses fingers*

That's it for this edition of News in Less Than 132 Minutes. Can't wait to share more exciting news next time. :)

MM on Finnikin + Deleted Scene

The following was originally posted during Marchetta Madness Week at Between the Lines back in September, and MM has also shared it on her GoodReads Blog.

"I loved writing Finnikin. It was the first novel I wrote where research was so important and it was also the first novel I travelled for to get the landscape right. It was also the first time I heard the words “world building”. I work very hard at world building because I know it’s my weakness, but I decided that I would not try to re-invent the wheel with Finnikin and that I would stick to what I was good at: dialogue, characterization and relationships. So when I get asked the question, ‘Do you plan the world first?’ I’ll be honest in saying, No. Much the same as my other novels, the characters come calling and I take it from there. That’s not to say that I have no idea what the land looks like, because I do. And it doesn’t look like a skull. The name ‘Skuldenore’ in my opinion was a mistake for the name of the Land. Some reviewers believe the map resembles a skull and analyse it accordingly. The map is actually an upside down, strangely reverse, version of the map of Australia.

This scene below was not published with the novel. It would have been placed after the chapter with the King’s guard in Pietrodore and before the chapter in Belegonia with Lord August. I really wanted Finnikin, Evanjain and Froi on their own, and I wanted it to be at the ocean because at least a bit of the Australian landscape could feature in the story. Except there wasn’t enough of a reason for them to be separated from the adults. Sometimes a scene may read well, but if it doesn’t fit in the story, then it has to be taken out. But I liked the chemistry between them here, especially with Froi in the mix. It was a lot more sexual in earlier drafts. All that survived of the ocean scene features on page 218 of the novel. (Take note it’s not edited)"

Press Release for Froi of the Exiles

Candlewick Press posted the official press release for Froi of the Exiles.

“What I wanted to avoid in Froi of the Exiles was writing about a character who triumphs because the good guys give him a chance. There’s a blurry line at times in this novel about who is good and bad. The Lumaterans and themselves on the bad side of the debate as much as the enemy and themselves on the good.

Froi’s story centers on the nurture-versus-nature debate. The question most asked by those who have come to love Froi is, who would he have been if the most base of street thugs had not raised him? But I wanted Froi taking responsibility for his own actions rather than blaming others. What was important to me is that he struggles with his past actions every day of his life.

More importantly, I wanted to explore the strengths of spoken bonds. Froi has a bond to his beloved Queen’s guard and another to the Queen herself. He follows these rules every day of his life in Lumatere, and they become the guide on how to live his life. As someone who taught for ten years, I spoke often about the difference between discipline and self-discipline, so it wasn’t surprising that the story I wanted to tell about Froi centers around what happens to him when his guides are removed from his life. Can he be good without someone else’s rules to follow, and at what point in his life does he write his own bond?” -Melina Marchetta

Here is the direct link to the file: Froi of the Exiles Press Release