The Colors of Madeleine Blog Tour: Guest Post + Giveaway!

Today, I'm delighted to host a stop on the Colors of Madeleine Blog Tour, in support of Jaclyn Moriarty's upcoming release A Corner of White. I read and loved Moriarty's Feeling Sorry for Celia and The Year of Secret Assignments back in the day and have been eager to return to her work ever since. In this novel of parallel worlds, I think I may have found my reentry point.

This tour celebrates the colorful aspects of the novel, with two stops representing each of several colors. Along with Jess over at Gone With the Words, I'm representing the color white. Hence, the giveaway here is a prize pack of white items as well as a copy of the book! Jaclyn Moriarty is also here today introducing the character:

Belle Pettifields

Belle Pettifields grew up in Cambridge, England.  She is fifteen.  Her best friend is Jack Cagnetti.   She and Jack are home-schooled with newcomer, Madeleine Tully.  She has reservations about Madeleine.
Belle can be vague, sharp, grim, and has flashes of temper.
            She can read auras.  Honesty is fiercely important to her.

__________________________________________________

Not long ago, I decided that I should get my aura read. 

I found a local aura reader.  She seemed friendly and calm.  Her office was full of crystals and whale song. 

I started by telling her that I was a writer, and that I was researching for a character who read auras.  I was honest: I said I was a bit sceptical myself about the whole aura thing, but also open-minded.  As we chatted, the aura reader shuffled tarot cards.  She told me she would read my cards and then heal my aura.  We chatted and she shuffled.  She pointed out objects in her office.  Shuffled, shuffled, shuffled.  Told me that the aura-healing would only work if my aura was ready to be healed.  Shuffled, shuffled.  Pointed out the picture of the seagulls on the wall.  Shuffled, shuffled. 

Abruptly, she drew out a card, placed it face-down on the table, turned it over with a flourish—

And it was the card for Creative Writing.

‘How about that?’ she exclaimed.

We both exclaimed, amazed.

Then I remembered all that shuffling, all the pointing things out around the room, distracting my attention.  

I decided I would not believe a word she had to say.

She read my tarot cards and saw that great prosperity was coming my way. 

I decided I believed in her completely. 

***

I’ve been thinking about honesty a lot lately.   Kids are honest, aren’t they?  It’s wonderful!  So refreshing. 

            Just the other morning, I woke up as my six-year-old climbed into my bed.

            ‘Good morning!’ I said.

            ‘What’s that smell?’ he replied.

            My heart sank a little.  I remembered I’d eaten a lot of garlic the night before.  My breath must be terrible. 

            ‘Sorry,’ I began. ‘It’s just—’

            ‘No,’ he said. ‘It’s a nice smell.  It smells like you’re going out.’

            I cheered up.  ‘That’s probably the perfume I was wearing yesterday.’

            He agreed that was probably it.  We smiled at each other.

            ‘You’ve got a new pimple there,’ he said.

            ‘Great,’ I said.

            ‘No,’ he said. ‘It’s not great. I don’t like it.  Why do you have it?’

            ‘Well,’ I said, ‘it could be caused by—’

            ‘I know why’ he interrupted. ‘It’s because you eat too much chocolate.’

            ‘Well, I don’t know about that,’ I said. ‘I was thinking it might be stress, or—’

            But he was shaking his head. ‘You eat too much chocolate,’ he repeated. ‘It’s not good for you.  You have to eat less.’

            Then he began a lecture on the right amount of chocolate to eat.  (I mentioned this lecture in an earlier post, I think.)   The lecture went on and on.

            There wasn’t much left of me by the time he was done.

            He climbed out of my bed. 

‘Bye,’ I whispered.

‘Oh, and your breath stinks!’ he called over his shoulder—a cheerful afterthought—as he headed down the hall to watch tv.  

             

 ***

Thanks, Jaclyn! 

And now for the giveaway. As I said, our color is WHITE. One winner will receive this awesome prize pack, including one white Moleskine journal, one white pen, one white coffee mug, and one copy of A Corner of White. To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter. The giveaway will run one week from today (4/8) and is US ONLY. The prizes have been provided by and will be sent to one winner by the publisher and/or tour organizer. Good luck and happy reading!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Stop by Scholastic's This is Teen site and be sure to visit the rest of The Colors of Madeleine tour:

Monday, March 18th: Jaclyn is stopping by Ex Libris Kate and Hobbitsies is featuring “Require-These Reds” on The Colors of Madeleine tour!

Wednesday, March 20th: Jaclyn is stopping by My Friend Amy’s Blog and Presenting Lenore is “Yearning For Yellows” on The Colors of Madeleine tour!

Friday, March 22nd: Novel Novice is interviewing Jaclyn Moriarty and Forever Young Adult is “Begging for Blues” on The Colors of Madeleine tour!

Tuesday, March 26th: Jaclyn is stopping by The Book Cellar and Mundie Moms is featuring “Gotta-Have Greens” on The Colors of Madeleine tour!

Thursday, March 28th: Jaclyn is stopping by The Readventurer and Alexa Loves Books is featuring “Oblige Me With Oranges” on The Colors of Madeleine tour!

Monday, April 1st: Jaclyn is stopping by Angie-ville and Gone With The Words is featuring “Wish-List Whites” on The Colors of Madeleine Tour!

Wednesday, April 3rd: Jaclyn is stopping by The Book Smugglers and Perpetual Page Turner is “Pining for Purples” on The Colors of Madeleine tour!

Friday, April 5th: Pure Imagination Blog is interviewing Jaclyn Moriarty and Emily’s Reading Room is “Greedy for Grays” on The Colors of Madeleine tour!