I am very pleased to join in the Landry Park Blog Tour today! The tour is hosted by the lovely ladies at Merp Squad. You may find the other tour stops here!
Landry Park (Landry Park #1) by Bethany Hagen
Release Date: February 4, 2013
Publisher: Dial
374 Pages
Downton Abbey meets The Selection in this dystopian tale of love and betrayal
In a fragmented future United States ruled by the lavish gentry, seventeen-year-old Madeline Landry dreams of going to the university. Unfortunately, gentry decorum and her domineering father won't allow that. Madeline must marry, like a good Landry woman, and run the family estate. But her world is turned upside down when she discovers the devastating consequences her lifestyle is having on those less fortunate. As Madeline begins to question everything she has ever learned, she finds herself increasingly drawn to handsome, beguiling David Dana. Soon, rumors of war and rebellion start to spread, and Madeline finds herself and David at the center of it all. Ultimately, she must make a choice between duty - her family and the estate she loves dearly - and desire.
Enter the tour-wide giveaway below!
Mini-Playlist for Landry Park
Music is pretty indelible to my writing process. For one thing, I'm usually writing in a public place and I always end up next to the couple on their first date or a guy trying to sell a pyramid scheme to some unsuspecting soul. The music dampens most of the background noise, so that I don't accidentally start typing the awkward first date dialogue I'm hearing from the next table over.
"...so, uh, do you like stuff?"
"Um...some stuff, I guess."
"Yeah, I like some stuff too sometimes."
For another thing, I tend to see my scenes somewhat cinematically, with the music interwoven in, and so I hang around certain songs or albums if they reflect the mood of what I'm writing. (I'm all about mood and atmosphere.) Below is a brief sampling of some of the songs I used to write Landry Park:
Primavera by Ludovico Einaudi: This song almost more than any other conjures up Landry Park for me. I feel like I can see dancers dancing in the ballroom, gowns being laced up, strolls through the expansive gardens. The song is beautiful and sweeping and urgent.
A Postcard to Henry Purcell by Dario Marianelli: This is the song playing in the background when Lizzie Bennett and Mr. Darcy have That Dance in the Joe Wright version of the movie. So obviously I stole that idea, and it's the song that plays in my head whenever Captain David Dana and Madeline Landry dance together.
Fair by Remy Zero: From the Most Depressing Slow Dance Songs collection, I listened to this when I was writing the Madeline Romantically Moping scenes. And now that I've just listened to it, I'm going to go mope myself now. *mope*
Three Wishes by the Pierces: Also from the Most Depressing Slow Dance Songs collection.
Here Comes a Chopper by Strangeletter: This is my song for the Rootless. I like that it has this sort of futuristic feel to it but also that I could be listening to it in a warehouse circa 1994. Sample lyrics:
"seeds of malevolence, full grown, made one.
all the decadence, wealth and machinery.
won't stop the reckoning, blood is our energy."
Creep by Scala & Kolacny Brothers: This song is beautiful and haunting, made extra creepy by the female voices. My main character is an outsider most of her life, despite belonging to the most prestigious family in her world, and there's almost something universal in the longing of this song. Doesn't everybody wish they were special?
The Entire Little Women Soundtrack by Thomas Newman: I love this movie, I love this composer, I love this soundtrack. Something about the world of Little Women speaks to education, dignity and something very American--and Newman managed to capture that feeling perfectly with his music.
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Yeah... And I'll be with Bethany, checking out all of these amazing songs! I hope you listen and enjoy! If you did listen, which song is your favorite? Mine would have to be A Postcard to Henry Purcell, but that may just be because I adore the version of Pride and Prejudice in which it plays!
Big thanks to Bethany for the lovely guest post, and to Merp Squad for allowing me to participate in this great tour!
All book series are that you mention on this forum is just awesome. I really love reading books that put a new outlook on tradition. This is defiantly one of those books. I must take this book with me during my
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