Blog Tour Guest Post & Giveaway: Crown of Ice by Vicki L. Weavil


Welcome to my tour stop for Crown of Ice by Vicki L. Weavil! (You can check out my review here.) Vicki is stopping by today to share about her storybook world. Scroll on down to check it out and enter the giveaway...

Crown of Ice
by Vicki L. Weavil
YA Fantasy
Paperback, 300 pages
September 9th 2014 by Month9Books, LLC

Summary

Thyra Winther's seventeen, the Snow Queen, and immortal, but if she can't reassemble a shattered enchanted mirror by her eighteenth birthday she's doomed to spend eternity as a wraith. Armed with magic granted by a ruthless wizard, Thyra schemes to survive with her mind and body intact. Unencumbered by kindness, she kidnaps local boy Kai Thorsen, whose mathematical skills rival her own. Two logical minds, Thyra calculates, are better than one. With time rapidly melting away she needs all the help she can steal. A cruel lie ensnares Kai in her plan, but three missing mirror shards and Kai's childhood friend, Gerda, present more formidable obstacles. Thyra's willing to do anything – venture into uncharted lands, outwit sorcerers, or battle enchanted beasts -- to reconstruct the mirror, yet her most dangerous adversary lies within her breast. Touched by the warmth of a wolf pup's devotion and the fire of a young man's desire, the thawing of Thyra's frozen heart could be her ultimate undoing.

CROWN OF ICE is a YA Fantasy that reinvents Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen" from the perspective of a young woman who discovers that the greatest threat to her survival may be her own humanity.
     

Guest Post: The World of Crown of Ice

I decided early on that I wanted CROWN OF ICE to feel timeless, so I chose to not specify a distinct year or even a specific region or country in the book. However, since CROWN is a retelling of an original fairytale by the great Danish author, Hans Christian Andersen, I did want to retain a sense of the Scandinavian setting, as well as an early to mid-nineteenth-century ambiance. (“The Snow Queen” was originally published in 1844). 

With this in mind, here are some pictures that might give the reader a better sense of how I imagined the settings in CROWN OF ICE:

This is how I imagine Kai and Gerda’s town: 
(John Julius exner – Brudepas Amager; in the public domain) 

It is surrounded by mountains like this village in Norway:

(John William Edy – scene from Boydell’s Picturesque Scenery of Norway, 1799: in the public domain)

Kai and Gerda’s families own a mill. Here’s a watermill in Denmark
(orig. photo 2004, by Villy Fink Isaksen, used under Creative Commons lic.)


Both Gerda and Thyra travel through the countryside. Here’s a view of a typical farm house in Finland:

(orig. photo by Harri Blomberg, 1992 – used under Creative Commons license)


There are several caves mentioned in the book.

(Mavlyudov Boris: Ice Cave in Svalbard, 2003; used under GNU Free Documentation license via Wikimedia Commons) 


Ribe, Denmark – although lacking towers, this was an inspiration for the university buildings:

(Ribe Kuntsmuseum, orig. photo by Bengt Oberger, 2013; used under Creative Commons license)


Reindeer and sleigh – a common sight in the book:

(orig. photo by Anthere, 2004; used under GNU Free Documentation License via Wikimedia Commons)


The Snow Queen’s palace is in the mountains, and always covered in snow:

(Photo in the public domain, via Morguefile.com free stock photos)

I hope you’ve enjoyed this peek into the world of CROWN OF ICE!

About the Author

Vicki Lemp Weavil was raised in a farming community in Virginia, where her life was shaped by a wonderful family, the culture of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and an obsession with reading. Since obtaining her undergraduate degree in Theatre from the University of Virginia, she’s gone on to acquire two masters degrees, living in places as diverse as New York City and rural North Carolina. She’s currently the library director for a performing an visual arts university. Vicki loves good writing in any genre, and has been known to read seven books in as many days. She enjoys travel, gardening, and the arts. Vicki lives in North Carolina with her husband, son, and some very spoiled cats.


Giveaway

- Five (5) winners will receive a digital copy of Crown of Ice by Vicki L. Weavil (INT)
- One (1) winner will receive a digital copy of Crown of Ice by Vicki L. Weavil AND a $10 Amazon Gift Card or B&N Gift Card – Winner’s Choice (INT)


a Rafflecopter giveaway

19 comments

  1. Thanks so much for being a host for the CROWN OF ICE blog tour!

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  2. Thanks for stopping by, Vicki! Loved the pictures showing what you envisioned for the storybook world of Crown of Ice.

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  3. Sounds like a good book. Would love to read!

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  4. Hope to get to read

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  5. laura thomas9/9/14, 3:54 PM

    Beautiful trailer! How can I resist this book now. I caught a few hints in it too. And the song is perfect. Thanks for sharing this love story and for the giveaway.

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  6. I am so excited to read this book!

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  7. this looks an amazing read!

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  8. Thank you for posting, Tressa :) As always, your blog looks lovely!

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  9. Thanks for stopping by, Laura!

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  10. Me too! I should be reading it next week for a tour stop the following week. I'm hoping I'll love it. :)

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  11. I'll be on its tour in two weeks and am looking forward to reading it. Glad you enjoyed the trailer!

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  12. The cover fits the book so well and it was a good story.

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  13. I thought this was from an interesting perspective. You should see what you think of Jessica Day George's version, Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow. I haven't read the Stork trilogy, but I might have to try that one.

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  14. I'm on the fence about this one and it doesn't sound you loved it. Any hot romance to push me over the edge?? :) ~Pam

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  15. I didn't love it, but it was good. Hmm. There were a few intense kisses, but I would say not really. :)

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  16. This was such a great sweet read! Thanks for sharing the trailer. :)

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  17. I'm glad you liked it. I'll be reading it soon.

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  18. I really enjoyed this one! I have not, to my knowledge, read any other versions of The Snow Queen so I don't have anything to base it one. But by this story alone, I feel I would enjoy it. I loved all of the incredibly unique aspects of this one, and I loved the characters and the character development. And the world building was spectacular!

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  19. It was definitely unique and I did enjoy it. I think if you liked this one so much that you should try other versions. You should like them. :)

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