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I’m so excited to be part of the NOT A DROP TO DRINK Blog Tour! Check out the book below, and its playlist, then be sure to enter the giveaway for a chance to win a copy for yourself!
Not A Drop To Drink
by Mindy McGinnis
Publication Date: September 24, 2013
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Regret was for people with nothing to defend, people who had no water.
Lynn knows every threat to her pond: drought, a snowless winter, coyotes, and, most importantly, people looking for a drink. She makes sure anyone who comes near the pond leaves thirsty, or doesn’t leave at all.
Confident in her own abilities, Lynn has no use for the world beyond the nearby fields and forest. Having a life means dedicating it to survival, and the constant work of gathering wood and water. Having a pond requires the fortitude to protect it, something Mother taught her well during their quiet hours on the rooftop, rifles in hand.
But wisps of smoke on the horizon mean one thing: strangers. The mysterious footprints by the pond, nighttime threats, and gunshots make it all too clear Lynn has exactly what they want, and they won’t stop until they get it….
With evocative, spare language and incredible drama, danger, and romance, debut author Mindy McGinnis depicts one girl’s journey in a barren world not so different than our own.
Trailer
[youtube=http://youtu.be/8nZd_BEGgE8]
Not A Drop To Drink Playlist
by Mindy McGinnis
While I don’t listen to music while I write, I definitely find inspiration in certain tunes. Very often I’ll hear a song and think that it fits a certain character’s personality, or that it stands as a good mood setter for the book in general. If a song resonates deeply with me it can even serve as a tool to help fill in backstory for a character.
NOT A DROP TO DRINK has a rather varied playlist. The first example will help illuminate a character that some readers might find hard to connect with. Mother is the only human Lynn has even spoken to, and Mother’s entire life revolves around teaching her daughter to survive – no matter what. She’s a feral mother, a no-holds-barred guardian of her young. The song Rocks & Water by Deb Talan set me back the first time I caught it on Pandora. The refrain particularly applies to Mother:
I will be rocks, I will be water
I will leave this to my daughter:
Lift your head up in the wind
When you feel yourself grow colder
Wrap the night around your shoulders
And I will be with you even then
Even when I cannot see your face anymore.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoRVzSup5WY&playnext=1&list=PL9817E75A834881A1&feature=results_main]
Another song I want to mention in connection with NOT A DROP TO DRINK is Thistle & Weeds by Mumford & Sons. So much about this song fits my story. The imagery is bleak, there’s a not-so-subtle plea for rain throughout, along with the allusion to bullets falling from the sky- something Lynn herself has been the source of for more than a few thirsty travelers over the years. But hope is also threaded throughout the song, a feeling that redemption might be out of reach right now, but won’t be forever. These lyrics in particular grabbed me the first time I heard it:
Look over your hills and be still
The sky above us shoots to kill
Rain down, rain down on me
But I will hold on, I will hold on…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_YJhmGKTxk]
And lastly I want to mention Waiting For The End by Linkin Park. It has a very defiant feel to it, something that Lynn understands perfectly. She spends everyday assuming that she could die any minute. She controls every element of her life that she can, but her world is a violent one, and no one knows what the next day will bring.
Waiting for the end to come
Wishing I had strength to stand
This is not what I had planned
It’s out of my control.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDVhNcvB6FY]
These three songs together do a great job of painting both the setting for my book and the personalities of two of the main female characters, Lynn & Mother. I hope that hearing them gets you geared up for the release of NOT A DROP TO DRINK on September 24!
About Mindy McGinnis
Mindy McGinnis is an assistant YA librarian who lives in Ohio and cans her own food. She graduated from Otterbein University magna cum laude with a BA in English Literature and Religion. Mindy has a pond in her back yard but has never shot anyone, as her morals tend to cloud her vision.
Many thanks to Mindy for stopping by today, and to Rockstar Book Tours for having as part of the tour! Readers, enter the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win a signed copy of Not A Drop To Drink!
Giveaway
Blog Tour
Week 1
9/16/2013-Melissa’s Eclectic Bookshelf –Interview
9/17/2013- Never Too Fond of Books– Review
9/18/2013- A Book and a Latte– Guest Post
9/19/2013- Books Complete Me– Review
9/20/2013- The Eater of Books!– Interview
Week 2
9/23/2013- Readers in Wonderland– Review
9/24/2013- Books Over Boys– Guest Post
9/25/2013- Reading and Writing Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, and Romance – Guest Post
9/26/2013- Falling For YA– Review
9/27/2013- Some Like It Paranormal – Interview
Twitter: juliecookies
says:
I’ve had Not a drop to drink on my to read for a while. Thanks for the chance to win 🙂
Julie S. recently posted..Little Free Library Field Trip
I’ve heard so many great things about this one and can’t wait to read it!
sarabara081 @ Forever 17 Books recently posted..‘Waiting On’ Wednesday (72): World After (Penryn & the End of Days #2) by Susan Ee
Twitter: fakesteph
says:
I love playlists, because I always associate books and music. I love the description of Mother as a feral mother. I’m pretty sure this is going to be very different from anything I’ve read before.
fakesteph recently posted..Waiting On Wednesday: Exile (Keeper of the Lost Cities #2) by Shannon Messenger
Not a Drop to Drink is one of my most-anticipated reads in September! I’m itching to get a copy in my hands!!
Bree recently posted..Review: The Waking Dark by Robin Wasserman
I can’t wait to read this book! Thanks for the chance to win!! 🙂
Sam recently posted..Essenced Promo — Excerpt & Guest Post
Ive been wanting to read this since i first saw the summary for it! 😀
Sounds good, would love to read. Thanks.
I love the music on this playlist especially Thistle & Weeds by Mumford & Sons they’re one of my favorite oldies band. Also this book looks like it will be an amazing read, I can’t wait to read it.
Twitter: hmbryan
says:
I would absolutely, positively LOVE to win this book!! I have said many times that my two most-anticipated books for 2013 are NOT A DROP TO DRINK and ALL OUR YESTERDAYS by Cristin Terrill. Well, AoY certainly did not disappoint!! And now I am SO READY to read NaDtD! I just know it’s going to be AMAZING. And I have been following Mindy’s blog for a while and feel a kindred soul in her; her sense of humor is totally like mine, and I get a kick out of reading her posts each time a new one is up. I know this book will basically be the antithesis of her blog, but I still can’t wait to read more of her writing — even if it is like journeying into the heart of darkness!!
I keep hearing about this book and now I have to read it