Cover Reveal for Rachel O'Laughlin's Coldness of Marek

Hey, you! Take a break! It's time for me to flaunt a shiny new book that you are gonna want to get your hands on. Today is the cover reveal for Rachel O'Laughlin's The Coldness of Marek, book one in the Serengard series, which comes out in August. Rachel is a writing buddy of mine, so there will be plenty more to come on the release. For now, check out the cover and the blurb, get to know Rachel on Twitter and Facebook, preorder the book through her website, and start counting down the days until the release! I know I will be!

Serengard has been under Orion rule for centuries. Centuries of insufferable adherence to laws and traditions that none of its people ever asked for or agreed to. Raised by her scholarly grandfather in the fiery southern city of Neroi, Trzl is out to turn the monarchy into a free society where knowledge is king and no one has to be subject to the whims of an Orion.

 

As the rebellion escalates, her choices have an eerie impact on the revolution at large, elevating her to a position of influence she has only dreamed of attaining. But there are downsides to her power: appearances and alliances that must be upheld. One of them is Hodran, a rich rebel who wants to aid her cause, and another is Mikel, a loyalist farmer who wants to destroy it… and who just might be winning her heart at the same time.

By the time Trzl realizes she is in too deep, she has an infant son and a dark mess of betrayal and lies. She runs, to the farthest corner of the kingdom, in hopes she will be left alone with her child. But she has a few too many demons. Someone she once trusted takes her captive among the chilling Cliffs of Marek. She is thrown back into the political mess she helped create… at the mercy of a man she never wanted for an enemy.

About Rachel O'Laughlin:
 
Obsessed with all things history, Rachel grew up reading adventure stories the caliber of Rafael Sabatini and only recently fell in love with fantasy as a genre. She lives in Maine with her husband and children, grows roses and tweets often. In addition to reading and writing, she loves coffee, spy series, and alternative rock.

Cover Reveal! Katie Hamstead's Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh

I've got yet another book for you guys to add to your readerly exploits! Katie Hamstead is set to release her book Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh April 30th by Curiosity Quills Press, and I've got the cover and blurb ready for you guys! Be sure to add it on Goodreads and check out Katie's blog for more information on Kiya and her other writerly exploits!

To save her younger sisters from being taken to the cruel life of the palace, Naomi intervenes and gives herself to be a wife of the erratic Pharaoh Akhenaten.

In the palace, Naomi finds herself thrust into the intrigues of the royal family, and has her name changed to Kiya. She becomes beloved by the Pharaoh, who declares that she will bear him his heir. But the Great Queen Nefertiti, furious with jealousy, schemes to destroy Naomi and even brings her fidelity into question, which could cost Naomi her very life.

Naomi must play the deadly game carefully. She is in a silent battle of wills, and a struggle for who will one day inherit the crown. And if she does bear an heir, she will have to fight to protect him as well as herself from Nefertiti who is out for blood.

Dracian Legacy Book Cover Reveal!

Today is THE day! Today I (along with others) are tearing away the curtain to reveal the cover of Priya Kanaparti's Dracian Legacy--the first book of the Dracian Legacy series. The cover was designed by Regina Wamba and the book itself will be released February 14th, 2013. Just in time to make you fall in love with this series! But for now, your hearts will have to go pitter-patter only to the cover and book info below! Oh, and a chance to win prizes, of course!

Book Title: The Dracian Legacy - Book 1 (Dracian Legacy Trilogy)
Genre: YA Paranormal Fantasy Romance
Blurb:
Ren and Axel are caught between two powerful magical races: one destined to end the bloodshed, the other out for vengeance.

Seventeen-year-old Ren Pernell is prophesied to end the war between the Dracians and the Telalians. So when a Dracian, Axel Knight, is sent to find and bring back the prophesied one before she turns eighteen and Telalians discover of her existence, unexpected sparks start to fly between the two. Once Ren finds the truth behind Axel’s arrival, she wants everything to do with him and nothing to do with his mission.

Things prove to be difficult as Ren’s life is constantly threatened by forces that are beyond her control, including the leader of the Telalians.

With the clock ticking and Ren’s life in jeopardy, it is no longer just a mission for Axel. It becomes a personal endeavor to save the only one he’s ever loved. In a heart racing ending, they must find a way to evade the preordained war that won’t also end Ren’s life.

About Priya Kanaparti:

Priya Kanaparti was born in India, grew up in Detroit, and is now living in Boise, ID. She attended Wayne State University for her undergrad degree in Bachelor of Science in Biology, and University of Phoenix for her Masters in Business Administration. Priya works as a project manager in software field during the day and lives in the world of her characters during the nights and weekends. She had found the love for reading and writing early this year, when she stayed home with her year old and needed something to occupy those 'downtime' hours.


She loves playing tennis on a good summer day and chess during the cold winters, but reading and writing has become a year round hobby.

She lives in Boise with her husband, son and a Yorkie. Dracian Legacy is her debut novel.


You can find Priya on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Google+, and Pinterest! For more information on Dracian Legacy, check out the Goodreads page and keep an eye out for the blog tour February 12th through March 15th, 2013! I'll be a host, so you can be sure to find more information on the book, as well as an interview with Priya, during that time!

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Potential Coverart

I'm supposed to be studying for an exam I have on Thursdays, but unfortunately I decided a coffee shop next to a bunch of chatty cathys is the best place to do this.

Word of the day? Fail.

So instead I am going to share with you guys the brilliant work of my potential cover artist, Gretchen Byers. I say potential cover artist because I can't very well guarantee that if I get published she will end up on the covers of my books. But damn, do I hope she will. Her work is absolutely brilliant and depicts Ariana and Zelene so well it makes me teary-eyed. So if I self-publish (or go with a small press willing to let me have input on the cover art), she will definitely represent the books.

The following are just my absolute favorites of the images she has sent me. They are not on her deviantart account and not for use by anyone else without mine or Gretchen's express permission. But feel free to ask her about her other work. In fact, I encourage it!

 I absolutely love this shot. I'm a big fan of all of the sword shots (which is why I've included them all) but this one gives me goosebumps! Read on to see the rest....

You Might Be Your Own Fangirl If...

1. Your little writerly heart goes pitter-patter when your favorite 'ship in your book gets "a moment".
2. You start crying when your beta-readers start discussing your book in front of you with the passion and zest of the fangirl trapped inside you.
3. You can't resist the urge to join in on said passionate discussion about your characters and your book as if you are NOT the writer.
4. Your cover artist sends you test shots and you are unable to give any professional feedback due to the overwhelming urge to run around your house squeeing like the fangirl you truly are.
5. You know that your favorite 'ship gets really complicated in the next book. You refuse to write said book.
6. You grin like an idiot anytime someone blesses you out passionately about your book. Example: "You bitch! I was up until 3am reading your book and then you end it with a cliffhanger??"
7. You've never been so happy to be called a bitch in your life.
8. You can actually think of fanfiction for your own series and then have to remind yourself that it isn't fanfiction if you write it.

I could really go on and on with this but #4 is the one I am really struggling with right now. You guys should see these shots...deciding which one to put on the cover is going to be so tough. Maybe I should let my beta readers vote when the time comes. Still doing edits, so that time is a ways off but I am so excited that it is so hard to not post the test shots on here just for the shear purpose of sharing them with you guys.

Just know they are awesome. And I am my own fangirl. 

Self Publishing Too Soon

I get it. I completely understand how this happens. It has been one of my biggest complaints in reading self publishing works as well as one of the biggest cons I have seen in articles about self publishing. You can always tell when an author published their work before it was truly ready for public consumption. You can see it in the typos, the formatting, the cover art, and sometimes in how the story is presented as a whole. Editing and cover art are the two issues I am going to touch on because they are the ones I am struggling with right now.

From what I understand of the traditional publishing world (which is admittedly very little as I am still peering over the cliff that is publishing before making that leap), a manuscript is usually not only given a copy editor but a content editor as well. And from what I understand, typically you have more than one copy editor. They are given (or create, little confused there) a style sheet that is basically a cheat sheet to you and your work and then they get to editing.