Blog Archives
CHRISTMAS IN JULY FROM CTP
READY TO WIN?
How is it July already? This year is passing by at super sonic speeds. For some of you it’s smoking hot outside, and for our friends on the other side of the planet some of you are donning your July winter wear. No matter where you are, now is the perfect time to celebrate our Christmas in July giveaway! The winner of this giveaway will receive a Kindle Fire if in the US, along with 12 of our most recent digital releases. If you live outside the US, don’t fear, we will send you $50 in Paypal cash in lieu of the Kindle Fire, as well as the 12 of our new e-book releases. Be sure to get as many entries into this giveaway as you can because this prize is worth nearly $100! Also, check out the details below to see how you can earn up to $200 in additional Paypal cash during this giveaway!
“Wow, I never win anything!” ~says nearly everyone who has won a Clean Teen or Crimson Tree Publishing giveaway. So don’t pass this giveaway up because you aren’t feeling the luck today.
ENTER THE RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS BLOG POST!
WHAT E-BOOKS WILL I WIN AND DID YOU SAY SOMETHING ABOUT $200 CASH?
You could win any of the following ebooks during this giveaway. But don’t wait for this giveaway to end to get your copies of these amazing titles! If you win this giveaway and already own any of these books, we will give you an additional $10 per title you own if you can provide proof of purchase! That’s the ability to earn up to $120 if you have all 12 books.
But wait, you could earn even more!
If you have purchased at least 10 of the titles below, we will increase your cash to $200 total! This is all on top of the Kindle Fire Prize! Two of these books are pre-orders, so pre-order sales count!
*For more info check out the very bottom of this post.
OUR NEW RELEASES THAT WILL BE INCLUDED:
You can press on any of the covers below to view the title on Amazon in a new tab.
ENTER TO WIN HERE:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
More details regarding the cash prize: Any or all cash prizes will be awarded via Paypal and paid in US Dollars. To win the additional cash that is available if you own any of the 12 titles listed in this giveaway, you will need to provide proof that you have purchased each of the titles you are claiming the cash for. This can be through an order history screen shot in Amazon, or physical receipts from other retailers. The purchase has to have been for a physical amount and cannot be proof of having used a coupon code to download the title for free, such as the type of coupon codes we use for reviewer copies. The proof of purchase can be for either the digital or print version. The burden to provide proof of purchase will need to be on the winner. All purchases must have been made on or before July 30, 2016 to be eligible for the additional cash award. You do not have to provide this proof of purchase prior to the end of the giveaway. Only the winner of this giveaway will need to provide this proof and will have 10 days from the date their name is drawn. If a winner is drawn who has not purchased any of the above books, they will still receive the original prize of the Kindle Fire and the 12 digital books (or the alternative International prize.) If you have any further questions regarding this giveaway, please don’t hesitate to contact us at: info@cleanteenpublishing.com.
Barbara Freethy Blog Tour & Giveaways hosted by Novel Publicity
Check out this excerpt from #1 NY Times Bestselling Author Barbara Freethy’s first book in the Callaway family series… Then read on for more information about this blog tour and all its great prizes!
Her father stared back at her, his eyes dark and unreadable. “Why are you here, Sara?”
“I wanted to be here for your birthday. It’s been a long time since we’ve shared more than an email. We should talk, catch up with each other.”
“Why on earth would you want to talk to me?”
The confusion in his eyes made her realize just how far apart they’d drifted. “Because you’re my father. You’re my family. We’re the only ones left.”
“Do you need money?”
“This isn’t about money. Mom would not have wanted us to end up like strangers. We need to improve our relationship.”
He stared back at her for a long moment, then said, “There’s nothing left for you here, Sara. I wish you well, but we both need to move on. If you stay, it won’t go well. We’ll only disappoint each other.”
Her chest tightened, the finality of his words bringing pain as well as anger. Her father was like a brick wall. She kept throwing herself at him, trying to break through his resistance, but all she ever achieved was a new batch of emotional bruises.
“You’re a grown woman now,” he added. “You don’t need a father.”
“Not that I ever really had one,” she countered, surprising herself a little with the words. She was used to holding her tongue when it came to her dad, because talking usually made things worse.
“I did my best.”
“Did you?”
A tickle caught at her throat and her eyes blurred with unwanted tears. She had not come here to cry. She sniffed, wondering why the air felt so thick. It took a minute to register that it was not her emotions that were making her eyes water, but smoke.
The same awareness flashed in her father’s eyes. “Damn,” he swore. “The kitchen—I was cooking—”
He ran out of the room, and she followed him down the stairs, shocked by how thick the smoke was in the entry.
She was on her dad’s heels when he entered the kitchen. The scene was unbelievable. Flames shot two feet in the air off a sizzling pot on the stove. The fire had found more fuel in a stack of newspapers on the counter that had been left too close to the burner, those sparks leaping to the nearby curtains.
Her father grabbed a towel and tried to beat out some of the flames, but his efforts only seemed to make things worse. Embers flew everywhere, finding new places to burn, the heat growing more and more intense. Moving to the sink, she turned on the faucet and filled up a pitcher, but it was taking too long to get enough water. She threw some of it at the fire, but it made no difference.
“Move aside,” her dad shouted, grabbing two hot pads.
“What are you doing?” she asked in confusion.
He tried to grab the pot and move it to the sink, but she was in the way, and he stumbled, dropping the pot in the garbage. She jumped back from an explosion of new fire.
“We have to call 911,” she said frantically. But there was no phone in the kitchen, and her cell phone was in her bag by the entry. “Let’s get out of here.”
Her father was still trying to put out the fire, but he was getting nowhere.
“Dad, please.”
“Get out, Sara,” he said forcefully, then ran into the adjacent laundry room.
“Wait! Where are you going?”
“I have to get something important,” he yelled back at her.
“Dad. We need to get out of the house.” She coughed out the words, but she might as well have remained silent because her dad had vanished through the laundry room and down the back stairs to the basement. She couldn’t imagine what he had to get. There was nothing but gardening tools and cleaning supplies down there.
She started to follow him, then jumped back as the fire caught the wallpaper next to her head, sizzling and leaping towards her clothing.
“Dad,” she screamed. “We need to get out of the house.”
A crash echoed through the house. Then all she could hear was the crackling of the fire.
Sara ran through the flames and down the stairs into the basement. A single light bulb dangled from a wire over the stairs, showing her father in a crumpled heap on the cement floor.
She dropped to her knees next to his still body. He was unconscious, blood under his head, and his right leg was twisted in an odd position. She put a hand on his chest. His heart was still beating.
“Dad,” she said. “Wake up.”
He blinked groggily. “Sara?” he asked in confusion. “What are you doing here?”
“The kitchen is on fire. We need to get out of the house.” A glance back over her shoulder revealed smoke pouring through the open door at the top of the stairs. There was no way out of the basement without going through the kitchen.
Her father tried to sit up, but quickly fell back, groaning with pain. “My leg is broken. You go.”
“I can’t leave you here. That’s not an option.”
“You can’t carry me. Go. Get help.”
“I’ll be right back,” she promised.
She ran up the stairs, shocked and terrified when she saw how much worse the fire had gotten in literally minutes. The heat was intense. She could barely breathe, and there was a wall of flames between her and the only way out. She couldn’t afford to be scared. Grabbing a towel off the top of the nearby washing machine, she covered her nose and mouth, and prepared to make a dash for it.
Before she could move, a figure appeared on the other side of the flames—a man.
A wave of relief swept through her. Help had arrived.
He barreled through the fire and smoke, batting away the flames as if they were troublesome bees. When he stopped in front of her, her heart jumped again.
“Aiden?” She lowered the towel from her face. He was the last Callaway she wanted to see.
About the Callaway Blog Tour & All Its Great Prizes!
This is the week you finally meet the Callaways! Not only are they all over the web as part of their extraordinary blog tour, but they are also out and about in your neighborhood. That’s right; we’re celebrating the print launch with Ingram by throwing a party all over the world! Make sure to follow this tour closely for your chance to win gift cards, swag, autographed books, and other incredible prizes.
All the info you need to join the fun and enter to win amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment—easy to enter; easy to win!
To Win the Prizes:
- Purchase any of the Callaway novels by Barbara Freethy (optional)
- Enter the Rafflecopter contest on Novel Publicity (go here)
- Visit today’s featured social media event (that’s where the HUGE prizes are)
About The Callaways: The Callaways were born to serve and protect! In Barbara’s new connected family series, each of the eight siblings in this blended Irish-American family find love, mystery and adventure, often where they least expect it! Each book stands alone, but for the full enjoyment of the series, you might want to start at the beginning with On A Night Like This! Get the eBooks via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, or Kobo.
About the Author: Barbara Freethy has been making up stories most of her life. Growing up in a neighborhood with only boys and a big brother who was usually trying to ditch her, she spent a lot of time reading. When she wasn’t reading, she was imagining her own books. After college and several years in the P.R. field, she decided to try her hand at a novel. Now Barbara is a #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author loved by readers all over the world. Her novels range from contemporary romance to romantic suspense and women’s fiction. Learn more on her website, Facebook page, or in her Street Team.
Rafflecopter Giveaway of Veronica Phoenix by Jim Proctor
No longer answering to the Galactic leaders, Strategic Aerospace Command (SACOM) has evolved into an independent, powerful de facto government themselves. Disregarding civil law, they make and enforce their regulations using security forces and military tribunals. Against his better judgment, Carl Wilkins accepts a salvage contract that promises to make him rich. Aboard the salvage vessel Independence, he and his crew depart to retrieve valuable materials from three SACOM battle cruisers recently abandoned in deep space after their destruction by the Xetians, a hostile alien race. But just days into the mission, a mishap leaves one team contaminated with lethal radioactive debris. As the crew struggles to get their stricken friends aboard the Independence, the Xetians return, and Carl must act quickly to save his crew. Soon he learns that this misfortune was no accident. Someone in SACOM set him up to fail, but why? His only hope of survival is to allow himself to be drawn into a massive conspiracy against SACOM. Piloting the Phoenix, a specially converted space freighter, Carl embarks on a perilous solo mission to prevent SACOM from building a super-weapon capable of destroying an entire star system. Veronica Phoenix will take you on a suspenseful and action-packed journey across the galaxy as Carl Wilkins fights to stop SACOM and to rebuild his shattered life. BUY ON AMAZON JIM PROCTOR FACEBOOK
a Rafflecopter giveaway
5 eBook copies to be given away. Rafflecopter runs for 3 days. Prizes awarded to winners by Jim Proctor.
The Prodigal Sun by S.E. Meyer (Promotion & 5 eBook Rafflecopter Giveaway)
The Prodigal Sun: A Novel
S.E. Meyer
Genre: Sci-Fi / Mystery / Thriller / Fact-Filled Fiction
Word Count 200,000
Pages 553
Release date: January 12th, 2015
Twitter: @semeyerbooks
Buy on Amazon
Synopsis:
S.E. Meyer combines ancient alien astronaut theory, ancient Sumerian codices, current religious beliefs from around the world and the book of Revelation in a way that tears down the veil of traditional thinking to reveal new though provoking theories on the origins of the human race and its many traditional beliefs. The Prodigal Sun will wow you with a fact filled, thrilling and intricately blended story that interweaves mythologies and religions in new compelling ways explored through a truly unique premise.
All references to historical locations, religions, ancient writings, and the representation of current beliefs of local peoples from around the world described in this novel are true.
John Mitchell’s life in the small Midwestern town of Mill City is changing forever. The animals in his lab are dying, he learns gut wrenching news about his wife, and the most important meeting of his career gets canceled when Dr. Frank Johnson mysteriously disappears.
After receiving a cryptic package from the missing doctor and accidentally injecting himself with its contents, a serum made from the instructions inscribed onto a seven-thousand-year-old artifact, John discovers he has new powerful abilities, and new blood-chilling enemies. He and his wife Jenny are soon running for their lives, hunted by the terrifying figures that will stop at nothing to protect the serum’s seven-thousand-year-old secret, and retrieve the artifact needed to finish their plans.
On the run and searching for answers, they are thrown into a world of ancient secrets, esoteric mysteries and a clandestine underground race, when they become trapped in a cavern that holds the shocking secret history of the Human Race, deep underneath the ancient ruins of Babylon.
As millions of people around the world suddenly begin disappearing, John and Jenny learn the horrific news of the inevitable extinction of the human race. But when John discovers the hideously evil, secret motivation of the ancient race that is supposed to be saving them, he must rely on his new-found abilities to rescue the woman he loves, Earth, and the billions of tortured souls locked deep within it.
Join the thousands of fans that have taken S.E. Meyer’s thrilling, fact filled, roller-coaster ride, deep into the thought provoking, controversial, yet compelling world of what we think we know to be true.
What people are saying about The Prodigal Sun.
“From the beginning I was hooked on the easy flow of the plot. It was well thought out and inventive. The use of historical fact was intriguing. I found myself pausing and thinking ” wow is this really fact” and ” how did I not know this?”
“One of the best books that I have read in a long time. A real page turner.”
“I would recommend this to anyone! It is packed full of action! So many twists in the story made it extremely immersing and interesting. S.E. Meyer is a new favorite author and can’t wait to read his next book!”
“I wasn’t sure what to expect, but was gladly surprised. The story is entertaining, gave me great suspense and at times when I thought I had something figured out, the author surprised me.”
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Interview with Joel Ohman (YA Dystopia)
In Meritropolis, everyone is assigned a numerical Score that decides their worth to society and whether they live or die. After a young boy is killed because of a low Score, his brother plots to take down the System.
Sounds good, right? Well, this exciting YA Dystopia is on sale for just 99 cents Thursday, November 27 through Monday, December 1. You can pick up your copy on Amazon.
To celebrate, we are offering a giveaway for an autographed copy and a $100 Amazon gift card—hooray!
Check out this interview with Joel Ohman, the author of the book critics are calling, “The Hunger Games meets The Village with a young Jack Reacher as a protagonist”, then scroll to the end of this post to learn more about the giveaway. Happy reading, and good luck!
Reader Interview with Joel Ohman
Who or what was your inspiration to write about post-apocalyptic, dystopian sci-fi?
I’ve read a lot in this genre, so I would say it’s a mix of a lot of different things. I really just wanted to explore this question of, “What gives a person worth?” Is it their usefulness to society? Is it because someone loves them? Is it because of how they look? Is it because of their health or ability? As a Christian, I believe that all people have worth, because they are made in the image of God. I wanted to explore some different takes on this question. I think that the post-apocalyptic/dystopian/sci-fi genre was the best vehicle to tackle some of those deep philosophical questions in a fun and interesting way.
Why do you write? Is it for fun, or because you have something you need to say in your writing?
Some writers are loath to say their writing has a message, because maybe they think doing so diminishes their art (not true, in my opinion), but I think that everyone has a message in their writing, even if they aren’t as consciously focused on it—and that’s a good thing. My message is in my epigraph: “Because everyone matters – Psalm 139”.
Why the title Meritropolis?
I wanted a short one word title that was a clever—or at least semi-clever—play on two different words. I like “Meritropolis” because it combines “Merit” and “Metropolis,” two words that are great for describing a city where each resident’s worth is measured by a score given to them.
In Meritropolis, how were the animal combinations decided upon? For example, I know you chose to write about a bion (bull-lion), as well as many other freaks of nature. So what I want to know is how did you decided which animals to meld together and why.
I have a big list of animal combinations that I came up with before I began writing the book, and I tried to work in as many as I could. Sometimes the only criteria was that I liked the way the name sounded. Look for many more in the following books!
Can you tells us about your characters and who/what inspired them?
I am a big believer in John Truby’s approach to building a “character web”, because this deepens the relationships between characters and helps to make each of the characters more complex. Absent building a good character web, it can be all too easy to fall into the not-very-true-to-real-life good-person/bad-person false dichotomy where your protagonist devolves into this I-can-do-no-wrong character and your antagonist is just pure evil. I was very much aiming to show the imperfections and brokenness in each of the characters. My thinking as a Christian influences this to some degree, given that the Bible teaches that we are all essentially the same; we are all sinners—only God is perfect.
Do you have a favorite genre that you like to read?
I read pretty much everything! Fiction, non-fiction, you name it! I am of the opinion that, as an author, I can learn something from almost every kind of writing. Sometimes, it most definitely is a matter of learning what not to do—but, on the whole, I love to read a wide variety of writing styles, genres, etc.
Are there any books that have inspired your own writing?
I read A LOT so there are many different things that have shaped my writing over the years, but I wouldn’t say there was any particular book, or books, that I was consciously looking to for inspiration while writing Meritropolis. Looking back though I can definitely see different threads of influence in almost everything I have read over the years that contribute toward making Meritropolis what it is: the strong protagonist of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series, the philosophical bent of C.S. Lewis’ fiction, the dystopian setting of Hugh Howey’s WOOL series, and many more.
Are there any authors that have emerged in the last three years that have caught your interest?
Hugh Howey is an author that I really like that has caught my attention lately. I would highly recommend his WOOL series!
Don’t forget!
Meritropolis is marked down from its regular price of $5.99, but only for a limited time. Feed your Kindle by picking up a discounted copy for just 99 cents, but make sure you do it before December 2!
Now enter the giveaway
Giveaway from Stephanie Erickson
Mackenzie Day constantly struggles to silence the voices in her head. The inner thoughts of those around her intrude upon every aspect of her life, threatening to turn it into chaos.
All her life, she thought she was alone as a mind reader—a freak.
Then a member of a secret organization called The Unseen suddenly introduces himself, and she’s immersed in a world she never knew existed. They teach her to hone her skills as a reader, but to what end? Secrets surround her, humming just out of reach, filling her with questions.
Who are they? What do they do with their mind-reading abilities? In the end, just how far will Mackenzie go to be part of The Unseen?
$25 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway
Stephanie on Facebook
After the Ending Giveaway
GIVEAWAY
- (20) After The Ending (book one) ebooks
- Grand prize–series ebook collection and audiobooks, including:
- After The Ending, book one
- Into The Fire, book two
- Out Of The Ashes, book three
- The Ending Beginnings prequel novellas–the six short-story compilation
- After The Ending and Into The Fire Audiobooks
- Second place prize–the Ending Series audiobooks (After The Ending and Into The Fire)
When people started getting sick, “they” thought it was just the flu. My roommate, my boyfriend, my family…they’re all gone now. I got sick too. I should have died with them–with the rest of the world–but I didn’t. I thought witnessing the human population almost disappear off the face of the earth was the craziest thing I’d ever experience. I was so wrong. My name is Dani O’Connor, I’m twenty-six-years-old, and I survived The Ending.
The Virus changed everything. The world I knew is gone, and life is backwards. We’ve all had to start over. I’ve been stripped of my home, my dreams…all that is me. I’m someone else now–broken and changed. Other survivors’ memories and emotions haunt me. They invade my mind until I can no longer separate them from my own. I won’t let them consume me. I can’t. My name is Zoe Cartwright, I’m twenty-six-years-old, and I survived The Ending.
We’ve been inseparable for most of our lives, and now our friendship is all we have left. The aftermath of the Virus has stranded us on opposite sides of the United States. Trusting strangers, making sacrifices, killing–we’ll do anything to reach one another. Fear and pain may be unavoidable, but we’re strong…we’re survivors. But to continue surviving in this unfamiliar world plagued by Crazies and strange new abilities, we have to adapt. We have to evolve.
And more than anything, we have to find each other.
SPOTLIGHT & GIVEAWAY (SHATTER POINT by JEFF ALTABEF)
About the book: Maggie met Cooper at a young age, but even then she sensed something was wrong with him. His charm, good looks, and wealth could not hide the danger that burned in his sapphire eyes.
Some nightmares don’t go away. He’d been haunting her from a distance for as long as she could remember.
Now things have changed.
When her sons Jack and Tom discover she’s been taken, they set out to rescue her and uncover nefarious family secrets, explosive government conspiracies, and a series of horrific murders along the way. Only their colorful great aunt and a covert resistance group can help them navigate the dark underworld full of political subterfuge and class warfare.
All the while, Maggie struggles to outwit her tormentor in a life and death psychological battle of tense desperation. Will Jack and Tom arrive before Cooper reaches his shatter point?
Midwest Book Review has described Jeff Altabef as an “articulate and engaging story teller” and “a contemporary novelist of considerable merit and imagination.”
Reader’s Favorite has given Shatter Point two 5 Star Reviews!
This is one of those books that no reader will be able to part with until they reach the end, I guarantee it. —Anne-Marie Reynolds, Readers’ Favorite Book Reviews and Awards
This book has myriad twists and turns that will keep you holding on and wondering what is coming next.—Kathryn Bennett, Readers’ Favorite Book Reviews and Awards
About the prizes: Who doesn’t love prizes? You could win a $15.00 gift cards to Amazon or Barnes & Noble, or an autographed copy of Shatter Point!
About the author: Jeff Altabef lives in New York with his wife, two daughters, and Charlie the dog. He spends time volunteering at the writing center in the local community college. After years of being accused of “telling stories,” he thought he would make it official. He writes in both the thriller and young adult genres. Fourteenth Colony, a political thriller, is his debut novel. Jeff has a blog designed to encourage writing by those that like telling stories. You can find his blog, The Accidental Writers Workshop, on The Patch.
Connect with Jeff on his website, Facebook, Twitter,or GoodReads.
Read an Exceprt!
I’m a killer. No better than a common murderer, and worse, really. More like a serial killer who can’t help himself as he takes life after life, unable to stop even if he wished he could.
Darian frowned at the corpse on the stainless steel autopsy table. “Damn it, Zeus, I thought you were going to make it.” His frown deepened until long lines etched into his face. Remorse wasn’t good enough. It was useless. Pointless, really. Remorse would not bring Zeus or any of the others back.
He glanced at the video projections of Zeus’s brain development. His original brain on the left screen appeared normally formed and perfectly functional. The one on the right showed Zeus’s brain after he had injected him. Misshapen and grotesque, it was so overdeveloped it strained against the skull.
Darian shook his head. “Not again. I can’t lose another batch of test subjects.”
“We’re making progress, Doctor Beck. This time, the brain enlargement slowed at the end. With some adjustments, next time it might stop before….” George attempted to smile, but only the tips of his lips responded. Twice Darian’s age, he was so optimistic he could see the silver lining in a hurricane, but this lethal turn of events left even him speechless.
“We’re missing something critical. We need to stop the brain development before it overwhelms the subject.” Darian peered through the glass wall that separated the autopsy room from the rest of the laboratory. The remaining five subjects sat perfectly straight and stared mournfully at the glass as if Darian and Zeus and the table with death hovering above it drew their gaze.
An icy chill tickled its way up his spine. The others had no idea Zeus had died. They were often separated. To them, the glass wall was a simple mirror. They had no idea—could have no idea—a laboratory sat beyond the glass, yet he suspected they knew the truth: that Zeus was dead and he the killer.
Darian nodded toward the remaining subjects. “It’s odd that they haven’t eaten their breakfast. It’s already past noon. They must be hungry.”
Color drained from George’s face. “It’s unnatural for them to stare at the mirror like that.”
Darian pressed a button on a keypad and the one-way glass window turned gray, blocking the other subjects from view. Led Zeppelin started playing. “It’s just our imagination. Hand me the circular saw. Let’s hope we can learn enough from Zeus to save his friends.”
George handed him the shiny autopsy tool, but before he switched it on, the lab door swung open and Brenda Callaghan darted into the room. The normally composed, rather attractive young researcher appeared ashen, her jaw clenched tight.
“What’s wrong, Brenda?”
CLEAN TEEN PUBLISHING GIVEAWAY!
Our team at Clean Teen Publishing and Crimson Tree Publishing has a big reason to celebrate! We just signed our 65th Title! That’s big news for our company after just celebrating our one-year anniversary a few months back. To celebrate, we are giving away not one, but two $65 Amazon Gift Cards (or Paypal Cash)! We decided one wasn’t enough so Clean Teen Publishing will be giving away one and Crimson Tree Publishing is giving away the other.
Here is the big list of our 65 titles in alphabetical order:
A Place Halfway, Aftermath, Angus MacBain and the Island of Sleeping Kings, Burden of Sisyphus, Concealed in the Shadows, Current Impressions, Descending, Double Star, Ending ELE, Exposing ELE, Fall of Icarus, Finding ELE, Flame, Flame Caller, Haunting Zoe, Hidden Monster, Kindling Flames (Flying Sparks), Kindling Flames (Gathering Tinder), Last Orphans, Leighton’s Summer, Lingering Echoes, Losing Logan, Moonflower, Never Forgotten, Night Marchers, Project ELE, Purge of Prometheus, Queen of Someday, Red, Redemption, Released from the Darkness, Reluctant Guardian, Rising, River of Bones, Rumors, Secrets, Smoke Rising, Spark, Surviving ELE, Sweet Contradiction, The Awakener, The Bionics, The Eye of Tanub, The Hunted, The Key, The Mind’s Eye, The Power to See, The Wall, The Wanted, The Woodlands, The Wounded, Titanium, Unspeakable, Voodoo Moon, War, Water Shaper, Wicked Glory, Wicked Hunger, Wicked Power, Wind Warrior, Wolves of the Northern Rift, Wonderstruck, Worlds Between, Worlds Entwined, Worlds Undone
Here is the big list of our 65 titles in Mr. Squirrel’s order:
Now it’s time to enter the giveaway! This giveaway runs through September 30 2014. Good Luck!
Interview, Cover Reveal & Giveaway with Fantasy Author, Melissa McPhail
Interview, Cover Reveal & Giveaway with Fantasy Author, Melissa McPhail
- How important do you think cover art is to selling your books?
I think cover art is essential to book sales. A well-crafted cover will tell the reader in which genre the book is classified, represent in some way the story’s theme, and give an overall impression of the world. Fantasy book covers are vital to presenting a sense and feeling of the world. In many cases, the cover is the only visual representation a reader gets.
And of course, we all know that a book cover done well will catch a potential reader’s attention. It’s your best and sometimes only chance to make that memorable first impression.
- For self-published and small house published authors, what do think is important to remember when deciding on the final cover for your work?
I stand firmly on the side advocating book covers that support the central themes of the story they contain. For literary fiction, you can get away with more creative (or minimalist) covers that don’t have much to do with the story itself but are artful and visually compelling.
But for fantasy and other genre fiction, covers should capture a particular feeling that’s prevalent in the story (loneliness, peril, mystery, love, longing…) and give the reader some sense of the world.
No matter your genre, ensure your cover communicates the things you need and want it to communicate, and don’t settle for anything less. The cover is your first communication to a potential reader. Make sure the communication you want is what gets across to them.
- Who did you choose to use for cover art, and why? What was your process for deciding on who to use?
With the original covers for Cephrael’s Hand and The Dagger of Adendigaeth, I used an independent digital artist, Kentaro Kanamoto, to create the artwork, and then I designed the covers around the artwork.
The new covers were produced by Damonza.com. I really liked their approach to cover design and was attracted to them originally when I saw a cover they produced for another independent author. They ask for a lot of information about the story and its central themes up front, and then they get busy creating. They worked with me through a number of revisions until I was happy with the covers.
- How does the new cover better relate to the book and its characters?
It was important to me to ensure that the new covers give a sense of the world as well as some of the story’s key thematic elements. All three of the new book covers give a visual representation of more themes that are central to their part of the story.
Cephrael’s Hand is the name of a constellation that features prominently in book one, so of course those stars are represented on the cover.
Patterning is the name of the magic system in the world, and some representation of Patterning is included on all of my new covers.
For the cover of Cephrael’s Hand, the most central character in the story is working a pattern. This was important to me, as I feel having that image there helps establish a visual concept of Patterning for the reader early on in the series. The new Cephrael’s Hand cover also gives a sense of the time period and setting of the story.
- Can we expect similar covers for the rest of the series?
Yes. I decided to rebrand the entire series with new covers. Having all of the books similarly branded as part of the same series is important for continuity and will help readers from becoming confused. The covers also help establish a growing concept of the world as the story grows.
Interestingly, I debated rebranding the earlier books, since ideally once your readers are heading into the second or third books, they’re already committed to your series. It brooked the question if book covers were still that important later in a series. But as I looked at this topic, I saw that you never know at what point a reader will come across your books. Too, it isn’t always the first book that grabs their attention. So great covers are a must for every book.
- Speaking of the series, when will books 2 and 3 be available?
Book two, The Dagger of Adendigaeth, was released in 2012, and book three, Paths of Alir, will be available in October 2014.
The Cover Reveal & Giveaway
Are you ready for the reveal of the new Cephrael’s Hand cover? Because here it is! What do you think? Does it do a good job conveying the fantasy genre? Is it a book you’d be attracted to in the store? Does it make you want to learn more?
Thank you for helping us celebrate! If you’d like to see the new covers for books 2 and 3 in the series stop by www.MelissaMcPhail.com, and check them out.
Guess what else? The author is offering a special giveaway as part of this grand event. Check out the Rafflecopter form below (it’s also available at www.novelpublicity.com/cephrael-cover-reveal/) to find out how you can win a Kindle Fire. Hooray!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Oh, and don’t miss learning more about Cephrael’s Hand and where you can pick up a copy—that’s below too.
“All things are composed of patterns…” And within the pattern of the realm of Alorin, three strands must cross:
In Alorin… three hundred years after the genocidal Adept Wars, the realm is dying, and the blessed Adept race dies with it. One man holds the secret to reverting this decline: Bjorn van Gelderan, a dangerous and enigmatic man whose shocking betrayal three centuries past earned him a traitor’s brand. It is the Adept Vestal Raine D’Lacourte’s mission to learn what Bjorn knows in the hope of salvaging his race. But first he’ll have to find him.
In the kingdom of Dannym… the young Prince Ean val Lorian faces a tenuous future as the last living heir to the coveted Eagle Throne. When his blood-brother is slain during a failed assassination, Ean embarks on a desperate hunt for the man responsible. Yet his advisors have their own agendas, and his quest for vengeance leads him ever deeper into a sinuous plot masterminded by a mysterious and powerful man, the one they call First Lord.
In the Nadori desert…tormented by the missing pieces of his life, a soldier named Trell heads off to uncover the truth of his shadowed past. But when disaster places him in the debt of Wildlings sworn to the First Lord, Trell begins to suspect a deadlier, darker secret motivating them. Honor-bound to serve the First Lord in return for his life, Trell continues on his appointed path, yet each day unveils new and stranger secrets that eventually call into question everything he knows.
Get it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or wherever awesome eBooks are sold!
Editing Services 
You must be logged in to post a comment.