Disclaimer: Patrice is a our friend and while I haven’t read her YA work, she totally promised me a copy if I put her blog post up.   You get a chance at a copy too.    Enjoy! – Ilona

Thank you Ilona and Gordon for inviting me on your blog today! Ilona and I got to know each other at a Romantic Times conference a few years ago, then later we became blog buddies on the ODD SHOTS blog.

For today’s guest blog, I thought I’d talk about a subject near and dear to both authors’ and readers’ hearts, book covers.

When I decided to publish my Young Adult book, BRIGHTEST KIND OF DARKNESS, one of the aspects I was super excited about was having FULL control over the book cover. From concept to design to implementation (ahem, I did hire a professional to make my mock cover NY worthy), it was all mine! That was quite refreshing considering I hadn’t had control over my books’ covers during my last seven years of publishing with small presses and a NY publisher. Yes, I’d had an opportunity to express my opinion, but most of the time I didn’t have any say-so in the final outcome.

YA books are ALL about the cover, so I wanted to make sure mine conveyed the story. Here’s a quick one-liner about my YA: Brightest Kind of Darkness is a dark paranormal novel length YA full of mystery, adventure, romance, and even a touch of horror. And below is the cover I came up with…

BRIGHTEST KIND OF DARKNESS

Nara Collins is an average sixteen-year-old, with one exception: every night she dreams the events of the following day. Due to an incident in her past, Nara avoids using her special gift to change fate…until she dreams a future she can’t ignore.

After Nara prevents a bombing at Blue Ridge High, her ability to see the future starts to fade, while people at school are suddenly being injured at an unusually high rate.

Grappling with her diminishing powers and the need to prevent another disaster, Nara meets Ethan Harris, a mysterious loner who seems to understand her better than anyone. Ethan and Nara forge an irresistible connection, but as their relationship heats up, so do her questions about his dark past.

Thankfully BRIGHTEST KIND OF DARKNESS‘ cover was well received by readers, but that also really put the pressure on me for book 2! I had to: one, come up with a cover for book 2 that was just as visually beautiful as book 1,  two, make sure that the cover flowed well, matching the “series” look, and three, make sure the cover matched the story inside. It was a tall order, but I was determined.

This past week, with the help of over fifty book bloggers (yay, book bloggers rock!), I revealed BRIGHTEST KIND OF DARKNESS’ cover LUCID. Did I hold my breath? Absolutely! I was anxious and tense. It’s great when you have total control, but that also means, it was all on me if book 2′s cover flopped. Ack! WHEW, I was so happy the overall response was very positive! And here is the cover for LUCID. It will release in Spring 2012.

How do you feel about book covers? Do you immediately click on a book cover link when an author posts a new cover reveal? I do. Every single time! I’m such a visual person, book covers really help me connect with the story. I’d say the book cover, along with the blurb, are what draw me in. Where does the book cover fall in your preference as a reader? I’d love to hear your thoughts on covers. I’ll be giving away one eBook copy of BRIGHTEST KIND OF DARKNESS to a commenter, so let’s hear your thoughts!

ABOUT P.T. MICHELLE

P.T. Michelle is the young adult pseudonym of Patrice Michelle, author of fifteen romance novels and novellas. When P.T. isn’t writing, she can usually be found reading or taking pictures of landscapes, sunsets and anything beautiful or odd in nature.

Links:
Website
Blog
Goodreads

The contest will run until Saturday. Please comment to enter.  The winner will be drawn on Sunday.  Also Patrice’s YA at the moment is $.99.  – Ilona

Winners must provide me with their mailing address by October 15, 2011 or the prize will be forfeit.

CheeseBK09-28-11

I don’t think I can select one favourite short story. There are too many wonderful ones out there. I dearly love your Magic Dreams and Magic Mourns, for instance. And Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs.
Then there is Silver Shark and Silent Blade…. hmhmhm. I’m just not going to choose but say that there are about 10 short stories and novellas sharing a special spot in my heart

thanks for the post and the give-away

***

ElizaB09-27-11

“Of Swine and Roses” is one of my favorite short stories.

***

nuitblanche’09-30-11

I do not particularly have a favorite. Jim Butcher’s are great, you all’s are exciting/wonderful, especially “Magic Mourns” and a few other authors’ works.
Thanks for the giveaway; I am very excited about “Angels of Darkness”!

***

Debra L.09-27-11

To be honest, I love anthologies because I tend to use them as a jumping point for discovering new authors. If one of my favorite authors is in an anthology, I’ll pick it up, read all of the stories, and sometimes find someone good that I’ll want to start reading. So I’m always happy with short stories, and it’s really hard to pick just one.

I originally picked up Dark and Stormy Knights because I’m a huge Jim Butcher fan. But I really loved your story (A Questionable Client) because it’s what introduced me to you guys as an author (lovely grammar there). So it may not be my all-time-OMG-favorite short story (it’s probably something by Bradbury, no offense) but I love it for the world it introduced me to.

***

MarnieColette09-28-11

I don’t have one favorite. Its the Novella du Jour for me. Currently its The Royal Scam – by Gini Koch.
MarnieColette recently posted..Unexpected Losses

Anyway, the masterful Meljean Brook and we are doing a joint giveaway.  You get two chances to win: on our blog and on hers.

And I am totally stealing her post now.  Hang on:

So here’s the official bit on Angels of Darkness:

They soar through the night, unearthly creatures of legends and lore. Four masters of urban fantasy and paranormal romance explore the rapture of the heavens above and the darkness below…

Angel’s Wolf by Nalini Singh
In the spellbinding universe of the Guild Hunters, a vampire becomes obsessed with the seductive angel who rules the Louisiana territory. But in her court, all is not what it appears to be.

Alphas: Origins by Ilona Andrews
A woman is kidnapped into a world divided by a superhuman civil war. As the captive of an irresistibly dangerous male, she has two choices: submit and become a pawn, or take hold of her own destiny.

Nocturne by Sharon Shinn
Accepting a position in a secluded and whispered-about mansion, a woman soon discovers the source of its mystery: the blind, tormented angel who lives there, and whose secrets could now destroy them both.

Ascension by Meljean Brook
When vampires disappear from a community he’s protecting, a world-weary Guardian doesn’t know what evil he’s hunting, but he’d rather hunt alone than accept help from his ex-lover and fellow Guardian, Radha. But Radha refuses to leave him, because she’s determined not just to help him save the community…but to save him.

End of post rip-off.

I hate Meljean.  I’ve hated her for years.  The way she describes things makes me feel like my own writing was done by some toddler.  I hate Nalini for much same reasons.  So far I’ve read her contribution to anthology and it is excellent.  There is a kind of dilapidated elegance about her angel in this one.  I think you’ll like it.

I, sadly, have not read anything by Sharon Shinn, but I’ve read about her and people view her as the master of her craft. This will be my chance to read her work.  If I ever have an evening when I don’t collapse.  Lately it’s all been “Read two paragraph, boom, I’m out.”

So yes, giveaway.

Ripping off Meljean again:

To enter the giveaway, please tell me in comments: what is your favorite novella or short story? Is it part of a series that you love, or does it stand alone?

That’s it! Enter by Friday night, and go over to Meljean’s blog and check out her giveaway, too!

The small print: Comment by 11:59:59 PM Pacific time on 9/30/2011 for your chance to win. Five winners will be selected randomly using random.org, and their names posted on this blog 10/01/2011. Winners must provide me with their mailing address by October 15, 2011 or the prize will be forfeit. Only one entry per ISP address. The contest is open to international readers. No purchase necessary to enter. A review of the book is always deeply appreciated. Odds of winning depend on number of entries received. Void where prohibited.

Interview

Please tell us a little about yourself, Rae. Kids, pets, husbands?

I met my husband at the Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror (OWW). Come to think of it, Ilona, you may have known him longer than I have! He’s the smartest and therefore sexiest man I know and the first reader for all my work. I have two awesomely smart-aleck stepsons, one of whom just went off to college. And I have a pair of naughty cats I rescued from Kitty Death Row many years ago.

In the life of every writer, there is that magic point when you start a play project, then things turn serious.  Before you know it, you have finished your first novel, and a surprising thought hits you, “I wonder if I could get this published?”  When was that magic point for you? What compelled you to finish your first novel?  What was it about? 

The Girl of Fire and Thorns is the first novel I ever completed—though by no means the first one I tried to write. I kept starting projects and outgrowing them. I would get 30K words or so in and realize I had improved as a writer, that my first words weren’t worthy of my recent words, and I ought to scrap the whole thing and rewrite from the ground up–so, might as well start a new project, right? But this book was different. The first chapter got an “editor’s choice” nod from the OWW. And then I workshopped it at a conference, and the editor requested the whole book! So those two events gave me the push I needed to finish the damn thing.

Please tell us about The Girl of Fire and Thorns?

Elisa is the “chosen one” of her generation, selected by God for an act of heroic service. Alas, she is unmotivated, coddled, overweight—nothing you’d expect from a hero. But when at sixteen years old she is married off to the king of a country in turmoil, she must find the greatness within herself to save the people she grows to love. Mostly, you should know that there are deserts, wild rebels, political machinations, and tons of food.

Why YA?

I love teens. They surprise me all the time. And all of my best work seems to have a coming-of-age theme.

But the truth is that my first agent did not feel this book was a young adult novel, and some of my foreign publishers will be marketing it as adult/teen crossover. I just keep writing stuff that I care about and letting my agent/publishers decide where it belongs.

Why did you choose monotheism for your fantasy religion?  Does religion play a significant role in the life of your protagonists?

I live in a country where 83% of citizens claim affiliation with some religious denomination (thank you, Wikipedia), and the vast majority of those are monotheists. How do teens decide what to believe when they are surrounded by so many contradictory views and messages? I wanted to do justice to this struggle without condemning or condoning any particular faith.

So, yes, Elisa is very devout and prays a lot. Part of her growing-up process is realizing that not everyone believes the same thing, and it will be up to her to decide for herself. I’ll be honest, though, and say it was a tough balance, and I’m not sure I got it right. I may never be sure. I’m not religious myself, so I definitely didn’t want to preach at anyone. At the same time, I didn’t want to vilify or marginalize a people group.

Why did you choose to write about an overweight protagonist?

I was dating this guy. He was an “encourager” who said he wanted the best for me, but his encouragements tended to be things like, “Are you sure you want to eat that?” And, “Wow, Rae, if you lost another five pounds, you’d be reeeally hot.” And, “Did you get your run in today?” I was a size 6 at the time.

After a year, I came to my senses and broke up with his sorry ass. I spent the next day eating cookie dough ice cream and thinking about all the amazing women I knew and the qualities I admired in them. “Skinny” wasn’t on that list of admirable qualities.

So I jotted down the fictitious diary entry of an overweight princess named Elisa who was destined to save the world using smarts, courage, and determination—traits my real-life girlfriends have in abundance. The diary didn’t make it into the final book, but it was the seed of the idea that became  The Girl of Fire and Thorns.

In the course of the novel Elisa loses weight.  Apparently there is some controversy about it.  Could you give us your take on this situation?

Elisa starts out with lousy self-esteem and an unhealthy relationship with food. When an arduous journey forces her to be active for the first time, she loses some weight. But she never becomes model-thin. She’s not a swan.

I think most of the controversy stems from the notion that Elisa must lose the weight to feel good about herself. That’s certainly not my intent, and I don’t think it’s a fair reflection of the book. Many important turning points happen before her weight loss, and Elisa comes to see her own value by accomplishing things, not by losing weight. That said, weight is a very sensitive issue, and I’m glad readers are talking about it.

So what did you hope to accomplish with this book?  Is it simply an escape or did you hope to convey a specific message?

More than anything I wanted to play fast and loose with high fantasy tropes like The Chosen One, the Amulet of Power, the Epic Journey, the Beautiful Princess in Peril. What if the Chosen One kinda sucks? What if the Amulet of Power is totally ridiculous?

As for messages, I’m not a big fan. Teens have highly developed bullshit meters, and they’re busy figuring things out for themselves. But I do realize that my own worldview is going to leak out in my writing. On reflection, the thing that leaks out the most in this book is my belief that you don’t have to be perfect to be extraordinary.

 Snippet

The drums beat faster now, louder. My shoulder crashes into a bench as the carriage heaves. I don’t dare lift myself to peer out the window, but I hope we’ve reached the clearing. I hear running footsteps and Lord Hector’s muffled orders, then the metal-scraping-metal sound of drawn steel.

Something thunks against the carriage. And again. Soon it’s like a rain of stones cracking against wooden walls. The shining black point of an arrowhead pokes through the wall, a mere handsbreadth from my nose. My skin burns. The air is too hot, too stifling to breathe. The Godstone in my navel flashes ice cold, and I gasp, astonished. It has never gone cold before.

The paneling beneath my palms feels sunwarmed. Too warm. The acrid scent of burning wood tingles in my nose as the Godstone continues to throb its icy warning.

Aneaxi whimpers, “Fire!” as our carriage fills with smoky haze and the shouting outside becomes frenzied.

“The princess!” someone yells. “To the princess!” But the voice is far off.

I search across the paneling for the latch to the trapdoor. It opens downward, and we tumble through into the cooler, cleaner air beneath the carriage. I land on something that cracks beneath my weight. Aneaxi screams.

I don’t have time to worry about how badly I’ve hurt her. The horses catch the scent of smoke and dance in their harnesses. We could be pinned beneath the wheels at any moment. I yearn for a knife to cut the horses free, to feel some kind of power in my hand. The carriage lurches forward. Behind me and to my left, I see Aneaxi’s leg, cricked unnaturally, lying in the path of the wheel.

I feel sick. “Aneaxi, you must pull your leg in.”

“I can’t!” she sobs.

I hook her armpit and pull. Ximena does the same on the other side, but Aneaxi is large and I have never been strong. A horse rears. The carriage jerks. Panicked, Ximena and I wrench Aneaxi toward us, but we are at such an awkward angle, pressed against the ground, and oh, it is not enough.

Steel rings, and the carriage shudders. Someone has sliced through the harnesses, and tears of relief prick my eyes.

I’m not sure what to do next. The carriage provides cover, but it burns. Even now, smoke licks the floor above, curling around the panels like white snakes. Feet patter by at eye level. Our enemies are barefooted demons, nearly naked and painted in black-and-white swirls. Anklets of tiny bones clatter as one darts in and out of the jungle. Lunge, sidestep, disappear; then another takes his place. Their attack has no pattern. It is random, constant, indefensible.

A few paces away from our burning carriage gapes the opening of an enormous buttress, a cavern formed by the roots of a silk-cotton tree. I could reach it quickly, and Ximena, but I worry for Aneaxi and her broken leg.

I flip over to face my ladies. “We must get away before the carriage collapses.”

They nod; Aneaxi’s round cheeks are smeared with dirt made muddy by tears. My heart swells for a moment, for I’m not willing to lose either of them.

“Ximena and I will go first,” I say to Aneaxi. “Then we will pull you out by the arms.” I hope that by standing, we’ll have the leverage to do what could not be done beneath the carriage. “Aneaxi, you must not scream, no matter how much it hurts.”

She takes a few ragged breaths. Then she rips a strip of fabric from the hem of her traveling gown. My chest burns with pride when she wads it up and shoves it in her mouth. I’m ready, her eyes tell me.

Still we wait. The fighting is too close. From where we lie we see pairings of naked, painted calves with boots and stiff hide. A man tumbles to the ground before me, and I scramble backward. His eyes are open and blinding white against the black paint of his face. His hair is as long as mine but twisted into thick clumps. He lies unmoving. Gingerly, heart pounding, I pry a stone knife from his still-warm hand and stuff it into my bodice.

At last I see a break in the fighting, and I gesture frantically to Ximena. We scramble from beneath the carriage on all fours. My foot tangles in my slip as I rise, but I rip right through it. Once clear, we turn and grasp Aneaxi’s arms. She groans around the wad in her mouth as we pull. Her eyes clench tight; her face is bright red. Then she goes limp as unconsciousness takes her. As we pull her toward the dark cavity of the buttress, I expect to see an arrow impale her chest at any moment. Sweat slides down my back and across my stomach. Beside me, Ximena’s gray bun has come loose and her hair swings below her shoulders. Little by little, we reach the line of the jungle. The ground slopes downward as we step beneath the roots. It’s cooler here, and comfortingly dark. There is just enough room for the three of us in the little cavern. I catch my breath, holding tight to Aneaxi’s shoulders, so relieved to have made it this far.

I have a better view of the battle now. My husband’s guard seems to have found its footing against these strange savages. They fight back to back against the random attacks, shield arms at ready for incoming arrows. Bodies from both sides litter the ground, and my stomach roils at the scent of burning flesh. Our carriage is an inferno. Next to me, Ximena flinches when the flaming structure collapses to the ground, sending sparks in all directions. A few moments more, and we would have burned.

Beyond the ruined carriage, two savages have trapped one of our own against a tree. I cannot see his face, but his body is frozen in panic.

One of the savages leaps forward with a shriek, plunges a stone knife toward the man’s chest. He lurches away just in time, and the knife jams into his forearm instead.

He fights weakly then, with left-handed strokes. When he hesitates yet again, I know he cannot last. The painted bodies sense the kill. They begin an odd movement, like a dance. Squat, pivot, creep. They are like jungle cats, all wild grace and hunting fury. Then I catch a glimpse of the doomed man’s face.

Alejandro.

“No!” I clamber from our shelter. Ximena yells something indecipherable. She grasps my arm, but I wrench away. I feel so slow as I run toward my husband, my belly and breasts bouncing painfully with each step. As I pass the collapsed carriage, I pull the knife from my bodice…

Read the first 80 pages…

Giveaway

Rae is giving away a signed hardcover.

To enter, leave a comment on this post.  You must enter on the blog. Comments made by email or through Goodreads will not be eligible.  Winner, as always, will be chosen randomly.

Contest ends: Monday, October 3rd.

US and Canada residents only.

Wow, we were overwhelmed by the amount of entries for the contest, there were nearly 1200 comments.  Due to the sheer awesomeness of our readers, we had to rethink the plan of giving away 25 e copies and change it to 2 per page, for a total of 44 copies with an additional 6 bonus winners.  Given the fact that some who commented did not want to be entered, contestants actually had a better than 1 in 25 chance of getting a freebie.

So, if you did not win, have no fear, Silver Shark is available for purchase as an ebook at the following retailers:

Amazon

BN

iBooks (It’s not up right this second, due to it still being under review)

For internation readers: we are working on having Silver Shark being available at AR

Without further ado here are the winners by page and comment number.  Ilona should have already sent you the novella in your preferred format.  If you see your name and comment here but did not receive one, please contact us.

[clear]

Winners by Page &  Comment #

1) Jade-37 &  Kerri-49                                                                                     13) Wendy-43 & Tine-11

2) Maggie-19 & Mel Thomas-39                                                                     14) Lea-18 & Sam-4

3) Cardnoc-32 &  Zora-23                                                                                15) DLyte-5 & Pia Newman-48

4) Carol Jay-16 & Sue-6                                                                                   16) Onion-37 & Pfeffermintzee-12

5) Sarah N-47 & Angie-3                                                                                  17) Diane-25 & Ms Book Junkie-17

6) Barbie Doll-14 & Jage-38                                                                             18) Laura-20 & Steve-22

7) Colette-12 & Word Spinner-31                                                                    19) Nicole-7 & Amie-28

Kayley-22& Brenda Hyde-7                                                                        20) Shannon-7 & Gigi-40

9) Rebecka-6 & shewhomustnotbenamed-18                                               21) Nell L-25 & Bill G-12

10) Laura L-47 & Erin Richards-39                                                                22) Stephanie J-18 & Lindsey-3

11) Rista-6 & Cin-44                                                                                              

12) Amanda-9 & Rebe Loves Books-31

To celebrate its completion, we would like to give away 25 copies of Silver Shark.  Entering is easy, just comment and please specify if which format you would prefer:  prc (Kindle), pdf or epub.

Twenty five (or maybe more) winners will chosen by Random Number Generator on Friday and sent the file in their preferred format.  Contest is open to all.

All we ask is that you do not post it.  Please do not share it, it will go live this week at major e retailers.

If you like the story,  we would appreciate a  review  on your blog, Goodreads or even Amazon.

Contest is now closed two winners from every page will be chosen at random, thank you.

Now for something completely different.  The winner of the Andrea Spinoff title contest is Nichole who came up with Gun Metal, among others.  This is the closest anyone came to the title chosen by the publisher which is …Gunmetal Magic. We were told, Magic would not be in the title, but apparently it is.  Nichole, please contact us via email to let us know how you wish to be rewarded.  eBook, beta read, Amazon gift card, etc.

The Fate’s Edge ARC winners, chosen by Random Number Generator, are: April V-page 3, comment 7;   Joon -page 7, comment 4; and Rebecca- page 9, comment 16.  Please email us with word WINNER in the subject of the email.  Please include your mailing address and also let us know if you would like us to simply sign the ARC or to make it out to a particular person.

SILVER SHARK has returned from the copy editor and we are now in the process of creating an E-ARC for it.  If you have a reviewer blog and would like an e- copy of SILVER SHARK for review, please email us with words Silver Shark ARC Request in the subject of the email. Please include a link to your blog and your preferred format: prc, ePub, or PDF.  Due to the anticipated volume of requests, please understand that preference will be given to blogs with larger readership.

Contest is over, we got a lot of great responses and will choose 3 winners this morning.  Thanks everybody.

Andrea’s book needs a cool title.

The book features Andrea, who is a beastkin, ex-knight, a shapeshifter, and who likes guns.

Setting: Kate’s Atlanta.

Theme: Egypt. You will see gods.  It will not be pretty.

There are giant vipers.

There are Russian volhvs.

Raphael and Clan Bouda are also in the book.

Book title can’t be in Magic ____ format, because this is a novel of Kate Daniel’s world, not a novel of Kate Daniels.

The title must not be too generic or too fantasy sounding.  The title must suggest Urban Fantasy.   I know there are snakes, but the title can’t be too suggestive either.

You can totally go off on a tangent and suggest things like Viper’s Fang.  Beastkin’s Dilemma.  Jackal’s Bite. As long as it sounds cool and UF, it will be considered.

You have until Monday to come up with the title and post it in the comments here. You must post the title suggestion on this blog post.  Titles posted on Facebook or emailed to us will not count.

You can post more than once and suggest more than one title per comment.

Prizes

If your title is chosen, you will have a choice of following:

a) Beta reading Andrea’s book (warning: this prize comes with understanding that content of the book will not be shared.  The book will not be written for the next couple of months or so, so you will have to wait.)

or

b) A set of Magic Slays and Hexed, signed or our book of your choice, signed.

or

c) $25 gift certificate from Amazon.

Una 08-11-11

Please enter me, I have been anxiously awaiting this anthology!

I believe in angels whether in a form or “through” others (as in a spirit within a person). So, I do enjoy stories with angels. Personally, I think angels are similar to humans, there are ones you want to meet that heal and comfort and there are the others whose duties are death and punishment – those you wish to avoid.

Bridget Locke 08-15-11

Hmm…excellent question. I actually believe there are many types of angels: Guardians, archangels, etc.

When I was a little girl I got very, very sick. I was running a high fever & was almost comatose. I came to & told my mom that I had seen angels watching over me. Within hours my fever was gone & I was on the road to recovery.

Winners have until Monday, 22, 2011 to send us their address through the contact page with the word WINNER in the subject line.  If we do not receive your address by Monday, we will choose another winner.