IT'S RAINING COVERS OF AWESOME--SALLY SLICK EDITION

They say the rains come in April, but this year JUNE seems to be a shower of gorgeous cover reveals (including my own!). Today's is extra special because it celebrates the arrival of a the smart & sassy SALLY SLICK AND THE STEEL SYNDICATE authored by zombie-loving, super-mom, writer-person-of-awesome CARRIE HARRIS, author of BAD TASTE IN BOYS and BAD HAIR DAY.

I had the privilege of doing a bit of beta reading for Ms. Slick and I can assure you that it's a snappy, spryly-plotted, steampunk story packed with humor, an incredible alt-history 1914 Chicago, robots, trains, mobsters and the kind of snark only Carrie can sneak into a high-action adventure. In case you can't quite imagine this, here is the first line of cover copy...

 

Every hero has a story.

This one starts with a girl and a racing tractor.

  

I know! Right? So, here's the cover. Perfect, huh? Now GO OVER TO CARRIE'S BLOG and tell her how awesome she is. Or pre-order Sally on AMAZON (it pubs in December).

 

 

 

 

Bookanistas: Reading, reading, reading...

Sadly, haven't written the reviews but I have a couple of good ones coming. Meanwhile, the other gals of The Bookanistas can certainly help you add to your TO-BE-READ lists this week...

Shari Arnold marvels at THE MOON AND MORE by Saran Dessen

Tracy Banghart is thrilled by 3:59 by Gretchen McNeil
Christine Fonseca shivers over SHATTER ME by Tahereh Mafi
Carrie Harris and Elana Johnson reveal the cover of SALLY SLICK & THE STEEL SYNDICATE by Carrie Harris
Corrine Jackson is nuts for AU REVOIR, CRAZY EUROPEAN CHICK by Joe Schreiber
Jessica Love joins the BY BLOOD by Tracy Banghart book blitz – with giveaway
Shannon Messenger  raves about JELLICOE ROAD by Melina Marchetta
Tracey Neithercott adores THE ARCHIVED by Victoria Schwab
Kimberly Sabatini is touched by OUT OF REACH by Carrie Arcos
Katy Upperman gushes over THE GIRL GUIDE by Christine Fonseca

 

BY BLOOD cover love!

Joining the fun in celebrating the cover of Tracy E. Banghart's

BY BLOOD.

Look at the spectacular wrap (front-and-back) art

and don't even try to tell me it's not gorgeous!

 

Find Tracy in the cyberverse at...Goodreads, Amazon, Facebook and (my favorite) Twitter

I know you want to win your very own copy of BY BLOOD, a paranormal YA set in sexy Oxford, England, with cute boys, annoying stepparents and some very cool outfits! So, go on and enter the giveaway HERE!

In her bio, Tracy admits to being "a cheesy movie–loving, fantasy football–playing (go Ravens!), globe-trotting Army wife who began “practicing” her craft at the age of five, when she wrote her first story. She loves visiting the international friends she met while pursuing her MA in Publishing and spends a portion of every summer at her family’s cabin in Canada, where she finds inspiration and lots of time to relax on the dock. She lives with her husband, son, two lazy dogs and one ornery cat. When not writing or spending time with her family, she is on a mission to bake the perfect cupcake."
But if I were writing her bio, I'd add that she's an awesome champion of YA lit and a woman of boundless determination and energy. In sum, she's a true writer-person and I am so thrilled to have gotten to know her better as a fellow Bookanista!

Back to Business: The Cover Reveal Story & a Question

So, here's a funny story. After weeks of back-and-forth with my exceedingly patient editor, we finally settled on a cover--and not a moment too soon. The galleys needed to be printed. The Penguin Winter 2014 catalog was being designed. Translation: We were under the wire.

What I didn't know last Monday was that the cover was slated to go up on Amazon at the end of the week.

(Interesting factoid: They give you a multi-day window during which the cover will go online so, though it could have been as early as Thursday, might not be up until today.) Next translation: No time to have any fun with the cover reveal...or was there?

In a panic, I emailed a few close writer friends who in no time put together a fun plan, donated awesome swag and, come Thursday morning, the interwebs were plastered with THE SOUND OF LETTING GO. More than amazed and delighted, I was so very deeply touched by the support of my friends--and of the entire book-loving internet community. Third translation: I've teared up quite often these last few days.

This morning, I felt a sudden pressure to write an amazing blog post for all my new followers and friends of TSoLG. But the only words I really want to say today are...THANK YOU.

Final translation: Everyone reading this post today is awesome and wonderful and amazing. My gratitude is boundless. My heart is full.

NOW, THE QUESTION. And it's a BIG one (okay, more than one):

• What does is mean to be a writer-blogger today versus when I began in 2007 (here are my first two posts) before the economic debacle of 2008...before the implosion of Borders and before the explosion of self-publishing?
• What does it mean to be a midlist writer (like me) who doesn't get a huge publicity/marketing budget from her traditional publisher and who is also an avid Tweeter/Blogger with awesome friends in these online book worlds?
• In the wake of all this cover-love gratitude, how can I pay it forward and remain true to my own book and business aesthetics?
• Are there changes to be made?

Please share your thoughts by commenting on this post and I'll include some of your insights in a"trying to answer some big questions" post next Monday. Meanwhile. Again. Thank you!

THE SOUND OF LETTING GO has a cover! Plus prizes & Bookanista fun!

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE TSoLG Cover Giveaway WINNERS POST:
http://www.swardkehoe.blogspot.com/2013/06/back-to-business-tsolg-winners-teaching.html

But, before I post that picture, I have to send HUGE THANKS OF THANKFULNESS (yeah, that's quality writing) to the AMAZING Elana Johnson who put together all the cover-reveal celebration happening around the interwebs today. She is incredible, a true writer's writer and supporter of everything book. Go over to HER BLOG today and send her shiny comments of awesome. And now, without further ado, here it is...

Oooh, pretty. And left-aligned, like the verses inside. Speaking of which, here's a tiny taste of what's between the covers...

My mother keeps things organized.
Our lives in labeled albums,
Our showpiece house in designer paint colors
Vacuumed, swept, so pretty that if you just looked
You might want to come inside.
But if you listened,
You’d hear another story:
Incomprehensible wailing,
Shouting, urgent phone calls,
Crying.  You'd want to ask if a monster
Lived in our house.
 
I am not sure how I'd answer.

WANNA WIN AN ARC?  Or an SWAG PRIZE OF AWESOME from Elana, Gretchen McNeil, Carrie Harris & Jessi Kirby?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Need MORE book love today? Visit some more Bookanistas!

Lenore Appelhans  wonders at ALL YOU NEVER WANTED by Adele Griffin

Shari Arnold loves SOMETHING LIKE NORMAL by Trish Doller

Tracy Banghart embraces IMPOSTOR by Susanne Winnacker

Shelli Johannes-Wells  delights in Cory Doctorow’s LITTLE BROTHER and HOMELAND

Nikki Katz gets the shivers for 3:59 by Gretchen McNeil

Carolina Valdez Miller sings out for the cover of THE SOUND OF LETTING GO
Jessica Love raves about ROAD TO TATER HILL by Edith M. Hemingway
Katy Upperman celebrates THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY by Katja Millay