Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Of Prequels and Sequels!

The Bleeding Heart blog tour is moving right along! You can catch up on the first posts (as well as take a look at what's coming) HERE. Today's official stop is at author Anne Elisabeth Stengl's Tales of Goldstone Wood blog, where you'll find an interview regarding my writing journey, as well as an excerpt from chapter 2. Would love to see you there!

Now for one of those fun series-extras posts I promised you...


Forget Me Not (Prequel)

If you've been following all the Bleeding Heart news, you've most likely heard about Forget Me Not. (Or perhaps you remember this post from April 2011?) It's the first novel I wrote, although it has yet to be edited. That's my goal - to finally edit the book this autumn, then publish it this winter. =)

So I'm sure you'll be hearing more about the story on Twitter in the coming months as I work on it - and I seriously cannot wait to have another cover reveal, especially since Lena Goldfinch should be doing the cover design again! (Squeee!)

In the meantime, I've started a board for Forget Me Not on Pinterest, if you want a little glimpse at the setting and the hero. I hope to add more pics eventually, so you can follow the board if you'd like to be the first to see how I envision the characters, etc.

Visiting Virginia City again a few weeks ago made me even more eager to revisit this story of my heart... (The pic above is one view from Edith Palmer's Country Inn at dusk. My family and I love that place!)

The Sequel 

I'm so thrilled by the feedback I've received from readers/reviewers expressing interest in a certain character's continuing story! While I haven't started writing a sequel for Bleeding Heart (and it will probably be a while before I can, as I'm planning on focusing on Forget Me Not and a companion short story first), I do have a title in mind. I seriously feel like that's a big part of the battle, because the titles shape these stories so much - the theme, the tone, the plot.

So here's the "fun" part of today's post - we're going to play "Guess the Title"! ;) Here are your hints:
  • As far as I know, this would be Myghal's story. (If you know the story behind Bleeding Heart and the fact that I'm sort of a "pantser," you'll understand why I'm wording it this way...)
  • The title continues in the theme of the titles of the first two books (i.e.: flower name).
I'll put the names of those who guess correctly in a drawing for a $10 Amazon.com gift card. (All I ask is that you please leave an e-mail address so I can send you your gift card if you win. Only comments with a correct guess and an e-mail address will be entered in the drawing.) There will be at least one more (hopefully fun!) chance to get your name into the hat, so to speak, so be on the lookout for that! The winner will be announced at the end of the blog tour.

Looking forward to seeing your guesses! And do feel free to ask me any questions about the prequel, the sequel, or the companion short story. I can't promise I'll be able to answer everything in detail, but I'd still love to chat with you. =)

32 comments:

Rissi said...

Ooo! What a fun giveaway! Thanks for sharing this, Amber. Flower names, huh!? Haven't a clue where to start since I am not "up" on my flowers - love the idea! How very clever of you. :)

Already excited for these books - and the possible (eventual) books, too. :)

Amber Holcomb said...

Rissi,

I took a "Birds & Botany of Western Oregon" class in college, but I'm still sadly lacking in my knowledge of plants... (Not because of my professor, but because of me!) You're more than welcome to think about it and do some Googling if you'd still like to enter at some point. :) It's not a "way out there" name - at least, I don't consider it such! ;)

Anywho, I so appreciate your enthusiasm, and I hope these books and any others live up to your expectations! Thanks for being so supportive, my friend. :)

~Amber

Audrey said...

Hmm... Love-in-a-mist? Bells of Ireland? Passion Flower?

I was leaning toward the first one, though. Since Myghal is Cornish, the second seems out of place, and the third seems too obvious somehow. And then a Google search turned up:

Kiss Me Over the Garden Gate

Now I'm not sure what to guess! If this is Myghal's story, does it happen before or after Bleeding Heart?

Amber Holcomb said...

Audrey,

Oh, goodness, there are so many beautiful flower names!

This would take place after Bleeding Heart - Forget Me Not (which includes Myghal as a secondary character) takes place before. :)

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Hint:

It's not a super-long name - I think it flows rather well with the first two titles. :)

~Amber

Hannah said...

Hmmm...are we limited in our guesses?

If not, the first ones that come to mind are:

-Sunflower
-Cornflower
-Blue Bell
-Periwinkle
-Morning Glory

I'll email my email address to you along with my choices. Thanks!

Amber Holcomb said...

Hannah,

Naw, this is just a fun free-for-all sort of thing. ;) You're fine! And I got your e-mail - thanks!

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Everyone:

If I know your e-mail address and you know that I know it, I'll still count your entry. :) But if you're not sure I know it (or if you know that I don't), please leave it (or e-mail me your guess(es)) in order to be entered! Thanks! :)

Keep your guesses coming!

~Amber

Melanie said...

Here are my guesses:

Baby's Breath
Blanket Flower
Starflower

Melanie
frequentreader19 (at) gmail (dot) com

Amber Holcomb said...

Melanie,

Thanks for playing! :) I sense a theme in your guesses... ;)

~Amber

Ganise C said...

Ooo! I wanna play. Since I'm really not an expert at flower names - and had to literally google 'flower names' after seeing your post - prepare for a bombarding of names!

- Everlasting?
- Immortal flowers?
- Lilly of the Valley? (Meaning a Return of Happiness, so that'd be fitting for Myghal....)
- Nightshade?
- Passion-flower?
- Touch-me-not?
- Weeping Willow?
- Windflower?
- Wreath of Roses?

Yep. Those are my guesses! :D I really am getting more and more excited about your work, Amber! Can't wait to see what's next.

g.gclermont@gmail.com

Ganise C said...

Throw in there Wall-flower!

Julie said...

I love the Morning Glory name...It sounds so spiritual and uplifting after the tragedies that have befallen the characters. :) Other than that I have no guesses but what a fun thing to do Amber!

Abbi Hart said...

This is such fun! Here are some of my guesses:
Morning Glory
Lily of the Valley
Bachelor's Button
Goldenrod
Queen Anne's Lace

Looking forward to reading both the prequel and the sequel!

Library Lady said...

The flowers that come to my mind are:
Sweet William
Sweet Pea
and of course living in Florida :
Orange Blossom.
Hope this helps.
Janet E.
von1janet(at)gmail(dot)com

Amber Holcomb said...

Ganise,

I'm no expert either - I just have a book called A Handful of Flowers that talks about some flower meanings, along with the awesome Google. ;) And a botany book from that "Birds & Botany" class I took - but there's so much I don't know about plants!

Thanks so much for playing, and I'm thrilled you're excited about future books - makes it more exciting for me to work on them! :)

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Julie,

Love how you describe that - and I appreciate you taking a shot at it! One guess or a long list of them, either way is still playing. ;)

Glad you think it's fun! I was hoping it would be. :)

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Abbi,

Yay! Thanks for playing and for being interested in the coming stories! :)

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Janet,

Thanks so much for participating! :)

~Amber

Sandra Leesmith said...

I don't know the names of many flowers, but am looking forward to what you pick.

Also looking forward to Myghal's story.

Happy writing.

Kaity Jane said...

(Delayed) CONGRATS on your novel's release! So exciting! :D

I would have to go with Evening Primrose, simply because I think it is an amazing flower since it blooms only at night. Kinda how we as Christians can bloom into our faith even more through our darkest hours. Probably not a very good guess but whatever, haha.

momiswayweird(at)gmail(dot)com

Marissa said...

I'll have to go with Morning Glory!

marissamehresman(at)aol(dot)com

Amber Holcomb said...

Thanks, Sandra!

I'm looking forward to writing Myghal's story - so many projects, so little time! But it's exciting. :D

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Kaity Jane,

Thank you so much! It was awesome seeing your comment on Google+/Ariel's blog - good to hear from you! :)

Awesome thoughts - so glad you came by to participate!

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Marissa,

Thank you for playing! :)

~Amber

Faith said...

I haven't a clue, but I will think about it, I am just so excited that there is a sequel and a prequel!!!

Amber Holcomb said...

Faye,

No worries - you have until the end of the blog tour to guess, and there will be another chance to try for the gift card, too! :)

And thank you so much!! I'm thrilled you're looking forward to the prequel and sequel. :)

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Note to Self:

Anne Elisabeth Stengl sent her guess via e-mail. :)

~Amber

Renee (BlacknGoldGirlsBookSpot) said...

I really enjoyed Bleeding Heart and I can't wait to read Forget Me Not! I'm going to guess Morning Glory for the title of the next book but I'm sure whatever the title is will be lovely. ;-)

xoxo,
Renee C.
steelergirl83(at)gmail(dot)com

Amber Holcomb said...

Renee,

I'm so thrilled to hear that! I can't wait to work more on my upcoming projects. :)

And thanks for participating (and for the vote of confidence)!

~Amber

Michelle said...

My quess is Morning Glory. :)

Michelle
Scraphappy71 at sbcglobal dot net

Amber Holcomb said...

Michelle,

Thank you for stopping by and participating! :) The title and winner will be revealed on Saturday!

~Amber