(I'm including some quote pics from Bleeding Heart throughout the post. The pics are ones I took in Northern California or Oregon and edited via PicMonkey. If you're read Bleeding Heart, do feel free to share a favorite quote in the comments section, if you have one! I'd love to hear what lines stood out to you.)
Winners!
I have 2 winners to announce today!
The first is the winner of the Bleeding Heart "Journey to the West" prize pack, which includes a signed coy of Bleeding Heart when it's available, a copy of Falk's Claim: The Life and Death of a Redwood Lumber Town by Jon Humboldt Gates, a redwood bookmark, Pacific Northwest playing cards, and a wooden train whistle from Virginia City, Nevada. And the winner is...
AMY C!
Congratulations!! Be on the lookout for my e-mail! I hope you enjoy your "Journey to the West" via these items. =)
Now for the winner of the $10 Amazon.com gift card! I included the names of those who guessed the correct title of the sequel to Bleeding Heart (which I'll announce in a moment), as well as the names of those who suggested an actor to portray Zachary Taylor (I'll announce my choice for that in a moment, too!). And the winner is...
MARISSA!
Congratulations!! I appreciate you and all those who participated in the series-extras games. Hope they were fun! I enjoyed reading all of your guesses and suggestions. =)
As for the other book giveaways at other blog tour stops, they'll be announcing their own winners, so be sure to check in with them!
News!
So...anyone curious about that title and actor??
Sequel
There were actually 7 people who guessed the correct title for the sequel to Bleeding Heart (assuming I don't change it between now and when I actually write it, LOL). And that title is Morning Glory! I love what Julie said as an explanation for her guess:
It sounds so spiritual and uplifting after the tragedies that have befallen the characters.
I thought so, too! We've got the first title, Forget Me Not, which connotes feelings of longing, wistfulness, and fear. It's an uncertain thing, but also full of tremulous hope. Then we've got the sequel (the first published book), Bleeding Heart. Very dramatic, sorrowful, and poignant, suggesting tragedy but also hinting that a heart that can bleed is also a heart that can be healed. And finally, there's the third in the series - Morning Glory. I've already heard about a potential "Myghal petition" to make sure he gets an HEA. ;) While I can't guarantee what will happen to the characters in that book (I'm generally a "pantser" who likes to see where the story goes and how I grow during the writing process), I really do hope that a third book will be one that that has a dawning hope - an embracing of joy after trials, and an eye-opening perspective on life and eternity. We'll see what happens!
Short Story
In case you missed the update, my current writing project is Fairy Slippers, a companion short story featuring Zachary Taylor (the cook) from Bleeding Heart. You can learn more in a previous post. In that post I asked for some suggestions to help me give a fact to Taylor - and of those suggestions, I decided to go with Richard Armitage, suggested by Jaguar Hero. (Surprise, surprise, given my love of North & South!) But I had to find just the right picture to kind of suggest darker looks, a fuller face, a piercing gaze, a strength born of experiences and self-confidence, but also a depth - a well of gentleness beneath it all. Take a look at the pic I found:
What do you think?? It might not be a perfect likeness, but I think the "feeling" might be right. Would love to hear your thoughts!
I'm looking forward to finishing this Cinderella-themed story within the next few weeks, hopefully. It's been fun so far! After that, I plan to move on to Forget Me Not...
Prequel
If you haven't already seen the links I've splashed all over Twitter, you can learn more about Forget Me Not on the new site (my cover designer made me a new header, which is so pretty!). You can also check out the Pinterest board and add the book on Goodreads.
And here's a super exciting update: Lena Goldfinch has already started on the cover design! SQUEE!! (Such a FUN part of the process!) Poor Lena... I found a few pins to add to our secret board on Pinterest the other night, mainly for reference, and Lena promptly got sucked into the cover-design process. We were planning on working on the cover design in November, haha! As it is, I'm absolutely in love with where the design is going, and I can tell you that, as far as it looks now, it will be an absolutely beautiful companion and complement to the cover of Bleeding Heart!
So here's a potential schedule for Forget Me Not stuff:
~ Mid-October: cover reveal!
~ Late November/early December: e-ARCs sent out to reviewers
~ January: e-book release and blog tour
~ February: paperback release (oooh, maybe a Valentine's Day release??)
If you're interested in being part of the cover reveal, do let me know!
Bleeding Heart
I still have some news about Bleeding Heart, too!
1. If you haven't yet picked up a Kindle copy of the book, it's on sale for $.99 this weekend! Celebrate Labor Day weekend with an inexpensive trip to the Old West. =)
2. I've ordered my proof copy of Bleeding Heart, which should be arriving this next week or early the following week!!! SQUEE again!! I'm sure I'll share a picture of me and my first paperback! And as soon as I get my copy and approve it, it should hopefully be available for order on Amazon and CreateSpace! Huzzah! Links to come soon...
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Melissa Tagg, Serena Chase, Diane Estrella, MaryLu Tyndall, Rissi, Julie Graves, Miranda Uyeh, Kara, Anne Elisabeth Stengl, Audrey, Ariel Wilson, Rachelle Rea, Jana Grissom, Renee Chaw, Lydia, Casey Herringshaw, Faye, Vince Mooney, Abbi Hart, Melanie, Kate, Michelle, Melanie B., Lena Nelson Dooley, Rebeka B., Sherida Stewart, Meagan Davenport, Rel Mollet, Carissa, Kav, Alyssa, Michelle Griep, Samantha Jo, Grace, Amber M., Rebekah Gyger, and Ganise. You all made my blog tour so epic - there would be no tour without you! Thank you so very much for your support, your posts, your tweets, your reviews, your time, and your encouragement. ♥
As you can hopefully tell from the "news" section above, the fun is far from over! Beyond my writing projects, I also have an "Autumn Bash" coming in late September featuring 6 fabulous authors - as well as some exciting publicity projects throughout the fall. So stay tuned, old followers and new! A new season is upon us. =)
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