
OMGOODNESS you guys. I’ve just received the final file of my Book 3 cover and I’m sooooo in love with it! I can’t WAIT to share!! Details (and of course PICS!) coming soon! Eeeeee!!! Stay tuned, y’all. You do not want to miss this!
the times & trials of a self-published YA author
OMGOODNESS you guys. I’ve just received the final file of my Book 3 cover and I’m sooooo in love with it! I can’t WAIT to share!! Details (and of course PICS!) coming soon! Eeeeee!!! Stay tuned, y’all. You do not want to miss this!
I can’t even tell you how excited I am to make this introduction. Seriously, I feel like this has been years in the making. Everyone… I would like you to meet Almond Eastland. (Everyone: “Hi Almond!”) This is the wonderful lady who has given Rennie (and all of her friends and foes!) a voice. She has brought so much artistry to my little indie book, and I just can’t say enough about how thrilled I am to have her on board. She has brought all of Rennie’s qualities and quirks to full-dimension life and I am ecstatic to share her with you!
FIRST… a quick reminder that we’re doing a GIVEAWAY for a FREE download of the audiobook for Drawn In: Book One of the Paper Dreams Chronicles. For details, see the post from yesterday. To cut to the chase and get your own copy now, click here!
Okay, so a little background on how this partnership came to be… I posted in June about beginning my hunt for auditions on the ACX site. I had never met Almond (still haven’t in person… that seems weird! Haha!), but when I heard her audition, I got goosebumps. It’s hard to describe that moment as an author when you just know that you’re listening to your main character. I mean, Rennie talks to me all the time, so I know what she sounds like (I’m not crazy… it’s an author thing). So long story short, I gathered some great auditions, and weeded through them, and I narrowed it down to my top two. I had them both read one more section, and I knew I had my Rennie. There are so many phrases and sections that she reads which sound exactly like they do in my head; it’s almost freaky. And there are also a few interpretations which took me off-guard and surprised me. Again, as an author, that’s pretty freaking cool.
So without further ado… meet Almond!
Sioux: Hi Almond! Welcome to my blog; I’m so glad you could join me!
Almond: Hi Sioux! Thank you so much for having me!
Oh my gosh you guys you guys you guys!! We did a thing… Rennie has a VOICE! Drawn In: Book One of the Paper Dreams Chronicles is now officially an audiobook and it’s LIVE and available on Audible, iTunes, and Amazon!
The narrator, Almond Eastland, is absolutely incredible and I am so so pleased with how this has turned out. Stay tuned this weekend for an interview with her right here on my blog to learn more about her and the art of audiobook narration. She’s really great. I can’t wait for you to meet her!
In the meantime, let’s do a giveaway! Who wants a FREE code to download the Drawn In audiobook?? To enter, comment here on the blog, on the Facebook post, the Instagram post, or the Twitter post. That’s it! Each comment will get you an entry. SHARE the post for an extra entry! Someone will win… might as well be you! I’ll do the drawing on Wednesday 01/01 (cos why not start the New Year with free stuff, right?).
About four years ago, I started on a journey to get Drawn In produced as an audiobook. It was exciting, and I learned a lot in the process, but ultimately it didn’t play out. It’s no one’s fault & there’s no ill will at all, just to be clear.
But now it’s four years later, and I am so ready to try this thing again! I’m on the hunt for my Rennie. So if you are an audiobook narrator (or know one to share this with), give it a shot! It’s open for auditions on the ACX website and I’ve already received a few great submissions!!
A few notes:
Contact me with questions! I’m sooooo excited to get going on this!! 😃
Soooo… funny story. I went to my Amazon author page to see what I needed to update and lo and behold, A Time Forgotten is listed as Available! Whaaaat??? So, thank you Amazon, the paperback version is available TODAY!
The Kindle version is still slated for tomorrow, so if you’ve pre-ordered, it will arrive as scheduled.
So here it is… get your PAPERBACK version a day early (and just think, you’ll avoid alllll the spoilers by reading early!)
I have been out of the blogosphere (is that still a word?) for a very long time. VERY long time. You may have noticed. BUT! I have big news!! Last night, I finally finally finally completed my rough draft and I am entering the editing phase! I’m thinking that I’ll be ready for a summer release! Whaaaaat? Super excited about this. Like, I can’t even tell you how excited.
So in honor of this major step in the process, I’m ready to do a cover reveal! My AMAZING cover artist, Leslie, has had this ready for me for quite some time and I feel like I’m finally living up to my part of this. 🙂
Oh! I just realized this is a title reveal too! So here’s the scoop on that…
I was pounding my head against a wall trying to come up with the title for my sequel to Drawn In. I was completely stuck on the idea that I wanted all 3 books to begin with “Drawn.” It just made sense. But a dear friend of mine interceded and compelled me to keep pushing for something stronger. I ignored her for a while. But then I realized that she was right. I was boxing myself in in a way that didn’t need to happen. And so I went back to square one and started re-imagining what it could be if I let myself out of that box. And I went back to the Prophecy in book one…
Hair of Fire, Eyes of Ice,
With her family she’s all alone.
She’s been drawn in to a time forgotten
But paper dreams will lead her home.
And there was my title. And I love it. It feels right, and it feels specific, and it feels like mine. And so I give you… the cover of A Time Forgotten.
I’m in love with it. My favourite part is the small patch of starry sky shining through in the corner. SO beautiful! And do you notice the Spiral Spire there on the Citadel? And who is this reaching out, inviting you to join? Is this Alex? Is it Seth? Someone new? Hmmm…
Feel free to comment! I’d love to hear your thoughts!