It's Time To Say "Goodbye"

No, I am not saying "goodbye" to you, friends. It's time to say "goodbye" to this blog. I am officially moved into my new, more spacious, and more comfortable digs on my new author website at www.angelapeart.com. 

I'll be posting updates, giveaway news, author interviews, event notifications, and much more on the new website blog. 

A very IMPORTANT note: If you are subscribed to this blog, you won't receive any of the goodness that I have planned for the future. Instead, please go to my new website and subscribe to: 

1.My Blog
2.My Newsletter 

Let me know what you think about the website. All comments and suggestions are welcome!

I also have something great to share with you: my new interview and two of my friends' book covers. So please click here and you will be magically whisked straight to my new home. 

See you there!

Book Cover Reveal: Forged by Greed, Book One in The Forged Series.

I always tell my kids that sharing is a good thing and it would make them happy. So to follow my own advice I’m sharing my brand new book cover with you, friends.

Now, that really makes me happy!

As many of you already know my debut YA paranormal romance novel, Forged by Greed, is scheduled for publication on Septmber 20^th, 2012. That’s about 30 days from now (okay, I’m getting really nervous, and my heart rate is dangerously increasing).

I would like to introduce the graphic designer, Jeannie Ruesch who has created my cover.

It only took Jeannie a few days to produce this astonishing cover. And this is how she describes the process:

The final amulet was formed from about a dozen different elements. To me, it was the part of the cover that really needed to draw attention, and that meant, color, intricacy and such.  It was entirely based on Angela’s excerpts, and once I had the concept, I went searching for images that contained a piece of what I wanted. The curved gold was a variety of layers - different curves of gold altered and warped to fit what I wanted.  The jewel was one image, tweaked and altered to the size and width I needed.  The chain was another.  Once the amulet was assembled, I added layers of shadows and highlights to give it the right depth. Shadows behind it so it would stand out, and highlights around and coming from the jewel to add sparkle and magic.

She makes it sound so simple, doesn’t she?

Here are some excerpts that Jeannie worked off:

[…] The large, intricately cut blue jewel, set in mingle of thick gold wires. Delicate blue rays illuminated from the stone. The wires came up over the jewel, twisting into a thick rope-chain. The clasp itself was a piece of art: wrought in gold in a shape of a howling wolf, its head rose toward the sky, eyes almost shut, fur intricately detailed. The image radiated power and yearning. […]

                                                        

[...] She held onto the chain half way between the jewel and the clasp. The clasp flew open, and one side of the chain encircled Jatred’s wrist. The other part snaked around Jasmira’s wrist, linking them in an unexpected bind. [...] A spiraled script became visible on the jewel’s surface, the symbols shone like a liquid gold.

They both gasped and frantically tried again to pull their hands away. The runes kept crawling around the gem, barely touching its surface. [...]

[...] He held the Amulet up to his face, looking at the large blue jewel and a frame of thick gold wires. Subtle blue rays irradiated his skin. [...] 

Jeannie created the image as close as possible to what I have imagined while writing the story.

And now I should share with you the tag line and the blurb:

The tag line:

Their choice had been taken away long before they were born.

The blurb:

Two Seattle 16-year-old Shape Shifters, Jatred and Jasmira, are torn between following their hearts and protecting the order of the world. The path of the star-crossed lovers leads only to destruction.

The ancient Shape Shifter Races—the Winter wolves and the Summer leopards— live among humans and fit perfectly into modern life, while keeping secret societies with their own laws and traditions.

Two Goddesses, Crystal and Amber, command their respective Races. One is on a quest to tilt the scale of power to her side. The other will never let it happen, even if it means sacrificing Jatred and Jasmira’s love.

The Amulet commissioned to bring stability into the world remains hidden and concealed with the help of advanced technology. Jatred is the guardian of the Amulet and key to the Goddesses’ conflict.

When the forces of nature are disrupted, earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions rake the world.  The Goddesses go to war and summon all their Shifters to join in the conflict. Jatred and Jasmira must fight not only for their love but to protect the future of both Races and humankind.

If you want to read a few more excerpts from Forged by Greed, stop by my Goodreads page. 

Please add Forged by Greed to your to-be-read list on Goodreads HERE

and click on "become a fan" button under my picture HERE. 

Do you read Young Adult books? Do you post book reviews? If so, I would love to have you review Forged by Greed. Send me an email to cheeriosandpearls@hotmail.com with BOOK REVIEW in the subject line, and I will arrange for a free ebook Advance Reader's Copy to be sent to you.

Last but not least I would like to say thank you to all of those amazing people who are helping me spread the news today. Here is a list of bloggers hosting Forged by Greed cover reveal post:

I Am A Reader, Not A Writer

Alex J. Cavanaugh

Angela Brown

Kim Mullican

Tricia Kristufek

Lynda Young

Tina Bennett

Bethany Lopez

Nancy Thompson

Fabio Bueno

Laura Barnes

Tracy James-Jones

Callie Leuck

Catrina Barton

Veronica Morfi
Sarah Allen
TeamNerd Reviews 
Fangirlish

The Radiacs
Book Lover's YA Hideaway
What's on the Bookshelf
Seeing Night Book Reviews
Proud Book Nerd 
Joie De Lire 
Lizzy's Dark Fiction

Please stop by and say "hello" to them. 

Thank you!

Interview on Independent Paranormal

Just a quick note to let you know that Jennifer at Independent Paranormal is hosting me today on her website. Please stop by to say "hello".

I am soooo excited to announce that my book cover is almost ready. It is scheduled to be revealed on August 21st. So stay tuned. Oh, and I hope, fingers crossed, my new author website will be up and running by then. I had to put that project on a back burner to get Forged by Greed ready for publishing. I know, excuses, excuses. But I'm sure you understand. So - without a further delay go visit Jennifer and read a bit about my novel.

Thank you, friends. Your support is always appreciated and needed.

Book Cover Reveal - "Ciao" by Bethany Lopez

I know, I know. I was supposed to move to my new website and close the doors to this blog for good. But I'm still hanging out here. Heh. The website WILL be ready soon. I decided to put it on a back burner to concentrate on finishing my novel. And I did! Last weekend!


But today I am not going to talk about my novel. Instead, I want to present to you a brand new, shiny cover for Bethany Lopez's book, "Ciao". Congratulations, Bethany. You rock!

 
First, I would like you to "meet"  the author. So, here's her bio:

Bethany Lopez was born in Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in Michigan and San Antonio, Texas. She went to High School at Dearborn High, in Dearborn, Michigan, which is where she has set her Young Adult novels. She is married and has a blended family with five children. She is currently serving in the United States Air Force as a Recruiter in Los Angeles, California. She has always loved to read and write and has seen her dream realized by independently publishing her contemporary Young Adult series, Stories about Melissa. Ta Ta for Now! and xoxoxo are available now. Book three, Ciao, will be released in Aug 2012.



And now, I have a short synopsis for Ciao, the third book in Bethany's contemporary Young Adult series, Stories About Melissa.


Book Three in the Stories About Melissa Series.

Melissa has had a fantastic summer hanging out with her friends and making new ones. Life as she knows it will change when they all come together to begin their sophomore year at Dearborn High. Connections will be made and friendships will be tested. Will Melissa’s family and friends be able to help her through the challenges she will face in the upcoming months?


And the cover:






For the cover of Ciao, Bethany used an original photo, that she took herself. The image is based on one of the scenes in the book.

Isn't that a clever idea?





You can find more about Bethany here, here, here, here, here, and here. So click, click, click, click, click, and click. Make sure you follow Bethany on Facebook (one of those "heres"), Twitter and Pinterest.

Add "Ciao" to your To-Be-Read list on Goodreads (yes, here). "Ciao" is scheduled for a publication on August 2012.



Do you read YA contemporary novels? Have you read any of Bethany's books? If so, what did you like the best about them? If not, will you read them?

Visualize That Setting!

My website is not ready for the big launch just yet, so I decided to post on this good, old blog (not so good, though) today in response to a great post on Diana Murdock's blog, It's All In The Mind's Eye.

Diana explores the concept of literary descriptions in the novels. Some readers definitely rely on heavy descriptions, while others prefer the author allow their own imagination run free. Which category do you belong to? Or maybe you are somewhere in between.

Two excerpts from my upcoming YA paranormal novel are featured in Diana's post. I chose these particular excerpts because of a certain descriptive content, since that's what Diana's post is about. Although my imagination is hard to restrict, I am also a real sucker for good visuals.

Diana is an author of two novels, Again, and soon-to-be released, YA paranormal Souled. You don't want to miss that one, since the book explores an interesting subject of soul attachment.

Now do me a favor and visit Diana's blog. Let me know what you think about the subject. Please leave a comment here and on Diana's post. Thank you!

I Will Be Back. Soon!

I have been working on my YA novel, GREED, for a while. I'm putting the final finishes on it, but the job is still not done. Next comes editing. Immediately after that my wonderful Critique Group Partners (Writers In the Rain) will tear through it work on it, and then the next bout of edits will happen, after which my beta readers will get their copies to chew through. When they review my work, I will edit some more, format and upload it for my readers to enjoy.

Because I need to concentrate all my time and energy on the process described above, I will not be blogging for a while. But wait...

I... Will... Be... Back! And definitely that will happen soon. I am also planning to switch to a different website, and you will know ahead of time where to find me. There will be GREED release announcements, blog tours and contests. So stay tuned.

For now please keep in touch with me via Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Google+ and Pinterest. I will continue visiting as many blogs as I possibly can, but don't cross me off your friends list if you won't hear from me as often as before. Things will get back to "normal" after I'm done with GREED.