Sneak peak inside:
BREAKING GLASS GIVEAWAY:
Giveaway items:
(1) custom pendant like the one pictured on
the book cover
(2) signed ARCS
(1) original
work of Breaking Glass related art created and signed by me.
Showing posts with label Spencer Hill Press. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spencer Hill Press. Show all posts
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
The Great Spencer Hill Press Holiday Cheer-Away Give-Away (contest)
We are giving away three awesome prize bags to three very lucky people.
Just in time for the holiday season, too. Our present to you.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
GRAND PRIZE Holiday Cheer Away Holiday
Giveaway Bag (Not everything is in pic)
Books:
TOUCH OF DEATH
One Spencer Hill Press book (winner's
choice--can include soon to be release selections)
Jewelery:
Bracelet
TOUCH OF DEATH Handcrafted Pendant- www.stainedglasscreationsandbeyond.com
Handcrafted Necklace and Earrings
So Many Books, So Little Time Necklace
Giftcards:
$20 Amazon or Barnes and Nobel (Winner's
Choice)
$15 Starbucks
Two $10 Amazon
Critiques:
First Chapter Critique-Mary Gray
First Chapter Critique-Rhys A Jones
Query Letter Critique-Trisha Wolfe
Cool Stuff:
GUARDIAN T-shirt
BETRAYED Fridge Magnet
Flashlight
Ornaments
Holiday Towel and Potholder
Candy- nom nom nom
Swag:
BREAKING GLASS Handcrafted Bookmark
FINN FINNEGAN Handcrafted Charmed
Bookmark- www.stainedglasscreationsandbeyond.com
PERFECTION
TOUCH OF DEATH
FINN FINNEGAN
BETRAYED
ANGELINA'S SECRET
COPPER GIRL
OTHER TREE
PODs
SECOND PRIZE Holiday Cheer Away Holiday
Giveaway Bag (not everything is in pic)
Books:
ANGELINA'S SECRET - 1st edition signed
copy
Jewelery:
Bracelet
TOUCH OF DEATH Handcrafted Pendant- www.stainedglasscreationsandbeyond.com
Earrings
Giftcards:
$10 Amazon or Barnes and Nobel (Winner's
Choice)
$15 Starbucks
$10 Amazon
Critiques:
First Chapter Critique-Trisha Wolfe
First Chapter Critique (2500 Words Max)-Elizabeth
Langston
Query Letter Critique-Kimberly Ann
Miller
Cool Stuff:
BETRAYED Fridge Magnet
Flashlight
Ornaments
Holiday Towel and Potholder
Candy- NOM NOM NOM
Swag:
FINN FINNEGAN Handcrafted Charmed
Bookmark- www.stainedglasscreationsandbeyond.com
PERFECTION
TOUCH OF DEATH
FINN FINNEGAN
BETRAYED
ANGELINA'S SECRET
COPPER GIRL
OTHER TREE
PODs
THIRD PRIZE Holiday Cheer Away Holiday
Giveaway
Critiques:
First five pages--Sarah Guillory
First 250 word-DK Mok
Either query or first 250 word critique (your choice)--Michelle Pickett
Please note: The giveaway is from Dec. 3rd to Dec. 16
Open to US and Canadian Residents only. Sorry to all our international friends.
Friday, November 2, 2012
The making of the EXTRACTED , (The Lost Imperials Book One) cover and cover reveal
The Making of the EXTRACTED cover.
What you're about to watch below is a sped up version of the full cover for EXTRACTED taking shape before your eyes. It is composed of about 25 high resolution images on 57 different layers put together in the program Photoshop. In Photoshop a layer interacts with the layer below in very specific ways, sometimes blending or inverting and sometimes masking parts of the image you want to hide. I am continually learning new tricks! Working in Photoshop is a little like being a wizard as you can make almost anything your mind can dream up a reality--and create something that surprises even you.
Now that you'd watched the cover unfold, want to know a little about the amazing EXTRACTED?
The
Tesla Institute is a premier academy that trains young time travelers
called Rifters. Created by Nicola Tesla, the Institute seeks special
individuals who can help preserve the time stream against those who try
to alter it.
The
Hollows is a rogue band of Rifters who tear through time with little
care for the consequences. Armed with their own group of lost
teens--their only desire to find Tesla and put an end to his corruption
of the time stream.
Torn between them are Lex and Ember, two Rifters with no memories of their life before joining the time war.
When
Lex’s girlfriend dies during a mission, the only way he can save her is
to retrieve the Dox, a piece of tech which allows Rifters to re-enter
their own timeline without collapsing the time stream. But the Dox is
hidden deep within the Telsa Institute, which means Lex must go into the
enemy camp. It’s there he meets Ember, and the past that was stolen
from them both comes flooding back.
Now armed with the truth of who they are, Lex and Ember must work together to save the future before the battle for time destroys them both…again.
Extracted: The Lost Imperials (Book One)
by Sherry D. Ficklin & Tyler H. Jolley
to be released by Spencer Hill Press (www.spencerhillpress.com)
on 11/12/13 (cool date for a time-travel book, eh?)
Formats: Paper, e-book
Here are all the EXTRACTED links you'll ever want:
Visit the Lost Imperials Facebook page at:
website:
and find Sherry Ficklin on Goodreads at:
Now, you may think I'm silly, but my cover even makes me want to read this more.
A cover designer strives to encapsulate the essence of the book into a memorable design combining distinctive images and typography. To do this, the artist must take the time to try and understand the atmosphere and style of the book as well as the target audience's tastes (since this is a marketing essential). A good cover creates a sort of "brand" for the book and constructs a framework for the reader to immerse themselves in. Authors understand this instinctively, and if the result is to their liking, are happy to embrace the artist's work as representative of their own creation. As an author myself, it is the greatest honor when another writer feels my design exemplifies their work.
If you want to learn more about my cover designs and follow new releases as they are revealed, you can visit my Facebook cover designer page at:
http://www.facebook.com/LisaAmowitzCoverDesigns
If you are interested in my forthcoming books from Spencer Hill Press,
BREAKING GLASS, July 2013 and VISION, May 2014 you can visit my Facebook author page at:
or my Goodreads author page at:
You can add BREAKING GLASS to your reading list on Goodreads, too. (and hopefully EXTRACTED will be on there soon as well).
Monday, October 8, 2012
My adventures in book cover design
Cover design, the way we do it at SHP, is a fascinating process. At SHP, it's a collaboration between the editor, the author and me. We really listen to what the author wants and try to represent the spirit of the book as authentically as possible. It's an incredibly exciting process. In some cases, I've only been given the blurb, as in the case with AWOKEN. In other cases, I've read the whole manuscript. It really depends on how long it takes me to grasp the fundamentals of the book.
It took a lot of comps for me to get this book right. I really had no idea how to portray this rather complex tale. Below, I've posted the final comp that became the cover you see above. What we do is find low rez images from stock photography houses and play around with them until we capture the right mojo. I've yet to set up a photo shoot, though SHP is open to that possibility. I guess it's my roots as an illustrator that drives me to combine multiple images to get the effect I am looking for. And of course, the final touch is the typography, something all my students at BCC know I am absolutely adamant and exacting about. (I give some of them type nightmares). For the final, the high rez images are purchased, and then the cover has to be rebuilt from scratch to look as similar to the comp as possible, and of course, cleaner, crisper and better.
If you want to see more of my cover designs, and keep up to date with new work as it is released, you can check out my page on here, or visit my Facebook designer page at:
http://www.facebook.com/LisaAmowitzCoverDesigns?fref=ts
 |
| This is the final rough comp made of low rez images. You can even see the stock houses watermark if you look closely enough. |
Friday, July 27, 2012
Interview with Jennifer L. Armentrout, YA rising star
From Jennifer's website:Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you've heard about her state aren't true. She is the author of the COVENANT Series (Spencer Hill Press), the LUX Series (Entangled Publishing), and the upcoming YA contemporary mystery/thrillers DON'T LOOK BACK (Disney/Hyperion Fall 2013) and yet untitled book (Disney/Hyperion tentative Fall 2014).
I first heard of Jennifer when I signed with Spencer Hill Press this past February and I was astounded by all of the buzz about her online and the sheer volume of books she had coming out. I wanted to know-who is this woman who has sold fourteen books and why hadn't I heard of her? So staggered was I that I immediately downloaded her free novella from SHP, Daimon from her Covenant series (not to be confused with the mc from her Lux series, Daemon) to see what all the fuss was about. I was really taken in by the pace, the humor and the kick-ass sassiness of her heroine, Alex and bought Half Blood. I liked it, started reading and then got distracted by a million other things and read it a few pages here and there. Then I was lucky enough to get an arc of Obsidian at the BEA and-started reading and was instantly HOOKED. Like could not put down hooked. From the great dialogue to the steaming romance, to the coolness factor of a love story between an alien and an ordinary gir—to be honest, I was surprised how much I did love it. I went on to read Pure, book #2 in Covenant and downloaded Shadows, the very touching and heartbreaking prequel to Obsidian which helped me to understand exactly why Daemon acts like such a jerk. Am I a fan girl yet? You bet I am--and I even met Jennifer at BEA, know she is a normal human being, and yet..
I've since been trying to figure out why Jennifer's books are as addictive as chocolate ice cream and I have a few ideas.
For one thing, her characters, though perhaps better looking than your average human (or alien) are far from perfect. In Half Blood of the Covenant series, Alexandria has serious anger issues and loves to punch things that piss her off. Her love interest Aiden seems perfect, but isn't sure if he wants to risk everything to be with Alex. Oh, and then there is the narcissistic demi-god Seth, who has all of the best lines. You gotta love him and Alex's love/hate relationship with him.
In Obsidian,Daemon is quite plainly, uber-hot, but obnoxious, and Kat is kind of a lovable nerd and book blogger who is no shrinking violet. So while the characters are a bit larger than life, they also have very distinctive personalities which comes through in their behavior and dialogue.
Her plots are breakneck exciting. You never know what's coming.
Then there is the humor. All of Jennifer's characters have great lines, and I often found myself guffawing out loud. Okay—I'm too lazy to point any out—so you will have to read one or all of her books yourself!
That being said, what I really wanted to explore here is how Jennifer did all of this in such a short amount of time. How any human being writes so much, all of it terrific. I'm not even sure where to start, so bear with me.
1. When did you start writing?
As cliche as this sounds, I've been writing since I was knee high to a grasshopper. I started wit poetry and i really sucked at that. I moved on to writing short stories and then when I was in the 8th and 9th grade, I wrote my first full length novel by longhand. It was called The Forbidden Ones and I'm pretty sure that sucked also. But I've been writing as long as I remember.
2. What was your journey like from aspiring author to published?
It wasn't the typical path. I started off like almost everyone does, searching for an agent for Half-Blood. That book also had about a 1,000 different titles, but I queried about 30 agents before I realized that my query was so bad it was embarrassing. I found the website Query Tracker, which helped me write a good query. Off I that, I got partial and full requests from agents, but after about a 100 queries-- Yes, a 100-- I trunked the book. Meanwhile, I'd been working on Cursed (and guys, always be working on something else). There was this query contest being run by Spencer Hill Press. I entered the Cursed query in their contest, but actually submitted the Half-Blood query to them as a submission. They asked for a partial and then the full, and within a day, they made an offer of publication. I owe pretty much everything to them, because they were willing to take a chance on a book I pretty much put on the shelf. From there, I sold Cursed to SHP (9/2012) and an adult title to Entangled (Unchained 10/2012). Obsidian came next, and around that time I gained representation from one of the agents I'd been Internet stalking the whole time. Through Kevan Lyon, I went out on submission with another YA, a contemporary mystery/thriller that sold to Disney/Hyperion along with another title in a pre-empt. If my path tells aspiring writers anything, there is NO ONE path or traditional path. Things have a way of working out, even if you don't start off like others do.
3. You are a social media genius. Any promotion tips for other authors out there?
Ha. I wouldn't consider myself a genius at it. I like to talk and connect with people, so that helps. Do what you feel comfortable with and don't make it about selling your book. I think where aspiring authors go wrong is that all their tweets and stuff is links to buy their books. It's like they're just robots who tweet buy me links. That's a huge turn off.
4. Tell us about your process. How much time do you spend writing each day?
Writing is my career, so I treat it like one. I dedicate time every day. Every. Day. There really is no such thing as weekends for me. I usually write anywhere from 6 to 10 hours a day. When I start to go cross-eyed or stir crazy, I take a break. There are days when I don't want to write and unless it's a serious case of "I don't wanna" I make myself do it. Setting goals help.
5. How long does it take you to write a book?
It really varies. The quickest I've ever written a book was about 7 days (Obsidian) and the longest it has taken me is about 2 to 3 months. Several things factor into that-- how big the story is, the plot and pacing and if there are issues with that, and if I have other things going on. The story pretty much determines how long it will take.
Thanks for having me!
You are so welcome Jennifer! It's been a pleasure.
If you would like to learn more about Jennifer and the worlds she has created, visit her at:
http://www.jenniferarmentrout.com/
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