Friday, May 30, 2014

Cover Reveal: OTHERBORN by Anna Silver


My friend and pub-sister, Anna Silver, has given her debut novel, Otherborn, a little facelift.
And now for the big reveal...

TAA DAA!!!  Pretty, huh?

"In a reprocessed world, London and her friends must dream their way to a New hope."

Title: Otherborn (Otherborn Series, #1)
Author: Anna Silver  -  Publisher: Sapphire Star Publishing  -  Release Date: April 4, 2013
Pages: 290  -  Format: Paperback, ebook
Genre: YA  -  Subgenres: dystopian, science fiction, fantasy

Blurbity blurb:

London and her teenage friends live in a reprocessed world.

Confined within Capital City’s concrete walls, London has done the impossible and the illegal. She’s created something New- a song. But her mentor, club owner Pauly, is not impressed. Since the historic Energy Crisis forced everyone behind walls generations ago, the Tycoons have ensured there is truly nothing new allowed under the sun. Pauly warns London to keep her song to herself, if she knows what’s good for her.

What he doesn’t know is that London is keeping an even bigger secret: she dreams. And she’s not alone. London’s band-mates and friends have begun dreaming as well, seeing themselves in “night pictures” as beings from another world. As Otherborn, they must piece together the story of their astral avatars, the Others, in order to save their world from a dreamless, hopeless future.

When Pauly is murdered and an Otherborn goes missing, London realizes someone is hunting them down. Escaping along the Outroads, they brave the deserted Houselands with only their dreams to guide them. Can they find their friend before the assassin finds them? Will being Otherborn save their lives, or destroy them?

Links:

 
Who's that girl?:

Anna Silver is an author and artist living in the greater Houston area with her family, pets, and overactive imagination. Her art has been featured in the Houston gallery Las Manos Magicas. She studied English Writing & Rhetoric at St. Edward’s University. She's freelanced for private clients and small publications like the Hill Country Current. OTHERBORN, her first published novel, has been featured on 2 of Amazon's "Bestsellers" lists. ASTRAL TIDE is her second published novel.

Find Anna here:

A little horn-tooting:

"Anna Silver weaves a dark new world full of taut suspense and characters that leap off the page." –Sophie Jordan, NYT bestselling author of the Firelight trilogy

"Travel to a world where dreaming is a radical act that can save the world… Anna Silver’s post-apocalyptic vision is rich with imagery and metaphysical ideas, grounded by vivid, three-dimensional characters. A truly fresh take on dystopian." –Nina Berry, author of the OTHERKIN series

“Silver built the right amount of conflict and tension to draw readers into her dystopian world, and created characters who are leery, yet determined to embrace New.” –Natasha Hanova, author of Edge of Truth

Monday, May 26, 2014

Monday, May 12, 2014

And the Nominations Are...OR...I Think God Just Bitch-Slapped Me

So, after a long hiatus, I’m starting to ease back into this whole blogging thing.  I have to make it a part of my schedule again, not easy when there’s so much to be done.  I didn’t count on a health issue getting in the way, but it did, just last week, right as I jumped back into the IWSG.  But at least I have answers to long-nagging questions, and, with proper treatment, I hope to be on the mend soon and back to making the rounds, getting reacquainted with everyone.

In addition to the bad news last week, I did get some good.  My first novel, The Mistaken, was just nominated for 4 eFestival of Words 2014 Best of the Independent eBook Awards—Best Thriller, Best Hero, Best Audiobook, and The Harvey Award.  Cassie Mae told me that last one was for the book voters most want to see made into a movie, which she would know about since her book, Reasons I Fell for the Funny Fat Friend, was also nominated in that category, as well as Best YA.  But she’s not the only one of my bloggy friends whose books were nominated. 

Alex J. Cavanaugh’s CassaStorm was nominated for best Sci-fi, Lisa Regan’s Aberration for Best Novel, Thriller, Villain, and the “I’ve Been Shamyland” Award, Carrie Butler’s Strength  for Best NA and her Mark of Nexus Series for Best Series, Michael Infinito’s 12:19 for Best Horror and In Blog We Trust for the “I’ve Been Shamyland” Award,  Michelle Brownlow’s In Too Deep for Best NA and Best Villain, and Dana Mason’s Dangerous Embrace for Best Romance and Best Mystery/Suspense. 

A few of my Facebook friends were nominated, too, like Kristine Cayne, Julie Richman, Julie Hartnett, and MK Harkins. Even one of the books I edited last year got nominated for best editing, AL Jackson’s If Forever Comes, though my name was mysteriously left off that list. 

All in all, it made my spirits rise a bit while I battle this “profound anemia” I was diagnosed with.  I feel confident that, with successful treatment, I will be back to my old self and bugging all of you once again.


And if you have the chance, I'd LOVE to know what you think of my newly released novel, Leverage, a dark romantic thriller with twists and turns galore! 







Wednesday, May 7, 2014

IWSG - I'm BAAA-AAAACK!


It’s the first Wednesday of the month, time for
Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group!

Wow, it’s been so long, and I’ve missed you all SO much during my rather lengthy hiatus, but it was unavoidable and proved to be very valuable time spent.  The biggest news to come out of my prolonged absence?  

I published my second novel!

Now, this was no easy feat. Once I signed with a small press for my first title, The Mistaken, I was excited to get started on the sequel. Unfortunately, the stars don’t often align and I was disappointed when my publisher closed to all submissions due to the tough economy. That sidetracked me on many levels. I had to take up ALL the slack on promoting my first book while trying to focus on finishing the second, another dark romantic thriller called Leverage. And since it’s a sequel, trying to sell it to another publisher seemed unlikely, so I jumped into the indie pool and self-published Leverage. 

Of course, that’s no easy task when you’re a novice with no extra money. At least, as an editor myself, I knew that aspect was pretty much under control, though I did have an editor friend of mine give it a once over. But I had to do all the formatting myself. Now, for the paperback, it was no problem, but the ebook was something else altogether. I didn’t want to just put my baby through a grinder. I wanted it properly indexed and validated across all venues, so doing all that code stuff was a tad daunting.

Next, the cover! I had commissioned original artwork, but the timing didn’t work out, so I went the stock photo route and prayed Carrie Butler at Forward Authority Design Services could help me out, and boy did she ever! Just look at this puppy! Obviously, this is the paperback cover. The ebook consists of the front portion only.

Isn't it Purty?!!



I seriously couldn’t be happier. Carrie Butler produced exactly what I asked for and in record time, which was important because, while I had said I would launch May 20th so it would coincide with my first blog tour, I needed to release on Amazon Kindle by May 1st if I wanted to enter Kindle Book Review’s 2014 Best Kindle Book Awards. And WHEW, I made it!

While I do have to spend some time this week listing it on Kobo and Barnes & Noble, I feel pretty good. The early reviews are outstanding and, so far, I have a perfect 5-star rating on Amazon.  Even The Mistaken still rates 4.6 stars on 115 reviews. I’m doing okay and look forward to my first tour in a few weeks. And hey, if you’re interested in joining the tour, Book Plug Promotions has prepared this Google Doc for sign-ups. I hope it’s still open, but I’m not entirely sure. I do have another coming up August, so if you’re interested in that one, contact Nazarea Andrews at Inkslinger PR

Okay, you might be wondering what my point is here. Well, as I’ve lamented here before, I find all this publishing stuff, especially the marketing, immensely intimidating, but, with the help of my, many of whom I’ve met here, I’ve more than just muddled through. I still have a long way to go, but, geez, if I can do it, anyone can!