Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Leal's Return: welcoming new and returning cast
It's exciting to think that with this book we're welcoming a whole new cast as well as some returning cast from CWP. One of the biggest struggles I had writing Shadows and Embers was getting along with Leal enough so that we could agree on something. By the end of it all we got together well, and now it's sad to think that once again with the next book in this series I will be saying goodbye to Leal. I really enjoyed writing this book, had certain songs I played on repeat through certain chapters, and at the end I was eager for the next part of the story. As I've mentioned, though, the third book is not for either Celestria or Leal to tell. I will be revealing the main character and the title of the third book later on; I don't know exactly when yet.
For now I'd like to focus on the present.
What was surprising with this book (and not originally planned) was that a new villain came about. So besides the new cast, including members of Destin we've never met before, there is also a new villain who rises and threatens the Dark magicians.
Something else you might have noticed is that all of the promos have had the same female model, who as I said earlier represents Nicia. I realize this is Leal's story, and I'm not trying to shine the light away from him, but I think he would have liked for people to see this was as much her story as it was his. No one in Destin had an easy life, and certainly did not simplify once the downfall of Dark magicians occur.
Lastly, I leave the interpretation of the title up to the readers. For different people it will mean different things. For me personally I chose it for several different reasons, but one of the main ones being because Leal mentioned seeing himself and other Dark magicians as "shadows and flames," and in all honestly I think he was right. (Specifically the quote was "In the darkness we are shadows; in the daylight we are flames.") He saw that the world viewed Dark magicians in a negative way, and thus the way he described them was not far-fetched. Again, though, this is not the only reasoning for the title for the sequel.
That's all for now. I'll be later on this week when I have more to share. For now enjoy the summer while it lasts, and remember to read some good books!
Lindsey R. Sablowski
Posted by Lindsey Richardson at 9:27 AM 0 comments
Friday, July 26, 2013
RELEASE DAY: Shadows and Embers
I'll admit that in the ten months it took to get this book to publication I had my fair share of doubts and then some. I had originally hoped for a spring release, yet here we are late summer with the actual release. Even so, I'm actually glad that I waited and put more time into the book. A lot of fans and readers have been telling me how eager they are to read this second book, so I'm excited and anxious to hear what you guys think now that you can actually get a copy.
Anyways, a huge thank you to everyone who helped me make it this far. I dedicated this second book to my boyfriend, Eric, because he has been so supportive of my work and never stopped believing in me even when I was ready to give up. Hope everyone enjoys this book; remember to send in pictures when you buy a copy -just like we did with CWP.
We'll be talking more about the development of the book and other aspects throughout the month.
Lindsey R. Sablowski
Posted by Lindsey Richardson at 10:03 AM 0 comments
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Last day to Pre-Order
First off I want to thank everyone for their patience and continuous support for the upcoming sequel, Shadows and Embers. My proof arrived today, and though it's not officially the first copy of the book it is the first hard copy I've been able to hold with my hands. It's always a really great feeling when you can finally hold your book in your hands and say "I wrote this." I apologize that the pictures above are a bit fuzzy; I took them with my phone and the room wasn't bright enough to show it off well. I'll be posting better pictures later tonight or tomorrow.
Also, you can now add Shadows and Embers to your Goodreads bookshelf. The links that lead to Amazon and so forth where you can buy the book do not work yet since the book has not released, but they'll be working tomorrow.
As for release day, the book will be releasing in paperback format as well as Kindle. Nook format will be coming on when I purchase expanded distribution. Paperback costs $12.99, and remember for a limited time now the first book in the series, Cursed With Power, is at a discounted price of $17.06 on Amazon.
Fun facts about the book that you might not now:
- The book was first titled New Life based on the promises Celestria and Leal made to each other in CWP. Then the title was changed to Punished With Destiny, and was finally altered to Shadows and Embers which made it all the way through to publication.
- The second book was always intended to be Leal's story.
- Nicia, Leal's best friend in the book, was originally not meant to become anything more than a minor character. It was a bit shaky as to whether she would even have any role after part one, but in the final versions she made it all the way through and earned a role as a major character.
- Originally Leal was meant to be on the cover of the book, but instead Nicia won him over -and perhaps the real story behind that is in the ending of this book.
- SandE is split into two parts -the first focusing on Leal's life in Destin, and the second focusing on his life after the events where CWP ended.
Posted by Lindsey Richardson at 10:22 AM 0 comments
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
COVER REVEAL for Shadows and Embers
It's finally Tuesday, and you know what that means: cover reveal time! Ten months ago I finally became a published author with my first book, Cursed With Power. Since September of 2012 I have been working hard on Shadows and Embers, the sequel to CWP. It hasn't been easy, and some nights it takes more than just a bit of determination to get everything done, but release day is only 10 days away and everything is finally coming together.
So now without any further of a wait, here's the cover you've been waiting for....
Posted by Lindsey Richardson at 10:51 AM 0 comments
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Upcoming: COVER REVEAL for Shadows and Embers
I have some very exciting news that I decided on today and am eager to share with you. As you might have already heard, the official cover for Shadows and Embers has been finished for quite a while now. It brings me great pleasure to announce that the date for the official cover reveal has been decided -and you're invited to join!
It's official!
The official cover reveal for Shadows and Embers (sequel to Cursed With Power) will be on Tuesday, July 16th. For the first time the official cover as well as the summary for the book will be revealed -and with your help! The cover reveal will be taking place on various social network websites, including Blogger, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and more. For those of you interested in revealing the cover via Twitter please use #SandEReveal in your tweets (this same hashtag can also be used on Instagram and Tumblr). Facebook friends, you can either share the cover reveal you see of SandE onto your timeline or post the image as your own status and share with your friends -remember to include the summary with the cover!
There will be prizes
If enough people are willing to participate in the cover reveal, there will be a prize for whoever pulls off the best reveal. Maybe this simply means just presenting the information in an accurate and interesting way or becoming creative, but it's up to you to show off the book to your friends and viewers. The top prize will include a FREE signed copy of the book (upon release) as well as a signed bookmark. If there's anything extra I can add in it'll be announced a little later on.
And the RELEASE DATE will be....
Along with the cover reveal, I will also be revealing the official release date for Shadows and Embers. This will be including in all posts and etc. that include the cover reveal, so make sure to share it with your friends so they know when to expect the book. This also means pre-ordering will become available after the cover reveal. Anyone who pre-orders the book will receive a signed copy, so this is definitely an opportunity you don't want to miss.
Are you a shadow or an ember?
I hope you join us on July 16th, and remember the cover reveal will be going on all day -so it's never too late to join in on the fun. I'm really looking forward to this and would love to have your support. We didn't have a cover reveal for CWP, but I'm really hoping it works out for the best for this second book.
If you're interested please contact me (by whatever means is easiest for you) and I'll send you all of the necessary details.
Until then here's a sneak peak at the new bookmarks that have arrived. The one on the left is for CWP and the one on the right is for Shadows and Embers (it's on the reverse side so you can't look at the cover yet -sorry!).
And then the black and white sides are showing both the reverse sides to each bookmark (left is CWP and right is SandE). Remember to come out and say hello this Saturday at BookFestPA -see you there!
Lindsey R. Sablowski
Posted by Lindsey Richardson at 1:23 PM 0 comments