Revealing the cover for A FORGERY OF ROSES!
In This Issue:
NEWS - A Forgery of Roses cover reveal - exclusive sneak peek for newsletter subscribers!
NEWS - A Forgery of Roses is available for preorder!
Updates from My Laptop
Book Rec of the Month - The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones
NEWS - A Forgery of Roses cover reveal - exclusive sneak peak for newsletter subscribers!
The final cover for A Forgery of Roses is being revealed on my website and social media outlets to the general public tomorrow (Friday, June 25), but, as promised, my lucky newsletter subscribers get to see it early! Thank you so much for subscribing and tagging along on this bookish journey with me!
I'm seriously SO excited for you all to see this cover. I absolutely adore it! Also, do make sure to pop on over to my Instagram account tomorrow if you want to catch the trailer video that was made to reveal the cover!
Also, as this is an exclusive sneak peek only for subscribers, PLEASE do not share this elsewhere and spoil the public reveal tomorrow. This is for your eyes only!
You ready?
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AAAAAAAH!!! IT'S HERE!
The art team at Inkyard absolutely blew me away from the very first iteration of this cover. We started discussing my vision for it back around Christmastime. I didn't have a clear vision of what I wanted, but I knew it needed to have a dark, gothic feel with an artistic elegance to fit the story. I sent them photos of roses and wrought iron fences and things like that, and they ran with it. When this beauty landed in my inbox, I gasped out loud and then squealed. I love it SO much and can't wait to share it with the whole world tomorrow!
AND, now that you've gotten a glimpse of a cover, I'm sure you'd like to know what exactly the book is about, yes? So, without further ado, here is the official jacket copy:
Myra Whitlock has a gift. One many would kill for.
She’s an artist whose portraits alter people’s real-life bodies, a talent she must hide from those who would kidnap, blackmail, and worse in order to control it. Guarding that secret is the only way to keep her younger sister safe now that their parents are gone.
But one frigid night, the governor’s wife discovers the truth and threatens to expose Myra if she does not complete a special portrait that would resurrect the governor's dead son. Desperate, Myra ventures to his legendary stone mansion.
Once she arrives, however, it becomes clear the boy’s death was no accident. Someone dangerous lurks within these glittering halls. Someone harboring a disturbing obsession with portrait magic.
Myra cannot do the painting until she knows what really happened, so she turns to the governor’s older son, a captivating redheaded poet. Together, they delve into the family’s most shadowed affairs, racing to uncover the truth before the secret Myra spent her life concealing makes her the killer’s next victim.
From Sing Me Forgotten author Jessica S. Olson comes a gothic fantasy murder mystery perfect for fans of Kerri Maniscalco and Erin A. Craig.
If that sounds like something you'd enjoy, make sure to add it on Goodreads so that you don't miss out on giveaways and other fun news!
NEWS - A Forgery of Roses is officially available for preorder!
I am so excited to share that A Forgery of Roses is now available for preorder at most book retailers (to preorder, click HERE)! You can preorder the hardcover, ebook, or audiobook anytime between now and the book's release date (March 1, 2022). Make sure to hang on to your receipts or snap screenshots of your proof of purchase, because we'll be running another preorder campaign for this book just like we did for Sing Me Forgotten. Information about that will be announced closer to release!
Updates from My Laptop
Wow, things have been a whirlwind since Sing Me Forgotten released. (Can you believe it's been three and a half MONTHS? Because I definitely can't!) I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you who preordered or purchased the book, requested from your library, told your friends, left reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, and attended my virtual tour events. I couldn't have imagined that Sing Me Forgotten would be read and enjoyed by so many. And thank you thank you thank you to the many readers who have sent me messages telling me how much my little Phantom story meant to you--I cannot express how encouraging those kinds of emails are as I keep plugging away at this writing thing. It definitely makes all the sleepless nights and the worries of am-I-good-enough feel worth it!
I officially turned in copy edits for A Forgery of Roses a few weeks ago, which is mind-boggling to me. It's off being formatted by the Inkyard team to have Advance Readers Copies (ARCs) printed, which should be going out to reviewers as soon as mid-July! How are we already to this point with my sophomore novel? It honestly feels like I just barely revealed SMF's cover!
As for what I'm working on, I'm plugging away on what I'm hoping will be my third novel. It is proving to be my most difficult and complex book yet, and I'm constantly terrified that I'm not a good enough author to pull off the intricate plot I have in my outline or the mind-blowing vision for the story I have in my head. I've been working on this book for over a year now in between FORGERY edits and SMF release shenanigans, and I still haven't quite completed the first draft--it's been that difficult for me to detangle. But I have a strong outline and a solid plan for how it'll go. I've also been dealing with some personal and medical goings-on in my own life that have forced me to slow way down on the writing. It's been tricky learning how to forgive myself for not writing ALL THE WORDS every day, and I'm working on giving myself grace and allowing myself to be a bit slower on this book. Life goes in phases, and I'm learning to accept that not every phase of my life will allow me to churn out full drafts in six weeks or less like I did with FORGERY. :)
I just keep clinging to this wise reminder from one of my favorite authors, V.E. Schwab: All stories are written one word at a time.
It doesn't matter if this story takes me several more months to get all the way down. Whether I add a thousand words in a day or only a dozen. As long as I keep showing up, keep adding words when I can, the book will get written, the story will get told. And that's what matters.
Book Rec of the Month - The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones
I've had so many friends rave to me about this book for months, so it was high time I finally picked it up last month! I'm so glad I did! I was a little hesitant about this one since I don't like horror and I'm easily scared, so a story about zombies seemed like it wouldn't be for me. However, I was pleased to discover that this story doesn't read like horror at all, but rather much more like a fairytale. I wasn't scared once. The story was much more about magic and lore, and I really enjoyed it. I think my favorite part was the super endearing undead goat named Goat. Hahaha so much fun.
Here's the story:
Seventeen-year-old Aderyn ("Ryn") only cares about two things: her family, and her family's graveyard. And right now, both are in dire straits. Since the death of their parents, Ryn and her siblings have been scraping together a meager existence as gravediggers in the remote village of Colbren, which sits at the foot of a harsh and deadly mountain range that was once home to the fae. The problem with being a gravedigger in Colbren, though, is that the dead don't always stay dead.
The risen corpses are known as "bone houses," and legend says that they're the result of a decades-old curse. When Ellis, an apprentice mapmaker with a mysterious past, arrives in town, the bone houses attack with new ferocity. What is it that draws them near? And more importantly, how can they be stopped for good?
Together, Ellis and Ryn embark on a journey that will take them deep into the heart of the mountains, where they will have to face both the curse and the long-hidden truths about themselves.
Order it on:
Amazon, BookDepository, IndieBound, Barnes & Noble, or Books-A-Million
And make sure to add it on Goodreads!
That about wraps up June's newsletter! Thank you so much for supporting me both with Sing Me Forgotten and now with A Forgery of Roses! Hopefully next month I'll be able to give you information on how to get your hands on Forgery ARCs and things like that. So fun!
Also, if you have read Sing Me Forgotten but haven't yet left a review of it on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or any of the other sites, I'd super appreciate it if you popped on over to leave a note to help other readers find their way to Isda and Emeric's story! And for those of you who already have left reviews, THANK YOU! You're my favorite people ever. :)