Wednesday Flourish: Tempest

Happy Hump Day Everyone!

I'm really excited today to reveal the cover for the third book in the Wings of War series by Karen Ann Hopkins, Tempest. I'm not going to say very much about our process in developing this third cover because I'm going to be doing a cover evolution post with Tempest on Friday, so you'll get to see the step by step process there:)

Before I share the cover though, here's a quick reminder of the first two books, Embers and Gaia:

Each of the books in this series focuses on a different element, with protagonist Ember learning how to wield fire in Embers and control earth in Gaia, so Karen and I wanted the wings to reflect the focal element of each book. What's the element for Tempest you ask? You might have an inkling based on the title. WATER. And this cover is definitely my favorite of the series, so I hope you guys love it as much as Karen and I do!

Ember must stop the apocalypse from happening, but at what cost?

The Angels of destruction have arrived, and only Ember stands in the way of their mission to carry out God’s wrath and annihilate His enemies.

When the barrier between celestial creatures and humans beings is broken and Angels descend to Earth, Ember soon learns there’s a fine line between good and evil. As she faces a world full of monsters and magic, a terrifying darkness rises and threatens to destroy everything she’s fighting for.

In the riveting third installment of The Wings of War series, Ember and her friends embark on an epic journey, where unlikely allies are forged and age-old beliefs crumble to dust. And just when Ember accepts love in her life, it’s ripped away from her in the most terrifying way possible.

Goodreads

Tempest releases late January 2016

Find Embers:

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Find Gaia:

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Wednesday Flourish: Gaia Cover Reveal + Giveaway

Today I'm more than a little excited to be a part of the cover reveal for Gaia by Karen Ann Hopkins, the second book in her paranormal YA Wings of War series. I've had the pleasure of working on several projects with Karen, and I have more and more fun each time.

I've found that designing for sequels is far trickier than designing for book one (much as writing them would be I'm sure) because I have to create something new but still make sure it fits within the aesthetic established in the previous design. I absolutely adored the cover for Embers, so I spent a long time staring at a blank page trying to figure out how to make Gaia equally successful (to me) while ensuring it checked all the Wings of War design boxes.

Karen is someone who always has a clear idea of what she's looking for in her covers, pointing me in the right direction and then letting me take her must-have imagery and run with it. Since protagonist Ember's control over one of the elements is a focal point of each book (fire for Embers and earth for Gaia), I wanted to make sure that element was prominent and instantly recognizable in the design. It's possible I love the cover for Gaia even more than Embers, and I hope you guys love it as well!

GAIA

Watchers and Angels are at war. Which side will Ember choose?

As the apocalypse draws near, Demons are becoming bolder and Watchers are joining forces to fight them. But the Watchers have their own agenda, one that defies Biblical scripture. They don’t want the rapture to happen, making them enemies of the Celestial Host.

Against her own better judgment and an impassioned plea from a higher being, Embers stays true to her first mentor, seeking out a powerful earth Watcher to continue her supernatural lessons. Ember has had a glimpse into the future and knows what’s coming. She is being forced to develop her powers as quickly as possible, to fight the dark forces that are spreading across the earth. Heaven’s sentinels have abandoned their posts to prepare for war. And the walls between the planes of existence are weakening. But who can Ember trust? Her guardian and lover is a Demon. Her best friend is a growler. And her mentor is a psychopath. Humankind is on the precipice; at the end of times. As Ember struggles with morality, she soon discovers that there’s something more frightening than anything she’s faced before.

Goodreads 

Excited about Gaia? Then be sure and sign up to be a part of the blog tour in August! 

EMBERS

There are descendants of angels walking among us. Ember is one of them. And she may be the only hope mankind has as the rapture approaches and evil rises.

Embers is an epic paranormal adventure about an eighteen year old girl who discovers that she's immune to fire and any other injury when she’s in a horrific car crash that kills her parents. Following a violent episode with her aunt's boyfriend, Ember flees Ohio to live with an old relative in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Ember's exuberance at escaping a bad home life soon turns to trepidation when she finds out that she's a Watcher, a descendant of angels. While Ember learns about her heritage and the powers that go along with it, she strikes up friendships with two young men who live in a frightening walled compound in the forest. Inexplicitly drawn to one of the men in particular, an impossible romance develops. But it is cut short when Ember discovers that her new friends are fighting on the opposite side of a war—one that’s been raging between two factions of Watchers for thousands of years. When the compound’s inhabitants threaten the townspeople, Ember takes action, sealing her fate in the ancient battle of good versus evil—and the grayness in between. Ember is up to the challenge, until she realizes that she isn’t only fighting for the lives of the locals and the souls of her new friends. She also might be one of the few champions who will make a stand for all of mankind as the rapture approaches and the end of days begin.

Embers is a dark and gritty YA novel that’s the first book in the series, The Wings of War.

Goodreads • Amazon

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KAREN ANN HOPKINS

Karen Ann Hopkins resides in northern Kentucky with her family on a farm that boasts a menagerie of horses, goats, peacocks, chickens, ducks, rabbits, dogs and cats. Karen's main job is home schooling the kids, but she finds time to give riding lessons, coach a youth equestrian drill team, and of course, write. She was inspired to create her first book, Temptation, by the Amish community she lived in. The experiential knowledge she gained through her interactions with her neighbors drove her to create the story of the star-crossed lovers, Rose and Noah.

Karen grew up about a mile from Lake Ontario in Upstate New York. She was bitten by the horse bug at the age of five, and after diligently taking riding lessons for several years, was rewarded with her first horse when she turned eleven. The feisty horse's name was Lady, a Quarter Horse-Thoroughbred cross, who became Karen's steadfast companion. Through the years, the constant force in her life was horses. Eventually, she found her place as a riding instructor herself. Before accepting her fate in the barnyard, she worked a short stint as a paralegal, traveled abroad, and guided tourists on horseback riding tours in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.

Karen is currently working on her Amish mystery series, Serenity's Plain Secrets, along with the YA paranormal/fantasy series, The Wings of War.  Karen is also excited to announce the Temptation series has been optioned for TV by Pilgrim Studios and is available on Audible. More books in the Temptation series are in the works.

Website • Blog • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads

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GIVEAWAY

One lucky winner will receive a $25 gift card (Amazon, B&N, iTunes), and three winners will each receive a paperback copy of EMBERS (book one)! Please enter via the Rafflecopter form. Giveaway is open internationally.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway: Karen Ann Hopkins

I've had the pleasure of working with author Karen Ann Hopkins over the past year on a number of her covers, so I'm thrilled today to bring you guys a very special giveaway. Tomorrow will see the reveal of the fourth book in her hugely popular Temptation series (fear not those of you who haven't read the first three, this fourth installment is a spinoff and can be read as a standalone!), so as a sort of pre-celebration Karen is generously offering up signed copies of Lamb to the Slaughter, Whispers from the Dead and Embers to two lucky winners.

And for all you audiobook lovers out there, the first three books in the Temptation series will be on sale at Audible on April 21st, so be sure and pre-order! I'll have a sample of the audiobook to share with you tomorrow along with the reveal of Rachel's Deception.

For now though, enter to win two fantastic adult murder mysteries as well as the first of Karen's YA paranormal series!

LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER

Lamb to the Slaughter is a story about the intertwining lives of three unlikely people in an Indiana Amish Community and the devastating results when a rebellious teenage girl is found shot to death in a corn field during the harvest.

Serenity Adams is the newly elected young sheriff in the country town of Blood Rock and besides dealing with the threatening behavior of her predecessor, she now has a dead Amish girl on her plate.  At first glance, the case seems obvious.  The poor girl was probably accidently shot during hunting season, but when the elders of the Amish community and even the girl’s parents react with uncaring subdued behavior, Serenity becomes suspicious.  As she delves deeper into the secretive community that she grew up beside, she discovers a gruesome crime from the past that may very well be related to the Amish girl’s shooting.

Serenity enlists the help of the handsome bad-boy building contractor, Daniel Bachman, who left the Amish when he was nineteen and has his own dark reasons to help the spunky sheriff solve the crime that the family and friends who shunned him are trying desperately to cover up.  Serenity’s persistence leads her to a stunning discovery that not only threatens to destroy her blossoming romance with Daniel, but may even take her life in the end.

Goodreads • Amazon • B&N

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WHISPERS FROM THE DEAD

 Some Amish communities aren't so cozy.

Whispers From The Dead is the powerful and thrilling sequel to Lamb to the Slaughter, in the Amish mystery series, Serenity’s Plain Secrets.

Sheriff Serenity Adams and Daniel Bachman are once again partnered up in a criminal investigation, when they travel to a northern Amish settlement that has been riddled by arsons for the past two decades. Serenity quickly discovers that there is much more going on than just barns being set on fire in the touristy community, and that the new group of Amish has their own secrets to hide. She begins to unravel an extensive criminal underworld that threatens to destroy everything that the simple people of Poplar Springs hold dear and once again puts her own life in jeopardy.

And even though Serenity tries desperately to avoid it, things begin heating up between her and Daniel, making her wonder if true love and happiness are really within her grasp.

Goodreads • Amazon • B&N

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EMBERS

There are descendants of angels walking among us. Ember is one of them. And she may be the only hope mankind has as the rapture approaches and evil rises.

Embers is an epic paranormal adventure about an eighteen year old girl who discovers that she's immune to fire and any other injury when she’s in a horrific car crash that kills her parents. Following a violent episode with her aunt's boyfriend, Ember flees Ohio to live with an old relative in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Ember's exuberance at escaping a bad home life soon turns to trepidation when she finds out that she's a Watcher, a descendant of angels. While Ember learns about her heritage and the powers that go along with it, she strikes up friendships with two young men who live in a frightening walled compound in the forest. Inexplicitly drawn to one of the men in particular, an impossible romance develops. But it is cut short when Ember discovers that her new friends are fighting on the opposite side of a war—one that’s been raging between two factions of Watchers for thousands of years. When the compound’s inhabitants threaten the townspeople, Ember takes action, sealing her fate in the ancient battle of good versus evil—and the grayness in between. Ember is up to the challenge, until she realizes that she isn’t only fighting for the lives of the locals and the souls of her new friends. She also might be one of the few champions who will make a stand for all of mankind as the rapture approaches and the end of days begin.

Embers is a dark and gritty YA novel that’s the first book in the series, The Wings of War.

Goodreads • Amazon • B&N

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GIVEAWAY

To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway is open to US addresses only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday Flourish: Embers Cover Reveal + Giveaway

Hey Everyone!

Those of you who follow this blog with any frequency might note something a little off about the title of today's post, as usually the word "flourish" accompanies a Friday post wherein I share one of my recent cover designs. Today though, I'm part of a larger cover reveal for Embers, the first book in a new paranormal YA series from Karen Ann Hopkins, so I switched things up a touch and am doing my flourish post on a Wednesday.

I was lucky enough to "meet" Karen when Danny and I worked on the Kismet tours for her YA Temptation series from HarlequinTEEN, and the timing was one of those perfect twists of fate because Karen just happened to be getting ready to self publish Lamb to the Slaughter and was in need of a designer. I was thrilled to have the chance to work with her again on the cover for the first book in this new YA series, and am so in love with the final product.

Let me know what you think in the comments, and don't forget to check the bottom of the post for all the details on a fantastic giveaway!

EMBERS

There are descendants of angels walking among us. Ember is one of them. And she may be the only hope mankind has as the rapture approaches and evil rises.

Embers is an epic paranormal adventure about an eighteen year old girl who discovers that she's immune to fire and any other injury when she’s in a horrific car crash that kills her parents. Following a violent episode with her aunt's boyfriend, Ember flees Ohio to live with an old relative in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Ember's exuberance at escaping a bad home life soon turns to trepidation when she finds out that she's a Watcher, a descendant of angels. While Ember learns about her heritage and the powers that go along with it, she strikes up friendships with two young men who live in a frightening walled compound in the forest. Inexplicitly drawn to one of the men in particular, an impossible romance develops. But it is cut short when Ember discovers that her new friends are fighting on the opposite side of a war—one that’s been raging between two factions of Watchers for thousands of years. When the compound’s inhabitants threaten the townspeople, Ember takes action, sealing her fate in the ancient battle of good versus evil—and the grayness in between. Ember is up to the challenge, until she realizes that she isn’t only fighting for the lives of the locals and the souls of her new friends. She also might be one of the few champions who will make a stand for all of mankind as the rapture approaches and the end of days begin.

Embers is a dark and gritty YA novel that’s the first book in the series, The Wings of War.

Intrigued by Embers? Then be sure and sign up to be a part of the blog tour running from October 20th to November 7th!

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EXCERPT

“How can this be? My hands were closer to the flame than yours, yet mine are all right, and yours are ruined.” I was confused and weak, yet I was still trying to think rationally. 

“I need to get you to a hospital.”

“My dear child, I know this is going to be difficult for you to accept. You have been conditioned your entire life to not believe the things I’m about to tell you, but the truth is in front of you. You can’t deny it now.” Aunt Ila paused and wrinkled her nose as if she was in pain, but she continued to talk.

“The fire can’t harm you, because it’s inside of you. It’s part of your essence, your soul. Of course you know that humans are made up of water, bones, tissue and organs. And you have all those things in your body, but the fire is in there too, just hiding. But it is in there just the same.” She poked her bloody finger into my belly. “That’s why you weren’t injured during that horrible accident. All the others had to try to explain it away somehow, but you knew the truth in your heart all along. You just couldn’t face it or didn’t know how to. You were in the fire and the only thing it did was make you stronger. You are what you are and you can’t deny it.”

Her voice was soft, yet it boomed in my head.

In a shaky voice I asked her, “What am I?”

“A Watcher, my dear—you are a Watcher.” 

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KAREN ANN HOPKINS

A native of New York State, Karen Ann Hopkins now lives with her family on a farm in northern Kentucky, where her neighbors in all directions are members of a strict Amish community. Her unique perspective became the inspiration for the story of star-crossed lovers Rose and Noah. When she’s not homeschooling her kids, giving riding lessons or tending to a menagerie of horses, goats, peacocks, chickens, ducks, rabbits, dogs and cats, she is dreaming up her next romantic novel.

Website • Blog • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads

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GIVEAWAY

Karen is generously offering up a $25 Amazon gift card to one lucky winner! To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter form.

a Rafflecopter giveaway