Wednesday Flourish (+ Giveaway!): Memories of Ash

Hey Everyone!

It's going to be a double-Flourish kind of week this week, so I hope you guys don't mind me bombarding you with new cover designs! The cover I'm featuring today was actually completed back in 2014, so I'd just like to take a moment to pat myself on the back for not sharing it the minute it was approved. Patience is not my strong suit when it comes to things I'm excited about, so the past year and a half has been a real test. *rewards self with chocolate and cookies*

BUT TODAY IS THE DAY! Finally I get to share with you the cover for Memories of Ash, the sequel to Intisar Khanani's YA fantasy novel Sunbolt. Sunbolt (and Intisar herself) will always have a special place in my heart as it was my first commissioned cover, and I can't thank Intisar enough for taking a chance on me after only seeing a few of my cover redesigns on the blog. Since Sunbolt, I've done nearly 100 covers, something I never dreamed possible before I received Intisar's inquiry. Thank you, Intisar, for helping me launch my dream!

Now that I've digressed and gotten all mushy on you, let's get back to the reveal shall we? First, a reminder of the cover for Sunbolt:

And now Memories of Ash!

In the year since she cast her sunbolt, Hitomi has recovered only a handful of memories. But the truths of the past have a tendency to come calling, and an isolated mountain fastness can offer only so much shelter. When the High Council of Mages summons Brigit Stormwind to stand trial for treason, Hitomi knows her mentor won’t return—not with Arch Mage Blackflame behind the charges.
 
Armed only with her magic and her wits, Hitomi vows to free her mentor from unjust imprisonment. She must traverse spell-cursed lands and barren deserts, facing powerful ancient enchantments and navigating bitter enmities, as she races to reach the High Council. There, she reunites with old friends, planning a rescue equal parts magic and trickery.
 
If she succeeds, Hitomi will be hunted the rest of her life. If she fails, she’ll face the ultimate punishment: enslavement to the High Council, her magic slowly drained until she dies.

Pre-order Memories of Ash!

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 Intisar is running a very special pre-order campaign for Memories of Ash, so I'll let her tell you all about it!

Not only is the pre-order of Memories of Ash on sale for only 99 cents, but anyone who buys the pre-order will receive a free digital art print of Hitomi by artist Grace Fong. Just email your proof of purchase to moapreorder@gmail.com!
 

Haven't read Sunbolt (Book 1) yet? It's been knocked down to just 99 cents to celebrate the release and is available at most major e-retailers. That's two fantastic books for less than a cuppa joe.

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GIVEAWAY

 

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Cover Reveal + Giveaway: Thorn

Cover reveals are always fun for me because I'm mildly obsessed with photography, typography and graphic design, and I just love getting that first taste of a book through the artwork on the cover. Today's reveal is particularly exciting for me though because I had the great pleasure of working with author Intisar Khanani to create the design. I was lucky enough to collaborate with her on Sunbolt, the first book in her Sunbolt Chronicles series, so when she asked me to design the cover for Thorn I jumped at the chance.

Below the cover you'll also find a short excerpt and all the details on a fabulous giveaway. I hope you guys like the cover as much as I do, I was beyond thrilled with the final product!

THORN
(Young Adult Fantasy)

For Princess Alyrra, choice is a luxury she’s never had … until she’s betrayed.

Princess Alyrra has never enjoyed the security or power of her rank. Between her family’s cruelty and the court’s contempt, she has spent her life in the shadows. Forced to marry a powerful foreign prince, Alyrra embarks on a journey to meet her betrothed with little hope for a better future.

But powerful men have powerful enemies—and now, so does Alyrra. Betrayed during a magical attack, her identity is switched with another woman’s, giving Alyrra the first choice she’s ever had: to start a new life for herself or fight for a prince she’s never met. But Alyrra soon finds that Prince Kestrin is not at all what she expected. While walking away will cost Kestrin his life, returning to the court may cost Alyrra her own. As Alyrra is coming to realize, sometimes the hardest choice means learning to trust herself.

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EXCERPT

“Princess Alyrra,” the king says. My eyes flick up to his, my legs frozen in their curtsy. He studies me as if I were a prize goat, his gaze sliding over me before returning to my face, as cold and calculating as a butcher. “We have heard tell of you before.”

“My lord?” My voice sounds unnaturally high even to me.

“It is said you are honest. An unusual trait, it would seem.”

I open my mouth, close it, force some semblance of a smile to my lips. My brother has gone rigid, his hands pressed flat against his thighs.

“You are most kind,” my mother says, stepping forward. The king watches me a moment longer, leaving my mother waiting. I cannot say what he thinks, why he would mention something sure to raise old grievances, why he would care. Or is he only toying with us? Laughing at us?

He turns to my mother, offering her a courtly smile, and at her words he accompanies her up the three stairs and through the great wooden doors of our Hall. My brother and I trail behind him, a mix of our nobles and the king’s entourage on our heels.

“Honest Alyrra,” my brother mocks, his voice loud enough for those nearest us to hear. “What a very clever, sophisticated princess you must be.”

I bite my lip. It is going to be a long week, watching my back and hiding down corridors. And with so many guests, the wine and ale will flow freely, which will make things even worse. Just leave, I think at the king’s back. Just go home and leave us alone.

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INTISAR KHANANI

Intisar Khanani grew up a nomad and world traveler. Born in Wisconsin, she has lived in five different states as well as in Jeddah on the coast of the Red Sea. She first remembers seeing snow on a wintry street in Zurich, Switzerland, and vaguely recollects having breakfast with the orangutans at the Singapore Zoo when she was five.

Intisar currently resides in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband and two young daughters. Until recently, she wrote grants and developed projects to address community health and infant mortality with the Cincinnati Health Department—which was as close as she could get to saving the world. Now she focuses her time on her two passions: raising her family and writing fantasy.

Intisar’s latest projects include a serial novella project titled The Sunbolt Chronicles, about a young thief with a propensity to play hero, and her arch-nemesis, a dark mage intent on taking over the Eleven Kingdoms. She’s also developing a companion trilogy to her debut novel Thorn, which will feature a new heroine introduced in her free short story The Bone Knife.

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GIVEAWAY

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