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!

Amazon • B&N • Goodreads 

 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

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Post of Pretty: New Covers Part 2

Last weekend I did a cover roundup for some of HarperTeen's stunning Winter 2014 releases, but it seems I jumped the gun a little because they've added even more prettiness to the group, so get ready to make your to-be-read lists even longer (the below are the ones I'm most excited about, but you can see the full list at Epic Reads)!

ASHES TO ASHES

Melissa Walker • December 23rd, 2013

STEADFAST

Spellcaster #2

Claudia Gray • March 4th, 2014

RUINS

Partials #3

Dan Wells •  March 11th, 2014

FAKING NORMAL

Courtney C. Stevens • April 1st, 2014

SALVAGE

Alexandra Duncan • April 1st, 2014

And my absolute favorite of this latest group:

SEA OF SHADOWS

Kelley Armstrong • April 8th, 2014

From Goodreads:

In the Forest of the Dead, where the empire’s worst criminals are exiled, twin sisters Moria and Ashyn are charged with a dangerous task. For they are the Keeper and the Seeker, and each year they must quiet the enraged souls of the damned.

Only this year, the souls will not be quieted.

Ambushed and separated by an ancient evil, the sisters’ journey to find each other sends them far from the only home they’ve ever known. Accompanied by a stubborn imperial guard and a dashing condemned thief, the girls cross a once-empty wasteland, now filled with reawakened monsters of legend, as they travel to warn the emperor. But a terrible secret awaits them at court—one that will alter the balance of their world forever.

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Also revealed this week was the cover for J.L. Bryan's newest title, Nomad. I'm a huge fan of J.L.'s Jenny Pox series so I'm extremely excited to give Nomad a try!

From Goodreads:

A new dystopian novel from the author of Jenny Pox - coming July 26.

They took everything: her family, her home, her childhood.

By the age of nineteen, Raven has spent most of her life in the sprawling slums of America, fighting as a rebel against the dictatorship. When the rebellion steals an experimental time-travel device, she travels back five decades to the year 2013. Her plan: assassinate the future dictator when he is still young and vulnerable, long before he comes to power. She must move fast to reshape history, because agents from her own time are on her trail, ready to execute her on sight.

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Last but hopefully not least, I wanted to share with you one final cover. As some of you who follow this blog consistently know, I make my living as a graphic designer. Up until now I've focused primarily on wedding invitations and related stationery with the occasional corporate branding job thrown in, but in the past several months I've been expanding the scope of my work to include book covers. I recently had the pleasure of working with fantasy author Intisar Khanani to create the cover for Sunbolt, the first book in her Sunbolt Chronicles series. Hope you guys like it!

 

From Goodreads:

The winding streets and narrow alleys of Karolene hide many secrets, and Hitomi is one of them. Orphaned at a young age, Hitomi has learned to hide her magical aptitude and who her parents really were. Most of all, she must conceal her role in the Shadow League, an underground movement working to undermine the powerful and corrupt Arch Mage Wilhelm Blackflame.

When the League gets word that Blackflame intends to detain—and execute—a leading political family, Hitomi volunteers to help the family escape. But there are more secrets at play than Hitomi’s, and much worse fates than execution. When Hitomi finds herself captured along with her charges, it will take everything she can summon to escape with her life.