Shelley Shepard Gray's Blog, page 12

Two More Winners!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered the drawing! We had 55 entries this week, and from all those names, we picked two winners! They are:

Carla Winebarger

Debra Bearden

If you are Carla or Debra, CONGRATULATIONS! Please contact me privately with your mailing address. I’ll be so delighted to send you your copy of Ray of Light.

If you didn’t win a book, I do believe we’ll be having some more promotions over the next few weeks. I’ll be a guest on some blogs, and we’ll be doing the very fun FaceBook Share contest, too.  If you haven’t ‘liked’ by FB Page yet, please do! I post almost every day there, and all the folks who chime in are just wonderful.

This week, I’ve been trying my best to finish up the first draft of HOPEFUL, book 1 of Next year’s RETURN TO SUGARCREEK series.  I’m planning to work hard today and tomorrow and then take Sunday off.

It’s finally much warmer here, and because of that, I’ve been able to spend the afternoons writing on our back deck. My husband bought me a huge bag of birdseed and fills it for our cardinals. But every afternoon, I’ve also had some company~our pair of ducks! Just yesterday they waddled out of the creek to the bird feeder-just to see what all the fuss was about. We quickly snapped a picture.

I hope you have a lovely weekend, and thank you so much for your interest in my books!

Blessings, Shelley

 

Mary’s Interview, Part 4

Dear Readers, Thank you so much for your wonderful response to Mary Keane’s interview and Ray of Light ! I’m so happy that you enjoyed Mary’s interview as much as I have. This is the fourth installment and the last part of her interview. Here, she talks about Amish book covers in general and her goals for the Daybreak and Ray of Light covers.  I’ve also included the last ‘rejected’ book cover.  : )

Ray of Light goes on sale in two weeks, May 14. Already the reviews have started coming in and I’m so pleased that the book has been so well received. If you’re the type who likes to preorder books, I hope you will preorder Ray of Light. 

I also wanted to remind everyone that the e-book version of Daybreak is still on sale for $1.99.

If you’ve already won a copy of Ray of Light, Congratulations! If your name hasn’t been drawn yet, please leave a comment, either for Mary or me. I’ll draw a name on Friday.

Thank you, as always, for stopping by! Shelley

MARY’S INTERVIEW, CONTINUED:

7. After you come up with your design, what happens next? Why might a cover change?

             Once a cover is approved and on its way, it doesn’t often change. But, one time this did happen was for Shelley Shepard Gray’s book The Search. We had a beautiful cover with an image of an Amish man walking through a rich green field of alfalfa under a hazy pale blue sky. It was dramatic and everyone found it very striking. It was ready to go to the printer when data came in suggesting that readers would prefer an Amish woman in a bonnet on the cover. We quickly switched out the Amish man for an Amish woman!

 8. What is your favorite part about designing covers? Are there particular genres that you prefer to work on?

 I fell head over heels when I read The Brownie Scouts At Snow Valley as a child. I still love everything about a well-told story including the trip to the bookstore, checking out all the covers, feeling a book call to me, and the best part: settling down, opening the cover and entering a new place and time.

I don’t have the talent to create a whole world by writing a novel (I have tried), but I feel honored to be a part of the process of bringing a work to life. My biggest thrill is when the author loves the cover. It is very fulfilling to know that I understood and was able to convey, visually, what the author worked so hard to create.

 9. Can you speak a bit generally about the design for Daybreak and Ray of Light? Why did you choose the images, colors, etc. that you did?

 The kernel of the idea came from the author. She mentioned a series of covers that she liked the look of which was soft focus and pretty.

It was really the most fun I have ever had working on covers. When I was working in the soft focus, I could concentrate on emotions and ideas that I wanted the reader to be pulled in by. For Daybreak I found an image of a wonderful glowing yellow sunrise over a pasture. I wanted the women of the family walking over their farm, their land, in the glow of a new day. The three are clearly connected and involved and springtime is indicated by the buttercups and the green of the field.

For Ray of Light, the strong midday sun in Florida is indicated by the deep blue sky and the sea to the right of the couple. They walk together, but not closely, to indicate the tentative nature of their relationship. She pauses to think. All of this in soft focus, as if it might be a dream. Will it come true?

They brought out the romantic in me. 

 

10. Do you feel that these covers are different from others within the genre? What do you try to do differently?

 There are a great many books in this genre, and many approaches have been used. Usually the overriding goal is to indicate that this is a book about the Amish–either by using a buggy or a bonnet. My favorites are images that evoke an emotion or a curiosity about what is going on. I think The Days of Redemption series covers accomplish this goal in a pretty way. My goal was to set the scene and welcome the reader to the world of romance and human struggle that Miss Gray has created.

           

This Week’s Winners

Hi Everyone, Thank you so much for commenting on Mary’s Interview! I’ve loved reading your comments, and I know Mary has, too!

I used the random number generator and decided to pick two names today. So, if you are a winner, please email me privately with your mailing address.  The interview will continue next week, so there are still more chances to win!

If you live in the Bowling Green, KY area, I wanted to let you know that I’ll be there tomorrow at the Southern Kentucky Book Fest. I’d love to meet you in person!

Okay, here are today’s winners:

Jean Volk

Jeanette Styer

Finally, I just wanted to add that my thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by the tragedies in both Boston and in West, Texas. 

With blessings to all of you,

Shelley

 

 

 

Mary Interview, Part 3

Today’s Interview with Mary Continues!  I’m especially excited about Mary’s plans for 2014′s series, Return to Sugarcreek. I’m already hoping that Mary or someone from Harper will take photos of the photo shoots. Wouldn’t that be something to see?

Also included in today’s blog is another rejected cover.  What do you think of this one?

Just this morning I received several Ray of Light books…all signed by Mary! Can’t wait to send out the books to our winners. Remember, all you have to do to enter the drawing is comment here. We’ll draw a name on Friday.

Thank you, everyone, for helping to make Mary feel so welcome.

Blessings, Shelley

Mary’s Interview:

5. Mary, do you ever work directly with models?

 Before computer graphics, we always had to shoot from living models and keep our fingers crossed that we would get what we were hoping for, or make the best of it when we didn’t. Now that we have Photoshop, we can make almost any image bend to our will. It is a powerful tool, which I truly enjoy working with. However, sometimes we will still hire models and do a photo shoot, but not as often as we used to.

            That said, we are just getting started on Miss Grey’s next series, Return to Sugarcreek, and it looks like we are going to hire models and stage photo shoots. I will still have Photoshop to help me create unique covers, but this will be a new and exciting look!

 6. How many covers are you usually working on at the same time?

 Our Senior Art Directors can be working on as many as 15 to 20 covers at the same time!

Ode To The Library

It’s National Library Week!

In honor of this, I dug out a blog I wrote for Harlequin about 5 years ago. My husband says I remember books like most people remember old friends. In a way, I guess that’s true. I remember where I was when I read some of my favorite novels. I remember books that I had to stay up all night to finish, and books that were so emotional that I started crying while reading.

Do you happen to have any book memories like that? Or, perhaps you have a fond library memory?  If so, I’d love to hear about the books or your library! Tomorrow, we’ll continue on with Mary’s interview and the Ray of Light Giveaway.

And don’t forget, the Kindle and Nook editions of Daybreak are still on sale for $1.99!

Thanks for stopping be~ blessings, shelley

            Every so often I rediscover the public library. We have a number of small branch libraries near us. I have four to choose from within a thirty minute drive, since we’re in the middle of two counties. Like many of you, my books of choice are rarely in our libraries-at least not right away. I seem to usually get my books from the bookstore or amazon.com. However, every now and then I get in the habit of reading something new-and that’s where the libraries come in.

            Does your town have a good library? The best one I ever lived near was in Mesa, Arizona.  Right after I graduated college, I took a one-year contract to teach fifth grade and moved to Mesa, sight unseen. Looking back, that year was certainly a transition one for me. I had just gotten engaged, but my fiancée was living in Dallas. I didn’t know anyone. In addition, my dad helped me pick out my apartment-which, unfortunately, took exactly half my month’s paycheck. So, I had no friends, no boyfriend, no family, little money, and taught a darling group of rough-around-the-edges ten year olds. When I wasn’t grading papers or developing lesson plans, I hung out at that Mesa Library. What a place that was-they had a whole section of romances! Plus, there were places everywhere to sit and read and look at magazines. It became the highlight of my Saturday morning routine.

            I know exactly where my love of the library came from-my mom.  When we first moved to Houston, our suburb only had a very small library in a single-wide trailer. They switched out the books on a pretty regular basis, so entering those stacks was like Christmas-almost all new books every month! My first favorite book was The Little Match Girl. I still remember the drawings of that poor little girl, selling matches in the cold! I think the librarian made sure that book was one of the few that never ventured far from the trailer. I checked it out  as often as possible.

            When I was in middle school, the trailer was replaced by a beautiful big, stone building! By the time high school came around, it was the perfect place to do all our research and study. Well, pretend to study. There’s nothing quite like sitting across a rectangular table with a boy you like…all while pretending to research honey bees or the Alamo.  That library also had the most delicious sets of Harlequins and regencies by Barbara Cartland. I still recall how grown up I felt checking out those regency romances for the first time.

            In our libraries in Cincinnati, you can now get Internet access, check out CDs and even get whole seasons of television shows. All for free! My son, a high school senior, just went to ‘study’ at the library for the first time the other day. I later found out there just ‘happened’ to be five or six of his friends there, too. Maybe going to the library isn’t  a thing of the past, after all.

            So, what am I reading now? A whole series of mysteries by Margaret Maron. I picked one up because there were twelve of her books-series reading bliss! I’m anxious to stop by there this afternoon and see what else they have that’s new.

            What about y’all? Anyone still go to the library? Have a favorite library book? And what about your kids? Have they discovered the wonders of old books, stacks of novels, and the giddy feeling of still having to whisper to have a conversation?

This Week’s Winner!

This week’s winner is Linda! Linda, if you could contact me privately with your address, I’ll send you a copy of Ray of Light!

I heard this morning that the author copies of Ray of Light came in, and Mary has already signed  them! As soon they arrive here in Ohio, I’ll send them to the winners.

Thank you, everyone! I’ll see  you on Monday with another installment of Mary’s interview!

Blessings,

Shelley

 

 

Mary Interview, Part 2

Every Tuesday until May 14th, Ray of Light’s Release Date, I’ll be highlighting Mary Keane, Senior Designer for Harper Collins. Mary has designed many of my book covers, and I have to say that I feel so fortunate that she does! I think they are beautiful! My favorite quote of Mary’s is her answer to my question about eye-catching covers! I also love how Mary talks about how the right cover design is a team effort~that’s much like how writing the book is for me. Not only do the editors give me feedback about my writing, they also help make my plots stronger, the pace quicker, and the characters stronger. Yes, I write the book…but the folks at my publisher work very hard to make sure it’s the best possible book that it can be.

Also highlighted today is another ‘rejected’ cover for Ray of Light. Though this is beautiful, I’m glad it wasn’t chosen. When my characters are in warm weather, they’re in Florida or Belize, and when they’re in Berlin, it’s cold and snowy.

Don’t forget to comment if you’d like to be eligible to win a signed copy of Ray of Light, signed by both Mary Keane and me! We’ll announce this week’s winner on Friday.

Finally~the Kindle and Nook versions of Daybreak are now available for $1.99! My books rarely go on sale, so I’m delighted about this. If you haven’t read the first book in the series and have either a Kindle or Nook, I hope you’ll consider picking up the book. Please tell your friends and family about the sale, too!

Now, finally….Here’s more of Mary’s Interview!  

 

3. How many different covers do you typically design for each book?

 I usually try to come up with four or five basic ideas, then start working with the images. I like to have at least 3 covers that I feel are strong when I show them to the editor. Often, one cover is an early favorite, though not always the one I thought it would be. If none of my first attempts are chosen, the editor and publisher will give me feedback and I will start again. It is important to listen carefully to what the team thinks the cover should look like at the start.

 4. What makes an eye-catching cover? What doesn’t?

 It is like love. When you find it, you know it.

When I am searching for images, I have ideas in mind: a sunrise or a farm, etc.  If an image makes me stop, enlarge it or look at it for even a few seconds, it’s in the running. By the time an image makes it to a cover, it has gotten and held my attention repeatedly, in a sea of similar images.  For me, this is a good sign. What doesn’t make a good cover is in the eye of the beholder. If it doesn’t make you want to read the book, it isn’t a good cover.

 

Our First Winner

Happy Friday! Finally, finally, it is warming up here in southern Ohio. Today it’s supposed to almost reach 60 degrees, which is still a bit chilly…but far better than the winter-like temperatures we’ve been enjoying lately.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to read the beginning of Mary’s interview, and comment on the interview and/or the first rejected cover. On Tuesday, I’ll put up another portion of the interview, and another Ray of Light Cover that wasn’t chosen.

We have a winner of a signed copy of Ray of Light, signed by both me and Mary.

This week’s winner: Linda Maiorino! Linda, please contact me privately with your mailing address.

 

Finally, thank you to everyone who has picked up a copy of Daybreak,  the first book in the Days of Redemption Series! Thank you, too, to everyone who has taken the time to post a review! As of yesterday, Daybreak had 25 reviews, 24 of them 5 Stars! I can’t tell you how pleased I am to know that this book has been so well received.

Below is another review for Ray of Light. This one is from Destination Amish. It contains my favorite quote about my books. (Bet you can’t guess what line of the review I like best!)

I hope y’all will have a wonderful weekend. We’re getting some new carpet in two of the rooms of our house today. The new carpet is going to be soooo pretty~but the process of putting these two rooms ‘back together’ just might take all weekend! We currently have ‘stuff’ all over the rest of the house.

with blessings to you, Shelley   

Review for Ray of Light from Michelle Dawn of www.DestinationAmish.com

I have come to the conclusion that Shelley Shepard Gray’s book’s are like a bag of Lay’s Potato Chips. You can never eat just one chip and you can never read just one of her books. Really, go ahead and try to stop after reading one! As soon as I finished Daybreak I immediately started thinking about the next book. See what I mean? Ray of Light is the second book in The Days of Redemption series. We find ourselves back in the seemly idyllic lives of the Keim family. If you read Daybreak then you know this reality is really not so. Roman Keim needs to escape the family drama which lands him in sunny Pinecraft, Florida. Roman keeps to himself and tends to be on the quiet side but being in Florida brings out a side of himself that even he is surprised about. He finds a sense of courage that he probably never knew existed until he left Berlin. Courage that led him to Amanda Yoder and her adorable little girl Regina. He feels a strong connection to Amanda and he thinks she may like him too. Perhaps a romance is on the horizon or is Roman putting the cart before the horse? They do live miles apart from each other and distance is not the only factor that could threaten their budding relationship. You didn’t expect love to be an easy bridge to cross, did you?

I always feel like I should thank the author after I read their work, especially if the book is as good as this one is. Ray of Light will not only capture your attention but your heart as well and for that Shelley Shepard Gray I am thankful. Kudos to you for writing another wonderful book and for your ability to always keep me coming back for another “chip.”

Hope To See You in Bowling Green, Kentucky!

On Saturday, April 20, from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, I’ll be taking part in the Southern Kentucky Book Fest!

The Book Fest takes place at the Knicely Conference Center in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

I’ll be signing books, chatting on an Inspirational Fiction panel, and will most likely be shopping for books, too. This is a huge book signing, featuring authors from many different genres. I’m excited to be a part of it!

Here’s the SOKY website, where you can find more information, including a list of all the authors participating:

www.sokybookfest.org

 

A ‘Rejected’ Cover

Thank you, everyone, for stopping by and commenting on Mary’s interview.

Thanks, too, to Mary, for jumping right in and answering questions!

I just received a few of the ‘Rejected’ Ray of Light covers, so I thought I would post one for you this afternoon. What do y’all think? I love that it has the hero, heroine, and the heroine’s little girl (my heroine for Ray of Light is a widow). But it seems a little dark to me…