Bethany A. Jennings's Blog, page 2

Book Birthdays and Shiny Covers!

There are so many gorgeous books coming out today that I had to give a shoutout post to them, and also to some great cover reveals!

Spring Cleaning Writer Tag

I was tagged in this blog game by fellow author Kessie Carroll, and this seems like the perfect opportunity to dust off this sadly neglected blog and get it running again!

*blows off dust* *tidies up everything*

I apologize for my long absence! SO much has happened since I last blogged. For example, I started a newsletter (click on those words to sign up!), I’ve run several #WIPjoy events (one’s happening right now, in fact), AND I’ve launched into rewriting my treasured trilogy WIP again, after over a year’s hiatus – I am utterly thrilled about that!!

I hope to have some more updates around here for you very soon.

Ten Things Writers Are Thankful For

1. Our characters—all the precious details about them and their lives, how they entertain us, and how they keep us company at all times.

2. Coffee/tea/cocoa/wine…our writing beverage of choice. Also SNACKS!

3. That non-writing friend or family member who asks how our writing is going. Sometimes we feel like nobody in our lives cares about this massive part of our reality. Thank you for being that person who asks.

4. Those lines and scenes we secretly go back to read over and over again, amazed that it came out so beautifully.

5. Reviews! Even that 1 or 2 star review, because it means a reader with criticisms was kind enough to leave us feedback anyway.

6. The fact that the rough draft doesn’t have to be perfect.

7. The fact that edits and revisions do, in fact, eventually end.

8. Good editors. We’d be lost without them.

9. Writing friends who support us, cheer us on, and listen to us rant and rave about how Character A is all the feels today and Characters B and C aren’t getting along, and Character D is being a spoiled brat.

The MBTI of Lawless by Janeen Ippolito

I’m excited to be taking part in this blog tour, celebrating the release of Lawless, book one of The Ironfire Legacy by Janeen Ippolito!

I had the honor of reading this book in its early stages, and it’s so much fun. Dragonshifters and steampunk romance and airships. And lots and lots of intrigue and snark. Ahhhh, I can’t wait to get my hands on my shiny print copy so I can read it all again!!

Stories that Sever the Shadows

Things look a bit different around here and on my social networks today! I’m refreshing the look, with a new author tagline – Stories that Sever the Shadows.

While I liked my former tagline, “Bringing Joy to the Journey,” it felt too shallow to me. It didn’t dig deep into the marrow of why I do what I do. I want to sever shadows! I want my stories to pierce the shade so that journeys through the dark can have joy and hope.

While ideally they are comforting in their own ways, I don’t aim to write books that pat you tritely on the head and keep you comfortable, but rather fierce, intense tales that grip you, impact you, and inspire you toward victory and triumph.

Exciting changes and news!

I also have some more exciting news coming.

Author Updates: Realm Makers 2017, New Author Services, and Simmering Mind Designs Raffle Winner!

After a long night of flying, I’m back from another amazing Realm Makers conference!

Last year when I went to the conference in Philly, I was struggling as an author. I had just put away my trilogy and was floundering deep in that fresh heartbreak. I was working on a new project, but aware my heart wasn’t fully in it. And I was only beginning to unravel some of the intense soul-challenges God had planned for me over my identity and motivations as an author. But I went away from RM2016 refueled, encouraged, and uplifted, more confident in my calling than ever before.

As I expected, that was true of RM2017 as well.

Strangely, my trilogy haunted me all weekend, ever since getting on the plane to Reno. After several months of supernatural peace about it, that’s a bit unusual. I’m again praying for guidance on when to return to it, but so far God’s answer remains “wait.” And I’m still processing how to apply some of the new insights I gained through this conference.

But I had wonderful times of fellowship with friends, and enjoyed some fantastic classes from authors such as Mary Weber, Jim Rubart, Lisa Mangum, and Robert Liparulo. It was so good to meet so many fantastic people for the first time and to reunite with good friends!! And although I didn’t agree with everything in his speeches, keynote speaker Ted Dekker was fascinating, with some really good heart-hitting insights as well.

And I was blessed to wear the “Published” banner on my name tag this year! – bearing testament to the fact that I’ve put out two short stories in the past year. It may feel sometimes like I’ve been spinning my wheels, but I have truly been moving forward in my writing, and I’m so thankful for Threadbare and Dragon Lyric and those who have read and loved them.

Vendor Table

It was also exciting to attend as a full-fledged businessperson with a vendor table. I had Simmering Mind Designs shirts and tote bags for sale, as well as paperbacks of my short stories and prints of the painting on Dragon Lyric’s cover.

Before I launch into some of the other news I have to share, I’d like to mention here that there are still some shirts and art prints left!

These shirts were a custom batch from a local printer, so they’re slightly different from the ones in my Society6 shop, and I’m selling them at the lower conference cost of $22, which will include shipping (although if you’re international you may have to pay for the shipping on that).

If you’re interested in purchasing a shirt or one of the art prints of Roth and Theryn ($18 shipped), please contact me using the contact form at the bottom of this post!

I have varying sizes and colors for these three designs:

“Pardon my vacant stare – my mind is another world” (blue, gray, and black)
“Ask me about my imaginary friends” (gray and purple, women’s sizes only)
“I create worlds – what’s your superpower?” (blue, gray, and black)

Raffle Winner

As those of you who went to Realm Makers may know, that purple bucket on my table was for entries in a giveaway (and signups for my newsletter). I’m excited to announce that the winner of the giveaway was Jamie Foley, who chose a paperback for her prize. Congratulations, Jamie!! You are such a delightful person and I’m so glad I got to meet you at RM!

Dragon Lyric is HERE!

At long last, Dragon Lyric has released!! *throws confetti* Yay!

If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you may have seen me post awhile back that my release had been delayed. Turns it out was delayed by about a month – this story required so much more thought and time than I had initially expected. But it’s all the richer for it, I hope!

I admit that this story is a bit scary to put out there, for me. It’s dark, it’s intense, and the ending has proven divisive for beta readers. It also hits on mature themes I never imagined writing about, like spousal abuse and divorce. Because of those things I haven’t labeled it YA like I did Threadbare (it would probably be appropriate for most YA readers, but as always, I advise parents to check it out before giving to teens, especially younger teens

The Girl Who Could See Blog Tour – Stop #6!

Do you see this gorgeousness?

Would you believe me if I told you the inside of this book is even more gorgeous than the outside?

Dragon Lyric: Cover Reveal and Sneak Peek!

As some of you know, I’m preparing to release another short story, a high fantasy tale called Dragon Lyric. It was originally part of the larger collection of shorts I’m compiling, but it grew to have a presence of its own that demanded to be shared individually.

Dragon Lyric releases a month from now, June 22nd!

Today I’m officially introducing it to the world: not just sharing what it’s about and a sneak excerpt, but also its gorgeous face cover – done by talented artist Julia Busko.

Interview at E.B. Dawson’s Blog

The lovely E.B. Dawson interviewed me this week, and it’s up on her blog today! We talked about my short story, Threadbare, and tips for authors and indie publishers.