Phoebe Hinkle's Blog: Chronicler's Corner, page 3

We Gave Our Tomorrows Release Day

Hello everyone! Before you get excited, no - release day is not until May 8th, so I haven't moved back the big day. This post is ABOUT release day. 😉

I am actually going to be on the road on May 8th, driving back East for my graduation ceremony which is on the 11th! 👩‍🎓 (I took college online, which is why I have to drive cross-country to the ceremony. 🫠) So I will not be online to post anything on release day proper.

But, Phoebs . . . if you're gonna be driving, why did you set the release for the 8th?

Well, I set the date long before I realized I wouldn't be home. But I had a reason for making release day the 8th, which is a Thursday instead of my normal Saturday release. Some of y'all have probably heard this before, if you stay connected over at the We Gave Our Tomorrows site. But for those of you who haven't, May 8th this year is the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII in Europe. So, since it's going to be the end of my WWII writing journey (at least for that book, there will probably be others!) I figured it was fitting to release We Gave Our Tomorrows on V-E Day.

Now, there will be a post on the WGOT site for release day, because I can pre-write and schedule posts on WordPress. So if you really want something special to mark the release, you'll want to head over there next Thursday. 😉

We Gave Our Tomorrows Trailer!

Hello, guys!! I'm bringing you exciting news today, because the We Gave Our Tomorrows trailer is out now! You can watch it on YouTube at this link!

My brother and I had a lot of fun making this one. We got to put all our military Legos to good use!

New Year, New Videos!

Bing Crosby sang "let's start the new year right", so here at Black Otter Books, we're doing just that. I FINALLY finished the Lego trailer my brother and I made for To Stand and posted it on YouTube. At first I wasn't sure about this one - we had a lot of technical difficulties in filming - but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. 😅
Here's the link so you can watch it!
I also fixed the trailer we made for The Treasure Beyond - the old version (which is still on YouTube, btw; I didn't feel a need to delete it) was from the days when I was still publishing with Lulu, so the information needed updating.

In other news, I finished the first round of edits for We Gave Our Tomorrows . I'm planning to have my editor (dad) look at it another time before sending it to beta readers.

COVER REVEAL! 🥳

Folks, I am so excited to share this morning’s post with you! This cover has been sitting around on my computer for a long time, and now I finally get to release it to the world. 😁

But first, history.

So y’all know me, I like to have significance behind dates. For example, I’m planning to publish this on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. That begs the question: what’s so special about December 16th? I mean, it’s 9 days before Christmas – 10 days before Logan’s birthday – but that isn’t all that interesting.

Well, as it happens, December 16th was a day the guys in the 4th Infantry wouldn’t soon forget. For the past week or so, they had been resting in Luxembourg after their disastrous time in Hürtgen Forest. But on the morning of the 16th, *things* happened. Artillery started coming in, and shortly afterward the German ground troops attacked. It was the beginning of the Ardennes Offensive, better known to us as the Battle of the Bulge.

While the fighting in Belgium is the best-known part of the Bulge, it actually extended across a wide sector of the American lines. The 4th Infantry happened to be on the very southern end of the attack. They were able to hold their ground and kept the vital communications hub of Luxembourg City from falling to the enemy. Within a short time, the 4th’s situation had stabilized, and they launched a counterattack.

Logan and friends are there for the initial attack, but y’all will have to wait for the book to see what happens to them. 😉

And, speaking of which, since it IS a cover reveal day:

ARE

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YOU

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READY?

Here we go . . .

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(I’m super happy with this one because it’s a very different style for me. 😁)

6th Anniversary & Giveaway Winners!

6 years ago, I went insane.
No, I'm just kidding. 😉 I'm still sane (mostly), just INCREDIBLY tired. (I *could* go off on a long tangent about how sometimes we Christians do seem a little crazy because sometimes God asks us to do WILD things . . . but I won't.)

Anyway, yeah - I've been a published author for six years, and y'all have heard this spiel before, so I'll skip it this time around. But it's really funny sometimes how God works; the first book I published was set in WWII, and now 6 years later, the next book I'm going to be publishing ( We Gave Our Tomorrows ) is also set in WWII. But this time I did my research. 😉
I thought it would be interesting to compare my writing from both books. Prepare for cringe:

Never Left Alone, 2018
The general rolled his eyes and groaned inwardly. "Happy and foolish are two entirely different matters. There is a time and place for playfulness, and this is neither. Franz, you are twenty-two years old! Can't you stop behaving childishly?"
"Afraid not, sir," Franz replied, doing his best to put on a mournful face. "It's a part of who I am."
"Fine, you may be dismissed," the general told him. "If you can do anything seriously at all (which I doubt), try to think seriously about what I said."

Um, yeah. That was how I wrote back then. 😬

We Gave Our Tomorrows, 2024
Jack cocks his head, looking at my face. “Hm, that is a nice scratch. If you’re lucky, it might scar, and then you’d look heroic like me.” He grins, touching the shrapnel scar on his own cheek.
“You, heroic?” Sam scoffs.
“Yeah, me. Just like my brother Jimmy. Did I tell you about how he shot down a Jap at Pearl Harbor and made it in the Oakland Tribune – especially since he had to bail out with a dozen Zeros on his tail?”
“About a hundred times. Get your own heroic tail back upstairs before I kick it up there for ya.”
Jack makes a face at him. “You’re not Parker, you can’t tell me what to do.” He neatly avoids Sam’s lunge at him and takes the stairs two at a time.

Maybe one of these days I'll rewrite that original book. It needs a major overhaul though so it would be pretty unrecognizable. 😆

Y'all are probably impatient to find out who won a book, so we'll get on to the giveaway entries now. The winners are . . .

- To Stand and Balsam & Spice wax melt: Greta B.
- End of the Earth and Kona Coffee wax melt: Esther K.

And I didn't announce this before, but I decided to draw a surprise third winner. So another copy of To Stand goes to Faith A.!

Congrats to the winners, stay safe, have a merry Christmas, and God bless y'all!
And don't forget that We Gave Our Tomorrows cover reveal is on MONDAY!

Submit Those Entries!

Don't forget, folks - tomorrow is the LAST DAY to send in your entry for my 6th anniversary giveaway!
To enter, email me through the contact page on my website.

And once again, those prizes are:
One (1) copy of To Stand and a Balsam & Spice scented wax melt
One (1) copy of End of the Earth and a Kona Coffee scented wax melt

I'm picking the winners on Friday!

(ALSO don't forget that the cover reveal for We Gave Our Tomorrows is next Monday!)

Cover Reveal in 2 Weeks!!

Morning, y'all!
If you've been following me for any length of time, you know that I'm currently working on a WWII book, We Gave Our Tomorrows . The official cover is going to be revealed in TWO WEEKS on December 16th! It's going to be posted on here, on my website, the We Gave Our Tomorrows site, and my friend Ryana's blog, Life of Heritage.

And don't forget to send in your giveaway entries! (see the blog post before the last) That closes in just 10 days and I'm picking winners on the 13th!

Double Book Launch - Vale of Mysteries & Winternight

Hi friends!
Now that y'all have recovered from yesterday's food coma (hopefully), I've got some news for you. My author friend Jared N. Michaud is releasing The Vale of Mysteries and Winternight: Mythologia - Book 1 today.
(I have both and can't wait to read them . . .)

Tales of Veridon Giveaway

Hey, folks! Last year I held a giveaway to celebrate 5 years of being a published author. This December will be my sixth year, so I'm going to hold another giveaway to celebrate! I'm giving away two prizes this year:

One (1) copy of To Stand and a Balsam & Spice scented wax melt (the official scent of the series)
One (1) copy of End of the Earth and a Kona Coffee scented wax melt

Rules for this year are the same as last: Email me through my website with the word "Giveaway" in the subject line, and put your name and email address in the body of the email. Your information will be kept strictly private, but I will add you to my email update list unless you request otherwise. Deadline to enter is December 12th as I'll be picking winners on the 13th.

And don't forget to share the news with your friends and enemies! 😁

They Gave Their Tomorrows

Originally posted on We Gave Our Tomorrows site



Remembering Our Veterans
November 11th is the day we set aside to remember the veterans who have fought for our freedom, wherever and whenever they have served. Many of them have struggles that we civilians cannot understand. Some of them would like to forget their past.

Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.
-Brad Meltzer

Sadly, many people today do forget the sacrifices these veterans have made. They never stop to think about why they have these freedoms to enjoy. Veteran's Day, for them, is just a chance to get a day off from work.
But it gets worse. There is a class of people who are opposed to the just wars America has been involved in. They seek to revise history, make Americans out to be the bad guys, and vilify the soldiers who fought for us. What they don't realize is that it's thanks to those who fought that they still have the freedom to say those things.
Folks, let's not be part of the problem. This Veteran's Day, stop and think about those who have given so much for you. Thank God for them and for your liberty. Pray for them. And if you see a veteran - or, for that matter, an active duty member - thank them for their service.

On This Day
On the night of November 10th, 1944, the 4th Infantry Division loaded up in trucks and were driven about 30 miles north of their current location to a new position. They arrived in the Hürtgen Forest early on the morning of November 11th.
During their time in Hürtgen, the 4th sustained about 100% casualties - it was the most brutal engagement they were involved in. Following their time in the "meat grinder", they were sent to Luxembourg to rest in early December.

We are on Amazon!
I've got some exciting news! We Gave Our Tomorrows (the ebook version) is available for preorder on Amazon now. Release date, as planned, is set for May 8th. The $5.50 price is my best guess because I don't know yet how long the book will end up being, and length affects price. 🫠 Not to worry, if you order now and I lower the price, you will be charged the lower price; on the other hand, if the price goes up, you'll only get charged $5.50. (At least this is how it works in the US - I think it's different for Amazon Germany and India as well.)

Happy Veteran's Day! 🫡