Cat Winters's Blog, page 21

New: A Fan Art Page

I've just launched The Embers Gallery : a brand-new page for In the Shadow of Blackbirds artwork, spirit photography, and book trailers, all made by fans of the novel. The gallery is located at www.blackbirdsnovel.com/p/embers-gallery.html , and it's a little sparse right now, but I really wanted to start showcasing the readers who have already paid tribute to the novel. I greatly appreciate fans' creativity and enjoyment of In the Shadow of Blackbirds.

Here's the very first piece of fan art I...

Booklist's Top 10 Horror Fiction for Youth

I'm thrilled beyond words to announce that In the Shadow of Blackbirds made Booklist's Top 10 Horror Fiction for Youth list , available in the August 2013 "Spotlight on Horror" issue. My little novel was included with books by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (one of my modern-day literary heroes), Daniel Kraus, Gretchen McNeil, Rick Yancey, and other extremely talented YA and middle-grade horror novelists. I'm absolutely speechless.

Thank you, Booklist, for once again showing In the Shadow of Blackbirds some...

More Details about THE CURE FOR DREAMING

As part of the second annual Authors Are Rockstars Tour , I'm divulging more details about my next novel, The Cure for Dreaming , at the wonderful Carina's Books . The book won't be available until Fall 2014, but over at Carina's site you can learn a little more about the plot and discover which classic horror novel plays a role in the story—plus I'm revealing the name of my young hypnotist character for the very first time. I'm also offering an In the Shadow of Blackbirds/The Cure for Dreaming...

My Worldbuilding Secrets

Building a fictional world that's vibrant and intriguing is extremely important, no matter the genre, so this past week at Corsets, Cutlasses, and Candlesticks , Katherine Longshore (Gilt, Tarnish) and I shared our tips and tools for creating vivid, believable settings.

Here are the links to our posts:

Building a Believable Story World by Katherine Longshore

The Art of Worldbuilding by Cat Winters

If you have any questions, please let us know in the comments sections.

July Updates: News about My Next Book & Upcoming Events

First of all, thank you to those of you who participated in my Goodreads Q&A this week. The group is officially inactive at this point (I chose to run it for three days), but I'll leave it up there for a while in case you want to check out my answers. If a late question happens to creep in, I'll likely still answer it if I'm not having an overly busy moment. You can also always ask me questions via Twitter , Facebook , and email .

My big accomplishment of the summer, so far, has been sending...

Ask Me Questions in My Q&A Group!

From now through Wednesday, July 10, I'll be available to answer questions at a Goodreads Q&A group . Feel free to ask me about In the Shadow of Blackbirds (including your burning spoilery questions), my characters, The Cure for Dreaming , and writing in general. I'm happy to answer.

Join the Q&A

Giveaway Winners & Next Week's Q&A Group

Thank you so much to everyone who entered my In the Shadow of Blackbirds "Thank You, Readers!" giveaway. I selected my winners using Rafflecopter's random-drawing option, and yes, I deleted any incorrect trivia answers before I even drew the names.

Congratulations to the following winners (whom I'll email directly):

First-Place Prize Pack Victoria M.
Signed Bookmarks & Bookplate Heather C.Sierra W.Lisa C.
If you didn't win this time around, have no fear. I will certainly run more giveaways in t...

My "Thank You, Readers!" Giveaway

I am so incredibly grateful for my In the Shadow of Blackbirds readers! This is not a novel that's being promoted with giant print ads and Entertainment Weekly features. It's a word-of-mouth type of book, and you readers and reviewers are doing an amazing job at creating buzz.

To show my appreciation, I've prepared an international In the Shadow of Blackbirds giveaway that's geared toward people who have already read the book. The giveaway will close July 2, 2013—three months after the novel's...

IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS Charm Bracelets!

My lovely and highly talented sister, Carrie Raleigh, has launched an Etsy store called Novelry , and the first items she's selling are the beautiful, custom-made In the Shadow of Blackbirds charm bracelets you may have seen in some of my recent giveaways.


Each charm represents a plot point in the book. Charms will vary, but you get to select the band size and type.

Visit Novelry at www.etsy.com/shop/Novelry .

Thank you, Carrie!

A Few Quick Notes before Disappearing into the Writing Cave

I'm currently on a deadline for my next novel, The Cure for Dreaming . Therefore, this website will be a little quieter for the next two months or so, and I won't be doing as many guest posts and interviews. In the meantime, you can learn more about In the Shadow of Blackbirds, The Cure for Dreaming (including more details about the plot), and other potential future projects in an interview with me at My Friends Are Fiction .

Here are my some of my post-deadline plans for In the Shadow of Black...