Cat Winters's Blog, page 24

The Arrival of a Finished Copy

Two evenings ago, the doorbell rang around 7:00 pm, and a lovely package from Amulet Books/ABRAMS was sitting on my front porch: a finished copy of In the Shadow of Blackbirds.

Here are some photos of the actual hardcover that will be on bookshelves starting April 2, 2013:

 
The entire book is beautiful from dust jacket to back cover, and I can't wait to share it with everyone. Thanks again to designer Maria T. Middleton for visually capturing this novel's essence.

The Book Trailer

Gabrielle at The Mod Podge Bookshelf hosted the exclusive In the Shadow of Blackbirds book trailer reveal on Valentine's Day. In case you missed it, here's the trailer, with music by the talented Jill Tracy .



There's still a chance to win a signed advance reading copy of In the Shadow of Blackbirds, as well as a free MP3 download of the book trailer's song, " Under the Fate of the Blue Moon ." Head to my post about the Trailer Reveal Tour & Giveaway for details.

The IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS Book Trailer Reveal!

An exclusive Valentine's Day reveal of my ghostly love story's book trailer:

http://themodpodgebookshelf.blogspot.com/2013/02/in-shadow-of-blackbirds-exclusive.html

Giveaways included! Happy Valentine's Day!

The IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS Book Trailer!

It's my book trailer reveal day! Head over to The Mod Podge Bookshelf for an exclusive look at the video, enter the giveaway, and then come back here to learn about the song featured in the trailer: " Under the Fate of the Blue Moon " by Jill Tracy.

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
About "Under the Fate of the Blue Moon":This dreamily enchanting piece by Jill Tracy is a "waltz to make wishes come true." (Composed on the rare Blue Moon New Year and recorded the night of the total Lunar Eclipse Solstice, De...

Publishers Weekly's Starred Review of "Deliciously Creepy" IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS!

I've already been sharing the news at Twitter , Facebook , and BlackbirdsNovel.com , so please forgive me if you already heard my announcement earlier today: Publishers Weekly gave In the Shadow of Blackbirds a starred review!

If you're wondering what a starred review even means—and why authors make such a big deal out of them when only one star appears next to the review—here's a quick answer from a newbie author still working on understanding the full meaning herself:

Major review publications l...

Book Trailer Reveal Tour & Giveaway Is Now Up and Running!

We've been having some technical difficulties with the giveaway portion of the In the Shadow of Blackbirds Trailer Reveal Tour and Giveaway, but it looks like it's working today.

The event is hosted by Mod Podge Blog Tours, a site that will also be hosting the exclusive reveal of the In the Shadow of Blackbirds book trailer this Valentine's Day.  

FIVE winners will receive the following Trailer Reveal Tour giveaway items:

An advance reading copy of In the Shadow of Blackbirds
A free MP3 dow...

IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS Trailer Reveal Tour & Giveaway

It's time for the In the Shadow of Blackbirds Trailer Reveal Tour, hosted by Mod Podge Blog Tours !

Stephen Embers, the ghost at the heart of my novel, is fond of anagrams (rearranging one word or phrase to create a new word or phrase). During each day of the tour, visit a new site, solve a simple anagram, and receive clues about the novel and the upcoming book trailer, which will be revealed at The Mod Podge Bookshelf on Valentine's Day.

By solving the anagrams, you'll also have the chanc...

KIRKUS Review

I'm thrilled to announce that the first major In the Shadow of Blackbirds review came in...and it's a good one!

"Winters strikes just the right balance between history and ghost story, neatly capturing the tenor of the times, as growing scientific inquiry collided with heightened spiritualist curiosity. Vintage photographs contribute to the authenticity of the atmospheric and nicely paced storytelling." —Kirkus Reviews
The full review is located at kirkusreviews.com , although it's currently ava...

BlackbirdsNovel.com! Cover Jacket Photos! Interviews! Book Trailers!

This upcoming Saturday (2/2/13) will mark the two-month countdown point before the release of In the Shadow of Blackbirds , which means a whirlwind of pre-publication activity seems to be happening on a daily basis.

To help celebrate the book's rapidly approaching publication date, I just launched BlackbirdsNovel.com . The new website contains info about the novel's historical world , 1918 photos and film clips, links to early-twentieth-century spirit photography galleries, an In the Shadow of Bl...

Photos and News from my First IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS Appearance

Photo by fellow 2013 debut author,
Amy Tintera (Reboot).I had the opportunity to spend this past weekend at the American Library Association's Midwinter Meeting in Seattle, and I was overwhelmed by the excitement brewing for In the Shadow of Blackbirds.

On Saturday afternoon, I signed advance copies of the novel in the ABRAMS booth from 2:00-3:30, and I was stunned to see actual lines forming to meet me. Thank you so much to everyone who stopped by! I met librarians, bloggers, teen readers, fel...