L. Blankenship's Blog, page 13

The Next Big Thing blog hop

Welcome to the blog hop! My friends at Unicorn Bell are tackling the Next Big Thing meme today. Check out their entries too: Marcy, Charity, Alicia, and Huntress.

What is the working title of your book?
Its final title is: Disciple, Part I. Its working title was "For Want of a Piglet," but it turns out that's just the name of this one part. The other five parts have their own names.

Where did the idea come from for the book?
To be totally honest, the core idea for the romance part of Disciple came from Titanic. Somebody I knew claimed that the socio-economic dynamic between Rose and Jack, if inverted, would ruin the romance. Naturally, my brain grabbed that and ran with it.

What genre does your book fall under?
It's a gritty fantasy romance. If I had to choose only one, I would call it a fantasy. Possibly epic, depending on the definition of "epic" that you're using. Trying to categorize fantasy can lead to madness, though...

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
[image error] Kate: There's a new crop of young actresses every five years or so, and I can't possibly keep them all straight... but I would want a classic girl-next-door blonde to portray my main character, Kate. Somebody such as Kristy Lee Cook or Elisha Cuthbert, perhaps.Kristy Lee Cook [image error] Kiefan: Hopefully, we could find a fresh young hunk who can combine the lean, angry look of Jonathan Rhys-Meyers from his Titus and Gormenghast days with the build of a teenaged Chris Hemsworth.I take it back --
Rhys-Myers still looks
lean & angry [image error] Anders: He's easy; you just need a 20-year-old Alex Skarsgard. Must be able to snark in all situations.Alex SkarsgardWhat is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Kate needs all her magic to get her companions home alive from the mission -- even that sour crown prince.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
It will be self-published -- and it just went up on Monday! Take your pick of an ebook at Amazon (for Kindle) or a paperback at Createspace! Next up: Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple, etc.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
It took approximately 30 days, but that was complicated by my computer dying toward the end. Thankfully, the manuscript survived. The world-building and character development, though... that took years. Since Titanic was in the theaters, basically.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
... I'm going to have to ask my readers for comparisons. Comparing myself to famous books seems so presumptuous.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?
I wrote Disciple because I needed to. I don't really deal in inspiration.

What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?
There are six parts in total, but don't worry about whether I'll finish it or fall off the face of the earth. Part II through Part V are already done and in various drafting stages. Part VI's first draft is in progress.

Thanks for dropping by!

Giveaway winner and The Look Challenge

Rafflecopter picked Elsabé Ros as the winner of Disciple's first giveaway!

If you didn't win, I hope you enjoy this consolation prize. Charity tagged me in The Look Challenge and it's a great excuse to give you all another taste of Disciple, Part I. The challenge rules are: search my story for the word look and post the scene around the first occurrence.

Well, the first couple looks in Disciple are in the sample that I've had up for months and months. So I'm going to post a later scene that you haven't read yet:

A shadow fell over us and the peasant startled, then dropped to one knee with his fist against his chest. I stepped back, myself, from the grey horse as it pranced close, mouthing its bit and puffing.

“I thought I told you to keep quiet.”

I squinted up at the crown prince. I’d seen him at a distance, riding beside the king, and with my memory Blessing that was all I needed. Wodenberg had only one prince, and it was well known that the queen had sworn she’d die before she let the king touch her again.

A good thing that Prince Kiefan was so easy to look at, then, golden-haired and grey-eyed, Blessed as few were and still unwed at eighteen.

Stern glares were his stock in trade, it seemed. Like his father.

“These men were wounded,” I said, then wanted to take it back as he towered over me. But then I steadied, sure that I was right. “How can I treat patients without speaking?”

M’lord leaned down from the saddle. “A squad of reinforcements doesn’t need a physician at all, let alone a young girl. Keep quiet.”

Fear stiffened my spine, kept my eyes on his black, shiny-new riding boot in the stirrup. “M’lord,” I murmured, to accept the command. My mind whirled, though, flickering through Master Parselev’s every word; he’d said I must go, Saint Qadeem had agreed, surely there could be no mistake…

Disciple, Part I, will be available everywhere on November 1, 2012. I'll post progress reports on its deployment here.

Cover reveal and giveaway!

I'm thrilled to reveal the cover for Disciple, Part I over at my blog -- and I'm giving away an advance copy of the ebook!

Enter before midnight, Friday Oct. 12!

DISCIPLE's cover reveal & giveaway!

I'm thrilled to reveal the cover for Disciple, Part I -- I love it. Big kudos to my artist, Faiz Nabheebucus and thank-yous to my Kickstarter supporters who made this possible.

Back cover: 
[image error] The saints favor her, else-wise a peasant girl like Kate Carpenter would never be apprenticed to the kingdom’s master healer. But her patron saint also marks her ready for the duty of tending to a mission that must cross the ice-bound mountains. Their little kingdom faces invasion by a vast empire and desperately needs allies; across the snow-filled pass, through the deathly thin air, is a country that’s held off the empire and may be willing to lend an army.

Kate knows about frostbite and the everyday injuries of wilderness travel. She can heal those.

She’s not ready for the attentions of a ne’er-do-well knight and the kingdom’s only prince, though.

And she isn’t ready for the monsters that harry them night and day, picking off their archers first, wearing the party to exhaustion, pushing Kate beyond the limits her healing abilities.

She must keep them alive, or her blood will be on the snow too.

Read a sample from the book.

Disciple, Part I, arrives on November 1, 2012!But you can win an advance copy of the ebook! 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

The winner will be announced on October 13th and will have their choice of ebook formats. Stay tuned for more giveaways, more art reveals, story extras, and my blog tour in November!

Cover Reveal: The Magic Wakes

The Magic Wakes is the debut novel from Charity Bradford, one of the founding members of Unicorn Bell. Look for it in March, 2013, from WiDo Publishing! Charity's thrilled to be revealing the cover to The Magic Wakes and I'm glad to help get the word out because cover reveals are always fun.* Here's the back cover blurb to go along with this nice cover:

[image error] Talia has a secret, one that will save her world and yet rip it apart. Only she can decide if the price is worth it.

Scientist Talia Zaryn has always had visions of an alien invasion and of her own death. She’s kept it a secret, hoping they are nothing more than childish nightmares. But when her face in the mirror matches that of her dreams, she fears the dreams are prophetic. Talia must prove that life exists beyond their planet, Sendek; perhaps then people will prepare to fight.

Talia's work at the Space Exploration Foundation leaves no time for personal relationships, but Major Landry Sutton isn’t looking for a friend. He is looking for a traitor. His ability to sense emotions convinces him Talia is that traitor until a touch sizzles between them. In an instant their minds are connected and they can communicate telepathically. Just as the two begin to trust each other, the invading force arrives.

Talia and Landry must uncover the secrets of Sendek’s past if they hope to defeat these terrifying creatures. And Talia is the key—if only she can learn to trust the magic coursing through her veins.

*When will there be a cover reveal for Disciple, Part I? I'm hoping for next Saturday. My artist's deadline is tomorrow, and by the updates I've gotten I know it's so close to done. The suspense is killing me!

New logo reveal & revised release date!

[image error]
I've changed the logo from what I used on Kickstarter because I wanted more emphasis on the title of the entire story. I split it into six parts and named each part, but the most important point is that the whole story is Disciple.

I also started a Facebook page for Disciple.

Read a sample of Disciple here.

My freelance editor went through the manuscript, I've made the final revisions, the proofreader checked it, and the book is now in production! I am moving up the release date up to:

November 1st, 2012
and there's a good chance I'll move it up to October 15th since the cover artwork is moving along. 
Coming soon: the cover art reveal and my first giveaway!

News & Info for DISCIPLE

Disciple is a gritty fantasy romance in six parts. Part I: For Want of a Piglet will be available in November, 2012, as an e-book and print-on-demand paperback.

Watch this space for information, updates, and give-aways! Follow me via Google, Networked Blogs, or RSS -->

Back cover:
The saints favor her, else-wise a peasant girl like Kate Carpenter would never be apprenticed to the kingdom’s master healer. But her patron saint also marks her ready for the duty of tending to a mission that must cross the ice-bound mountains. Their little kingdom faces invasion by a vast empire and desperately needs allies; across the snow-filled pass, through the deathly thin air, is a country that’s held off the empire and may be willing to lend an army. 

Kate knows about frostbite and the everyday injuries of wilderness travel. She can heal those.

She’s not ready for the attentions of a ne’er-do-well knight and the kingdom’s only prince, though.

And she isn’t ready for the monsters that harry them night and day, picking off their archers first, wearing the party to exhaustion, pushing Kate beyond the limits her healing abilities.

She must keep them alive, or her blood will be on the snow too.

Read a sample of Part I here.

[image error]