The making of a cover ... #ChasingCars

I told you we had 100 variations of the Chasing Cars and the Lessons We Learned cover, right? Mindy and I like to play and design our covers before we send them to Starla to create real thing for us. We call these mock-ups and sometimes they are BAD! 

Case in point—this is a small sample of #SubwayStops.
First, you see the water and city vectors we wanted to use. Next, you see the city Mindy drew because we wanted the twin towers included in our cover. Then you see our mock-up we sent to Starla.
The bright green is what Starla sent back and none of us liked that color very much, so we ended up with purple.  

Chasing Cars was a beast to design. Originally, we wanted to go with the map idea, but then it seemed odd that we did a map for PP and CC, but not SS. So we began to play. Cars, birch trees, bunting, and bears. Oh, my! 
Okay, so the bear was a joke—one that will make perfect sense when you read Chasing Cars. Enjoy this craptastic evolution of a cover...

Ultimately, as I'm sure you've seen by now, we chose the world. Mindy drew the landmarks, Starla made it awesome, colorful, and perfect. HERE is the cover reveal link if you didn't see it (there's an excerpt only see in MY post for you). 

So, next time you see one of our covers know that most likely there are 20+ versions of that cover floating around in our laptops. Cover decisions are hard y'all!

A #ChasingCars Cover and a SALE!

We're finally here! Cover reveal day.
Like #PaperPlanes and #SubwayStops we wanted the cover for Chasing Cars to be unique. Mindy and I made over 100 mock covers trying to find the perfect feel for Amber and Olle's story. Funny thing was when we first had the idea of this series we KNEW what we wanted for the covers. We changed our minds. Woman's prerogative, right? I'm going to do a post sharing our many (hilarious) outtakes tomorrow, so for now check out what we ended up with thanks to the wonders of creative collaboration, Mindy's drawing skills, and a fabulous cover designer Designed by Starla

PREORDER TODAY FOR ONLY 99¢
AMAZON will go live for preorder May 1
iBooks |  B&N

Scroll past the cover for a HUGE sale!

Chasing Cars and the Lessons We Learned
Series: Paper Planes #3
Genre: Sweet, New Adult, Contemporary Romance
(StandAlone)
Rated: PG-13
Release Date: May16th


On June 18, 1992, Flight 397 crashed off the coast of Long Island. 

After Amber Pratt lost her parents, her life turned into a downward spiral. So, she did what any twenty-one-year-old would do; she quit her life to backpack across Europe.

Olle Holström was supposed to be a fling in the wilds of Finland. A detour. That is all it should have been. 

It was so much more.


Olle pulls my chair out. Always a gentleman. “Thank you.”  
“Ole hyvä,” he says close to my ear, his hand brushing my bare shoulder as he takes the seat next to mine. Not across, the way he did during our meal at the fortress Monday.
Everything about this night feels different. Important. Shaking the meaning of our date away, I look at the menu the hostess left. English. Well, that’s a relief. I scoot forward in my seat and peruse the offerings. My leg bouncing on the toe of my fancy shoes with nerves.
“I imagine this might not be politically correct here, but I have to tell you I’ll be mildly irritated if you order the reindeer.”
He chuckles. “You do not eat deer in the States?”
“Deer, yes. Rudolph, no.”
His shoulders shake with suppressed laughter. “It is not much different, but for you, okei.”


DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS LIMITED TIME SALE


Paper Planes and Other Things We Lost

Subway Stops and the Places We Meet

**Due to author error the UK Sale starts 4/5 so mark your calendars!**



| About the Authors |



Michele writes novels with fairytale love for everyday life. Romance is always central to her plots where the genres range from Coming of Age Fantasy and Drama to New Adult Romantic Suspense.

Having grown up in both the cold, quiet town of Topsham, Maine and the steamy, southern hospitality of Mobile, Alabama, Michele is something of an enigma. She is an avid Yankees fan, loves New England, being outdoors and misses snow. However she thinks southern boys are hotter, Alabama football is the only REAL football out there and sweet tea is the best thing this side of heaven and her children's laughter! 

Her family, an amazing husband and three awesome kids, have planted their roots in the middle of Michele's two childhood homes in Charlotte, North Carolina. 




Mindy is the youngest of six children and grew up in San Diego, California. After attending Brigham Young University-Idaho, Mindy discovered her passion for reading and writing. Mindy and her husband have been married for eight years and live in Summerville, South Carolina. 

She is the author of the YA fantasy series, The Faylinn Novels; the adult contemporary romance series, The Willowhaven Series; as well as the coming of age standalone, The Day That Saved Us.






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The one with the #SubwayStops cover . . .

I'm so excited to finally share the precious with you . . .

  When Mindy and I dreamed up the Paper Planes series we knew instantly what we wanted our covers to look like. In fact, I made mock-ups for all three books on April 29, 2016. Do you know how hard it is to keep something secret for that long???
  Cut to November 2016 and we're finally ready to have the 'real' cover designed. Something happened as we revisited our original cover concept. We were writing a book set in NYC in the early 90s and we wanted to showcase that idea, but our original drawing lacked one thing we REALLY wanted. What do you do when that happens? Well, if you're us you draw it yourself. That's right, Mindy took her tablet and drew the city you see below, based on our concept art but with one critical, and lovingly remembered, aspect. She rocks! 
  Next, our designer and friend, Starla Huchton (Designed by Starla) took that drawing and cleaned up the lines (no small feat, I might add!) all because Mindy's drawing wasn't the right DPI *sighs*
  Starla then helped us pull everything together into one beautifully perfect cover. Seriously, she went through ten or so background colors for us until we agreed on the final (all while I waited for Rogue One to start at the theater!) 

Here's the cover for your viewing pleasure . . . 

  If you're unfamiliar with how covers are created let me tell you this design is from scratch. The city (custom drawing), clouds (customized stock), paper plane (customized stock), water (created from Photo Shop), and the fonts, are each individual elements chosen by us and our designer to create the feel we wanted. We are so proud of this one and hope you love it as much as we do! AND as much as the Paper Planes cover.

The blurb . . .

The details . . .
Subway Stops is the second book in the Paper Planes series and tells the continuing story of characters introduced in book one. It can be read on its own since the main characters are different, but there will be spoilers from Paper Planes included. If you want the entire story, we recommend you read them in order.
Genre: Clean Adult Contemporary Romance
Rating: PG-13
Availability: iBooks, Amazon, Kobo, B&N in e-book & paperback

Coming: February 16, 2017

Add to your Goodreads list HERE
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Pinterest board for Paper Planes and Subway Stops

 

Release updates from Linda Joyce & Brenda Pandos

I love sharing my fellow Red Coat PR authors books. Here are two updates for you.

New Release by Linda Joyce and some re-branding news from Brenda Pandos






 Artist Amelia Britton battles her older brother for the right to remain on the family farm—their inheritance after their parents’ tragic deaths—she faces a looming mortgage, weather threatens to destroy her crops, and the man she secretly loves only sees her as Craig’s little sister.


After serving his country in Afghanistan, Lucas Dwyer expected to return home to his family’s farm, but the bank foreclosed. Undeterred, he begins combining-for-hire to support his younger sister in college. His best friend convinces him to discourage local guys from dating Amelia. Craig wants her back in the city, farming is too hard for a woman alone. Only one problem—Lucas has fallen in love with Amelia.



With family, the bank, and the weather conspiring against them, can Amelia and Lucas ever hope to grow the love blooming between them?






“If I say, ‘I love your sister and want to marry her,’ he’ll laugh his ass off, or worse yet, when he finds out what just transpired, he’ll want a duel at dawn. How did a man born and raised in the country come to equate vast open spaces, glorious sunsets, and fresh everything with an inferior lifestyle?”

“Are you speaking to me, young man?” An older man approached on the sidewalk. His cane tapped against the pavement as he walked.

“No, sir. Talking to myself.”

“Crazy are you?” the man asked as he continued walking.

“Yep. Crazy about a woman.”

“Continue on, then,” the man said as he passed. “Try telling her about it rather than talking to strangers.”

Book Viral Book Review

Our review......
A novel with authentic appeal and  genuine depth, Her Heart's Desire is the new release from Linda Joyce. Book 1 in her Sunflower Series, it certainly won’t disappoint her many fans, with a thoughtful and sophisticate narrative that has it all.  Love, pain, laughter and tears with a home country feeling that genuinely captures the authenticity of her rural setting, it begins at an almost  languid pace with an overt sense of ordinariness and yet there’s nothing simplified as it quickly gathers momentum. Just as in real life, complexities of the heart prevail and with an acerbic pen Joyce draws her readers into an unfolding drama that feels wholly believable. She knows what her readers want and delivers it without the emotional baggage, underpinning the characters of Lia and Lucas with back stories that play to the romantic tension developing between them. They’re both incredibly likeable and certainly strong enough to carry a new series, but they also remind us that even in the aftermath of loss, life does goes on; sometimes in new and exciting directions.

A genuinely guilty pleasure, Her Heart's Desire bodes well for the Sunflower Series and is recommended without reservation.


Linda Joyce is an award-winning contemporary romance author born on Christmas Eve. Her Louisiana family’s roots run deep, and they’re intertwined with her Japanese heritage. Her vagabond childhood afforded her a variety of travel opportunities. Now she lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and their three dogs: General Beauregard, Gentleman Jack, and Masterpiece Renoir.
Linda penned her first manuscript while living in Japan as a U.S. Air Force dependent. Her classmates lined up at recess to read her latest pages. During high school in Florida, a literary magazine published her poetry. In college, she worked on the school’s newspaper as a reporter and learned layout and design.
A graduate of the University of Florida, Linda holds a Bachelor of Science in Management. She worked in corporate America, earned the Senior Claims Law Associate professional designation, and completed Six Sigma Green Belt training.
Linda is a self-professed foodie and has the kitchen of her dreams. She enjoys painting when she can fit it in. She and her husband, Don, love college football. They frequently go RVing, and at last count, they’ve traveled to twenty-one states with “the boys.”






DOUBLE RELEASE DAY BLITZ

LOST IN TIME SERIES

YA/Teen Post Apocalyptic
Covers by: Okay Creations.


G L I T C H (Lost in Time #1)

FINALIST in the 2014 KINDLE BOOK AWARDS 
Welcome to Brighton, where there is no crime, everyone knows the date of their death, and the people live in fear of what's on the other side of the wall. 
Abigail has everything one could want--promise of a long life, potential for love, flawless genes and an amazing best friend. She's perfectly content until her dreams are crushed after seeing a glimpse into her future. One person warned her not to find out, the only person she's ever seen with blue-eyes: a handsome stranger who handed her an illegal slip of paper. Does she dare leave the wall and enter the zombie zone to find him and demand answers? 

With that knowledge though comes a decision: fight or run. That is if Brighton doesn't get a hold of her and her powers first. 



S W I T C H (Lost in Time #2)

Forty-five years ago, the government unleashed a deadly virus. Those who were wealthy and wanted were given a vaccine. The rest died. Everyone was told the virus created zombies. It was all a hoax.
Twenty-two years ago, a small group of blue-eyed people saw the government for what it was and escaped Brighton to save their lives.
Eighteen years ago, my future-self hid me at birth.
A month ago, my future-self had my future-husband kidnap me.
Two weeks ago, I time traveled for the first time.
A week ago, I accidentally brought back the zombie virus.
Yesterday, my future-husband was infected.
Today, if I don’t find the cure, I’ll lose him and all hope for humanity forever.






MEET THE AUTHOR,
Brenda Pandos


 Author Brenda Pandos lives in California with her husband, two energetic boys, eight chickens and a grumpy orange cat. She writes fast-paced stories about kissing, hot mermen, bad boy vampires, and occasionally zombies--not all in the same stories. When she's not writing, or wrangling her kids, she's failing at her latest Pinterest replication or delivering a really bad pun. More than anything she loves to hear from readers. Feel free to email brendapandos@gmail.com or write on her facebook wall.








*NEW LOOK* The Prophecy of Tyalbrook

Over the past few months I've been busy behind the scenes. I've taken my debut novel,  Never Let You Fall and book two in the series Never Let You Go and worked with my editor Samantha on cleaning them up. The story is the same, but better! 
I also worked with the fabulous Regina Wamba of Mae I Design to repackage them with gorgeous new covers. Check them out...


Never Let You Fall

Their journey began with a promise…

   "I won’t let you fall. You will not die for me. I can’t live with that, Xander, and I would rather let them take me before I let them kill you.” He opened his mouth to argue, but I held up my hand.        “Don’t argue it. There’s no point. I’ve made up my mind.”
He shook his head, but didn’t argue. Instead, he promised as he always did, “If anything happens to you… if we get separated, if you martyr yourself… anything, Skye. As long as I am breathing, I will always find you. Always.”
   Those were precisely the words I’d counted on him saying.

AN ORPHAN with no memory of her past and no hope for her future.
A GUARDIAN determined to keep her safe.
A DESTINY neither of them expected.

Never Let You Go

Two souls desperate to discover the truth about the past and determined to save their future…

SKYE
The usual warmth I felt deep in my soul when Xander was near me was beginning to dull. Yet I still remembered the warning: “Be careful, my Princess…you will lose all you love before you can win what you want.”

XANDER
I could feel it; she hadn’t been here. Two days of hell, riding as fast as we could and only taking small breaks, and yet she had outrun us. How?

A PRINCESS set on regaining her Kingdom and protecting those she loves…
A GUARDIAN who will stop at nothing to find the woman who stole his heart…
An EVIL FORCE who will destroy everything they know in order to have power over all…

The journey continues in Never Let You Go, book two in The Prophecy of Tyalbrook Series.

I hope you love these as much as I do. I think they portray my characters perfectly while fitting in with today's fantasy covers you would see in the bookstores. 

I look forward to finishing off the series soon and revealing one last cover... until then KEEP READING!