Cover Reveal - Another New Life by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle

Today, I get to help Sydney Aaliyah Michelle reveal the cover of her debut novel, Another New Life. Having just done this myself, I know how excited she must be. Congratulations, Sydney!

Cover Design by: C Arijana Karčić, Cover It! Designs

Miranda Preston is a walking contradiction. Beautiful on the outside, but, insecure, haunted and damaged on the inside. Despite these contradictions, she's ready to start Another New Life.

When her talent wins her a piano scholarship to the University of Texas at Austin, Miranda arrives on campus determined to experience everything college has to offer and to keep her secrets in the past where they belong.

An easy task, until the first guy who catches her eye happens to be someone, she's known all her life. Eight years have passed since the last time Miranda and Troy saw each other. He reminds her of the best and worst times of her life, but she can't think about one without dwelling on the other. As they grow closer, every day their attraction reminds them they are no longer kids.

The epic romantic love story that is Miranda and Troy seems to be destined for a happy ending, but Miranda knows it's only a matter of time before her secret is discovered. A secret that will not only destroy their relationship, it will destroy Troy, too.

Can Miranda focus on her future with Troy while preventing her past from tearing them apart all over again?

Title: Another New Life

Author: Sydney Aaliyah Michelle

Publication Date: June 2, 2014

New Adult Contemporary Romance

**This book contains adult subject matter. Not intended for young readers.**

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Website   Facebook   Twitter

Pinterest   Goodreads

 Google+   LinkedIn

 

Sydney Aaliyah Michelle is a New Adult Contemporary Romance writer, a voracious reader and movie fanatic who hails from Texas. She has been blogging at sydneyaaliyah.com for three years, where she interviews people about their tattoos, discusses her favorite movie quotes, reviews books (New Adult & only the ones she loves) and journals about her writing and editing process. After surviving 5 1/2 years living in China, she had the courage to finally pursue her passion and become a writer. 

Sydney's self-published debut New Adult Novel Another New Life will be available June 2014. An active tweeter, she is also a JuNoWriMo (2x) and NaNoWriMo (2x) winners who notes the sci-fi action flick "The Matrix" as the best representation of her life in the past. She is blessed to be awake now and doing what she loves.

The Me You DO See

A mile-long 'to do' list comes with publishing your first book. If you think writing and editing the manuscript is the worst of your worries, think again. Accounts have to be opened, a website has to be built, a bio has to be written, and your book blurb must be polished to perfection—it's overwhelming.

I thought I'd list a few resources that have helped me along the way.
Maybe some of you will find these useful, too.

Author Bio
This is the little paragraph people paste next to your head shot when posting an interview with you or some other kind of promotion, such as a cover reveal or book release announcement. It's also seen on retailer author pages and sometimes in or on books.

I learned there are many angles one can take when writing a bio. You should consider your personality, your product (genre), your brand, and your audience, then write something that fits. This blog post is a great source of ideas.

Press Page
You should seriously consider creating a 'press' or 'media' page on your website or blog, so people can find information easily when helping you promote.
(A disembodied voice whispers, "Make it easy, and they will help...")

Here are some examples:  
Crystal Collier's 
Carrie Butler's 
Mine

A press page doesn't have to be fancy, just organized.

I should probably pause to note: When writing this post, I had to peruse quite a few of your blogs & websites to find examples. Most authors barely had a usable bio & head shot (meaning their 'about me' pages were fine for visitors, but inappropriate and / or too long for promos), and their links, cover images, and book blurbs were often listed on separate pages, spread all over the place. I even found one press page that was password protected. Not sure why.

How many clicks would it take for a promoter to gather all your info?

:)
The folks over 40 will get that.

Here's an article on press packs to help you organize your stuff and decide what to include.

Book Blurbs
The back cover blurb (a.k.a. story description) is arguably the most important piece of text we'll ever write, with the exception of the actual book. (As if we need any more pressure - gah!) In fact, some say it's more important. If the cover and story description don't grab the reader's attention, they won't bother venturing any further.

These two articles helped me write my blurb:
Gotcha Blurbs: Easy and Fun to Write
How to Write Back Blurb for Your Book

Another thing that helped was pulling a couple of paperbacks off my shelf—ones that had good blurbs. I didn't copy them, of course, but I read them and paid attention to how they were written and arranged. I took those concepts and applied them to my story, then came up with something unique to me.

This has been a mile-long post about (a portion of) my mile-long list, but I hope you found something useful. Thanks for visiting. :)

To tweet about this post, click here.

Blog Luv List for Thursday

I'm feelin' the love so much today, I can hardly stand it!
The writing community is awesome.

Multi-published author and NA leader E.J. Wesley is posting the cover of my debut novel, Come Back. Thanks E.J.!

The kind and multi-talented Michael Di Gesu chose Come Back for his letter 'C' post. He wrote one of his cool intros for my book!

Another favorite writer-blogger, Liz Blocker, is hosting me for a guest post—an interview about writing the difficult scenes. This one's short, but it's deep.
Fair warning.

Thanks for stopping by.
I hope you'll pay these generous bloggers a visit.  :)

IWSG April - It's my turn

This is my Insecure Writers Support Group post for April.  
For more information about the group, see the bottom of this post.

Alex's awesome co-hosts for April are: 
Hart Johnson, Chemist Ken, Candilynn Fite,  

Terri Rochenski, Clare Dugmore, 
and Lilica Blake!

Please stop by their blogs and say thank you.

It's late Tuesday afternoon, and I'm just now writing my IWSG post.
That is so not like me. But my tardiness has a good reason.

If you hadn't already deduced from the countdown clock on my sidebar, I'm in the final stages of publishing my first book. Between coordinating guest posts, replying to blog comments, and putting the finishing touches on my debut, I barely know what day it is!

I'm too busy to be insecure. :P

That's not entirely true. Preparing my ms for the formatter—knowing I couldn't make any changes after that—was a panic-inducing task. I think I read my book four times in less than two weeks, combing it for awkward phrasing and errors.

Anyhow. A visiting blogger made a comment this week that reminded me of the times I wistfully watched (what seemed like all) my writer friends publish, wondering if it would ever be my turn.

If you're feeling that way, you might find this guest post reassuring. It describes some of the struggles I faced while writing Come Back and the time I spent honing my craft. Even for indies, publication doesn't happen overnight.

Last but not least, I'd like to give a big thank you to Chemist Ken for posting my book cover today.

Happy IWSG. Thanks for stopping by. :)

IWSG is the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. It's a monthly bloghop that offers a safe haven for writers to express their feelings and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. It's also a venue for offering support, both in the form of comments and positive posts. Writers of all kinds are welcome. 

We 'meet' the first Wednesday of every month. If you're interested in learning more, click on the link above. And don't be intimidated by the size of the group. We're not expected to visit everyone on the list. 

I've Changed My Mind

  

I've decided not to 
publish after all.








:P
April Fools

Had you going for a minute, didn't I? LOL

Or maybe not. The sidebar kinda gives it away. And anyone who knows me knows I'm too stubborn and obsessed to give up now. xD

Anyhoo...
The real reason for my post is to show some blog luv for a couple of writing friends who have graciously offered to host me. I'll be doing this from time to time, so please forgive the frequent posts.

But then, I'm not the only one tapping the publish button like it's a telegraph key this month, am I? *raises brow*

I'd like to give an enthusiastic fist pump to all you AtoZers.
Dun-dun-dun-duhhhhh. It begins. Good luck. :)

Today I'm over at Father Dragon's cave with a guest post about the process and challenges of writing Come Back. I'd love it if you'd pay Al a visit.

I also want to give a shout-out to Elizabeth Seckman who's participating in my cover reveal today. Thanks, Elizabeth!

It's Cover Reveal Day!

I can't believe it! Reveal day is finally here!

For over two years, I've been researching and writing my debut novel,  
Come Back, and preparing it for publication. I was blessed to meet author and graphic designer Carrie Butler early in my writing journey. Carrie has not only helped me improve as a writer, she's the talent and inspiration behind the novel's cover design.

You can find this multi-talented lady at...

I know you're anxious to see the cover, so I won't make you wait any longer.

Left behind by everyone she loves...

Rebecca Garvey had the promise of a California future dreams are made of, until the wagon train her family was traveling with left her behind. Now she’s slowly dying in the wilderness, abandoned and stripped of her self-worth. Once the shock of her desertion turns to embittered despair, she doesn’t want to be found. Then a handsome stranger challenges her convictions and changes her mind.

Headed for Texas, chased by the demons of his past...

Seth Emerson knows exactly what he wants. Working to save for a cattle ranch of his own keeps him busy and keeps his pain buried. Rescuing a stubborn woman from the hills of New Mexico Territory isn’t part of his plan—but she’s exactly what he needs.

Making greater sacrifices than either of them could foresee...

Seth and Rebecca set off on a risky journey and a quest for truth, each healing the other’s love-starved soul along the way. Will they give in to their growing attraction?  Or will they honor their commitments when Seth returns Rebecca to civilization... 

and her betrothed?

Come Back

New Adult / Adult
Western Historical Romance

Available May 2014

Here's the full paperback version...

Carrie did a wonderful job, don't you think?

And the winner is...

It's time to announce the winner of the cover teaser contest!  (Two winners, actually. In light of the number of entries, I decided to double up.)

These bloggers were randomly chosen from the list of eligible entries.  

Congratulations,
Chemist Ken & Liz Blocker! 
You both won!

You get a free e-copy of Come Back and a 
$10 gift certificate to your choice of 

Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Here are the answers for those interested...

The answer is: C

(think baking powder)

The answer is: B

(showoff :P)

The answer is: C 

But I'm not gonna tell you why.

The answer is: B

The answer is: A

The answer is: B

The answer is: C

Sometimes they'd just throw in the shell to decrease 

bitterness; but, since they boiled coffee back then (no filter),

cracking an egg and tossing in the whole thing

would also help settle the grounds.

These are the bloggers I know of who are 

participating in the cover reveal today. 
(This list is still growing as I discover more posts.
Y'all were supposed to tell me! LOL)

My apologies if I miss anyone.

Carrie Butler
Julie Flanders
Loni Townsend

Quanie Miller (+ excerpt!)
Elise Fallson (+ excerpt!)
Azia DuPont 

Jeff Hargett

Carol Kilgore
Cathrina Constantine
M. L. Swift
Caffe Maggieato 

And here's a recap of the bloggers who 
made the cover teaser contest possible.

Julie Flanders

Alex J. Cavanaugh

Cathrina Constantine

Loni Townsend

Natasha Hanova

H.R. Sinclair

Candilynn Fite

 A big thank you goes to every single one of you!

I want to conclude by saying how humbled I am by all the support 
my fellow bloggers have shown, generously and selflessly helping me promote—both those who helped with the cover reveal and those who've offered to help in the coming weeks.

You guys are awesome.

I'm proud to call you my friends.