Sunday, February 1, 2015

Readying for the Shakedown Launch of my First Novel

MISSION SUCCESS
Fabulous February Triple Launch Update

Inherit the Stars

It appears (after just a teeny bit of panic and angst) that my third of the Fabulous February Triple Launch Party is on schedule and in route to the launch pad! I was able to complete the final edits (puff, puff!) and write the accompanying information sheets for all three parts, and ship everything off to my agent in the last two days. (Whew! *wipes sweaty forehead*)

As of now, it looks like we're a GO for the T-minus February 22 launch date for Inherit the Stars Part I: Flight.

Part II: The Network and Part III: Sacrifice are scheduled to launch just one week later on March 1st!

So needless to say, it's been a very busy couple of weeks! And as a debut author, I'm working through a lot of "firsts." I've had plenty of experience with critique partners, beta readers, and contest judges in the past, but this was my maiden voyage with a couple of honest-to-goodness editors.

I learned a lot from the experience and I so appreciate their professionalism and expertise, and everything they did to bring some of the subtler points out into the light and to refine my characters' thoughts, deeds, words and actions.

There are times the process can get a bit grueling, but I think the end product is going to be well worth the effort. It was a total education! My hats off to Paula Dooley who served as developmental editor, and Danielle Fine who was the line editor (as well as the cover artist for all of the fabulous covers).

I found this quote on Twitter that perfectly sums up my feelings:

I've also been sticking my toe into the cool waters of the promotion pond lately. (And hey, I have to admit, it's a blast to finally have something to promote!) Here are the links:

Farewell Andromeda Cover Reveal - The Galaxy Express

Why I Wrote This Book: Farewell Andromeda - Pauline Baird Jones Blogher

Farewell Andromeda Announcement - Jessica Subject's Mark of the Stars Blog

SFR with a Twist: Why Write a SFR Solely From the Male POV? - SFR Brigade Blog
Inherit the Stars being the subject of this one. It had a great follow-up discussion.

Inherit the Stars Exclusive Triple Cover Reveal - The Galaxy Express

This month, I'll also be joining a host of other SFR authors as a guest on Anna Hackett Books Blog for the Sci-Fi Romance Authors Month. My scheduled day is February 13th--the day before Valentine's Day! Here's the link to her site: http://annahackettbooks.com/blog

NEW BLURB

Last but certainly not least, here's the brand new shiny blurb for Inherit the Stars, just off the press and still smokin'! Thanks (again) to Paula Dooley for helping to put a very fine point on it!

To escape the merciless Ithian Alliance, Sair, a fugitive slave, makes a desperate deal with Drea Mennelsohn, captain of the prototype ship, Specter. But putting his life in the hands of a woman as mysterious as she is beguiling could turn out to be the biggest mistake of his life, especially when the price on his head begins to escalate.

The daring captain seems to want far more from Sair than just payment for his passage. Though neither can deny the sizzling chemistry and growing bond between them, Sair must soon make an agonizing decision: maintain his own longed-for freedom or become a helpless pawn in an intergalactic coup against a ruthless superpower.

As the truth behind Sair's place in the galaxy and Drea's unique existence are revealed, it becomes clear that they are vital to the success of the coup. But their part in ending the Ithian Alliance may come at a terrible price for Sair: the loss of the remarkable woman he has fallen in love with—and their chance to inherit the stars.

INHERIT THE STARS GETS A NAMESAKE

Along with all the excitement of the upcoming launch, we had an arrival back on January 10th in the form of a black Thoroughbred filly out of our Lion Heart mare, Soulful. This little girl has a star studded pedigree (Secretariat, Seattle Slew, Storm Cat, Stellar Jayne and Relaunch among them!) so I got this crazy idea.

"Wouldn't it be fun if..."

I filed a name claim with the American Jockey Club and two days later our name choice was approved.

So world, meet the OTHER Inherit the Stars. :)

This little girl has a big brother who will have an unofficial birthday (all Thoroughbreds officially turn a year older on January 1) TODAY,~~February 2nd!~~and just a day before the launch of the novel he was named after, Sharon's ECHO 8!

Here he is when he was Inherit the Star's age a little less than a year ago. And note the "falling asteroid" marking on his face that helped us decide on his name--along with being a grandson of Seattle (where the book is set) Slew, and having parents that are Diabolical and Soulful (which is how I'd describe the plot of this fantastic book).

Let me just shout that out again! The long-awaited ECHO 8 releases tomorrow! Don't miss this one!

To celebrate the naming of our new foal, I'm offering a chance to win a free copy of the complete Inherit the Stars e-novel (in other words, all three parts) gifted via Amazon to the first person who comments with the name of their favorite racehorse or the name of their favorite Science Fiction Romance novel in the comments below. We'll choose a winner next weekend and announce it here, so check back if you enter.

2014 SFR GALAXY AWARDS PRESENTED

The SFR Galaxy Awards were announced on Saturday, and there were a host of great winners this year. The presenters for these awards choose novels based on a wide variety of criteria, so it's a lot of fun and provides a showcase for some of the super diverse shiny-ness that is SFR. If you'd like to check out all the winners, click here: 2014 SFR Galaxy Awards

PING PONG

Pippa, kudos, congrats and high five on the shiny new cover for Keir! It's gorgeous, dynamic and it also fits the characters to a T! What a work of art. Squeeeee!

Congrats to both Sharon for this weeks release, and to Donna who is also revving up for her debut release on February 24th, in the form of the brilliant, past RWA(c) Golden Heart Award finalist, Earth-based SFR, Unchained Memory. (And yes, I've already warned her there may be a future foal who will be named after her Interstellar Rescue series!)

Have a great week, everyone!
~~~ * ~~~

17 comments:

  1. Woo hoo! Well, my fave SFR of last year (and now a SFR Galaxy award winner as of Saturday) was Spark Rising. Now that wouldn't be a bad name for a racehorse either methinks... :P

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    1. Pippa, now that could be an interesting name for a horse!

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  2. Congratulations on finishing, Laurie! What an exciting month this is. And I forgot little Echo 8 had a birthday today! Nice to have a birth to celebrate at the same time as the death of the Kalakala!

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    1. So sad about the Kalakala, Sharon. And yes, hard to believe it's been a year already on "little" Echo Eight...who is not so little these days.

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  3. Congratulation on the upcoming release(s) Laurie! I'm looking forward to checking them out. It is so hard to pick a favorite SF romance since I read and enjoy so many. When asked to pick favorites, I tend to go with recently read since the effects of those books are still with me. In the past year, I think my favorite was The Key by Pauline Baird Jones.

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    1. That's a great pick, Riley! Thank you, and glad you stopped by to comment.

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  4. Congratulations - new books and new foals!

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  5. Silver Charm is my favorite race horse. He was so gorgeous in his heyday.

    Please tell me Inherit The Stars will be out on Nook! If it's not, I will be one very unhappy potential fan.

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    1. Rachel, Inherit the Stars will go up on Amazon first, but I'll talk to Amanda about offering it on Nook, as well.

      Oh, Silver Charm was a beauty. One of Baffert's all-time best, IMHO. His near miss in the Triple Crown was heartbreaking. I wish he was still in the US instead of being purchased by a Japanese owner (as so many good ones are), because his Buckpasser-Tom Fool sire line is a bit rare.

      Thanks for commenting.

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    2. The rest of the MacLit stuff does go up on Nook. Just wanted to make sure the normal rules applied with this one. I have several friends represented by Chip and published through the various MacLit lines, and my CP is with Amanda.

      Silver Charm is why gray dapple is one of my favorite colorings. He was such a gorgeous thing, and still is even though he's turned white. I almost cried when he didn't win the Belmont.

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    3. Amanda hasn't mentioned putting it on Nook, but I don't see why it would be a problem.

      Yeah, there have been so many horses that "just missed' the Triple Crown. I really hated seeing California Chrome come up short last year, but the two who I think really had a shot at it--Risen Star and Afleet Alex--both lost the Derby by small margins, then came back and dominated the fields in the last two legs. Risen Star crushed the field in the Belmont by nearly 15 lengths. He looked like his daddy that day.

      Our filly is already showing signs of graying out. She has the genes, so we'll see. Stellar Jayne was a gorgeous gray, as is our filly's sire.

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  6. Right there with you on the learning curve, Laurie! It's a fun ride, though! Congrats on everything ITS!

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    1. Thanks, Donna. And isn't it kind of amazing that after meeting four years ago our books are launching only two days apart! :D

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  7. Thanks, Donna. Yeah, we're the newbie-ettes. That's okay. I've been enjoying my edumacation,

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  8. Thanks to all who commented.

    The winner of Inherit the Stars (all three parts gifted via Amazon) is Riley Moreland. Congrats, Riley!

    I'm also going to do a bonus and gift Inherit the Stars Part I to Aurora Springer and Rachel Leigh Smith (if Kindle works for you).

    Email me at Lgreen2162 at aol dot com to let me know to what email address you'd like to have Amazon send the gift notices when they release.

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    1. Thanks Laurie! I just sent you an e-mail. Can't wait to read Inherit the Stars!

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