Van Gogh Gone Book Launch

I know. I'm totally late in posting these, but they are finally here! Yay! I love this YA series so much and loved being hosted by The King's English Bookshop. They are by far one of my favorite places in Utah. Thanks to them for the location. A shout out to my friends Suzie and Bethany for the fabulous cookies. Thanks to the Durtschi's at Crio Bru for providing the amazing brewed cocoa bean drinks (yum!). Last of all, thanks to all my supporters for coming out and listening to me gush about this labor of love, Van Gogh Gone. You can still pick up a copy at your local Utah bookstore, Deseret Book, or Amazon. Don't forget to read Remembrandt first if you want to get the full story :)

It's go time!
I absolutely LOVE my cover to Van Gogh Gone (Remembrandt #2). It may be that I helped create it, but it's probably more because I got the gorgeous Marli to model for me and Summer Nicole Photo to take the cover photo.

My cheesy smile before the launch begins.

Thanks to my 7-year-old, these custom cookies were nearly gone before the launch even started.

Though some of these gorgeous cookies (made to mimic the symbol of the spy organization in the book) were damaged in transit, they tasted as good as they looked. Thanks, Suzie!

A launch wouldn't be complete without my biggest supporter, my daughter . . . and that child that I will not claim behind us :)

Crio Bru? Yes, please! You can't have a book launch on a chilly day without a warm brewed drink.

Bethany saved the day with these custom cookies she created just hours before the launch. It's a good thing we had them in addition to the others because every one of them disappeared minutes after the reading and Q&A.

There are so many people I love in this picture!

My cute friends from book club! Jen, Kara, and Julie - you guys are the best.

This mother-daughter duo are such good friends and great supporters. Love you, Krista and Shaustia!

Just waiting around with The King's English staff before I began.

Just giving a little back story on how Remembrandt and Van Gogh Gone came to be.

I know I was saying something super interesting here.

I'll be honest with you, I don't even remember what part of my book I read for the reading! Does anyone remember?

Either I said something really funny here or someone in the audience did ;)

My handsome hubby and youngest daughter totally enthralled by my words.

Some of my favorite people came!

Marissa from Rae Gun Ramblings came! She is amazingly cute blogger, crafter, and reader. Her etsy shop (cute and hip baby and toddler clothes) is TO DIE FOR!

See? Totally enthralled . . . 

I'm so funny! (and I was so 16 weeks pregnant too and no one knew)

I told you I was funny. Love you, Amy!

Whitney and Alix came too.

They couldn't wait to get reading.

Angie is my soul sister and seriously should not stand next to me because she's so gorgeous.

Signing time! The King's English has this cute little nook upstairs where authors sign their books. I love it.

I like to personalize my books before I sign my name. 

Finally, I got a chance to sit back and relax.

and drink some Crio Bru.

This was not posed. If it was, I wouldn't have a double chin :)

Kelly from Delicious Reads and LitJoy Crate is one of my favorite people and has supported me from the beginning.

Some of my Delicious Reads friends. I love you guys!

I love that you'll do crazy jumps in the air with me.

 I vaguely remember someone making an inappropriate comment here about my the placement of my books. Thanks to all my supporters (no pun intended) .

Seriously, this was the best book launch I could have asked for!

XoXo,

P.S. The final book in the Remembrandt series will be coming out fall 2016! I'll be announcing the title at an event this coming Saturday,

Book Review: Silence by Deborah Lytton

Love is blind. But it's also deaf. 

I love getting an advanced readers copy (ARC) of a book because I feel like I get to make my own opinion of a book before anyone else has read it and influenced me. I got my hands on this book a few weeks ago and couldn't wait to pick it up.



Title: Silence
Author: Deborah Lytton
Pages: 312
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Date: January 6, 2015
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Summary: Stella was born to sing. Someday Broadway. Even though she's only a sophomore at a new high school, her voice has given her the status as a "cool kid." But everything changes when a tragic accident renders her deaf. She can't hear herself sing not to mention speak. She can't hear anything. Silence. What happens when everything you've dreamed of and hoped for is shattered in a single moment?

Enter Hayden, the boy with blond curls who stutters. He's treated like an outcast because he's not "normal." And, yet, Stella feels an attraction to him that she can't explain. As Hayden reaches out to help Stella discover a world without sound, his own tragic past warns him to keep a distance. But their connection is undeniable. Can the boy who stutters and the girl who's deaf ever find a happily-ever-after? Silence is a story of friendship and hope with a lesson that sometimes it takes a tragedy to help us find and appreciate beauty and love in unexpected places.


My Opinion: Like a sonnet. A steady rhythm of beautiful words and feelings. You anticipate the ending, but don't want it to be over either.

4.25/5 Stars

I was initially intrigued with the idea of this novel - a girl who loves to sing, but tragically loses her hearing. A boy who stutters is the only one she can understand. 

I loved the quick connection that I felt to Stella and Hayden. I'm glad I got to see both of their perspectives (I wish I'd had more from Hayden!). The teenage voice was spot on. 

The best part about this novel is the feelings and thoughts it created in me. Stella has to rediscover herself and the question is posed: is her voice what makes her? It raised the question in me: am I defined by what I can do or by who I am?

I love that Hayden is there, literally and figuratively saving Stella and teaching her that she doesn't need her hearing to live, that Someday Broadway isn't what makes her who she is. She can be something in silence.

I haven't read a lot of books lately where I love the ending. This book changed that for me. Throughout the story I kept hoping that Stella and Hayden would heal each other, but I wasn't sure if I wanted Stella to get her hearing back. I was so pleased with the turn of events (I won't spoil it). 

This would be a great read for anyone that enjoys YA or light romance. Even though it wasn't set in the Jane Austen era, it had the feel of a Regency Period piece - a slow and steady building to a dramatic end.

My Content Rating: PG

Sexuality: Mild (Kissing, Hand holding)

Language/Profanity: None

Drug/Alcohol Use: Mild (Hayden's mom and alcohol at a party)

Intense/Scary Scenes: Mild (Pool scene, some blood)

Violence: Mild (Physical/Emotional Abuse by Hayden's mom)

**Robin-approved for teens**

The Making of a Book Cover: Remembrandt

People keep asking me if I got to chose the cover to Remembrandt or not. I kind of ho-hum around the topic because it is a yes-no answer. Any of you who know much about the publishing world, know that most authors have no say whatsoever in their cover.

After Walnut Springs Press offered me a contract earlier this year, they had me send them a list of some book cover ideas, along with a detailed description of all the characters and places in the book. I sent a list of about 5-6 ideas. Since their graphic designer was out of the office until the next week and would only have a few days when they got back to deliver some mock-up covers to Deseret Book, I asked if I could put some of my own mock-ups together. They said yes!

I spent a few days searching for stock images of the main character (a blonde teen with gray eyes) and scenes from Russia (one of the settings in the book). I came up with a few possible ideas and put together a couple cover ideas. BUT I still was't happy with them. Then a friend and fellow photographer (thank you, Mary!) reminded me that I am a photographer too and offered to help with a photo shoot. We gathered together seven or eight models who matched the description of the main characters in the book and clicked away at our cameras.

I spent the next couple of days editing photos, adding text, and layering images. It was a blast coming up with different ideas. Here are some of the many mock-ups we came up with:

My favorites were was the top left one, the black dress with the pink shoes, and the ones with fingers crossed behind back. The publisher also liked the top left one, along with the boy and girl on the bench, Unfortunately, the distributor wanted a more "suspense" looking over. Now that I look back, I totally agree with them. In the end, the graphic designer and Walnut Springs found another model (which is the perfect Alexandra!) and used the Russian scene from my favorite mock-up cover and combined them, similarly as I had done in the top middle mock-up above to get this:

The amazing designer, Tracy Anderson,  added a little makeup to make her appear older (since she's 17 in the book):

At this point, I loved it, but my artist brother, Devin, noticed a crane in the city background, Alexandra's missing shoulder, and thought he could make the transition between her hair and the city more natural. Willow Springs gave me permission to make the changes and here's the final image:

The final cover of Remembrandt

Xoxo,

Robin