The Making of a Book Cover: The Girl with Two Hearts

I'm so excited that I decided to be a part of Swoon Reads and make a mock book cover for my most recent manuscript, The Girl with Two Hearts. Obviously the final published cover will probably not look anything like all my mock covers, but I wanted to share some of the ones I came up with before I decided on the final one.

I first started out with a Pinterest board of the feel for my book, which is a young adult contemporary romance about a girl with a heterotrophic heart transplant (an extra heart grafted to her weak one) who wants nothing more than to get a standing ovation before her two hearts give out. The story is set in Seattle, the main characters meet doing tai chi together, and the boy helps the girl conquer her fear of singing on stage to help her win a singing competition.

After I scoured the internet for images that had the feel I wanted, then I just started playing around. This was the first round of covers I came up with:

I had some friends and my writing group vote. Many liked #2 and #11. But then everyone else had a different one they liked. Since several liked the idea of the photo in #8, and I still wanted to give the photo a hint of Seattle and also that the story has romantic elements, I decided I wanted a couple on the front cover, even though I wanted to focus on the fact that all Grace wants is to sing. This made me come up with some other ideas and this was what I came up with next:

With this round of covers, I got the most votes on #5 and #17. I loved so many aspects of that one (Seattle, couple, I added the guitar). I personally liked #5, #16, and #12 the best. In the end, I decided that I needed to keep the couple, and the font was easier to read on #17, so it's the one I'm going with for now:

What do you think? Which cover was your favorite?

If you'd like to beta read the manuscript on Swoon Reads, you can read it here for a limited time. Be sure to make comments as you read (a comment box pops up at after chapter two and then again at the end). If you find any edits, please email them to me so I can fix them in my version (once the book is uploaded to the site, I can't make changes to the one on Swoon Reads). I'd love to hear what you think of the book!

XoXo,

Robin

Book Review: Topaz Reign by Teresa Richards

I love fairy tales but I'm always on the search for something slightly different. If a book can pull me in like a classic fairy tale and yet still leave me guessing, then I love it even more. Topaz Reign in one of those books. When I found out it takes the classic story of Thumbelina, but gives it a twist, I knew it was going to be something unique and fun.

Before you jump in to Topaz Reign, you should probably read Emerald Bound first (check out my review here). Both books are in the Altered Stones series by Teresa Richards. Emerald Bound follows the story of The Princess and the Pea.

Topaz Reign continues the story of Maggie and Lindy, but with new problems, more romance, and a bit of time travel. I was sad at the end of Emerald Bound when present-day Maggie stays in our world and Lindy returns to her tiny Scandinavian country over 400 years before because I wanted them to stay friends! But, in Topaz Reign, they meet up again because during some of Maggie's research on Lindy's country, she discovers that history is changing. That leads her to realize that the curse she broke of the Emerald Necklace had consequences. Now she must find a way to get things back to where they are supposed to be, all while Lindy has to deal with her country being overtaken by an imposter. 

My favorite part about these books is how they take Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales and turn them into something a little darker (like all the original Grimm stories), but then they still give you that happily-ever-after feeling too. I think the combination of our contemporary world and the historical fantasy part put together give these novels a uniqueness I haven't seen in any young adult books. They are definitely worth the read for teens and adults who love to keep their youth alive.

Don't forget to enter the giveaway to win a copy of the books and more!

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Remembrandt Series: A Spy Series for Young Adults with Art History Flair

You know how you meet people and immediately know that they are way too cool for you. Yeah, that's what I thought when I first met Hikari @foldedpagesdistillery. She's now one of my favorite people! Even though she had to move away from Utah, she still made this beautiful layout for me when Memory of Monet came out. 

Like seriously, it is so beautiful! When she first sent it to me, I may have teared up. I had so much fun writing this series and now that it has come to a close, I'm so happy to have this momento with all the books. It's like a tribute to the main character, Alexandra, because she's like a real person to me. And, in another life, I would have been her.

If you haven't had a chance to read the series (think Covert Affairs for a slightly younger audience), I'd recommend starting with Remembrandt, then Van Gogh Gone, and finally Memory of Monet. You won't regret it!

And the winners are . . .

Thanks for everyone that participated in the GoodReads Giveaway. We had over 1,242 entries! I'm so excited to have new readers and even more excited to have everyone read Van Gogh Gone (Remembrandt #2) when it comes out in November.

I'm a Spy in Real Life?

I couldn't help myself.

Since I'm pretty sure the CIA will no longer look at me because I'm too old. I decided to take matters into my own hands. Check out this thirty-something-mom-of-five who feel like she needs to spy her book on the shelf at Deseret Book. Maybe some clandestine organization will view this video and decide that my fabulous somersault is agent material. A girl can hope, right?

I really think I'm in the wrong line of work.

NaNoWriMo Winner 2014

I conquered NaNoWriMo!

I almost didn't make it. I had 8,000 words to go and only 2.5 days to do it, BUT I locked myself away in my office and got it done with only a few hours to spare. If you don't know what NaNoWriMo is, you can check out my article "NaNoWriMo Makes New York Times Best Sellers" on Delicious Reads. Authors like Marissa Meyer (Cinder) and Erin Morgenstern (The Night Circus) have participated in NaNoWriMo too!

It all comes down to this: you have to write 50,000 words of a new novel in the month of November. To give you an idea of how much that is, my recently released novel, Remembrandt, ended up having 65,700 words. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle has 49,965, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone has 77,508. So in essence, 50K is the bulk of a young adult novel.

What did I write this year? I debated for a long time what I wanted to work on for 2014 because I have a contemporary fantasy series that I love and can't wait to write the 3rd book. I also have an idea for a stand alone realistic fiction novel that I want to write too. In the end, I decided to work on the 2nd book in the Remembrandt series because 1.) I already have a publisher for it 2.) I'd already written a summary for it and 3.) Alexandra is so fun to write!

This is my 3rd year in a row doing NaNoWriMo and being a "winner." You'd think it would get easier, but it was so hard this year! With my book launch, book marketing, a trip to Washington State to fulfill my duties as Capsule Keeper, and, oh, taking care of five kiddos, including an 18 month old who won't let me sit at a computer, let's just say I spent many days typing late into the night.

Whew! Now I'm going to hibernate through the rest of the winter . . . except now that I have 50,138 words done of Remembrandt #2, I'm itching to complete the novel. Hold on Alex and Golkov and William and Daly - your story will continue soon enough. I just need a little sleep . . .

NaNoWriMo Winner! Now I get to have a break, right?

How Remembrandt Got its Name

I've had several people ask me lately about how I came up with the title for Remembrandt. Did I have the title first and then write the book? What does it have to do with the story or characters?

The title comes from two words:

Remember + Rembrandt = Remembrandt

If you read the summary of the book, you will know that the main character, Alexandra (Alex), has an eidetic memory. Similar to a photographic memory, someone with an eidetic (pronounced eye-de-tik) memory can recall images, sounds, and objects in their mind's eye, almost like they are watching a movie in their head. So the first part of the title of my book is because Alex can "remember" everything. I always knew that my main character would have this quality.

The next part of the title comes, of course, from the Dutch painter, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. Specifically, the painting "The Storm on the Sea of Galilee."

When I first began writing Remembrandt, I hadn't planned on using this painting or artist. I just knew I wanted there to be a famous painting or sculpture. As I searched through artists and found Rembrandt, I knew it just fit.

Here is the description of the painting from my book: 

Now, originally I was going to title the book, Providence, because that is where the story takes place, but I'm so happy that I happened upon this painter and painting. Though only a small part of the story is influenced by the painting, I feel like it plays a big roll in Alex's story and will influence the rest of the series. I can't really say more without spoiling the ending of the book, but I will plan on doing a post all about the painting and how it influenced the book once Remembrandt has been out a while.

Don't forget to pre-order your book from DeseretBook.com! That's right, my friends, you can pre-order it now. I just happened to be on their website and typed in the title of my book and WHAM, there it was. It will be available in the next month in eBook format too, but if you want to be one of the first to get the print version, order it here :)  

Book Cover Reveal: Remembrandt

It's here, people! It's cover reveal time. Remembrandt will be coming to a store near you Fall 2014. Since you are my loyal friends, you get to see the cover first before it hits the shelves.

Drum roll, please . . . 

Stay tuned next week for an in depth look at how the cover came to be, all the mock-up covers we came up with, and why the publisher finally decided upon this one. 

New Book Spotlight: Félicité Found by Julia King

My sister-in-law, Julia King, has just released her first book to the world! I am so excited to be related to this amazing gal and show off her masterpiece. Check out her book below, enter to win a copy, and listen to her book-inspired playlist.

Seventeen-year-old Pierre Rousseaux witnesses a young girl take a near fatal plunge off Pont Neuf Bridge into the freezing water of the River Seine in Paris, France. After diving into the racing river himself, he is able to rescue her from a watery death, but only after her head is bashed into the riverwall. Upon reviving her from unconsciousness, Pierre realizes she doesn’t remember her past at all.


The girl struggles to recall anything from before she may have tried to commit suicide, not only once but possibly twice. The few glimpses into her life are discovered through dreams that can only suggest her past was horrific and jaded by intense anger.


Her memories may force her to lose everything she has grown to adore, especially the boy she loves more than anything in the world: Pierre.


The girl, Félicité Moreau, must decide if the life she desires is enough to make things from her past right. Pierre struggles to resolve if Félicité means enough to him that he will fight for her, regardless of her past and despite his own personal demons.


With a paranormal twist, Félicité Found is Julia King’s debut Young Adult novel—a horrific love story.

Here's a little snippet from the book to whet your appetite:

“A rush of sweet warmth flooded Félicité for having remembered something about her past. The heaviness in her mind and heart seeped free from her as though it pushed itself from all of her pores. She knew that eventually everything—her memories and knowledge—would come back.

She ached for Pierre and Hélène to know her name. As fast as her legs could carry her, she sped into the living room. Pierre was sound asleep, chest rising and falling in a rhythm that followed his thunderous snores. He was so loud she found it difficult to remember why she had come to see him. However, she couldn’t bear to wake him.

She observed that the light shining through the gap of the curtains came from only the moon. It must be the middle of the night. It was difficult for her to believe that she had slept all day and into the night.

Gazing at Pierre, she noted how handsome he was even in his thunderous slumber. She wanted to touch his skin and the rough stubble of hair growth on his face. His hand that fell from the couch beckoned her to him. She resisted the urge to take it into hers, feel it, relish its rough texture, and press it to her face. Again, she felt as if she had known him for a long time.

Should she wake him to hear his welcoming, deep and vibrating voice?

No, she thought as her euphoria faded. All that was left was a lump in her throat.

Her happy news would have to wait until morning. With one last look at the most kind-natured and loving person in the world, she shuffled her feet back to bed. However, before she fell asleep, she distinctly heard her father’s voice in the room telling her, “Félicité, my daughter, I love you. I love you so much.”

She bounded out of bed like an animal pouncing on its prey and flipped the light switch. Scanning the room, she saw no one in there. She was alone.”

Where to buy:

Amazon.com (e-book & paperback)

Barnesandnoble.com (e-book)

Createspace.com (paperback)

Win a copy of her book HERE:

Rafflecopter Giveaway

This playlist sets the mood for Félicité Found. It isn’t a flowers and moonbeams plot, but richer and darker. Enjoy the songs and the lyrics that Julia feels are most relevant to her book. 

Endlessly by Muse

There's a part of me you'll never know
The only thing I'll never show

Hopelessly I'll love you endlessly

Go by Hanson

I heard your moving van

But I didn't take a stand

You can't leave with them

You can't live without them

I never thought I'd want to let you go

Tonight I Wanna Cry by Keith Urban

I've never been the kind to ever let my feelings show

And I thought that bein' strong meant never losin' your self-control

But I'm just drunk enough to let go of my pain

To hell with my pride, let it fall like rain

From my eyes, tonight I wanna cry

The Reason by Hoobastank

I've found a reason for me

To change who I used to be

A reason to start over new

And the reason is you

Set the Fire to the Third Bar by Snow Patrol

I'm miles from where you are

I lay down on the cold ground

I pray that something picks me up

And sets me down in your warm arms

Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again by Andrew Lloyd Weber

Too many years fighting back tears

Why can't the past just die?

Wishing you were somehow here again

Knowing we must say, "Goodbye"

Try to forgive, teach me to live

Give me the strength to try

No more memories, no more silent tears

No more gazing across the wasted years

Help me say, "Goodbye"

Everlasting Love by U2

Like the sun it shines

Endlessly it shines

You always will be mine

It's eternal love

Whenever loves are gone

Ours will be strong

We'd have our very own

Everlasting Love

Book Review: Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

Better than Book #1, couldn't put it down, unexpected.

TITLE OF THE BOOK: Hallowed (Unearthly, #2)
AUTHOR: Cynthia Hand
NUMBER OF PAGES: 403
YEAR PUBLISHED: Jan 2012
READING LEVEL: Young Adult
GENRE: Paranormal

SUMMARY: Clara has to face the fact that she didn't fulfill her "purpose" as an angel when she saved Tucker in the fire. Now she's torn between her love for Tucker and her draw to Christian and the complicated feelings about the roles she and Christian seem destined to play in a world that is both dangerous and beautiful.

Clara struggles with a shocking discovery - that someone she loves will die soon. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.

STAR RATING: 4.25 Stars

MY OPINION: I thought I wouldn't like this book as much as the first because so many questions were already answered. I was wrong. Now there are more compelling questions and suspense, along with a love triangle that I thought would be annoying (Hello?!, who needs another Edward and Jacob saga?). The love story is sweet and questions are still hanging in the balance. I still don't know who I would choose!

The author, Cynthia Hand, does an excellent job at keeping the stakes high and the story bigger and better. I can't wait to read the 3rd book.

MY CONTENT RATING: PG-13
Language/Profanity: Mild
Sexuality: Moderate (talk of saving oneself for marriage, lots of making out)
Drug/Alcohol Use: Mild (her brother gets drunk)
Intense/Scary Scenes: Mild (more a feel for evil, than a description)
**Robin-approved for 13+**

My New BFF - Veronica Roth

Disclaimer: The blog post below has not been endorsed by Veronica Roth, her agent or publisher☺

Veronica Roth, right, and I during the Dark Days Tour, July 2012

My new best friend and I have done a lot together lately. We've gone running together.  She joined me at the park one day. We worked side-by-side doing laundry and dishes. I went to her Dark Days Tour and she came with me to get my hair done.  She even helped me cut coupons one day. Veronica doesn't know it yet, but we are best friends.

Ok, so we are not really BFF's, but if I could chose an author that I'd like to be best friends with right now, it would be Veronica Roth, author of Divergent and the recently released, Insurgent.   For the past week, I have taken my book with me everywhere or I've been listening to her book in my iPhone. My favorite young adult books are ones that have a little bit of everything: adventure, romance, mystery, friendship, supernatural, coming of age, and action.  When I find one that has those qualities and is clean (no sex, foul language, drug abuse, etc), it is a keeper for me.  Insurgent was one of those books for me.

My Book Review for:

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

My Star Rating: 4/5

My Content Rating: PG-13 (Violence, Kissy Moments)

My Summary:  Beatrice Prior (Tris) lives in a society consisting of five factions: Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent).  Tris is Divergent, meaning she doesn't levitate to just one faction, but three of them.  She left her family's faction, the Abnegation, to join the Dauntless where she found friends to relate with and a boy she cares for.  Unfortunately, the factions who supposedly hold society together are falling apart and war is looming all around.

Tris is haunted by her parents' selfless death to save her and the horrible memory of choosing to kill her friend, Will, whose mind had been overtaken by the simulation serum.  As the old Dauntless and Erudite wage war on the remaining factions, Tris has to chose which side she will join.  She must choose to support her friends and love, Four, to join with the Factionless by overtaking the Erudite OR she must chose to fight against them to save the Erudite information that holds secrets her parents tried to reveal before they died.

My Opinion:  This book really did have it all.  The action kept my attention throughout all 525 pages.  My heart ached and fluttered along with Tris the whole way. The romance was still there, although I missed the sweet, quiet moments from the first book that didn't surface because both Four and Tris had a hard time trusting and confiding in each other.  There were many moments where I wanted to shake both of them and yell, "JUST TELL EACH OTHER YOUR PLANS AND WHAT YOU ARE THINKING!" Unfortunately, since they are real people, ☺, and make mistakes, they kept each other in the dark.

I'm glad that Roth didn't let Tris get over Will's death quickly.  She is a strong and brave character, but like her divergence shows, she has a selfless side that wouldn't let her get past it so easily.  I feel like I understood her need for self-sacrifice as she tried to overcome her hardships and discover more about her true character. 

Throughout the book, I kept wondering if we would find out more about the outside world and how the Five Factioned Society came to be.  I won't ruin it for everyone, but it made me happy to find out more at the end.  I'm a little disappointed that I'm going to have to wait more than a year to get the rest of the story. Darn you, Veronica!  Since we're friends now, maybe she'll give me the inside scoop.

Ahhhh (sigh of relief) . . .

It's official!  I have completed the first draft of my book!  I feel like I deserve putting up my feet and lounging outside my imaginary beach house, eating a thick strawberry cheesecake shake (oooooo, or maybe Oreo??), and watching the waves as they crash to the shore. Ahh.....

But alas, no, this soon-to-be author, will immediately be getting to work brushing up this novel to get it ready for publishing.  This book has been in my mind for over five years, but I didn't start the writing process until about nine months ago.  That's funny.  I just realized it took me just as long to write this book as it takes to wait for a baby to come.  Well, I guess this book is my "baby" right now.

I know all you curious ones out there are wondering what I've written, so I've come up with what I'd call a book jacket for this Young Adult novel.  I still have some kinks to work out, but this is what I have so far:

Remembrandt

some things are better left forgotten

Forgetting the past is hard to do when you have an eidetic memory, but Alexandra Stewart decides to make her first year at Brown University one worth remembering. After she runs into William on campus, she begins to feel like she can have a normal life and ignore the flashbacks that haunt her at night. Solving puzzles becomes more than just a compelling game, when her Russian professor gives her a puzzle that seems impossible to complete, catapulting her into a world of secret codes and intrigue. As she tries to find a balance between the two different worlds vying for her attention, she wonders if she can have relationships with the ones she cares about while hiding a clandestine life, uncovering the truths of an underground enemy. Will this new found life help her forget her past or is it all somehow connected?

Leave a comment and tell me what you think! Also, follow my blog so that you can hear more about the story and be the first to know where my book is at in the publishing process.  I'm excited to take this journey with my friends and family!

Fierce Reads Tour - A Win-Win

I never win anything.  Lots of people say it, but I'm overly unlucky. Really.  I'll never win the lottery (though that somewhat makes sense because I never buy a ticket).  I've never really won a raffle, drawing, or contest where chance is involved.  You know those sports games where the t-shirt is thrown to the crowd.  If you want to catch one, you should stand right next to me because chances are, it will hit me in the head and bounce right into your hands.  This has happened to me not once, but twice. 

So you can see that it came as a complete surprise last month when I "won" a spot in the lottery for the St.George Marathon 2012.  Now you non-runners out there are probably thinking, "Why is getting into a marathon considered a winning situation?" Think of it as the Superbowl for runners.  But for those avid marathoners out there, getting into the St. George Marathon is like getting the invite to walk (I mean, run) the red carpet.  Yeah, it's that cool.  I'll admit that I have mixed feelings about this "win". I mean it's twenty-six point freaking two miles.   But since I have tried to get into this marathon three times before and lost, I was happy to break my unlucky streak.


Running the Ogden Marathon 4 weeks ago

It turns out, my luck may be doing an about face permanently.  I recently had the opportunity to join some friends in attending the Fierce Reads Tour at their stop at Provo Library.  Don't worry, I didn't know what it was before I went either.  Basically, it's a book tour for Macmillan's new debut Young Adult authors (I'll post more on them later).  At the end of the night, they announced there was a giveaway.  I was about ready to get up and leave.  Why wait for the disappointment, right?  I decided to check under my chair anyway, and, lo and behold, I'd won a book!  And not just any book, but a book I've had on my Good Reads list for several months: Cinder by Marissa Meyer. 

Here's all the authors that attended:

So it's true I may never win an IPad or a new car, but I'm starting to feel little Irish.  Maybe I'll go to a BYU basketball game soon (but I'll wear a helmet, just in case).

It's About Time . . .

I'm just going to come out and say it:

I AM A WRITER.

I can see my high school AP Honors English teacher picking her jaw up off the floor (I had to beg for an A in that class). Yes, ladies and gentleman, I have been a "closet writer" since I was about ten. I am now "out"ing myself.

So you are probably asking yourselves, "Why now? And what does it matter anyway? What's so special about Robin that makes her think that she can actually write?"

I'd love to answer those questions, but, honestly, I don't know all the answers myself. The only thing I know for certain is that I actually love it! There is something fulfilling about getting your thoughts out on paper, twisting ideas and rearranging words so that they fully reflect what you think and feel.

The seed started with poetry (someday I'll reveal these), grew with volumes and volumes of journal entries (not sure if anyone should read these until I'm long gone), and now it is blossoming with this blog and . . . drum roll please . . . A BOOK. Yep, I'm writing a book. Is it any good? If you ask my mom or husband, they like it so far (they could be biased). If you ask my writing critique group, they'd probably tell you not to hold your breath. If you ask me, it's going to be amazing someday.

What's this blog going to entail? I plan on blogging about:

1. The writing experiences I have, the good and the bad
2. Books I've read & authors I've met that inspire me
3. Life experiences that shape my writing
4. Puzzles, conundrums, and codes to solve (motivated by my latest WIP)

My inspiration for writing this next week comes from The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (probably the best book I have read in the last few years - I may blog about later):

"It is important," the man in the grey suit interrupts. "someone needs to tell those tales. When the battles are fought and won and lost, when the pirates find the treasures and the dragons eat their foes for breakfast with a nice up of Lapsang souchong, someone needs to tell their bits of overlapping narrative. There's magic in that. It's in the listener, and for each and every ear it will be different, and it will affect them in ways they can never predict. From the mundane to the profound. You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone's soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows what they might do because of it..."