Manic Monday: What’s Up Natalie?

I’m not sure if I actually have any regular faithful readers of this blog who read what I post here. Or if the thousands of “hits” each month are bots.  But I’m writing this post in faith that there are some actual human beings who read what I write here.

So if you are a human being reading this and if you have read my blog for a while, you may have noticed that over the past year or so (*scratches head and says “Has it really been that long?”*) I have been inconsistent in posting. Yeah, I’ve posted Writer Wednesday spotlights of other writers. Sure, there have been some Sci Fi Friday posts. And yes, there have been posts about my most recent release (Emily’s Heart).

But when is the last time I wrote a Manic Monday post? I can’t remember.

Anyway, I have reasons (numerous) that I’ve been lax in my blogging. Some are lame, like feeling like since no one comments much on my blog that I may in fact be visited solely by Internet bots rather than real people so what’s the point in writing? Or that I was busy – blah, blah, blah.

But mainly I’ve been lax with my blogging because I’ve been dealing with some heavy shit in my life.

“What kind of heavy shit?” you ask.

First, there was my retirement from the practice of law in June of last year. You may be thinking that such an event should have freed up time for me to blog my brains out. And that’s logical.  But in truth, saying good-bye to my profession was a major life-change event which I’d wanted for sooooo long and was glad for but when it actually happened sort of took me by surprise at being sad about it. In recent years I had worked (very) part-time at being a lawyer and had stopped taking litigation cases so I wasn’t in court. It had become a small part of my life taking third seat to being a mom (always first) and my writing. But still, it had been a major part of my life – and my identity – for over twenty years (saying that makes me feel fucking old).

My very wise husband who knows me sometimes too well warned me. “Give yourself six months, Natalie.” I rolled my eyes and let his words of wisdom go in one ear and out the other (as I do too frequently). “Whatever,” I thought. 

Guess what happened? He was right. (Don’t you hate it when your mate is right?) It indeed took me about six months to fully release the old job and identity and to get into a new routine and be okay with the whole thing. It was like for the second half of last year, I’d get up and get my kid off to school then sit at my desk and play at being a writer, all the while feeling guilty that I wasn’t really “working” or having anxiety that somehow I was neglecting some serious shit that needed done, and then feeling worse because I was feeling down about retiring to write full-time when so many writers I know don’t have the opportunity to do that though they want to, so get over yourself all ready and be fucking happy! I wasn’t happy and then felt guilty about not being happy.

But wait, there was more. And this is the heavy stuff that as I writer I feel I should be writing about and talking about but mainly I want to just ignore it and hope it goes away. At the end of the summer last year, my mom was diagnosed with cancer.

For the fifth time.

And it’s bad. Really bad. Like the oncologist using the word “palliative chemo” kind of bad.

As if that weren’t heavy enough, on the heels of us finding out about my mom’s cancer, my dad had a stroke. He has been in and out (mostly in) a nursing home ever since. He’s alive, but extremely diminished.

My mom is only 73. My dad 76.

They aren’t that old. And I’ve had to face the fact over the past six months that it is more likely than not that neither of my parents will make it to the age of 80. In fact, it is quite possible that one of them will be gone before the end of the year.

I just typed that without crying. For months I could not have.

The story of my mom’s cancer is actually one of hope and of sort-of miracles and of human strength and endurance. It’s a story of pain and relationships and love and family. It’s a story that could educate others with the BRCA1 gene (my mom is BRCA1 positive). It’s a story that many may relate to and find interest in.

But I’m not able to write it. At least not now.

When I first found out my mom’s dire diagnosis, my writer friends said “write about it.” It was good advice. And I tried.

Some people can wrest poetry from pain. I’m not one of them.

Grief shuts me down. Sorrow makes me withdraw to the within. And try as I might to exorcise it through words, it does not work.

I was able to complete my third novel and maybe I did channel some of my pain into the prose. Emily’s Heart is, after all, an Apocalyptic story that tends to the darker side of things. But *spoiler alert* the end is a happy one and I was stuck for months last year, unable to wrest that happy ending out of myself because I did not feel happy. The fact that it finally came out of me at all is a sort of small miracle that I can’t explain.

Over the past nine months or so, my writing was filled mainly with anger and angst, heartache and unhappiness.

So I spared you all of that and kept my blog a cancer and sickness-free zone. 

The good news is that as this year progresses, I’m feeling more and more able to write without it being filled with misery. The shadowy veil of sad feelings is lifting and I’m more focused on the here and now – on the living – than on things past.

I’m in the mood to celebrate. I wrote three books!! Can I hear a woot, woot?! I completed a whole series (The Akasha Chronicles). *Does happy dance*

I am an incredibly blessed person to be able to devote my working hours full-time to doing what I love to do. I get to write the stories that fill my head. And I get to go out to book events and meet readers and chat story with them (one of my absolute favorite pastimes).

I have a wonderful daughter, husband and three furry critters that I share my house and life with. And I am alive, and this is no small miracle.

So as I move with more hope and optimism than I’ve had in a while into the middle of this year, here is what’s coming on my blog and in my writing:

Natalie Wright, Manic Monday

1. Manic Monday will return! I don’t promise that I’ll have a Manic Monday post every week, but I am feeling the itch to speak my *manic* mind so stay tuned for my rants, ravings, musings and Monday weirdness.

2. Writer Wednesday is here to stay. In the past, I have devoted Wednesdays to featuring other writers and occasionally to posting writing tips. Both of those things will continue to happen on Wednesdays. (If you are a writer and would like to be featured on my Writer Wednesday, please shoot me an e-mail to NatWritesYA (at) gmail (dot) com and we’ll speak of it).

But I also have a new feature that I’ll add to Writer Wednesday in upcoming weeks that will appeal to writers of all makes, models and types – and will get the writerly conversation going.

3. Sci Fi Friday continues. For any of you paying attention, you may have noticed my new Friday feature, Sci Fi Friday. These posts are about scientific discoveries that I come across that strike me as having science fiction implications. I also reserve that time to review science fiction books or movies, OR generally to post anything science of science fiction related.

H.A.L.F., by Natalie Wright Arrives Spring, 2015

I’ll continue to devote Fridays to all things science and sci fi as I gear up to release the first book of my next series, H.A.L.F., a young adult science fiction series. While my last series was (mainly) fantasy, I’ll be writing science fiction (mostly) for the foreseeable future AND science stuff fascinates me. So if you, too, enjoy hearing about science fact that seems more like science fiction, then make sure you hang out with me on Fridays to discuss new technology and scientific discoveries. 

So that’s what’s up with Natalie. What’s up with you? Drop me a line in the comments below or you can reach me by e-mail at NatWritesYA (at) gmail (dot) com.

Thank you for reading to the end 🙂

Celebrate Read an E-Book Week and Deep Discounts on The Akasha Chronicles

Hey, did you know that it’s Read an E-Book Week? To show my support of the event, I’m offering DEEP discounts on the e-book versions of my books at Smashwords.com. Click on the link to download all three books of the Akasha Chronicles in the e-book format of your choice (Kindle, Nook, iBooks, etc.). 

Emily’s House is FREE! (usually $2.99)

Emily’s Trial is $1.50! (usually $2.99)

And Emily’s Heart is $2.00 (usually $3.99)

The coupon codes are shown on the book pages.

But hurry. On 3/9/2014 the prices will return to normal retail.

Hop on over to Smashwords and enjoy the great deals authors and publishers are offering for one week only 🙂 And thank you for your support of this event.

My Writing Process Blog Tour

A Writer’s Space: Where the Magic Begins

I was invited by the lovely and talented young author, Chele Cooke, to participate in this fun and unique blog tour. This week I’m answering four questions about my writing process. I’ve tagged three other authors to answer these questions on their blog next week.

1) What am I working on?

Emily’s Heart by Natalie Wright

Having recently launched my third book, Emily’s Heart (Book 3 of The Akasha Chronicles). I’ve been spending a lot of time writing blog posts, answering interviews, and generally flitting around the cybersphere. But I’m also gearing up to start a new teen, science fiction series (working title H.A.L.F.). I’M SO EXCITED about this new series!!! Well, it’s not so new. I had the idea back in 2010 and actually finished the first draft in the summer of 2012. But I shelved it for a while so I could finish up The Akasha Chronicles. But even though it was “one the shelf”, by brain and subconscious were still hard at work on it. I’m stoked about the new direction the story has taken in my brain. It will be like The X-Files meets the T.V. show Roswell with a pinch of The Good, the Bad and The Ugly. I’m in the worldbuilding and character development stage right now, but will be sitting my butt in the chair in March to bang out a (second) first draft. I hope to release Book 1 of the series in the Spring of 2015. Stay tuned 😉

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

The Akasha Chronicles

My first series, The Akasha Chronicles, isn’t quite like anything else out there! There are a couple of reasons. First, my writing tends to cross the borders between genres. Take Emily’s House (Book 1). It’s full of magick and myth putting it in the fantasy genre (complete with a spiteful pixie, a banshee, and magickal powers), but it also has a science fiction bent (time travel and black holes at the Large Hadron Collider). Second, The Akasha Chronicles is about Emily’s spiritual journey. On the surface, it’s a fun series with lots of action and adventure, a bit of romance and the third book is a dystopian lovestory. But taken as a whole, it’s a chronicle of a spiritual warrior’s journey. There aren’t many books written for teenagers that are about a young person’s spiritual journey! It’s just about absent from teen literature. But readers (especially the 1.4 million reads on Wattpad) have proven that teens enjoy books that make them think. That make them question. And that give them hope.

3) Why do I write what I do?

Because I have to write what I write! It’s as if I don’t have a choice. I have lots of ideas but some grab hold and become like an obsession, begging me to give it voice. Those ideas become notebooks full of notes, folders full of research, drawings of characters and scribbled on maps. The ideas that begin to fill a notebook become a novel.

4) How does my writing process work?

My stories typically start with a plot. I often have a story come to me in beginning, middle, end form. I then work from the plot idea and consider characters, worldbuilding, etc. I do not outline per se, but I do write a synopsis hitting the main plot points. I spend quite a bit of time working on character back story and I try to understand the main characters and their motivations, etc. before I begin to write. I try to write the first draft in a short period of time (short for me means 30-60 days), then I let it simmer for a while. Then I go back to the manuscript and read, revise, re-write and repeat. I do that until I’m sick of looking at it and can’t think of any way to improve it. At that point, it’s ready for initial beta reader/content editor. Then the revision process starts anew. My books generally take about 9-13 months to complete. Now that I’m no longer practicing law, I might be able to produce books more quickly. We’ll see 😉

Chele Cooke Author of Dead and Buryd

Thank you again to Chele Cooke for tapping me to participate in this blog tour. Please check out Chele at her website and do read her debut novel, Dead and Buryd.

And next week be sure to check out Heather Sunseri’s blog for her post about her writing process. Here is a little bit about Heather.

Heather writes young adult science fiction romance (but don’t let the science fiction trip you up—it’s mostly romance). Born and raised in a small town in Central Kentucky, which can be quite boring at times, she had no choice but to create stories in her head in which she can be anything from an FBI agent to a mad scientist who clones human beings to an actual cloned human with supernatural mind control abilities. You can find out more about the stories Heather writes and her publishing journey at http://heathersunseri.com or if you want to discuss other fun life experiences, join her on her brand new experimental blog, http://alifedissettled.com. 

Emily’s Heart Release Celebration and February Book Giveaway

The Akasha Chronicles by Natalie Wright

As you know, my third book, Emily’s Heart, *officially* released on February 1. And what better way to celebrate a new release than with a giveaway? What’s up for grabs? How about a copy of Emily’s Trial, book 2 of The Akasha Chronicles (*see details in the Rafflecopter below). And a gift card. And a swag bag! I’ve given you lots of ways to enter and the easiest is to leave a comment here on this blog post. 

And to increase your chances of winning the giveaway, you can stop by other blogs hosting me this month and comment and tweet to increase your odds 😉 I’ll update this list all month to add additional blog links, so check back often.

As always, thank you for stopping by my blog. Happy Reading!

Andrea Heltsley Books

Amy Durham, Author

Bookish Things & More
Pippa Jay’s Blog

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Emily’s Heart has Arrived!

Emily’s Heart by Natalie Wright Book 3 of The Akasha Chronicles

Emily’s Heart, Book 3 of the Akasha Chronicles, has arrived!!!!! *happy dance*

Before I share links and all that, I want to send a HUGE thank you to family, friends, followers, fans and readers all over the world who have supported me and my writing! For any of you who are writers, you know what a wondrous yet solitary path the writer walks. And during the novel-writing process, there is always a period of time when the writer is quite certain that the entire novel is a pile of camel dung. When I arrive at the camel dung period in my writing process, my interaction with readers helps lift my creative spirits.

Emily’s Heart was a challenge to write. If you’ve read book 2, Emily’s Trial, then you know that I painted myself into a pretty tight corner! So much had gone wrong. So much to set right. “How will Emily set this right?” readers asked.

That was a good question, and one that I did not have an answer to during most of the writing process. That’s right, I began writing without knowing how it would end! But I trusted that if I wrote long enough, the end would figure itself out. And it did, but it wasn’t without a couple of months of crying, screaming, pouting, ignoring, writing and tossing, many chocolates, and sleepless nights. Then one day, the ending came and life was good again ;-D

Advance readers report that Emily’s Heart is my best book yet. I hope you all agree.

Emily’s Heart is now available on Amazon worldwide and paperback on Barnes & Noble, Amazon and CreateSpace. It will go live on iTunes and Barnes & Noble on February 1. Links for all retail are below.

If you are new to the series, I now have an Amazon exclusive boxed set available which contains all three books in the series. It is 30% OFF of the cover price for the individual titles if purchased separately. Boxed Set on Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HY474BS

Thanks again and happy reading!

Barnes & Noble – Both Paperback and E-Book

CreateSpace – Paperback. Use Coupon Code 5RW292Y5 for 25% off

Powell’s – Paperback

E-Books at Amazon:

U.S.          DE          CA          IT          MX        JP

U.K.          ES          AU          IN          BR       FR

http://widgets.itunes.apple.com/widget.html?c=us&brc=FFFFFF&blc=FFFFFF&trc=FFFFFF&tlc=FFFFFF&d=&t=&m=ebook&e=ebook&w=325&h=370&ids=775369037&wt=discovery&partnerId=&affiliate_id=&at=&ct=

When Fact is Stranger Than Fiction: Insect Drones and Big Brother

What the … Insect Drones? Is this for real?

Here is the story that I saw floating around the internet:


“No. It’s an insect spy drone for urban areas, already in production, funded by the US Government. It can be remotely controlled and is equipped with a camera and a microphone. It can land on you, and it may have the potential to take a DNA sample or leave RFID tracking nanotechnology on your skin. It can fly through an open window, or it can attach to your clothing until you take it in your home.”


As a writer of speculative and science fiction, I was like “Wow! I can use that in a story!”


But the non-writer part of me was creeped out. I mean, what kind of “Big Brother” kind of bullshit could this be used for?


But a bit of poking further into the story gave me a bit of relief. But only a bit. 


According to Snopes, “One of the current areas of research reportedly being undertaken in the scientific/military field is the development of micro air vehicles (MAVs), tiny flying objects intended to go places that cannot be (safely) reached by humans or other types of equipment. One of the primary military applications envisioned for MAVs is the gathering of intelligence (through the surreptitious use of cameras, microphones, or other types of sensors); among the more extreme applications posited for such devices is that they may eventually be used as “swarm weapons” which could be launched en masse against enemy forces.”


“The specific mosquito-like object pictured above is, however, just a conceptual mock-up of a design for a MAV, not a photograph of an actual working device “already in production.” And although taking DNA samples or inserting micro-RFID tracking devices under the skin of people are MAV applications that may some day be possible, such possibilities currently appear to be speculative fiction rather than reality.”


While no government official or agency will admit to currently having such technology, there are anecdotal accounts of dragonflies hovering over protesters at rallies and even at the Republican National Convention.


Let’s hope that, for now, spy “bugs” remain fiction.


What say you? Do you think these “bugs” already exist? Or is it the work of overactive imaginations? Chat about it below in the comments section.

*     *     *     *     *


In other news, ONLY 8 MORE DAYS until Emily’s Heart officially launches! *squee* Make sure you come back often as I’ll have lots of announcements, launch news and giveaways galore all through February 😀


A tiny teaser from Emily’s Heart:

From Emily’s Heart by Natalie Wright

Happy Halloween, Samhain and Day of the Dead!

~Magickal Graphics~

If you follow my blog, you know that Halloween is my favorite time of the year. And I made sure to have both of my first two books take place during this spookiest of seasons!

In Emily’s House, Emily and crew traipse around an old, Irish graveyard at night during a full moon with ravens squawking. And Emily’s timing is perfect. She attempts to open a portal to the Netherworld on October 31 when the veil between the worlds is thinnest.

Emily’s House may have a chapter titled “Things Go Bump in the Night”, but if you really want to get your scare on, check out  Emily’s Trial. In Emily’s Trial, Emily and friends once again lurk in a graveyard on Halloween. But when Emily tries to open a portal, things don’t go as planned. Emily’s Trial is set in a world of terrors where worst fears come to life.

Emily’s Trial, Book 2 of the Akasha Chronicles by Natalie Wright

In the upcoming third book, Emily’s Heart, I didn’t set the book during Halloween. Instead of focusing on one spooky day, the entire novel is set during an Apocalypse. Terror is Emily’s ‘new normal’.

Emily’s Heart, Book 3 of the Akasha Chronicles by Natalie Wright, Launches Feb 1, 2014

In celebration of Halloween, let’s get some scare on. Please enjoy the trailer and just after it, an excerpt/teaser of Emily’s Heart, launching February 1, 2014.

Happy Halloween, Samhain and Day of the Dead!

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Here is an Excerpt from Emily’s Heart, Coming February 1, 2014!

The Apocalyptic
World

Isabella ran swiftly.
Her long, sandy brown hair swung from side to side as she gained distance from
it. She was surefooted, not a wobble in her step. She’d make it to her house
and safety. A hundred more yards to go. The shadow that followed her was quick,
but she had been quicker. Today, anyway.

Fifty
yards from the door. Her mother waited on the other side of that door, ready to
embrace her, smooth her hair and tell her, “It’ll be okay, baby.” Fifty yards
to go.

Her
choice to run had been pure instinct. A cold, clammy feeling overcame her. The
shadow seen out of the corner of her eye. A small but powerful voice inside
beckoned her to run.

But
less than fifty yards from safety, Isabella’s curiosity made her turn her head.
She had to see. Her mind had to understand. A casual look behind her to see
what could create such a long, wide shadow.

In an
instant as fleeting as one flap of a hummingbird’s wings, she saw it. The
shadow, darker than any she’d ever seen. A shadow that was not just a product
of the light from without but something that came from within. And the shadow
was connected to a man.

The
moment Isabella glanced behind her, her eyes met his. She had wanted to see,
and she saw. The man’s eyes were completely black and devoid of light. His thin
lips were pulled back in a terrible smile that revealed perfectly even, white
teeth.

In
that moment, Isabella knew. She knew that she had looked into the face of a
devil. Maybe not the devil, but into
a face as evil as any human has ever seen. Into the face of the demons that she
had worried might lurk under her bed at night. Isabella looked into the face of
the bogeyman and into the face of death.

She
knew she would never reach the door. She knew that she’d never see her mother
or father or her dog, Smarty, again. She knew that she’d never again kiss her
baby brother’s soft, downy head.

Before
Isabella could scream, cry or utter a single protest, the shadow was all around
her. It enveloped her. She felt as if the air had been forced from her lungs,
her screams unable to take flight in the airless void. She heard her backpack
fall to the ground, but it was muffled, as if in a dream. She knew her eyes
were open, but she saw nothing but darkness. She was smothered by a black so
complete that she was suddenly unsure whether she was standing up, lying down,
or floating in a dark cloud.

Her
skin prickled as she felt the shadow caress her. She knew a person couldn’t
feel a shadow. Her brain told her it was a dream. Shadows don’t kill people.
But as she thought this, the squeezing of her lungs increased. The soft caress
of the dark shadow gave way as it pinched and pulled and slapped at her.

Dread
spread throughout her tiny body like a supersonic cancer. The fear cut through
her like icy knives. As her terror grew, so the shadow’s grip tightened. It was
in her ears, her nose, her eyes and her mouth. She swallowed the shadow like a
pill, and it dug deep, deep, deep into her.

The
shadow filled her. She was so cold, bereft of warmth.

The shadow will kill me, she thought. As the cold spread and took
over every cell of her body, she prayed for death. She prayed to God to let her
join her grandpa in heaven.

Her
small body could take no more. The shadow had used her energy. Her prayers were
answered. All was done. Her tiny, cold corpse littered the ground as the shadow
swept down the sidewalk in search of another filled with light.

Book Trailer REVEAL for Emily’s Heart

Emily’s Heart, Book 3 of the Akasha Chronicles, arrives February 1, 2014!!!

I began writing Emily’s Heart during NaNoWriMo in November, 2012. I planned to have it done and in the hands of readers in September, but this doozy of a book took a lot longer to complete than I’d planned.

BUT, I’m happy with the final result and I think readers will be too. It’s longer than the previous books, has more characters AND ties up all loose ends. And if you’ve read book 2, Emily’s Trial, then you know I had a LOT of loose ends to tie up 😉

Please check out the trailer I made. It will give you a sneak peek at what’s to come in Emily’s Heart. And if you haven’t yet read the first two books, what are you waiting for? I’ve got purchase links for Amazon below OR you can click the tabs above to go to the “Buy” pages with links for all retail outlets worldwide.

What do you think of the trailer? I love comments so please drop me a comment below and let me know what you think 🙂

Amazon.com Widgets

When Real Life Follows Fiction

If you follow this blog, then you know by now that I’ve had been holed up writing my third novel, Emily’s Heart. Emily’s Heart is set in an Apocalyptic America. To get a grip on the world building for the book, I began to write short stories. I play with different ideas, all a variation on the theme “What if?” Like, “What if a growing number of people were psychopaths?”, or “What if the police stopped caring?”

As I make the mad push to get this story out by February, I’ve shunned most media. I came up for air today and saw this story in the news.  Strangely, it contains the essence of one of “What ifs” that sparked one of my short stories. And even weirder, it happened in my home town of Tucson, Arizona!

Check it out:

And here is a snippet of the short story that relates to this video. Is it art imitating life? Or life imitating art? Do you see the correlation? Or have I just been spending too much time in my cave?

From Emily’s Heart, arriving February 1, 2014!

.     .     .

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Sophie
felt tears well in her eyes. What should she do? What had my dad said? Why hadn’t I paid closer attention? There was
something about getting the driver’s insurance information. But that would
require her to get out of the car. Fat
chance!

Call
the cops. Yes, she was supposed to make a report. That she could do. She didn’t
need to leave the safety of her car to dial.

Her
fingers shook as she pressed the three numbers, 911. She put the phone to her
ear and heard it ring three times, then five, and six. Isn’t anyone going to pick up? I have an emergency here!

Finally
an operator came on the line.

“911,
what’s your emergency,” he said. The operator sounded as bored with his job as
she was with folding clothes at her job.

“I
was just in a car wreck,” she said.

“You
and half of L.A. Welcome to the club,” he said.

Sophie
didn’t know what to say to that. He
doesn’t even seem to care!

“Okay,”
she finally said. “That’s great, but I really need a cop to come here and
help.”

“What’s
your location?” the operator asked.

“Ummm
. . .” What’s my location? She hadn’t
paid attention to street signs as she texted and listened to music and
otherwise tried as best she could to pass the time in the traffic jam without
being bored out of her skull. She looked up and around for exit signs or other
markers, but she was in a spot without any signs. Shit, I don’t know where I am.

“I’m
not sure exactly. I’m on the 405 between Culver Boulevard and Santa Monica
Boulevard.”

“How
the hell am I supposed to dispatch someone to you when you don’t even know
where  you are?”

Emily’s Heart COVER REVEAL!!!

Fans, friends, family, readers and followers of this blog, you looked at potential cover photos and gave me your feedback. Once the photo was chosen, you looked at potential cover art and told me what you liked and didn’t like. Thank you all so much and I’m happy to say that the COVER IS HERE – AT LAST!!

Please meet the cover for Emily’s Heart, the third and final book in the Akasha Chronicles trilogy:

This cover, like the one for Emily’s Trial, is a beautiful collaboration between four amazing women artists. First, the lovely Ashley Phillips modeled for the amazing photographer Teresa Yeh. (Click this link for a behind the scenes look at the photo shoot.) Then the incomparable Claudia McKinney works her artistic magic on the photo to go from this –

Model Ashley Phillips, photograph by Teresa Yeh

to this

Cover art by Claudia McKinney, Phatpuppy Art

Last, cover-creator extraordinaire Cheryl Perez finesses the art to create covers for digital and print. And voila, we get this:

Phew, a lot of work! I am so blessed to have this team of creatives create the covers for this series. I’m happy to be near the end of this project that I’ve been working on for over five years! And I’m looking forward to getting back into the Roswell conspiracy and the Arizona setting of my next series, H.A.L.F. But I’m a bit sad that Ashley won’t be on the next cover!!