The Writer’s Digest contest results are in and I came in first place!
http://www.writersdigest.com/your-story-competition/your-story-74-submit-now
Thank you so much to everyone who voted for my sentence. It took me weeks to craft that little bugger. Coming in first place was such an unexpected pleasure. I’ve been battling a lot of self doubt offline this summer and it really reaffirmed why I do this. Thank you!
***
In addition to all the work that goes into creating Highway Thirteen to Manhattan, I am also doing a cover redo and internal formatting update to address typos I discovered over the past few years in The Six Train to Wisconsin.
It’s keeping me incredibly busy. But I’m loving the results. The new cover is featured above. It’s already up on the ebook on Amazon, on Goodreads, and on NetGalley. I still have to finalize the internal formatting of all the ebooks and the paperback and the paperback cover.
And then there’s Highway Thirteen to Manhattan’s final paperback and ebook formatting and wrap around cover to still finish up.
I’m also revising The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts’ sequel. I’m polishing up a short story submission, and I’m working on my entry for Pitch Wars next week.
I have a week long writing immersion workshop coming up in September for my WIP too.
Then there’s all the promo stuff for Highway Thirteen. Requesting reviews, sending out ARCs, buying ad space, lining up events for the fall, etc.
It’s an ambitious to-do list, so I’m going to take a blog hiatus starting August 1 and going until September 16.
I’ll be around on Facebook and Twitter, but summer is a slow time in the blogosphere and it’s the right time to take a little break before the major promo push of October-December.
Have a terrific rest of the summer! I’ll see you in mid-September!
Oooh! I LOVE the new cover. The old one was nice, but this one really nails it.
Aw thank you. I was afraid the old cover blended too much into the white of Amazon’s pages and didn’t quite convey the romantic element of the story. This one really goes with the sequel too!
I love the new cover.
Whew – you are quite a whirlwind. See you in Sept ( and be sure to get some rest as well as spend some outdoor time to keep you charged up!)
Thanks! It was my concept and this time it really worked well. 😉 Yes, I’m cutting back on lots of stuff to get it all done. Pacing myself but working a lot. 🙂 Will see you in September.
Count on it!
🙂
Congratulations! The cover looks great, Kourtney.
Thanks, Jill. 🙂
Congratulation on the Writer’s Digest win! That is awesome. 🙂 And as someone fortunate enough to read the ARC, let me just say (no spoilers!) that the intensity of the cover is matched by the intensity of the story!
Okay, just to be clear, I am referring to Book 2 as well as Book 1 here!
Thanks. I love how the book 1 cover turned out. Who knew my awful drawing could be that powerful in an artist’s hands?
Thanks! Oh yay. I really tore the book apart with my editor. Entire chapters disappeared to up the tension and stuff I planned for book 3 got moved into book 2. So glad it’s a good read. After the 50th read, it’s so hard for me to tell!
Congratulations!
Thanks!
You’re welcome.
I’m having a little bit of a hiatus too Kourtney, but wanted to pop in and say congratulations on the competition win and on the cover reveal! Have a good break and here’s to the promise of autumn 🙂
It’s good to take a break. I’m also working on blog posts and interviews for the blog tour. 🙂 So at least it’s 6 less posts I have to write for here. Hugs and see you in the fall!
Wow Congratulations Kourtney and the new cover looks wonderful xxx Sending lots of Love your way as you remember to enjoy Summer between all of that hard work.. Love Sue <3
Thanks, Sue. It was definitely worth all the work. 🙂
🙂
Love the new cover! Congrats on your win–there had been no doubt in my opinion!! Enjoy your blog hiatus! See you in September!
Thanks! 🙂 Aw thank you. I had hoped but I was definitely surprised to win! Thanks. I’m working on guest posts and interviews for the release so it’s really nice to not be posting here for a bit. Let’s me focus on the release blitz! See you in September. 🙂
Congratulations on winning. Always a good boost and the new cover looks great too.
Enjoy the break though you have plenty to keep you occupied 🙂
Thanks. It really does help to get validation like that. I’m really happy with the never cover. LOL. I’ll be working a lot, but with all the guest posts and interviews I have to get done, it’s nice to have 6 less to do here!
I have been on a break too, and it has been useful! Enjoy yours, and congratulations on your first place win! So wonderful!
Very useful, especially since everything is so quiet in the blogosphere. 🙂 Thanks. It really made my month!