Help me brainstorm Witch Fall's cover

Witch Fall is due out this October, which means it's about time to get started on the cover. I plan to have Laura Sava, who did Winter Queen, finish the last cover in the series. 

I want all the books to look like they belong together, so we'll utilize the same tones and feel. There are two-ish options I'm considering. Let me know which one you like best in the comments.

Option 1: the pendant featured in the center with plant leaves and curly vines around the outside. Featuring a magical object is something that's done a lot in high fantasy novels. Some examples: 

The magical item signals to the readers that the book is a high fantasy. Some of them are simpler than others, but one of the main jobs of a cover is to give you a visual story about what the novel is about. 

Option 2: Feature Lilette, much as Senna is featured. Because Witch Fall is a prequel, I thought I'd have her looking back toward us. I'll keep some of the same elements--namely, the warm earth tones, the pendant, one of my fantasy landscape on the back cover, the eyes that follow you. In each shot, the "camera" is further back, so Lilette's whole body would be featured. I'll try to incorporate one of the scenes from the book, I'm not sure which one yet. 

Option 3: Something different all together. Feel free to throw your own ideas out there!

YOU are beautiful

I've been meaning to write this post for a long time. So when my fellow writer, CJ Redwine, posted the above video along with her own person journey to beauty, it finally propelled me into action. 

I'm going to start with an observation: Women like beautiful things. It's built into our makeup. It allows us to be artists and lovers and nurturers.

But the ability to see beauty can easily be twisted into a search for flaws, which turns our natural gift into a curse. But only if we let it.

Real, true beauty is something to be searched for. Something to be found.

So when you look into the mirror, do you search for beauty or flaws? I promise, you have both. Everyone does. But finding the flaws can only lead to unhappiness, while discovering the beauty will only add to your beauty.

So your homework, look in the mirror, and tell me how you are beautiful. 

I'll start with what I see: Surrounded by thick, long eyelashes, my beautiful brown eyes pop with hints of green when I wear the right colors. My hair is long and soft. My features are dramatic and bold, much as my personality is. My ears are cute. My lips full and smiling. My figure is long and lean, with just a hint of curves. 

Witch Born's fancy new description page

Reviews:
If you like books like The Iron Fey series, Born Wicked or The Girl of Fire and Thorns, I'm sure you'll enjoy this one. ~Deea from Deea's Journal

It was so refreshing to read high fantasy that's still accessible. ~Melanie, Goodreads reviewer

Amber Argyle has again put me under her spell with the truly beautiful and lyrical way in which she writes. ~Cath from Book Chatter Cath

Witch Born completely blew me out of the water. I LOVED it. Honest to goodness, love. The writing is beautiful and it put all kinds of gorgeous pictures in my mind.The cover of this book is just perfect for one of the best most beautiful scenes in the book. ~Aimee, Amazon Reviewer

Product Description:

Brusenna thought it was finished. 

She defeated the Dark Witch, saving the Haven Witches from imprisonment and death. She found love and a place to belong. 

She was wrong. 

Haven is not the sanctuary it appears to be. Even love is in danger of slipping away like water through cupped hands. 

Some things can't be saved. 

A new threat merges with the old as the Witches' dark history begins to catch up with them. Only Brusenna knows the extent of the danger and how to stop it, though doing so might cost her everything. Including her life. 

Will Brusenna be required to make the ultimate sacrifice?

Winter Queen and sex

I'm always nervous right before a book is released. I pour my heart, soul, and sweat into a book, and I hope people love it as much as I do. 

Winter Queen is a little different than my previous two books though. The tone is much darker. There's more violence. And there's one sex scene. *cringes* Let me be clear: THE SEX IS "OFF SCREEN". But it's still there. Because it has to be. 

You see, one of the themes in Winter Queen is the treatment of women. It wasn't very long ago that women were thought of as a commodity (we still are, in some places/situations). I wanted to explore that in Winter Queen. So Ilyenna, cherished daughter and leader that she is, is basically thrown to the wolves to save the majority of her people. 

So why the sex? Well, rape was and is one of the ways women are controlled. Ilyenna gets tired of having the threat of that thrown in her face and decides to take control of her own body in the only way she can. By choosing how and with whom. 

I explore the consequences of that decision, but I can't get into much detail without spoiling parts of the book for you. 

So why choose to write this book in the first place? 

I remember watching Last of the Mohicans as a young teenager. One of the characters, Alice, watches her love interest die, and then is faced with a choice: kill herself or be forced to marry--be raped by and bear children for--her father's murderer. That theme--that choice--tore at the core of me, at what it meant to be a woman (note, the movie/book also explores what it is to be a man--a theme I also play with in the novel).

And I had to wonder, were those really the only two choices Alice had? What if she'd just waited few minutes longer? What if she'd survived that moment? What would have happened next?

That's what Winter Queen is about. I hope that girls, women, and mothers can see past the "oh my gosh! There's sex in this book, ban it!" and see the themes woven throughout are there for a reason. I hope young girls can read this book and realize that the only person who owns their body is themselves. 

And they ALWAYS have a choice--one that doesn't have anything to do with a cliff.

Just a little hint, Winter Queen's ebook has gone up for sale early. *nervous!* We've been having problems with the print version, but hopefully the paperback will follow soon.

Winners! Lots of them! + Support David Farland

I've had a lot of contests on my blog lately. Thanks to all those who have participated in any way. I'm sorry to say that at some of the winners didn't actually complete their entries (if you weren't notified, you weren't one of them), so alternates have been chosen (FYI, I always check to make sure people have actually completed the task).

And on to the winners:

Signed paperback copy of Witch Born:  Alisha M Blanchard

eBook of Witch Song: Atmika

eBook of Winter Queen: Jen 

ARC of The Elite by Kiera Cass: Crystal Woodmancy

Winner of a signed ARC of Winter Queen from Goodreads: Sallee Ellen Glickler

Winner of a signed ARC of Winter Queen: Julia Rain 

On another note, my friend and mentor, David Farland, has a son who is in a coma. The medical bills are adding up. To show our love and support, we're holding a book bomb. More on that below: 

A Book Bomb is an event where participants purchase a book on a specific day (in this case, Wednesday, April 10th) to support the author, or, in this case, a young person in serious need: Ben Wolverton. 

David Farland’s young adult fantasy thriller NIGHTINGALE has won SEVEN awards, including the Grand Prize at the Hollywood Book Festival--beating out ALL books in ALL categories. It is available as a hardcover ($24.99), ebook ($7.99), audio book ($24.99), and enhanced novel for the iPad ($9.99). 

My review: Once again, David Farland proves himself a master of words. Nightingale is a book to read slowly, savoring the delicate balance woven between beauty and despair, hope and hopelessness. 

The main character, Bron, seems to be teetering on the edge between master villain and hero, showing the reader how fine the line between good and evil really is. 
You can see the full review for Nightingale here. 

Or for my fellow writers, I can attest to the awesomeness that is Dave's book on writing: 

CAN I JUST DONATE MONEY? 

You can donate money to Ben here: http://www.gofundme.com/BensRecovery 

(Or you could purchase a book as a gift for someone else.)

I WANT TO HELP BUT I DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY!

The best way you can help is by spreading the word of Ben’s donation page, and/or this book bomb. Share it on facebook, twitter, pinterest, your blog—anywhere you can. Invite others to the event. 

Thanks for supporting Dave and his son, Ben.