Talon cover reveal + winners

Hey everyone!


So, the cover for Talon was finally revealed yesterday!  Did you all get to see it?  If not, feast your eyes below on the gorgeous pretty.

Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they’re positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.

Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.

Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon’s newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey: and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember’s bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him: and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons.






What do you guys think?  I adore this cover.  I love the simple elegance, the metallic, rippling red scales, the bold gold title with the dragon in the O.  Its probably my favorite cover to date.  I hope you like it, too.  :)



So, whose guess was the closest to the actual cover?  There were actually several that came really, really close, and a few that were nearly spot on.  I read through all the entries, picked the ones that were the closest, and then chose a random winner from those numbers.


The winners of the Guess the Cover contest are as follows.



For the signed copy of The Forever Song: Minerva Emano.


And the winner of the signed Forever Song and the chibi dragon figurine is: Jess the Cozy Reader!



Congrats to you both!  I will be emailing you shortly.  And thanks to everyone who entered and took a guess on the cover; your ideas were so creative and awesome.  As we get closer to Talon's release, there will be many more fun things to come, so stay tuned!






-Julie

Monday Musings: Ending a series

So, tomorrow The Forever Song is released upon the world.


The last book of the Blood of Eden trilogy.  The End.  The final adventure.  This is only the second series I've completed (the first since the original Iron Fey, if you can believe it), and people always ask me how it feels saying goodbye to a series.  I've worked with these characters for many months, agonized over their actions, been inside their heads for a very long time.  How does it feel, knowing you have to leave them behind and move onto something new?


For me, ending a series makes me both happy and sad.  Sad because, yes, I will miss them.  I've been a part of Allison's life since the beginning.  I've watched her evolve from a jaded, cynical street rat to a fierce, bloodthirsty vampire, to finally the person she is today.  I've watched her with Zeke, Kanin, Jackal and everyone, and I feel like I know them all, inside and out.  And it was tough, ending this series, knowing the outcome of one of their stories.  I cried writing that scene.  I can't say which one.  You'll know it when you get there.

But all good things must come to end, and I'm happy that I could give Allison and co. the finale they deserve.  I'm also proud that I actually finished a story arc, beginning to end.  Sometimes when writing a series, it feels like you'll never finish, that you'll go on forever with these characters and never have any resolution.  It's a relief to know they got their ending, and that--whether happy, sad, or somewhere in between--you were able to take them through an incredible adventure to those final two words, The End.



And as for Allison and the Blood of Eden series, I'm content with where I left them. I  hope that when readers turn the final page, they'll feel as I do: sad that its over, but content in knowing the story of vampires, rabids, humans and monsters couldn't have ended any other way.






The Forever Song is out tomorrow!  Grab your copy  to read Allie's last adventure for yourself.  =)



-Julie

Dragon Friday

Hey all!


So today for Dragon Friday, I have the pics of the dragons that will be going up in the Etsy store tomorrow, Saturday at noon, EST.  Linkie to Etsy store below.

Etsy shop.


Some of the dragons up tomorrow will be:

This guy was fun to work on.  He makes me laugh now.  That tongue!  I tried several different ways to get it right, before I finally figured it out.  He's very much enjoying his lollipop.  ^__^

Little dragon guarding his treasure chest.  The chest is removable, both pieces are separate from each other. The chest is also made of clay, and has shiny bits of coin and treasure inside.

Fiery magma dragon.  He's actually my favorite of the bunch and turned out even cooler than I thought he would.  Will have to make more like him in the future.

This fuzzy little guy again.  I lamented about the impossible-ness of white clay earlier, so I won't bore you again.  Oh, and for those curious, his name in that book I wrote as a kid was Rune.

All the dragons going up tomorrow.  The little yellow guy isn't done yet; he needs eyeballs and glaze, but I like how he turned out.  He looks like a lemon drop. There's also a Forever Song book dragon in there, too.  

Oh, and don't forget to enter the TALON cover reveal contest in the post before this one!  You can win a signed Forever Song and a little clay dragon if you guess the cover, which will be revealed Tuesday, April 15th!  Exciting stuff!

Which one is your favorite?

Happy Dragon Friday!

-Julie

Talon cover reveal contest

Hey guys!


So, exciting news.  Mark your calenders for Tuesday, April 15th.  Why you ask?  Two awesome reasons:


1. It is the release date for The Forever Song, the final book in the Blood of Eden trilogy.

2. There will be a cover reveal for a book about something that rhymes with WAGONS.

(Not the real cover.)

Ahem.  So, yes the TALON cover reveal will be on Tuesday, April 15th, so be on the lookout for that. And to celebrate both the cover reveal and the Forever Song release, let's have a contest.  

Contest: GUESS THE TALON COVER.  

You already know what it's about.  So, what do YOU think will be on the Talon cover?  Dragons? Humans? Nothing but fire? Nothing but text?  What colors?  What background?  The more detailed the guess, the better.  Leave your answer in the Rafflecopter thingie, and then return here Wednesday, April 16th, to see whose guess was the closest. 

The winner will receive:

1. A signed copy of The Forever Song.

2. A clay chibi dragon, handmade by myself. Similar to the ones pictured below.  (These little guys have already gone to their new homes, so the winner's dragon will be different.  But something like this.)

What will the Talon cover look like?  Go ahead and make your guesses, you have nothing to lose.  And on April 15th, be on the lookout for MTV's exclusive cover reveal for TALON.

Then head over to your favorite bookstore to look for The Forever Song! :)


*** Remember, you have to leave a comment to be entered to win.  The closest guess to the actual cover will win the prize.  (And since I didn't realize Rafflecopter does not actually track comments, if you would leave your email address in the comment section as well, that would make my life much easier. )

Also, since I realized that doing the Rafflecopter thingie AND leaving a comment is kind of pointless, let's add another prize.  A signed Forever Song for just doing the Rafflecopter thingie, and a signed Forever Song plus the dragon if your guess is the closest to the actual cover.  So now there are two chances to win.  But to have a chance at the chibi dragon, you have to leave a comment.

Ugh, sorry for the confusion.  Live and learn, I guess.  :P



Good luck!  Yes, its international.

ETA: I realize that a few bloggers HAVE seen the Talon cover, or the concepts for it, anyway.  If this is the case, please refrain from entering the giveaway?  I want to make it fair, and I am super grateful for all your support.  Thank you so much.  :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Teaser Tuesday: Allie

We're SO close to the release of The Forever Song!




Don't forget to follow the blog tour for cool extras and prizes.  Extras like interviews with Kanin, Speed dating with Jackal (good luck to you, there) and a letter from Zeke to Allie, written right before the final scenes of The Eternity Cure.

There are also prizes like a set of the Blood of Eden trilogy, signed copies of the Forever Song, and gift cards to your favorite booksellers.  So you don't wanna miss even a day!  




You can find the list of participating blogs here.






But now, here is today's Teaser Tuesday!  Featuring the katana wielding heroine of the Forever Song, Allison Sekemoto.





***

The door loomed dead ahead, and I didn't stop.  I didn't pause to reconsider my plan.  Whether I was walking into a trap or straight to my death.  Katana at my side, I strode up to the door and kicked it below the knob.  It flew open with a crash, nearly ripped off its hinges, and I stepped into the room.




***




The Forever Song releases April 15th.  Don't miss the final confrontation.



-Julie

Monday Musings: The Forever Song blog tour

Hey guys!



So today kicks off The Forever Song blog tour, which I am super excited about.  There will be fun posts, questions, character interviews (Speed dating with Jackal, anyone?) giveaways, and fun prizes.

Today, Harlequin's Paranormal Romance blog  kicks off the tour, with the story of how Blood of Eden series began and a chance to win a copy of The Forever Song!  You can also find the full list of tour stops, so be sure to check it out.


Happy touring!


-Julie

Dragon Friday: top 8 movies with dragons in them

Welcome to Dragon Friday, where I yammer on about my favorite mythological creatures: dragons.  If you love dragons, you're in the right place.  Today, I count down my top 8 movies (movies, not series, GoT fans) with dragons in them.


Ready, then?  Here we go.





8.  Reign of Fire

Okay, so there were plot holes.  Big ones.  Ones you could hide a dragon in.  But for pure action, and for bad ass dragons that acted like bad ass dragons, you couldn't really ask for more.  The huge drake at the end was truly impressive, which is why this gets a spot on my favorite dragon movies list.

7. Sleeping Beauty

One word: Maleficent.  Arguably Disney's baddest villain.  This is what a dragon should be: big, scary, savage, nigh unstoppable.  Even today, the big black and purple dragon looms over Disney towers and makes appearances on live shows, television, and video games.  I cannot wait to see the new Maleficent movie, just because of the dragon.

6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Yes, Norbert was small and cute.  And the Gringott's dragon was awesome.  But my favorite was the infamous Hungarian Horntail, because he was the dragon that gave Harry a real challenge.  He was fast, vicious, spiky, and dangerous.  No cuddly dragon here.

5. The Neverending Story

Speaking of cuddly dragons.  I actually liked the book version of Falcor better than the movie, because he seemed more playful and dragon-y, but who wouldn't love a fuzzy white luck dragon with big puppy dog eyes? For pure nostalgia, Falcor was a staple of my childhood.

4. Mulan

"I am the great STONE dragon!"  Yeah, Mushu wasn't exactly huge or terrifying, but for pure attitude, he couldn't be bigger.  Proving not all dragons have to be gigantic to be awesome.

3. Dragonheart

Sean Connery as a dragon.  Um, yeah, that's just Win right there.

2. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

You knew he was coming.  Yes, here is the king, the original flying, firebreathing lizard of doom.  Smaug is the perfect embodiment of all things dragon.  His size, his intelligence, his love of gold, his deep voice (Thank you Benedict Cumberbatch).  Is it wrong that, while watching both Hobbit movies, I was cheering on the dragon?  Admit it, you were as well.  ;-)

And my #1 favorite dragon movie of all time is...









1. How to Train Your Dragon


Well, this was easy.  Not only is it my #1 dragon movie of all time, it is one of my all time favorite movies period.  Who knew that a little black dragon with huge eyes and attitude would rocket into stardom as the world's most adorable dragon?  How many millions of moviegoers left the theater sad that they didn't have their own Toothless?

I know I was.

So those are my top 8 dragon movies!  Did yours make the list?  Who is your favorite movie dragon?  (And here's crossing fingers that, someday, the dragons of Talon will be featured in someone's "favorite dragons" list.)

-Julie