Free Portrait of a Girl Running Adiobook in Exchange for Honest Review!

So, I just received 25 complimentary Audible.com copies of PORTRAIT of a GIRL RUNNING audio books! I'm supposed to use them to start spreading the word about the audiobook release. So, if you would be interested in a free audiobook of GIRL RUNNING in exchange for an honest review, send your email address to bridget at jbchicoine dot com and I'll send you the code and instructions!

Here's what the story is about:

All Leila wants is to get through her senior year at her new high school on Long Island without drawing undue attention. Not that she has any big secret to protect, but her unconventional upbringing has made her very private. At seventeen, she realizes just how odd it was that two men raised her—one black, one white—and no mother. Not to mention they were blues musicians, always on the move. When her father died, he left her with a fear of foster care and a plan that would help her fall between the cracks of the system. Three teachers make that impossible—the handsome track coach, her math teacher from hell, and a jealous gym instructor.   Set against the backdrop of Long Island in the 1970s, Leila’s ability to run, along with her musical and artistic talents, places her in compromising situations. Accusations of misconduct and judicial hearings put Leila’s autonomy and even her dignity at risk, unless she learns to trust an unlikely ally. Portrait of a Girl Running is a story that sifts through the many ways we define friendship, family, romantic love, and even ethnicity.

Portrait of a Girl Running Audio Book Now Available!

Once again, my overall inactivity online is not necessarily an indication of what’s been going on behind the scenes. I’ve been tossing around some ideas for a third book in my Portrait series, and that’s not all … the bigger news is that Portrait of a Girl Running is now available as an audio book! You can find it on Audible.com where it’s free with a trial membership or can be purchased for $19.95. You can also download it via iTunes for a little cheaper. It is also up on Amazon.com. Carolyn Nicely narrates and does a stellar job! Go have a look, that is, a sample listen!

And just in case you didn't know it, Uncharted: Story for a Shipwright is also available as an audio book!

Five Books in Thirteen Months! Yikes!

I’m coming up on one year since I published Portrait of a Girl Running and its sequel, Portrait of a Protégé. And last year at this time, I also received the reversioning rights to my debut novel, Uncharted: Story for a Shipwright. This was only months after publishing my second novel, Spilled Coffee. That was a lot of publishing in a short period of time! And on the heels of all that, I dove into my fifth novel, Blind Stitches and published it this past July. Yikes! That’s five novels in a little over a year—no wonder I feel story weary, which explains my recent silence on this blog. In fact, I haven’t been online much at all since the beginning of August, and I have to say, it has been very good for me. Especially for my stress levels.

It may be hard for a non-writer to understand the kind of pressure a storyteller feels, not only from the voices of all those characters who want resolution to their conflicts, but from those voices (real or imagined) that insist a novelist must continue to produce or they’ll lose their audience. And that sicky-sweet voice that says, “It doesn’t matter what you write as long as you’re writing! Write for yourself! Write for fun—you remember what that is, right?” when the contrapuntal voice is saying, “Oh please, there’s no possible way you could ever write without analyzing every word, every sentence, every plot twist and character profile. Writing for fun is like losing your virginity—you can never get it back!”

So, that’s where I’m at … sort of. I don’t have a story and characters wrestling in my head and it feels good—like relief … like I can breathe. I’m finding it so much easier to focus on other things that are, quite simply, more important to me than writing. Not that I won’t start some project when something compelling strikes me (especially in the dead of winter), but nothing has at this point. If I do get a creative surge in the form of a story, you may not hear about it until after I decide what to do with it. As an experiment, I’d kind of like to try writing for fun again—just to see if I can actually do it!

Vintage Sewing and a Book Review

In two of my books—Blind Stitches and Portrait of a Protégé—one of the main characters favors vintage clothing. Leila (of Protégé) inherits her former-modeling grandmother’s designer wardrobe from the ’40s and ’50s, and Juliet (of Blind Stitches) is a seamstress who specializes in the retro look. These casting details make it all the more cool that I just received a really nice review of Blind Stitches from a talented lady who has a vintage sewing blog. I’ve been following Laura Mae’s blog—Lilacs & Lace—for a little while, and she’s inspired me to sew a few vintage outfits myself. I’m especially pleased that she enjoyed the story!

If you're curious about a seamstresses impression of Blind Stitches, go have a look. 

The Nitty-Gritty of My Publishing Journey

In the process of researching Russian history and language for Blind Stitches, I became acquainted with Anesa Miller, who has a background in Russian studies and creative writing. When I first visited her blog, her post “Drawer No More” caught my attention. To quote Anesa:

In Russian (one of my former professions), there was a saying in the days of universal censorship: “This one’s for the drawer.” Or, “He writes strictly for the drawer”—i.e., with no hope of publication. Even in the era of samizdat, a practice of illegal home-based publishing, writing for the drawer meant that an author was brave enough to put unflattering ideas about the Soviet system down on paper. Sadly, his or her readership remained limited to a circle of trusted friends.

She continues:

In an American context, where being ignored is far more likely than being censored, writing “for the drawer” suggests the author has lost the will to keep seeking the golden fleece of publication. Given up on sharing his or her work with anyone, anywhere.

Anesa’s words immediately struck a chord with me. For anyone who has followed my blog since I started it over five years ago, you know how long it took finally to get any of my work published. What you don’t know—because I have always been very cautious about publicly sharing the nitty-gritty of finally gaining and eventually losing a publisher—is how I ended up self-publishing, that is, how I felt about my publishing journey, the highs and the lows. As I corresponded with Anesa and read more of her blog, I realized that although our publishing paths have differed, we shared many of the same feelings about our work and trying to get it out where it could be read and hopefully appreciated. Anesa has graciously invited me to her blog to tell about how I eventually found a publisher and what lead me to choose the path of independently publishing even while with a traditional publisher. If you are curious about my Inside Scoop, stop over at Anesa’s blog!

Interestingly, over the past several months as I corresponded with Anesa, I found out that she was on the verge of publishing her debut literary novel, Our Orbit, and by chance we ended up publishing the very same week. I’ve just begun reading Our Orbit, a novel about the conflicts that arise when nine-year-old Miriam—with a fundamentalist Christian background—finds herself in foster care trying to adapt to a secular lifestyle while struggling not to lose her connection to the past and her oddball and radical family. Our Orbit, captures the tension between modernity and tradition in the Appalachian corner of bellwether Ohio. Amid the conflicts of finely drawn and compelling characters, Anesa provides a glimpse of the spirit that binds us in our common humanity. I’m really enjoying this read. Can’t wait to find out how it ends!

Why Glasnost and Insanity?

I know that on this blog I’m supposed to share my thoughts on my writing process, but to be honest, when I’m writing, well, I’m just not in the mood to write blog posts. My focus is on finishing the story! When a story morphs from 'my work-in-progress' into a published novel, that’s when I have more time and inclination to share, which I have been doing more of lately—today’s post is a case in point … sort of. I’m actually sharing on someone else’s blog. If you are curious about what inspired Blind Stitches and why I chose to write about insanity and set the story during the Glasnost era—and what about those chickens! head on over to Long and Short Reviews where I tell all (okay, not all, but more information than I have posted here on my own blog).

Blind Stitches! Now Available! — And an Interview!

I’m a little ahead of schedule—Blind Stitches is now up and running!

Not only that, but I have the pleasure of answering a few questions for one of my readers, Ariffa Bevin, about Blind Stitches, Portrait of a Girl Running and Portrait of a Protégé, and also my writing process—even some bits of information that I’ve never shared on this bog. Go have a look!

Ariffa read my two Portrait novels recently and contacted me. One of the best perks of writing and publishing is finding out that a complete stranger has read your work and enjoyed it enough to send off an email. Come to find out, Ariffa has also recently published a novel, Kingdom of the Sun.

Ariffa’s novel, to quote her, “… reflects the desire that most of us have to make a change, whether it be in the world or in our own lives, and how we may lack the strength or the courage to do it. The novella highlights the significance of what it truly means to be educated as well as the power that one possesses when they are.” Sounds like my kind of story! I’m looking forward to reading it now that I have Blind Stitches up and out. 

Oh, and here’s where you can find Blind Stitches:

·         Amazon paperback

·         Kindle

·         iTunes

·         Smashwords

It will soon be available through Barns & Noble (paperback and Nook), Kobo, Indiebound, and loads of other online ebook retailers!

If you do read Blind Stitches and care to leave a review on Goodreads or Amazon, or anywhere else, that would be grand!

Uncharted: Story for a Shipwright—The Perfect Summer Read!

In case you are looking for a good summer read, I'm offering Uncharted: Story for a Shipwright eBooks for $0.99 until the end of the month! Reviewers call it the perfect beach read!

Kindle

Nook

iTunes

Kobo

Other eReaders

Blind Stitches—Preparing to Launch!

I'm down to the nitty-gritty of getting Blind Stitches published by July 15th. If anyone is interested in a free ARC (advance reader copy) for the purpose of reading and writing an honest review, please email me at bridget at jbchicoine dot com. 

In case you're curious, here's what it's about:

Nikolai Solvay has been dreading his sister’s wedding, but when his father dies unexpectedly two weeks beforehand, his return to New Hampshire promises to rake up his worst nightmares. 

Meanwhile, talented young seamstress Juliet Glitch has been putting the finishing touches on the wedding dress. Mother of the bride—former prima ballerina and Russian expatriate—asks Juliet if she ‘would hem her blind son Nikolai’s trousers for the funeral’ … and the wedding. 

When Juliet meets Nikolai, he draws her into the whirlwind of his unraveling family that makes her own quirky domestic situation seem normal. Confronted with the Solvay’s delusions and narcissism, Juliet must decide if her developing relationship with Nikolai is worth the turmoil as she deals with her own unreconciled past. 

Either way, Nikolai cannot stave off the repressed memories surrounding his mother’s defection from the Soviet Union twenty years earlier. Against the backdrop of autumn 1989, during the Glasnost era, Nikolai’s family secrets crash alongside the crumbling Berlin Wall.

Some Happy News!

I think I will be forever awkward about announcing such things, but I am really happy that Portrait of a Girl Running received a finalist award in the 2014 Next Generation Indie Book Awards! I don’t know if it will have an impact on anything like sales or popularity, but I do get a Finalist Certificate, a medal, some gold award stickers, and my book will be listed as a Finalist in the 2014 Next Generation Indie Book Awards catalog which will be distributed at Book Expo America in New York this week. I won't be attending the awards ceremony in NYC, but I am grateful for the recognition.

From Concept to Cover: Blind Stitches Update

It takes me a long time to design a book cover (probably one of the reasons I don’t do it for hire). I usually have an idea or concept in mind, and as soon as I compile the basics, I can’t wait to share, like here, on my blog. I also assign it as my computer desktop background so I can stare at it for a long time, or glance at it quickly and regularly. That way I determine its strengths and weaknesses, both in content and compositionally. The result of my last, weeks-long staring episode is significant—and really a no-brainer. The sheer cloth of the initial layout lacked interest and a human element, which I think is important when there’s an underlying love story. But it’s more than a love story, it’s a psychological drama set against an absurd backdrop.

Blind Stitches is about a ‘vicariously-delusional’* blind artist and a seamstress, and the painting of a dress that brings them together in a suspenseful tale of twisted family dynamics.

In this version of the cover, I think the painting makes all the difference. My artist husband  rendered it in the same Impressionist style that Nikolai—the purportedly blind artist—painted his sister’s wedding dress, designed after his delusional mother’s ballerina costume and modeled by … well, I don’t want to give it all away. Let’s just say it’s all rather twisted.

*Yes, I made up that term; you won’t find it in any psychology textbook.

Cats vs Chickens

Who hasn’t heard of the expression Cat Lady, and usually in conjunction with crazy? Maybe you personally know a Crazy Cat Lady. The fact of the matter is, especially with all the cute kitty pictures popping up all over the place on the internet, Cat Lady has become so cliché. The concept of accumulating—or hording—pets, though, is still quirky, to say the least and makes for an interesting character embellishment.

In Blind Stitches, one of the characters—Aunt Anita—is a hoarder and a collector of not only things but pets, originally cats. Then I got talking with a friend, and in conversation about his upbringing on a farm, he divulged something so odd and amusing I just knew I needed to include it in a story. Chickens. They raised chickens and also had a few as pets—yes, chickens make fine pets and they can even be house-trained, although my friend and his 5 brothers never brought them in the house. What I found so amusing, in a twisted sort of way, was that when the chickens died—the pet chickens, not the ones destined for the pot after they no longer laid eggs—they ‘planted’ the chicken in the ‘chicken cemetery’ with their feet sticking up out of the ground like branches reaching for the sky. I have to say, I was at first stunned and then couldn’t stop laughing at the visual it conjured. And they would tag the feet, hanging little signs on the talons with the chicken’s name. Perfect!

Personally, I’ve never come across a Chicken Lady—I’m sure there are a few out there, but that designation is by no means cliché! And what’s even better is that chickens fit perfectly into the Blind Stitches storyline and help define not only the oddball Aunt, but the enigmatic young Romeo who has Asperger’s, and yes, he even knows how to house-train chicks! The free range chickens also emphasizes the stigma that poor Juliet has been trying to shed since she was a child, given that the three live on the fringes of an elite little New England town.

Oh, and I have one more bit of news—my husband, Todd, is currently working on an oil painting of a ballerina dress for my cover, in a style along the lines of which Nikolai would paint--sort of Impressionistic. The cover concept remains the same as I last posted, but it will provide a better nuance for the genre, which will likely fall into the Romantic Suspense. Or, hmm … maybe Dark Humor—is that a genre? or Quirky Psychological. Hmm ....

Blind Stitches Cover & Progress

I have been making headway on BLIND STITCHES. My first round of edits are done, I have the cover copy (description for the back cover) and a cover concept. Hopefully the cover conveys a psychological drama feel with a hint of romance and mystery. I’m open to suggestions and observations.

Nikolai Solvay has been dreading his sister’s wedding, but when his father dies unexpectedly two weeks beforehand, his return to New Hampshire promises to rake up his worst nightmares. 

Meanwhile, talented young seamstress Juliet Glitch has been putting the finishing touches on the wedding dress. Mother of the bride—former prima ballerina and Russian expatriate—asks Juliet if she ‘would hem her blind son Nikolai’s trousers for the funeral’ … and the wedding.

When Juliet meets Nikolai, he draws her into the whirlwind of his unraveling family that makes her own quirky domestic situation seem normal. Confronted with the Solvay’s delusions and narcissism, Juliet must decide if her developing relationship with Nikolai is worth the turmoil as she deals with her own unreconciled past.

Either way, Nikolai cannot stave off the repressed memories surrounding his mother’s defection from the Soviet Union twenty years earlier. Against the backdrop of autumn 1989, during the Glasnost era, Nikolai’s family secrets crash alongside the crumbling Berlin Wall. 

Next, another round of beta readers, more edits ... more edits ... and more edits .... 

Blind Stitches and Winter Survival

No, I haven’t fallen off the grid—okay, I might have slipped the grid a little, but I’ve not done so in my usual winter slump. I’d like to think it’s because after years of practice, I’ve learned how to survive winter a little better. No, full-spectrum lighting is not part of my W.S.K, (and as soon as I post this—just because I have posted this—I may very well fall into a deep dark place), and I haven’t returned to medication (aside from an occasional glass of wine in front of my keyboard). And in spite of the brutal cold outside that started in November and is now stretching into March (many mornings, like as this morning, it has been well below zero), this winter has flown by for me. My secret? I’ve been completing my first draft of my next novel, formerly known as Blind Sight.

Now that the first draft is complete, a more appropriate title has emerged, BLIND STITCHES It fits much better since one of the main POV characters is a seamstress, and the other is vicariously ‘blind’—that is, his delusional mother believes he is blind.

Having said that—about not falling into my usual winter slump—I must add a disclaimer about the way winter may have affected my writing. BLIND STITCHES is a little on the darker side, psychologically speaking. Then again, it’s difficult for me to be objective about my novels, especially when it comes to gauging how dark, or twisted, or disturbing my readers might consider them. I will admit to a sensitive constitution—I don’t like horror stories, and while I enjoy the occasional thriller, it takes my nervous system days to recover. So, what I consider dark may seem merely ‘dim’ to someone else.

I don’t have a projected date of publication for BLIND STITCHES, but I anticipate having it out there within the next six months. I need time away from it while it’s out with my beta readers, and I will use that time to read some Russian literature and to work on the cover layout.

Meanwhile, Portrait of a Girl Running has received some nice reviews and mentions—check these out if you are inclined:

• A nice review at Digesting the Words
• The Bookscape Report—another good review!
• This is a review for Portrait of a Protege, and it's only 3 stars, but I really like it—an honest, gut reaction!
• Caught Within the Pages (this isn't a review--the blogger simply drives home for me the importance of an eye-catching cover, and her remarks made me smile!)

And I would especially like to thank a loyal reader whom I shall refer to as Mr. Left8, from over on the WoodenBoat Forum, who started a really nice post about mybooks. (For my long-time readers, you may recall that when I wrote Uncharted: Story for a Shipwright, I spent a fair amount of time researching over at the WoodenBoat Forum, and it was grand fun!) That thread, and those who contributed to it, were a huge perk that helped me stay out of the doldrums! 

Not All 17-year-old Young Adult Characters Have Superpowers!

Okay, yeah, I know this isn't earth-shattering news. But it's a way Raven Reviews opens an interview with me.* I quote:

"Lately, it seems all young adult novels involve a seventeen year old who either have a supernatural secret or find out he or she is a supernatural. Then I came across this next book where the teen was being raised by a black man and a white man and no mother. And they are always on the move. It seems strange, right? Then, the main character falls in love with her track coach. Seems like a lot of stuff going on here. I decided to take a closer look at the book and the author."

If you care to read the interview, head on over to Raven Reviews and find out what inspired Portrait of a Girl Running. There is also a link to an excerpt of the first chapter.

* I did warn you I'd be doing some promotion of this book, didn't I?" 

Pushing the Limits of Absurdity

I suppose I ought to post something now that it’s the beginning of a new year—and I thought I’d provide an update on what I’ve been up to, writing-wise. Blind Sighted was slow starting, but now I’m nearly 20k words into the story;  the characters and plot are beginning to take shape. I still have a lot of research to do in the following categories:

• Sino-Russian relations during the cold war
• The Berlin Wall
• The Russian ballet and costumes
• Delusional Disorder
• Narcissistic Personality Disorder
• Asperger’s Syndrome
• Common Russian expressions
• Being a professional seamstress in an upper-class, small New England community—Oh, wait, I don’t have to research that—I already have personal experience!

Hopefully this gives you a hint about what this story entails, and yeah, I will be pushing the envelope of absurdity—I mean, the main POV character’s name is Juliet, and her brother’s name is Romeo. Seriously. What kind of a mother names her children Rome and Juliet, especially with a last name Glitch!? And let’s not forget Kim (the poor guy whose delusional mother believes he’s blind). When a girl’s life already pushes the boundaries of absurdity, it’s easy for someone else’s absurd life to draw her in—dangerously easy.

I’ve also decided to do a little book promotion for Portrait of a Girl Running, and its sequel Portrait of a Protégé. I’ve been reading up on marketing books in this ever-evolving world of publishing, and it seems that slow and steady has more of an impact on long-term marketing than the old model of creating a huge bang at a book’s release (yeah, I’ve been reading Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s blog). That said, now, a couple of months after the release of my Portraits novels, you will see me doing what I didn’t think I’d ever get up the gumption to do—promote my books (with the help of publicist Paula Margulies, because you know I wouldn’t do it on my own!).

That said, I should plug my networking stuff, so, if you'd like to follow me on Twitter or Facebook, that would be okay with me! My books are also on Goodreads ... in case you were wondering ....

Meanwhile, here’s an absurd song I wish I could use as my theme music for Blind Sighted—sort of.