Saturday, March 22, 2014

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 .... 
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12 comments:

  1. LizaMarch 23, 2014 at 6:49 PM

    Wow, to the cover AND the story. Wow, Wow, Wow! Sounds like a "must read" to me!

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    1. J.B. ChicoineMarch 23, 2014 at 7:07 PM

      Well, it's at least been a productive winter! And since winter won't seem to quit, I keep plugging away at edits! Hopefully I will publish sometime this summer, you know, during that one week that might break thawing temperatures sometime in August!

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  2. Nate WilsonMarch 31, 2014 at 4:33 PM

    I love the look of the cover, Bridget. Of course, because I like to pick nits, I'll mention my preference for the needle to feed through the S as well, and for there to be no break in the thread. But that's all these are: preference.

    The story's intriguing, too. Not the romance part -- it's not my genre of choice, as I believe you know -- but Olga's mental illness and the family dysfunction do pique my interest. Best of luck with the betas and the edits and edits and edits!

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    1. J.B. ChicoineMarch 31, 2014 at 7:59 PM

      Hey Nate, thanks for weighing in--I do like your 'preference for feeding the needle through the S and perhaps even removing the break in the thread. I'm also considering having my husband paint a Singer-Sargent style oil painting of the skirt, since that is a plot point. I'll have to see how much he'll charge, lol.

      And I must admit, I rather like a good mental illness theme just as much if not more than the romance stuff ... which makes me wonder--have you read any good sci-fi with a mental illness thread running throughout, you know, aside from the mad scientist (so cliche!)?

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    2. Nate WilsonApril 1, 2014 at 10:08 AM

      Ooh, good question. With mental illness, I mostly think of literature other than sci-fi (in part because I don't read a ton of it), but there's certainly some out there. Megalomania is most prevalent, of course, likely followed by depression and addiction.

      The works of Philip K. Dick come to mind; I've only read a few, but according to a Google search he also has some concerning schizophrenia and autism, among others. Let's see, I also recently read a book about a time-travelling serial killer (Lauren Beukes' Shining Girls), and both he and his lone surviving victim had mental issues.

      Unfortunately, I'm not coming up with any more right now -- my brain keeps returning to non-sci-fi examples -- but I'm going to keep pondering this for a while.

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    3. J.B. ChicoineApril 1, 2014 at 10:55 AM

      Be careful, there, Nate! Pondering all that sci-fi mental illness might affect your brain in a negative way ... you might start plotting about loony space monkeys or something... I'd love to read a blurb on that!

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  3. Michelle D. ArgyleApril 1, 2014 at 12:19 AM

    Oh, Bridget, you're so talented! I love that cover!!! The story sounds great!

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    1. J.B. ChicoineApril 1, 2014 at 8:12 AM

      Thanks Michelle--I'll probably change it a bit, but at least it's a concept I like--the cover that is ... oh, and I guess the story, too. You know how it is with getting feedback from betas!

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  4. UnknownApril 25, 2014 at 7:24 PM

    Missed you on Twitter, Bridget, but I can see you've been busy! Glad your Russian project seems to be progressing nicely. The cover looks lovely to my eye. When is scheduled launch?

    Speaking of the winter blues: I thought I'd escape them this year by coming to Tucson AZ for January - March. I was feeling fine with sunshine everyday. Then we added another month, and it turns out the blahs caught up with me, even here. Maybe AC in April is just as hard on mental health as sunset at 4 in the afternoon...?

    Anyway, I'm hanging tough and hope things are going well for you & yours.

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    1. J.B. ChicoineApril 25, 2014 at 9:40 PM

      Hey Anesa, Good to hear from you. Yeah, I've been missing from Twitter--I'm afraid I find it rather overwhelming--I give it a go for a while and then feel like I'm on input overload. And yeah, I have been busy but also staving off waves of anxiety.

      Arizona sounds like a great place to winter, and it has been such a long one, especially here. It keeps trying to warm up but slips back into the 40s. Ugh. I suppose we could blame the blahs on all sorts of weather, but maybe it's just a cycle we go through, something we have to ride out.

      And I do think having books that we are getting ready to publish is an added stress. It's exciting, but there is so much anticipation and angst over whether we are creating enough of a buzz and all that. It sucks up emotional and mental reserves. At any rate, I'm glad to hear you are hanging tough--I will too.

      Oh, and I don't have a specific launch date for Blind Stitches. Sometime this early summer, I suspect. How about Our Orbit? Do you have scheduled launch date?

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  5. UnknownMay 8, 2014 at 1:47 PM

    Hi again, Bridget--

    Have you seen those widgets that let a commenter check the box to get notice of replies? That might be handy for your blog. But either way, I'm glad to hear from you!

    We have now returned north to WA state, which I have very mixed feelings about. Our Orbit has suffered a major delay that I can't quite bring myself to explain. Maybe a post on that soon...meanwhile, a holding pattern.

    So I wish you great success with your launch and, hopefully, soon. Then, maybe, the anxiety can begin to subside :D ! You will tweet about it, won't you? I've let up on twitter somewhat lately, but usually still see the big news. And btw, congratulations on the very fine reviews of your previous book(s). Rooting for you--

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    1. J.B. ChicoineMay 8, 2014 at 2:28 PM

      Anesa,

      There is a check box for notification about replies, but I think it only shows up if you are signed on in Google or Blogger. Word Press and Blogger don't seem to interface too well, and so I don't think it will show up for you. I think it's the same when I comment on yours and other Word Press blogs--there never seems to be a reply notification box to check. Doh!

      I'm sorry to hear that Our Orbit has met with a delay--it sounds as if it was unexpected. That's frustrating. Right now, I'm in a holding pattern of my own with Blind Stitches, waiting to receive copy-edits and such from beta readers. I have no deadlines, but it still makes me a little antsy. Meanwhile, I'm tuning up my cover--my husband is making a painting of the ballerina/wedding dress and that takes time too.

      When I get ready to launch, I will tweet about it--begrudgingly, lol, but it's what we do!

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