Thursday, December 31, 2015

The paperbacks are here!

 
The printed book is now available! It's pretty wondrous to have come this far. I'm definitely in awe of the process and all the kind words people have shared with me. It has been a dream come true for this to happen, and I'm thrilled. So far, it's for sale at Clash Dayton in the Oregon District, though I have been talking with a couple other independent bookstores as well.

I was interviewed by Mercedes Fox recently, and she was kind enough to put it on her book blog. Check it out here.

I'm still giving away 5 of these beautiful paperbacks on my Goodreads contest page. The contest is open until January 31, 2016. Enter here.

Saturday, December 26, 2015

Enter my Goodreads contest to win a signed first edition!

The books are hot off the press! Enter now to win a free paperback signed by me. This contest is open to people in the US, Canada, England, and Australia (which happens to be what my husband's grandmother calls me). G'day! :) :)


Goodreads Book Giveaway


House of Transformation by Astrea Taylor\     

 House of Transformation


by Astrea Taylor

Giveaway ends January 31, 2016.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Happy Jolabokaflod! FREE Kindle book!


I'm giving away the House of Transformation for FREE on Kindle for a very limited time in celebration of Jolabokaflod! Here's the link:
http://www.amazon.com/House-Transformation-Astrea-Taylor-ebook/dp/B018OUHZ5A 
I'm hoping for more reviews and general word-of-mouth. Please feel free to share this link -- with any luck, I'll reach a nice spot on the Amazon free bestseller list! 

Synopsis: The House of Transformation is about a pop star with an addiction teetering on the edge of sanity and wondering if life is worth it all anymore. She goes home to ask her friend to help her, but her friend just published a scathing tell-all book about her. They work on repairing their friendship and getting the pop star clean before a contractually obligated Grammy performance. There's also a dual storyline of when they lived together in a place called the House of Transformation, a place of artistic ambition and spirits. 

One reviewer said, "I really enjoyed reading this book and I had trouble putting it down at the end of the night. It is a story about helping a friend and I think most people will be able to identify with the themes of the novel. The first person perspective of the main character kept me engaged in the two timelines that the story covered. The history between the two main characters and the ups and downs involved in it feel very genuine. Despite the pop star's personal flaws you feel for her and the difficulty in overcoming an addiction. And I really was not sure how they novel was going to end but I could not wait to see how it ended. I hope I see some new stories from this author in the future."

Saturday, December 19, 2015

HOUSE OF TRANSFORMATION

Seeing a hard copy of my book is magical. I almost feel as if the book itself will take off in flight. It's very dream-like to see my name in print and hold it in my hands. The weight of it is so heavy and so light, like the book is made of feathers.

Publishing a novel is an exhilarating, confusing, daunting process. One one hand, it's everything I ever dreamed, everything the stories in my mind always wanted. I'm over the moon! On the other hand, checking skewed proofs and formatting margins makes my eyes cross. But at last I have a published e-book, and the paperback versions are chugging along the process.

Here's the first proof, with a fantastic cover design, but with incorrect margins. It'd be great to pull this design off, but in the end, my cover designer, Tim Krug (who also happens to be my husband) decided to make the colors wrap around the spine so the printers can't mess it up. I had to edit the interior to make it more readable. I'm surprised at how varied the advice is about important things such as the margins, font size, and creating a cover.

I'll receive my second 'proof' in the mail next week, and will be able to release the book right in time for all the tip-top January sales! I kid, but perhaps this is best for a burgeoning author.  I'm anticipating a sprinkling of book signings at boutiques, and the big stores after I have some reviews.

I just enrolled on the website Goodreads -- how did I not know about this forum for friends who read and recommend books? Reading is an important factor in determining friends, and now I can see how much all my friends read. My faith in humanity is somewhat restored, but my booklist has grown immensely.

Currently, my book is available for e-sale at Amazon. I hope to have a brilliant hard copy soon.