Making the Cover: "Tunnelville" 2.0 by Erin Callahan & Troy H. Gardner

Hello lovelies!

I'm treating you to something different today. Or better...something that I already did once, but you don't often see around. Not quite your classic cover reveal, but the illustrated story of how a concept is made into a cover. Which is probably interesting if you dabble in art yourself, but maybe even more if you don't have the faintest idea of how these things work (when the authors themselves are in charge of the process, that is).

Before we start, a short recap is due. In 2013, I received a review copy of Wakefield from the very hands of authors Erin Callahan and Troy H. Gardner. To cut a long story short, since then we have developed a great author/blogger relationship. I reviewed the three collaborative books they have put forth so far (after Wakefield, the sequels Tunnelville and Perfection), beta-read for both of them, and cheerleaded like a champion at every step of their writing journey. The books Erin and Troy co-authored are the first half of the Mad World double trilogy, originally published by a small press. After Book 3 came out - that is, in June 2013 - the two of them have been working at refining their craft, while also tending to their individual projects. Now, since the rights for the first three installments were reverted to them, Erin and Troy have decided to go indie, and to kick off Wakefield, Tunnelville and Perfection again, before they start publishing the second half of the series. This involved a whole rebrand, of course, starting with the covers. Troy is the one in charge of them, and today on the blog he kindly shares his creative process in a Tunnelville making-the-cover post. (Note: Tunnelville 2.0 is scheduled for the early summer, hopefully June, July at worst...the Dynamic Duo is presently giving the final touches to the revised version...so keep your eyes peeled! Though of course I'll keep you posted...literally 😉). Here goes...

Rehabilitating YA: 20 Trope-Free Standalones/Series to Read if You've Given Up on It (Pt.3)

Hello sweeties!

I've been wanting to write a post like this for a while. Every now and then, I hear someone say they've given up on YA (or are reading much less of it lately) because they got fed up with the tropes that come with the "genre". Now, while of course it's not mandatory to read YA at any age, and while I'm not denying the existence of such tropes (though really, any literary genre/age range has got its share of them...), I made it my reader's life mission to discover YA books that stand out for any reason and employ as little of those overused plot devices as it's humanly possible (hence, of course, my blog's name). So I thought I'd put together a list of YA novels blissfully devoid of tropes (or employing them in minimal doses), hoping to prove those reluctant/jaded readers that there's so much more to YA than meets the eye. And I ultimately decided to make this post into a series, because my list was too long for a single one. Here goes Part 3 (broken down by genres/my blog's Reading Rooms)...

(Note: these are not necessarily my favourite books - though some of them are. I only choose them for their lack/minimal amount of tropes. Also, there are a few mature YA/NA/adult friendly books in this list).

The Invisible Hiatus (And How I Learned to Let Go)

Hello sweeties,

on this very day, this space was meant to host a review. I had a precise book in mind, and I even reread it in order to be able to make it justice - to say the right things in the right way. I had this review appointed for weeks. I tried to make it happen for a couple ones at least (that was around mid-March). I went as far as to write the Pros and Cons sections...but then, I finally realised something - I wasn't feeling it. At first I didn't worry, because it's something that happens to me from time to time - even with 5 or 4 star books. Sometimes I have to give myself a kick in the butt in order to get moving...and then, lo and behold! the words flow and the review is done in a few hours and it's even kind of awesome. But this time, the more I kept procrastinating and moving said review further and further down my schedule, the more I hated the thought of having to write it. As I said, it wasn't the book - it was me. It got to the point where it was messing with my whole schedule - other posts that I couldn't or didn't want to cancel/move for any given reason. I had all the time in the world for writing that review, and suddenly, I had none left. Unless I wanted to force it out of my brain (damaging the book), and work around the clock, and postpone reading my new books because of it. That's when I finally drew the line.