Who is Saint Giovanni? (Chapter 2)

Chapter 2 on YouTube | Book Synopsis | Behind-the-scenes Post

(Have you read the previous chapters? If not, look to the right sidebar for the chapter archive)

Click the outer edge of the book cover to turn the page. ENJOY!

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Who is Saint Giovanni? DEBUT!

Chapter 1 on YouTube | Book Synopsis | Behind-the-scenes Post


Click the outer edge of the book cover to turn the page.

ENJOY!

Read full-screen

Add WiSG? to GOODREADS

I'd also love for you to "like" my author facebook fanpage :) :)

Until next week,

RANE

P.S. Are you in love with Ashley Stewart's art like I am? Take a peek at her website.

Cover Release: Who Is Saint Giovanni?

Everyone's heard that saying: "Don't judge a book by its cover." TOTALLY judge this book by its cover, please. WHY? Because I love it! Ashley Stewart is the amazing artist behind the cover that I'm so proud to share with you today. The cover has traveled a long journey, my friends. Click here to see each leg of its journey. To read more about Who is Saint Giovanni? click here and here.

I can't thank you guys enough for your support, encouragement, and suggestions! About a month or so ago, I published the Book Cover HELP post, and so many of you offered great suggestions. Thank you for that. And a special thanks to Carol Riggs and Kay Holmen who took the initiative to show me their ideas for the cover via email. Although you may not see your ideas in this final cover, I really appreciated and liked your suggestions!!

Starting this coming Monday, the epic blogging adventure will begin. Who Is Saint Giovanni? will appear in weekly installments on the The Lit Express, YouTube, and in a podcast form. All three mediums can be accessed from The Lit Express. In addition, Ashley will be illustrating a new scene from the book every week to accompany each post. If you're curious about my writing style, click here for a sample from another novel I've written. And if you'd like to see more of Ashley's artwork, please check out her website!

Interview with Ashley Stewart

Can you tell us about yourself, Ashley?  I’m just a girl from a small town in Virginia, with a passion for art, and a dream of one day being able to work full time in the field. Right now it’s my hobby (and my freelance side job), but one day I would like to be able to make my living working in book illustration, comics, or anything else I could get involved with!


What’s your background?  I started  by teaching myself how to draw anime, and from there started to take art classes in high school. When it came time to go to college and choose a major I went for a Bachelors Degree in Studio Art.

Why art?
  I love art! It’s my passion- I constantly feel driven to keep improving, to get better and to keep creating art. I’ve always loved being creative and making things- jewelry, crafts, paintings, etc. I can’t imagine not creating art. I also love being able to create stories and share them through my art- I enjoy writing as well, but for me it feels more comfortable to communicate through pictures.

What do you dislike about your work?
  I feel like at times I dislike everything about my work. As an artist, I think it’s common to never quite be satisfied- you’re always thinking “I could do this better next time” or “I need to improve in these areas.” Once I get some distance on a piece and I haven’t looked at it for a while I can go back and see the things I do like about it- but usually all the flaws are the first things I see. They motivate me to keep trying to improve.

What research do you do?  I usually research every little detail I can. I gather together reference for all the things that will be in a picture- for example if it’s a picture of someone on a horse I’ll research horses, horse anatomy, saddles, riding clothes, people riding horses, different horse breeds, etc. The more you research all the parts that go into the picture, the more authenticity you give the final product.

Thanks Ashley! If you guys have any questions for Ashely, feel free to leave them in the comment section. If are in love with her artwork (like I am) and want to hire her for a special project, you can reach her at stormfire1221(at)aol(dot)com.

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For those of you who have hopped over from Tawni's Cover Crazy post @ The Book Worms, WELCOME! (Cover Crazy is a weekly meme hosted by The Book Worms where bloggers share what they love about YA book covers.) SO, what am I loving about this cover??? (Uh, everything, duh!)

• The color scheme reminds me of Florence, Italy, where Who Is Saint Giovanni? takes place. 
• The detail in the stone wall is amazing!
• The swirls behind the text really unifies the top half with the bottom half, and I love how the bottom half looks smooth and clear and leads into a rougher texture.
• The cracks across Giovanni's face make him look mysterious. What do the cracks represent? Why does he look like an old painting?
• I want to know why the girl is jumping off the bridge.
• I want to know why Giovanni has a saint's halo around his head.
• And, I can really go on and on and on!! hehe

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That about sums up everything I have to say about the book cover. I'm really excited for next Monday, and I hope you are, too! OH YEAH! One last thing:

Giveaways!

It's not too late to sign-up for the first round of giveaways. On Tuesday, April 12th, I will be selecting 3 winners from the pool of people who signed up to:

1. Host a Who is Saint Giovanni? button on their blog or website

2. Post about the Who is Saint Giovanni? blogging event

3. Win an advanced reader copy (ARC) 

Each winner will receive a $15 gift card to Amazon.com or Book Depository (your choice). The more you sign up for, the more chances you'll have to win the grand prize: a Kindle Graphite. (One grand prize winner will be selected after the entire novel appears on this blog.)


To sign up, visit the participation & giveaway page here.

I've recently set up an author fanpage on facebook. To support me in my quest to become a successful author, you can click like button below!! :) Thanks guys.

-RANE-
www.raneanderson.com

LIVE Book Club Chat @ 5PM

     WELCOME!!

Are you ready to discuss Across the Universe by Beth Revis? Great! The chat begins at 5pm (pacific time). Choose a nickname and click enter to start chatting!! We'll have some questions ready to guide the discussion, but please feel free to voice your own comments or questions about the book. We're all friendly here, so don't be shy to join in! Talk to you soon.

UPDATE: Our live blog chat ended at 6:20 (pacific time). Thanks for the really great discussion! We had some new "faces," and I hope we'll see you guys next month! Stay tuned!! April's book choice will be announced on the blog this coming Tuesday! Have you voted yet? If not, find the voting post and make sure to put in your two cents!! :)


Happy Thursday, everyone!! :)

Dear Kalina Kay: March Release Dates

Thank you for all who participated in the "Dear Kalina Kay" contest. There were lots of great questions posted and emailed to me. Using random.org I selected a winner and it is:

Susana Whitfield

You have one week to email me your mailing address to receive your $15 gift card. If I haven't heard from you in one week, I will select a new winner. Thanks again for all those who participated, your questions are saved and being researched as we speak!

Without further ado, here is the question of the week:

Dear Kalina Kay,
What YA paranormal novels are coming out in March?
Thanks,
Susana Whitfield

Dear Susana,

I LOVE this question because it's something we all want to know. What is hot RIGHT NOW?

While I could make a list of new releases in March, I think it would be more helpful to post some sites that have new releases constantly updated. That way, you can keep current for the rest of the year!

Here are the sites that I found most helpful:

Teen Reads: Coming Soon

Good Reads: Waiting to be Released (Paranormal and Fantasy Lovers)

Good Reads: YA Novels of 2011

Amazon: Epic List of Upcoming Books

YA Reads: March 2011 New Releases (This one is for you, Susana!)

YA Lit: Upcoming

Personally, I am looking forward to three specific books that come out this month.

The First is:

Because I have a teensy soft spot for murder mysteries. :)

The second is:

Because the summaries I've read on this book are pretty vague which leaves me super intrigued.

Plus, the cover is absolutely gorgeous!

And, the third book is:

Because the premise of the book is really twisted and totally creative.

I can't wait to see what happens!

Definitely keep your eyes out for a review from me on these books.

Are there any books you guys are looking forward to that are being released soon?

Until next time-

xoxo,

Kalina Kay

Book Cover HELP

Hello and good day to you! So here is Ashley Stewart's (the artist I'm collaborating with for WHO IS SAINT GIOVANNI?) sketch of the cover for my novel. We've gone through several drafts, and this is what we've settled on for the moment.

Are you confused? Do you not know what this "Who Is Saint Giovanni?" thing is all about? Never fear, by clicking THIS link, all your confusion will disappear. :-) <yeah, I'm corny, but then...you already knew that lol>

She's awesome, right?? She's going to be painting it, of course, and we might be adding some photoshop special effects, so this is a rough draft of the cover, really. But I need your help, friends!

Now look at where I had planned to have the text added:

Imagine it in color. If you're a little curious about the big round thing behind his head, it's a halo, which I think will become more clear once it's in color.

My question to you:
Does this draw you in? Do you have any suggestions? Honestly, you won't be hurting my feelings or Ashley's by stating what you think could be improved.

Here is another cover idea:

How does this compare to the one above? I WOULD LOVE and be IMMENSELY appreciative of ALL suggestions. Thanks guys. You know I love you :-)

1st VLOG about "Who Is Saint Giovanni?" !!

Who Is Saint Giovanni? Participation & Giveaways

Hello friends and bloggers! I've decided to be pretty open about the process leading up the WHO IS SAINT GIOVANNI? event. I'm calling it an EPIC event because I can't believe I'm actually going to be posting my book online in weekly installments! I'm excited!  <<grinning>> My best friend, Jason, thought I should be putting my stories online for years, and now I'm finally doing it. Read more about the event in this newsletter.

So before I tell you a little bit more about the participation & giveaways, I want to share with you something special. <<look to your left for a tiny preview>> That's Giovanini! And that's very close to how I pictured him as I wrote the book.  Ashley Stewart is the fabulous artist I'm collaborating with on this project. I can't wait to see my characters come alive through her artwork. (Ashley says that the drawing is a rough draft, and I think it looks so awesome already!!)

Now I want to tell you a little bit more about the participation & giveaways!

PARTICIPATION & GIVEAWAYS

Click here to go to sign-up sheets.

1. Sign up for a chance to win an advanced reader copy 

2. Post about this event on your blog

3. Host a button on your page 

To read more about the event giveaways, click here.

If you would like to read a sample of my writing from another piece of fiction I wrote and recently posted on this blog, click here. It's from a currently unfinished novel titled The Golden Mask.

WHO IS SAINT GIOVANNI?

This is the very first post to announce an epic year long blogging adventure that will take place here at The Lit Express. The best way to read about this event is to click on this link, which will take you to a newsletter I created especially for this event! It really has all the particulars you need to understand what is happening and why it's happening.

I AM SO EXCITED I couldn't sleep last night. No joke!

So do you want the gist of it?
I've written a book. It's a YA paranormal romance novel that I've decided not to try and publish traditionally (via publishing house, etc). I have decided to post it on my blog in weekly installments until the whole book is available to the public for free.

Say what?

I'm doing this because it will be fun. And we all need some good fun!!!! Charles Dickens published some of his major work in installments. So did George Eliot. And now Rane Anderson will do it too.

What can you expect in the next few months? Well, it's going to take some time to prepare. I'll be posting about it regularly leading up to the very first launch day (April 11, 2011!). I'm working with a very talented artist to create a cover for the book and a new illustration for each post! I can't wait to see my characters come alive on paper!!!!

There are ways to participate in this event. But you really have to read this article for the best explanation.

AND when you sign up to participate, you are actually signing up to win prizes too. The Grand Prize will be a Kindle Graphite 6".

Here is a summary of the book, but really, please read this article that took me something like 8 hours to prepare (all last night until 5am).

WHO IS SAINT GIOVANNI?

Emily Edwards snoops too far into her father’s personal affairs—affairs being the key word—and is sent away from home for calling him out. She is an aspiring journalist who seeks the truth behind every story—good and bad—so her dilemma is a tough one. Emily can tell her mom the truth, breaking the heart of the person she loves most. Or, she can suck it up, bend her principles, and start her junior year in the land of her Roman ancestors.

Miserable, and hating herself for not coming clean, Emily’s arrival in Florence, Italy feels like the start of a grim prison sentence. But the world gets a little brighter after she meets Giovanni. Or rather, after she meets his lips as he pulls her into his arms, kisses her, and then vanishes, leaving her with the most dangerous desire of all: curiosity.

When fate brings them together for a second time, Emily the Journalist emerges, determined to replace her curiosity with the truth. Who is this mysterious boy? Why did he kiss her and then disappear? But as Emily already knows, poking into people’s private lives doesn’t always end well.  Although some people call Giovanni a saint, others call him a devil. Emily soon discovers she’s put herself in peril just being near him. After going her whole life without making a single enemy, someone suddenly wants her dead. And her life depends on finding the answer to a single question. Who is Saint Giovanni?

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That essentially would have been my query letter had I chosen to submit to agents! Now, I'm going to leave you with a couple important links:

Countdown w/sign up sheets for participating (giveaways)

List of prizes you can win from participating

Really, this is going to be sooooo much fun, and I hope you all see it for its potential. If you've got some time, leave me some love in a comment to share your enthusiasm! :-D