ARCs for EOLYN

The final word came in from Hadley Rille editor Eric T. Reynolds tonight:  EOLYN has been sent to the printer for the ARCs, or 'Advanced Reading Copies'.  These are previews, as it were, of the novel to be released in May.  They look essentially as the final book will appear, with all the text properly formatted, although certain details may not yet be finished, such as the cover art and the cover design.

We have had a very busy week leading up to this deadline.  Eric has been hard at work formatting the pdf copy of the manuscript, incorporating comments of proofreader Dora Furlong (which, of course, had to be double-checked by me).  Jesse Smolover sent us a preliminary sketch of the cover art over the weekend, and Eric made use of this landscape to give the ARCs some color to their cover.  We don't have a final cover design for the novel just yet, nor do we need one for the ARCs, but we did meet with Melissa J. Lytton last week to discuss cover design and layout.  Another element that will be part of the final novel, but will not appear in the ARC, is the map of Moisehén, which is being finalized by artist Ginger Prewitt.

I got a few more details for the ARC to Eric just under the wire Sunday night -- the acknowledgements, an author bio, and a photo of myself.  (The most recent version of the acknowledgements is now available on this blog; if you'd like to read them, click HERE.) 

The most difficult task of all this past week was picking out a photo of myself; all of the sudden, not a single photo that had ever been taken of me was quite up to the task of appearing at the back of my novel.  In the end, I let my mother make that decision.

So now, what happens to the ARCs?  Well, from what I understand, these previews will go out to reviewers and fellow authors.  I will also receive a copy, so I can read the manuscript one more time in book format, just in case there are any other details that need changing before we officially go to print in May. 

And here's the plan for May:  The release date is May 6; we'll host a launch party on May 7.  We are also considering a pre-launch event at Avila University.  I will certainly keep you posted on all the details of time and place as the dates get closer. 

Here's a small favor I would like to ask you:  Please send lots of positive thoughts EOLYN's way as she makes her first journey to the desks of professional reviewers and other authors.  These are people who can contribute in important ways to the novel's success once we hit the markets in May.  Here's hoping they truly enjoy what they read.

Wishing all of you a wonderful week.  I will be back soon to follow up on my previous discussions of magic in Moisehén, with a post about High Magic.