paperback

Throne of Blood: preorder now to receive signed character cards!

/ Elena May / 1 Comment

The Throne of Blood eBook is now available for preorder on Amazon!

Preorder here

Why preorder?

  • Discount: 2.99 instead of the regular price of 6.99 USD/EUR/GBP
  • EVERYONE who preorders gets two signed character cards – one main character and one new Throne of Blood character
  • Everyone who preorders enters a lottery to win a signed Throne of Blood paperback

Shipping is Worldwide: you will receive your cards no matter where you live!

The lottery winner will be drawn on June 21st when the book comes out. Character cards and the paperback go in the mail shortly after.

How to claim your prize?

  1. Preorder Throne of Blood on Amazon
  2. Forward your confirmation email to preorders@kingdomofashes.net

Include the following:

  • Mailing address where you would like to receive your cards (and, hopefully, the paperback!)
  • Preferred main character card (Armida or Prince Vladimir)
  • Preferred new character card (Mizuki, Rada, Almaz, Alfa, or Carmina)

You haven’t met the new Throne of Blood characters yet. Explore them below!

Out of the three Nightfall books, Throne of Blood has been my favorite to write! Can’t wait to share it with you! 💖

Men and Monsters (Nightfall, Book 2) cover reveal coming in one month!

/ Elena May / 4 Comments

Exciting news! I have the Men and Monsters cover, and I’ll be ready to share it with you very soon! The cover reveal is coming on February 2nd and is hosted by Betwixt the Pages. If you’re unfamiliar with the heap of penguiny goodness which is this book blog, you’re missing on so much.

To celebrate the reveal, I’ll be running a giveaway for a signed Kingdom of Ashes paperback, signed character cards, and other bookish gifts. Stay tuned for more!

Also, in case you missed it, Men and Monsters now has a draft blurb:

The stakes have changed. For fifty years, Prince Vladimir has tolerated the Resistance, but now they threaten what he holds dear. The vicious vampire will no longer hold back. A plan he has been working on for decades will finally reveal itself and entangle everyone standing on the way.

For the first time after the Nightfall, the Resistance holds a true bargaining chip. For the first time, they have a chance to tip the scales of the war and ensure humanity’s survival. But Myra has made a promise, and breaking it will destroy all that is human in her. She is loyal to the Resistance, but nothing is black and white. Long-buried secrets emerge, teaching her that vampires can be more honorable than humans, and humans can be more monstrous than the beasts.

A desperate nobleman, fighting to save a doomed culture. A reclusive poet, choosing art over immortality. A vampire, rejecting her raw nature. Past and present weave together in an action-packed tale of power games, hopeless fight for survival, and the indestructible human need to create art.

Happy reading! ❤

Add Men and Monsters on Goodreads!

Kingdom of Ashes Goodreads Giveaway

/ Elena May / Leave a comment

Kingdom of Ashes - PNG - EbookI have 3 signed advance copies of Kingdom of Ashes, and I’m very willing to share! If you’re already on Goodreads, you can enter the giveaway here. If you’re not on Goodreads, what are you waiting for? It takes 20 seconds to create an account, and it’s a great way to discover new books.

If you win the giveaway, you’ll receive an autographed paperback and a character card of your choice.

I ship worldwide!

Best of luck and happy reading!

 

Nightfall Art: Armida and Prince Vladimir

/ Elena May / 4 Comments

If you are anything like me, then you:

  1. A) Dream to see your book characters illustrated,

and

  1. B) Cannot draw a believable humanoid if your life depended on it.

Luckily, this is where my personal superhero, TheSwanMaindeN, comes in.

When you get an artist to illustrate your characters, you can take different routes. You could describe in detail what exactly you want to see, you could give them complete freedom, or you could go anywhere in between.

When I asked TheSwanMaideN to illustrate my book cover, I gave her a detailed description of what exactly needed to be there. However, when it came to Armida’s portrait, I decided to try something different and to give her only a vague idea about the character. “You are great at drawing hair,” I said, “and even better at drawing dresses. Go for it.”

This was one of my better decisions because – surprise, surprise! – it turns out her imagination is way better than mine. What I got was this:

Armida - PNG

Continue reading →

Traditional vs. Self-Publishing: Which one is right for you?

/ Elena May / 11 Comments

You’ve written a book, but don’t know how to go about publishing it? Let’s take a look at the options you have.

In this post I’ll examine the pros and cons of working with a traditional publisher vs. publishing your book yourself. Some authors strongly dislike one or the other, but I believe both have merits.

Traditional publishing

A traditional publisher will offer you lots of support in all necessary areas and will help you turn your rough draft into a polished final product. Some of the great services you will get for free include: Continue reading →

Self-Publish Like a Pro: How to get a quality book cover on a budget PART 3

/ Elena May / 1 Comment

So far I have covered the simpler, faster, and cheaper ways to get a beautiful ebook cover – a DIY or a premade cover. Unfortunately, for many authors these option’s don’t work. You may have something specific in mind for your cover, and no single stock image or a premade template captures it. In that case, you’ll need to work with a designer or an illustrator.

Designers

Designers work like this:

– You share your vision of what you’d like to see on the cover, including key elements and general mood

– The designer picks one or more stock photos, manipulates them to create the desired image, and adds a genre-appropriate font. Usually designers are subscribed to a stock image supplier and can download an unlimited number of photos at no additional cost for them

– There are several rounds of revisions, where you can give back your cover and request changes Continue reading →