Hearken Spotlight~Review~Giveaway

 

Hearken

Daughters of the Sea Series # 4

By- Kristen Day

Publication Date-November 5th, 2013 

Sometimes our souls hear what our minds and hearts refuse to accept. It will whisper its continuous cadence until we're strong enough to glimpse the truth. When the soul's whispers morph into screams, we're forced to gaze into the mirrors of time and see ourselves for who we really are. Would you be able to handle what gazes back?

    

 

Judging a Book by its Cover

        I heart book covers!! I have a secret obsession when it comes to them - the artist in me does cartwheels around my mind with excitement at the very thought of making one, nonetheless aimlessly going through Amazon to find new books to read!  I can confess that I 100% judge a book by it’s cover!  A book cover can tell you more than the blurb most of the time - you just have to have a keen eye about it.  Book covers with symbols always suck me in as well as girls in beautiful dresses running from unseen dangers or wallowing in their despair.  Call me a romantic, but I want to feel something when I look at a cover - I want it to reach into my soul and wrench my insides out (seriously).  

        I also believe that if an author puts a lot of effort to creating the perfect cover (or working with someone else to create the perfect cover), that means they’ve put that same amount of effort into their writing.  The cover is the very first selling point to your book and no matter how amazing the story is, if the reader doesn’t feel compelled to find out more after looking at the cover, you’ve missed a sale.  Somehow you’ve got to stand out and have readers stop and click on your cover! Or stop at the bookstore and grab your book!  

        I also LOVE series that have similar covers - linking the books together in the readers mind.  It’s fascinating to me to see how different authors creatively achieve that commonality across three or four books.  For my own books, I knew I wanted them to match, but I also wanted to incorporate the characters as well as the sea element.  Not being very experienced with creating covers, I found stock photos to use but utlitzed Indesign and Photoshop to give them the exact look and colors I wanted.  

        All of my colors are slightly color splash - with a silvery overlay and one particular dominate color.  I wanted to use purple/lavender for the cover of Hearken, but the picture I found showed the girl in pink.  The sky behind her as well as the water were a little too blue, so I made them a more silvery color to match the pattern.  All in all it took me about 2 weeks to get it right through trial and error, but the experience of learning was so much fun!  

        My next cover will have a yellow/orange/peach-ish color represented, but I haven’t decided which character to portray.  I’m leaning towards Stasia, but I can never say for certain until I begin the process.  Hopefully everyone loves the covers I’ve created for the Daughters of the Sea Series!!  Thank you for having me on your blog for the tour!!

Favorite Lines “For the first time in history, the heavy hand of fate had gifted a Chosen one her destiny months before the age of reckoning. Selene knew this could only mean one thing. She would need a much larger force to counter fate’s transgressions. And if fate wanted a war…a war Selene would deliver.”

“Men…” Unaware of our private exchange, Amphitrite grinned down at me in an attempt to lighten the mood. “You can’t live with ‘em, you can’t burn ‘em at the stake.”

“When he finally opened his eyes, a lone tear trickled down his cheek and he searched my silent eyes for answers. I had no answers. I had no magical cure. Death had been something I’d almost welcomed for many years when I was younger.”

“There was no reason for you to darken your soul for me. I couldn’t let that happen. You mean too much to me.”

“You will quickly learn that a warrior must not only protect people from their enemies, but must also protect people from themselves…when”

“You think one bloody moon is going to defeat Stasia?”

OMG can Stacia ever have just a peaceful time? Ever!?!? That girl has been put through the ringer so many times my heart breaks for her! She doesn't give up though. She is determined to be the best Sea Goddess she can be! In this story though he "so called family" (I use that term loosely) has decided to use her body as a vessel to do some pretty horrible things! Selene is Stacia's grandmother and she hates her for no other reason the "diluting" her precious bloodline. She's a moon goddess and when her son (Stacia's father) married a Sea Goddess she considered that a betrayal of her son. She's a crazy woman who is so thirsty for power she will do ANYTHING and I mean ANYTHING to get the power she believes is hers! Did I mention that Finn is hotter than ever! (Shivers) I really enjoyed this one because it showed is a side of a another characters that I was so wrong about! Olivia has always come across as well.... Mean! I was so wrong about her though! She's an amazing person and has nothing but protecting Stacia on her mind. She's her Paladin. Her protector her warrior and she's amazing at it!

As with ever book in this series I was floored but the last line and searching for the next page! The author gets me every time! I can't wait to see what happens next! I've gotten quite a few of my daughters friends needing to know what happens next! I couldn't wait to have my daughter text them and tell them it was a amazing ride and it's still not over yet!

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review (GHB)

FIVE MOON FAIRIES

 

About The Author:

I am a southern belle at heart with a crazy streak that desperately tries to escape at every opportunity. I love all things nostalgic, rustic, and quirky. I've been told I see the world through rose-colored glasses, but I prefer to think of them as kaleidoscope glasses - swirling and morphing reality into something I can digest (who hasn't pretended those pasty lima beans were really kiwi strawberry jelly beans?).

I am the author of the DAUGHTERS OF THE SEA trilogy, which includes FORSAKEN, AWAKEN, and CHOSEN (Winter 2012). I love all books, but really enjoy writing young adult, paranormal romances. I've loved to write for as long as I can remember. My first published work was my poem RED in second grade (you guessed it - it was a poem about the color red - life altering, I know) that won me 5 gold stars and a spot in my elementary school's poetry book. That's when my addiction to the written word officially began. I was the only kid in fifth grade that actually enjoyed diagramming sentences. Go ahead and laugh – it’s okay.

When I'm not writing I'm making jewelry, painting, drinking sweet tea, watching the discovery channel, or going on random adventures in the mountains of North Carolina with my amazing husband. I graduated from Appalachian State University and dream of becoming a full time novelist.

    

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