Cover Reveal: Dust in the Desert

So this went out to my email newsletter subscribers on Wednesday evening, and now it’s time to tell the rest of the world!

As you know from my last post, Dust in the Desert is a retelling of Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, and I talked a bit about the issues I had with it already. So here’s my question:

It’s the unspoken worry every author has when a reader picks up their book. Do you trust me to tell you this story? How do you take a tale like Aladdin’s, gender-flip it, AND fix as many of its problems as you can? Will readers be disappointed in what the story becomes? Will it exceed expectations?

Honestly, I think the answer will be different for every reader that tries it on for size. You absolutely can’t please everyone. Example: I had a complaint or two about the ending of My Bittersweet Summer, in that it was too much a happily ever after. However, had I NOT given Zach and Margie their HEA, I would’ve been raked over the coals for not meeting romance reader expectations. So, in the end, I had to write the story that felt right to me, and that definitely paid off. It was a good lesson in listening to myself and just doing the best I could to make the ride as enjoyable as possible. As a writer, that’s really all I can do. Once the book is out there, it becomes something larger, something uncontrollable, something different for everyone.

So what will Dust in the Desert become to readers? Well, my hope is that it becomes a more expansive, magical retelling of a well-loved, but not always accurately remembered tale. Like my other Flipped Fairy Tales, it echoes the old and reinvigorates it with something new. At least, that’s what I’ve aimed for. I want to take the world on this little adventure of mine, so if you want to join me…

Once upon a time, I was dust. I haunted the shadows, my survival tied to what little I could steal. 

Once upon a time, I refused the darkness. I traded my life to save another, sparing him the cruel fate that was rightly mine. 

Once upon a time, I was sent to my death. There, my destiny found me, and the world I knew changed forever with a secret long-buried by the sands.

Dust in the Desert is now up for preorder on Amazon! This book releases May 16th, 2016, which is only a few short weeks from now. If you want to meet Alida before her story goes live, I highly encourage you to pick up Ride the Wind. Although it’s not necessary to have read any of my other three Flipped Fairy Tales before picking up this new one, each of the books builds on the world and characters that have come before, gradually weaving into a colorful tapestry to create a fully realized universe. I’ve even had a map drawn up by a friend that I’m hoping to unveil within the pages of Dust in the Desert, which will give readers a clearer picture of where all the kingdoms are in relation to one another, but that’s for another post. :)

So there you have it! Just as fair warning, if you haven’t followed me on my Facebook Author Page, you may want to do that soon. Next week I’m hoping to run a few giveaways from my trip to the RT Booklover’s Convention, which means book and swag giveaways! I’m still trying to unbury myself from all the work I’ve got piled up this month, but I will be getting to the good stuff shortly.

Happy one-clicking, everyone!