Tag Archives: #thelastorder

Trying new things: Book Marketing?

30 Monday Mar 2015

Posted by in #TheLastOrder, book marketing, writing

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I’ve spent way more time than I should searching out ways to market The Last Order.

Today a found a site called Bublish. Turns out you can make cool bubbles about your book. You pick an excerpt and add some insight and they make a cool page an link for you to share.  You can test drive the site for 30 days for free. No giving them any money or credit card information. I figured it was worth a try.

Here is my first bubble check it out and let me know what you think. Follow me on Bublish. Let’s see what I can come up with this month.

https://bublish.com/bubble/stream/5219?share=tw

If you want to give Bublish a try click here.

one does not simmply publish on amazon2

 

 

Win a signed copy of The Last Order!

19 Thursday Mar 2015

Posted by in #TheLastOrder, Giveaway

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There are 5 signed copies of THE LAST ORDER up for grabs. The contest ends this Sunday March 22nd which happens to be my birthday.

Just click the link to enter: GOODREADS GIVEAWAY

THE LAST ORDER – A Medieval Tale of Hope and Mystery for Teens

by

Angela Caldwell’s debut novel, THE LAST ORDER, is an action-packed story with a passionate, strong female lead.

In THE LAST ORDER, fiercely driven seventeen-year-old Lana Crewe forms a secret order of women knights to fulfill her father’s final request: find the queen who was thought to be dead and return her to the throne.

Lana is living in a village ruled by fear. With their king and queen both thought to be dead, strife and division have taken hold amongst the people. In a ruthless attack by an Order called Talons, Lana’s father is fatally stabbed. But before he dies, he tells Lana that the queen still lives and imparts a directive to save the statue of Saint Peter. Now it is up to Lana to unravel the mystery of Saint Peter and bring an end to all of the war by finding the queen.

Action-packed and enthralling, THE LAST ORDER takes upper teenage angst and turns it on its head.

“The story lives up to its thrilling premise.”  

– Reader’s Favorite, 5 star review

Available now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other fine book stores.

TheLastOrderFinalFrontReadersFav

 

 

Top 5 surprising things I learned my first month as an indie author!

08 Sunday Mar 2015

Posted by in authortip, writing

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An author friend mentioned that last week’s Top Ten List was a bit depressing, I think it was the gif of Dr. Who in the rain, so for all of you who wanted a more cheery list this post is for you.

5) Bloggers are awesome! Most book bloggers are approachable and they are looking for more books. I recommend checking out what a blogger likes to see if your book is a fit before contacting them. They just might be willing to read and review your book.

4) People will stalk you in a good way. They want to find out about you as an author and person. What’s your favorite film…

3) Local bookstores and business are willing to work with local authors if they have done their part. The Last Order is currently in 2 local area stores with more in the works. Finding my book on the shelf at Barnes and Noble last night was exciting.

2) Audiobooks! The Last Order should be available as an audiobook by the end of May. As a dyslexic author it is super exciting for me to be able to expand my audience in this way.

1) The number one surprising thing is… I still don’t have a maid or a cook. Author moms totally get this. ROTFL

 

 

Find out how you could win leather swag.

21 Wednesday Jan 2015

Posted by in #TheLastOrder, writing

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Handcrafted Leather Bracers

Handcrafted Leather Bracers

giveaway-6005

Leather Bracelet

A handcrafted leather bracelets or a pair of bracers could be yours.

To qualify for the random raffle pre-order or buy The Last Order  by February 17th and email a copy of your receipt to thelastordergiveaways@gmail.com.

The Book Launch Giveaway runs until February 17th. Your receipt must be dated on or before February 17th, 2015 to be eligible.

You will be entered to win the top prize a pair of bracers (arm-guards) with The Last Order’s symbol. And I’m also giving away custom leather bracelets with the crown on them. A random drawing will be held on Feb 20th to select the winners.

Here’s the tease. The more book orders received. The more leather bracelets I will be giving away!

Buy Links

Amazon – Barnes and Noble – Kobo – smashwords – ibooks

Amazon paperback

Add to Goodreads

Be on the look out for the next giveaway in March that will require readers to create something! Thank you all! runs off stage

 

How I designed the book cover for The Last Order

04 Thursday Dec 2014

Posted by in #TheLastOrder

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By Angela M. Caldwell

When I first started thinking about a book cover I knew I wanted it simple, elegant, and it had to have the symbol of The Last Order Silas designs for Lana in the book.

As a photographer, I knew I could shoot my own cover if I needed to, but in my heart I really wanted to leave Lana to the imagination of readers.

So I went to my dad and asked him to draw the symbol. After a week or so he finally came up with two options.

We went to lunch and you would have thought he was meeting a stranger not his daughter. He was so nervous, it was cute. I love my dad.

crownontopLastOrdersmall

 

LastorderSymbolSmall

 

 

 

 

Both photos are original drawings and they are protected by copyright laws. ©rocketcircuspress

I decided on the crown above the triquetra. The triquetra knot is a Celtic symbol that can represent a few different things, but I chose it because of its connection to women and unity.

I loved the drawings and from there I moved forward and scoured the internet for stock photos. I searched for hours to find the right pictures.

I wanted the cover to have a leather look and feel, so I chose this background from www.dollarphotoclub.com.

Old brown leather background

Next, I found a wall with Ivy and removed the wall and kept the ivy, which was very tedious work. I used the ivy in several places by rotating it and flipping it. This also came from www.dollarphotoclub.com.

                                         Before                                               The Green Creeper Plant on the Wall.

After

The Green Creeper Plant on the Wall.

 

After that, I needed a way to emphasize the Last Order symbol, so I found this grey  splotch and placed it on the front and back, and used a blending layer.

greyblot

 

Lastly, I placed the symbol where I wanted it and also used a blending layer. Then I added an inner glow, and bevel & emboss effects. You can still see the guides I used for the layout in this photo.

coverprocesswithguides

 

Next the title, and author name were added. I used 2 different fonts that gave it a Celtic feel. Then, to make the words pop off the page effects were added. Below is exactly what I had.

The Last Order by Angela Caldwell I knew it was missing something so I found the flowers and added them for the finishing touch. I was honestly surprised I pulled it off, but I was able to use my photography background to create a beautiful cover that I hope you love.

 FINAL FRONT COVER

The Last Order CoverAdd this beautiful book to #goodreads

Amazon e-book pre-order

 The Last Order

by Angela M Caldwell

Release date:  February 3rd, 2015

THE LAST ORDER - cover reveal