Cover reveal for my next release: Ever Near

The release of my latest novel in my Dani Deane series is fast approaching!

My goal is to release the ebook shortly before Thanksgiving, and the paperback around December 1 in honor of the beginning of Advent. It's a holiday story especially for those who find the holidays difficult and triggering.

Here's the description, and as promised, the lovely cover:

Ever Near
Christian young adult

Four Advent candles, two teens, a Yule Ball, a grief anniversary, and a quest for the perfect gift.


Christmastime is here and for Dani Deane, the season only brings memories of spending last December in the ICU, watching her dad die. But trying to hide her holiday phobia from her boyfriend is making life a lot more complicated. To truly heal, she will have to face the pain and lean into her faith. Can she learn to trust God—and Theo—to stick by her as she seeks to find joy again?

In the bleak midwinter, Theo Wescott is watching his girlfriend Dani slip away again. The anniversary of her dad’s death has turned the holidays into a minefield. The race is on to find the perfect present that will bring her comfort and joy. But getting her best friend’s help with his elaborate plan threatens to derail his relationship with Dani. Will patiently waiting to reveal his ultimate surprise bring the cheer he hopes, or will it be a triggering epic failure?



Ever Near is book 2 in my series, with Never Gone preceding it and Almost There following. Books 1 and 3 are available NOW. Check out my Books page for details.

  

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Introducing 1001 Evocative Prompts for Fiction Writers

I'm delighted to share with you my latest release, a giant collection of writing prompts! The 1001 in the title is literal. There are precisely 1,001 prompts, covering 40 emotions, hundreds of "pivotal moments" and a few hundred character development questions.

Whether you need some inspiration to start a new project, delve deeper into an existing one, or simply add a no-pressure warm up to your routine, there's something here for you!

Throughout the month of April, I will be sharing 26 prompts from the book as part of the A-Z Blogging Challenge. Until then, Here's a description, and some images of the available formats.


1001 Evocative Prompts for Fiction Writers

Evocative /əˈväkədiv/ — Bringing strong images, memories, or feelings to mind.

Ideas, emotions, images, intriguing questions, perplexing dilemmas—these are the raw materials from which great stories are built.

1001 Evocative Prompts will stimulate your thinking wherever you are in your writing journey and get you writing today. It provides story starts and writing inspiration for a wide variety of genres by focusing on emotions, character development, and pivotal moments.

You can face a blank page with confidence when you use these prompts to warm up, beat writer’s block, develop and maintain a writing habit, change up your routine, start a new project, experiment in a new genre, deepen parts of an existing story, or overcome burnout.


What are you waiting for? Dig in and get writing right now!


This book comes in three formats to accommodate a variety of work styles.

For the budget conscious and on-the-go writer, use the economical e-book that can be loaded onto your phone, tablet or e-reader.

For the tactile writer on a budget, choose the condensed pocket edition paperback.

Sample of the pocket edition interior

For the longhand writer who wants to stay organized, choose the workbook edition.

Workbook interior -- 8" x 10" pages with room to write.

Add it on Goodreads

e-book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Apple iTunes / Kobo / Smashwords

Pocket paperback (5"x 8", 114 pp.) Amazon / Barnes and Noble / CreateSpace

Workbook (8"x 10", 426 pp.) Amazon / Barnes and Noble / CreateSpace



Wonder why writing prompts can be a helpful tool, no matter where you are in your writing journey? Check out my guest post, 5 Reasons to Write with Prompts!

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Cover reveal for my new novel, coming in May

This book has been such a long time coming, I'm feeling a strange mix of ecstatic and terrified to share it with you, my lovely readers. Without further ado, here's a sneak peek:

Coming May 2016

Paris, the City of Lights. To Dani Deane, it’s the Promised Land. There, her widowed mother’s depression will vanish and she will no longer fear losing her only parent, her arty New York life, or her devoted boyfriend.

But shortly before their Paris getaway, Dani’s tyrannical grandfather falls ill, pulling them to rural Pennsylvania to deal with his hoarder horror of a house. Among the piles, Dani finds disturbing truths that could make Mum completely unravel. Desperate to protect her from pain and escape to Paris, Dani hatches an plan with the flirtatious neighbor boy that only threatens the relationships she most wants to save. 

Why would God block all paths to Paris? Could real hope for healing be as close as a box tucked in the rafters?

Genre:  Contemporary YA / Christian fiction

Add it on Goodreads

I like to think of  Almost There as a companion story to Never Gone more than strictly a sequel; you don't need to read the prequel to understand it. It picks up 18 months after Never Gone, the summer after Dani's junior year.  Prepare for hose battles, a roadkill journal, toasted-marshmallow flavored kisses, and a rain-soaked rendezvous with the wrong guy. 

I will begin releasing sample chapters on Wattpad over the next few weeks. Please follow me there @LaurelGarver for more sneak peeks.  

What's new with you? 

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Cover reveal

My poetry collection, Muddy-Fingered Midnights, is getting ever closer to ready. Here's my cover design, which was all kinds of fun (and hair-pulling hard) to design. Let's just say my Photoshop skills have grown in leaps and bounds.

Coming in mid-March!

Have you tried to acquire any new skills lately? What was your experience?

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Cover reveal - NEVER GONE

So here it is, my lovely cover.

This is very much a group effort. The concept is mine. I wanted a clean, minimalist look with custom art that reflected my protagonist's two great loves--pencil drawing and her dad--yet hinted at the grief-oriented content.

Thankfully I have a very talented husband who was able to create this wonderful sketch of my protagonist's father, Graham the photographer. From there, the sketch went to an actual photographer, my friend's cousin, Whitney Levin. She had a laugh about how strange it was to photograph a photographer. Very meta. The shoot was done in August with a green leaf. Deep green.

That's when the real magic happened. I turned over the photograph (purchased all rights, something I'd recommend for the most flexibility) to my designer friend Ruth. She worked in book design before becoming a homeschooling mom, a thorough pro. She was able to autumn-ize the leaf and give me wonderful typography that manages to keep minimalist from being boring.

So what's NEVER GONE about? Grief, ghosts, and God.

Here's my official product description:

Days after her father’s death, fifteen-year-old Dani Deane begins seeing him all around New York — wading through discarded sketches in her room, roaming the halls at church, socializing at his post-funeral reception. Is grief making her crazy? Or could her dad really be lingering between this world and the next, trying to contact her?

Dani desperately longs for his help. Without him keeping the peace, Dani’s relationship with her mother is deteriorating fast. Soon Mum ships her off to rural England with Dad’s relatives for a visit that Dani fears will become a permanent stay. But she won’t let her arty, urban life slip away without a fight, especially when daily phone calls with her lab partner Theo become her lifeline.

To find her way home, Dani must somehow reconnect with Mum. But as she seeks advice from relatives and insights from old letters, she uncovers family secrets that shake her to the core. Convinced that Dad’s ghost alone can help her, she sets out on a dangerous journey to contact him one last time.

For ages 14+, YA edgy inspirational

= = =

You can add it to your to-read shelf on Goodreads today. The ebook will be available in a matter of days, the paperback by my official release date, September 27.

Stay tuned for more news about blog tours and other festivities.

What do you think? 

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