THE ORCHARD COVER and a SWEET CONTEST

THE WINNER OF THE SHARE THE SWEETNESS COVER CONTEST IS:

RU!
Congratulations to the winner and thank you everyone for helping to spread the word about THE ORCHARD. I'm already cooking up the next contest to keep an eye out for another chance to win!

Ru, please send me your mailing address at kristalynnej at yahoo dot com. Thanks!

HERE IT IS!

I'm so pleased. It's perfect! The cherries! The heart! The swirly-stemmy lettering! And because I love this cover so much, I'm going to give a copy of THE ORCHARD away (juicy sweet cover included) in a celebratory contest! It's called the . . . the . . . Share the Sweetness Cover Contest! I just made that up just now.

I'm going to keep this simple. To enter you must:

1) Become a follower of this blog.

2) "Like" my Facebook Author page where you will get all the news about my books and events, here: Krista Lynne Jensen Author

3) Share the contest on Twitter, Facebook, your blog, email to your family, post it on the bulletin board at work, send it in a note to your kids' teachers, skywriting, that kind of thing. It you rent a billboard I will make you a pie. Let me know what you did in a comment here. You will be entered for each mode of sharing the sweetness.

This contest will run until Saturday, 10:00 pm. I will announce the winners here. THE ORCHARD will not be in my hands until April, at which time I will send the winner their very own signed copy.

And this will not be the last contest, oh no! You will have more chances to win, very soon!

Also coming soon, news about my book launch and signings. Stay tuned!


THE ORCHARD

After her mother's sudden death and her father's unexpected estrangement, Alisen Embry finds comfort and purpose working the cherry orchard adjoining her family's Montana home on Flathead Lake. When she meets Derick, a boy with dreams and spirit, she realizes his answers fill the empty spaces in her life. No two souls fit better, and no place could be closer to heaven than the orchard in Summer.

Their connection, however, is threatened by the intolerance and secrets of her father, and just when Alisen thinks she has found everything that could make her happy, she is given choices testing her love, and loyalty.

Derick Whitney is a compulsive returned missionary with his future mapped out, and beautiful Alisen quickly seals her place in those plans, and his heart, with her endless questions and obvious desire for the truth. But when his plans are both realized and ripped apart, he buries the whispers of wisdom and direction in bitterness and blame, leaving heaven, vowing never to return.

One letter brings these two lost spirits to face the choices they have made, and learn that losing themselves may be the only way they find home.

If you love Jane Austen's Persuasion, read The Orchard.

I'm A Whitney Award Finalist!

It's true. I got the news last night at midnight as I lay in bed, unable to sleep, playing Angry Birds. My phone buzzed. Then buzzed again. Then buzzed some more.

And I found this.

I found it here, under the heading, FINALISTS.

And there were lots of !!!! and virtual shouts of HOORAY and WOOHOO and HUZZAH! Virtual because  it was midnight and I didn't want to wake the house up.

And then I happily fell asleep and dreamed that I was offered a contract from an agency for SILK, and I didn't care at all that the contract was written in the margins of an old Cosmo magazine/scrapbook. :)

I'm so honored. And I have a bunch of friends on this list, too! Very very pleasant, vibrant, talented, excited company. 

Congratulations, everyone! I will see you at the awards gala!

*happy Whitney dance*

Roller Coaster Ride

I've been busy with good things and hard things and right now, RIGHT NOW, I have a breather so I'm breathing. This is me breathing.

( )  )(  ( )  )(  ( )  )(  ( )  )(  ( )

Okay that's enough of that.

I've just finished the first major round of edits for THE ORCHARD with my editor, Sam, and as exciting as it was, frankly, I'm fried. Frizzled. Because of some time/life/deadline issues it was an editing marathon between the both of us and I didn't get much sleep. It was entertaining and eye-opening to look at something I wrote four years ago (THE ORCHARD is the first book I ever wrote ever even including my submission in second grade for Young Authors because I procrastinated and my mom dictated a story to me about a girl who procrastinated--who I named after my sister, actually--and I still turned it in) and see how much I've learned and applied. I chuckled a lot. I grimaced a lot. I removed some cheese and kept some in. I had fun. I pulled out my hair. And I got excited honing this sweet romance into the voice I've grown into. I hope I did that. The copy editor has it now, then I get it for another go-over, and then, barring any major gaffes, it goes to print.

And then the real fun begins. Book covers. Back copy. Promotion. Woohoo!

I've also begun querying SILK. Trying to find an agent. This is a first for me. Oh, and writing a synopsis. Taking a 476 page book and condensing it down to...well, I did my best. It wasn't three pages. But it wasn't seven. Crossing my fingers, throwing salt over my shoulder, avoiding ladders, and wishing on stars. All that.

I'll be attending the LTUE writers conference for the first time next week. Megan Whalen Turner is the Special Guest and Keynote. I love her. Love. Looking forward to all the things I'll be learning and the people I'll be seeing and the rejuvenation that always comes with a writers conference.

In the meantime, I've been collecting images (creative commons) for a book trailer for THE ORCHARD and my son and I will be putting that baby together soon! I'll be presenting a class on the basics of writing romance at the Storymakers Writers Conference in May, so I'm researching for that. Lots of exciting stuff! I can't believe, sometimes, when I look back at when I first got an idea for a story and decided to write an outline, where that simple and compelling notion is taking me.

I love this ride.

CC Flickr by sfllaw.