Celebrating our Seventh Blogiversary with a Cover Reveal and Book Giveaway!

Seven years ago TODAY, I inaugurated the TeachingAuthors blog with this post. Hard to believe that much time has passed, and that, despite talk of the decline of blogging in general and writers' blogs in particular, we're still around! I'm especially happy to be here today to share a cover reveal, and GIVEAWAY, of the soon-to-be-released updated edition of my middle-grade novel, Rosa, Sola. And, speaking of updates, I'm also sharing a revised edition of April's lovely poem, "Blog-i-verse-a-tree," in honor of Poetry Friday.

 
I mentioned last month that after an unsuccessful search for a publisher to bring Rosa, Sola back into print, I decided to independently publish the novel in ebook and paperback formats. My first step was consulting several fellow authors for help and advice on the process. Jane Hertenstein, who self-published an ebook version of her novel Beyond Paradise (originally published by Morrow), suggested I include new material in the revised edition to appeal to parents and teachers . What a brilliant idea!

Before I tell you about that new material, let me give you a brief summary of the novel:

Rosa, Sola, is the story of Rosa Bernardi, an only child living with her Italian immigrant parents in 1960s Chicago. Rosa often feels alone, or sola, as her parents would say. When Rosa’s prayers for a sibling are answered, she is overjoyed—until tragedy strikes. Rosa is left feeling more sola than ever, and wondering if her broken family will ever be whole again.

The original hardcover edition contained a glossary in the back that provided English translations of the Italian words and phrases sprinkled throughout the text (though I did work hard to make their meaning apparent from the context). The back matter in the new edition will also include discussion questions and links to information about Italian-American culture. I'm hoping this new material will prove especially useful to teachers and homeschooling parents who'd like to incorporate Rosa, Sola into their lessons.

In researching indie publishing, I learned the importance of having a professional-looking, attention-grabbing cover. I decided it was worth the investment to hire a book designer. Based on the recommendation of another writing friend, bestselling indie author Megg Jensen, I contacted and eventually hired Steven Novak. After communicating back and forth via email for several weeks, Steven and I came up with the new cover. First, let me remind you what the original cover, designed by Candlewick Press, looked like:

And here is the cover for the new edition:

I think Steven did a GREAT job! In a later post, I'll talk about the process of how we came up with this cover. Meanwhile, I hope you'll share your reaction to it in the comments. Does this cover look like it fits the summary of the novel I shared above? Does it look like something that would appeal to readers ages 9-12? Your comment can qualify you to enter our Blogiversary Giveaway for a chance to win your own copy of the new edition of Rosa, Sola. See the details below.

And now, as part of our blogiversary celebration, let me share once more April's marvelous poem, "Blog-i-verse-a-tree."

If you missed April's recent Wednesday Writing Workout about how she came up with this poem, you can read it here, AFTER you've entered our giveaway below.

And now, for our blogiversary giveaway info:

Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter to win one of THREE giveaway copies of the new edition of Rosa, Sola (release date to be announced). You may enter via 1, 2, or all 3 options.

If you choose option 2, you MUST leave a comment on TODAY'S blog post below or on our TeachingAuthors Facebook page. If you haven't already "liked" our Facebook page, please do so today! 

(If you prefer, you may submit your comment via email to: teachingauthors [at] gmail [dot] com.)

Email subscribers: if you received this post via email, you can click on the Rafflecopter link at the end of this message to access the entry form.

The giveaway ends May 11 and is open to U.S. residents only.

After you've entered, don't forget to head over to Jama's Alphabet Soup for this week's Poetry Friday round-up!

Good luck and happy writing!
Carmela

P.S. If you've never entered a Rafflecopter giveaway, here's info on how to enter a Rafflecopter giveaway and the difference between signing in with Facebook vs. with an email address.

a Rafflecopter giveaway