by Roseanna White | Sep 19, 2016 | Book News
Hello, lovely readers! I’m back from my tour of England and Paris and ready (er…something, LOL) to dive back into the world of blogging. =) And of course, last week A Lady Unrivaled released!
Bethany House and I will be hosting a truly spectacular giveaway soon–stay tuned for dates and details!
And beginning this Thursday, the book will be on tour with Celebrate Lit, along with another fun giveaway that includes a tin of tea from Prince Charles’s Highgrove Shop in Tetbury!
My big blogging plans for this week are basically to share a few pictures we took that relate to the book.
In the very first chapter, we see Ella sneaking into the Library at Ralin Castle. I had the pleasure of touring Knightshayes in Devon, and their library–oh my gracious. So my little visual tour of the book will begin with this.
by Roseanna White | Jul 18, 2016 | Announcements, Book News
While I’m at the Montrose Christian Writers Conference this week and away from normal blogging, I thought it would be the perfect time to let the blog do some work on its own. 😉
And so, it’s time to build the Launch Team for Giver of Wonders!
Giver of Wonders is a couple things–it’s my first Christmas story. It’s a biblical novel. It involved the same Visibullis family readers have come to love through A Stray Drop of Blood and A Soft Breath of Wind, but 150 years later–so none of the same characters, no related plots. Instead, we see what one branch of the family has turned into as Christianity has spread throughout the Roman Empire. Cyprus and her sisters end up in Patara, Lycia (present-day Turkey) when a Wonder Worker lives there . . . a Wonder Worker the world now knows as St. Nicholas.
Official blurb:
A miracle once saved her life ~ will another give her a future?
Cyprus was little more than a child when a fall left her paralyzed…and
when the boy known as the Wonder Worker healed her. Ever since, she has
wondered why the Lord spared her, what he has in store for her. But her
pagan father thinks she was spared solely so she could be introduced to
the wealthy Wonder Worker, Nikolaos.
Nikolaos has never
questioned that his call in life is to dedicate himself to the church
and to God. Never, that is, until he and his cousin Petros meet the
compelling Cyprus Visibullis. For years he struggles with the feelings
she inspires…and with the sure knowledge that Petros loves her too.
Petros knows he will never be good enough for Cyprus’s father to
consider him as a match for his favorite daughter ~ not as long as
Nikolaos is there. But when tragedy strikes the Visibullis family, he
will do anything to save his beloved. Unfortunately, his beloved is
determined to do anything to save her sisters ~ even at the cost of
herself.
As the festival of lights bathes their Greek city in
beauty, Cyprus, Petros, and Nikolaos celebrate the miracle of their
Savior s birth together one last time. And in remembrance of their
Lord’s greatest gift, one of them will make the ultimate sacrifice for
the others…and a centuries-long tradition will be born.
L A U N C H T E A M B A S I C S
For those who have been on previous launch teams, you probably already have an idea of how this will work. I will:
- Create a private Facebook group for all launch team members to join
- Send you complimentary copies of the book prior to its release
- Have a special giveaway for you guys only
- Share lots of behind-the-scenes info and come to you first for opinions and with ideas
Members of the team will:
- Write reviews to post to social media/online retailers
- Consider asking local libraries/bookstores to stock the book
- Share ideas with each other on ways to promote
- Promise to help spread the word through word of mouth, online postings, etc.
There will be two different options you’ll be able to sign up for. These are:
Thank you all SO MUCH for you interest in helping me spread the word about Giver of Wonders! I couldn’t do it without you amazing readers!!!
(You can also fill out the form here.)
by Roseanna White | Jul 14, 2016 | Announcements, Book News
Thank you for your interest in helping me promote A Lady Unrivaled! I’m so excited for this book to release, and so blessed to have readers like you who want to help me spread the word. =)
At this time I only have 15-20 slots open for paperback reviewers, so I’ll have to make a decision based on who I feel will best help with the promotion efforts. How you plan to help will play a role in deciding this, so get creative. 😉
For those who prefer digital copies, or if you don’t have a U.S. address, you can sign up to receive a digital ARC (advance reader’s copy) via Netgalley; my publisher will send you a widget. Fill out this form instead.
And don’t forget that I’ll be building my influencer team for Giver of Wonders next week!
Ready? Set . . . Fill!
by Roseanna White | Jul 11, 2016 | Announcements, Book News
It’s that time again! I’m filling out my influencer list for A Lady Unrivaled! I will be posting a public link to the sign-up form on THURSDAY, 14 July at 2 p.m. EDT. There will only be 15-20 slots available for paperbacks, so in the interest of giving everyone a fair shot at them, you’re getting advance warning. 😉
I’ll also be doing a Celebrate Lit tour for this book, so if you’re part of that blog team, you don’t need to try to get a copy via this list. =)
ALSO…
Next week, I’ll also have a sign-up form for my very first Christmas story, Giver of Wonders, launch team! I’ll only have 15-20 paperbacks available for this one too, but will have various digital options for interested readers, including beta readers who will get to read the book in August or September instead of November. Stay tuned!
by Roseanna White | Jun 8, 2016 | Book News, Remember When Wednesdays
Many of you probably saw this on Facebook on Monday, but in case you missed it . . . I’m super-excited to share that my next series (beginning July 2017) has its official titles!
The series itself will be called London Shadows.
I love this. My editor recommended something that has “London” in it as immediate branding of the setting, and after toying with a few ideas for a few days, this is what I came up with, and I’m so glad they liked it. The “London” comes because, though the majority of the books aren’t actually set in London, my main characters are all from there, and it greatly affects who they are. Because they’re not upper-crust London-dwellers. They’re former urchins . . . they’re the underbelly of London . . . they are the shadows. Not to mention that the name hints at the mystery and suspense that will be threaded through the series, and, if you’re getting very deep into it, the shadow of war over all of Great Britain in 1914.
So that’s the series . . . but what about each book?
My original plan was for The Name Thief, The Music Thief, and The Time Thief. I liked these quite a bit, but the team at Bethany House wanted the titles to immediately evoke the era, and while these sound cool, they certainly don’t scream “historical romance!” A very valid point. So I sent in a list of alternative titles for each book, and I’m thrilled with the ones they decided on:
These sound much more historical-romancey . . . plus they have the same rhythm as The Lost Heiress, The Reluctant Duchess, and A Lady Unrivaled, which should give readers a sense of continuity as we switch to the new series. Which means I’m one very happy girl. =D
A Name Unknown will release next July (2017), following thief Rosemary Gresham as she leaves London for a job unlike any she’s done before–she has to steal a man’s good name. She heads to Cornwall (where I will be heading in September, SQUEEE!) to the home of Peter Holstein, suspected German spy. But what she finds is a man who stutters so badly he can barely speak, not one filling important ears with German sentiments. She finds a man with secrets, but with a faith unlike anything she’s ever seen. What she finds is a good man . . . and so how can she steal his good name? Peter, meanwhile, is debating changing his name to the nom de plume he uses for his popular adventure novels that he writes in secret. But would even that convince his neighbors to trust him and remind them that he is English at heart? As he digs into his family history with Rosemary’s help, he seeks to discover why his family first left Germany to begin with . . . and whether it will ever again be enough to be simply Peter Holstein.
I’m just now doing my research for book 2, A Song Unheard. This one will focus on Rosemary’s “sister” Willa Forsythe, who is sent to Wales in autumn of 1914 to infiltrate the Belgian Symphony Orchestra, who was brought to Wales by two wealthy sisters to save them from the German occupation of Belgium and bring arts to their principality. Willa, a violin prodigy who has never had a day of training in her life, is eager to rub elbows with these world-class musicians . . . even if her true purpose there is to steal from one of them, so that he’s forced to accept the help of her boss in getting his super-intelligent little sister out of Brussels . . . and into British Intelligence. Among lessons in music, hints of the Belgian Resistance, and a foray into Belgium to steal his sister for him, Willa and violinist Lukas will learn more about themselves than they ever thought they could . . . and unleash music inside Willa capable of soothing more souls than just her own.
The final book is just barely an idea, LOL. An Hour Unspent will feature the older brother of my clan of thieves, Barclay Pearce. He will be issued a challenge to steal an hour from Big Ben’s clock tower, and his research in how to do so will take him to the door of the clock-maker who helps care for the iconic clock–and, inadvertently, to the aid of this clock-maker’s daughter, Evelina, a suffragette who is frustrated at how the war is stifling her cause. This one will delve into how clock-makers found new uses for their talents in this time of war, helping to create weapons rather than timepieces, and also on how these fierce suffragettes turned their attention to the war effort as well . . . and accomplished more for their cause in so doing than any of their marches or rallies had ever achieved.
I’m so excited for this series!!! And will soon be launching a contest related to A Song Unheard, so stay tuned for that (tuned . . . ha. Punny.).
by Roseanna White | Feb 10, 2016 | Announcements, Book News, Remember When Wednesdays
I’ve been waiting and waiting to share the good news. And now, the ink is on the dotted line, and I can finally tell you all about the Society Thieves Series that I just sold to Bethany House! This series will launch in spring of 2017 with The Name Thief.
1914 –
Rosemary Gresham has no family beyond the band of
former orphan-urchins that helped her survive as a girl in the mean streets of
London. Grown now, they are no longer pickpockets—now they concentrate on stealing
high value items and have learned how to blend into upper-class society. But
when
Rosemary is given an assignment by a mysterious Mr. V to determine whether
a certain wealthy gentleman is loyal to Britain or to Germany, she is in for
the challenge of a lifetime. How does one steal a family’s history, their very
name?
Peter Holstein is awkward at best in society. Stuttering and
stammering as he does, no one ever would have expected him to gain the ear of
the king…and given his family’s German blood, he knows there are plenty who are
unhappy that he has, which is why his popular series of adventure novels are
written under a pen name. With European politics boiling, Peter settles into his
country estate debating whether the time has come to distance himself from his
German roots and perhaps even change his name as the King is considering doing—and
when a historian shows up at his door offering to help him trace his family
history, he views the bookish Miss Gresham as a gift from God. Perhaps she can
help him find proof that the Holsteins have always been friends of England and
the Saxe-Coburg family that rules there. And perhaps they can manage it before
suspicion in the small village he calls home reaches a fever pitch and sees his
family home ruined.
The more Rosemary learns about the Holsteins, the more
she thinks Mr. V sorely mistaken in his suspicions…and the more she comes to
hate herself. These are a noble family and this a noble man—and though she
always thought she’d do anything for pounds sterling, she finds herself
fighting against the rabble trying to ruin him when war is declared rather than
lending them a hand. Especially when she discovers that he is the writer behind
the books that have inspired all of England. She doesn’t have it in her to
steal his good name…but what are the chances that she’ll manage to steal his
heart before he discovers who and what she really is?
I am so incredibly super-duper excited about this series! The next books in the series will follow other members of Rosemary‘s “family.” In each story, the thief will find redemption as Mr. V sends them out on missions to claim things that hands cannot really hold or steal–a good name, music, beauty, time. All will draw on how arts were used as propaganda during WWI, and pull on some of the most interesting advances and peculiarities of the war. Each will also stand completely on its own, with no reference to the previous books.
And for fun, each one will also have a ridiculous challenge issues by the other members of the family. In The Name Thief, Rosemary‘s older brother challenges her to steal a manor house. So naturally, she tries to figure out how to steal Peter’s home, along with his name. Subsequent books will up the ante each time, and give the thief/hero something to pursue along with the job Mr. V assigns.
If anyone is interested in knowing what Peter and Rosemary and his manor house, Kensey Manor, looks like, I just made my Pinterest board public! You can check it out here.
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.