Cover Reveal: The Curse of Time – Book 1 – Bloodstone

Today, I am delighted to share with you my cover reveal for my debut fantasy YA novel:

The Curse of Time – Book 1 – Bloodstone

I’m delighted with the cover – Wendy Anne Darling at BOOKXEEDO Book Covers has done a marvellous job. Isn’t the cover just beautiful? Thank you Wendy so much.
Cover photography credit: Chronopage and grasshopper – John C Taylor, OBE.

Cover photography credit (spine) :  Bloodstone – Alex Marlowe, via https://samanthamurdochblog.wordpress.com

Synopsis:

On Amelina Scott’s thirteenth birthday, her father disappears under mysterious circumstances. Saddened by this traumatic event, she pieces together details of a curse that has stricken the heart and soul of her family.

Amelina longs for someone to confide in.  Her once carefree mother has become angry and despondent. One day a strange black cat and a young girl, named Esme appear. Immediately, Esme becomes the sister Amelina never had. The only catch is that Esme must remain a prisoner, living within the mirrors of Amelina’s house.
Dreams and a puzzling invitation convince Amelina the answer to her family’s troubles lies within the walls of the illusive Crystal Cottage. Undaunted by her mother’s warnings, Amelina searches for the cottage on an isolated Cambridgeshire pathway where she encounters a charismatic young man, named Ryder. At the right moment, he steps out of the shadows, rescuing her from the unwanted attention of two male troublemakers.
With the help of an enchanted paint set, Amelina meets the eccentric owner of the cottage, Leanne, who instructs her in the art of crystal magic. In time, she earns the right to use three wizard stones. The first awakens her spirit to discover a time of legends, and later, leads her to the Bloodstone, the supreme cleansing crystal which has the power to restore the balance of time. Will Amelina find the power to set her family free?

Excerpt – Prologue

Most people would call our existence strange, but this is more than that, this deserves a headline. We’re not spectacular enough to feature on the national or international news, but we warranted a column in the local newspaper headed by seven not so lucky words: Missing Father Returns After Weird Aging Phenomenon. I’m glad that our short-lived fame died and the paparazzi, (what a joke,) got bored with us. Now we can get back to the day to day living if you can call it that.

We live in a typical suburb of Cambridge in an untypical house. It’s no bungalow, the floors just go on and on, and so do the rumours about us. When I say we, I mean, our strange extended family comprising mature tantrum-prone Mum, Dad, (alias old man before his time) teenage me the most stable of us all (I think,) and self-harming Esme who isn’t my sister but might as well be. I could write a whole book devoted to her alone. Oh, and I forgot to mention our permanent houseguest Shadow, a black cat of indeterminate age and parenthood who arrived one day and never left. The rest of the inhabitants of our household, (except perhaps for me, and Shadow although that is open to debate,) are dysfunctional, weirded out characters.

I have to cope with a lot, (and that’s an understatement,) so I resort to painting, rock-and-roll, collecting crystals, writing songs, and poetry. I enjoy writing haiku, a Japanese form of poetry with three lines and some syllables to count. It soothes me. I write Tanka too; adding two longer lines at the end which soothes me more. Each poetic puzzle I jot down serves as a clue for less afflicted folk to decipher what the hell I am talking about.

So what am I talking about? The trouble is I don’t know; I’m still muddling through. Although I expect it’s a cry for help, (a yell,) combined with me dissecting the details about Mum’s life, Dad’s existence and his disappearance, Esme’s imprisonment, and Shadow’s ability to appear and reappear at a moment’s notice. And, that’s to say nothing about living in a house which feels like a living being!

Yes, I joke to stay sane. That’s a lot to process, (sorry) and it’s only a fraction, a haiku titbit, so let’s keep it simple but poetic and start with a view.

A view, I jest not; I saw this sky through my kitchen window today…

I hope you enjoyed the excerpt. Here are some promotional photos too.

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Photo credit – Chronopage and Grasshopper: John C Taylor, OBE.

Photo credit – Bloodstone crystal in slideshow, plus photos of cat model Lily posing as my black cat character Shadow, via my blogging friend Samantha Murdoch’s blog.

Photo credit : Photos of Ryder (model J. English,) in the slideshow  – Georgina Mallon.

There are many themes in The Curse of Time:

My kindle release date has been set – 26th August, 2017.

Do let me know what you think about my paperback cover.

The paperback release date is 2nd April 2018 and includes two wonderful images created by artist Carolina Russo – https://yesterdayafter.com.

Buying link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Curse-Time-Book-Bloo…/…/1999822439/

Esme The Mirror Girl

and The Creature –

Both of the above images appear in the paperback in black and white.

I’m so excited, in fact I’m flying through the air on my crystal chandelier!

Bye for now, love you!

My social media links:

Authors/Bloggers Rainbow Support Club on Facebook
Twitter: @curseof_time

Instagram

Facebook

 

Fellow Administrators of our Authors Bloggers Rainbow Support Club #ABRSC on Facebook, myself, my good friends Colleen Chesebro and Debby Gies. Click on Colleen’s and Debby’s photos to be directed to their awesome blogs. These ladies rock!