Jay Bell's Blog, page 10
April 23, 2015
Cover reveal! Something Like *rumble rumble* Thunder!
It’s time for a new cover reveal! But first I want to thank you guys. In my previous post, I asked how you first discovered my books. I was hoping for cold hard marketing data and I got it. What I didn’t expect were the many heartfelt messages about how much the books and characters mean to you. I hope it’s no secret that I appreciate each and everyone one of you too! Speaking of which, I have even more reason to appreciate my husband. It turns out the majority of you found my books while browsing retail sites. That means your first impression, and what got you clicking, is the art that Andreas provides. On that note, let’s take a look at some more!
We’ve come a long way since the cheerful orange of Something Like Summer’s cover. We’ve cycled through the seasons and a storm has been brewing. Now it’s directly overhead. Take shelter! Here we have Nathaniel, looking every bit as angsty as the story that awaits you inside. He has his back pressed against the door, which is wonderful—and from what I understand accidental—symbolism. Nathaniel isn’t the kind of guy who lets others in easily. The phone of course was his lifeline to Caesar in their youth, and then there’s a picture frame. You might feel you know what that’s all about. And you might be surprised! You don’t have to wait much longer to find out. May 20th is the big day. Preorder links are below. Come back soon, because there will be contests and prizes to be had. May 13th would be ideal. See you then?
Preorder Something Like Thunder:
April 8, 2015
Remember when we first met? Let’s get nostalgic!
There’s a wonderfully romantic notion that what authors do all day is write. That’s how it should be, and I like to think the world once spun that way, but not anymore. Much of my day is dealing with stuff. I’ll spare you the boring details, but essentially I need my books to get noticed, and that takes a tremendous amount of work. The worst part is not truly knowing which of my efforts are successful. That’s where you can help. I’d much rather spend more time creating new stories for you, so please cast your mind back and try to remember how we first met. What stars had to align for you to start reading my books? If you could please answer the poll below, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks! Oh, and if you’re wondering why I list some short stories below and not books, it’s because I often give short stories away for free hoping to lure in new readers. So if a short story was your first exposure to me, please select which one.
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.
March 22, 2015
Preorder your copy of Thunder!
Andreas had nothing to do with this crappy cover. He’s still working on the real deal.
Rumble rumble rumble. That’s supposed to be the sound of thunder. Or is it my stomach grumbling? Maybe it’s both, like I’m standing in the middle of a thunder storm while feeling really hungry. Sad story, huh? You can change it into a happy one by feeding this starving artist, because Something Like Thunder is now available to preorder! How does May 20th sound? You can reserve your copy at the following retailers:
Amazon Kindle
B&N Nook
Apple iBooks
Google Play
Smashwords
As before, I don’t have the ability to create paperback preorders, but I’ll try to get the print version out a little early to account for shipping times. No promises though, because I’m already cutting this one close.
The series itself has been rebranded slightly. I’ve noticed that various online retailers have special pages that list all the books in a series. That’s great, except most of them make it appear that Something Like Spring is the final book. For instance take a look at this screenshot. While it’s technically correct, it has me fretting that casual readers won’t discover the more recent books. Lightning and Thunder have such strong ties to the Seasons books, that I now consider them book five and six rather than book one and two of their own series. I’m totally cool with you guys ordering them in any way you please. The books themselves aren’t branded with numbers. But for commercial reasons, I’m now calling it the Something Like… series, rather than referring to each sub-series by name. Of course we can still call them the Seasons and Storms series if we like. I won’t tell if you don’t!
March 19, 2015
Spring is here to pleasure thine ears!
When’s the last time someone pleasured your ears? Hmmm? If it’s been too long (or even if it hasn’t) Something Like Spring is now available on audio! For those who don’t read the books as they come out, Spring is about a guy named Jason Grant. We haven’t met him in the previous three books, but his story intertwines with them in its own way. I won’t spoil anything, but I will say that people seem to enjoy the text version. I hope you’ll dig the audio just as much. You’ll find the first chapter below. Many more samples and even a free short story await you at the audio section of my site. If you’ve never tried an audiobook before, why not see if you find these enticing? Or go to Audible, where the first one is always free. Can’t beat a deal like that! You can also find Spring over at Amazon and iTunes. And finally, for those eagerly awaiting Something Like Thunder, I’m currently working on getting the preorder set up. Please check back soon for further details. *smooch!*
March 1, 2015
Fifteen Years of Jay and Andreas
Fifteen years ago, at a time when I had officially given up on love (yeah, I’ve been there too), I spotted a handsome guy across the room and practically tripped over myself to reach him. I’m proud to say that since then little has changed, aside from me being more eager than ever to get his attention. It’s probably best not to get in between Andreas and I. Chances are I’ll barrel right through you! The below video was actually created for a previous wedding anniversary, but since that story begins on today’s date, it seemed appropriate to include it here. Love is out there! Never give up, even if you’ve convinced yourself that you already have.
January 25, 2015
Art Cards and Autographs!
Something Like Characters: Series One is now available. For those who are just tuning in, this is a set of six cards featuring brand new art of characters from the Something Like… series. This set consists of Ben, Tim, Jace, Marcello, and Jason. Samson and Chinchilla make appearances too! The back of each card includes a carefully selected quote from that character. The sixth card is special, showing off the cover art from the four Seasons series books. Not only that, but I’ll personalize and autograph the back of it. All of this comes in stylish packaging to keep your cards safe. Ten dollars is the price of admission, plus five bucks shipping no matter where you are in the world. The button to buy them is below. Thanks in advance to anyone considering buying these! If we sell enough, there very well might be a second series. If that happens, who would you like to see new art of? These illustrations are also available as T-shirts and more in our RedBubble store.
Something Like Characters: Series 1
1 Set of Art Cards $10.00 USD2 Sets of Art Cards $19.00 USD3 Sets of Art Cards $28.00 USD5 Sets of Art Cards $45.00 USD10 Sets of Art Cards $90.00 USD
January 24, 2015
Something Like Characters – Tim Wyman
That I have a fondness for Tim Wyman is no secret. I fell in love with him through Ben’s eyes, then saw the world through his own. So far, that experience has been incomparable. The intent of this series was to create art for characters who haven’t been illustrated much. Despite that, I couldn’t resist including Tim once more, even though he’s already been drawn three times already. Four if you count the back of Winter’s original cover. So yeah. I love me some Tim!
For this card, we played with the idea of showing Tim paint, since that’s his thing more than jogging. But I couldn’t resist seeing him all hot and sweaty as he gives his body a workout. Of course he couldn’t do so without his trademark blue shoes. The orange shorts and red shirt might give you pause until you realize they pay tribute to the cover of Something Like Summer. Clever man, my husband! And let’s not overlook Chinchilla who is running behind her dad. Isn’t she adorable? Bulldogs are not the kind of animal one goes jogging with, but there’s a line in an upcoming story which will explain that. So basically it’s canon. Hee!
That brings the first series of art cards to a close. Almost! There’s still the special sixth card, and the rockin’ packaging these come in. I’ll talk more about those tomorrow when a bunch of new stuff in our Red Bubble store goes on sale. And the art cards too of course, but what the hell… let’s sneak them out a day early for those eager to pull the trigger. The magic button is below!
Something Like Characters: Series 1
1 Set of Art Cards $10.00 USD2 Sets of Art Cards $19.00 USD3 Sets of Art Cards $28.00 USD5 Sets of Art Cards $45.00 USD10 Sets of Art Cards $90.00 USD
January 23, 2015
Something Like Characters – Marcello Maltese
It’s almost Friday night! Who better to usher in the weekend than a man who hasn’t stopped partying in fifty years? Or more. I’m pleased to present the delightfully decadent Marcello Maltese, who for me has become one of my favorite characters to write. Marcello’s first appearance is in Summer, but he is isn’t even named. In Winter he’s there to help Tim pick up the pieces after Eric is gone. We meet him again in Spring when he shows up in Jason’s bedroom one day, and of course he goes head to head with Kelly in Something Like Lightning. Considering that Nathaniel works for him, I’d wager we haven’t seen the last of Marcello either. I never intended for him to become a reoccurring character. He just always seems to pop up when you least expect him.
His appearance in the art card series is no exception. Andreas and I chuckled at the thought of including him amongst all these pretty men, but we weren’t laughing for long. Soon we were taken by the idea because Marcello is gorgeous in his own way. He doesn’t try to appear younger, or thinner, or as anything but the unscrupulous bachelor that he is. Confidence is sexy, as is success and a sense of humor. Marcello has all of that and more, so it’s no wonder that this is Andreas’s favorite in the series. Jace is still my number one since he needed art so badly, but Marcello definitely takes my number two position. Honestly though, it’s hard to choose a favorite. There’s still one more character to go, which means another chance for you to win. Tomorrow’s reveal is obvious. A little too obvious perhaps, so I’m throwing you a curve ball. The illustration technically features TWO characters. Be the first to name them both in the comments below and you’ll win a set of art cards. One guess per person please!
January 22, 2015
Something Like Characters – Jace Holden
Please note that you can drag the image around when it’s enlarged, which might help with visibility.
Who’s that handsome flight attendant looking dapper in his suit? Why it’s Jace Holden, astronaut of the stratosphere and lover of cats! When Andreas and I started discussing characters who needed better representation, Jace was at the top of the list. Namely because the cover art for Something Like Autumn breaks with tradition. The other covers in the Seasons series have the main character gazing longingly at the object of their affection on the front, and on the back, the main character depicted in profile. For whatever reason, Victor got the star treatment for Autumn, which I still don’t regret. Autumn is easily my favorite cover out of the four, even if poor Jace got the short end of the stick.
Now Andreas has heroically restored balance to the word, because here he is—the nicest guy you could ever hope to meet. And his cat! I adore that Samson is included in this image, even if he’s inexplicably helping Jace with a safety demonstration. I love how playful that is. If you look closely, you’ll see all sorts of fun references to the books on the safety card Jace is holding. In the red sections, dogs aren’t allowed (sorry Chinchilla) and neither are rollerblades, since that’s how Ben and Tim first met. In the green zones, we see that ice skates are allowed (Ben and Jace’s first date), and that fortune cookies and cats are welcome. Then things become very Da Vinci Code and we see Jace pointing to the Eifel Tower. I wonder why? Paris just happens to be where he proposed to Ben. I bet that has something to do with it.
As much as I like the background Andreas created for these (which looks really cool on a T-shirt), this is another example where I prefer the white background of the upcoming art cards. There’s something a little more classy about them, which is well suited to Jace looking so suave in his uniform. So basically if you love Jace, you’re going to want these art cards. It just so happens that I’m giving away another set. Be the first to name who I’ll be revealing tomorrow in the comments below and you’ll win. That means on www.jaybellbooks.com, not Goodreads or other places which simply mirror my blog feed. One guess per person please.
January 21, 2015
Something Like Characters – Jason Grant
Well look who it is… Jason Grant, the homewrecker in search of a home. I’ve been missing him lately. I really admire the way Jason loves so passionately, how his affections burn so intensely. Some of my characters struggle with who they love, and if it would be morally right to pursue that person. Jason simply dives right in. I don’t think he can help it. And then there is his rather sad back story, which personally made me very eager for him to get a happy ending. And did he? He certainly ended up in a nice place, but I’ve been wondering what happens to him past Spring. We only see glimpses of Jason in Lightning and Thunder, which is frustrating. Hopefully he’ll wander back into my life again soon. I’d like to hang out with him again.
For now, we have more awesome art from Andreas. I absolutely love how he captured Jason’s soulful nature. He’s strumming that old guitar of his, maybe thinking of William and wishing they could be together. Or perhaps Ben is off to one side, singing along to Jason’s music. Come to think of it, we do have Ben singing on the cover of Winter, and Tim on the back dreaming that he can play the piano. Maybe we should start a band! We could use another member though. With that in mind, it’s time to guess who will be revealed tomorrow. To make it a little trickier, this time I need a first and last name. The first person to guess correctly in the comments below wins a set of art cards, which includes my autograph. One guess per person please. Hurry up now! Time’s a wastin’!
