I'm pleased to be announcing the launch of a redesigned version of my debut novel for ireadiwrite Publishing. And first up - before we go any further - please enjoy the International Release Trailer for the new version.
After a great deal of consideration and discussion over the past couple of months, my publisher and I have decided to redesign the cover art for The Hambledown Dream. Now, I kind of regard myself as a little superstitious. I enjoy sailing and one of the greatest superstitions surrounding sailing is the re-naming of a boat after it has been refurbished or repainted. Historically, it has been considered bad luck to change the name of a boat.
And, initially, I felt the same way about the novel. I thought of all the horrible things that could happen as a result of doing something I considered to be rather drastic. But after I had my mini-meltdown, I began to look at things through a fresh set of eyes.
The reasons for doing so are fairly simple. When I originally conceived the cover art for the original release of the novel last year, I was really drawn to the simple motif of the rosemary and mint bouquet that features in the story at a fairly critical moment. There is a beauty about the bouquet on the sand and says much about the love story of The Hambledown Dream. However, in discussing the cover and it's impact, we felt that it might be too obscure for the uninitiated audience. Though it is a prominent theme in the story, it is not the central theme. So Michelle and I sat down and began re imagining the cover art in a quest to find something that really typifies the core elements of the story of The Hambledown Dream.
Certainly the guitar was a most important consideration as it is at the heart of both Andy DeVries and Denny Banister's journey. I also wanted to find an image that best represented the duality of Andy and Denny's persona's. An exhaustive search led me to a singular image of a young man sitting in a field of poppies cradling a guitar in his arms as he looks towards the setting sun. From the moment I found that image, I knew it was the right one. It says much about the two young men who embark on a powerful journey towards redemption and salvation in The Hambledown Dream. There is a musical quality to the image - not just.because of the guitar - and there is a romantic quality in the flowers that populate the field, the sun light that falls across the young man's face.
Combined with the bolder color scheme that highlights the title and author text, the result is a more powerful and impactful piece. We are really very proud if the final result.
The other consideration for the novel is the attention to (or lack thereof on my part), the digital market. As an author, one of the greatest satisfactions is being able to hold the print version of you very own book in your hands. However, the growth of eBooks over the past year has outstripped that of print books. To not focus attention of that section of the market just doesn't make sense to me so I am embarking on a concerted effort to promote The Hambledown Dream in the digital market place.
So, having re imagined the presentation of The Hambledown Dream, both ireadiwrite Publishing and myself are pleased to announce the release of this 2nd Edition of the digital edition of the novel. To celebrate, the first fifty copies of the novel have been digitally "signed" by me and are available to purchase today, directly from Dean from Australia Dot Com (See Top Right Of Page). In addition to this, I completed a really enjoyable interview this past week with wonderfully supportive fellow author and Bookanista Carolina Valdez Miller. I'd like to invite you to visit her at Carol In Print and check out both the interview and her take on my novel. I also sat down with books editor Paige Crutcher of America's Examiner Newspaper to chat about The Hambledown Dream and the writing journey.
So this wonderful ride with ireadiwrite Publishing continues - both with this new edition of The Hambledown Dream and the current project I am working on. It's just too good a ride not to be on.
DFA.
