Frama-12 and her “Little Brother”

Way back, before I gave my book talks at school and at the local Barnes and Noble, I took advantage of an opportunity for Frama-12 to be reviewed by Kirkus. This was a big deal, but almost everyone I told about Kirkus asked the same question:

“What is Kirkus?”

What is Kirkus?! Only the coolest place to get a good review from. (I ended that sentence with a preposition to show just how passionate I am.) Here’s the thing about Kirkus. They tell it like it is. If a Kirkus reviewer likes your book, that’s cause for celebration. If the reviewer pans it … well, you might not want to mention that review.

Confession: when I first read the review for Frama-12, there was a comment about Winnie that I thought was bad. So I forwarded the review to my editor at The Wild Rose Press. She loved the review (except for the few spoilers mentioned). Duly encouraged, I sent it on to their marketing department. In return, the marketing lady sent me a cool postcard-sized document with my book cover and a quote from the review.

Fast forward to a few days ago when I received the following email from Kirkus:

“Congratulations! I am writing to let you know that FRAMA-12 has been selected by our Indie editors to be included in the September 1^st issue of Kirkus Reviews. Less than 10% of Indie authors are selected for this. Because of this selection, you would be in a great position to advertise with us. Please let me know if you would like to discuss our campaign options in a bit more detail, and we can schedule a call to go over this in detail.”

At first, I thought: Is this really Kirkus, or is this a scam? Once I confirmed the note really came from Kirkus, my next question was: Do I have to pay for my review to be featured? In a word, no.

However, if I wanted to put an ad for my book in a future issue of their magazine, I could do that … for a fee, naturally. The woman I spoke to about it went over three advertising “packages” with me. They ranged in price from “Holy crap, that much!?!?” to “Yipes, that’s still kinda steep.” Surprisingly, there was a fourth option. A ¼-page ad. The saleslady said the ad would run in their October 15 issue, which also featured announcements for upcoming book awards. She assured me that many eyes would be on that magazine. When I mentioned my second book in the series, she agreed it would be a cool idea to include a picture of book two in the ad to show I’m not a one-book author. Here’s where it gets wild. I got an email with the cover art for my second book the day before I got the Kirkus email! So yeah, I bought an ad.

That brings us to book two: Hutra. The Wild Rose Press accepted my submission in early June. My editor, Jo, and I began the editing process in July, and we’ve been hurtling toward publication ever since.

Frama-12 required three rounds of edits, but Hutra went through only two rounds before Jo emailed the book galley (a version of the book formatted for publication) exactly one week ago. She asked if I could review it and send it back within two weeks. I returned it in five days. I’m committed.

Last week, while I was at work, I got a ping from my phone that an email came through. The message contained (as mentioned above) the cover design for book two. I LOVED it!!! Good thing I work at a school because I ran around thrusting my phone in people’s faces like an overzealous kindergartner on Show n Tell day.

Presented here for the first time (except for the people who saw it on “Show n Tell” day) is the cover for Frama-12’s “little brother,” Hutra.

Blurb: Winnie’s six-year-old stepbrother, Mikey, jumps through a time tear. Fearing he’ll fall prey to the dangers of an unknown alien world, she and their friend Kip follow. The pair land in a rural walled-off community with a reputation for banishing outsiders. To their horror, Mikey is nowhere to be found, but at least Nor, the son of a lord, agrees to hide them. For a price. He’ll join their search for Mikey provided they help him recover Kinny, a little boy Mikey’s age who has accidentally fallen through a different time tear. Can the three teens find the young boys before the Reserve Guard tracks them down?

I don’t know the official publication date yet, but the book’s copyright page lists 2023. My guess is that Frama-12’s “little brother,” Hutra, will be out early in the new year.

But what kind of proud “parent” would I be if I didn’t include a portrait of the “kiddies” together?

Book parents are the only ones who can try for another “kid” before the latest one pops into the world. In other words, I’m huffing and puffing for Book Three to slowly and painfully pop out of my head.