Blog Tour, Guest Post & Giveaway: A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by by Roseanne A. Brown

Crushed on by kelly, on June 3, 2020, in Blog Tour, Giveaways, Guest Post, New Releases / 3 Comments

Blog Tour, Guest Post & Giveaway: A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by by Roseanne A. Brown

A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by by Roseanne A. Brown released yesterday and I am proud to be a part of this blog tour and share with you the author’s story behind this absolutely stunning cover! Check out all the book details, support Black authors, buy this book today! Be sure to check out the tour-wide giveaway below!



Blog Tour, Guest Post & Giveaway: A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by by Roseanne A. Brown

A Song of Wraiths and Ruin (A Song of Wraiths and Ruin, #1)

by Roseanne A. Brown
Published by: Balzer + Bray
on June 2, 2020
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 480
BookshopIndieBoundAudiobook through LibroFMiTunesBook DepositoryAmazonAudible
Goodreads

The first in an fantasy duology inspired by West African folklore in which a grieving crown princess and a desperate refugee find themselves on a collision course to murder each other despite their growing attraction.

For Malik, the Solstasia festival is a chance to escape his war-stricken home and start a new life with his sisters in the prosperous desert city of Ziran. But when a vengeful spirit abducts Malik’s younger sister, Nadia, as payment into the city, Malik strikes a fatal deal—kill Karina, Crown Princess of Ziran, for Nadia’s freedom.

But Karina has deadly aspirations of her own. Her mother, the Sultana, has been assassinated; her court threatens mutiny; and Solstasia looms like a knife over her neck. Grief-stricken, Karina decides to resurrect her mother through ancient magic . . . requiring the beating heart of a king. And she knows just how to obtain one: by offering her hand in marriage to the victor of the Solstasia competition.

When Malik rigs his way into the contest, they are set on a course to destroy each other. But as attraction flares between them and ancient evils stir, will they be able to see their tasks to the death?




Excerpt

https://aerbook.com/books/A_Song_of_Wraiths_and_Ruin-261829.html?social=1&retail=1&emailcap=0

Pre-Order Campaign

A pre-order/order from any retailer or a request to your local library before 6/30 will get you:
* A bookmark!
* 2 character cards featuring Karina and Malik!
* A limited edition signed bookplate
* An exclusive digital fairy tale from the A SONG OF WRAITHS AND RUIN world!

An order from indie bookstore Books With a Past will get you:
* A bookmark!
* 2 character cards featuring Karina and Malik!
* A limited edition signed bookplate
* An exclusive digital fairy tale from the A SONG OF WRAITHS AND RUIN world!
* A handwritten note and personalization from the author!

Rules:
* You must submit proof of purchase/library request. Screenshots and photos of receipts are fine.
* Only orders and library requests dated through June 30, 2020 are eligible
* Only orders made through Books With a Past (https://bookswithapast.com/home/bookdetailsin/0062891499) will receive the note and personalization.
* All swag will be sent out on a rolling basis starting June 2nd
* Entrants under the age of 18 must obtain parent/guardian permission before entering

Story Behind the Cover – A Song of Wraiths and Ruin

Guest Post by Roseanne A. Brown

An important thing to know about me: I am a Virgo. Like, a super Virgo. I’m talking “sun, moon, mercury, AND venus all in Virgo” level Virgo.

All this to say that when it was time to start working on the cover for A Song of Wraiths and Ruin. I may have gone a biiiiit overboard with ideas for my team. When they asked my input, I dropped a ten page document in their inboxes full of notes and thoughts about possible cover ideas. I talked a lot about the important color and cultural symbolism within the book, plus how important it was that the characters were depicted as explicitly Black, with Karina being visibly dark skinned.

Some examples of YA Fantasy covers I passed on to my team. From left to right: Descendant of the Crane by Joen He; An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir; Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman.

There is something I must confess: I originally told my team that I was apprehensive about the traditional “Girl in a Pretty Dress” YA Fantasy type cover. I don’t hate that cover style nor do I think they look bad, but because we see those types of covers often in this genre, I was worried that it would make it difficult for my book to stand out if we went in that direction.

However, then they told me Tawny Chatmon was their top choice for artist, and all my concerns flew out the window. Tawny is one of my favorite artists, and such a fixture in the Black Art community. I love how her work balances both vulnerability and power in her art, and her subjects are almost always Black boys and girls. I probably screamed for several days straight when I heard she’d signed on to do the cover. You can check her out on Instagram here: Tawny Chatmon (@tawnychatmon) • Instagram photos and videos

Next came the title, which was hand designed by Martina Flor. They decided to go with a hand drawn title instead of using an existing font, and what I love about this lettering is it invokes both the fantasy and romance nature of the book while still keeping thorns and a sense that there is something deeper afloat. Martina wrote a detailed post about the title design here: martinaflor.com/making-of-a-song-of-wraiths-and-ruin

The ARC version of A Song of Wraiths and Ruin featuring the base image and the early lettering.

So this is the version of the book that went out on the ARC copies back in Fall 2019. The last step to figure out was exactly how we wanted to ornament the base image, and it was this step of the process that took the longest. We explored several different directions for the pattern before we found the perfect fit. I knew from the start I wanted something that paid homage to the West African roots of the story, so I provided lots of examples of different prints and patterns we see in the region.

Examples of patterns I showed me team to give them an idea of West African patterns.

They came back to me with the pattern you see on the final cover, and the rest was history! I genuinely love my cover so much. From the color scheme to the lettering to the fact that it puts a dark skinned Black girl in the center of this intricate and ornate design, it is truly the best representation of what this story is meant to be. It’s romantic and magical and so full of power. And if you love this cover, just wait until you see Book 2’s!

The final cover of A Song of Wraiths and Ruin!



About Roseanne A. Brown

Roseanne “Rosie” A. Brown was born in Kumasi, Ghana and immigrated to the wild jungles of central Maryland as a child. Writing was her first love, and she knew from a young age that she wanted to use the power of writing—creative and otherwise—to connect the different cultures she called home. She graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor’s in Journalism and was also a teaching assistant for the school’s Jiménez-Porter Writers’ House program. Her journalistic work has been featured by Voice of America among other outlets.

On the publishing side of things, she has worked as an editorial intern at Entangled Publishing. Rosie was a 2017 Pitch Wars mentee and 2018 Pitch Wars mentor. Never content to stay in any one place for too long, Rosie currently teaches in Japan, where in her free time she can usually be found exploring the local mountains, explaining memes to her students, or thinking about Star Wars.



Giveaway

Win an ASOWAR bookplate, bookmark, two trading cards, and access to the exclusive short story (INT)

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