Hey, lovelies!! It gives me great pleasure today to host Melanie Bell and her new book, “Chasing Harmony,” here on FAB!! For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.
Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $20 Barnes and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back daily to interact with Melanie and to increase your chances of winning!!
Thanks for stopping by!! Wishing you all lots of good luck in this fabulous giveaway!!
Chasing Harmony
by Melanie Bell
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GENRE: Young Adult LGBTQ+
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BOOK BLURB:
A refreshing YA debut from Canadian author Melanie Bell, perfect for fans of Rainbow Rowell, Becky Albertalli, and Nina LaCour.
Melanie Bell has created a compelling coming-of-age story, featuring a bisexual protagonist, for those that can relate to the search for untapped potential. Told in alternating timelines on Prince Edward Island and Vancouver, Chasing Harmony reminds us of the exhilarating feeling that comes with hearing your heart’s song.
Piano prodigy Anna Stern is used to having all eyes on her. As she becomes a teenager, Anna struggles to find her identity without the soundtrack of sonatas and concertos. There’s also the worry that comes with the crushing expectations of her musical gift and her parents’ imploding marriage.
Anna finds refuge in her best friend, Liss, who is full of magic and escape plans. However, now their relationship is changing and Anna is starting to fall for her. Adding to the complicated status is new kid Darien, who is always vying for Anna's attention.
As the haunting spectre of burnout lurks close by, an upcoming performance with Liss will determine both of their futures. With everything building to a crescendo, what follows is an authentic life in the making.
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EXCERPT ONE:
She blows out the flame, crushes the poster into a ball as bits of ash flake off. She can’t let them catch this.
Another voice: “I swear I didn’t burn anything!”
She grabs the stack of old band posters from the file shelf and stuffs them in her bag. No one else working at The Green Staircase cares about these posters. It was Anna’s idea to keep them.
“Maybe it’s the radiator.”
All those bands, her pride and joy. Who was she kidding?
“I think it’s coming from over there—”
Quick! Into the alley, garbage bins reeking. What bin should burnt paper go in—recycling? Compost? She tosses and runs wildly down the street. Her shift is over. She’s done her job.
Out of habit, she stops at the community center on the corner. It’s late Friday evening, still open, no floor hockey games or beading club for underprivileged youth. No one at the pool tables or arcade.
She rushes to the piano.
No one is there to clap as she launches into the band’s last number, a tender little piece sung by Mustache Man whose burnt face now graces a compost bin. She hasn’t played it before, but that isn’t a problem. Her fingers relish the slick feel of keys, the quick acrobatics of motion. She riffs on the melody, improvises, and adds a solo section. For those lyrics she remembers, she sings along, not powerfully but perfectly in key.
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GUEST POST:
How I Got My Book Cover
“Don’t judge a book by its cover.” That’s hard to do when the cover is the first thing you see!
A good cover design is important. It attracts readers’ attention – or not. It communicates what the book is about, what the genre is, what the prevailing mood is – or not. A bad cover can be misleading. Fortunately, I think the cover for Chasing Harmony sings in tune with the book.
The cover design for Chasing Harmony was collaborative, and I’m delighted with how it turned out. My publisher, Read Furiously, asked me for input in a questionnaire and an image board. They drew from my responses to inform the cover design.
I had
the opportunity to review the initial design and give input. I was able to
correct a typo and suggest redoing a bit that was visually confusing.
The cover art shows a silhouette of the main character, Anna, playing the piano. Music notation and piano keys spiral in the background. The designer chose a font similar to something you’d find on sheet music.
I love the extra design elements the publisher used, like the music staff marking each chapter and the rest symbols that designate section breaks. So many careful, thoughtful touches went into my book’s visual design.
I’ve published three books, and I’ve been lucky to have input into all of their covers in some way. The Modern Enneagram is a nonfiction book I coauthored with Kacie Berghoef about the Enneagram personality typology. The cover artist drew inspiration from the colorful logo I’d designed for our Enneagram business at the time.
For my short story collection, Dream Signs, similarly to Chasing Harmony, the publishers asked for examples of book covers that I liked. They hired an artist, the talented Rob Chandler, who took this feedback and created a beautiful visual design.
It’s common for publishers to choose cover art without authorial input, so many authors aren’t fans of the covers they get, but I’ve loved all of mine so far!
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AUTHOR BIO & LINKS:
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Melanie Bell is a Canadian multi-genre writer living in the UK. Her books include a short story collection, Dream Signs, a nonfiction title, The Modern Enneagram, and the YA novel Chasing Harmony. She has written for several publications including Contrary, Cicada, The Fiddlehead, and Huffington Post. She loves music, art, and nature, and aspires to see as much of the world as she can.
~ Melanie’s Digital Footprint ~
Website:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/InspireEnvisioning
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/InspireEnvision
Goodreads Author Page:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3348460.Melanie_Bell
Goodreads Book Page:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61368417-chasing-harmony
Amazon Author Page:
~ Read Furiously’s Digital Footprint ~
Website:
Facebook:
http://facebook.com/readfuriously
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/readfuriously
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/readfuriously
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BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon US Kindle eBook:
Amazon US Paperback:
Amazon CA Kindle eBook:
https://www.amazon.ca/Chasing-Harmony-Melanie-Bell-ebook/dp/B0BYSRC29S
Amazon CA Paperback:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1737175894
Barnes and Noble NOOK eBook:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/chasing-harmony-melanie-bell/1141640134?ean=9781960869999
Barnes and Noble Paperback:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/chasing-harmony-melanie-bell/1141640134?ean=9781737175896
Bookshop Paperback:
https://bookshop.org/p/books/chasing-harmony-melanie-bell/18542996
Kobo US eBook:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/chasing-harmony
Kobo CA eBook:
https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/chasing-harmony
Read Furiously Paperback:
https://readfuriously.com/products/chasing-harmony
Scribd eBook:
https://www.scribd.com/book/631773896/Chasing-Harmony
Target Paperback:
https://www.target.com/p/chasing-harmony-by-melanie-bell-paperback/-/A-87380558
Waterstones Paperback:
https://www.waterstones.com/book/chasing-harmony/melanie-bell/9781737175896
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
Melanie will be awarding a $20 Barnes and Noble Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this blog. This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those fabulous community outreach projects and awesome giveaways on here**
This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions. Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
Thank you so much for hosting today.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good read.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a wonderful book.
ReplyDeleteI love the cover of this book!
ReplyDeletethis sounds very good
ReplyDelete