GUEST BLOGGER LISA BERGREN: FIVE FAVE COVERS (and Giveaway!!)

Julie, here, and don’t you just LOVE autumn? Caramel apples,
pumpkin spice cappuccinos, the smell of wood smoke, the crunch of leaves … a fall scavenger hunt! Sigh …  nothing says autumn to me more than curling up in my cozy hearth room with a steaming mug of cinnamon hazelnut coffee and 31 brand-new releases from some of my favorite Christian authors.


Well, that can be you when you join Lisa Bergren, me and 29 other CBA authors in the 2012 Fall Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt October 25-28, 2012.



And speaking of “favorite Christian authors,” it is my absolute please to introduce our guest blogger today—Lisa Bergren—one of my VERY favorite authors who catapulted to my “must read” list when I endorsed her latest novel, Glamorous  Illusions—WOW, what a book!! Not only is Lisa a Christy-award-winning author of the wildly popular YA series “River of Time” featuring the award-winning novels Waterfall, Torrent and Cascade, but an outstanding historical fiction author as well. And the good news is her latest historical release Glamorous Illusions is one of the 31 paperback books the top winner will take
away in this scavenger hunt along with a Kindle Fire. Without further ado … I give you my good friend, Lisa Bergren.

Looking at the thirty-one delicious covers from this fall’s Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt, there are many, many intriguing covers. But these five beauties stood out for me. I want to buy all five, by cover alone, without knowing anything more about them.


Clearly, beautiful costumes speak to me. I think they help transport me to that time and place—immediately set me within the story. (My upcoming Grave Consequences has a costume from Titanic!) Then, rich, painterly colors call to me too. Add to that a pensive pose or expression, and I’m a goner.

I’m a pain for the marketing folks at my publishers, because I’m always pressing for just a bit more in my own covers. I cried (in a good way) when I saw the completed composition for Waterfall, and again when I saw the model photographs for Glamorous Illusions. Because I know what it means to me, as a consumer, when it all comes together. It’s the reason I first pick up a book and read the back cover copy. Then the first couple of pages. Then a random page inside.

I’ve been blessed to be able to speak to the cover designers at my pubs, to share character descriptions, ideas about what I think would make for a good cover composition, and other covers that I’d like it to resemble.

Not all authors get that much say. But, well, I’m somewhat of a loudmouth. And opinionated. And tend to give input, even when not asked. If I don’t try, I’ll just be frustrated later, right? (I’m sure a few designers would like to provide me with a roll of duck tape.) Even now, I’m nervously awaiting cover comp ideas from Zondervan for my new YA dystopian series, launching Fall 2013. Oh, how I hope they’ll get it right!!

I’m not sure how much Mel, R.J., Laura, MaryLu, and Tammy had to say about their covers. But in my opinion, they won the cover lottery—these are exquisite.

It makes me curious about what calls to you in a cover. Out of my fav five, which one would you pick off the shelf, without knowing a thing more about it? Please answer my poll, here, and you can have a chance of winning my own latest beauty of a cover, Glamorous Illusions (be sure to leave a comment with your email for a chance at that copy), as well as the 110,000 words inside that cover:

NOTE: POLL IS DEALING US FITS, 

SO PLEASE JUST VOTE IN YOUR COMMENT. 

OUR APOLOGIES AND THANK YOU !!

And if you want a chance to win ALL FIVE OF THESE BOOKS, PLUS 26 more, PLUS a brand new Kindle Fire, or two $50 gift certificates, be sure to c’mon over to my site at  LisaBergren.com, the starting point for the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt going on RIGHT NOW from 10/25 noon-10/28/12. Lists of the authors involved and the prizes offered at
the end of this blog.

Hope to see you there and Happy 5^th birthday to the authors of Seekerville!

GIVEAWAY:

Simply take the poll above, then leave a comment for a chance of winning Glamorous Illusions by one of my favorite authors! Be sure to leave your email in a spam-free format such as janedoe(at)aol(dot)com and GOOD LUCK!

ABOUT LISA:

Lisa T. Bergren is the author of more than forty books that have sold over two million copies combined. She writes in a variety of genres--children's books, YA, adult fiction, devotionals and more. Lisa lives with her husband, Tim, three children, and a fluffy white dog in Colorado. To

find out more about her go to LisaBergren.com, or follow her on Facebook.com/LisaTBergren, or Twitter (@LisaTBergren).

CHRISTIAN FICTION SCAVENGER HUNT AUTHORS

Tamera Alexander
Ruth Axtell
Lisa Bergren
Lyn Cote
Liz Curtis Higgs
Margaret Daley
Melanie Dickerson
Melanie Dobson
Laura Frantz
Sibella Giorello

Leslie Gould
Winnie Griggs
Robin Lee Hatcher
Kristen Heitzmann
Tracy Higley
Sharon Hinck
Vicki Hinze
Ronie Kendig
R. J. Larson
Julie Lessman
Judith Miller
Nancy Moser
Nicole O'Dell
Marta Perry
Sandra Robbins
Susan Sleeman
Janice Thompson
MaryLu Tyndall
Kim Vogel Sawyer
Stephanie Whitson
Jill Williamson

PARTIAL LIST OF PRIZES TO BE GIVEN AWAY

GRAND PRIZE: 31 new releases pictured in today’s blog plus a brand new Kindle Fire ($199 USD)

2nd and 3rd prize: $50 gift card to Amazon, B&N, CBD.com or BookDepository.com

INDIVIDUAL AUTHOR PRIZES:

Basketful of Scottish treats, valued at $100, and all brought home from Scotland: Pair of polished pewter Celtic knot earrings, purchased in Selkirk; polished pewter thistle pin, purchased at Eilean Donan Castle; Lavender Scottish soap, purchased in Falkirk; Wee Victorian print, purchased in Glasgow; Scottish keyring, purchased in Edinburgh; Scottish sayings magnet, purchased in Stirling Glasgow; Boys Victorian bookmark, purchased in Glasgow; autographed copies of Here Burns My Candle, Mine Is the Night and A Wreath of Snow: A Victorian Christmas Novella.

$50 gift card, winner’s choice of signed book and having a character named after you in my next book.

$50.00 Amazon gift certificate and the three books in romantic suspense “Ocracoke Island” series.

$50 gift certificate and choice of three signed books

$25.00 Amazon gift card and a beaded bookmark from Belle on a Budget

16-inch black and cream toile print paper necklace handmade by author.

Amana Colony Cookbook

Choice of author’s audio CD book (retail value $30)

"Hold Firmly to Faith" hand-carved cross and poem

Ten copies of Her Good Name and small memento of Maine: a balsam fir sachet and small bag of "pebble" chocolates.

Ten copies of Where the Trail Ends.

Ten copies of Survive the Night.

The Secret Life of Becky Miller, Renovating Becky Miller, Symphony of Secrets, and Stepping Into Sunlight.

Four-book set of the “Plain Sight” series.

Three sets of first two books in “Justice Agency” series, Double Exposure and Dead Wrong.

Set of “Diamond Estates” series: The Wishing Pearl, The Embittered Ruby and The Shadowed Onyx

One complete set of new three-book series, plus four signed copies of book 1, Belonging.

Three copies of Courting Cate.

Three signed copies of Trinity.

Two copies of Shattered Silence.

Reader's choice of any two of author’s books.

Signed copy of Prophet, volume #1 in the Books of the “Infinite” series.

Plus audio CD, volume #1 in the Books of the "Infinite" series

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