The Color of Water Giveaway

The cure for anything is saltwater –

sweat, tears, or the sea.

~Isak Dinesen

I love the sea. I've always loved it, although I haven't always lived near it. I once thought I'd grow up to be an oceanographer or a marine biologist, but fate had other plans for me. And truth be told, the ocean can be a frightening thing. I'm always in awe of the men and women who are brave enough to sail it. I enjoy riding in boats, but I'm always glad to get back to dry land. I'm truly happiest on a beach.

My latest southern gothic novella, The Color of Water, was inspired by a trip to the North Carolina coast a few years back and a visit to the historic town of Beaufort. Beaufort is just about as old as a town gets in North America, founded in 1709. It's seen the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and everything since. With all that history, you can imagine what a great graveyard it had. And ghosts. Lots of places in North Carolina have ghosts, but Beaufort has the best in my opinion. Pirates, merchants, soldiers, and little girls - there's just about any type of ghost you might want there.

So Beaufort combines two things I adore - the ocean and history. When I visited, I knew immediately it would be the setting for my next book. The Color of Water is a novella, so it's the perfect length for a rainy, fall afternoon, cozying up on the couch with a ghost story. Fans of love triangles and super sweet teen romance may be disappointed. The story is very much about the ebbs and flows of life and death, about holding on and letting go. It's also about the connection of a parent to a child, so while there are some elements of a first love, it's also about much more. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.

~About the Book~

Life is unpredictable. Why would death be any different?

Sixteen year old Samantha’s Dad died in a sailing accident and her Mom’s moving them to the sleepy, backwater town of Beaufort, North Carolina, so they can make a new start. Afraid to sail again, Samantha takes her mind off the past by trying to solve the mystery of who's killing young women on the island, only the killer is way more than your ordinary psychopath.

Turns out, the blood-thirsty ghost of Blackbeard returns to Beaufort on the high tide to collect the souls of beautiful young women and now he wants her mom. With only the help of a two-bit psychic and the ghost of a young, drowned sailor she might be falling in love with, Samantha struggles to save her mother. But Sam has some demons of her own to conquer first.

  ~ From Chapter One ~

   It’s funny what you notice when you’re dying. It’s not your breath or your heartbeat, or the ripple of your mind slowly coming undone. It’s what you love. For me, it’s the color of the water. First, it’s green like bottle glass. Then it’s deep, dark blue-black, like a midnight sky.

   The water seeps into my ears blocking everything else out. It creeps into my clothes, through the strands of my hair. It invades my nose, my mouth, and slides into my lungs, into my stomach. It envelopes me, claims me as its own. I’m going with it.

   And then something jerks me back. In the murky water, I can barely see what it is through my salt-blinded eyes. It’s Dad. He’s got me. He’s tugging on my vest, trying to unhitch the tether and I wonder why. Something breaks free and he pulls me up with him. The vest I’m wearing pops me up to the surface like a cork.

   On the surface, my lungs vomit out searing salt water, even as more angry waves bash us against the hull of the sloop. She’s completely upside down. Dad’s pushing my limp arms up on The Tempest, trying to make me grab a hold of something, anything to keep my head above water.

~***~

To celebrate the release, two lucky winners will win a free copy of the print book or e-book - your choice! Be sure to enter :)


a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can always find The Color of Water on Amazon :) and Goodreads! and if you'd like to learn more about me, Lisa Cresswell, please visit my web site. Enjoy!

The Color of Water Cover Reveal~

The cure for anything is saltwater –

sweat, tears, or the sea.

~Isak Dinesen

I'm so excited to release my newest novella "The Color of Water" today! The cover is finally ready to share with you, so without further adieu, here it is~

Isn't it beautiful?! Of course, I think all my book babies are beautiful. :)

I love the color of the water in it, just as Samantha, my new heroine, loves the sea.

In the next few weeks, I'll be blogging more about the upcoming release, as well as hosting a giveaway for a copy of the book. If any of my fellow bloggers/friends/readers would like an advanced reading copy in exchange for a review, please contact me! I'm happy to guest post too, if you'd like.

Here's a bit about the story:

Life is unpredictable. Why would death be any different?

Sixteen year old Samantha’s Dad died in a sailing accident and her Mom’s moving them to the sleepy, backwater town of Beaufort, North Carolina, so they can make a new start. Afraid to sail again, Samantha takes her mind off the past by trying to solve the mystery of who's killing young women on the island, only the killer is way more than your ordinary psychopath.

Turns out, the blood-thirsty ghost of Blackbeard returns to Beaufort on the high tide to collect the souls of beautiful young women and now he wants her mom. With only the help of a two-bit psychic and the ghost of a young, drowned sailor she might be falling in love with, Samantha struggles to save her mother. But Sam has some demons of her own to conquer first.

  ~ From Chapter One ~

   It’s funny what you notice when you’re dying. It’s not your breath or your heartbeat, or the ripple of your mind slowly coming undone. It’s what you love. For me, it’s the color of the water. First, it’s green like bottle glass. Then it’s deep, dark blue-black, like a midnight sky.

   The water seeps into my ears blocking everything else out. It creeps into my clothes, through the strands of my hair. It invades my nose, my mouth, and slides into my lungs, into my stomach. It envelopes me, claims me as its own. I’m going with it.

   And then something jerks me back. In the murky water, I can barely see what it is through my salt-blinded eyes. It’s Dad. He’s got me. He’s tugging on my vest, trying to unhitch the tether and I wonder why. Something breaks free and he pulls me up with him. The vest I’m wearing pops me up to the surface like a cork.

   On the surface, my lungs vomit out searing salt water, even as more angry waves bash us against the hull of the sloop. She’s completely upside down. Dad’s pushing my limp arms up on The Tempest, trying to make me grab a hold of something, anything to keep my head above water.

You can find it on Amazon :) and Goodreads! Enjoy! And for other great giveaways, click the Linky below :)

My Writing Process Blog Hop~

Hey! Happy #MondayBlogs!

This week I'm joining in the Writing Process blog tour/hop thingy. I was invited to participate by writer Matthew Wilbur, who I know better as the dry humored @nightveil on Twitter's Monday night chats on #WritersRoad. If  you tweet, you should follow Matthew. At the very least, visit his blog at www.knightveil.blogspot.com and say hi.

So, on to my Writing Process, shall we??

1) What am I working on?

Oh boy! Seems like I have a lot of ideas swirling around, several projects in various stages. I've got a steampunk adventure story I wrote in a month for JuNoWriMo that I'm currently typing. (I hand write my first rough drafts, so now I need to type it up.) Edits will ensue.  I have a scifi/dystopian young adult novel called Vessel due out from Month9Books early next year so I may still have some editing to do for that. And I have at least 3 projects I want to create outlines for: a young adult contemporary, a new adult historical, and a sequel to Vessel.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I don't know how objective I am about that. I do a lot of genre hopping too, so it's hard to say my work is always "xyz". One thing I do try to always do is start with a great character and a great theme. I try to make my characters diverse if it serves the story and I hope that I'm able to do that without falling too much into stereotypes. If I do I'm sure readers will let me know.

3) Why do I write what I do?

I write because I can't stop myself. Its a strange form of self entertainment!  I also write because I enjoy putting interesting characters into difficult situations and making them learn important lessons. And who has more to learn than young adults? I love that exploratory phase young people live in, where every day is something new and different to them.

4) How does my writing process work?

My writing process has changed a lot over the years, hopefully for the better. I used to get an idea for a scene and just go for it, but I always stalled out because I didn't know what would happen next. Now I make a detailed outline which consists of a few sentences to describe each and every chapter in the book. The better, more detailed this pre-work is, the easier the story is to write  Like I said, I tend to hand write my rough drafts because it's easier to schlep around a notebook than a laptop in my car. I often end up writing in my car, waiting for my daughter to get out of dance practice.

The first typing becomes the first round edit for typos and such. Then I print it out and take a good, hard look at it for plot holes, contradictions, and lazy language.  I'm notorious for word echoes (i.e. using the same word five times on a page). I tend to write pretty spare the first time, so rather than cutting words, I look for places that need more words, usually in the form of description.  I add clay to my sculptures instead of carving it away.

After all my edits are scribbled on the hard copy, I'll make them on the electronic copy. At that point, I may let it sit or I might look for a beta reader to tell me if I'm on the right track. I don't know how I decide when I'm done editing. I've just somehow learned when I've had enough and it's time to move on to another project. I've been known to sit on manuscripts for years that weren't quite ready and I wasn't quite ready to fix. It's not ideal, but my process can be pretty slow. Of course, if an editor is waiting for it, it gives me some incentive to hurry it up.

Next week be sure to check out the next writer's Writing Process blog on July 28. Or hop on over there right now and follow her!

C. J. Burright writes urban fantasy, paranormal romance, or—since all things medieval and magic fascinate her—fantasy romance. A member of RWA and Secretary for the FF&P special interest chapter, C. J. also has her 4^th Dan Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and believes stories should always include a gratuitous fight scene. She shares a house in Oregon with her husband, daughter, and a devoted herd of cats.     

www.cjburright.com

Facebook * Twitter * Burright's Blog * Goodreads

Author of Wonderfully Wicked, Swoon Romance

The Color of Water~

Well peeps, I've finally gone and submitted my latest novel, The Color of Water, to a publisher. It's been a long time coming!  I think the original idea for the story hit me back in 2010 while visiting the North Carolina coast. I've been working on it off and on ever since, but this last year I told myself: "Enough! This will get finished and get out there!"

If you haven't guessed, it's a paranormal, young adult tale with pirates, and ghosts, and a bit of romance. Beaufort, North Carolina - one of the three oldest towns in North Carolina - is the setting. It's perfect because the town's history and plentiful ghost stories provide a deliciously gothic, Southern location.

 

 

I don't want to give too much away since I'm currently querying it, but if I find that no one wants to publish paranormal stories right now, I'll self publish. I've worked too hard to let stuff languish unseen anymore. I write to be read. :) So stay tuned, dear reader!  The best is yet to come~