As for the status I am STILL waiting on my slow poke brother, but then I have three betas lined up – YAY!
Okay, so I posted a thumbnail the other day, but it was just a thumbnail and it wasn’t labeled “official”. So, here is the *official* version:
While the tagline is a bit of a spoiler, my thought was, “If you’ve read page one of Shades of Gray you already KNOW he’s dead, so it’s not going to come as a surprise. If you haven’t read Shades of Gray yet then maybe you should…”
Or maybe not. The writing style is different and I’m not one hundred percent sure it’s going to cross over as well. It’s written more like the short stories than the novels.
And on that note, here’s the *official* synopsis (unless I get suggestions and/or randomly change it) :
Before Katelina found love in the arms of her vampire Jorick, there was another man, a human.
When Patrick’s missing brother Michael returns, he brings with him a world of night and blood. Turned into a vampire against his will, Michael is kept as a whipping boy by the coven and begs Patrick to kill his tormentors. Reluctantly, Patrick investigates their creepy mansion. He is captured and claimed as a slave who straddles two worlds: one of light and one of dark.
Hoping to escape their servitude, the brothers find help from the mysterious Jorick, who promises sanctuary if they help destroy the coven. Forced from one unspeakable act to another, Patrick seeks redemption in alcohol, drugs, and the comfortless arms of strangers. When his two worlds collide in a scene of brutal violence, he realizes that he must forsake the light until he is free of the darkness.
Then Patrick meets Katelina. Though he knows he shouldn’t, it isn’t long before he’s falling in love. To be with her, he’s ready to step up his fight for freedom. But, all victories come with a price, and the cost of this one could be his sanity and his very life.
The dark, emotional prequel to Shades of Gray plunges into a black abyss of anger, misery and despair without the promise of a happy ending. As with all prequels, Patrick is a spoiler-filled look at what came before and just may be the blackest of all the Amaranthine tales.
So what do you think? Love it? Hate it? Too long? Too short? How about the cover? Yes, I like to hear opinions!
Amaranthine by Joleene Naylor 
Roger
/ September 3, 2012Having read all of your posts, I know more or less what’s happening. This is a little complicated. I know you haven’t the time to explain it all, or it will become too long. Perhaps you might concentrate on one or two characters, hinting that more are there in equal peril.
Joleene Naylor
/ September 3, 2012Thanks!
Sue
/ September 3, 2012the cover is fine. the synopsis not so much but my head isn’t there to fix it. It can be more succinct that I do know
Joleene Naylor
/ September 3, 2012Yeah, this is the long version for the back of the paperback – I’ll have to do shorter ones for Amazon and smashwords – I start long and whittle down 😉
Ascension For You
/ September 3, 2012I like the cover Jo, bit of color in it and Patrick looks a cool ‘dude’ i guess! I would shorten the synopsis a bit i think … the last paragraph really is ‘focused’ / great … maybe condence and try to mirror this with whats above it ‘ somehow’ eeekk. Bloody hard sometimes to do i know!! Good luck! D
Joleene Naylor
/ September 3, 2012Thanks! 🙂
DM Yates
/ September 4, 2012I like the cover. It shows Patrick as you’ve described him. Sorry, I’m not good at short descriptions, since I over do words, so can’t help there.
I’ll say one thing, though. Katelina traded up! lol But then, that’s a given…
Joleene Naylor
/ September 11, 2012LOL! Yeah, i like Patrick but I wouldn’t marry him! Jorick, on the other hand…
Sue
/ September 11, 2012Don’t think I would marry J either, but he can come visit anytime (I’ll just tell Gid I have a headache)
Joleene Naylor
/ September 11, 2012LOL! i am sort of married to J already. he and my hubby have a lot in common, though i did not do that on purpose….
Sue
/ September 11, 2012what do they have in common?? Gid has nothing to do with Bernie which is why I invented him 😀
amy owen
/ September 4, 2012Love the cover! I also agree that the synopsis is a bit long. However, I looking forward to a dark story! I always did wonder exactly what those two boys got up to that caused all the trouble to begin with! And I usually HATE prequels 🙂
Joleene Naylor
/ September 11, 2012Thanks! I usually hate prequels, too, which is why i put this one off for so long, but he’s been yelling for one since I started writing book 2, LOL!
Sue
/ September 11, 2012they can really be a pain in the ass, characters that is, they nag and nag and then when I want to talk to them they clam up
Joleene Naylor
/ September 11, 2012yes! K & J are doing that now. i am only to the middle of chapter two on HoR…. *sigh*
Juli Hoffman
/ September 5, 2012Cover turned out well. I love the detail of your Amaranthine cross peaking out on the back of his hoodie.
Of the two, I like the second synopsis better, the one you posted Tues? The shorter one. I don’t think it ruins anything by warning people that Patrick’s going to die. You’ve got four books already that mention his death, plus it’s mentioned in some of your short stories. Cat’s out of the bag. 🙂 “Dead men do tell tales” is a fitting catch phrase.
Joleene Naylor
/ September 11, 2012Thanks! Yeah, I figure that if by the off chance they don’t know maybe it’s better to warn them as a lot of people don’t like unhappy endings… 😉