Too early?

  Okay, be honest, doesn't my baby blue pop in that crowd?  
  The answer to both questions is a resounding yes. Apologies to those fantastic authors for my audacity. I wanted, if only for a moment, to see what Salted looked like on the shelf amongst these fantasy icons.  
  In case you are still wondering, I received my first ever print proof in the mail last night. Ahh! It's hard to share these moments with my Midwest family and friends since I live in Cali now. That's why I recorded the unveiling! Hit the click more option to view it. Enjoy! :)

  And this is what I did right after I stopped recording. (Sorry. Can't get enough of this video!)

  Only after I stopped happy dancing did I realize, Geesh, Galv, you didn't even show them the back cover. Idiot!

  So here it is. Isn't she a beauty?
  I swear that I could plop this book on a shelf at Barnes & Noble and none would be any the wiser.
 In fact...hmm...might be a fun experiment. Hehe. I won't be doing it with this book though. This is the proof copy. The first one hot off the press.
 My buddy Greg Sidelnik really nailed the design, wouldn't you agree? I would also be remiss for not mentioning the beautiful cover photo taken by Kyle McBurnie. Did I mention Kyle won the 2013 National Geographic Best Underwater Pictures contest?

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  Yeah. Both of those guys are pretty much rockstars. 

 Speaking of rockstars, how about these chapter headings? 
  Yep. Those ripples you see...waves.
  Might seem a simple thing to some of you, but I would've never thought to include it. All thanks on that go to Valerie Bellamy, my book designer and formatter.
 You see, I subscribe to that old quote, If you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room.
  That's why I surrounded myself with the geniuses I've mentioned here today. This book could not have existed without their help. (Plus, my editors, Annetta Ribken and Jennifer Wingard). :)

  We're only 8 days away from the release of Salted. 8 Days! Ahhh! For those of you who have asked, you'll be able to buy the print version you've just seen above through Amazon. Links to come soon. 
  The print version will be sold for $12.99. Apologies for the higher cost. It was the lowest price I could set to receive a royalty ($0.07) from expanded distribution (i.e.-bookstore orders, libraries, etc.). HOWEVER, if you're so kind to buy a print copy, I've set it up so you receive the Kindle version free! Why? Because you're all that awesome and deserve it. 
  Those of you looking for the ebook ($3.99) can buy from Amazon for your Kindle, or click here for various formats (iBooks, Nook, pdf, etc). A great thing about Smashwords is you can preorder and receive the ebook as soon as it goes live next Thursday.
  Okay, a few last items and then I'm off to work on the sequel. (Already have 10k words written! Huzzah!)
  First, congrats to Renee Russell, winner of this past week's ARC giveaway! :)
  I also want to thank all of you who participated by listing your favorite marine animal. I really enjoyed reading and learning more about animals you love. Who knows, you might even find some of them in Salted. :)
  As for this week's giveaway, holding the print version in my hands has me awfully excited. I've decided rather than give out another ARC version, I should send some lucky winner a personalized, autographed print copy! Be stoked. Or at least fake it, for my sake. 
  I'm going to hold off on the requirements for eligibility on that giveaway until the beginning of next week. Keep a lookout!
  Our second bit of news is that Salted has received several more rave reviews. Those of you interested in reading them can click the links here, here, and here. I also have an interview that goes live Easter Sunday so keep a lookout for that link. In fact, if you ever want to find all the reviews, interviews, guest posts, etc. in one place, scroll on up to my SALTED heading at the top of my website and hover over it. It should show you a subpage containing all Salted related news. There should be a lot more coming up in the near future.
  My last bit isn't really news. It's one of thanks. You people continually amaze me. The emails, phone calls, and texts have really kept me going these past weeks. It's been a crazy few years getting to this point. I'm beyond excited to share the release day and many more exciting things to come with all of you. Till next time! :)