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I don't create a playlist for a book while I'm writing it. I prefer to wait until the book is done, and I can think back through the characters and how their stories unfolded. For my exclusive content, I've created this playlist of songs that remind me of the heroine, Lacey, and the relationships that change her in I Wish.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole : At the beginning of the book, Lacey feels exhausted, scared, and isolated (not unlike many of us are experiencing around the world today). This is a song I would prescribe for her so she can remember not to give up hope.

“Rather Be” by Clean Bandit : Lacey adores her 8-year-old brother, and he adores her back. Unfortunately (in her opinion) he plays soccer, which she doesn't adore. But even though the costs for him to play are straining the family budget, she shows up at every game--his biggest fan.

"Reasons I Drink" by Alanis Morrisette : Crystal, mother to Lacey and Henry, has fallen into a period of deep sadness and depression. Her inability to function forces Lacey to be the adult and to miss out on the best parts of her senior year. Crystal knows it's not fair to her daughter, but she can't simply think her way out of depression. (Although Crystal is not an alcoholic,) "Reasons I Drink" nails the pain and despair of her mental illness.

It's Nice to Have a Friend by Taylor Swift : Lacey no longer has the time to spare for friends. But the new girl at the high school, Kimberley, is too persistent to accept the word no. It's Nice to Have a Friend is a sweet song to describe how much Lacey needs her new friend.

The Bones by Maren Morris : Lacey and Eli have gone to the same high school for years, and they’ve always been friendly. But now that he's her brother's soccer coach, they're bonding over vintage Mustangs and Shakespearean sonnets and Henry.

“Break In” by Halestorm: When Grant (the "genie") arrives, he's shocked by how desperately Lacey and her family need their month of wishes. He begins the book a bit overly focused on rules, so it takes time for him to relax--and for her to trust. But eventually, they're ready to let each other break in.

Silent Night by Pentatonix : On the book's cover is a music box. Since the book ends on Christmas Day, "Silent Night" is the song that plays when the music box is opened. Here's one of my favorite versions.

Let It Be by The Beatles : While life isn't perfect for Lacey by the end of the story, she completely believes that it will get better. With all that's happening right now in the world, I'm going to end the playlist the way it began...with a song about hope.

BLogging away in the UK

I have my first blog interview as an author. Check it out. Ask questions.

http://readingawaythedays.blogspot.com/2013/02/interview-elizabeth-langston-2013-debut.html

And for the eagle-eyed among you, you have already noticed that I have a new cover. It's similar to the previous one, with the same gorgeous models. With this one, though, we've tweaked the colors and the proportions.  Woo hoo! I love this cover.

The cover saga

Whisper Falls will be getting a new cover soon. There are a lot of reasons for the change.

First, we want the cover to appeal to readers ages twelve to one hundred.  That is quite a challenge. The old cover featured two models: boy and girl.  They will appear in the new cover as well. But we've changed the boy's clothes to blend better into the woods surrounding him.  Plus the new outfit is more "modest" (and I'm not saying anything else about that. :)

Secondly, the old cover had too much of a Photo-shopped feel to it. It will look more like a straight photograph now (which I really love.)

Lastly, we want to ensure that the cover appeals to a global market. Covers that work well in the US might not work as well overseas, but with a few tweaks, we can give our cover a more universal feel.

When I signed with Spencer Hill Press, I was told that I would get solid input into the cover design.  That sounded really great at the time. Since a publishing house owns the right to design whatever cover they want, the author rarely has a say. I have other author friends whose sales have been burned by bad covers.

But having a say can also be a case of be careful what you wish for.  Many people on the Whisper Falls team voiced opinions about this cover, such as editors, the cover designer, other authors, my agents, family, and friends.  Sometimes, the opinions aligned. Sometimes they didn't.  And always, people came back to me. "What do you like?"

You know what I like? I like words. I love the book and the characters. I think about whether readers will adore this story as much as I do.  I'm not a marketing person or a book-seller.  I don't know the business end of publishing.

That is why I'm so happy to be part of a talented team.  We can all be good and wise at the things we do best.   And I can go back to writing the next book... 

There is never too much of a good thing

I have read Whisper Falls all the way through at least a dozen times.

I have written (and re-written) every word in the book, all 90,000 of them.

The characters are more familiar to me than most people I know.

And yet, I never get tired of this book. I really love the hero and heroine, the problems they face, and the solutions they discover.

I am so glad that Spencer Hill bought a trilogy, because it means I get paid to spend more time with Mark and Susanna, the heroes of Whisper Falls.  I'm in the middle of Book 2 right now—even as I'm wrapping up the final details with Book 1—and we are having a great time getting the second part of their story out.

Emails and phone calls have been zipping between here and New England (where my editors live). My daughter is primed for a quick, final review of Book 1 (which she has already read three times).  My freelancer is reading through the first draft of A Whisper In Time. The whole process is exhausting and exhilarating.

I love every minute of it!