Line Edits, Cover News, & Other Updates

I just wrapped up the latest revision stage for In the Shadow of Blackbirds, a process called line edits. My editor, Maggie Lehrman at Amulet Books/Abrams, went through the entire manuscript and commented about any actions or dialogue that didn't seem quite right, cleaned up awkward words and phrases, and addressed plot issues that still needed some work. Her notes were brilliant. I'm so thankful to be working with Maggie.

It was an intense process, especially with the colorful array of tracking changes showing all our edits throughout the document. But I'm extremely glad this stage exists. When you're writing a historical novel that involves a mystery, cleaning up plot holes and anachronisms is essential.

Toward the end of these revisions, I received a lovely surprise in my inbox: A peek at my cover art.

Gorgeous. 
Unique. 
Perfect!

That's all I can say about the cover for now, but I will share it as soon as I'm able. To ensure you don't miss out, sign up for my monthly newsletter (launching this fall) at http://www.catwinters.com/p/newsletter.html. You can also subscribe to my posts in the right sidebar of this page.

Other August news:

•  I'm a contributor at WriteOnCon, an online writer's conference that starts tomorrow (August 14 & 15). I'm giving writing advice, along with other members of The Lucky 13s.
• Later this month I'm being interviewed about the setting of In the Shadow of Blackbirds. I'll post a link as soon as that feature is live.

Many more updates are yet to come. I hope everyone is enjoying the summer! Don't suffer too much Olympics withdrawal.