Category: News

Excellent news, folks! It is my extreme pleasure to announce that the trade paperback version of Ministers of Grace: Cherubim & Seraphim is now available!

You can get your very own printed-on-demand copy at Amazon.com and CreateSpace. The list price is US $11.99, Amazon’s selling it for $10.54, and during the month of July, if you enter in the discount code 9WS6N4TX at the CreateSpace site, you’ll get $2 off and pay a fresh $9.99. After you’ve read it, you can help me get the word out by telling all your friends about it through social media like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or Google+, or even the good ol’ “I read this great book, it was…” conversation over lunch. You can also spread the word by heading over to the book’s page at Amazon, Goodreads or Shelfari and leaving me an honest review of the book. I made it through a graduate creative writing program; I can take a bad review. This is the beach read you’ve been pining for. Order your copy now!

I am also elated to announce that there were two winners of the June Contest Giveaway – Eloïse Le Magnen and Lesley Wickham. Eloïse picked June 27th, and Lesley chose July 1st. As the book was technically available on the evening of June 27th but not announced until July 1st, I’ve decided that both of them get a signed copy. Thank you to everyone who participated. Early next week I’ll announce the details of the July Contest Giveaway, in which you can enter to win a free signed copy. If you’d like a head start on the details, check out this post I wrote last week on Keys.

Now, on to some not-so-excellent-but-still-pretty-cool news. Many folks want an electronic version, of course. Due to circumstances beyond my control – insert (>_<) face here – the electronic conversion is going to take three weeks to complete. (>_<), right? That said, the Kindle version will be available on July 23rd, 2013, with further electronic formats to open up in August 2013. Keep your eyes peeled for the official announcements on those.

On a personal note, the publication of this first book in the Ministers of Grace trilogy is a ginormous moment in a journey that I began three-and-a-half years ago. I’ve already written the other two books, and now they’re barking at me to redraft them so that they can join their sister in print. Here’s to ’14 and ’15? I want everyone I’ve ever met to know that I couldn’t have done this without the limitless love and support of my family and friends. I’m honored that you all believed in me enough to share this with you. Thank you, all of you!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ EAB

Ministers of Grace: Cherubim & Seraphim
Available at Amazon.com and CreateSpace
Publication Date: June 27, 2013
ISBN/EAN13: 1480257672 / 9781480257672
LCCN: 2012921094
Page Count: 242
Binding Type: US Trade Paper
Trim Size: 6″ x 9″
Language: English
Color: Black and White
Related Categories: Juvenile Fiction / Science Fiction, Fantasy, Magic

The proof arrived!!! Can you see that I still can’t believe it?

Right now, there’s one last editorial job: go through the text one last time to clear up any inconsistencies. Then it’ll be done. Hallelujah!

At the moment, I am figuratively jumping up and down with joy. Why? I received word that a physical proof of the book is on its way to me right this instant, meaning that the real live actual publication date is coming! It’ll take them a bit to apply a change here and there after I send it back, but as far as I know, I’m still on track for pushing the button on everything next month. Please stay tuned for the precise date that the book will be available.

In the meantime, I’ve also started a page for it on Goodreads. If you’re into the Goodreads thing, I’d be thrilled if you would please add my book to your To Read list.

Thanks for your patience, folks! Happy Friday!

♥ EAB

I’ve got news, folks. Ministers of Grace: Cherubim & Seraphim is finally with the last proofreader who’ll ever lay eyes upon it. The manuscript will be back in my hot little hands early next week, which means that I’ll be able to announce an official release date for it sometime this month.

On a side note, the following came up in conversation this week…

When I was a highly impressionable German student twenty years ago, I was treated to my first screening of Der Himmel über Berlin/Wings of Desire. Its very essence has stuck with me ever since, to the extent that my initial impressions of it mark a starting point in regards to my fascination with angels in European art and literature.

According to the soundtrack by Jürgen Knieper, this scene is entitled “Die Kathedrale der Bücher,” which literally translates to the Cathedral of Books. It’s evocative of some of Rilke’s musings about angels, providing an answer to the question posed in the first lines of the Duino Elegies:

Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel
Ordnungen?

Who, if I cried out, would hear me from the Orders of the Angels?

More to come very soon. Thank you for your patience with me.

♥ EAB

There’s a perfect word somewhere for what I’m feeling, but it keeps getting pushed out of my head. I’ll give a crack at describing it:

I’m overwhelmed
and overjoyed
and astonished
and astounded
and floored
and totally, completely overcome with gratitude.

So many incredible people have been unbelievably generous over the last four weeks. Their actions have plunged me into speechlessness many, many times over since I first announced this project on September 21st. I asked for $3,500, and my backers pledged $4,269. Thank you, all of you.

My gratitude isn’t limited to those who put up cash and passed around hats, although if I could, I’d conjure some sort of fairy to make all their wishes come true for at least a day. I’m massively grateful to the many who shared the link on Facebook, Twitter and email to spread the word. I’ll also never forget all the efforts of the various cheerleaders who offered love and support without limitation.

Ministers of Grace is going to be in print. I toiled on the entire trilogy for forty to eighty hours a week, seven days a week, over a seventeen-month period with only a scattering of breaks and holidays. I never thought I’d have the opportunity or summon the discipline to put it to the page, and now, with the assistance of all these fantastic benefactors, it’s going to be a reality.

Please stay tuned. The plan is to have the book out in early 2013 and all the donor rewards sent out by the end of March. You can get a taste of the cover read: rough mock-up if you scroll down. You can also check out and like the new page I’ve created for it on Facebook to get updates in your Live Feed.

I literally couldn’t have done this without you. Thank you. And thank you again. And thank you over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over

♥♥♥♥♥ EAB ♥♥♥♥♥

UPDATE: There have been some queries regarding the cover. It’s based on Le mort du fossoyeur/La mort et le fossoyeur (The Death of the Gravedigger/Death and the Gravedigger) by Carlos Schwabe. I’ve discovered two different names for the painting depending upon the source. I designed it with the help of Photoshop.