What I’ve Been Up To
I realize there has been a bit of silence on my website and social media the past few months. Truth be told, there’s been a lot going on, from school to writing to administrative book things:
January + Early February
I started my last semester of college, while also going through several iterations of content for this upcoming sequel. I have a ton of people to thank for bearing with me and giving me feedback through this process:
- My awesome Marketing and Revising Editor, Faiqa Zafar, who has been incredible in feedback and helping me stay on track with all of my edits and administrative tasks.
- My wonderful boyfriend, for spending many late nights to help me refine the details and narrative of this book, and the patience he had with me along the way.
- My supportive parents, for reading it over and helping me make sure the book would accurately represent aspects of history and the old country, as my ancestors would have lived it.
- My stellar beta readers and all of the helpful insights they have given me: Alice, Benny, Bradley, Polina, Kayla, Shreya, Leah, and Nika.
February
Most of February was dedicated to the little things: going over my manuscript several times over to ensure that every single detail was intentional and made sense, as well as to iron out grammatical details, in between sending and receiving edits from my publishing company’s copyediting and proofreading departments. The manuscript writing has been finished and is out of my hands now – so it’s all layout and administrative things going forward!
March
This month, in addition to the midterms before and after my spring break, has been spent catching a break from edits, while also handling several administrative things for this book and my brand:
- Updating my website to make it more user-friendly
- Coming up with new merch designs (see later in this post)
- Working on my cover design
- I’m psyched to be working with the same team I did last year, who I credit with the amazing cover of the first book. I can’t wait to see and share the final product!
New Merchandise Alert!
As previously mentioned, since I had a bit of time for creative endeavors over my spring break, I’ve come up with a new design that I recently added to my RedBubble shop – a quote from one of Otra’s chapters in the first book, where the femme fatale trope meets her match – click here to check out more products with this design!
I hope you like it, and I am planning to make more designs like these in the future – if you have any requests or feedback, I would love to hear it: email me at nadina@nadinapopoviciu.com!
What To Expect Next
As previously mentioned, I’m currently working with my team on administrative things, while doing what I can (in the time I’m not spending studying) to prepare for this next round of content:
- The cover design for this sequel, In the Frigid Ruins, is currently in progress – it looks great so far, and as soon as my team and I finish refining and finalizing it, I’ll be sure to share it with you!
- Books are still available for pre-order, and will be until April 30th – head over to my shop on this website to put in your orders for this sequel now, before it’s too late! Some things to keep in mind:
- Since I will be publishing with Amazon Direct Publishing, and sending it to myself to sign personally, there will be a delay, and those who pre-order signed paperbacks will be expected to receive those in mid-to-late May.
- Given that this is the first year I’m using WooCommerce, there have been a few technical difficulties. If you have any trouble at all with navigating the shop or checkout pages, let me know via the feedback button or email me at nadina@nadinapopoviciu.com with your concerns!
- In particular, make sure you get an email confirming your pre-order – if not, the order might not have gone through.
- One lucky person who pre-orders in paperback will be randomly selected to win a goody bag, filled with A Return to the Ashes merchandise, to be delivered with their pre-ordered book!
- All proceeds go to cover shipping and publishing costs – which involve editors and cover designers to make sure my book is the best quality it can be for you!
- After the release in early May, my book will be available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and any online retailer!
- New merchandise that you can use in your everyday life, with cool new designs!
- New characters and kingdoms in this sequel, as well as new perspectives, including those of:
- Vitor, Assistant to Midstad, the central Allied City of Lebiros
- Kenric, Prince of Apasia
- Dragan, Second Prince of Marestra
- An anonymous Princess, to be fleshed out more as you read on 🙂
If you have any questions, or if you would like me to elaborate more on the process behind writing, publishing, or designing, or on the characters and themes I continue to explore in this series, comment below and let me know!
How To Support!
As previously mentioned, you can support this broke college student through:
- Buying my first book, A Return to the Ashes, through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your local retailer, as a paperback or eBook
- Pre-ordering the sequel, In the Frigid Ruins, on my website
- Subscribing to my blog for updates
- Following my pages on Facebook and Instagram
- Buying merchandise from my RedBubble shop
- Giving me feedback on how I can better my content or website for your consumption!
Thanks for all the support you’ve shown so far, and I look forward to giving you more updates!