thriller - Lynette M. Burrows

I’m delighted to present the book cover reveal for my debut novel, My Soul to Keep.

On sale: August 2018
Artist/Illustrator/Designer: Elizabeth Leggett
Publisher: Rocket Dog Publishing

ABOUT MY SOUL TO KEEP

Miranda Clarke lived a charmed life…until she broke the rules.

It is 1961 and America’s a theocracy controlled by the Fellowship and its tyrannical council of eleven men. Miranda Clarke’s family is part of the ruling elite, wealthy and privileged.

Miranda wants nothing more than to stay out of the public eye, but her power-hungry mother has different plans. She forces Miranda into an engagement to an up-and-coming Fellowship member and schemes to get Miranda’s father elected President of the United States.

To escape the arranged marriage and the repressive Fellowship, Miranda makes a break for freedom. But lurid family secrets and a dead man lands her in prison. She not only must escape prison and outwit her mother’s ruthless ambitions but avoid the deadly Azrael, the Fellowship’s enforcers who Take unbelievers.

Will Miranda survive ‘outing’ the family secrets?

Told from four different perspectives, My Soul to Keep is a spine-tingling science-fiction thriller and will be available in all your favorite online bookstores.

My Soul to Keep is the first in a series about the struggle to survive repression and violence on a personal, regional, and national level.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Elizabeth Leggett Elizabeth Leggett is a Hugo award-winning illustrator whose work focuses on soulful, human moments-in-time that combine ambiguous interpretation and curiosity with realism.

Her first paying gig was painting other student’s tennis shoes in high school. She charged $10 a single shoe and she loved it when they wanted their boyfriend or girlfriend’s name because she knew they would be back again a few weeks later!

Elizabeth has been nominated for the 2018 Chesley Award for best book cover presented by the Association of Science Fiction Artist. The winner will be announced at Worldcon xx in San Jose

Check out Elizabeth’s other art at Portico Arts Illustrations.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lynette M. Burrows writes stories of empowerment and survival spanning space and time.

Her publishing career was nearly crushed before it started when a large regional magazine rejected her 500-word children’s story. Then, a writing instructor urged her to change one word and re-submit the story. She did and that story was published by that magazine.

Since then, her children’s stories have appeared in national magazines and an anthology. When she co-authored The White Box stories with Rob Chilson, those were the longest things she’d written to date. By the time the White Box stories appeared in Analog Science fiction Science Fact magazine, Lynette’s days of short-short fiction were over. Don’t worry, she’s not writing anything that approaches the length of Game of Thrones…yet!

Lynette lives in the land of Oz (Kansas) with her artist husband and their three rocket dogs (Yorkshire Terriers).

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The live book cover reveal for My Soul to Keep occurred at ConQuesT Science Fiction Convention on Memorial Day weekend.

My Soul to Keep is currently in my copy editor’s capable hands. When she’s finished I’ll make all the necessary tweaks and send the manuscript to my proofreader. Once she’s done her magic, I’ll add the final spiff and polish. The book will be published at the end of August.

If you’d like to read more about the research and read a snippet please go to my sneak peaks and inside writing the books page.

If you don’t want to wait that long, join Burrows Insiders (see the sign-up box on the top right). You’ll get an advance copy for free with no obligation, but reviews (positive or negative) would be greatly appreciated. A written review helps the readers and the author, especially when the novel is her debut novel. *grin* Thank you in advance.

Please share your thoughts and reactions to my book cover reveal in the comments below.

I thought it might be fun to share some of the past technologies and images that inspired or were described in my soon-to-be-published novel. My Soul To Keep is the story of a young woman who escapes her sheltered life and discovers personal, social, and political wrongs that must be righted. It takes place in the United States but in an alternate history. I had fun combing historical vehicles, communications, manufactured goods, and fashion. I had fun finding things rarely seen today. This is a small sample from My Soul to Keep.

Autogiro (or Autogyro)

Autogiro, 9 things rarely seen today, Lynette M Burrows

The autogiro is an aircraft with an unpowered horizontally rotating propeller that provides lift. It uses a powered, conventional propeller for forward propulsion. Created in the 1920s by Juan de la Cierva, a Spanish engineer, as a safe, low speeds aircraft. The Cierva Autogiro Company trademarked the term autogiro. Forcing other companies to use terms like Gyrocopter, gyroplane, and rotaplane.

An autogiro was the first aircraft to take off and land on a ship. It requires a runway to take off but has a very short or zero landing roll.

Costing less than a helicopter, Autogiros are not common, but in use all over the world. Used in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, they also are used by police and military across the globe.

Photo by Agustin Ruzafa (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Hudson Hornet

The Hudson Motor Car Company, founded in 1909, became the eleventh-largest American car company. The Hudson’s peak was in 1929. Unfortunately, the Hudson could not recover from the Great Depression. Learn More.

Photo by duggar11 (Duncan, OK Car Show, 1951 Hudson Hornet) [CC BY 2.0(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Burma Shave Signs

Burma Shave was an American brand of shaving cream first introduced in 1925. The Burma-Shave sign series first appeared on U.S. Highway 65 near Lakeville, Minnesota, in 1926. It remained a major advertising component along highways in the continental U.S. until 1963. Learn More.

Photo courtesy of Carol M. Highsmith [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Public Phone Booths

According to Time the first “telephone cabinet” was patented in 1883. The place of installation is unknown but thought to have been in high-dollar hotels.

The first patent for a coin-operated public phone was in 1889. This device was improved upon and adopted by phone companies across the world. Outdoor public phone booths first appeared in the 1900s. They weren’t common until the 1950s when glass and aluminum construction replaced wood.

Sadly, with the advent of the cellular phone, most U.S. public phones booths have been removed and destroyed or re-purposed.

Photo by DanTD (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Mimeograph Machine

The Mimeograph was a low-cost duplicator. You typed or used a specialized stencil to write information on the stencil paper. The typewriter keys removed a portion of the paper, making that section of the paper permeable. Paper was fed between the roller and an impression drum to force ink through the stencil. The ink had a distinct odor and often stained your hands. We called the paper copies “Dittos.” Learn More.

SLR Cameras

Photo by Kotivalo (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

Elvis Presley, Gospel Singer

Elvis received his first guitar, a gift from his mother, on his eleventh birthday. Gospel music was an important early musical influence. He won three Grammys for his Gospel albums and was posthumously inducted into the Gospel Music Association’s Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Learn More.

Dotted Swiss Party Dress

Dotted Swiss is a sheer cotton fabric embellished with small dots. It’s often used in baby clothes, wedding dresses (currently), and curtains. My character’s dress is similar to the vintage dress pictured here, though with a more modest neckline.

Photo courtesy of kimvintage on Etsy.

Pillbox Hats

The pillbox hat, invented in the 1930s, is a small woman’s hat with a flat crown, straight sides, and no brim. Pillboxes were made out of animal furs, wool, and organdy among many other fabrics. According to Wikipedia, its precursor was military headgear and is named after small cylindrical or hexagonal boxes that pills were sold in. Learn More.

Tag: thriller

Book Cover Reveal: My Soul to Keep