Maribeth Barber Albritton

“Ladies and gents, this is the moment you’ve waited for.”

When I started writing Operation Lionhearted five years ago, I never would’ve dreamed I’d have such a beautiful front cover. Heck, I wasn’t even thinking about what a front cover would look like! I certainly never would’ve imagined I’d have such an amazing experience working with a designer…or that I’d have so many excited friends waiting to see it!

Which is why I won’t delay any longer.

Ready?

Set?

GO.

Isn’t it beautiful?! Lindy looks equal parts determined and introspective–and as far as her actual looks go, she’s exactly as I envisioned her! The sash at her waist practically shimmers, and while the city behind her looks weary and war-torn, there’s hope in the sunrise. And yes, if you’ve been following my lead-up posts on Instagram/Facebook/Twitter, then you know there’s some sort of significance to Lindy’s little bee-shaped pendant.

But what that significance might be, exactly…well, now you’re getting into spoiler territory 😉

I can’t go any further without giving a massive shout-out to my designer, Josh Griffin. When I found his Reedsy Marketplace portfolio, I was immediately intrigued not just by his art style, but by the way he enthusiastically proclaimed his longtime love for “a good story” and for “art with the kind of ‘imaginative realism’ that looks real, yet seems to breathe with a life that a photograph cannot.”

Working with Josh was amazing. He was so friendly, communicative, and open to any requests or suggestions I had regarding the cover. He met every deadline, and when I asked him to make one last-minute change to the back cover on Friday, he whipped it up in no time. He even read the manuscript! He knew Lindy well enough to accurately convey both her physical adventure and her character development.

In short, Josh is a wonderful artist and a great colleague–10/10 would recommend. And on that note, I highly recommend Reedsy Marketplace to all my writer friends, too. What a great resource for authors and freelancers alike!

BUT THE EXCITING NEWS DOESN’T END THERE:

• The Operation Lionhearted ebook is now available for preorder! Elisabeth Grace Foley (whose formatting services I also highly recommend!) did a fantastic job of preparing the novel for Kindle. It’s so elegant and crisp! The paperback version won’t be available till the actual release date, but Kindle readers can go ahead and secure their copies early for a discounted price of $2.99.
• Operation Lionhearted is now on Goodreads…which means that if you have a Goodreads account and you’re an ARC reader, you can leave your review here! If you’d rather wait till the book is officially released so you can leave a review on Amazon, that’s fine–but even a few stars on Goodreads go a long way 🙂
• Last but not least, The Operation Lionhearted Blog Tour begins on Monday, October 4! Here is a lovely graphic announcing all the dates and participating blogs:

Whew…that’s all I have for you today, but it’s a lot, haha. I can’t wait to hear what y’all think about the cover!