My New and Improved Book from the Ashes of a Closed Publisher

By Dusty Crabtree

Shadow Eyes Re-Release Blog Tour and $50 Amazon Card Giveaway

I’m so thrilled to finally be re-releasing my young adult, urban fantasy, Shadow Eyes! It was first released in 2012 by Musa Publishing. Musa closed in 2015, and since Shadow Eyes was my first novel, I took the opportunity to revise and change a few minor things before self-publishing it this time. I am very happy with this second version and I hope you will love it too!

(Everyone, don’t forget to enter click the rafflecopter for a chance to win a print copy of Shadow Eyes and a $50 gift card to Amazon!)

Let’s check out the improved synopsis for Shadow Eyes first…

Iris thought she could ignore the shadows…until they came after everyone she loved.

Seventeen-year- old Iris Kohl has been able to see both dark and light figures ever since a tragic incident three years ago. The problem is, no one else seems to see them, and even worse…the dark figures terrorize humans, but Iris is powerless to stop them. 

Although she’s learned to deal with watching shadows harass everyone around her, Iris is soon forced to question everything she thinks she knows about her world and herself. Her sanity, strength, and will power are tested to the limits by not only the shadows, but also a handsome new teacher whose presence scares away shadows, a new friend with an awe-inspiriting aura, and a mysterious, alluring new student whom Iris has a hard time resisting despite already having a boyfriend. As the shadows invade and terrorize her own life and family, Iris must ultimately accept the guidance of an angel to revisit the most horrific event of her life and become the hero she was meant to be.

What does New and Improved Really Mean?

You may be wondering why I bothered to make changes to my novel instead of just re-releasing it right away. The answer is pretty simple, really…it was my first novel. Am I a pro at writing now? Hardly. But after finishing the sequel and working with a stellar editor, I learned so much that I wish I would have known as I’d written the first book. I always told myself that if I had the chance somehow, I would revise it and put out a second edition. Little did I know at the time that I’d get that wish, just not in the way I would have liked.

As often happens in the cutthroat world of online publishing, my young publishing company had to close its doors. As a result, I was left with the rights to my novel to do with whatever I wanted to do. Instead of seeking a publisher right away, I got to work first! I took all the tips my editor had given me and some of the constructive criticism I’d gotten in a few reviews and polished away until the novel shined!

Other than wording and flow, one thing I changed (probably the biggest change) is that one of the main characters, Patrick, shows up way earlier than in the first edition. That had always been an issue for me, even after it was published through Musa. He’s such an important character, but for reasons only the younger version of me could understand, he didn’t show up for several chapters in the first edition.

I’m still learning as a young author, but I am truly happy with this finished product and am excited to continue the series and get it out there. The sequel has been done for a while and needs its moment to shine too! 

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Dusty Crabtree loves a good story, but she also loves young people. These two loves are evident in all parts of her life. She has been a high school English teacher since 2006 and a creative writing teacher since 2014. She's also been a youth sponsor at her local church for as long as she’s been teaching. She feels very blessed with the amazing opportunities she has to develop meaningful relationships with teens on a daily basis. With her love of reading in the mix, becoming an author of young adult books was just a natural development of those two passions in her life. She lives with her husband, Clayton, in Yukon, Oklahoma, where they often serve their community as foster parents. Check out Dusty’s blog at http://dustycrabtree.wordpress.com/

Find her on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Dusty-Crabtree-266681443395939/

Follow her on twitter at https://twitter.com/dustycrabtree

Follow her on Instagram – dustycrabtree12

Check out Shadow Eyes on Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15733491-shadow-eyes?ac=1&from_search=true

View the book trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7UP9A0Fm78

Buy Shadow Eyes on Amazon or any major online bookstores

Paranormal for Young Adults Readers -Inspire

By Dusty Crabtree

Being a high school English teacher and youth sponsor at my church, I get to use my passion for teens on a daily basis, investing in their lives, trying to be a good role model and mentor to them, and oftentimes just being their friend. A few years ago, a friend suggested I write a novel like the paranormal YA books about angels we’d been reading, and I discovered a whole new medium where I could funnel not only my passion for teens, but also my creativity: writing fiction! I loved every minute of writing my young adult urban fantasy, Shadow Eyes, and I am thoroughly enjoying writing the sequel as well.

But the best part isn’t the writing. It’s hearing from readers who tell me that they loved my book, that reading it has given them a different perspective about the world around them, or that they cried because of the powerful ending. My goal is to change lives with this book series, whether subtly by influencing the way people see their world, or substantially by giving people hope when they feel there is none. I truly believe reading can change lives like that. I just feel honored to be a part of the whole process.

So where did the idea for Shadow Eyes come from? Obviously, it has a little to do with angels, but, strangely enough, the idea actually first came to me as a screenplay for a Christian horror movie, if there ever was such a genre. The movie would have been about a cast of intertwined characters going about their lives and making mistakes with dark, creepy shadows (demons) hovering around them, whispering to them, and influencing them to do evil things. Only the audience would see the shadows. The characters would be completely oblivious. After my friend’s suggestion, I immediately thought back to that screenplay idea and tweaked it until I had the basic concept of Shadow Eyes – a 17-year-old girl who had this special ability to see the shadows and light figures when nobody else could.

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"I live with my husband, Clayton, in Yukon, Oklahoma, where we often serve our community as foster parents. Apart from the obvious reading and writing, I also enjoy serving on the praise team and drama team at church and watching movies. My favorite movies so far are Inception, Avatar, Miracle, and October Sky, and my favorite books are the Hunger Game trilogy and the Hush Hush series."

Dusty’s blog  http://dustycrabtree.wordpress.com/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/dusty.crabtree.1

Twitter https://twitter.com/dustycrabtree

View the book trailer at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7UP9A0Fm78