The Year Of Lightning!!!


Once upon a time… there was a nerdy writer girl who didn't have any friends on twitter:

Nerdy scared girl.

But then she met a friend who was super nice and had the same writerly aspirations/interests as her. (Wanting to take over the universe by using orbital death rays, inventing cake vending machines, respect for evil overlords who executed rebels… yanno, the usual)

Yay Friends!

The two became great friends and even beta read for each other. The girl had beta read some scary books in her day, so she was relieved when her friend had real talent. 



The friends even went to fun conferences together and plotted how some day they would be successful authors and teach classes on world-building, perseverance, and how to turn normal words into slang by adding apostrophes. 


Aside from writing, these two friends were like-minded in other ways. Like how they felt about sports:


Or the questions about ninjas that kept them up at night:


Then something fabulous happened. The girl's friend signed a three-book-deal with Jolly Fish Press and she was SO happy she got to reveal his cover on her blog!!! 


Cue cover reveal:



Amazon Pre-order link

Ryan is holding a contest! If you want to participate, here are the rules:


How would you fight a lightning storm? In one paragraph, tell us exactly how youd do it, and dont hold back! Get as crazy/silly/stupid/super-tough as you want. The sky is literally the limit. Well pick a winner from each participating blog, and I will send each winner a package containing an awesome secret clue to the central mystery in THE YEAR OF LIGHTNING. 

Thank you, Ryan, for letting me be part of your cover reveal. You're a wonderful friend and I'm so excited for your success!!! 

Red. Head. Out. :) 

47 comments

  1. So fun, Morgan. The pics rock. lol And congrats to Ryan. As for the lightning thing ... um, I have no idea. I think I'd probably end up being toast.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Congratulations, Ryan!
    I'd fight a lightning storm in a Cosbolt. No wait! I'd fight it with the Dragon. That ship would win every time.
    Ninjas in business suits? The horror...

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is such a wonderful post. Congrats Ryan. The cover is very cool. I would fight the storm, of course, by holding up a giant lightening rod. That would work, right?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ha ha ha - I love you Morgan :) And I love this post. Also, wouldn't cake vending machines be awesome?????

    Congrats, Ryan, on your amazing cover! I love everything about it!

    As for how to fight a lighting storm ... I think that would require a special kind of plane where you'd have to try to capture it from the clouds before it could kill a bunch of people on the earth. Like those pirate ship/plane thingies in Stardust. I could totally be a lighting pirate.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Awesome cover indeed. You both may need to work out a bit though, those stick man bodies are rather thin, that can't be healthy lol

    Fight a lightning storm? Pffft, why fight it? Just hand a lightning rod to the unsuspecting stranger beside you and walk away really fast.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I bet they have cake vending machines in Japan.
    They might even have lightning vending machines in Japan...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Morgan, you crack me up :) The pictures here totally made me giggle! And massive congrats to Ryan--this looks awesome!! (And I'll be honest, no fighting lightening storms here. I hide, tyvm ;)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ahahahahahaha! Hysterical and SO adorably Morgan. Super happy for Ryan! What a nice guy he is, and so deserving. <3

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a funny, neat post!
    Congrats, Ryan. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I am laughing so hard right now!!! These pictures are hilarious!!! Awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ok I've been thinking long and hard about this and I've come up with my way to fight lightening.......first I would spend years chasing lightening storms to try to capture a small piece of lightening....(I guess I'd keep it in a jar or something) Then I would study that piece of lightening until I knew every single detail about it. Then I would create a crazy mad weapon that could break down and destroy lightening! THEN I would spend another ten years or so (give or take) to invent a time stopping device where I could freeze time!!! Then I would take that device and start chasing lightening storms and when I'd find one I would stop time just as a lightening bolt would hit and THEN I would take out my crazy cool lightening weapon (let's call it the lightening rod of death!) and I would obliviate that single flash of lightening and move on to the next and the next and spend the rest of my years destroying all lightening until there were none to be found.....dun dun dun!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. This is the best thing that has ever existed, and that includes bacon and cupcakes. You are awesome, Morgan :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love these reviews/cover reveals of yours. So fun and so creative.

    You want to know how I'd fight a lightning storm? I'd seduce it. I'd make eyes at it, bat my eyelashes, act interested... but then when it looks my way I quickly glance away. Play hard to get. Then, when he's about to give up, I show a little ankle. Yeah, you like that ankle, don't you? The lightning storm is powerless to my charm. We date. We get married. We have a few kids. We buy a house in Arizona. We spend 50 years in marital bliss, and then when he retires from his job at the factory we move to a beachhouse in Florida. And on the lightning storm's death bed, just before he takes his final breath... I tell him that I never loved him at all.

    And then he goes to his death knowing that his entire life was a lie.

    ReplyDelete
  14. My favorite part was the slangin' generator... made me laugh out loud! I was about to present my idea for world lightenin' domination, but Beckee's plan of obliviatin' was way better, and certainly more practical, and realistic than what I could have come up with so I'll just be peacin' out.

    ReplyDelete
  15. What a fantastic narrative for this cover reveal post, Morgan!

    j. //

    ReplyDelete
  16. Morg,

    This has got to be one of THE MOST ORIGINAL and fun Cover reveals I have ever read!!!!! Such fun. You certainly put a smile on this old guy's face... I needed this today more than you can possibly imagine...

    The Dementors have swooped into Chicago and have been here for two days now. I can't see more than ten feet out my windows and the temps are in the low 50's. Isn't this May?

    CONGRATS to Ryan! I am not familiar with his work, so I look forward to leaning more about his book. If I had an once of creativity left in me, I'd love to do this contest. Hopefully the Dementors will leave soon....

    ReplyDelete
  17. Loved the pictures! And the cover is awesome! Congrats to Ryan!

    ReplyDelete
  18. How would I fight a lightning storm? I would use my Harry Potter wand and shrink it, sending it special delivery to the last editor who rejected me! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Thanks for all your kind words, I really appreciate it. I'm excited to give away some cool stuff!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Your post is so funny, and I LOVE that cover! Big congrats to Ryan on his cover and 3-book deal! I'm sure some of his sparkle will rub off on you and you'll have your own deal to crow about soon. Have a great week! :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. All cover reveals should be this funny. ^_^ And the cover looks great! Congrats to Mr. Dalton.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Congrats, Ryan! This is such a creative cover reveal. How would I fight a lightning storm? I don't fight the lightning storm, the lightning storm fights me. Boom! :)

    ReplyDelete
  23. Morgan, I'm glad I stopped by. Great pics that made my crazy morning full of aughs.

    ReplyDelete
  24. What an awesome and unique cover reveal. So glad you two met and you got to be such great friends. Clearly you have a lot in common. The Year of Lightning sounds really interesting and the cover is great! Thanks for sharing and wishing Ryan the best of luck! :)
    ~Jess

    ReplyDelete
  25. I remember meeting Ryan in LA. What a nice guy. Congrats on his deal and beautiful cover!

    ReplyDelete
  26. I remember meeting Ryan in LA. What a nice guy. Congrats on his deal and beautiful cover!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Oh, what a fun post! HUGE congratulations, Ryan!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Haha, absolutely dig your cover reveals. They're one of a kind! Dragon Hugs to you and Congratulations to Ryan.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Huge congrats to Ryan. Loved the buildup. Yay for writer friends.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Congratulations, Ryan. Shammy this blog post was superb (kinda like Utah funeral potatoes)!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Very cool! Great story and pics too;)

    ReplyDelete
  32. This is fantastic! I love the cover!

    ReplyDelete
  33. That was a good story. I like the illustrations best.

    ReplyDelete
  34. That's an amazing cover! I love thunder and lightning. I wouldn't want to fight such a beautiful work of Nature, but would rather find a safe place to take shelter and watch it unfold across the vast expanse of the heavens.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Ha ha! I love this post!!! So fun and quirky and hilarious. Also, seriously, the best book marketing ever, because now I want to read the book like whoa.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Awesome cover reveal and post!

    To fight a lightning storm, I would "borrow" an umbrella from a tourist in Seattle or a local soccer mom stuck watching her kids play in the mud for three hours and start dancing and singing in the rain at the top of my lungs. With all the splashing from my feet in the puddles and the wild umbrella waving, the lightning wouldn't stand a chance. :) Or . . . I would dance over to my neighbor's house since they have a lightning rod in their yard.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Amazing how far friendships go. :)
    Congrats on the book, Ryan.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Oh how cute. The cover reminds me a little of American Gods (a favorite book).

    ReplyDelete
  39. You do the best cover reveals, Morgan. Love it. And I'll be on the lookout for this book. Looks amazing! :)

    ReplyDelete
  40. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  41. So exciting for you and Ryan! Congratulations to Ryan!

    ReplyDelete