{"id":5348,"date":"2021-05-10T12:50:57","date_gmt":"2021-05-10T19:50:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/?p=5348"},"modified":"2021-05-10T12:51:01","modified_gmt":"2021-05-10T19:51:01","slug":"countdown-to-my-book-launch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2021\/writing\/countdown-to-my-book-launch\/","title":{"rendered":"Countdown to my Book Launch"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The countdown to my book launch has begun. It\u2019s now three days away. <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1896402151?ref_=dbs_m_mng_rwt_calw_tpbk_1&amp;storeType=ebooks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>LILACS in the DUST BOWL<\/strong><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/books\/lilacs-in-the-dust-bowl\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>,<\/strong> <\/a><\/em>the sequel to <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/SUNFLOWERS-UNDER-FIRE-DIANA-STEVAN\/dp\/198818004X\/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&amp;keywords=sunflowers+under+fire&amp;qid=1620675437&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>SUNFLOWERS UNDER FIRE<\/strong><\/a>,<\/em> is already live on some book sites and platforms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Meanwhile, I&#8217;m preparing<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/virl.bc.ca\/event\/virtual-book-launch-diana-stevan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong> for the book launch May 13, 2-3 pm, hosted by the Vancouver Island Regional Library<\/strong>. <\/a>Unlike my previous launches, only those who were in the community could attend. But now, <strong>the event is open to the public, wherever they live.<\/strong> Daughter Robyn and family in Toronto will be joining in. How exciting is that? And my friends in Vancouver as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/virl.bc.ca\/event\/virtual-book-launch-diana-stevan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"573\" height=\"764\" data-attachment-id=\"5389\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2021\/writing\/countdown-to-my-book-launch\/attachment\/virtual-book-launch-virl-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Virtual-Book-Launch-VIRL.jpg?fit=573%2C764&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"573,764\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Virtual-Book-Launch-VIRL\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Virtual-Book-Launch-VIRL.jpg?fit=573%2C764&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Virtual-Book-Launch-VIRL.jpg?resize=573%2C764&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5389\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Virtual-Book-Launch-VIRL.jpg?w=573&amp;ssl=1 573w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Virtual-Book-Launch-VIRL.jpg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 573px) 100vw, 573px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/virl.bc.ca\/event\/virtual-book-launch-diana-stevan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>To get the Zoom link, you need to go to the Vancouver Island Regional Library website. <\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>And there will be a Draw for a SIGNED COPY of my novel to one lucky attendee.<\/strong> Not sure how the library is going to handle that, but with technology today and shipping, I&#8217;m sure it&#8217;ll work out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I&#8217;ll be doing an author reading and there&#8217;ll be a chat with my friend Judy about the book. As well, I have a short slide presentation that shows what went into the writing of this story. At the end, there&#8217;ll be time for Q &amp; A. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As I\u2019ve mentioned before,<strong> <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/books\/lilacs-in-the-dust-bowl\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><em>Lilacs in the Dust Bowl<\/em><\/strong> <\/a>is the sequel to my award-winning novel, <em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/books\/sunflowers-under-fire\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sunflowers Under Fire<\/a><\/strong>. <\/em>It continues Lukia\u2019s story. It shows her journey from war-torn and occupied Ukraine to Manitoba, Canada in 1929 just before the stock market crashes and the Great Depression begins. Though it&#8217;s the second book in the Lukia&#8217;s Family Saga series, it can be read as a standalone, too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>It\u2019s based on my grandmother and mother\u2019s life as immigrants in a new country.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Story<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Falling grain prices, the ravages of nature, and unexpected family conflicts threaten to smash Lukia Mazurec&#8217;s dreams of family unity in a strange land. And when love knocks on her door again, awakening desire she thought was long gone, she has to choose between having a man in her life or the children she\u2019s sacrificed everything for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What&#8217;s Next?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And I\u2019ve begun working on the third and final book in the series. Like <em>Lilacs in the Dust Bowl, <\/em>the new one will be set on the Manitoba prairies. It&#8217;ll start near the end of the Great Depression and include what was going on in Canada during WWII.  And it will be a continuation of my mother and father&#8217;s love story. I\u2019ll have more to say about this project down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, stay safe. And if you can attend my book launch, that would be lovely. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The countdown to my book launch has begun. It\u2019s now three days away. LILACS in the DUST BOWL, the sequel to SUNFLOWERS UNDER FIRE, is already live on some book&hellip; <\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5386,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[744,4],"tags":[416,1120,1145,1147,383,1021,1141,1144,1140],"class_list":["post-5348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","category-writing","tag-book-launch","tag-lilacs-in-the-dust-bowl","tag-lukias-family-saga","tag-manitoba","tag-peregrin-publishing","tag-sunflowers-under-fire","tag-vancouver-island-library","tag-vancouver-island-regional-library","tag-virtual-book-launch"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Virtual-Book-Launch-VIRL.jpg?fit=573%2C764&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1LuVB-1og","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5374,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2021\/writing\/virtual-book-launch-of-lilacs-in-the-dust-bowl\/","url_meta":{"origin":5348,"position":0},"title":"Virtual Book Launch of LILACS in the DUST BOWL","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"30 \u041a\u0432\u0456\u0442\u043d\u044f, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm very excited about my upcoming book launch of LILACS in the DUST BOWL, biographical fiction and family saga, set on the Manitoba prairies during the Great Depression. The Vancouver Island Regional Library will be hosting my virtual book launch on May 13 at 2 pm. There will be an\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 &quot;Books&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lilacs in the Dust Bowl","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Virtual-Book-Launch-VIRL.jpg?fit=573%2C764&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Virtual-Book-Launch-VIRL.jpg?fit=573%2C764&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Virtual-Book-Launch-VIRL.jpg?fit=573%2C764&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6662,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2025\/books\/countdown-to-the-book-launch\/","url_meta":{"origin":5348,"position":1},"title":"Countdown to the Book Launch","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"27 \u0421\u0456\u0447\u043d\u044f, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Countdown to Book Launch of ALONG CAME A GARDENER, an inspirational self-help book, based on the author's 25 years working as a psychotherapist in a variety of settings and her love of gardening.","rel":"","context":"\u0423 &quot;Books&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"countdown to book launch","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/ACAG-JPEG-Coming-March-15-2025.jpg?fit=788%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/ACAG-JPEG-Coming-March-15-2025.jpg?fit=788%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/ACAG-JPEG-Coming-March-15-2025.jpg?fit=788%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/ACAG-JPEG-Coming-March-15-2025.jpg?fit=788%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5995,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2022\/writing\/year-end-musings\/","url_meta":{"origin":5348,"position":2},"title":"Year-End Musings","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"22 \u0413\u0440\u0443\u0434\u043d\u044f, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"With year-end musings occupying my daily thoughts, I decided to write a blog post. And I'm writing it, while so much of Canada and the USA are dealing with fierce winter storms and dashed holiday plans. But back to my musings. February February was a terrible month. It was the\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 &quot;Books&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Merry-Christmas.jpg?fit=600%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Merry-Christmas.jpg?fit=600%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Merry-Christmas.jpg?fit=600%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5200,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2021\/uncategorized\/staying-positive-in-grim-times\/","url_meta":{"origin":5348,"position":3},"title":"STAYING POSITIVE IN GRIM TIMES","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"25 \u0421\u0456\u0447\u043d\u044f, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I don\u2019t know about you, but it\u2019s hard staying positive in such grim times. This pandemic is taking longer to get through than most of us expected. \u00a0I\u2019m using what I know to keep my spirits up. I feel blessed in so many ways but am mindful that many don\u2019t\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 &quot;Life&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"staying positive","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/walk.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/walk.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/walk.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4258,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2019\/writing\/soft-launch-of-sunflowers-under-fire\/","url_meta":{"origin":5348,"position":4},"title":"Soft Launch of Sunflowers Under Fire","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"13 \u041a\u0432\u0456\u0442\u043d\u044f, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I never planned a soft launch for my latest novel, Sunflowers Under Fire, a historical fiction. But my newest baby, which I've nurtured for so long, is now out in the world. I had hoped for a bigger splash. Rave reviews right from the get-go. But that meant that I\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 &quot;Books&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"historical fiction","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/sunflower-front-ebook-small-size-2.png?fit=488%2C713&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7122,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2026\/writing\/what-does-love-have-to-do-with-it\/","url_meta":{"origin":5348,"position":5},"title":"What Does Love Have to Do With It?","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"15 \u041a\u0432\u0456\u0442\u043d\u044f, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Love in My Stories What does love have to do with it? I\u2019ve been thinking a lot about that, while I\u2019m preparing to launch A House Full of Strangers, my first collection of short stories, set in Winnipeg in the 1940s and 1950s. The book launches online on May 9th\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 &quot;Books&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"what love has to do with it","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Easter-dinner-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C955&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Easter-dinner-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C955&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Easter-dinner-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C955&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Easter-dinner-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C955&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Easter-dinner-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C955&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5348"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5348\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5391,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5348\/revisions\/5391"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}