Favorite Book Covers from Authors We've Published

I haven't said a lot in my posts about the wonderful writers we've published - and we've published a few. 

Today I'd like to talk about four of my favorite book covers from a few of these writers and suggest some reasons why they are my favorites.

Let's start at the left. "The Captor's Shadow" was written by M.C. Topham. This 16-year-old's [you heard me right] book is Urban Fantasy and focuses' on Jace and his friends' adventure with the "Shadow." I like the cover of this book not only because of the striking "Shadow" in blue but the mysterious shadow behind him. We purchase a lot of photos online and then turn them into book covers like this one. 

"Pouncer" comes next. A picture book for those who love cats, this book is our most recently published book. Written by Melanie Kae Edgmand and illustrated by Melba Roberts, this fun book where a cat thinks he is royalty and should be honored as such, is striking to me because of all the white space. The title isn't capitalized. When you look at the book you see the title first, and then your eyes are drawn to the "pillow" and then to the chair and Pouncer. 

The next book, "The Planet of the Gods," is written by A.M. Johnston. The book is epic fantasy and takes the reader on a quest with Allen Hamilton and his journey to the Planet of the Gods. The cover which is illustrated by Paul Johnston is dark and yet the planet is lit up. It shines on the face of a God dressed in purple, and whose striking three eyes match the color of the planet. As in the other two covers mentioned previously, there are not too many colors to compete for the reader's attention. 

The last book, "Temarrian Bound," a fantasy, and written by Jen Tolman Allen, has only three colors to its credit. I love the white circles in the tentacles. This picture was also found and purchased online. The tentacle draws the reader in and makes them ask, "What do the aliens look like?" "Where is Temarrian?"

As I was writing this post I found other book covers that I love for different reasons. Perhaps they'll be another day for these books!

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Jason King

Tell me a about yourself. What got you started in writing? 

A court order to write apology letters to all of my victims….just kidding. I’ve been writing books since I was 5. They just didn’t stop sucking until I was about 30.

How do you schedule your writing time? When do you write?

I wake up really early, like 3-4 am early. That gives me a couple hours of writing before I have to go to my day job. Also, I do my best work in the morning.

How and where do you write? Do you prefer a lap top or some other method of getting your words down?

I prefer a desktop (I roll old school) and I write in my study/library/studio/kid’s playroom.

What's your favorite part about writing? Your least favorite part about writing?

About the actual process? I think when the plot takes over, throws what I planned out the window, and gives something better. Also, finishing the first draft.

How did you come up with your book idea? How long did it take you to write your book?

For Valcoria, I wrote it over several years, and the concept was a pool of ideas inspired by my favorite stories: Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Wheel of Time, Mistborn, and a whole ton of others. For Lure of Fools, and Soulless Grave, it was about six months each.

What types of marketing do you do to promote your writing?

I’ve pioneered a new marketing technique that I call streak-advertising. I’ll let you guess what that involves (for a hint see my answer to question 1). No, my emphasis is inline with my day-time position as an internet marketing manager, and I do 75% of my promotion on social media. The other 25% I do at conventions and conferences.

What are you currently working on? Do you have a new book out?

I have two books slated for release this year, “The Fork of Destiny’s Road,” and “Valcoria Awakenings.”

Do you have a project on the back burner? Tell me about it.

Lots of them. They’re kind of in a rotation. But what I really want to get back to is a screenplay I entered in 2009’s Bluecat Screenwriting Competition. It’s a crime noir that I want to turn into a novel.

What would you tell a beginning writer who wants to publish but doesn't believe he/she has enough talent?

Talent is like the starting position in a marathon. It might take you longer to get to the finish line then those running in front of you, but if you hang in there, be patient, and keep running, you will make it.  

My question for Kathryn is, what do you look for in a book for it to qualify as a favorite?

Love this question. I look for books that give me an opportunity to look within. It isn't enough for me to just read a good book, I have to feel something. Even my mysteries are more than just books filled with clues. Hopefully, the reader will see the struggles of the main character, Susan, and get a feeling for her plight. Maybe they will see themselves in Susan and get a clearer idea of how they might appear to others. They might not be a bit like Susan but can feel of her predicament - how does a detective respond to criticism anyway, especially when she isn't really a crime fighter but an average woman that becomes a sort of death magnet? I think the best books out there leave me wanting to learn more about the main character, the secondary characters, and the lives they live.

***

Learn more about Jason:

jason@authorjasonking.com

Web: www.authorjasonking.com

FRIDAY FLICKS: The World of Pangea by Michael Davies

Get the Book at Amazon

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Berin Stephens

Tell me a about yourself. What got you started in writing?

I was born and raised in Alaska. I am also a professional saxophone and clarinet player. I have five books out in print: Dragon War Relic, Time Gangsters, Delroy Versus the Yshtari, Tales of Myrick the (Not So) Magnifent Volume 1, and Myrick Volume 2. I also have three books published online so far: Delroy Versus the Pirates of Poughkeepsie, A Sidekick's Secrets to Saving the City, and Myrick Volume 3.

What sparked my desire to become a writer was J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. It blew my mind and I wanted to write stories just like that. Not long after, I was introduced to Asimov's Lucky Starr and the Pirates of the Asteroids, which then got me liking science fiction, too. So I dabbled with writing stories when I was in high school and then some in college, but ended up quitting for a while as I started my family and music career. It wasn't until ten years ago that I took it up again. My then teenage daughter wanted to be a writer and she introduced me to NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). I decided to do it along with her so that she'd have someone to commiserate with, and the rest is history. That was how Dragon War Relic got its start.

How do you schedule your writing time? When do you write?

I write in the mornings since, for one, that is when my creative mind works best. Also, I teach music lessons in the afternoons and rehearse and perform on a lot of evenings. Really, being a private music teacher is perfect for a writer because we usually have mornings available.

How and where do you write? Do you prefer a lap top or some other method of getting your words down?

I do my initial brainstorming with paper and pencil, along with my first rough outline. I guess I'm old-school in that regard. Once I get to the actual writing, I use a laptop on a desk in my bedroom. It is the quietest part of the house and I'm rarely interrupted. I am one who gets distracted easily, so if there is any music or talking going on around me, it takes me out of the zone.

What's your favorite part about writing? Your least favorite part about writing?

I love the creative part. I enjoy the brainstorming and coming up with ideas but by far my favorite part is just sitting down and hammering through the first draft. I'm a 'discovery writer' or a 'pantser', so it is fun to see where the stories go. Often, I don't know what is going to happen next, though I have found that it is important that I temper my creative ramblings with some form of outline. I'm not very good at staying on my outlines, though.

I used to hate the editing stages (yes, multiple) but I enjoy them now because I like having a polished finished product. While doing it, it seems like drudgery, so I keep reminding myself of how much better my story will be once I'm finished. What I absolutely don't like is marketing. I hatey hate hate it. I always feel like I'm nagging people to buy my book. Did I mention I hate marketing?

How did you come up with your book idea? How long did it take you to write your book?

I get ideas from just about everywhere. Several of the ideas that came up in Dragon War Relic came to me while driving home from salsa band performances in Alaska. I would listen to 'Coast to Coast AM' to help stay awake at 2 in the morning. They talked about some weird stuff that is a gold mine to a sci-fi/fantasy writer.

I also like watching documentaries. I'm watching the Ken Burns Civil War right now and it's making me think of all sorts of steam punk ideas. Really, when you think about it, the Civil War was steam punk. Biographies are also great because it can give you ideas for character building.

As far as how long it takes for me to write a book, I can generally put out a first draft in 6 to 8 weeks. My fastest was 18 days, but you'll never see that one in print. The second draft takes me the longest since that is where I'm hammering out the structure, so that usually takes 2 to 4 months. Third draft is usually 3 or 4 weeks. Drafts after that only a week each as I'm mainly working on sentence structure and grammar at that point.

What types of marketing do you do to promote your writing?

Urg. Not much right now (see #4 above). I need to get on that.

A thought from Kathryn - As a suggestion, you may want to try Marketing Your Book on a Budget. Yes, it's mine, but everything in there I've tried at one time or another. 

What are you currently working on? Do you have a new book out?

I've got a lot of irons in the fire right now. For writing, I'm working on the sequel to A Sidekick's Secrets to Saving the City. I'm also brainstorming a new idea that will hopefully turn into a middle-grade sci-fi space opera comedy. We'll see how that works out.

I'm also working on creating audiobooks of my first novel. I've done the audio already for some of my later projects, but Dragon War Relic is still my most popular book, so I figured I should go back and record it.

Get the Book at Amazon

My latest book in print is Tales of Myrick the (Not So) Magnificent Volume 2 which came out last September. There has been a change with one of my publishers so it looks like I'll have to convert my three books that are still online into print. I hope to get A Sidekick's Secrets out later this year. We'll see.

Do you have a project on the back burner? Tell me about it.

I have so many projects on the back burner that I don't know where to start. Ever since Dragon War Relic, I've been wanting to write a sequel. I have several drafts but they aren't there yet. I also have three other novels, completely different from my normal middle-grade comedy fare, in various stages of editing. One is an epic fantasy set in a WWII-like setting instead of medieval. Another is of a magic apocalypse. I'm not sure where those are going to go yet. I've been recently told by an agent that I should quit the serious dramatic stuff and stick with middle-grade comedy. I guess I'm just too immature to write that thought-provoking junk.

What would you tell a beginning writer who wants to publish but doesn't believe he/she has enough talent?

I'd say, “You don't have enough talent. Yet.” I'm not trying to be a downer, here, but I view writing like music. You don't pick up an instrument in the store one day and book a gig at Carnegie Hall the next. It takes time to develop the storytelling art. It takes practice. It takes knowledge. The power of practice is that it doesn't matter how much initial talent you have, if you have the love for the art and the desire to get good at it, you WILL have success. That's the way I started with music. I did not start out with any musical gifts whatsoever, but I loved it and stuck with it until I accidentally got good at it. The main thing is to keep learning. Read books on writing, go to writing conferences, form a writing group, and most importantly: practice, man, practice.

***

A question for me:

I've been working on the concept of scene and sequel and have redefined it (musically) so that it makes more sense in my mind. I'm curious if this is something you've explored and what take you might have on it.

Wonderful question. For me, cause and effect in the scene and sequel motif is about as important as chocolate ice-cream and the way I feel during and after eating it. You wouldn't let a luscious dish of ice-cream sit on the table without eating it, would you?

Following the scene, (eating the ice-cream) the character must think about what has just happened, (the sequel) and with that comes an emotional reaction - perhaps a tirade - or they may think about what has just happened and talk to someone else about it, or they can make a decision then and there following the scene to make a change in their life.

The best scene and sequel showdown, I think, is to show cause and effect through action and dialogue. It's more about a show versus tell thing for me anyway. Why read about how someone is thinking or feeling, when you can see them experiencing the sequel in living color?

*** 

Learn more about Berin at the following sites:

Website:

http://berinstephens.com/

Amazon

The Myrick stories on Big World Network:

http://bigworldnetwork.com/site/series/myrickthenotsomagnificent/