Passion Post: Cover Art, Part III

Well, we were supposed to be spending today at Disney world, but apparently the combination of some NBA All-Star game and the Daytona 500 has turned central Florida into a logistical nightmare and has filled it with hundreds of thousands of visitors. In other words: Disney is going to be mobbed. So, we stay home. Which means, I have time to blog...

Let's wrap this whole monster up. Books I love with art I love just as much:

Incarceron and Sapphique by Catherine Fisher.

Oh, holy cow, these covers made me drool. The simple key and lock, the depth of the background with the cool collage of images, the font of the titles, the shiny...

There is nothing I don't love about these covers. And just about nothing I don't love about the stories inside! Steampunk meets sci-fi, with a dystopian feel. The characterization is awesome, the story world rich and imaginative, the plot very well-done, the writing clean. Love, love, love!

Dani Noir by Nova Ren Suma.

This is a MG novel, with voice, baby. The plot is nothing super-duper special, but it is SUCH a fun read. The main character is into classic, noir movies, and sees her life through that lens. Written in first person present, which is starting to feel overdone because so many writers think writing in that pov gives automatic voice...but it does not. First person present takes skill, and Nova Ren Suma's got it.

What I love about this cover--the black and white with that tiny splash of color. The animation style that is done perfectly for the feel of the book. The image is relevant to the story. And I love how the scene wraps around the book.

Winter by Keven Newsome.

Some of you may call "foul" on this one. It's a book published by my publisher. I edited it (well, I was one of the two main editors). Keven is the creator of New Authors' Fellowship where I was a featured author and am now an alumni.

But hear me out.

I read this manuscript long before it got published. NO, I did not actually know Keven at that point. I'd somehow friended him on FB via another friend, and he'd put it up for free on Lulu. I was simply curious. I found out while I was reading it that he'd submitted to Splashdown, but Grace had not started reading it. I knew--knew--she'd offer him a contract though. The story simply rocked. A Goth Christian who becomes a prophetess and battles a demon. I jumped at the chance to edit it.

And then when I saw what was happening with the cover art. OMG. I think I may have actually "squee"d. The girl is a friend of Keven's and his wife did the photography. An amazing artist named Holly Heisey did the  digital painting and such. The font is SO cool. The blue, the feel. And by "feel" I don't just mean atmosphere--Winter was the first Splashdown book to have a matte cover. It feels like a cross between satin and suede. (And yes, I so got matte for my cover because of that!)

A few other books/series I loved:

Eragon and the Inheritance Cycle. Love the series (although I still need to read the last one!) and the dragons are just awesomely done. I love how each is a different color scheme. I love the simplicity. And those eyes...

The Mistmantle Chronicles by M.I. McAllister. These covers took me back to my childhood. They reminded me of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, even though the style is very different. (Somehow, I remember the cover of the copy of Mrs. Frisby I had as a kid being very similar, but the copy I have now is way different and a Google image search is not giving me what I remember anywhere...sorry, mini-vent there.) These are juvenile level, btw, and unfortunately not easy to find :(.

Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull.

That's just the first three pictured there. The series has five books. All so, so fun and imaginative! I found some of the writing a little, well, annoying. The ridiculous array of dialog tags, the overuse of adverbs, and it was a bit wordy in places. BUT, read it anyway. You won't regret it.

The covers match the feel and stories, and they're just so eye-catching and flat-out well done artistically.

Alrighty then...this is getting pretty long. But I am pleased to realize I found a lot of books for which cover art and interior prose are well suited and awesome.

Mish-Mash, Again

I hate that I'm constantly posting these mish-mash posts. But here I am again.

First, my fellow fantasy/horror writer Jeff Chapman reviewed Finding Angel on his blog today. It's rather detailed, although I wouldn't go as far as calling it spoilerish. If you'd like to delve into his ruminations, click HERE. I love his keen eye for detail and deeper meanings.

Second, there are now TWO contests in which you can vote for Finding Angel:

As I told you in a recent post, the Grace Awards are open for reader nominations. A short--very short!--email is all it takes to cast your vote. Details can be found HERE.

But there's also the Family Fiction Readers Choice Awards. This one is even easier to enter--just a simple form to fill out. You only vote in the categories you want to. Click HERE.

In both instances, remember--Finding Angel is YA and fantasy :). And in the Family Fiction awards I fit "favorite new author" as well (er, I hope!).

And my fellow author Keven Newsome's book Winter is up for several awards, including one for cover art (see it there to the left) and two for his rockin' book trailer. Check out his blog for details and to view the trailer.

Finally, I mentioned last time that I have an upcoming speaking engagement. If you happen to live in my area, or whatever whacked-out reason have chosen to visit here during the first week of February, here are the details. It is open to everyone:

Where: Bloomingdale Library (Valrico, FL)
Date: Saturday, February 4th
Time: 3:30 to 5:30

I'll have books for purchase that I'll be signing afterward.

I suppose that's it for now. And I probably shouldn't say I hate these posts. Lots of good stuff, eh?

A Weird, Writerly, Winterly Week

This week has been kinda weird. The days have both drifted and zipped by at the same time. I got *some* writing done, but have focused more of my writerly energy on copy-editing a manuscript for someone else.

Oh, no. Hand-slap, Kat. This is not a "manuscript." It has earned the status of full-fledged BOOK, and will be released on June 1st through Splashdown Books' new imprint Darkwater.

"What book is it?" you ask. It's called Winter, and the author is Keven Newsome, founder of New Authors' Fellowship (you know, that group blog of which I'm a member--and if you are not, you *should* be following!).

I read the manuscript--back when that's what it was, before Grace Bridges from Splashdown got her hands on it. I knew--let me repeat--I knew--she'd fall in love with it. It took all my restraint to not rave and insist she publish it--she needed to make her own decision, of course, and I wanted no accusations of trying to influence. Instead, I kept my mouth shut and simply told her I had a feeling I knew what she'd think.

I was right, of course!

I've had to keep my mouth shut about the contract, the book cover design (amazing work by Holly Heisey!)...all of it, because Keven wanted a big reveal. He had plans...including an awesome trailer. Which you can view at the end of this post.

What I want to say really quickly before that, though, is how excited I am about this. The book rocks. It is close to home for me because the main character is Goth. I was never full-fledged Goth, but I teetered on the edge for some time. I can really relate to her. And the story itself is good. Dark, suspenseful. Perfect for a premier release at Darkwater.

Also, props to the editor who is combing through Winter before me--Kristen Stieffel, who is not leaving much for me to actually edit :P. She's doing an amazing job! I'm just more brutal when it comes to "chop, chop, kill your darlings." I've had another crit partner dub me "The Hacker." What I say to that--MY writing wouldn't be what it is if I hadn't had a "hacker" of my own go after it. I chop-chop out of love, because I have full faith in Winter.

OK, the time has come. We are at the end of my post, and I leave you with the trailer for Winter, by Keven Newsome: