The Boundaries We (Don’t) Set
Sometimes, being brave means just saying, “No.”
Sometimes, being brave means just saying, “No.”
The Beast Series has a new cover (finally)! This one was really difficult to do, partly because the story is so close to my heart, and partly because it has been done so many times, it’s almost impossible to make it look original. I must have done at least 15 different versions of the cover before I got to this one, and all of them made me want to throw my brand new laptop against the wall. Hard.
So here’s what I finally came up with. It has elements of every Beauty and the Beast story on it, because that’s what it is, but I’m hoping I made one of those elements just unique enough to make it stand out. The tarot cards that play such a huge role in the story had to be included in some fashion, and three of the versions I attempted had them on the cover in different ways. I ultimately discarded them because, while they made amazingly stunning pictures, capturing particular scenes like a movie still, there was no way for me to add the book title and author name without completely ruining the effect.
This was my compromise: me going back to what feels natural to me, which is “less is more.” I didn’t want an overly elaborate scene, I wanted a visually striking representation of the story itself. I also wanted something stylistically similar to The Rebel Court series cover, since they both fall under similar genres, but not identical, because there are significant differences between the two series. Do you think I accomplished all that?
Happy Friday to all! I write to you today for a couple of reasons. The first is to give you an update on Wolfen. Which is that I am about ten chapters away from finishing my first self-edit. And that means after a final read-through to smooth rough edges (hopefully next week), the manuscript will be ready to be sent to my editor! I know it’s stretching long, but I take edits very seriously, as evidenced by a sea of red notes over my manuscript and the wide-eyed look of confused panic people give me when they see it. It’ll get there, I promise 🙂 And it’ll be worth the wait. The second is to continue my quest to help indie… Read More »Author-y Stuff
It’s here again! A 7-day promotion during which all my titles on Smashwords.com will be FREE. So mark your calendars and head on over! Find all my titles here. Â
I’ve been a recluse today, busily plugging holes. Plot holes, that is. But I am given to understand today is a special day, and deserves a special celebration, and so I give you all this gift, a very naughty scene from Bastien. Warning in advance: This content is very, very adult.
See what I did there? =D Okay, so here is the skinny. Smashwords is having their annual Summer/Winter Sale and hundreds if not thousands of books will be discounted or free July 1-31, 2013. I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a great deal to me! So what am I going to do (besides stock up on a lot of new Indie books)? Participate, of course! For the month of July, I am marking Bastien as free and The Royal Wizard 75% off. Please note this is a Smashwords only promotion (will not work at other online retailers) and you will need special codes to redeem. See below for the redemption codes or check out all the books… Read More »Happy FREEdom Month!
And the winner of The Beast duology is… Tracey d Congratulations! You should be getting an email from me shortly.
It’s Wednesday and I don’t know about you, but Wednesdays for me are crazy hectic. I just updated the descriptions for Bastien and The Beast. For everyone confused about what’s going on in The Beast, there is now a note pointing to Bastien as the prequel. Which, it is. =) And now, having accomplished that, I thought I’d have some fun! So I am holding a giveaway contest for a copy of both Bastien and The Beast. Leave a comment below and tell me your favorite thing about summer. Contest ends Friday at midnight PST. I will announce the winner on Saturday.
Once upon a time, there was a handsome prince who screwed with the wrong Faery princess. And because he was too much of a butt hurt to let an old grudge go, he came to me. He should have known better. See, I like numbers. And celestial events. Also magic, fairy tales, wicked, wicked bad guys, tragic heroes and the kind of heroines I would want for a best friend. But the prince didn’t know all this when he took up residence inside my cranium. Nope, all he knew was that he wanted a memoire. And a portrait. And PR. Me? I like the number three. So I gave him three chances to redeem himself, and when he didn’t, three… Read More »On Epic Fairy Tale Full Moons
This will be the final excerpt for Bastien. To find the previous chapters, click on these: Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three. If you want to read more, look for Bastien at Smashwords.com on Saturday, May 5. I will also post a link on my website. And without further ado, here is chapter four. Enjoy! =)