Behind the Crow's Rest Cover Art

So by now you all have likely seen the cover for the Crow & Pitcher Press edition of Crow's Rest, due to be released on May 22. But just in case, here's what it looks like:

What may be news to you is that the cover features my own artwork, as well as a little Photoshop magic from my designer. I scheduled a shoot at Preston Castle in July 2017 with model Renee Sprouse, with an eye to getting some shots for the covers of all three planned books in the Faerie Crossed series. (The view through the arch is another of my photos from Bunratty Castle in Ireland, incidentally)

I wanted to use my own artwork for the creative challenge of it, but also to avoid licensing conflicts or fees. It made it slightly more challenging for designer Kelley York of X-Potions Design but I'm well pleased with the results. The photos we've selected for Merlin's Stronghold and Spellmeet are going to be fantastic too!

I've been holding back on sharing some of the photos while we made our final decisions on which ones to feature on the next two books, but I wanted to share some of my other favorites from the shoot here. Enjoy!

As you can see, we edited out Renee's tattoo in the cover--it just didn't fit Avery, although it's a cool design. And Renee looks remarkably composed, considering it was 106 degrees the day of the shoot! We were both so tired by the end.

There is one more photo that I'm using to make an all-new teaser in May. So check back for that one! Pre-orders for Crow's Rest should be live soon too, and the best way to get the inside info is to sign up for my newsletter, Crow Tracks.

New book coming May 2017!

In case anyone is wondering what I've been working on lately, I've been getting a collection of my photographs ready to print. I'll be releasing it in May, but you can preorder through my IndieGoGo campaign at https://igg.me/at/Capturing-The-Castle through April 19. Then it will hit stores (through Ingram distribution) starting May 16. I'm particularly proud of this one!

Introducing Crow And Pitcher Press!

I'm doing a spring cleaning of my writing and artwork, and most of it will be moving to my new project, Crow & Pitcher Press!

What does that mean, you ask? Crow & Pitcher Press will serve as the home of my independently-published books (such as more titles in the Faerie Crossed series, which began with Crow's Rest) and a range of gift items featuring my artwork (wall art, apparel, journals, etc).

I'll be sure to update you all on when new books are in the works, and the final links where you can find my writing and art projects. For now, I have a temporary website set up and you can see it here.

Cover Design Mockup for Crow's Rest

Even though I know I won't have much control over a book cover (unless I self-publish) for my work-in-progress, Crow's Rest, I've been having some fun designing how I would like to see my book represented.

I started with what I didn't want (caveat: I've actually seen these done so well, but they're just not right for my book):

*Girl in a fancy dress (although Avery could totally work a fancy dress, it's not what she would choose)

*Closeups of boy and girl faces (I specifically like to leave how a character looks up to the reader)

*Abstract paint splatters (I'm always, "what does that have to do with the story?" with these)

*Kickass girl in an anatomically impossible pose


So, that means I could either use a photo of the real-life castle that inspired the book, like this one (click on it to view it bigger):

I'd put the title scrawled across the ceiling like graffiti. Or, I could create something different altogether, using some artwork that still includes elements of the book without specific faces. So I came up with this:

I'm not entirely happy with the font, and will probably end up designing my own Celtic-inspired font, with dragon/bat wings coming off the C in Crow's Rest. Bonuses: this looks good in grayscale (like on an e-ink screen) and has a visual pun too (can you find it?).

And this is a really old one that I did

What do y'all think? Do you ever play around with artwork as another interpretation of your story?

Pens for Paws Auction 2013

Pre-script: I mentioned I'd have a big announcement this week, and as big as this is, it's not it. That will come tomorrow, so check back! Now on to today's post:

Last year, I decided I needed to do something extra to help out the cat sanctuary where I volunteer, Fat Kitty City. I started up the Pens for Paws Auction and contacted agents, authors, and artists to see if they'd like to donate items to help out. And the response was overwhelming! So many great items to bid on, and we raised over $2,600 in much-needed funds. So I'm running the auction again this year and am now accepting donations:

 
Let's make 2013 even bigger for the Pens for Paws Auction! Items will be posted on this blog from March 12th through the 16th, with bidding open for TWO days on each item.

Donations will be accepted through March 10, but the earlier you can let me know what you'd like to donate the better, so that I can get everything scheduled ahead of time. Please keep the following in mind as you consider what you would like to donate:

• The donor is responsible for postage/mailing their item to the winner. Please take that into consideration for the value of your item.
• Minimum bids will not be set on any items. This may mean that your item goes for less than you expected, but it also allows people (including kids) who may not have as much funds available to participate

So what kinds of items are we looking for?

• Books: signed editions, ARCs, swag (bookmarks, postcards, tie-ins), etc
• Critiques or editorial services: these generate a lot of interest on their own, or you may want to donate a critique along with your book
• Artwork: prints, jewelry, crochet, knitwork, custom art or web design
• Your item does not need to be cat- or pet-oriented--it's all good!

If you'd like to donate something for the auction, please copy and paste the questions below, along with your answers, into an email to pensforpawsauction (at) yahoo (dot) com . You may also attach a photo of the item to use for the listing.

What is the item you'd like to donate? (short description for listing title)

Your name (as you wish it to appear in the listing)

Your contact info (email address is fine; if you need a tax letter, we will need a mailing address. No addresses are added to a list--they will be used strictly for correspondence regarding your item)

 Item description (for the actual listing--may include whether it's signed, a special edition, back copy of book, etc)

Ship to U.S. addresses only, or open internationally? (obviously not an issue with items that will be fulfilled electronically, but international postage can add up so some donors choose to limit the shipping domestically)

Attaching a photo? You may also include a link to the photo you'd like to use if it's already on the web.


Thank you!
 

Teaser Tuesday in Images

I used to do a Teaser Tuesday post, featuring a short teaser of my current WIP.

I'm doing a little twist on that today, with a heartfelt message going out from my main character, Avery, to Daniel, her crush-next-door. Note: this Avery-ism has been edited for language.

Click on an image to see it larger.
P.S. Yes, this ate up some of my editing time, but my inner artist really needed to come out and play. I'm considering including my artwork in Crow's Rest (the above images are the marvelous Arthur Rackham's) but am waiting to see what an agent or editor says about that before putting too much time into it.

Pens for Paws Auction

Some of you may know that I volunteer for a great cat sanctuary, Fat Kitty City, in El Dorado Hills, California. This year for my blogiversary, instead of a giveaway I've decided to do a fundraiser for these deserving animals!

The Pens for Paws Auction will start May 7, but I'm starting the call for donations now. What kinds of things am I looking for?

*Books and swag: signed editions, advanced reader's copies, collections of print or ebooks, and swag like bookmarks, tote bags, etc.

*Artwork: prints or custom artwork, or a custom avatar or portrait for use on a website or blog, jewelry, crochet or knitwork

*Critiques for artists or writers, or editorial services

*Your item doesn't need to be cat- or pet-oriented; it's all good!

I'm personally raiding my own book collection and putting up some ARCs and first editions! If you'd like to check out the auction site, it's still under construction, but the form for donating items is up and running. Please consider helping out the kitties!

Thank you!

Faces of Fat Kitty City

I've mentioned it before, but I volunteer at a wonderful cage-free, no-kill, local cat sanctuary called Fat Kitty City where I take photos and mostly do this (while wearing a cat hair smock):

But last year, I started doing a calendar of my favorite digital paintings of the kitties as a fundraiser, and I had so much fun that I decided to do it this year also. Go on over to my other blog, Fat Kitty City Nitty Gritty, for a sneak peek at what this year's calendar holds.

Beauties like this for example:


Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving!

RTW: Writing Travelogue

Road Trip Wednesday is a "Blog Carnival," where YA Highway's contributors and followers post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on their blogs. You can hop from destination to destination through the YA Highway site and get everybody's unique take on the topic.

This week's topic: What has your writing road trip looked like so far? Excitement? Traffic Jams and detours? Where are you going next?

My writing journey has definitely had some roadblocks and detours, but the most frustrating part is when I chug chug chug up that hill.



Finally get to the top, start to celebrate, and then realize there's another hill just beyond it. An entire mountain range with meadows dotted with flowers and gamboling critters



and impossibly sheer rock faces with jaggedy bits



But I'm close enough to see the Promised Land off in the distance



What about you? What has your writing journey looked like? Don't forget to go to today's YA Highway RTW post and follow the links in the comments to see everyone else's answer!

P.S. In case anyone was curious, these pix are all my own artwork.

RTW: Cover Songs

Road Trip Wednesday is a "Blog Carnival," where YA Highway's contributors and followers post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on their blogs. You can hop from destination to destination through the YA Highway site and get everybody's unique take on the topic.

This week's topic: What are your all-time favorite book covers?

As a teen, if a book cover had a horse on it, I was almost guaranteed to pick it up. This meant I read a lot of bad romance novels with artwork done by folks who were savvy to the horse factor in book-buying decisions.

Have you ever noticed just how many historical romances from the 80s have horses on them? It's a formula of cleavage (her decollatage and his pecs), tight breeches, and wildly blowing long hair (and it seems that wind-blown-hair look also appears in YA book covers.), with a horse thrown in somewhere. If not horses, unicorns would do in a pinch, and they more often appeared in SF/Fantasy.




But over time my taste in cover artwork has changed, influenced by my own experiences with painting, sketching, graphic design, and photography. I find that I like covers that are simplistic and graphic-looking




or photographic with a twist




and lush and artistic (still love some of the girls in period dresses but they are becoming overdone and it's harder to make yours stand out)




I'm not much into abstract covers. What about you--what covers have caught your eye?

Blue Mountain Arts Poetry Contest

From their website:
"SPS Studios Eighteenth Biannual Poetry Card Contest
Deadline: June 30, 2011
1st prize: $300 * 2nd prize: $150 * 3rd prize: $50

In addition, the winning poems will be displayed on our website sps.com.

Poetry Contest Guidelines:

Poems can be rhyming or non-rhyming, although we find that non-rhyming poetry reads better.

We suggest that you write about real emotions and feelings and that you have some special person or occasion in mind as you write.

Poems are judged on the basis of originality and uniqueness.

English-language entries only, please.

Enter as often as you like!"

I found this contest through WOW! Women on Writing's blog and stopped to think about it. I have never written for greeting cards before, but I have bought a few Blue Mountain Arts cards and they are not the usual bland pap. I've even saved some that I've received because I liked the poem and/or artwork, in spite of the fact that I usually don't keep cards more than a few weeks after the occasion.

But the rules are pretty simple (you retain rights) and there's no entry fee, so if you're inspired to submit some poetry for this, go for it! I have one in mind already . . . Even if you don't want to enter, there are some nice past winners.