M.C. Pearson's Blog, page 4

How I Made my Cover for F.A.I.R.I.E.S.

I thought you might be interested in how I did the cover for my book, F.A.I.R.I.E.S.: Baptism by Fire . I'll show you the before and after pics that I used.

A long time ago, my mother gave me a bunch of her ball gowns. I've taken several pictures of friends and family in these gowns. Here's are two pictures of my mother in the gown in the 1950's:




This is the main picture of the heroine, Mellie Good Wind...posing is Lily Kidd:


I played with it...extended the sword and part of the dress. Eventually, I removed her feet. It just looked better that way. Although, I really debated about keeping them on the cover, since Mellie was barefoot in the beginning of the story. However, when she wore the red dress, she wasn't barefoot. So, I lopped them off. Sorry, Lily! You do have cute feet!



Next is a picture of me painted up as Lilith:


Then, I played with it in Photoshop:

And inverted the exposure and played with it some more:



To create the wing-like effect behind Mellie, I again played with it in Photoshop:


If you are very diligent, you might see the eyes of I.M.P.S. (redcaps) in the fire on the back cover. There are nine pairs of them! They are all of my son, Keegan's eyes. Here are some of the pictures from the photo shoot:





I then tweaked them in Photoshop:






Here's a zoom-in of the eye section on the book cover:



I also created the fire on top of the font for F.A.I.R.I.E.S. and the cloudy fire background for Baptism by Fire all in Photoshop.

The result is this cover:

#34 F.A.I.R.I.E.S.: Baptism by Fire Blog Tour!

Here's what Angela has to say on her blog, All Grown Up?:

I turned this one over to the boys,

Youngest *13* said: "Hey, it's pretty good, and you know this lady? WOW!" He was impressed that I know the author!

Son4′s *15* reaction was "I like it, think she'll write more?"

And Son3′s *17* reply "A little young for me, but it was still pretty good! I'd read more by her if you have it!"

So there we go, 3 out of 3 stars!

*Ages* added from Angela's family page

F.A.I.R.I.E.S.: Baptism by Fire on KINDLE for $3.99

The Kindle version is now fixed! The price is lower: $3.99. Click on image to order.



The Ebook is only available on Kindle for now. In 90 days, I'll look into other places to sell it, but Kindle is having a special deal with it's Prime Members:


For Kindle Device Owners

Borrow this book for free, with no due dates, if you are a Kindle owner and Prime member. If you don't own a Kindle, get yours today. If you're not a Prime member, start your one month free trial today. You can borrow this book from your Kindle device.

With Prime, Kindle owners can choose from thousands of books to borrow for free — including over 100 current and former New York Times Bestsellers — as frequently as a book a month, with no due dates. Learn more about Kindle Owners' Lending Library.

Formats for FAIRIES:

Kindle Edition $3.99
Paperback $17.99

It is also for sale in Paperback at Barnes&Noble.com. It is currently at $11.53, but it will soon change back to $17.99. Right now they are saying that they will deliver it by Christmas.

#33 F.A.I.R.I.E.S.: Baptism by Fire Blog Tour!

Here's what Lindsey has to say on her blog, Kindred Spirit Mommy:

F.A.I.R.I.E.S.: Baptism By Fire is a new faith-based novel for kids and young teens that is sure to be loved by many. I was especially excited when I first heard about it because it's one of the few fantasy adventures in the Christian fiction genre. We need more like this!

Here's a short description:

Unwittingly chosen to join an army of fairies, who fight for the Light of the One, a teenaged girl learns about spiritual warfare as she attends a military academy with fantastical beings.

If you enjoy meaningful books with deep characters, fantastical creatures, imaginative made-up worlds, and exciting adventures, you'll enjoy F.A.I.R.I.E.S. It reminds me in a way of books like The Chronicles of Narnia or A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle. It's a really enjoyable read, and you get caught up in the characters' lives quickly.

I did struggle a bit in the beginning to get into the book but once I was a few chapters in I just had to know what happened to Mellie. I found her inner conflicts to be very true-to-life for a girl in her early teens, and I think that young girls who read her story will relate well.

Another thing that makes this book unique and special is the author's own illustrations throughout the book. There are so many! It really adds interest, and was fun to see how the author saw certain scenes and characters. I loved it!
If you have a young daughter or family member, definitely consider this for them. The story has a lot of depth and heart to it that you won't find in most young adult fantasy fiction. I recommend it!

You can find it on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle edition, and at Barnes&Noble.com.

#32 F.A.I.R.I.E.S.: Baptism by Fire Blog Tour!

Here's what Anne Payne has to say on her blog, Stuff & Nonsense II:

My Thoughts

Several times I have tried to read a book in the Fantasy/Speculative Fiction genre and cannot do it. My brain just doesn't conjure up what the characters and creatures look like. For that reason alone I was glad that the illustrations in the book were there and they are "fantastical" in and of themselves! You get two treasures in one: The boundless imagination of the author and her incredible illustrations. It's amazing! And to weave the spiritual thread in the way she did. AWE.SOME.

This is definitely a book that young and old speculative fiction fans will enjoy.

#31 F.A.I.R.I.E.S.: Baptism by Fire Blog Tour!

Here's what Laura O had to say on her blog, Day by Day in Our World:

My Thoughts ~

I have really enjoyed reading this title and plan to pass it along to my older boys to read. Our family adores fantasy books like this one and I suspect the boys will agree with my assessment of it being a good read. There is a wide variety of fantastical creatures with several characters I enjoyed.

I have to add that I really enjoyed the artistic touch that Ms. Pearson supplied with her own illustrations of scenes in the novel. My only regret was trying to view them on my Nook and not a bigger screen.

#30 F.A.I.R.I.E.S.: Baptism by Fire Blog Tour!

Here's what Molly had to say on her blog, Reviews by Molly:

My Review:

With tons of sickness going around my house lately, I didn't get a lot of the books read that I wanted to read. But I did take the time to read this amazing book by Ms. Pearson. She is absolutely AWESOME in her work!

To be honest in my review, I will tell you that this sort of book is not my first choice of reading material. It's young readers that tend to read this kind. Me, not so much. But, I want to give every author a chance and sometimes, like with this one, I will find one that blows me away to the point of making me a fan.

In F.A.I.R.I.E.S., Ms. Pearson does a wonderful job at illustrating as well as the creation of the story. Ms. Pearson takes a classic bad battles good plot line, throws in a mix of fantastical characters, and turns out a story that will capture hearts young and old alike. Mellie Goodwin is one of those such characters and she truly pulled me to the heart of the book. I could feel the adventure and twists that Ms. Pearson through Mellie as if I was the character.

Ms. Pearson definitely created a 4 Book worthy story in my opinion. Her characters are gripping, her story line is one that is both entertaining to read and lesson learning, with good vs. evil, right vs. wrong. An inspiring story for young readers, this would make a wonderful, fantastical gift for your young book lover! As I said before, while this is one that I wouldn't normally read, Ms. Pearson did make a fan of me with her amazing talent for being an author AND an illustrator, and I am looking forward to her next book!

Interview Link

Here's a link to an interview that I did for Writer Interrupted with Gina Conroy:

Author and Homeschool Mom MC Pearson Shares Her Story

#29 F.A.I.R.I.E.S.: Baptism by Fire Blog Tour!

Here is what one of my favorite authors, MaryLu Tyndall, has to say on her blog, Cross and Cutlass:

MaryLu Here: I recently had the pleasure of reading this book. I'm not quite finished yet, but I wanted to write a short review: F.A.I.R.I.E.S. is unlike any book I've ever read. Immediately I was swept away into a fantastical world through the eyes of a young girl. I'm amazed at Ms. Pearson's extravagant imagination! The creatures and world she describes are beyond anything my mind could conceive. This book has everything anyone could want: battles between good and evil, adventure, humor, romance, an interesting plot and characters you will love. What also impressed me are the wonderful hand-drawn illustrations by the author herself scattered throughout the story! She can not only write, but draw as well! I highly recommend this books for young and old lovers of fantasy.

CONTEST! Win a FREE copy of F.A.I.R.I.E.S.: Baptism by Fire by M. C. Pearson

For those of you who would like a chance to get your hands on my book for FREE , there is a contest for a hard copy on Megan's blog, Hardcover Feedback. Here's the link to the contest:

http://hardcoverfeedback.blogspot.com/2011/12/interview-with-mc-pearson-and-fairies.html

* It is open to everyone, but those outside the US will have to have an ebook copy. Those inside the US will have the choice of an ebook or a signed hard copy.

Only one winner...lots of ways to get your name in the raffle.

Blessings,

Mimi