Chris Baty's Blog, page 152

30 Covers, 30 Days 2015: Day TwentyEvery November, during...

THROUGH THE INFINITE DARKNESS || A young adult novel being written by Tasha Reese || Cover design by Sonia Persad


EIGHT || A horror novel being written by YWP participant Laurel Moore || Cover design by Frances Yllana


Sonia Persad seeks to use her big voice to help companies assert their personalities.


Frances Yllana designs, writes, teaches and cheerleads for civic/cultural engagement in Dallas, TX.

30 Covers, 30 Days 2015: Day Twenty

Every November, during National Novel Writing Month, thirty professional designers volunteer to create book cover art inspired by novels being written by aspiring authors from around the globe. Why? To encourage new, diverse voices, and help build a more creative world.  

30 Covers, 30 Days is presented in partnership with designer and author Debbie Millman.  Wrimos: submit your synopses for 30C30D 2015 here.

Read more about these NaNoWriMo 2015 novels-in-progress, and the cover designers, below.

Through the Infinite Darkness

A young adult novel being written this November by Tasha Reese.

In 359 BC, in Megara, Greece at the Cult of Nyx, Eris has grown into a beautiful young woman with long flowing hair that is a mixture of sunlight, moonlight, and darkness. She is kept hidden from everyone because of the strange writing that appears on her body that continually moves and changes between black and a golden white. 

The High Priestess has tried for years to find out what the writing says with no luck and so she sends Eris, Mira, and Horatio to the Oracle of Delphi for answers. Along the way Eris meets with Roman soldiers, regular people, and some of the gods themselves. Eris learns about her past and how she will influence what happens in the world around her, as well as why the writing on her body

disappears

when there is a New Moon.

Cover Designed by Sonia Persad

Sonia Persad seeks to use her big voice to help companies assert their personalities. She was born and bred in Trinidad, West Indies, and has lived in Trinidad, Switzerland, Florida, and New York (twice), all in the pursuit of learning. She has a background in Fashion, and most recently finished a Design BFA at the School of Visual Arts in New York.

 Eight

A horror novel being written this November by YWP participant Laurel Moore.

Eight is about three 13-year-old girls, Anne-Marie, Arushi, and Lavender. One day, they find a Magic 8 Ball and start asking it questions. What they don’t know is that the Magic 8 Ball is haunted and is slowly sucking in their souls. Sooner or later, they will be trapped inside of it, forever. 

All of the good souls that were sucked inside have been turned evil by the Magic 8 Ball. When they accidentally break the ball, the evil souls are released into the world, and the girls have to go collect all of the souls, accompanied by a boy in their class who is obsessed with ghost hunting.

Cover Designed by Frances Yllana

Frances Yllana designs, writes, teaches and cheerleads for civic/cultural engagement in Dallas, TX. She’s stoked to celebrate her career-quinceañera this January 2016. Her most current roles are: Imaginuity creative director, UNT design-school adjunct and AIGA DFW president.

How NaNoWriMo Helped Prepare My Book for Publication: 3 Perspectives

Every year, we’re lucky to have great sponsors for our nonprofit events. Kindle Scout is reader-powered publishing for new, never-before-published books. It’s a place where readers help decide if a book gets published. Of the over 75 titles readers have discovered through Kindle Scout, many have roots in NaNoWriMo. This post highlights three authors who’ve used their experiences from NaNoWriMo to help with their submission to Kindle Scout:

The novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo, The Misses Brontë’s Establishment, is the same that was selected by Amazon’s Kindle Scout program. Both processes were intense, and both lasted exactly 30 days. For NaNo, writing 3,000 words/day wasn’t too hard for me, since this is my normal pace.  But the discipline required to do it every day—for a full month—strained even my resources.  By the end, I think I was hallucinating.

After much revising came the novel’s entry into the Kindle Scout contest. Thirty more days of intensity: this time, not of writing, but marketing! Hundreds of Facebook, Twitter, email pleas trying to solicit votes…

In sum, I’d say that the sustained discipline required for NaNo absolutely came in handy when it was time for Scout. Both NaNo and Scout are marathons, not sprints, and I’m not much of a walker (being from L.A.).  Both experiences were gratifying, fun (in a way), and enabled me to further my writing career.

Amy Wolf, author of The Misses Brontë’s Establishment , a novel discovered by readers through Kindle Scout

 

I am a complete and utter perfectionist.  I looked at my writing as a constant work in process and I would sit on it for years at a time, constantly editing and rewriting until I was blue in the face.  My confidence kept dropping and I suffered from crippling writer’s block.  Then my friends told me about NaNoWriMo in 2008 and dared me to do it.  Naturally, I did what any aspiring writer would do and picked up the gauntlet.

The experience was liberating.  NaNoWriMo’s unofficial motto of “No Plot? No Problem!” set me free.  For one month all I had to do was write 50,000 words. I even went further and dared myself write 3,000 words a day for 30 days.  I honestly don’t l think I slept for more than four hours a night, but somehow I scribbled down a few more than 90,000 words of a Dungeons & Dragons meets Greek mythology mashup that I never edited and never reviewed.  When I saw that certificate I beamed with pride, and I learned something fundamental about myself: dares work.  

This past year my friends dared me to write a story about vampires and I used that same power to write Four for Kindle Scout.  If I never had dared to just write one story in a month, I don’t think I ever would have pushed through and finished my novel, in fact I am pretty certain I’d still be editing it now.

R.E. Carr, author of Four, a novel discovered by readers through Kindle Scout

 

The funny thing about a month is that it is usually an unmemorable period of time that breezes by without much thought. The beauty of NaNoWriMo is that it is a marathon that guarantees that you will have a memorable month. I remember vividly November of 2013, when I wrote the first draft of Freelancer, a few thousand words at a time.

Sitting down to write 2,000 words for one day isn’t really that difficult. But then the weekend comes or work wants you to work late or the only time you have to write is at 2 a.m. and you haven’t slept in a week. That’s what makes NaNoWriMo so difficult and so rewarding. The natural inclination is to just skip a day or two and tell yourself that you’ll make it up, but there aren’t any cheat days when you are trying to write a novel in a month. 

The good news is that eventually these days add up and soon you will be writing the climax of your book while eating the leftover turkey. You’ll type “The End” and lean back and realize that you have done something incredible. You’ve created a story.

When I finished the first draft of Freelancer, after NaNoWriMo I felt great. And I also felt like I never wanted to write again. So I took a break for a while and enjoyed the holidays. When the New Year started, I passed out copies of my first draft to anyone that would read them and started the real difficult part of writing: taking a first draft and turning it into a book. I did three major revisions for Freelancer and a handful more of copyedits.

In February of 2015, Freelancer went live on Kindle Scout. My book was finally available for the world to see. A new thirty day marathon began as I tried to market my novel. I did everything I could think of let people know that my book could use their support in non-intrusive ways. I was careful not to bother people, but I had an amazing story that I knew people would love, so I did what promotion I could.

I tried to keep Freelancer in the “Hot and Trending” category on Kindle Scout for as many hours as possible. That meant a little bit of marketing every day and it meant checking the status of the book every hour for 30 days. I thought NaNoWriMo had been rough, but the Kindle Scout campaign almost did me in. I searched the Internet for places where book readers might be interested in receiving a free copy of my debut novel. I introduced myself and became a member of so many great communities of authors and book lovers during this process. But, readers have lots of options and I refused to spam people so even those communities weren’t a great source of nominations.

I wrote out a schedule with the remaining days in the month and experimented every day with a new marketing channel. Just like with NaNoWriMo, the month ended and I had accomplished something I was proud of. No matter if Freelancer was selected for publication I had received so many great pieces of feedback about my work and pushed myself that I was grateful for the experience. 

Freelancer was lucky enough to be selected for publication by Kindle Press. The night I found out was one I’ll always remember. I danced around the house celebrating.

But, it turns out the hard work wasn’t over. I spent the next thirty days after selection doing one final edit of my book. It was another thirty-day marathon, forcing myself to work every night. At this point, it was a familiar feeling that I had come to relish. Thirty days of focused productivity. The lessons that I had forced myself to learn by writing late at night and on a holiday in November of 2013 had paid off a number of times already and the book hadn’t even made it out to publication yet.

NaNoWriMo was one of the most difficult programs that I had ever willingly signed up for. But it has also turned out to be one of the most valuable and rewarding. I’ve done it every year since and can’t wait to get started this year. Take it a day at a time and force yourself to be persistent. It’ll be worth it in the end.

Jake Lingwall, author of Freelancer , a novel discovered by readers through Kindle Scout

30 Covers, 30 Days 2015: Day TwentyEvery November, during...

THE SECRETS OF RAVENSTONE MANOR || A children’s fiction novel being written by Mary Rath || Cover design by Courtney Glancy


THE KIDS IN MS. ELLIOT'S CLASS || A young adult novel being written by YWP Participant Joey S. Cry || Cover design by Steve St. Pierre


Courtney Glancy is a graphic designer and all-around creative human.


Steve St. Pierre is a designer living and working in Ottawa, Canada.

30 Covers, 30 Days 2015: Day Twenty

Every November, during National Novel Writing Month, thirty professional designers volunteer to create book cover art inspired by novels being written by aspiring authors from around the globe. Why? To encourage new, diverse voices, and help build a more creative world.  

30 Covers, 30 Days is presented in partnership with designer and author Debbie Millman.  Wrimos: submit your synopses for 30C30D 2015 here.

Read more about these NaNoWriMo 2015 novels-in-progress, and the cover designers, below.

The Secrets of Ravenstone Manor

A children’s fiction novel being written this November by Mary Rath.

When orphans James and Lenore Arrington arrive upon the steps of their uncle’s mansion on the night of January 3rd, 1927—a great, dark, mysterious estate known as Ravenstone Manor—they are given only three rules:

If a door is locked, do not open it.
If something asks your name, do not answer it.
Ignore the black door at the end of the hall.

Had they known how much trouble having a world-famous wizard for an uncle would be, the twins might have reconsidered the option of going to a boarding school in America. But for better or for worse, the children enter a new-found world of magic and alchemy, of books with opinions on how they should be shelved, of sardonic cats, and of radios that channel spirits instead of jazz. 

But unbeknownst to the children, an ancient evil lurks within the labyrinthine corridors of Ravenstone—and it’s only a matter of time until they discover that not all locks can hold forever…

Cover Designed by Courtney Glancy

Courtney Glancy is a graphic designer and all-around creative human hailing from Bawlmer, hon! (That’s Baltimore for all you non-natives.) When she’s not at her day job brewing up fresh ideas for major brands, she enjoys fiddling around in the kitchen, beating the hell out of a heavy bag, and finding the next perfect pair of shoes.

 The Kids in Ms. Elliot’s Class

A young adult novel being written this November by YWP Participant Joey S. Cry.

Twenty-six students. One fifth-grade class.

Five years later, sophomore year of high school. Nothing is as anyone remembers.

Told in a series of short vignettes, this poignant tale weaves together the stories of twenty-six teenagers struggling to find their way in a world of far-off expectations and underlying influences.

Cover Designed by Steve St. Pierre

Steve St. Pierre is a designer living and working in Ottawa, Canada. With a “no style” approach, his chameleonic aesthetic has spanned various industries. He is currently an art director at McMillan, a B2B branding agency.

6 Ways to Firm Up Your Novel’s Saggy Middle

All through National Novel Writing Month, published authors will take the whistle, take over our official Twitter account for a week, and act as your NaNo Coach . This week’s NaNo Coach, Claire Fuller, author of Our Endless Numbered Days , shares six ways to get through the middle of your novel:

You’re probably hitting the middle point of your novel about now, and for all writers this is often where your story starts to sag. You might have an idea of the ending, or even have it all planned out, but how you’re going to get there is unclear. Here, then, are six ideas to work those saggy middles to keep them strong, toned and looking good: 

Make things even more difficult for your main characters. 

Put as many obstacles in their way as possible to stop them achieving what they want. Make them get side-tracked in a personal crisis, burn down their house, have them break a leg. In other words, up the tension.

Plot the way ahead scene by scene. 

Focus only on the scene you can see right in front of you. Don’t worry about all the others; worrying will only stop you writing. And once you’ve written that scene, think about the possible consequences to help you plot the next. 

Don’t be too concerned about the transition from one scene to the next in your first draft; this can be worked on when you edit.

Hop over the middle section and write the ending. 

Hopping over these sections is a radical action, because it hasn’t solved the problem of your saggy middle; it has only delayed sorting it out, and your ending might need to change when you do come to write it. You also need to write a lot at the beginning and the end of the novel in order to still achieve 50,000 words by the 30th of November (but remember, a book is normally 80,000 words minimum, so this should be achievable). 

The benefit? This might make clearer what needs to happen in the middle so you can go back and write it. 

Let the middle scenes be sketchier than the end and the beginning. 

Write them as notes if you like, or as a paragraph or two for each scene. But set yourself the task of writing 20 of them, when you might only need 10. That way you’ll keep your word count up, and can delete 10 and flesh out the others when you do your editing. 

Expand any subplots. 

Allow your writing to go off on a tangent in the middle of the novel and see what happens. Again this might not solve the saggy middle issue, but it will keep you writing and help you hit that magic 50K.

Add in new characters to mess things up. 

This comes back to my first point: to make life harder for your MC. Or perhaps the new characters can represent a different point of view. 

If you are going to bring in new characters with fairly major roles, make a special note for your future self to go back and introduce them earlier on in the novel, so that readers have enough time to get to know them before the end.

Whichever options you go for, don’t worry too much—remember everyone’s first drafts are always rough and scrappy, especially the central sections. Saggy middles can be firmed up when you edit. Good luck!

Claire Fuller recently had her debut novel, Our Endless Numbered Days published in the US by Tin House, in the UK by Penguin, as well as in Canada and France, and will be published in a further five countries. It is the 2015 winner of the Desmond Elliott prize for debut fiction and has been nominated for the Edinburgh First Book Award. Claire lives in Winchester, England with her husband and children.

30 Covers, 30 Days 2015: Day NineteenEvery November, during...

MERMER || A fantasy novel being written by Emelia Rolles || Cover design by Jane Dorn


SOUR POWER || A science fiction novel being written by YWP Participant Charis || Cover design by Bonni Leon-Berman


Jane Dorn is an educator, photographer, and graphic designer.


Bonni Leon-Berman is a Graphic Designer specializing in Book Jacket and Interior Page Layout.

30 Covers, 30 Days 2015: Day Nineteen

Every November, during National Novel Writing Month, thirty professional designers volunteer to create book cover art inspired by novels being written by aspiring authors from around the globe. Why? To encourage new, diverse voices, and help build a more creative world.  

30 Covers, 30 Days is presented in partnership with designer and author Debbie Millman.  Wrimos: submit your synopses for 30C30D 2015 here.

Read more about these NaNoWriMo 2015 novels-in-progress, and the cover designers, below.

Mermer

A fantasy novel being written this November by Emelia Rolles. 

Life for Lena is glamorous. She has a penthouse overlooking Central Park in Manhattan, her own private chauffeur, a wardrobe stocked with the latest Chanel and Prada designs, and three best friends who’d never let her down—or would they? 

Her glamorous life gets thrown into a frenzy when she finds herself thrown off the Brooklyn Bridge one night by three dubious characters. With her fall, a dark secret is revealed… and New York will never be the same for Lena again. This is the story of Mermer, and Lena’s quest for her own survival and identity after losing it all: her family, her friends, and even her own humanity.

Cover Designed by Jane Dorn

Born, raised, and bent double as a hairpin in various versions of Small-Town Baptist USA, Jane Dorn is an educator, photographer, and graphic designer who spends her time thinking, making, and hopefully giving more than she takes.

Sour Power

A science fiction novel being written this November by YWP Participant Charis.

Everly has been waiting ages for her eighteenth birthday. After all, everyone gets their own superpower when they turn eighteen! Everly’s counted down the years, months, weeks, days, hours, and seconds until the biggest moment of her life. But much to her dismay, she has been given one of the lamest powers she can think of: Blot, the power to control the flow of ink in pens around her. 

Sure, it’s fine for pranks, like making people spill ink on themselves or scratch their paper over and over again with no sign of ink. But that gets boring after a while. This is the gift she has been provided with, the way people will identify her for the rest of her life. Her mother can fly, her dad can shapeshift, her brother has super sight. But why did she, of all people, get the lamest superpower her society has ever seen?

Cover Designed by Bonni Leon-Berman

Bonni Leon-Berman is a Graphic Designer specializing in Book Jacket and Interior Page Layout, and is presently the interior design lead at Oxford University Press in New York City

Check Out Your Imagination... Have Fun with Your Story

This year, we’ve invited you to tackle NaNoWriMo and check out your imagination at “The NaNoWriMo Library”. We’ve asked some real-life librarians for their best tips on finding inspiration in the stacks. Today, Nancy Aravecz at the New York Public Library challenges you to find the fun in your novel:

There are so many inspiring things about working at The New York Public Library—I count myself lucky to be a contributing member of an institution that is so dedicated to empowering New Yorkers of all stripes by linking them to technology, books, education, and fun! I’m especially passionate about that last bit: the fun!

The questions that patrons at Mid-Manhattan Library ask never fail to amaze me. Even the wackiest of requests can result in a collaborative and creative journey to find the answers to questions like: 

How many times was 33 a powerball number last year?Do you have any books about the history of alien abductions on record in the U.S.?I’ve written this guide to preventing hexes, can you add it to the collection?

Helping these people from behind the information desk is actually a really big help to me in my writing. That powerball question inspired an anecdote in a short story I wrote a few months back. The anti-hex activist was the inspiration behind a character in the novel I’m writing this November. I think that the best way to approach creative writing is to keep your eyes and ears open in real life—compelling characters and situations arise all the time, whether you work with the public or in a sea of cubicles.

Need some other sources of inspiration?

I really love to read the blog, brainpickings.org. It is filled with unique perspectives on famous writers and important literary concepts that frequently inspire my writing. Another favorite website of mine is Wikipedia. I’ve spent hours going down the rabbit hole that is hypertext on Wikipedia—and most of that time has retrospectively turned out some real (and really energizing!) research for my novel. Here at Mid-Manhattan Library, we are hosting two, 2-hour write-ins per week on the 4th floor PC Lab. You can find the links for these events and reserve a spot by clicking here. Also, we’ll be tracking the progress of some of our participants on nypl.org’s blogging platform. Meet our MML novelists!

Nancy Aravecz is a Library Information Assistant at the Mid-Manhattan branch of The New York Public Library. She earned her M.A. in English Literature from NYU in 2013, and holds a B.A. in English and History from Wagner College. A dedicated teacher, while she’s not connecting New Yorkers to knowledge at NYPL, she works as an Adjunct Lecturer in English Composition at Pace University, and moonlights as a fitness instructor at The Bar Method SoHo.

30 Covers, 30 Days 2015: Day EighteenEvery November, during...

AFTER THE STORM || A young adult novel being written by E. M. McGowan || Cover design by Sandra Sabarudin


A FOOL OF THORNS || A historical novel being written by YWP participant Isabella Bank || Cover design by Justin Kuntz


Sandra Sabarudin is a So-Cal based social media evangelist with a passion for fashion, graphic design, technology and food!


Justin Kuntz is an Idaho born designer, strategist, educator and thinker.

30 Covers, 30 Days 2015: Day Eighteen

Every November, during National Novel Writing Month, thirty professional designers volunteer to create book cover art inspired by novels being written by aspiring authors from around the globe. Why? To encourage new, diverse voices, and help build a more creative world.  

30 Covers, 30 Days is presented in partnership with designer and author Debbie Millman.

Read more about these NaNoWriMo 2015 novels-in-progress, and the cover designers, below.

After the Storm

A young adult novel being written this November by E. M. McGowan.

There’s been a school shooting in a small Lancashire town; people are reeling, shocked, injured, and grieving as they try to put the pieces back together. 

This story is told through the eyes of Katie Shaw, a fifteen-year-old girl injured in the attack, who has lost her best friend and is in recovery. She meets another person in the children’s ward also recovering from the attack, Domonic Carter, and the meeting helps them both. This is a story of friendship, loss and survival after horror.

Cover Designed by Sandra Sabarudin

Sandra Sabarudin is a So-Cal based social media evangelist with a passion for fashion, graphic design, technology and food! She practically lives on the Internet, interacts daily with her social networks, and satisfies her hunger for new media with blogs, podcasts, and video.

 

A Fool of Thorns

A historical novel being written this November by YWP participant Isabella Bank.

He was brought into a world of misery, sorrow, and triumph. Once in a while you might see a patch of green, struggling to survive, but mostly the land is covered with thorny, brittle bushes and misshapen, gnarled trees. The land is dry, cracked, and hard from the heat of the sun beating down on it. You can barely grow anything there and when you do, it dries out before you get a chance to harvest it.

“Could a place this terrible really exist?” you may ask. Reader, in fact it does. It is called the Caatinga. It could probably be considered one of the most difficult places to live in all of the world. It is found in the northeastern part of Brazil. 

Antonio Ferreira Araujo was brought into this world of despair in 1938. This is his story.

Cover Designed by Justin Kuntz

Justin Kuntz is an Idaho born designer, strategist, educator and thinker. After toiling away in the hot dust and under the red thumbs of corporate bosses, Justin went rogue and started a brand and interaction agency, Creative Soapbox. Today he is planted in Eugene, Oregon with his wife, three kids, two dogs and two cat beasts.

30 Covers, 30 Days 2015: Day SeventeenEvery November, during...

A LITTLE BOOK OF HOLIDAY COMFORT || A women’s fiction novel being written by Adrienne Wilson || Cover design by Thy Doan


SOULBEAT || A romance novel being written by YWP participant Reagan Petersen || Cover design by Olivia Orr


Thy Doan is a designer and letterer currently based in Boston.


Olivia Orr is a graphic design student in Colorado attending classes at Front Range Community College.

30 Covers, 30 Days 2015: Day Seventeen

Every November, during National Novel Writing Month, thirty professional designers volunteer to create book cover art inspired by novels being written by aspiring authors from around the globe. Why? To encourage new, diverse voices, and help build a more creative world.  

30 Covers, 30 Days is presented in partnership with designer and author Debbie Millman.

Read more about these NaNoWriMo 2015 novels-in-progress, and the cover designers, below.

A Little Book of Holiday Comfort

A women’s fiction novel being written this November by Adrienne Wilson.

In a series of short vignettes and recipes that are easily made from scratch, I will tell tales of survival and coping, and teach people to make the very simplest of holiday-themed comfort food with an old fashioned flair.

As a therapist I saw many, many people during the holiday season. The days from Thanksgiving to the New Year can be some of the most difficult for people emotionally. How do we cope with the holidays? The book is for circumstances like that of my dear friend who has just lost her husband of many years and whose children are off on their own, and for people who feel lost at sea.

Cover Designed by Thy Doan

Thy Doan is a designer and letterer currently based in Boston. Branding, custom lettering and print design are the mainstays of her work, but she also strives to push lettering into mediums that are off-screen and can be a part of your daily life.

 

Soulbeat

A romance novel being written this November by YWP participant Reagan Petersen.

In the future, a scientist makes it possible for people to have the same heartbeat as their soul mate, making it easier for people to find their match. Because of this, everyone has their own unique heartbeat that never slows down or speeds up.

Katie runs into her soul mate in the hallway at school, Elliott. At the moment they meet, they can hear their hearts beat loudly, and for some odd reason their heartbeats speed up. They both know that they have the same heartbeat; Katie wants to get to know Elliott better and go out with him. But Elliott, who is very artistic, doesn’t want to get to know her because he doesn’t want to make any commitments except to his art.

Elliott tells Katie that they should just stay friends and that he’s not ready for a commitment; and when Katie’s best friend asks him out, he accepts. Throughout the book, Elliott tries to hide his feelings and stick to his art… but really he’s falling in love with Katie.

Cover Designed by Olivia Orr

Olivia Orr is a graphic design student in Colorado attending classes at Front Range Community College. She found a passion for design in high school, and is excited about the possibilities for design at college and career level.

"[Killing a character] enlivens the plot every time, and I get to write another “finding of the body”..."

“[Killing a character] enlivens the plot every time, and I get to write another “finding of the body” scene, which is one of my favorites. I have never found a body in real life, but I have found dozens on the page, and every time, I get a creative charge from it.

 

This may not be a particularly attractive aspect of my character, but hey! I’m amongst other writers, and I can tell you the truth.”

- Charlaine Harris, on refreshing your interest in your novel.

30 Covers, 30 Days 2015: Day SixteenEvery November, during...

THE ARCHITECTURE OF HEAVEN || A sci-fi novel being written by Holly Cave || Cover design by Richard Hollant


THE TROUBLED SPIRITS OF POINT SPARROW || A horror novel being written by YWP participant Sophie Vandevander || Cover design by Prescott Perez-Fox


Rich Hollant is the principal director at CO:LAB, a brand design firm focused on social impact.


Prescott Perez-Fox is a 15-year veteran of the graphic design & branding world.

30 Covers, 30 Days 2015: Day Sixteen

Every November, during National Novel Writing Month, thirty professional designers volunteer to create book cover art inspired by novels being written by aspiring authors from around the globe. Why? To encourage new, diverse voices, and help build a more creative world.  

30 Covers, 30 Days is presented in partnership with designer and author Debbie Millman.

Read more about these NaNoWriMo 2015 novels-in-progress, and the cover designers, below.

The Architecture of Heaven

A sci-fi novel being written this November by Holly Cave.

Isobel builds afterlives for her clients with the same care and attention that an architect would take when designing a house. Every day, she meets the dying. She reassures them; tends to them; promises them the perfect Heaven. 

She creates worlds she’ll never see or experience for herself, until she meets terminally-ill Jarek.

Cover Designed by Rich Hollant

Rich Hollant is the principal director at CO:LAB, a brand design firm focused on social impact. He has been honored as one of 20 “People to Watch” by GD, U.S.A. and acknowledged by Fast Company for his social value work.

 The Troubled Spirits of Point Sparrow

A horror novel being written this November by YWP participant Sophie Vandevander.

When Allen Picket hears he will be moving to Point Sparrow, he is more than happy to go somewhere far away from Winston-Salem. But after arriving, he experiences a town that cannot let go of its past. 

When he discovers the spirit of Meredith Lowery, a young girl killed in 1962, and the other spirits who live in the Lowery house, he is determined to put them to rest. The only way to help Meredith and the other spirits is to find the ring that caused Meredith’s death and destroy it, but it is not as easy a task as Allen anticipates. While searching for the ring, he uncovers more about himself than he’d bargained for.

Cover Designed by Prescott Perez-Fox

Prescott Perez-Fox is a 15-year veteran of the graphic design & branding world, having worked for agencies and in-house teams in New York, Philadelphia, and London. Operating as Starship Design, Prescott helps quirky, rebellious brands update and grow their identities and also runs The Busy Creator, a podcast and blog dedicated to helping creative pros become happier and more productive.