Megan Morgan's Blog, page 46

Still learning

I recently finished edits on a novella that will be out this fall, and every time I work with an editor, I learn something new. No matter how tight I think my writing is, when I work with an editor who really knows their stuff, I find something that needs more cranking. I’ve been doing this for a long time, so I’ve gotten past the point where having my mistakes pointed out to me makes me defensive. Usually I slap my forehead, get a bit chagrined, but ultimately I’m grateful to learn something new and have the opportunity to make my writing even better. I habitually thank my editors for their insight and for being willing to teach me things.

That’s why I’m a writer, after all, not just because I like to tell stories, but because I want to understand writing and all its rules and usages and learn everything I can about it. A carpenter learns their trade not just because they love to build things, but because they’re interested in all the components of their craft–the tools, the wood, the techniques. I think it’s an important aspect of any skill that you want to keep learning about it and trying to do it better. A carpenter wouldn’t create a lopsided, precariously-built house and call it good enough, and I don’t want to leave my writing ‘good enough’ when it could be better.

I’m happy every time I learn something new, even if I look back at the already-published stuff and wince because I wasn’t doing it then. However, the thing about writing is you can’t keep going back and fixing up things that have already gone out into the world (and if you’re traditionally published, just try asking your publisher if they’ll take your book down and let you revise it–see how hilarious that reaction is) you can only apply the new things you’ve learned to future books and keep trying to be better.

I don’t expect to ever be perfect, I don’t think there is any such thing–I’ve seen even the biggest authors in the business make mistakes–but I love to write and I love to learn about it.

Filed under: About Me, Behind The Scenes, Publications, Works Tagged: editing, me, tools, writing

Back to New Orleans

In June, I’ll be taking a vacation to New Orleans. Just a few days in the French Quarter, but I’m super excited about it. I’ve been to New Orleans once before, for a week, and stayed in the French Quarter–and never left it. Well, except to go on a riverboat cruise on the Mississippi. I know there’s lots of other things to see in New Orleans, but I was spellbound by the French Quarter and had no desire to leave it once I got in it. I did a lot of the classic tourist things–a ghost tour, visiting Jackson Square (which could be seen from the hotel balcony), and having beignets at Cafe Du Monde. I didn’t get to walk through the cemeteries though, so that’s something I want to do this time around.

Last time I was there I got some beads…yes, the way you get them in New Orleans!

If you’ve never been to the French Quarter, it’s definitely everything you see and read about it. Party every night (and day), crowds, music, lights, beads, endless fun (and trouble) to get into, marvelous food, and an achingly historical air about everything that’s hard to describe. When I first arrived, I was not prepared for how run down and dirty it seemed. But once you’re there for a few hours, you start to realize it’s the reason for the phrase “it has character.” I’ve never visited another place like it, not even other ‘party’ destinations like Las Vegas. In Vegas everything seems very slick and modern, while the French Quarter has never lost the veneer of the past. It’s beautiful in its own raw, sprawling sort of way. While Vegas felt overwhelming and incredibly phony to me most of the time, the French Quarter had a charming cozy grittiness that captured my heart. It felt like being in another world. Maybe I enjoyed it so much because I worked for five years in a New Orleans-themed restaurant. Though I didn’t visit it during my time working there.

I can’t wait to go back! It’s sure to be blazing hot in June, but I love the heat and so does my best friend, who will be accompanying me. We’re staying in a cute little pink guest house at the edge of the Quarter. Since I’ve been there before I’ll be acting as a tour guide. I have a habit of wanting to do EVERYTHING ALL AT ONCE everytime I go somewhere, so I’m sure we’ll have a few full, interesting days.

Have you ever been to the French Quarter? What did you think of it?

Filed under: About Me, Behind The Scenes Tagged: me, personal life, pictures

News around the writing world

These two bits of information are unrelated but have been the biggest writing news stories on my radar the past week:

You’ve probably heard by now that Samhain Publishing has decided to cease operations. They’ll be shutting down slowly over a period of months while they continue to release the books they currently have scheduled. This comes as a huge shock, especially for romance writers. Samhain has been a staple of the romance e-publishing world for almost a decade. They were one of the largest, most powerful romance publishers outside of the ‘big’ houses and they produced tons of bestsellers. I remember when I first started writing romance, they were the most coveted publishing house for me. I would have given my right arm to be published by them–of course that would make it hard to write, but the sentiment stands.

I eventually ended up with Kensington, but I still would have been happy to have Samhain publishing anything of mine. It’s sad news for romance (and horror–they had a robust horror line) when such a powerhouse goes out of business, even sadder because many of the authors are saying there was no indication this was coming. Scary too, because if a house as well-known and respected as Samhain can falter, who else can? Small publishers sputter out all the time, but Samhain was by no means a ‘small’ press.

I wish good things for all the authors being affected by this–may you all find new homes for your books!

The second bit of news is a big deal for all Stephen King fans (of which I am definitely one). Idris Elba has been cast in the role of Roland Deschain (the Gunslinger) in the upcoming Dark Tower movies. I’m only about halfway through the Dark Tower series–I’ve always been more a fan of Stephen King’s horror than his fantasy, but the novels are excellent. They were my ex-husband’s favorite Stephen King books and he finally nudged me to read them (we’re still friends!). There has been some contention because of Idris’s race, in part because it interferes with the storyline of another character in the books who is actually black, but Idris is an amazing actor and I think they’ll be able to work with it.

I think I’m even more excited about the fact Matthew McConaughey will be playing the Man In Black! If you’re a Stephen King fan you know the Man In Black is ‘the’ villain, who appears in various forms in many of Stephen King’s works. I couldn’t think of a better actor (sorry, Jamey Sheridan). I’m pretty happy with the casting. And this series of tweets made my fangirl heart scream in delight:

So there’s some random news from the past week. What’s caught your attention in the writing world lately?

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: celebrities, information, news, publishers

In His Keeping by T.J. Adams

Today I’m hosting T.J Adams and her paranormal romance In His Keeping. T.J. is giving away a $20 Amazon or B&N gift card, so make sure to comment, check out the other stops on the tour, and enter the Rafflecopter giveaway! Each stop on the tour has its own, exclusive excerpt from the book.

Enter to win a $20 Amazon/B&N Gift Card

Leave a comment and check out the other stops on the tour for more chances to win–and read more exclusive excerpts!

At eighteen, Elise Duxten must end her life. Her younger sister, Marly, lies dead because of her. To pay for her crimes she sells her soul to the devil in exchange for her sister’s life.

Matrix, King of the crossroads, the Devil’s right hand man for the last twenty years, is willing to make the deal, eager for another pawn. To sweeten the exchange he gives her one year to mourn her decision before he takes her for good.

In that year he’s determined to torment her, driven by envy at the strength in her soul. Though having lived years apart, the same heartless man, Manx Sloazan, destroyed their lives.

With her remaining life, Elise must teach her sister to live without her and find the courage to say goodbye. It won’t be easy. Sloazan is determined to make Elise pay for a bungled drug sale and Matrix wants to torture her soul. Or does he?

With Elise, Matrix has discovered something he thought he’d lost. His heart. But he is the devil’s, without the ability to choose. When the time comes, will he be prepared to let her go in order to save her soul? Or will the Devil make sure he gets what is his due?

EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT:

A hand smoothed its way up my back, up to my shoulder, resting at the summit and gripping firm. It burned through my flimsy top, the imprint of each finger branded on my skin. Or so it felt. There would be nothing there to see if I looked—a sensation that left no physical mark but seared through my mind and into my memory, his touch destined to be stored alongside all the other longed-to-forget moments.

I turned in no hurry. Who would when the Devil stood behind? Again his beauty stunned me, casting everyone around him into shadow. He stared down at me without removing his hand. The heat began to flow through my body not just at the points where his fingers pressed into my collarbone or where his palm rested on my shoulder. It spread down my arms, through my chest, even reaching my toes.

The burn started intense but the longer he left his hand in place the duller the intensity became, as if my body adjusted and numbed. It wasn’t, however—numb—not my body. It became electrified. The pain of the burn transformed into energy currents pulsing through my veins, turning me into the fabric of energy itself.

Like this, we were connected in some way. I was part of the web of sinners, another who understood the lure of hell, imbued with the power to act without restraint or morality. Invincibility would become my mantle. I saw the truth reflected in his eyes.

This close his eyes were not entirely black. Flecks of color, deep greens and browns, close to his irises, gave expression to the black. They spoke to me, lured me. The world melted away, my problems with it. What about me? Was I disappearing?

Before I was lost he removed his hand, letting it fall to his side, and it’s withdrawal left me caving inward like a junky. Such a beautiful feeling snatched away. As he turned from me and looked out over the crowds and beyond to the buildings, I caught a fragment of some emotion wash across his face, so brief I couldn’t interpret it’s meaning. When he glanced down at me again his face was a mask, but his eyes remained strong. They were now the only things to burn through me. My head spun in circles. I reached behind to grip the wall, needing the support of something solid.

“Come.” His voice was harsh.

BUY LINKS:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/His-Keeping-Dealer-Souls-Book-ebook/dp/B01A9VMHGO

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/605832

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

TJ Adams couldn’t decide what she wanted to be when she grew up and travelled instead. She returned from overseas with the thrill of adventure still inside, so decided to train as a commercial light aircraft pilot, flying out of the remote aboriginal communities of north Western Australia.

A badly damaged eardrum clipped her wings, and she returned to Perth to complete a BA of science. During this time she meet her husband halfway up a rock face, while engaging in one of her favorite past times, rock climbing.

Somewhat tamed, TJ Adams and hubby settled in the Perth Hills with their three children.

When her children were little, TJ Adams found her new passion—books. Countless books later and the idea of becoming an author emerged.

Her favorite genre is paranormal with her first novel Bound under contract with Eternal press. Unable to stop her fingers from tapping, TJ Adams has since formed a partners with another Perth author, Renee Hammond to complete the Hells Gate series. In His Keeping is her latest release.

Website: http://tjadamsauthor.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tjadamsauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/adams_terina

Amazon author page: https://amazon.com/author/tjadams.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5993768.T_J_Adams

Enter to win a $20 Amazon/B&N Gift Card

Leave a comment and visit the other stops on the tour for more chances to win–and read other exclusive excerpts!

Filed under: Giveaways, Guest Posts Tagged: guests, paranormal, romance

And now what?

This post is part of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog hop. The first Wednesday of every month is Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. The awesome co-hosts for the March 2 posting of the IWSG will be Lauren Hennessy, Lisa Buie-Collard, Lidy, Christine Rains, and Mary Aalgaard!

Tomorrow is a special day for me. It’s the one year anniversary of the release of my debut novel, The Wicked City. One year! I’ve published several other things since then, including the second book in the series, but nothing is quite like your ‘first,’ I guess. In some ways I can’t believe it’s been a year already and in some ways I can’t believe it’s only been a year.

My dream of being a runaway bestselling debut author is clearly not going to come to pass (or it already would have) but I’m okay with that. It’s an honor just to be nominated–or published–as they say. The fact that anyone read it at all, said nice things about it, and actually gave it an award makes me happier than I could ever imagine. I’d say this experiment so far has been a success.

The thing about accomplishing so much in a year though, is the anxiety to accomplish as much, or hopefully even more, in the second year. More contracts! More publications! More recognition. Let’s keep this ball rolling. I hope to achieve that, and if I don’t, I hope to be okay with not achieving it. Publishing, even once you have your foot in the door, can be a crapshoot. And at that point you’re not only competing with other authors but also with yourself, which can be much worse. Will I top myself? Will I do even better this year?

I try to enjoy the other rewards that come with publishing so I don’t drive myself crazy: the community, the chance to work with seasoned professionals, making new friends, and meeting new people. Sometimes it’s too easy to get caught up in your sales figures and forget that there’s an awesome, supportive group of people out there who want you to join in their circle, and that’s the real joy.

One last note: next month I’m not only doing the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, but I’m going to be co-hosting IWSG again! I’ll be quite the busy social butterfly. See you there!

Filed under: IWSG, The Wicked City Tagged: blog hop, creativity, insecure writer's support group, writing

Becoming Fenimore by Rebecca Bryan

Today I’m hosting Rebecca Bryan and her paranormal historical romance Becoming Fenimore. Rebecca is giving away a $20 Amazon or B&N gift card, so make sure to comment, check out the other stops on the tour, and enter the Rafflecopter giveaway!

Enter to win a $20 Amazon/B&N Gift Card

Leave a comment and check out the other stops on the tour for more chances to win!

Upon learning she is the only living beneficiary of a late aunt’s estate on far away Mackinac Island, Elle Curtis finds an unusual array of items connected to 19th Century writer Constance Fenimore Woolson—a discovery that will lead her on a journey and change her forever.

EXCERPT:

Elle

Mackinac Island

Looking around at the throng of tourists, Elle wondered how she would recognize Jace, the lawyer handling Lois’ estate. He had promised to be at the dock to pick her up and take her to her hotel as he had made all the arrangements for her stay. She hated to admit it, but she had begun to think the man on the other end of the phone sounded handsome, not that it mattered. He was probably married with children and she shouldn’t be looking anyway.

When she saw a man a few feet away holding the second sign of the day with her name on it, she was secretly pleased to see sandy brown hair, dark blue eyes, and soft lips. His charming and somewhat familiar voice was a welcomed relief.

“You must be Elle,” he said when she had made her way through the crowd to him. He had an air of confidence that was rather intimidating yet pleasant all at once. “Jace Stokes. How was your trip?”

She rubbed her lips together, wishing she’d combed her hair and put on some lip-gloss before she’d gotten off the ferry, but it was too late now. “It was interesting. I haven’t traveled in a long time.” Would this justify her looking rather weathered? she wondered.

“Are you cold?” he asked, acknowledging her parka- like hoodie. That’s when she noticed he was wearing khaki shorts and a button down, short sleeve Hawaiian shirt. She pulled the hoodie back and ran her fingers through her tangled tresses. “It was a bit breezy on the boat.”

“Florida blood.” He smiled like it was an inside joke. She unzipped her jacket and worked her fingers through the knots as she followed him out of the gate and into the street.

Mackinac Island (sounded out ‘Mackinaw’ as Jace had explained) was filled with people, carriages, bicyclists, and ringing bells. There was not, however, one single car on the street. It was like she’d traveled back in time.

Jace seemed to sense her shock when he said, “No motorized vehicles are allowed on the island.”

“None?” She stared at the row of whinnying horses. A maroon carriage with The Grand, stenciled in gold paint sat near the entrance. Jace handed the driver Elle’s suitcase.

“It’ll be waiting for you in your room. In the meantime I thought we’d get something to eat and then I’d show you the house. Is that alright?”

She nodded. She hadn’t eaten since Detroit and since she’d pretty much ran a 5k to catch her flight she was starving. She followed Jace down the boardwalk, glad to see a man who thought like she did – through her stomach first.

Main Street looked and felt like a movie or a beautiful coastal getaway or Disneyland or home. The clapboard building fronts were crisp and white, the trims painted in blues, reds, or yellows. Colorful purple petunias, orange gingersnaps, and white alyssum hung from baskets along the boardwalk, filling the air with a sweet honey fragrance. While bees buzzed hungrily from container to container, shop owners swept the sidewalk and waved to the tourists as they passed on their way to the beach or the ice cream shop. Again, similar to St. Augustine. The two cities could have been related.

Horse drawn carriages clopped along in a syncopated rhythm. It felt like a simpler time, one people craved as evidenced by the large crowds enjoying the thousands of blooming lilac trees dotting the hillsides, their sweet fragrance permeating the air and making everything look and smell like a picture book.

BUY LINK:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Fenimore-Novel-Rebecca-Bryan/dp/0692581359

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Rebecca started writing one summer day in 2008 to escape from the stresses of life, never imagining she actually publish one day. Becoming Fenimore is her third novel. Her previous novels, The Sand Bar, 2012 and Far From Perfect, 2013 were runners up on Readers Favorites, in the category of women’s fiction.

In a previous life Rebecca graduated from Brigham Young University-Idaho in Interior Design. When she is not writing or taking care of her five children, she can be found working in the theater and has been known to do a commercial or two on the side.

Website: http://rebeccabryan.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebeccabryanauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rebeccabryan2

 

Enter to win a $20 Amazon/B&N Gift Card

Leave a comment and visit the other stops on the tour for more chances to win!

Filed under: Giveaways, Guest Posts Tagged: guests, paranormal, romance

One year!

March 3rd will be the one year anniversary of my first full-length book release. The Wicked City came out almost a year ago! I can’t believe that much time has passed, and it has gone so fast for me. I’m generally happy with how well the book was received. I got a few nice reviews in important places, it won an award, and it sold generally well I think, for a first time author. In my debut year I’ve also published three novellas and my second book came out. All in all, a pretty good year.

I’ve been writing for a long time though, over two decades, and this sudden rush of being ‘discovered’ and having a bunch of stuff published is a long time coming. It’s still very much in the infancy stages too, no matter how many things I got published in my first year–I’ve only got my foot in the door and there’s still a long climb ahead of me to make it into the career I want it to be. That’s okay though, because we all have to start somewhere.

I’m continuing to write and work on new things, including an entirely new series, and I’m working on my goals one brick at a time. Now that writing has a business side for me, I sometimes have to remind myself not to get too caught up in that part and still enjoy the writing. At the end of the day, no matter how many pats on the back you get or how many sales you make, you have to go back to the page and keep doing the work. And after all, that’s where the real joy is.

Thank you to everyone who hangs around here and listens to me ramble. One of the best things I’ve discovered about this aspect of the writing life is the community and friendships you make. :) I’m grateful for all of it!

Filed under: Publications, The Wicked City Tagged: kensington, lyrical press, release date, writing

A Wicked Desire by Kiersten Fay

Today I’m hosting Kiersten Fay and her paranormal romance A Wicked Desire. Kiersten is giving away a $20 Amazon or B&N gift card, so make sure to comment, check out the other stops on the book blast tour, and enter the Rafflecopter giveaway. In addition, Kiersten is giving away a special prize on her website today!

Enter to win a $20 Amazon/B&N Gift Card

Leave a comment and check out the other book blast hosts for more chances to win!

In addition to the tour giveaway, please check for a special giveaway on the author’s website!

Having survived her terrible captivity by a sadistic doctor deep within an ancient mine, Cora returns home ready to move on with her life, but when Mason’s mysterious condition quickly deteriorates, Cora must embark on a quest for the one thing that could save his life.

When she is told Knox will accompany her, she fears she will not return alive. If Knox cannot control her, he might prefer her dead. Trusting him is a gamble she may never win…unless she can find other ways to tame the wild vampire.

EXCERPT:

Knox relaxed in the driver’s seat as he entered the highway.

She hadn’t asked nicely. She hadn’t asked at all. But then he hadn’t expected her to. Just the thought of being saddled with him as her escort had gotten her back up like he’d never seen. The disdain dripping from that last look before she had stomped upstairs to pack, grated. Why? Hell if he knew. He didn’t give a shit about what she thought of him. But it could have something to do with the fact that earlier she had been scanning him with open interest, with curiosity—maybe even with a little less fear and a little more respect than usual. Not that the former mattered much. Although, if he was going to get her in his bed, it might.

He had risked himself to help her. He should get points for that. Women loved that hero shit. Ate it up like motherfucking cake.

Unfortunately, he didn’t think she was allotting him the credit he deserved. Figures. His first selfless act in ages—well, mostly selfless—and she could only focus on the selfish part of it: that kiss.

He’d realized too late that she had manipulated him with that please-help-me-Knox and I-can-feel-your-fear garbage, and it drove him nuts that it had worked.

She’d scammed him. Got what she wanted without giving him a damn thing in return.

So he took a little something from her.

If she could really break through his blocks and see through the bond she wouldn’t have questioned the kiss…and even now she would be questioning his motives. Didn’t she wonder why he had capitulated so easily to joining her on this wild goose chase? The two of them, alone, for roughly eight days, no one to get in the way…

BUY LINKS:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BHBW9VS

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/a-wicked-desire-creatures-of-darkness-3

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/613038

Book List:

Demon Possession (Shadow Quest 1)
Demon Slave (Shadow Quest 2)
Demon Retribution (Shadow Quest 3)
Demon Untamed (Shadow Quest 4)
Racing Hearts (Shadow Quest 4.5)
A Wicked Hunger (Creatures of Darkness 1)
A Wicked Night (Creatures of Darkness 2)
A Wicked Desire (Creatures of Darkness 3)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kiersten Fay is the award-winning author of the steamy Shadow Quest series. She writes epic paranormal and sci-fi romance novels which incorporate elements of mythology and Lore. In 2012, Demon Retribution won Favorite Story of the Month via Gravetells, and received a nomination for favorite author in that same year. In 2013, her short story, Racing Hearts, was published in the anthology The Mammoth Book of Futuristic Romance. Her latest series, Creatures of Darkness, is a dark, yet steamy romance set in a future where vampires openly mingle with humans. Before becoming an author, Kiersten worked as graphic designer and now enjoys creating her own book covers.

Email: kierstenfay@kierstenfay.com

Website:  http://www.kierstenfay.com

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/kierstenfay

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/KierstenFay

PINTEREST: https://www.pinterest.com/kierstenfay

TUMBLR: http://kierstenfay.tumblr.com

GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4810094.Kiersten_Fay

 

Enter to win a $20 Amazon/B&N Gift Card

Leave a comment and visit the other book blast hosts for more chances to win!

In addition to the tour giveaway, please check for a special giveaway on the author’s website!
Filed under: Giveaways, Guest Posts Tagged: guests, paranormal, romance

Blogging from A to Z–it approaches!

In case you don’t know, sign-ups are open for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge! At the moment, there’s over 800 blogs participating–wow, that’s a lot! The challenge is simple: blog every day in the month of April (except Sundays) using each letter of the alphabet for your post subject. You get to pick whatever you’d like to write about, there’s no rules or restrictions. As a bonus, you get tons of visitors to your blog and make a whole bunch of new friends and find new awesome blogs to read.

Last year, the A to Z Challenge was what made me a ‘real’ blogger. Prior to taking the challenge (my first), I was a lazy blogger and when I did blog, I scrabbled for subjects to write about. I still struggle now and then, but I’m a much more consistent blogger and I can come up with ideas more easily. I found that like anything, blogging takes practice to get good at it. I still wouldn’t call myself some blogging expert, but I enjoy it and it’s my most active form of social media. I also got most of my blog followers from the challenge as well as the Insecure Writer’s Support Group monthly blog hop, which is run by the same group of people who run the A to Z Challenge.

Speaking of that, I’m going to be an April co-host for IWSG, which means I’ll be co-hosting in the middle of the A to Z Challenge as well! How’s THAT for taking some blogging risks? I would have never dreamed of trying something like this last year. Now…bring it on! I’m ready to be a mega-blogger.

I’m hoping to do something both educational and entertaining with my A to Z theme this year. Speaking of that–the theme reveal sign-ups are now open as well! Ha, can you tell I was eager to sign up judging by who got the first slot on the list? (Actually, I had to get up for work at 5 am and I just hit up the list when I got up because I knew it was sign-up day and I didn’t want to forget…but I was also eager.) You’ll have to wait until March 21st to find out what I’ll be blogging about this year.

Are you doing the A to Z Challenge this year? Are you curious? Do you need some encouraging words? I’d be happy to help!

Filed under: A to Z Challenge, IWSG Tagged: blog hop, blogging, challenges, creativity, insecure writer's support group, inspiration, writing

When your cover artist ‘gets’ it

The lovely covers for my Siren Song series were created by awesome cover/media artist Fiona Jayde. She works with my publisher and they enlisted her for the job, which made me quite happy. I had seen her work around the writing world many times and was always enamoured with it.

When I received the cover for the first book, The Wicked City, I was a squealy, giddy author indeed. June looks almost exactly like I picture her. I originally envisioned her with shorter hair, but because of the covers, I actually rewrote her to have longer hair because I liked it better. Her tattoos are also pretty spot on. I know it’s hard to create an artistic rendering of a character with a lot of tattoos, so I was quite impressed.

The only thing that baffled me, at first anyway, was why the artist chose to depict her with sunglasses on. There are no descriptions in the book of her wearing sunglasses. I discovered the cover model has sunglasses on in many of her photos (a lot of cover artists use stock photography to make book covers) so I figured this might have been the reason (some pictures there are NSFW, no nudity though).

But after some thought, it struck me. And also, touched me.

In my little made up world, people with exceptionally strong paranormal powers (and that’s not a good thing, trust me) are made obvious by the fact the color of their irises are either super-vibrant or drastically washed out. June has spent her entire life trying to hide the fact she’s paranormal so she can have a simple, regular life, and also because it brought tragedy to her family when she was younger. Except…her eyes are almost luminescent green because of her power, so she can’t hide what she is as well as she’d like. That’s when I realized Fiona made the artistic choice to hide June’s eyes.

This means she either read, or read enough of the book to make that choice, which really gives me a lot of warm fuzzies. I of course don’t expect cover artists to read every book they make a cover for, because then they’d never have time to get any work done. I did fill out a description of June and provided some background on the story for the artist, but I didn’t touch on her eyes that much.

The cover of The Bloody City depicts June much more ragged and her hair kind of unevenly colored because in that book she’s in hiding and has lost focus on vanity and beauty upkeep. The cover for The Burning City manages to capture the more concerned, matured state of mind June has evolved to, and she seems to be more ‘looking toward the future’ than on the previous books. These are all little elements, maybe only things I notice because I wrote it, but it’s always great when the artist ‘gets’ your vision for the story.

So here’s to all great cover artists and how wonderful they make our books look…thank you, from the bottom of my heart!

Filed under: Siren Song, The Bloody City, The Burning City, The Wicked City Tagged: book covers, creativity, kensington, lyrical press, pictures