Cover designer, too . . . ?

I tend to think of myself was an editor, writer, and fangirl -- and coffee addict, let's not forget the all important coffee! -- before I think of myself as an artist or graphic artist or cover art designer or anything remotely thus. But the truth of the matter is that I've designed roughly 93% of the approximately 30 covers published as paperbacks and ebooks by World Weaver Press and Red Moon Romance. Of course, I've had generous help from illustrators and photographers -- amateurs,  pros, and those who offer their work as stock art.

Recently I had the pleasure of working with a local photographer, using his infrared cornfield photography as the starting place for the cover of Scarecrow. But as you can see from the original photo and the cover of Scarecrow, one of the more obvious things I did as designer was to redraft the sky. In this case, I imposed the sky of a completely different image over the top of the infrared corn field and then married the two. Since all color in IR is false color, I gave it a hand to become as vibrant and dramatic as needed for a bookcover.

Final cover art for SCARECROW anthology.

"Red Corn" Copyright Dan Wiedbrauk of one-candle.com. Used with permission

More of Dan Wiedbrauk's photography can be found on Flickr, and if you're interested in infrared or macro photography, he regularly talks technical process on his blog, One-Candle.com.

Most recently, I've been responsible for the designs of Scarecrow, Corvidae, Demons Imps and Incubi, Fractured Days, Far Orbit Apogee, and Skye Falling.  See more pretty covers: Read More . . .

Pre-made cover art available for purchase in Spring 2016. eBook Formatting and Interior Paperback Layout services available now.

Hibernation 2015 - wherein I discuss stashing food supplies and what I achieved of my pre-hibernation goals, and perhaps, the dreams I will dream during said winter incubation period

I recently got asked to do a Thing in another city, and I very seriously replied that I was, in fact, in hibernation until the end of February. A conservative estimate. In truth, the end of hibernation depends on the end of Snow Season, which is different from the end of Winter. Although the two are not wholly unrelated.

Northern Michigan winters are not something I take lightly. Yes, there are places where winter is worse and/or more persistent. But this is nothing to be sneezed at. Unless you have the flu on top of being trapped in your own house and really we all should have just gotten flu shots. No, I'm not completely cut off from civilization -- see, I have the internet, I have all the civilization I need -- but when your means of getting to the grocery store or anywhere else in town is a tiny compact car, you reevaluate your ability to fight the terror in white.

And damn if road slush didn't nearly do me in the other day. It wasn't even snow! Or ice! Just the goofy slush! Argh.

So I don't travel between Christmas and the start of March. Not if I can help it and certainly not for any distance.

The cupboard shall not run bare.

I have a December through March worry, which becomes a full on January and February neurotic maxim, to always have several days worth of food on hand -- food that can be turned into meals, not just a box of Cheerios and a pound of butter. Shudder. Because we never know when the next big snow is going to hit.

Last year the weather forecasts were dead on. Then again it seemed like we got 2-5" every day last winter, so I guess it's not that hard to predict. But this year they predict 3" we get none. They predict 6" we get none. They predict 5" we get 12." Sigh. And even when a mild 5" fell earlier this week, and I had diligently shoveled out all the requisite paths -- clear sidewalk for school kids, clear steps for mail man, clear driveway for me to get the car out -- I slipped and slid all over the place courtesy of aforementioned slush. So I try to stay off the roads the day of snowfall if I can. (A home office is a brilliant thing.) But if it snows for three days . . . I'm screwed. Or at least stranded.

Which is fine. Because I prepare.

I like to have enough on hand that I could, if needed, wait it out for a week until a clear day afforded me passage to the market that did not land me in the ditch or making new friends and acquaintances of the let's trade insurance information variety. At the very least I can stretch things out by eating rice and kimchi until I realize that I'm not Korean enough -- even in my own mind -- to eat kimchi with every meal. (It should be noted that technically I'm not Korean at all, I just watch too much K-drama and it's been rubbing off on me.)

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Army o Sun, action stations!

I think there's a smoke detector chirping ... somewhere. Probably upstairs. Or else one of the neighbors is doing something chirpy-squeaky. I'm disinclined to find out which. 

Right now, what I have on the brain is SUNFLOWERS! and my plans to plant a wall of them the entire length of the fence next spring. Especially since the Relatives and I have spent the past few weekends working on the backyard, leveling overgrown flowerbeds, cutting down the trees that were growing into the fence, and otherwise reclaiming the backyard in a way that makes the yard look truly huge. Truly huge and with a big old fence line that needs some insta-sunflower privacy screen action. Army o Sun, action stations!

... and speaking of action stations:


I could totally rewatch that show and not be bored for a single moment.