Making of a Book Cover: Highland Son

I've been at it again, making book covers and lots of them. 

Four to be exact for my newest series A New Dawn, a continuation of the Highland Sorcery series.
I don't make covers for other people because that's not really where I want to focus my time and energy, but I gotta say, I love making my own. Searching for just the right cover model is fun. I always go for the expression, more so than looks...

Original picture for AlexanderAnyway, here's the picture I used for Alexander. I just love the way the photographer Konradbak captured him in motion...and the intensity on his face is perfect.

Shirt to overlap Highland Son coverThe only thing I don't like about this is that he's shirtless. It doesn't fit with the brand of my books, which are more action and behind-the-door snogging, less skin. And since I don't want readers expecting something they aren't going to get, I try hard to keep everyone clothed. So the next step before I bought the picture for use was to see if I could find a shirt to cover the poor guy up with.

I found this picture with the model's body turned in close to the same position.

So now I have the two pictures. I overlaid the shirt picture on top of Alexander's picture, sized it to fit, tilted it a bit to fit more, and then used the eraser tool to erase everything on the top picture except for the shirt. I also had to get a little creative with the cloning tool to fill in more of the shirt color where I erased the shirt guy's arm which took out some of the shirt.  (Weird sentence. As a writer I should do better, but as a lazy person this moment, I'm going to leave it.) The bottom of the shirt is a bit fuzzy but the words will camouflage that a bit. Not too mention it draws the eye up to the face since it's more in focus. That's what I tell myself anyway.
Before and after saturation on photograph of Alexander


So now I have a shirt on Alexander.  But he's kind of gray. So I saved the picture into one layer and then used the saturation tool to pull up more color. He's just about perfect now, except I want a different background.

Kay, I cheated a little here by using a background I already had. I loved the greenish building scape cover for Highland Shapeshifter. So I pulled up that original cover (I already own that picture for use) and cropped a background out of it from the left bottom corner below her arm. So now that little piece will be Alexander's background.
Cover for Highland Shapeshifter

Once that photograph was cropped and sized for the background layer, I overlaid the saturated picture of Alexander over it and went to work with the eraser tool, enlarging it to work to make sure I erased around every strand of hair very carefully. It's painstaking work, but worth the time and effort.  


So here he is. He, of course, is missing an arm because that's where the original picture's edge cut off. So that is obviously going to be where I crop it for the ebook copy. I saved this version to be able to use some of that for the back cover when I work on the paperback jacket. 
So after cropping and adding the title and author name (moi), which takes only a few minutes because I already have a series template saved so that all the books in the same series are uniformed. 
Voila!!!

Now, to move onto the cover for the paperback. The trick there is knowing how large the spine needs to be depending on how many pages (or how fat) the book will end up. Once I knew that, I got to work. I had to add a little more to the back cover because what I had cropped out of Highland Shapeshifter didn't go all the way to the edge. So what I did was take the photograph (two pictures up) before I added the words and flipped it horizontally into a mirror item. Then I slid that along the edge of this picture. If the bigger was larger, you'd see a mirror version of Alexander on the left side. In fact I had to use the cloning tool again to paint part of his jacket out. If you look closely you can see the line where the two pictures meet. So, don't look that closely. Well, okay, go ahead. 
Paperback cover jacket for Highland Son

And remember how I said I made 4 covers? Well, that's because I wanted to put all the series covers on the back cover jacket. Cool, eh? I learned that trick from my friend Suzan Butler, cover artist  and author extraordinaire. She knows all the neat things to do. 

But then I thought, "Hey, since I used the same background on two covers, they should match real well." Since I was playing in photoshop anyway, I decided why not update my blog. It's been a while anyway. So I meshed the two covers together and came up with the new heading above. I'll stick it here too for when I decide to update it again.

Clover Autrey blog header

And then, since I'm having a new series release party on facebook next week, (You're all invited by the way, just go over and "like" my Clover Autrey Books facebook page so you'll be sure to get the posts.) I thought I might as well go ahead and make a cool banner to advertise it. I had to flip him horizontally again since the facebook profile picture takes up the bottom left corner. And, well, he's still missing that arm...
New series Release Celebration for Highland Sorcery A New Dawn
Anypooh, that's it for now. 
Highland Son, Alexander's book, is for sale on the kindle and also for sale on the nook.
It's at all the other retailers through Smashwords.
The paperback is in review and will be ready for purchase at Amazon and Barnes &Noble toward the end of next week. 

And in case you are wondering, I'll be posting the transformation of the other three cover photos within a few days. 

Readers Wanted to Read Free Books

The Carolyn Readers Choice award logo

Great opportunity to get pdfs of this past year's books . . . for free.

Be a reader judge for The Carolyn Readers Choice Awards 2014. All you got to do is sign up, read the first 30 pages of 3 books, and send in a short little score sheet. Choose any heat level you prefer from very sweet to very hot. You get to keep the entire book and finish reading at your leisure.

Sign up to get the pdfs to judge for the Readers Choice Awards here.

Easy peasy . . . plus your voice gets heard in what kind of books Readers are looking for. Plus-plus, they are free. Did I mention they are free? All you gotta do is read. Yay for reading. Fill out a judging form. And let your reading tastes count for the next up-and-comers in what's popular in books.

This is a Readers judging only contest. Sorry, writers, I know you are huge readers too, but anyone in the writing industry in any form, please restrain from signing up.

However, writers, if you have a book published in 2013, enter it here at the Carolyn Readers Choice entry.
(Before Valentine's Day.) Let readers be the new gatekeepers of what's hot.

Because Reader Choices is where it's at. Reader approval is what we want. Readers are who we love to connect with!!!
North Texas Romance Writers of America logo

Real Romance, Written Romance

So I'm the President this year for the North Texas Romance Writers of America. Believe me, I'm still trying to figure out how that happened. Fortunately, I have a very savvy group of women on the Board who won't let me run the chapter into the ground. One of the perks is that I get to write a President's Letter for the newsletter each month and as I'm always trying to think of content for my blog, I thought I'd go ahead and post them here as well. Lucky you. *grinning ear-to-ear as I think I'm so very clever*

NTRWA January President's Letter

Alannah Autrey vintage bridal photograph
I spent the last weeks of December in a whirlwind as my only daughter got married. She made a beautiful bride, going for a vintage Great Gatsby vibe that carried us all into another realm.

And as I caught Andrew and Alannah always wanting to sit by each other with their heads together to whisper and laugh at things only they were privy to, or holding hands, or just those little glances that conveyed so much feeling between them, it reminded me of what young love, first love, even older reaffirmed love can be and how I, as a writer of romance, should be better at capturing those feelings in words and passing it on to my readers.

Do I show that in the small things? Do my hero and heroine constantly gravitate toward each other? Do they watch each other from across the room? Do they touch one another in little ways? Do fingers slide along the arm? Do hands interlock? Do knuckles caress a cheek as a stray lock of hair is tucked behind an ear?

It’s an exciting time. An exciting new year ahead. I loved watching the union of a new couple, and managed to only cry just a little. It’s a new beginning for them. And a new beginning for us as writers. Move forward with confidence in yourselves and your abilities. Take chances. Celebrate with each other and for each other. Get back up again when you fall.

As for me, I’m going to focus on the small things. The hand holding. The caresses. And see if I can’t pull deeper emotion from my characters. The kind of emotion I felt from my daughter and new son-in-law.

It’s going to be a great year!

My Little Girl's Vintage Wedding

December Twenty-first, my only daughter became Mrs. Andrew Birkinsha. As any mother would, I wanted all her dreams of a beautiful wedding to come true. What we lacked in cash, we more than made up for in resources. I have nine sisters and each of them are full of talents. Oh, and my mom has become an expert at putting on weddings (Did I mention I have nine sisters? That she created spectacular weddings for.)

So coordinating a wedding long distance became a breeze with the support team we have in one another. And Pinterest. We simply had to pin/show my sibs what Alannah wanted and they went to work. One sister (Kim) took a class long ago in cake decorating, so she made a stunning cake. Another (Alysha) made the most beautiful vintage bouquet. Another sister (Mac) went above and beyond to replicate the most gorgeous veil I've ever seen. And not just one, but two, so Alannah could have her pick. Yet another (Heather) created a beautiful guest book. And they all pitched in with getting the gym cleaned out, lit, and ready for a reception, bringing soups and other entrees to feed the guests. And my mom altered the dress, made the flowers, and basically worked her magic to bring order out of what could have been chaos.

I'm truly truly blessed with a wonderful family. All I had to do was show-up. Which come to think of it, is what I did 25 years ago for my own wedding. Hmm. I kind of think I'm the least helpful in my family, yet gain the most benefit. Score! (Shhh, I didn't really say that.)

To be honest, I knew it would turn out beautiful because I trusted my family. My main concern was getting through the ceremony. You see, since my son passed away 3 years ago, I have a difficult time keeping the weeping to a minimum. Seriously, I get going and the waterworks will not stop. And it's not the lovely one lone tear sliding down the cheek Demi Moore style of crying. It's full blown gushing, snotty, red eyes, ugly and gross. I avoid sentimental events like the plague and I'm sure all those who don't want to witness a blubbering spectacle appreciate it even if they don't know what they have missed. I'm not exaggerating. And I sure didn't want to become the center stage mother of the bride weeper.

So believe it or not, the past couple of months I've fasted and prayed about that. Please, please don't let me blubber through the wedding. And you know what. I caught a cold. I was so concerned about not having a coughing fit and keeping my mouth dry and how I could sneak a cough drop while everyone was watching that the tears were kept to a minimum. Not exactly how I would have answered my own prayers, but it worked.

Enough of that, enjoy some pictures...

Alannah Autrey vintage bridal photographs
Alannah Autrey~Vintage Gown
Alannah and I are very close, have always been. I don't know how I got so lucky to have a daughter who shares everything with me. Okay, she didn't share when she snuck out of the house when she was 16 until a few years later, but mostly everything. She's a good kid and an amazing person. She's always known what she's wanted and gone after her dreams. When she told me she had met the right guy, there wasn't any doubt that Andrew had to be someone pretty special because Alannah would never settle for just anybody.

She also knew what she wanted in a wedding dress. Something elegant, vintage, and extremely unique. When I flew out to help her find it, I was seriously having some doubts that such a unicorn of a dress existed. That's where prayer came in again. The second morning of our search, we prayed this time, had a thought to go to a store that we weren't considering because the dresses were way out of budget, walked in and Spencer, our wonderful helper listened to what we wanted, bypassed the typical gowns and pulled this off the rack. I knew it was the right one by the look on Alannah's face. 
Alannah and Andrew's vintage wedding announcement
The Wedding Announcement (Which I actually made~hey, I did contribute something!)
Alannah's table setting for wedding reception
Table Settings

Bridal gown hanger with message
This is a hanger Alannah made in her Young Women's Youth Group years ago. The little plague talks about how they'll remain pure until their wedding day and can will keep this as a reminder to hang their Temple dress upon it. 

Guest book for vintage wedding reception
Guest Book (ended up with a few extra guests written in like Thor and Wonder Woman~My family are all nuts.)


Vintage wedding bouquet
The Bouquet
Alannah and Andrew kissing and showing engagement ring
The Ring



Wedding snow boots
The boots



Bride and groom table setting
Table Setting
Draper Utah Temple
The Place~Draper Utah Temple
secret message wedding cake
The Cake
Kim wrote secret messages into the scrollwork on the bottom layer, such as Happy Birthday to my sister JJ, and other "love messages between Alannah and Andrew."
Alannah and Andrew outside temple
The Groom ~ Andrew Carl Birkinsha
(pronounced Bir-kin-shay)
Couldn't ask for a sweeter son-in-law



Birkinsha family
The Birkinsha Family.
Was nervous meeting them, but they turned out to be lovely, down-to-earth, funny, kind, chill, intelligent people. I'm so happy Alannah has some great in-laws.

Alannah and Andrew outside Draper Temple doors

Thanks for sharing in our Joy and hope to see all our Texan friends and family for the reception in January! 

The Offering

offeringThe Offering by Kimberly Derting

True love—and world war—is at stake in the conclusion to The Pledge trilogy, a dark and romantic blend of dystopia and fantasy.

Charlie, otherwise known as Queen Charlaina of Ludania, has become comfortable as a leader and a ruler. She’s done admirable work to restore Ludania’s broken communications systems with other Queendoms, and she’s mastered the art of ignoring Sabara, the evil former queen whose Essence is alive within Charlie. Or so she thinks.

When the negotiation of a peace agreement with the Queendom of Astonia goes awry, Charlie receives a brutal message that threatens Ludania, and it seems her only option is to sacrifice herself in exchange for Ludanian freedom.

But things aren’t always as they seem. Charlie is walking into a trap—one set by Sabara, who is determined to reclaim the Queendoms at any cost.

Barnes and Nobleamazon blogBook Depository blog
 

Praise for The Offering

"This was a truly epic ending to the series." --Crystal Perkins, Goodreads Review

"The final book in Kimberly Derting’s Pledge trilogy is a thrilling conclusion. I was immediately swept up into it and powered right through. It was pretty much what I wanted with a few surprises along the way." --Krys at Bibliopunkk Reads

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Pledge Trilogy

 

kimberly dertingAuthor Kimberly Derting

Kimberly Derting is the author of the BODY FINDER series, THE PLEDGE trilogy, and THE TAKING (coming April 2014 from HarperTeen). She lives in the Seattle area, with her husband and three children, who often find the outrageous things they say either in the pages of her books or posted on Twitter or Facebook for the entire world to see.

 

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Offering Tour Tour Schedule



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