Shadows Fall (Totem #7) released to the world!

Sometimes it isn't what lurks in the shadows we must fear, but the shadows themselves.

Ametta Dorn is hosting her first family Thanksgiving feast. Everything must be flawless from the appetizers to the desserts. But the totem quest weighs heavily on her and her family. If she can’t even fold a perfect crane napkin, then how can she help her family find the next token?

That totem is closer than any of them realize. The Shadowmen have opened a door to their world, and they’ve targeted Ametta as the weak link in her family. She will show everyone she's just as capable as they are. Except her daring might be the very thing that loses not only the raven totem but also her life.

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Totem tidbit: The raven totem was a tricky one for me. And tricky it should be! I wasn't quite sure how I wanted it to work into the plot. In Inuit lore, there is no concept of good or evil. So in working with the totems, I had to make them remain true to their natures and yet steer my plot in the direction I needed it to go in.

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Don't forget the huge Christmas in July sale & giveaway at Fantasy Book Giveaways! My paranormal romance series, The 13th Floor Complete Collection is on sale for only 99 cents. Plus you can enter to win over 20 amazing ebooks!

Wicked Wednesday - thinking about covers

(The action cover where the young hero fights a pirate!)

With my newest series, I'll have nine covers. I'd love to be able to afford a cover artist, but for nine covers? Yikes. So I'll be designing them myself.

And yes, I'm thinking about this way ahead of time. I've only finished the first rough draft of the of first novella. But I like to give myself a lot of time to think about important things. Covers are immensely important, after all. Most of us will say we don't judge books by their covers, but a gorgeous one will attract readers.

(The proud moment of accomplishment cover.)

The Totem series is paranormal romance (PNR) along the same lines as the 13th Floor series. Not all romance, but the relationships are pivotal to the plots.

I like to go simple when designing covers. I've learned some new Photoshops tricks since I made the 13th Floor covers. I believe I can step it up a notch this time. But which direction should I go?

Many PNR covers about shifters have the character(s) on the cover with their animals in the background. Or their eyes are animalistic in their beautiful human faces as they stare at the reader. Do I follow the standard formula? Or do I try to go my own way?

Here are my options. I'm curious as to what you as readers prefer.

1) These nine books are about three sisters. Each book will have one of the sisters narrating. They'll each get three books. I could focus on the women alone. Each cover would have the sister who's narrating, so readers will know who it is about.

2) Nine books. Three sisters. Three love interests. The first three books will have one of the sisters on each of them, and the next three books would have the men. The final three books would feature them as couples. I'm leaning in this direction because I believe PNR readers would like to see handsome men gracing the covers. (To this day, Xan still gets compliments!)

3) Nine books. Three sisters. Three love interests. Seven totems. If I don't want to use people on the covers, I could focus on the totem animals. Go with cool Inuit drawings. Yet the problem here is that only books 2-8 will have specific animals. Could I merge the totems with the models? Yes, possibly. I don't want to make my job overly difficult, though. But then what to do with books 1 and 9?

Right now, I need to stop looking at stock pictures and get writing!

(The what-the-heck cover that doesn't make sense when you read the story!)

Note: All the photos are of my son and Thee Bluebeard. He's a hilarious pirate captain looking for a new crew. He invites people on stage and makes them do weird things. It was the one thing my little guy wanted at the renaissance faire since he saw Bluebeard last year. He got his wish and it was awesome!