A great contest for writers and a free book!

The 2018 Annual IWSG Anthology Contest is now open for submissions! This is a fantastic opportunity for writers, and I think their theme for this year is so much fun. Good luck to everyone who submits a story.

Guidelines and rules: 

Word count: 3500-6000

Genre: Young Adult Romance

Theme: 
Masquerade 
A Masquerade can be a false show or pretense, someone pretending to be someone they aren't. It can be a ball, a fancy dress party, it can be a mask. Open to interpretation. 

Submissions accepted: September 5 - November 4, 2018

How to enter: Send your polished, formatted (Double spaced, no page numbers), previously unpublished story to admin @ insecurewriterssupportgroup.com before the deadline passes. Please include your contact details, your social links, and if you are part of the Blogging, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter IWSG group.

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Free for five days only!

Get your copy here!

The Making of a Cover - Harnessing the Winds

It's tough making your book stand out. There are millions of books out there, and one of the best ways to grab a reader's attention is to have to a fabulous cover. (One day my house will likely have an interior like that!)

I'm not a graphic designer nor do I have any aspirations to be one. Everything I've learned about making covers I've researched on my own and experimented in Photoshop. It's a long and tedious process, but I thoroughly enjoy playing around with images. And since you all seem to really like it I share my process of making a cover, I'm here with one I created for an author friend.

I will always recommend writers hire a cover artist to create their covers or buy a premade one. Yet these things aren't cheap. There are plenty of free images sites, and one I really like to use is Pixabay. Images on there are free to use for commercial ventures. Always be certain you have permission to use an image.

My friend, Morena Silver, is a fantasy romance author. Her debut novel is about pirates. Arrrr! A whole ship of women pirates at that. The book features the captain who can harness the power of storms.

Morena chose the model.

She's wearing a bikini... I'm assuming. And sitting on a rock like that can't be comfortable. Her poor bottom! Anyway, good choice for a model. The background is clear. Easy for me to cut the model out of that image (and off the craggy rock) and insert her into the new background.

Beautiful, isn't it? I love the drama and the color. Both these images are from Pixabay. While I do like the whole image, I cropped it to feature the ships. I didn't think it looked stormy enough, though. So I added in more billowing clouds and played on the oranges.

The actual cutting and pasting of the model onto the background was easy. Who wouldn't want to be there by the sea? The toughest part came when Morena said she wanted lightning. On the woman's arms. Okay, okay. It was time to learn a new skill, and you know what? It was surprisingly simple. I read a short tutorial about how to create lightning in Photoshop and BAM! Or should I say ZAP!

I'm so pleased with the way it turned out and so was Morena. The cover screams romance. It screams fantasy. It screams don't mess with this woman!

I mentioned tons and tons of layers in the post about making the cover for Of Gods and Sorrow. There aren't many layers to this one. The little bolts of lightning I connected to make that effect took the most layering. Simple and elegant.

What do you think? If you're an author, where do you get your covers?

Check out "Ladgarda"

( Lathgertha by Morris Meredith Williams, 1913 on Wikipedia )

My viking pirate short story "Ladgarda"
is now up on Luna Station Quarterly.
A grand battle at sea, betrayal, and subterfuge.
The story is based on a Danish legend of a viking shieldmaiden and onetime wife of famous viking Ragnar Lodbrok.

For any women speculative fiction writers, Luna Station Quarterly is a great place to showcase your work.

Steele Your Soul review

Blurb: 
Stolen souls, an evil drow elf, a dark eyed beauty named Pepper, and a king who doesn't take kindly to the loss of his goods...Captain Joren Steele has his hands full.

When Pepper set out for the day, the last thing she expected was to come face to face with a pirate. But when she locks eyes with the Captain, she's ready to let him pillage or plunder whatever he wants. At least until his drow shipmate decided to steal her for himself.

Captain Joren Steele has a love for his ship, money, and females, usually in that order. When Pepper steps into his life, he's certain his love 'em and leave 'em status will remain intact. But when he discovers she's a victim of the drow, he has to make a choice: his ship or the elfess.

My review:
Captain Joren Steele loves his life. A magnificent ship, money in his pocket, and a pretty elfess in every port. Usually a couple of them! When he spies the lovely Pepper on the dock one day, he doesn't expect this fiery gal might challenge his way of life. A drow shipmate sets his eyes on Pepper as well and steals her for himself. Will Joren be able to save her or will they both be lost to the darkness of the drows' realm?

This is my favorite in Decadent Kane's The Trouble With Elves series, and it's largely due to Joren Steele. Cocky, lusty, and sexy, there's more to him than just what's on the surface. There is honor amongst some pirates even if he can be easily distracted by a woman. Pepper is sweet and brave, a character easy to sympathize with. The heat between Joren and Pepper is explosive! I also like how the villains in Kane's books are absolutely despicable. The drow had my stomach turning.

I love the world Kane has created. Modern, yet medieval and magical. The little details paint a vivid picture. I can't wait to read more stories in this world.

I'd really like to see more of Captain Joren Steele. A LOT more!

Buy the book here:

Amazon * Breathless Press

About the author: 

If I had to describe myself, it would be in a word that has infinite meanings with a complexity which falls off the tongue.

A word made up of many elements, is deceptive in appearance, and creates an illusion from the imagination.

My word would be Phantasmagoric.

 

You can find Decadent Kane here:

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