GOING THROUGH THE CHANGE

Meet Samantha Bryant today's guest author!

Take it away Samantha!


JUDGING MY OWN BOOK BY ITS COVER

A cover is a really important part of a book. What the cover looks like can have more to do with whether a reader decides to pick up your book than the words on the inside or the blurb on the back, especially when you’re a newb that no one has ever heard of!

That's a terrifying prospect as a writer, because, most usually (of course there are exceptions), we don't make our own covers. In fact, depending on your path to publishing, you, as author, might not get any say at all about what the cover looks like.

A bad cover can make the uphill climb of finding an audience that much harder. It's like birthing a beautiful and intelligent child, only to have someone else reject it as worthless because your child is wearing dirty or ugly clothing. I've seen several indie writers put out a book with a less-than-professional cover (usually a financial decision), then re-release it with a better one and see large changes in the kind of attention their book attracted.

My debut novel came out with Curiosity Quills Press on April 23, 2015. (I am perhaps, maybe, just a smidge excited about that). Curiosity Quills is a small, independent press. My contract with them gave me input on the cover, but no right of refusal and no requirement that they actually use my input.  So, I was on tenterhooks, waiting to see what my cover would look like.

You wanna see it?

I love it! And, boy was that a relief!  

The cover is by Polina Sapershteyn , a graphic designer in NYC that Curiosity Quills contracted for the work. (Here's her website if you want to check out some of her other work).

There are several things I love about this cover. 

First, the bright yellow is really eye catching. When I've seen it displayed onscreen on an Amazon search page, for example, I feel certain that anyone seeing it would at least glance that way because of the bright yellow. The image also instantly suggests humor and superhero, two important hints about the book on the inside of this cover. 

Second, Polina captured a lot of revealing details about threads of the book in this one image. The torso is thick in the waist, in a way that is not typical of superhero comics, but is completely normal for my menopausal characters. The costume is non-professional looking--the cape held on with a tied ribbon and the tunic consisting of a tee-shirt looking material that wrinkles across the breasts. That fits so well with Helen's thread in the story (she's the one who does eventually make herself a costume)! The image used on the center of the chest suggests gender and LGBTQ+ issues. That fits so well with Linda/Leonel's thread.

I was utterly amazed by how well Polina was able to represent my work, especially when you consider that she and I have never met and only made contact online after she'd already done my cover!  There's not much there from the ideas I submitted, except thematically. But, you know, she's a graphic artist. I'm not. Her ideas were better than mine. There's something to be said for trusting the judgment of professionals.

Now that my book is out there in some bookstores, competing for a potential buyer’s attention, with so many other books, I appreciate the eye-catching and story-representing cover all the more. I may be a little biased, but, judging this book by its cover, I’d say the reader is in for quite a ride.

Going Through the Change is going through a change in price for a couple of days in early August. On August 5^th and 6^th you can get the Kindle edition for free on Amazon. Check it out at: http://bitly.com/face-the-change

Samantha Bryant is a middle school Spanish teacher by day and a mom and novelist by night. That makes her a superhero all the time. Her debut novel, Going Through the Change: A Menopausal Superhero Novel is now for sale by Curiosity Quills. You can find her online on her blog,  Twitter, on Facebook, on Amazon, on Goodreads, on the Curiosity Quills page, or on Google+. 

Thanks Samantha!

Have you ever judged a book by its cover and been pleasantly or horribly surprised?

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Check out the NEW WEP CHALLENGE

SPECTACULAR SETTINGS!

MAGNA'S PLEA

 I'm very excited today to have  

Cherie Reich 

as my guest. 

She's answered a few questions in regards to her  release of  

Magna's Plea 

a free download

and her upcoming debut novel Reborn book one of the Fate Challenges

You're an editor, writer, Vice President of Valley Writer's and a member of several writing groups, was this always your goal? Please tell us a little about your writing journey and current goals.

I never thought I would do anything with books beyond read them. In high school and my first two years of college, my goal was to be an opera singer until I changed majors to Classics (Ancient Greeks/Romans). When I got my library job, I considered getting a Masters in Library Science, but then I started writing (beyond online roleplaying and fanfiction) because I had ideas and time at the new full-time day job. I'd love to eventually make enough money with my writing to supplement my library pay or even be a full-time writer, but that could take awhile.

What is speculative fiction, what made you choose it, and what are your goals for this or other genre's. 

Speculative fiction is an umbrella term for fantastical genres such as science fiction, fantasy, horror, and alternate history. Speculative fiction focuses on the question: what if. I have a tendency to jump between writing horror, fantasy, and science fiction, so it made sense that I was more of a speculative fiction author than just a fantasy author, etc. I have quite a few stories planned that involve speculative fiction, although I'd eventually like to branch out and write a few contemporaries and even mysteries.

You're offering your short story, Magna's Plea, as a free download. Is this part of a marketing plan for your book coming out in 2014 – Reborn, book one of the Fate Challenges. Is there a plan behind your 'madness'?

Yes, having Magna's Plea for free is part of my marketing plan for Reborn. In Magna's Plea, the reader will get a sense for the world in The Fate Challenges as well as be able to read a sneak peek of Reborn, which is the prologue. If the reader likes what she sees, then she'll be more likely to add Reborn on Goodreads or sign up for my newsletter. At least that's the plan. Plus, Magna's Plea is only 5500 words, so I feel a bit weird making people pay $0.99 for it, so free is an additional bonus. Right now, it's all about spreading the word, making connections, and gaining a few new fans here and there.


Tell us about Reborn and The Fate Challenges.

To save a kingdom, a prophetess must challenge Fate.

On the day of Yssa's death and rebirth, the god Apenth selected her as the Phoenix Prophetess.

Sea serpents and gods endanger the seventeen-year-old prophetess's journey and sour the omens. Yssa is cursed instead of blessed, and her duties at the Temple of Apenth prove it. She spends her days reading dusty scrolls, which does nothing to help her forget the boy she left at home. The ferryman's son won't leave Yssa alone for two grains of sand either and is a distraction she can't predict.

When visions of her parents' murders consume her, Yssa races across an ocean to stop the future. If she can't change Fate, then she'll refuse to be the Phoenix Prophetess any longer. Fate, however, has other plans for her and the kingdom.

Reborn is a 90,000+ word YA Epic Fantasy novel and the first book in The Fate Challenges. It was also my first novel I wrote back in 2009. The idea for Reborn came from a roleplaying character I had in a Harry Potter RPG. She was stillborn, but her father revived her. From then on, she had the gift of prophecy. I liked the idea, but I wanted to take a character with that premise and create my own world; thus, Yssa and the Kingdom of Amora was born. I knew from day one that The Fate Challenges would be a trilogy because of Yssa's character growth evolves well to fit three novels, and it's my goal to have at least the first drafts completed of Reforged (Book Two) and Redestined (Book Three) finished by May when Reborn releases.

MAGNA'S PLEA by CHERIE REICH

An Excerpt:

Amora

12-13 Days of Luquiry

Year 1717 AUC

Tendrils of smoke swirled heavenward. The smoldering stench reached Princess Magna at the top of the palace’s northern tower. She wrinkled her nose at the unpleasant odor, yet it still smelled better than the filth plaguing the besieged seven-hilled city.

She’d vowed to protect Amora. Her heart shattered a little more each day at the devastation afflicting her kingdom.

The once grassy and flower-filled plain sprouted dust plumes from the trampling feet. As the sun neared the western horizon, a bloody hue washed over the battlefield. Tiny, metallic dins and men’s shouts rang out. Magical bursts flashed in the sky like Thean’s lightning, beautiful and deadly. A wooden catapult hurled a human-sized stone slab into the city’s wall. Magna jerked away from the opened window she stood before, as if the object had struck her instead. Rock crumbled from the impact, but the barrier held.

When the reddish orb sank lower, the fighting ceased. War’s chaos parted into two orderly sides, and soldiers crossed the field to gather their dead.

She brushed a shaky hand over her cheeks. Tears dampened her face, and she struggled to turn away from the battle before her. Almost two months had passed since the Apenthans had begun their attack Amora. How much longer could the Amorans—she—stay safe behind their impenetrable wall?

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To download this short story for free: Amazon / Nook / iTunes / Kobo / Smashwords / Goodreads

Read online at Wattpad

Add to Goodreads

 

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About the Author: A self-proclaimed bookworm, Cherie Reich is a speculative fiction writer, freelance editor, book blogger, and library assistant living in Virginia. Her short stories have appeared in magazines and anthologies, and her books include the horror series Nightmare, a space fantasy novella trilogy titled Gravity, and the fantasy series The Foxwick Chronicles. She is Vice President of Valley Writers and a member of the Virginia Writers Club and Untethered Realms.

Her debut YA Epic Fantasy novel Reborn, book one in The Fate Challenges, will be released on May 23, 2014.

Website / Blog / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads / Wattpad

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This Friday, the first day of November 

I am thankful for early Christmas presents,

for the NANO challenge that is all about focus and WRITING!

and for the beginning of a holiday season that's all about family!

Wishing you all a great, great beginning to the 

WRITING SEASON!