The Harder they Come

The Harder they Come coming soon to Total-E-Bound!!

The Harder they Come by Kaenar Langford.

Yay!! It took some mucking about but I finally found my biker. Oh, I'm sure he's been well and truly used around the publishing houses, but he was all I could afford LOL!

He comes as is. I chopped off his thumb, which stuck out like a .. well, a sore thumb I suppose you could say. I think Claire asked me if he was holding a spoon or something in his hand LOL! So, off it went. I then added his luscious long hair to get our bad-boy, younger man biker.

The bike I had from a previous cover (yay! I'm finally starting to re-use some stock). I'd saved it as a PNG file so that I didn't have to cut it out from the background again. I do that with anything that I cut out - people, objects, backgrounds. Just in case I need to use them again.

The Cafe in the background took a bit of searching. I had a picture in my head of what I wanted, but of course that just doesn't exist, but this one worked out surprisingly well.

So, yep. After the initial mucking about and three covers later. This was the winner.

Thanks everyone for your support on my Writing post. As it turns out I haven't had much time to sit down and focus this past week. I've had some covers come in, but hopefully I can get onto it and start trying to get myself organised this week. I'll keep you updated.

How do you do it?

Geez this writing business is damn hard work.

Okay. So I have this story that I've been dabbling with for a good 3 years now. I've named it Dragon Lord and as you guessed. It is about a Dragon Lord. Yes, my own creativity leaves me baffled and open mouthed in wonder. But I digress.

See, I've been plugging away at this - this THING. Leaving it and coming back to it. Adding. Subtracting. Heaven forbid re-writing. Until I've come to the point where I now have DL WIP 1, DL WIP2 and numerous versions of DL WIP3.

I've kept text that I'd removed and popped it in it's very own special document, just in case I wanted to come back to it. (I was so over remembering that I wrote something only to find out that I'd deleted it, so hence the Deleted Text document). Then there's the character charts, Idea documents and vague attempts at Plot lines and world building.

So of course I've totally confused myself to the point that I can't even remember which DL WIP 3 I was working on. Yes. I opened them all on the same day. *smacks head*

So. Over to the right there, you can see that I've put up a little progress meter. It shows progress on what is obviously Dragon Lord version 4. Yep, yep. I'm an idiot.

But this story wants to be told. I just don't know how to tell it. I thought that by starting from scratch it would be easier to pull together. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be the case. I can't totally turn my back on what I have previously written (17,000 words). There are some good bits there. Somewhere. In amongst the mind numbingly boring bits involved with getting from point A to B.

In all honesty I'm starting to go stark, raving BONKERS. This then sees me disenchanted with the latest version so I return to the previous one, telling myself that it wasn't that bad to begin with. Which means that I shelve the new one I started BUT there are parts of that that I quite like and may just be able to slot into the storyline, so it get's it's own little document. (can you see a pattern here?)

Also. I've noticed that V3 and V4 seem to be written in two very different voices and the characters are a bit different. For example in V3 my Hero is quite defensive and manipulative but in V4 he's coming cross as caring and a bit pathetic.

Plus, when I go back and read what I did in V3 I sometimes find myself stitting back and wondering. Who wrote that? Surely I didn't write that? But I did. See. Somewhere in there there are little hints of genius. Well, maybe that's taking it a bit far but there are things there that impress even myself.

Oooh look. Yummy. There's my hero *drool* It's as sexy as a half a head can get I suppose. ->

So. Where do I go from now? I probably shelve the whole lot. Because this is what I do every time I get in the mood to write. I start, get confused, get bored with getting confused and then put it all away. *sigh*

I think I have commitment issues.

I need to find myself a small Critique group that specializes in Romantic Paranormal Fantasy, or there abouts. I need to discuss my work with other writers. I need to learn so I work out how to get the Heroine to invite the scary Hero into her house ASAP so we can can get the story moving. Now keep in mind he will be naked and she will be sporting a wound thanks to him. Oh and then there's him changing into a Dragon thing. Geez, talk about baggage! Who in their right mind would invite THAT into the house? Honestly.

*sigh* I need a bex and a good lie down.

Heatwave

Oooh lookey, Heatwave's been released. Coming soon to TEB!

I was beginning to think that this cover had been swept under the rug. It's been a while since I did this one.

TEB made a light change and moved the Author's name down to just above the Title. Makes sense as in my version it's covering part of the woman's face.

So. It was a pretty straight forward cover. Changed the couples colouring (hue) to match that of the sunset a bit more. Then just blended the two images together using a layer mask.

The font was one I downloaded and from memory I just added a glow to the text.

I like how this came together. Let's hope it works for the Authors.

Not much else been happening. Been finishing up some more covers.

Don't you just hate it when you do something that you kinda know you shouldn't be doing but you do it anyway? It was suggested that I contact one of my authors to discuss a cover I was doing. The first version was vetoed and I needed to get more of a feel for what she was after. So I'd mocked up another cover and sent it to her for approval. I also sent that version to the publisher. Fine. Dandy. Not a problem. However, I stupidly created a 'option' version and for some reason sent that along as well. The publisher came back preferring the first version and of course the Author came back preferring the 'option'. Argh!

Stupid. I felt so bad. So there was a bit of bending over backwards to make up for my mistake. Claire was SO understanding. God she's awesome! Anyway, it all sorted itself out in the end. Mind you I ended up with THREE covers for them to choose from because I felt so awful LOL! I guess that's why contact with authors should be left to the publisher. Suits me to a tee. Too many cooks ... yeah, you get the idea :D

Oh. Did I mention my husbands van was written off the other night? A young fellow on his P's and driving dad's car hit it head on. He said a dog ran across the road in front of him and he swerved to miss it. I appreciate that he didn't hit the thing but I always remember being told not to swerve to miss an animal. Aaanyway, no biggie. The insurance will cover the cars and no-one was hurt, except maybe his pride. His young girlfriend was in the car at the time LOL! Oh well. We live and learn.

Edited to add: Hubby wasn't in the car. It was parked out the front of the house! LOL Thought I'd better add that so I didn't sound more worried about the animal than my husband. As tempting as it can be sometimes :D

Taking Control

Taking Control by Jamie Hill. Coming soon to Total-E-Bound.
Jennifer Steele is plagued by memories of a violent crime. Desperate to pull herself together, she's dealt another blow when her boss hires a new employee for her bank branch. It's Jen's job to do the hiring, and she'd never have chosen a man so handsome—and arrogant. T.K. Knight is a striking part Native American who seems more at home on a ranch than in an office. Jen's not completely sure of his motives, but can't resist his charm or the pure lust that takes over whenever he's around. When Jen discovers T.K. might not have been placed in her office by chance, their already heated situation gets even hotter. The truth can be hard to face, but Jen finds she has to take control of the past, to make way for the future.

Two stock images in this cover. Actually three if you count the background on the back cover which isn't shown here. I guess I could always post the cover flats. We'll see how I'm feeling LOL!

I've had this couple for a while and have actually used him in another cover. It was nice to be able to re-use an image. I don't do that very often so it was a saving on my part LOL.

I darkened his skin a smidge to give him that swarthy Native American feel. I can't believe the amount of covers I've had lately requiring a Native American hero. The stock is soooo hard to find. This fellow is more European than Native but he's dark so that saves having to change hair colours, etc.

The Bank Vault door is pretty obvious, considering the story is about a bank.

The stock situation is really starting to bug me. I've been in the search for a sexy guy on a Motorbike this week. Who'd have thought it could be so hard? Oh of course there are some images available but as you can imagine they've all been well and truly used by other artists/publishers. I swear someone out there needs to start up a stock image site that caters purely to the e-book publishing industry. Oooh could you imagine a whole site with a plethora of gorgeous people all themed out to the max - cowboys, vampires, bikers, pirates, guys & gals who actually look smoulderingly dangerous *sigh*. I could so do dangerous atm but that's another blog ;)

God I'm so tempted to do a photography course and start up my own site LOL! Yeah, like I'd have the time to do that. Anyway, I don't know if my husband could cope with all the beautiful people hanging around. Certainly wouldn't see me complaining ;)

*sigh* ...

Have you ever been totally consumed by a book or series of books? So consumed that you dread seeing those final pages creeping up on you, knowing full well that last handful are purely blurbs of other books, past and present. So consumed that returning to the ‘real world’ has you almost hyperventilating to the point where you just want to curl up into a fetal position and hide beneath the sheets.

So consumed that a level headed person such as yourself is praying that all things Paranormal really did exist and that bad boy Vampire warrior would honest to god, end up on your doorstep?

Yep. I’m in one of those spirals ATM. I have been in between books, eagerly waiting my next book in my Sookie Stackhouse series. Yep. The one where I’d purchased book 7 but not book 6. Anyway, for some reason I picked up my JR Ward Black Dagger Brotherhood books again out of sheer boredom. Not really thinking I’d get so absorbed this time considering I’d already read them. Wrong.

I swear my husband thinks I’m having an affair, I’ve been so tuned out. I’ve read 5 books in about 3 days. Not good on my poor old eyes but I just can’t put these books down. I’ve totally zoned out and am walking around in a daze. A horrible, yearning, resentful daze. I know it’s not healthy. Here I thought my depression was under control. Perhaps not.

Pathetic. Really, really pathetic.

Strange thing is I have the sudden urge to write too. I don’t have a story in my head. Just the urge to write. I could go back to my poor old WIP’s and see what I can do to those but I’ve hashed and rehashed those so many times I don’t know if I’m coming or going anymore. I don’t have the staying power that’s required for writing. I used to have lots of ideas and images racing around my head. It’s like someone’s pulled the plug. Dead. Gone. Kaput!

Sometimes it’s just easier to read what someone else writes, isn't it?

Yeah. Not a good place today. Tomorrow will be better. I hope.

Day at the Races

Not a lot to report I'm afraid. Been sick with a cold this last week. Feeling pretty crappy but well enough to do what's required of me.

Went to the local Races yesterday. They had a family day. I've never been to the races before. It's not an industry that I particularly like. I tend to get a bit annoyed when the jockeys start whipping the horses and have been known to grumble something along the lines of 'put that damn whip where the sun don't shine'. And that's to put it mildly.

However, I must say that I quite enjoyed myself despite having to stand in line for 40 minutes to get the kids faces painted. It's been a while since I've been up close to those gorgeous creatures. The horses, not the kids.

I'd forgotten how damn big they get and watching a 17 hand thoroughbred full of beans head out onto the track certainly makes you take a step back from the fence. Especially when they're only 1 foot away from you LOL!.

I took some photo's to try out my new little happy-snap camera that I got myself. I couldn't work out how to find the fast speed setting so most of the 'action' shots came out a bit blurry. But then my talents don't lie so much in photography. I'll let you decide:













(blurry)




(oops .. too slow LOL!)

















(not so bad if you're in an Arty frame of mind)










Oh, and I fell in love ...



















(with the horse, not the rider. Sheesh!)

So yeah. We had a good day, despite the wind and the kids LOL! Nah, the kidlets were pretty well behaved and both slept through to well past 8am this morning. So I'll say we'll be going to the races on a regular basis LOL.

Oh and I'm a happy fan-girl today. I got a lovely signed photograph of Rhys Bobridge in the mail. *sigh* Oh he's a gorgeous boy! And a big thank you to Rhys' mum who organised that for the KBC girls. He's now got pride of place next to Johnny, right above my computer. This is where I work from in case anyone is interested :D

I've booked my flights to Melbourne to see the SYTYCD show. Accommodation is booked and we're in discussions as to what else we are going to get up to. Chapel Street was mentioned which I believe is a bit of a mecca for shoppers. I'm not much of a shopper so let's see if I'm impressed.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY

Happy Mothers day to all those mums out there in the world!

I was awoken to the delightful sounds of 'winge, winge, winge - Mum! Get out of bed! - winge, winge, winge'. *sigh* After telling my 3yo to go out to the kitchen and see dad they soon returned with coffee and pikelets covered in maple syrup and cream.

Okay. Winging forgiven LOL!

I was very pleased to see a gift card from Big W (much smaller version of Wallmart?) for $100. In my mind it's already been spent on a new happy snap camera. My daughter got me a lovely necklace and matching earings from her school Mothers Day stall. Very impressed and will not hesitate in sending money with her next year.

So not a lot planned for today. The V8's are on (car racing) and I don't mind sitting down and watching a bit of V8 madness. We're a Ford family *ducks for cover* LOL. You're either on one side or the other here in Aus - Ford or Holden. I think that's what makes the V8's so much fun. There's always that rivalry between fans. Funny how I've always found the V8's comforting. It always brings back memories of my childhood with the V8's on the telly and dad snoring away in his chair LOL!

Here's a little glimpse for all you rev-heads out there:



Okay. I'm a bit peeved with myself ATM. I finished book 5 in the Sookie Stackhouse aka Southern Vampire Series last night only to realise that I did not purchase the next book in the series. I have book 7 but not book 6. Grrrr. Now I'll have to order it online and it will take a good 3 weeks to get here. Damn I hate that. I have nothing else to read (well, nothing that I'm in the mood for) so I'm going to be like a bear with a sore head until I get my next fix of Sookie. LOL.

I could always go to Dymocks but why pay $20 when I can get it online for $11. Yes, there's postage to consider but if I purchase a few other books at the same time, the postage doesn't change. Anyway, I don't want to risk the 40 minute drive only to find out they don't have it in store anyway.

This is what really tempts me to get a e-reader. I could purchase a book and have it within minutes. I wouldn't be stressing about the growing pile of books on the floor beside my bed because there's no more room in the book cases and cupboards. I'm a book hoarder. I don't like to get rid of them. Although I must admit to having sold a few series of late. The ones where each book a repeat of the previous, just with a few names changed around.

So that brings me to the question. Which e-reader? If I get an e-reader I don't want to be limited to only one e-book provider (eg. Amazon = Kindle), yet I want the flexibility of genre's that Amazon offer. Do you have an e-reader? What would you recommend?

Speaking of all things technological. I've found all of a sudden I want an Ipod. I don't know why. I've never wanted one before. In fact I couldn't see a place for one in my life before this. I wonder what happened. Must be related to my mid-life crisis that I seem to be having ATM.

I might just get the smallest, most basic (= cheapest) one for the time being as much as the ones with all the bells and whistles call to me.

We'll see.