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What’s in a book cover?

If you ask anyone who’s talked to me in the last several months, they’ll tell you I love to talk about book covers! Probably waaaay too much. I can’t completely explain why I am so fascinated. I just love exploring the creation process, and figuring out how people feel when they look at an image. What subconscious messages are we receiving from a cover without even knowing it?


A book cover is one of its most important assets. It tells everyone what kind of book it is, and invites them to explore the story. I LOVE a really great book cover. Truly, I love a really, really bad one too, but for different reasons. I have a secret file of extremely bad ones, (but it wouldn’t be nice to post those). Here is a snapshot of the progression of the cover for Forgotten Rebellion.


I wanted to create a compelling image that would give browsers an idea that they’d be reading an adventure, and that Tahlea is very brave. If you haven’t seen the book trailer yet, check it out! And if you haven’t read the book. Now is a good time!

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How do you feel about really large spiders?

A really, really big spider!

One time when I was a kid, a spider fell out of the light fixture above me and landed right in my lap. It was so BIG it made a noticeable sound as it landed. I made a sound too. Please enjoy the mental picture of me screaming and dancing around like a crazy person. My brother sure did!

I’m sure that experience had nothing to do with adding spiders into The Ring Keeper! So please enjoy a snippet of the spider from The Ring Keeper Chapter 16…

Out of the corner of her eye, Allia spotted motion. Her head whipped around in time to see something scuttle out of sight between the boxes. Callonen had seen it too. “Let’s get out of here.” Allia dashed toward the door. But a dark brown spider blocked her path. It was at least as big as the one in the container, only this one roamed free. It raised its front legs, displaying black fangs, and skittered a few steps toward her.

Allia stood frozen, her teeth clenched, staring at the spider. Callonen stepped protectively in front of her. When the spider came nearer, he took a swing at it with the pry bar. It retreated out of reach.

They paused, watching it warily. It rushed at them. Callonen waited until it nearly reached his boots, then struck it squarely with the metal bar. It twitched and struggled, but he kept it pinned to the door until it finally stopped moving, and its knobby legs curled up under its body.

Allia clamped her jaws firmly shut to keep from screaming. Her eyes searched every corner of the room. Were there more? When Callonen offered his hand, she clutched it. They edged past the dead spider to run for the door.

If you haven’t had a chance to read The Ring Keeper yet, now is the time! Click here to buy from my Shopify Store!

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He never took his eyes off the leader of the bandits…

Here is another piece of a scene from the middle of the book. If you haven’t guessed yet, the second book takes place in the desert. The more I work on this story, the more I enjoy it. Can’t wait to share the whole thing!

Excerpt from Seven Rivers Book Two

Kylith stared directly at the leader of the bandits. “If I fight you, man to man, will that pay your toll? Just you and I in a fair fight. No one interferes. If I win, the rest of you will allow us to pass. If you win, you can do as you like with us.”

For a moment silence fell. The bandit leader laughed. He pulled down the cloth covering his face. The moonlight revealed a brutal scar running across his cheek and nose. “Do you know who I am?”

Kylith took a step forward, holding his blade ready. “No idea.”

The bandit laughed. “I thought not. No one who knew who I am would dare to challenge me. I am Hakkir. Do you still want to fight me?”

Kylith didn’t move a muscle. “I’ve never heard of you.”

The bandit drew his own blade and advanced. His men stepped back to allow them to fight. Allenthal did the same. Hopefully Kylith knew what he was doing. For a moment all was still except for the hiss of the night wind against the sand.

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“This time you’re not getting away…”

Forgotten Rebellion Chapter 18

Princess Tahlea is injured and trying to escape the outlaws roaming the woods searching for her.

***

The man raised his weapon, smiling coldly as he approached her. “Found you. This time you’re not getting away.”

She didn’t allow any trace of fear to show as she faced the man. Her voice sounded even and sure. “If you come any closer, I’ll shoot you.”

The man stared at her and glanced down at the bow in her hands. His eyes flew to the bandage on her arm. He smirked. “I doubt it. If you could pull that bow, you’d already have done it.” Making his decision, he charged toward her. She lifted the bow and began to draw. A cry of pain escaped her lips. She released the bow string, only half-drawn, and the arrow flew harmlessly into the dirt between them.

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A quick scene from my new book…

I’m guessing you’re as excited as I am, so here is a quick scene from the sequel to Forgotten Rebellion! Let me know what you think!

***

“Where have you hidden the tablet?”

Kyjia’s eyes darted between the two men and her fingers tightened into fists. She didn’t answer.

“Our people need you,” Zhandar pleaded. “They need your leadership and guidance. That tablet is a symbol of our connection with deity. We need it, and we need you with us. Please, Kyjia. You must see that it’s the right thing to do!” He took another step toward her.

She remained against the wall, refusing to come any nearer. “My family is sworn to protect the tablet. I cannot give its power into your hands. I won’t.”

“You will,” Jaro hissed. “You must. Don’t try to fight against us. I promise you’ll regret it.”

She darted toward the opening, moving suddenly to bolt between the men guarding the exit. But there were too many of them and they closed in. She jerked to a stop as one seized her cloak. Hands tightened around her arms, holding her immobile. She drove her elbow into the man’s gut and her boot down onto his foot, twisting out of his grip. She ran, but three more of them blocked the door.

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It’s only bad for 15 minutes…

Sometimes, the conditions are a little uncomfortable. Kind of like life.

Living in Utah means lots of dramatic changes in the weather. We’ve had some absolutely gorgeous sunny days, decadently warm for February, and some bitter cold snowy days with icy winter wind. The mountains still have a lot of snow. This hike was one of the warm days. Unlike the week before, when I got to the trailhead and mine was the only car in the parking lot.

The minute I opened the car door and a blast of artic wind hit me, I knew why. But I wasn’t going home without my hike, so I cinched my hood around my face, pulled my gloves up inside my jacket sleeves and started walking. My motto on days like that: “It’s only really bad for the first 15 minutes.” Well, that wind blasted at me nearly the whole way. Hopefully I was building character?

I’m busily editing away on Seven Rivers Book Two. I think you’re going to love it!

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How can you get your editor to work faster?

Make sure she’s so involved in the story, she doesn’t want to do anything else.

I am REALLY excited to share the news that Forgotten Rebellion has a sequel. I spoke with my editor over the weekend and she loved it! Her schedule this month was very tightly packed, but, even so, she finished her first pass through the book ahead of schedule. “Once I started, I couldn’t put it down,” she said. I think that’s a pretty good sign!!! She made some stellar suggestions to strengthen the story, so I will be doing edits over the next few weeks. But in the meantime, get excited to read! We’ll move through the changes as quickly as possible. I’ll soon have some graphics and book descriptions that I’d love your opinion on, so stay tuned! Ok, and here is a glimpse of the cover.

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The secret to making a really great impression…

Have you ever wondered the secret to making a really great impression? Let me tell you! You need snow with enough moisture to compact and mold to your shape. That’s it.

After a long week of hard work, I headed to the mountains with my friends to snowshoe. We had an amazing time. Sun, snow, wind, and lots and lots of fun. Maybe a little TOO much fun 🙂

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Mountains + snowshoes = amazing weekend

Snowshoeing in the Wasatch Mountains

I used my trusty four-wheel drive truck to get into the snow-covered parking lot, so that we could put on our snowshoes and head straight up the mountain. That was exactly what I needed! There’s something about the silence of the snow-draped trees. We passed some very fresh moose tracks. (Not the ice-cream kind, the kind made by moose feet.) I hope you love these pictures, because I dropped my phone far into the incredibly deep powder to take them!! (Don’t worry – I dug it out in the end!)