Well, technically one of the projects I’m currently working on isn’t new. After spending a week going through my universe bible (the document in which I try–and sometimes fail–to keep track of all the details of the world in which my books are set, plot points of the books, characters, and so on) and previous books, and writing a brainstorm that’s longer than some short stories I’ve had published, I’m now working on the rewrite of Bring On the Broccoli (Real Werewolves Don’t Eat Meat 7). I wrote a draft of this book previously, but because of personal life stuff that was happening, I wasn’t able to focus on it as much as I needed. I also hadn’t done a sufficient amount of brainstorming and planning. I wound up with a draft that left out a couple of really important plot pieces that needed to carry over from previous books, had one character acting far more out of character than could reasonably be explained (even though his acting out of character is an arc in the next few books of the series), and had Kyle Slidell, the narrator, acting more as a narrator and less as a participant in the story.
It needed a LOT of work. So I’m pretty much starting from scratch. This time, because I did the necessary preplanning, I have a better idea of where the story will go and how to get it there. This draft is already going better than the previous one. Bring On the Broccoli will be released in January.
I’m also working on the cover for Ebb and Flow, my next release, which will be out in October. I’m hoping to put Ebb and Flow up for preorder this coming week, and I would really, really like to have the cover done before that. (A cover isn’t required to put a book up for Amazon preorder, but I would *like* to have the cover when I set up the preorder.) So far, it hasn’t been exactly easy. Finding stock photos of models who fit my mental image of Quinn and Malachi was difficult at best, especially when there are certain aspects of their appearance that are stated in the book and so needed to be on the cover. I’ve seen some people say that models on book covers don’t have to look exactly like the characters, it’s more important that they fit the “vibe” of the genre, but honestly, as both an author and a reader it bugs the hell out of me when the model(s) on the cover of a book don’t match the in-book description of the character(s) they’re supposed to represent.
I think I’ve gotten the right models. I’m a little worried that people will assume the one representing Quinn is underage; he does look young to me. (Then again, now that I’m in my mid-50s, anyone under 40 looks young to me…) But going by some of the other pictures of the model available on the stock site, he is an adult, even if he’s a young-looking one. And Quinn looks young; he’s 22 and “far too thin,” according to the description.
I’m even more concerned about being able to put together the cover the way I envision it. I do make my own covers, because I enjoy doing it, but I’m far from professional and there are some tricks and intricacies of the program I use (GIMP, which is a free program similar to Photoshop) that I haven’t learned yet or am still figuring out how to use. I will end up with a good cover, but it might not be the exact cover I’m seeing in my mind.
So that’s what I’m working on as we begin a new month. And this is the background I’ve chosen for the Ebb and Flow cover. It’s from a picture I took from the ferry between Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia; somewhat fitting since most of Ebb and Flow takes place on a private island in Nova Scotia.
