A Selection of Book Cover Artists/Designers

I've been checking out the work of some cover artists and designers lately. Well, more gathering of links and less actual checking out, since I haven't had much time yet to actually go to all these websites! So some of them may not even exist anymore, or the people may not design covers any longer, but I thought it a useful list to share nonetheless. And I'll keep updating it. And if a link I haven't checked leads you off to some place weird that has nothing to do with cover design, please tell me and I'll remove it!

http://phatpuppyart.com/
http://mooneydesigns.net/
http://www.adazing.com/book-cover-design/
http://www.maeidesign.com/
http://www.edencranedesign.com/
http://www.fifthplanetdesign.com/
http://paragraphicdesigns.blogspot.com/
http://bookcovers.creativindie.com
http://www.novakillustration.com
http://nimbidesign.wordpress.com/book-cover-design/

http://seejanetwork.com/
http://darksabata.deviantart.com/
http://christinegriffin.artworkfolio.com/gallery/223051
http://ronnelldporter.blogspot.com/p/book-cover-design.html
http://www.sanjanasart.com/
http://www.dancaster.com/
http://www.donmichaeljr.com/
http://scatteredcomics.deviantart.com/
http://www.carlarene.com/
http://www.zapstone.com/
http://www.streetlightgraphics.com/
http://extendedimagery.com/
http://www.waywardsunstudio.com/
http://intensewhisp.deviantart.com/gallery/26789333
http://coverart.joleenenaylor.com/
http://www.tatlin.net/index.htm
http://spittyfish.wordpress.com
http://mycoverart.wordpress.com/services/
http://razzdazzdesign.com/
http://www.books-design.com

Added by Alex J Cavanaugh
http://rustywebb.blogspot.com/
http://sketchergirlstudios.com/

Added by Toby Neal
http://www.metzdesign.com
http://selestiele.wix.com/designs

Added by Gwen Gardner
http://www.sjusjun.com/

Added by Libby Heily
booksat.scarlettrugers.com

Added by Jaycee DeLorenzo
http://sweetnspicydesigns.com/

Revealing ... The Cover & Trailer for Carrie Butler's STRENGTH!

Carrie Butler's cover for Strength is steaming up my blog today ;-) Have a look!

Designer: Carrie Butler

Photographer: Yuri Arcurs

Title: Strength

Series: Mark of Nexus – Book 1

Publisher: Sapphire Star Publishing   
Category: New Adult (NA)
Genre: Paranormal Romance (PNR)
Release Date: March 07, 2013

When college student Rena Collins finds herself nose-to-chest with the campus outcast, her rumor-laced notions are shattered. Handsome, considerate, and seemingly sane, Wallace Blake doesn’t look like he spends his nights alone, screaming and banging on the walls of his dorm room. Hell, he doesn’t look like he spends his nights alone, period.

Too curious for her own good, Rena vows to uncover the truth behind Wallace’s madman reputation—and how two seconds of contact had left her with bruises. Of course, there are a few minor setbacks along the way: guilt, admiration, feelings of the warm and fuzzy variety…

Not to mention the unwanted attention of Wallace's powerful, supernaturally-gifted family.

They’re a bloodline divided by opposing ideals, two soon-to-be warring factions that live in secret among us. When Rena ends up caught in their crossfire, Wallace has no choice but to save her by using his powers. Now they’re really in trouble. With war on the horizon and Rena’s life in the balance, he needs to put some distance between them. But Rena won’t let go. If fighting is what it takes to prove her own strength and keep Wallace in her life, then that’s what she’ll do—even if it means risking a whole lot more than her heart.

Find Carrie online:

WEBSITE  |  BLOG  |  SSP  |  TWITTER  |  FACEBOOK  |  GOODREADS  |  GOOGLE+ 

Find Strength online:

BOOK PAGE  |  GOODREADS  |  FACEBOOK (New!)

~  ~  ~

In other news, I'm over at The Warrior Muse today talking about why I decided to publish novelettes :-)

Book Review: Forgiven, by Jana Oliver

The days are growing darker for 17-year-old demon trapper Riley Blackthorne. With her father’s reanimated body back safely, Beck barely speaking to her because of a certain hunky Fallen angel, and a freshly-made deal with Lucifer, she has enough on her hands to last a normal teenage lifetime. Though she bargained with Heaven to save his life, her ex-boyfriend Simon has told the Vatican’s Demon Hunters that she’s working with Hell. So now she’s in hiding, at the top of everyone’s most-wanted list.

But it’s becoming clear that this is bigger than Riley, and rapidly getting out of control:  something sinister is happening in Atlanta… or someone. The demons are working together for the first time ever and refusing to die, putting civilians in harm’s way. Riley thinks she might know who’s behind it all, but who’s going to believe her? Caught between her bargain with Heaven and her promise to Lucifer, Riley fears the final war is coming – and it may be closer than anyone thinks…

THE GOOD: I'm really enjoying this series. Riley is the kind of kick-butt herione I love, with an awesomely sarcastic (and yet also genuine) voice ;-) She and Beck have been at each other's throats for a while, but it's obvious they care about one another, so I've been waiting for Riley to figure that out and for them to finally get together ... Did that happen? Well, you'll have to read it to find out ;-) There were also a number of other plot threads that were pulled together to make some sense, but also a few things left unexplained that I'm looking forward to finding out more about when I get around to reading FORETOLD.

THE BAD: You know how when you read a traditionally published novel you expect it to be pretty polished? (Well, all published novels should be polished, but we know self-pubs have a bad rep.) I know every now and then a teeny mistake slips in, and it may not even be the author's fault. These things can happen after the author does their final check, right? Well, that's what I've heard anyway. So I can forgive a mistake or two. A missing "a" or "the" somewhere in a sentence.
Now I noticed with the previous two Demon Trappers novels that there were more than just a few of these little mistakes. Five to ten maybe. Which is not great. But this book??? Wow, I lost count way before the end! Definitely more than ten. Twenty maybe? I don't think I'd be exaggerating. And I mean loads of little words missed out like "to", "it", "a", "the", or a word in the wrong place in a sentence.
It's a pity, because it was a fantastic story aside from that.

THE PRETTY: I like the cover up top there more than I like the alternate one here. While the girl on the cover here is beautiful, I never imaged Riley as being pale and sort of ... emo looking! The cover above also feels more "alive" somehow. There's action. She's running away. She's fearful. It works with the story :-) And the flames are cool!





THE BOTTOM LINE: This is a series I'll keep reading despite the typos!
 

Double Cover Reveal: GIVIN' UP THE GHOST & NEVERLOVE

Mystery and mayhem teamed with heartache and overcoming. Follow PIP here.

Gwen Gardner and Angela Brown have undertaken an exciting indie publishing adventure - Partners in ParanormYA. Fun, right?! And today is the day they reveal the covers for their books, GIVIN' UP THE GHOST and NEVERLOVE. Here's what they're about...



Corona Zschusschen

Friend or Foe?

Murder victim Bart Bagley is not content to merely roll over in his grave. He wants his murderer caught and he wants teenage ghost whisperer, Indigo Eady, to help him.

It becomes obvious that Bart’s temper lead to more than one disagreement, but is it enough to want him dead? With nothing but a cold trail and a hot list of “friendly” suspects, Indigo and her friends race to find the killer before they become the next victims.

Indigo Eady is not clumsy. At least, that’s what she keeps telling everyone. Can she help that the overactive spirit community of Sabrina Shores causes her psychic abilities to short-circuit? It’s unfortunate that her cute new friend Badger is often on the receiving end of her mishaps. At times, she is positively hazardous to his health. Even so, sparks start to fly in more than one direction...

Heather McCorckle of CP Designs

For seventeen-year-old Abigail, one rash decision leads to an unexpected chance for redemption. At V'Salicus Academy, a unique institute where she trains to become an agent of heaven, she struggles with the pain of her past, the changes of the present, and accepts a loveless future until her path – and heart – crosses with Basil’s.

Basil's off-chance slip of the tongue binds him to a life of servitude to the Devourer, the master of hell. His existence has no upside until a chance meeting with Abigail brings new perspective.

Keeping the truth of their present lives from each other brings disaster when secrets are brought to light and the life of Abigail’s mentor is put on the line.

Can Abigail and Basil save her mentor and salvage their love amid the chaos? Or will they lose it all, destined forever to NEVERLOVE?

~  ~  ~

 

About the Authors

Haunt me: FB, Blog, Goodreads

Gwen Gardner

Running, writing and reading are my favorite things.

I am also a dreamer.

Have you ever told yourself that "some day" I'm going to travel or write or whatever it is that you are passionate about but can't do right now for whatever reason? You can go for years and years and keep telling yourself that "some day" you'll do it. Too often "some day" never comes. But mine did. I am a former Administrative Manager and Vice President of a successful swimming pool plastering company - until I woke up one day and realized that my "some day" had arrived. I quit my job, moved to the mountains and began to write. Crazy, I know. But even crazier? Is when you get to the end of your life and realize that your "some day" is too late. Life is much too short for that! So the adventure has begun.

GIVIN' UP THE GHOST is a YA paranormYA cozy mystery, the first in the Indigo Eady series, due out October 8, 2012.

Haunt me: FB, Blog, Goodreads

Angela Brown

Reading and writing have been lifelong passions. It was around the time I gave birth to my forever-love, nicknamed Chipmunk, that I really took writing seriously. After all, how could I teach my child to follow her dreams if I hadn't tried myself?

As a YA fantasy/sci-fi reader and author, I favor the magical, mysterious, the darker side of life...even harbor a secret fright for things that go bump in the night.

NEVERLOVE is a special project spawned from a blog-challenge-turned-blog-opera, the Abby and Basil affair. It is the first in the Shadow Jumpers series and due out October 8, 2012.

~  ~  ~

Sounds like October is going to be a fun and busy month for these two ParanormYA ladies ;-)

Novels with Rave Reviews: When You Just. Don't. Get It

A little while ago I read a self-published book that I was really looking forward to. The premise sounded fun and original amidst other YA books, and there were a lot of 4 and 5 star reviews on Goodreads and Amazon.

My thoughts on the book: Okay, I really don't get this. Did I even read the same book everyone else did?

Yup. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.

I recently decided to write well-balanced book reviews with a The Good, The Bad, and The Pretty layout (like one of the reviews I did last year), but I can't do that for this book because I'm not sure I can think of anything good to say about it (which is why I'm not mentioning the author or title).
Here's what I found:

• Typos - a proper proofread could fix this.
• Missing commas - not a big deal to some readers, but I find it annoying.
• Sentence structure - there were a number of sentences that just could have been written in a better way.
• Tense mix-ups - you can't mix up is and was!
• Weird formatting - You know how just the first line of each paragraph in a book is supposed to be indented? I think every single chapter in this book had an entire paragraph that was completely indented. Very weird.
• Unrelatable characters - well, that could just be me. Obviously some readers did relate to these characters.
• Predictable storyline - one reviewer said she thought she had the whole storyline figured out and then wham, the author managed to surprise her. So I read this thinking, even though I think I've got this figured out, I'm sure there's a great twist coming up. But no. The 'twist' that was impossible for the main character to figure out seemed pretty obvious to me.

To summarise: this book read like a first draft. With more work it could have been great.

Fortunately, I wasn't asked by this author to do a review, but what if you are in that situation? What do you do when an author asks you to review a book, or you offer for a blog tour, thinking the book will be great, and then it turns out to be pretty bad?

Do you write a good review anyway so as not to hurt the author's feelings?
Do you write an honest review of exactly what you think of the book?
Do you speak to the author privately and decline to do the review?

It's a toughie...