Cover Designing

One of the things that comes up with self-publishing authors is the fact that we have to do nearly everything by ourselves. There's little that we can send off to others to do--mostly because of the fact that we don't have the time or the money to pass on some responsibilities. And we want to keep a tight hold on our babies since we've been working on them for so long.

Something that I've had to learn how to do is to design my own covers. It isn't the easiest thing to do--even though the platform that I am publishing through has a wonderful cover designing template--since you have to get everything just right. There's spacing issues and a thousand other things that have to be considered when you put together a book cover.

More than anything, it has to fit the story that you're trying to tell. It has to draw attention and make the reader want to pick up the book to read it. And that's something hard to do, especially when you're so tightly attached to your book that you don't know how to step back and make it new and interesting.

I have to admit that I loved designing the new cover, though. It was a new skill that I could pick up and a good way for me to find a new angle to think about my story. I had to step back and figure out what was really important about the book. What was so unique that I had to put it on the cover? And how would I make it look?

There was some trial and error involved, but I think I finally got it right in the end. Sure a professional could have done something different, but I think what I've got is a pretty damn good try for a newbie. And I think it makes a great connection to the way that the story goes.

I've already started looking at the covers for the last novel in the series and the cover for my newest series. With a sister like mine who can help to pull the graphics together, I think it'll all turn out just fine.

Dreams, Naps, and Getting Bored

Sometimes I feel like all I do is sleep. That's what I like to do. If I'm not reading, and I'm not writing--I want to be asleep. I guess that's because I run around so much trying to do fifty different things at the same time. Or that I'm just lazy sometimes.

And that's okay.

I prefer to sleep just because I'm relaxed, and I don't get to relax very much. I feel like I'm doing a thousand things all at once, and I never get to relax. So when I get the chance to sleep, I will. And I sometimes have some very strange dreams.

I wish I was one of those writers who saw their stories in their dreams. Or who could turn their dreams into new stories. I tend to hear things on the radio and get an idea for a story. Or have these little "voices" in my head that tell me the stories.

There are times when I get bored pretty easy. Sometimes it's when I'm writing. Sometimes it's when I'm just hanging out watching television. And most of the time when I get bored, I do one of two things--sleep or eat. Honestly, neither one of them is the best idea of things to do. At least not on a long term basis.

Sometimes I wish I could have really vivid dreams like other people do. It would be great. I would be so happy with it if I could. I know one person who has such vivid, real dreams that sometimes she can't tell if she's awake or asleep. What do I have to do to have dreams like that?!

In fact, right now I'm tired. I wish I could go back to bed.

Sleep would be good.

Clothes Shopping and Plus Sizes

I'm one of those people who absolutely hates clothes shopping. And that's for several different reasons. Mostly it's because I just don't have the patience to go through a store and look at fifty thousand different things. I much prefer to shop online or do something like that.

But most of all, I hate having to shop in the plus size section.

I know I can fix that by losing weight, but everyone knows that's hard. And I like food just too much.

It isn't so much about the fact that I'm seen in the plus sized section, because I really don't care about that. Honestly, anyone can look at me and see that I'm plus sized. Period. My real problem is that there are never any "good" clothes in the plus sized section.

The clothes are either way too big and make me look like I'm wearing a tent, or they're too small and make me look pregnant. What am I supposed to do?

I used to shop at Cato's, which has a decent selection of clothes in plus sizes. But the problem was that Cato's was really dressy and catered to a more "mature" clientele. Every once in a blue moon there might be something that was up my alley as far as fashion was concerned. But that was a rare occurrence.

Then I discovered this wonderful store known as Torrid. It's a sister company to Hot Topic, and they are fantastic. They cater to younger women in the plus size range. And it is a fabulous place to shop because the clothes are cool, the workers are the same shape as me, and I don't feel ashamed when I go shopping.

So sometimes it doesn't suck so much.

My Dream Vacation

With my week long vacation coming up soon, I started thinking about what my dream vacation would actually look like. I can't say that it would ever happen, but I would love to be able to spend a few days in London. That would be a wonderful vacation.

I can see it now. I'd arrive at Heathrow and go straight to my hotel in order to get over the slight jet lag. I think I'd go to London a day early so that I'd have a day to adjust to the time difference and everything. That way I could spend my entire week going around the city to see everything that there was to see.

There are a lot of places in London that I would like to see. Of course, there are the big tourist draws--London Bridge, Buckingham Palace, and the Tower of London. But I think I'd go to a bunch of other places around the country as well. I would go to visit the graves of the Princes of the Tower. I would want to see the battlefields of St. Albans and Tewksbury. I'd ride the London Eye and take the train to Cardiff to see Wales.

And who knows, maybe I'd take a day and travel across the Channel to France and visit Harfleur and Agincourt because I'm such a history nerd. I don't want to see Paris or the big cities. I want to see the oldest parts of the country--the parts that were tied up in English history as well.

That's my idea of a dream vacation, but I don't think it would ever happen. I'm just not that lucky as far as having the funds or the time to go on such a trip. But I can't say that I wouldn't absolutely enjoy it.

In fact, it would be the best thing that could ever happen to me.

The Places I Would Most Like to Live

I have to admit, I've never been one of those people who think where I live is the best place in the world. True, North Carolina is a beautiful state. But the weather is crazy and sometimes it's so hot that I just can't stand it. And when it rains, it freezes me to death even though I prefer the rain over the sun.

So I started thinking--mostly when I was scouting out locations online for similarities for my next book--what other places would I love to live? Where else in the world would I be willing to settle down and start a new life?

Here are my top ten places to live other than where I live right now...

1. Anywhere in England

2. Paris

3. Rome

4. New Zealand

5. New York City

6. Hawaii

7. Los Angeles

8. San Fransico

9. Boston

10. Seattle

2014 Book Challenge Update

This is the first year that I've taken part in a reading challenge, and I have to admit that I'm really enjoying it. I set the bar kind of high with a goal of 60 books for the year, which I now think that I'm going to be able to hit with no problem since I've started the review blog.

I'm actually almost a third of the way through already. As of Sunday, April 20, I have read 19 books. Which is pretty impressive when you think about it.

I'm pretty impressed with myself as I've finished a majority of the books within a few days. Although there were some real world things that came up that threw my reading schedule off. I hate it when things like that happen, but I'm still on par to get through the books by Halloween I think. Because at the rate that I'm reading, I should be two thirds of the way through the list by the end of the summer.

Of the 19 books that I've read so far this year, I have to say that my favorites have been the two available books in the All Saints Trilogy by Deborah Harkness. The two books were right up my alley with plenty of paranormal elements, romance, and tons of history. It was brilliant. And even though I enjoyed reading it, my least favorite was Slither. It just didn't fit very well with me.

I look forward to the other books that are on my list. And it's going to be a good year trying to hit that goal.

Okay, I love my Kindle

I swore a very long time ago that I would never EVER get a Kindle or any kind of e-Reader. Mostly because I enjoy the physical feel of paper and book board in my hands. I like the smell of book glue and ink.

But I have to admit that I love my Kindle. I love, love, LOVE it.

True, it's an old first generation that I got from a friend, but I don't need it for games or anything like that. All I need it for is reading. And this makes it so much easier for me to read eBooks that are sent to me for reviews. I can take it with me and catch up on reading as I go through things. And it doesn't mean that I have to carry a laptop with me everywhere to read on my Kindle App on my computer.

I suppose I'm old fashioned. Mostly because I've grown up with physical books, and I want to die with physical books. But I guess e-Readers aren't so very bad. Especially when the only format I have the books in is digital.

There's nothing fancy about my e-Reader. And that's just the way I like it.