Keeping Busy

Used to be, I could always write, regardless of the circumstances. Move cross-country in the middle of summer with two cats, a dog and no AC hauling a trailer that nearly killed my car? Not a problem. Take a ten day cruise to Hawaii (including five blissful days at sea) with my husband, two kids, my brother and my parents in tow? Best. Writing retreat. Ever...well, until recently, that is.

Lately, however, I've been finding it all a little more difficult. Seems like my Muse is always on vacation. However, if a picture is really worth a thousand words, then it turns out I've been wonderfully productive these past few weeks creating book covers for myself.

It really all started a few years ago when I discovered the wonders of GIMP. I may have gone a little graphic design crazy with the Trading Cards:

And the postcards...

But this year? I've graduated to covers! Here's the one I did for the print version of Inked Memories--my contribution to the Midnight Ink collection. It's simple, but I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

I love the background and all the Mardi Gras colors. And the model looks just how I picture the character. It's actually kind of spooky how much he resembles Declan. But, no. I do not know why he's wearing sunglasses at night. Or why he's shirtless in the street. He just is. Can we leave it at that?

Anyway, with one cover under my belt (and my muse still on vacation) I turned my sights on my bookshelf where my nine Oberon books (recently released in print) were languishing. Don't get me wrong, I love the front covers that were designed for me a few years ago, but the backs and spines were plain, plain, plain. They looked like textbooks. And that just wasn't doing it for me. So, since I still had my Createspace cover template page open from working on Inked Memories... Well, let's just say I now have nine more covers (okay, partial covers) to my credit.  

It was fun to have all the creative control and to finally make use of some of the great photos my husband shot for me--and even a couple of shots that I took myself. And, of course, once the covers were done, I had to create a trailer to show them off, right?

So, that's what I've been up to lately--along with formatting Inked Memories for print, and exploring possibilities for an audio version. I'm even thinking of narrating it myself. There's that control issue again. I really should do something about that one of these days. 

I'd love your thoughts on what I should focus on next. Another rebuild of my websites? That's always good for a few day's work. Print versions of some of my digital only releases? (I'm looking at YOU LA Love Lessons!) More audiobooks? Or, you know, maybe I could do something really different, like writing another book. Now, there's a concept!