Indie Author, Podcaster
In anticipation of completing my latest draft of The Shadowless Book Two and submitting it to my editor, I have thoughts on revamping the cover of Book One, Shadows Within.
You can see images that are inspiring me on my Pinterest, “New Book Cover” board. The new cover will center on a crow. I am working with a designer to put my concept into an attractive cover for ebook, print, and audio (which I also plan to release).
I recently searched “vampire” on YouTube and found this video. I quite enjoyed it and wanted to share. Lots of candles. Hope she has a fireproof lair.
Finally! I submitted my first agent query today for my novel Shadows. Submissions require a synopsis and the first 25 pages as well. With the help of my critique group and a patient, generous editor, each piece was as polished as I could make it.
As Homer Simpson say, “Now we play the waiting game.”
And go to bed as I am coming down with some bug. Weird as it has been in a kind of holding pattern all day – aches mostly.
Recently I had received a kind tweet from Mike Iverson, who is half the talented team that had created the Vigil comic book series. He had appreciated my post about my enjoyment of re-reading those issues that have held up so well.
To my delight, he also informed me that Arvin Loudermilk, the other half of the duo, has continued to write more adventures starring the butt-kicking vampire police detective Grace Kimble, but now in novel form. I downloaded a copy to my Nook and hope you will too.
Let me know if you enjoyed reading about Grace, either in the Vigil comic series or in the novel.
Item 1.
Tonight I am planning to complete revisions to a chapter that is comprised of scenes in which the reader meets Michael, a live-for-the-moment conman who charms a couple of women. The first scene is with a young shop owner (the second with an elderly socialite). In the earlier draft, by the end of Michael’s encounter with the shop owner I had hinted that he would take a bit of her blood. After feedback from the critique group, my revisions now include showing the reader Michael’s seduction of her and the blood-drinking. It’s an opportunity to convey to the reader what that experience is like for a vampire in this world.
Then I’ll submit the chapter this week for feedback and see if I hit the mark.
Item 2.
An ongoing difficulty for me is finding comparable novels. I know comp titles are important in pitches, but it has been a struggle to find ones that I believe are similar. So I am touching up select chapters for the purpose of sharing them with a new reader. He will hopefully be able to come up with at least one for me. His own novel has debuted very recently, but he assures me he has time to help.