A bit of an experiment

I often say that my writing to do list should be written on wallpaper as I always have so much I want to do. Since the sequel to The Only became two sequels, I'm now working on three books concurrently and whilst wrestling with the first sequel (and it was wrestling until I realised I'd written half of two books!) I wrote another stand alone book. To release these books in order, it should be the sequel next, the sequel's sequel and then this stand-alone. But I got tired of waiting and I've had quite a few (nice!) comments that you are too.

And so I give you

Isn't it gorgeous? Another fabulous cover by Lisa Bonar – wait till you see the back!

I'm trying an experiment with this one as it's jumped the queue so as not to confuse those people who don't read my blog. You can read chapter 1 on www.wattpad.com, just search for Sync Your Heart or look for my profile where I'm under my Twitter name originalkaren.

Sync Your Heart will be out on Kindle and in paperback – my original plan was to release this after I finished telling Maya's story. That is, of course, unless you and Shay shout louder! So do let me know what you think – I'm really looking forward to seeing the feedback.

Editing, editing, editing ...

So I blinked and a quarter of the year whizzed by – did it happen to you too? I cannot believe on Sunday it is the longest day of the year for those of us in the northern hemisphere and the shortest for you southern guys. Here in Britain our summer has generally only just about got going by the time we reach 21st of June so seems all wrong that as we finally have warm enough temperatures to go out without wearing a jumper, the nights start drawing in but that's food for thought for another blog post.

Since I last blogged I have been busy, busy with edits which explains why the world has been passing me by.  During March I spent a lot of time reading – all research, you understand, and not just an excuse to buy more books, but of course I did that too! It was fabulous reading like I did when I was a teenager, all the time, and I read five books in a week. Since then I have done editing, editing, editing. This is my favourite part of the writing process: first draft is like putting clay on a potter's wheel and editing is like moulding the clay into something beautiful that you want to look at – first draft is for no one's eyes but mine!  It's where I get to lament "I really wrote that?" and also to be amazed that "I really wrote that!"  For me, it's a long and extremely messy process and that's when I forget what colour my desk is as it becomes progressively buried in heaps of paper.  There's something daunting in writing a number one on the first page when I know I have another 300+ to go but it's also fun because that's where I can really make it shine.

 My work in progress is off with my lovely test readers and I'm back editing the book I'm working on concurrently. It's a good job I like this part of the process, although it's clearly showing that I'm not so keen on clearing up my desk – I really must get to that as I'm currently working in a space the size of an A4 sheet of paper!

The Only comes to life

So, not quite hot on the heels of my interview with Lisa, the lovely artist who did the cover of The Only, here is an interview with Connor Guyler of Simulated Film who did an amazing job shooting the book trailer. It's been something really quite special to see scenes which have been in my head for a couple of years suddenly coming to life in front of me and I'm thrilled with the result. 

Welcome, Connor, so let's kick off with which medium you think tells a better story, film or words, or do you think each has its own merits?

I think that it’s difficult to pick between the two mediums as they are so different. A good example of a film uses images to propel the storyline whereas a good novel uses descriptive language to build an image in someone’s mind. There is more scope in film to create a good story with access to sound; however, I think that some filmmakers have become complacent and have forgotten what it means to create a visual piece. They use dialogue to explain story rather than images, believing that without any exposition the audience won’t be able to figure it out. The audience is more intelligent than people think, and I believe filmmakers need to put more effort into taking dialogue out of their screenplays to create a better work of art. 

How easy is it to distill a story of (in the case of The Only) 95,000 words into a minute and a half?

I think the difficulty depends on what you want to include in a trailer. I didn’t want to give too much away about the storyline but wanted to delve quite deep into the backstory so I found it not as difficult as creating a trailer through snippets of dialogue from the storyline. I then wanted to pick either scenes or images from the book which I think represent the mood that would be present during all these events happening.

With that short amount of time to get the message of a book across, what do you think are the most important elements, and how did you choose what scenes to include? 

With a trailer, in a way, you want to create a storyline in itself which gives some of the information away but not enough for people to know what happens without reading it. In the case of The Only, I found the back story absolutely intriguing and something that is a very real possibility so I definitely wanted to dedicate the first half of the trailer to exploring what events have led up to the start of the book. I then wanted to show the protagonist’s motivation for the decisions she makes in the story; this led me to include the scene of her dropping a bottle of medicine to represent the decline of Coralone, as this is the catalyst for all the events in the book. From then I included various images which I think represent the state of the UK during the time the book is set and a small preview of an extremely important scene with the flare. However, without reading the book, the viewer wouldn’t have understood the importance of this scene.

I have to say I love seeing that scene on the screen - it gives me goosebumps every time! Do you think book writers make good screenwriters or do you think it's a different skill?

I believe that there is always the ability for writers to transfer their skills to screenwriting, however they would just have to learn to be less descriptive, and learn to think about a screenplay as a set of instructions for everyone else to follow. Screenplays are very direct and to the point so that everyone who reads it is on the same page and knows exactly what is happening in each scene, whereas novels leave a certain amount to the imagination.

How important do you think it is for the writer to be involved in a visual production of their story?

I think it’s almost essential that the writer be involved because, ultimately, anyone who has read the book will want the film to be as close as possible to the storyline and often important scenes are left out or changed in an unforgiving way because there hasn’t been the input of the author. Also, because everything in a book is left to the imagination of the reader, the director/producer etc may have a different take on how the main character looks, for example. If you look at two of the most successful novel to film transitions, Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, both J.K Rowling and Suzanne Collins were involved with the films. With J.K Rowling making sure that the production was predominantly British and giving input throughout the creation of the films, and Suzanne Collins co writing the screen play of The Hunger Games. Most people regard these films as great adaptations and shows the importance of the authors input.

I'd have to agree with you there, I loved both the book series and the movies of both of those! What book would you like to make a trailer for and why?

Anything that’s science fiction because of my huge love for sci-fi.

Maybe I should write a sci-fi one next then ;)  And, finally, one for fun - if you were a superhero, what would be your super power? 

I think controlling time would be the best, as you could be anywhere and everywhere all the time. You’d never make a mistake because you’d just go back in time and fix it and you could jump into the future just to see what happens. I’m sure everyone would be intrigued by that. If I couldn’t have that I’d love also to fly.

I'm absolutely with you on the power over time!! Sadly our time has run out today but thanks for answering all my questions and for doing such a great job on the trailer. 

Connor can be found here c.guyler@simulatedfilm.co.uk and his website is www.simulatedfilm.co.uk  And if you want to catch the trailer again, you can, right here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpMKn693JrQ

Judging by the cover . . .

Are you having a great week? I am but then I'm still excited from the launch of The Only in paperback (and am likely to be for a while yet!). I've had so many comments about how lovely the cover is and what a great job the artist did that I thought it would be cool to interview her to find out how she does it. 

Let me introduce you to the lovely Lisa Bonar :

Hi, Lisa, it's so great to have you on here 

First of all, thanks so much for having me on your blog, Karen! This is quite the honor!

So let me ask you, do you read much or is it the artwork on a book that you love?

Well, I do love the artwork, but yeah, I’m a reader. I read on my computer, my Kindle, my phone, and heck…I have even been known to read actual hard copies of books, ya know, like old school?

A girl after my own heart! What type of books/genre do you like?

Here’s where I suffer from a bit of schizophrenia. I like a bunch of different genres. My favorite books are Jane Eyre, Sense and Sensibility, The Prisoner of Azkaban, Kilmeny of the Orchard by Lucy Maud Montgomery, and Midnight by Dean Koontz. (See? Schizophrenia!)

I’ve also read and enjoyed several books by indie authors. A couple of standouts are 2012: The Final Revelation by Lisa Flaus,, and The Only, by…oh wait…you know who. Seriously, I really liked your book, Karen!

I'm very happy that you liked it! :) How did you get into designing book covers? 

Well, funny story. I have, myself, authored two books, and had such a great experience (this is sarcasm here, folks) getting the first cover done that I was inspired.  Actually, I used a designer who was recommended to me by my publisher, and she just wasn’t getting what I wanted. I had to all but get into a cyber-brawl with her, (she was in Germany, I was in the States, so it wasn’t practical for me to punch her in person), in order to get the cover I was looking for. I had some experience with Photoshop from doing ads and graphics for past business ventures, so when it was time for book #2, I opted to do my own cover, which turned out to be a far less painful experience.

That’s when I realized that it might be helpful for me to offer my services to other independent authors, who may not have a graphic design background, or a budget of hundreds of publishing house dollars to sink into cover art. I offer most front cover designs for $35 USD and full-cover (front, spine, and back) designs for $60.

And amazing designs you do, too. And I have to say that working with you has been brilliant, totally pain-free and the cover has turned out so well, I'm as proud of it as if I'd designed it! So tell me what elements make for a great cover?

I think the elements that make a great cover are the same elements that make a great advertisement. After all, your cover is the glowing neon billboard for your book; it’s what makes people want to check it out in the first place, so it has to command attention. Whether it’s an “in your face” color scheme, a vivid and bold image, or a line of text that inspires curiosity, something has got to make readers pick the darned thing up, already.

You also may have noticed that I like to use eyes a lot. Eyes are great attention grabbers. Also, contrasting colors and shades tend to make things pop as well.

How do you decide on what to put in and, perhaps more importantly, what to leave out?

Most of all, I want to make sure I am creating designs that are what the author wants. Most writers have at least a basic idea of what they want on their cover. They just need someone with the technical or artistic experience to put their vision together.

That said, even though design is technically an “art”, there are some hard, fast rules. One of which is simplicity. Once I’ve finished a design, I go back and turn each element off, one at a time. This shows me whether I have something that just isn’t needed.  It’s like editing a book. If a word or phrase isn’t necessary, no matter how in love with it we may be, it has to go.

That's really interesting - I never thought about it like that before. Can you talk a little about the process of designing?

It’s funny, but the process of designing parallels the process of writing in a lot of ways. It starts with an idea that gets developed and expounded upon. You try a bunch of different ways to put things together; some stick, some don’t. In the end, you edit, and tweak, and fine-tune your little heart out, and hopefully you end up with something you love.

What do you think about the saying 'never judge a book by its cover'?

Hehehe, is that a fair question for a cover designer to answer? ;) I think you CAN judge a book by its cover—or at least a little. The mood of the book is often reflected in the cover, or it should be. If an author (or publisher) is creative with their cover, I’ve found that the book is likely to be creative as well. Does a boring cover equal a boring book? Not always, but unfortunately I may never know. I rarely even pick up the books with boring covers. Even when I’m shopping for a classic on Amazon, if one copy has cover art and another (of the EXACT same book, mind you) has a “text only” cover, I’m more inclined to buy the copy with the cover art. Maybe it’s just me, but I kinda doubt it. Covers are important!!!!! End rant.

When you choose a book to read, as an artist, is it the cover that you go by, at least initially rather than say the title?

Well, after reading the above you’d certainly think so. However, a title can be a powerful “design” all by itself. For example, say that two book covers have nothing on them but the title in red on a black background. One is called, “Understanding Mathematical Equations, by Prof. Charles Schwarz” and the other is called “The Black Fallen”. Which would more likely capture your curiosity? Sometimes the title is the design.

And here's one for fun - if you were a super hero what would be your special power? 

Hmmm, I’d want it to be something totally random, like the ability to turn ordinary objects into chocolate, or the gift of always knowing the color of my enemy’s underwear. Gotta keep those super villains on their toes!

Ha, ha, I'd love the ultimate power of chocolate! Thanks so much, Lisa. I'm really looking forward to working with you on the next part of Maya's story :)

If you want to know more about Lisa, you can check out her blog here http://www.iabookcovers.blogspot.com where she showcases some of the other fabulous covers she's designed or email her at statementshome@yahoo.com

Which one are you?

Are you a diehard physical book person who wouldn't dream of reading anything on an e-reader, ever? Or do you love the ease and convenience of an e-reader and can't be doing with carting hard copies of books around now you don't have to? I must confess I thought I was that in the first category until my husband gave me a Kindle for Christmas a few years ago. My first experience with it abroad really sold it to me - I'd downloaded the first of The Hunger Games and it was so good, I rushed up to the wifi area in reception to download books 2 and 3 to finish while we were away!  The down side for me with my Kindle is that I'm sadly very clumsy when reading in the bath, so I haven't quite reconciled myself to not be reading it while having a good soak! Note to self to investigate waterproof covers…or the new waterproof Kobo! But I love physical books too - yes, I'm one of those who smells new books and find it virtually impossible to get rid of the books I've read which I'll never read again and which are taking up all the space on my bookcases. It seems, like many people, I guess, I'm in the middle. So imagine how excited I am to be able to announce that The Only is now available in paperback from amazon! And a crackingly lovely paperback it is too.  Ta dah!! The artist has done a wonderful job – isn't it pretty?! There's something really special about holding a physical copy of your words in your hand, seeing it as a real, tangible thing. To get a flavour of what it's all about, check out the book trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpMKn693JrQ And the even better news – the edit on the sequel is going really well so watch this space!

Whiplash

I watched a really good film recently – Whiplash, have you seen it? It only had a budget of $3.3 million which, in the scheme of film-making is tiny, and was shot in just 19 days but it's garnering attention. I won't say much about the plot because I don't want to ruin it for you but suffice it to say that there are no fancy visual gimmicks, there's just story. And the story is driven by the two main characters colliding. I've heard lots of authors give talks and the most notable quote about characters that I remember was given by Lee Child, the author of the Jack Reacher series, who said that plot is like a hire car – it gets you from beginning to end – but it’s the characters driving that car who move the story forward, they’re what/who the reader remembers. And this was certainly true for me in this film. But the film also resonated with me on another level (and it's hard to write about this without giving away any plot!) reminding me that anyone who achieves anything in their chosen field bears the scars of getting there – the knock backs, the fails, the sacrifices, the disappointments, the sheer damned hard work, the hours and hours of practice and the stubbornness of keeping on getting up each time you fall down and trying again. These scars may be invisible to those watching from afar but everyone putting their head above the parapet to try carries them and so deserves our admiration. If you get the chance to see Whiplash, do, it's an excellent story.

Not Orange but Happy

For those of you not living in the UK, a little explanation is needed. One of our mobile service providers used to be called Orange and they offered their customers a free cinema ticket every Wednesday. They launched this with a funny ad where the marketing team brainstormed what to call the promotion that happened every Wednesday, from a company called Orange, like clockwork, and they came up with… Orange Wednesdays.  For eight and a half years I've been juggling a full-time job, four kids and husband (actually they've all been around for longer than eight and a half years!) fitting writing in at the margins of my time which, as you can appreciate, hasn't been much time and therefore not much writing. For all sorts of different reasons I've now been able to reduce my working hours in my day-job to 4 full days per week which gives me one glorious day – Wednesday – to fill with words. And what does this have to do with Orange? Well, I've christened this day my Happy Wednesday because on Wednesday I'm so –er– happy, filling my time with words planned, words written, words edited, words proofread. I've only had a few and I'm in no way used to being off on a workday but the sense of freedom at the possibilities of what I could achieve each Wednesday morning is enough to make me jump out of bed grinning like a mad woman! That huge pile that is my writing to do list is actually looking like being achievable – 2015, it's going to be a great year!!