Combining watercolor and digital painting for my fantasy book cover Guest Blog and GIveaway with Marsha A. Moore

I’m glad to be here today at The Creatively Green Write at Home Mom! Since you focus on crafts, I wanted to talk about how exciting it’s been to discover a new creative hobby—digital painting. I’d like to share some of my work. After lots of practice attempts with small projects and a mountain of research about technique, I began my first large project—the book cover for the first in my epic fantasy romance series—Seeking a Scribe: Enchanted Bookstore Legend One.

I’ve painted with watercolors regularly for decades and wanted to combine the techniques. I began with a line drawing and a simple watercolor of the dragon figure I wanted to use. The painting was, by my standards, one-third finished. As my research guided me, I focused to develop texture with painting, which is a strength of that medium compared to Photoshop. I scanned my painting and this is the raw image.

I used a stock image for the background and added my dragon.

Then the work began, using the amazing color and shadow abilities of Photoshop.

It took several long days to get from this stage to the final look I was pleased with.

For my next cover, I’m learning new skills. The project is a big step up in difficulty with a background I must modify a lot. Also, the character will be human, a more difficult drawing/painting step that I’ll spend much more time with than the dragon. And, I have a new 4-inch stack of new technique books for guidance. Lots of time, but also lots of fun!

Seeking a Scribe: Enchanted Bookstore Legend One

Genre: Fantasy romance

Description:

Lyra McCauley is a writer and loves fantasy novels, but until she opens a selection from bookstore owner Cullen Drake, she has no idea he’s a wizard character who lives a double life inside that volume…or the story’s magic will compel her from the edge of depression to adventure, danger, and love.

His gift to Lyra, the Book of Dragonspeir, was actually her copy, misplaced years ago. Lost in her pain following divorce and death, she fails to recognize him as her childhood playmate from the fantasyland. Friendship builds anew. Attraction sparks. But Lyra doubts whether a wizard is capable of love. She’s torn—should she protect her fragile heart or risk new love?

Opening the book’s cover, she confronts a quest: save Dragonspeir from destruction by the Black Dragon before he utilizes power of August’s red moon to expand his strength and overthrow the opposing Imperial Dragon. Lyra accepts the challenge, fearing Cullen will perish if evil wins. Along with magical animal guides, Cullen helps her through many perils, but ultimately Lyra must use her own power…and time is running out.


Purchase at Amazon for only 99 cents 

Author Bio:

Marsha A. Moore is a writer of fantasy romance. The magic of art and nature spark life into her writing. Her creativity also spills into watercolor painting and drawing. After a move from Toledo to Tampa in 2008, she’s happily transforming into a Floridian, in love with the outdoors. Crazy about cycling, she usually passes the 1,000 mile mark yearly. She is learning kayaking and already addicted. She’s been a yoga enthusiast for over a decade and that spiritual quest helps her explore the mystical side of fantasy. She never has enough days spent at the beach, usually scribbling away at new stories with toes wiggling in the sand. Every day at the beach is magical!

Website: http://marshaamoore.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/MarshaAMoore

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/marshaamooreauthorpage

Fantasy Faction staff page: http://fantasy-faction.com/staff-members?uid=38

Goodreads author page http://www.goodreads.com/marshaamoore

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Guest Blog by Author Yasmina Kohl

Fiction is magic and magic can be fiction.

When I was writing Cassandra's Heart and Saver's Savior, I didn't think about the magic, I just wrote it. And that's the thing, if you try to force it people will be able to see that.

The one and only scene I honestly tried to put magic into is the scene with Xavier and Yvette in the kitchen. I wanted him to see something he would have never experienced before. Xavier is a big tough Marine and I thought he would need a push to do what was best for him.

In the first book, Cassandra's Heart there were little things that people might have thought as mistakes. James reaching to rub Cassandra's back and her sweater was off and neither had taken it off. His jacket is the same way. They weren't mistakes but I didn't plan it out either. I simple let the scene evolve.

The next book The Godfather's Niece, which will be out later this year, has a lot less magic in it but it is still there. The thing about magic, is what magic are you asking or talking about. Are you talking about Practical Magic, or Hollywood style magic or the magic that exists around us daily? Do you mean someone waving a wand around and making a vase whip across the room to shatter against a wall or do you mean watching a flower for days to blink and all of its petals are open and turned towards one stray beam of sunlight on a cloudy day?

I try to write the later with a wisp of the first, because while I like real, if reality was any good we wouldn't need to read fiction...

Saver’s Savior

By Yasmina Kohl

Release Date March 31st, 2012
Ocean Shores, WA USA

Xavier St. Cloud wants to hate the world, wants to be angry at it. He doesn’t want to be part of it anymore. He wants to go on and see the brother’s in arms that were killed before his eyes.

Emiko Nara is so afraid of the world she barely interacts in it. She has never stood up for herself ever, even after her family disowned her for something she never had control over.

When Emiko decides to stand up for herself for the first time in her life, it’s to a thief with a knife.

Xavier can’t help but react on instinct to the cries for help, and when he does he finds something that might just keep him from trying to follow his fallen brothers.

Can the shy little Emiko be brave and save the shattered Marine from his own personal hell?

About The Magical Ways Series

To a casual passerby, Magical Ways is a high-end clothing boutique. To its employees and customers, however, it is a family, a good one.

Okay, yes, dysfunctional, but there is fun in dysfunctional after all.

Five sisters by choice come together and help each other get through the bumps and bruises of life. Along the way they add a brother or two or well, six.

About the Author

Yasmina is from a small town in the middle of...naw you know better. Yasmina is originally from Vancouver, WA and then by way of the Navy and college ended up in Grays Harbor County with her husband and her two kids and now the two black cats. Yes, she has two of the furry beasts.

During the day, she keeps the people happy or tries to anyway. At night, she tries to keep her sanity by escaping aforementioned family to write down what the evil muses have shoved in her brain all day.

She waits for the graduation of her kids (one imminent and one not so imminent) so that the house will become quite.
She listens to an eclectic mix of music when she writes, anything from Shinedown to Nora Jones and a little of The Asteroids Galaxy Tour thrown in for the fun of it.

Her sarcastic sense of humor has and will continue to get her in trouble but hey who cares?

Yasmina has been writing between cries of MOM and YASMINA for ten years and plans to write for many more. Her first published stories were fanfiction for her favorite TV series but the first story she tried her hand at was Cassandra's Heart now available on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Smashwords.com and soon in print.

http://www.yasminakohl.com/

https://twitter.com/#!/yasminakohl

Where Does Inspiration Come From Guest Blog with Chris Karlsen

As a writer, the most frequently asked question I get is: “Where does your inspiration come from?” My answer is always: “It depends on the story.” Inspiration can hit me like a lightning bolt or it can creep up on me like a ladybug on my arm or it can be an idea that was buried deep within me and has clawed its way to the front of my thoughts.

With my first book, “Heroes Live Forever,” the inspiration was an idea buried in my psyche for years. I love a good ghost story and always thought what fun it would be to be a ghost. But then, as I really examined the possibility, I realized how sad it might be too. In the case of my two medieval knights, Basil and Guy, they fought and died for king and country during the 14th century, only to see their homes and family destroyed three-hundred years later because of loyalty to a king. They’ve seen wonderful advances in the world over the centuries but they’ve also seen everyone they cared about die. I was inspired to explore both the good and bad of their ghostly world because they do still have fun with mortals.

While writing “Heroes Live Forever,” I found myself liking Guy and enjoyed writing him so much, I was inspired to give him his own book. What to do to him and for him came from my fascination with time-travel and medieval English history. What to do to my characters came to me like the lightning bolt I mentioned.
In “Journey in Time,” Guy has been given another chance at life. Guy, as Alex Lancaster leads a happy, modern world life as a music producer. He finds himself deeply attracted to Shakira Constantine, a successful London attorney. Because he’s her client, it takes a lot of charm for him to get her to agree to spending a weekend in the country with him.

The marriage of time-travel and medieval history gave me the opportunity to torture Alex and Shakira with a world of problems, life threatening problems. Sending them back to the year prior to Guy’s death in battle, I was able to put Alex in the position of facing his death again, if he can’t return to the modern world. His death put Shakira in the position of potentially having to face a very frightening time alone.

“Heroes Live Forever,” and “Journey in Time,” are from my “Knights in Time,” series.

With a book I’ve just finished from a different series, “Golden Chariot,” inspiration crept up on me and over several months.

While walking the ruins of Troy, in Turkey, I thought about the Trojan War. I found myself wondering how it must’ve felt to a citizen of Troy to look out over the Dardanelle Strait and see the masts of hundreds of enemy ships, invaders by the thousands coming to sack and burn your home. From that thought, I wondered what if Homer got it wrong in the Iliad. What if the Trojans didn’t lose the war?

Over the next few months thoughts of the Iliad’s heroes and villains crept into my head. Another visit to the Troy ruins brought more questions regarding the mythical characters. When it came time to write a story about my curiosity, I gave the heroine my same questions.

I have writer friends who’ve been inspired to write stories around nightmares they’ve had or human interest articles they read in the paper. Some are inspired to write about events they’ve experienced and people they know.

I’d say imagination is a writer’s greatest inspiration. If you can imagine it, you can write about it.

April 1 Tour Intro

Roxanne’s Realm

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April 2 Guest blog

The Creatively Green Write a Home Mom

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April 4 Interview

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April 9 Promo

Flute Words

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Radio Tamaria on April 10 at 2:00 EST

April 10 Guest blog- inspiration magical research

Romancing the Book

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April 11 Guest blog

Paranormal Romantic Suspense,

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April 16 Guest Blog

Fang-tastic Books

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April 17 Guest Blog

Cate Dean Writes

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April 19 Interview and promo

JeanzBookReadNReview

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April 20th Guest post w/ review

Aislynn @ Stitch Read Cook

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April 24 Promo

Reader Girls

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April 25 review

Cate Dean Writes

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April 29 Guest blog 

Read2Review

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April 30 review 

The Dark Phantom.

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GOLDEN CHARIOT

By Chris Karlsen

Myth, murder, and money clash in this gripping undersea adventure.

BLURB:

The rare discovery of a ship sunk during the time of the Trojan War has been found off the coast of Turkey, near Troy. Charlotte Dashiell is an American nautical archaeologist and thrilled to be part of the recovery team. The wreck may contain proof of her highly controversial theory about the Trojan War.

Charlotte is present when the Turkish government agent assigned to guard the site is murdered. Her possible involvement and a questionable connection to a private collector of black market relics bring her under suspicion. Atakan Vadim is the Turkish agent sent to investigate her. Unknown to either of them, the smuggler behind the murder plans to steal a valuable artifact and frame Charlotte for the theft...after they murder her.

About the Author:

Chris Karlsen is a retired police detective who spent twenty-five years in law enforcement with two different agencies. Her father was a history professor and her mother an avid reader. She grew up with a love of history and books.

She has always loved traveling and has traveled extensively throughout Europe, the Near East (especially Turkey and the Greek Islands), the Caribbean, and North Africa.

Born and raised in Chicago, Chris has also lived in Paris, Los Angeles, and currently resides in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and four rescue dogs.

You can contact her at: chriskarlsenwriter@gmail.com

Or on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/chriskarlsenwriter


http://www.chriskarlsen.com/