What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
I wake up excited and eager to get to work. I'm always curious and interested about what the day is going to bring. Every day is different. My favorite thing is writing, which is probably not a surprise. But I also enjoy reading and researching the next project; I'm fascinated by art, archeology, history, mystery...you name it. I enjoy interacting with readers. I even love the challenge and complications of trying to be a business entrepreneur in such a competitive industry.
How do you approach cover design?
One of the best parts of publishing my own work is getting to control things like cover art. I LOVE cover art. I think it is enormously important to the success of a book. Probably more important if the author is unknown, but even if the author is a known quantity, a good cover matters.
A bad cover — by which I mean a clumsy, inept effort -- sends the message that this is the work of an amateur. Probably not worth your time or .99 cents. It never ceases to amaze me how many authors think their first attempt at using photo shop will be good enough for their treasured novel. These are people who forget that so much of our response to art — including a book cover — is instinctive and unconscious.
Even a competent cover that just doesn’t work for reasons that are entirely subjective can actually delay our purchase of a book we plan on buying.
Most covers are generic. The ubiquitous two male torsos locked in embrace is so generic as to be invisible. They do no harm, but they do no good. They are simply code for the content within. They advertise that the publisher or author cared enough to purchase a real cover. And that’s about it. Still, that’s something.
But a great cover? A cover that catches your eye and makes you wonder about the story between the pages? A cover that piques your curiosity, starts your imagination? That’s what we all want and hope for when we open that first cover concept file. More than an actual illustration of a scene from the book, we’re usually looking for something that captures the spirit, the mood, the theme, the tone.
Read more of this interview.