How do you approach cover design?
I think this was one of the toughest parts of writing my first ebook. I am totally blind, so I have no way of judging the covers suggested by friends and readers of my blog. I discussed how it was a motivational ebook written to help people take steps towards improving their lives. I thought about the title leading you out of your darkness into the light. A friend suggested a image of a culvert she had taken showing it going from dark to just a bit of light peaking out. I posted this image to my blog and asked for feedback. one of my readers who is a graphic artist came up with three other suggestions using an image of a figure moving through a doorway with darkness behind them and light on their face. again I asked my blog readers for their opinion. Finally we decided on the image together. However, I have to take it on faith that the image we ended up with will make people want to buy the book. I think they will. There is a lot of helpful information in it.
What do you read for pleasure?
I read just about anything except magazines and newspapers. I think this is because I get all my books from the national library service for the blind program. They offer magazines, but I guess I am just a book reader at heart. I read all kinds of fiction as well as biographies, auto biographies, personal development, and self help works. To me any book can be enjoyable. And I find that nonfiction authors can be just as good at story telling as those writing fiction. The only difference is the story being told actually happened. There are good story tellers and bad ones; and this is true regardless of their subject. I will confess to the voice and reading style of the narrator sometimes making it difficult to hear the writer's voice and enjoy it. When it comes to fiction I enjoy mysteries, westerns, science fiction, thrillers, horror, classics, and romance. Most won't admit that, but I enjoy a good love story. I especially love the historical romances from the regency period. And I find a lot of authors who started out in romance expand to mystery or thriller and do quite well. One of my favorites who does this better than anyone is Nora Roberts writing as J. D. Robb with her in death series and her awesome futuristic cop Eve Dallas. I love and have always loved a good story.
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