February Update

Even though there are a whole extra 24 hours in the month of February this year, I still want to get this update out there before the end of the week.

The Good News: you can now find me on Goodreads. I have an author profile and everything. The picture I posted should look similar to the one you find here, in that they are both of me. However, they were in fact taken about 4 years apart. Doesn’t matter; I look tired either way. Funny/true/sad fact: I’m on vacation in both photos. Ah, life. Don’t forget to add The Dragoneer to your Want to Read list!

The Bad News: I don’t have a cover to share with you. I wish I did, but I don’t. Hopefully one will be coming soon, but the publisher has run into an issue with the art they requested and was not personally happy with the final product. After they let me take a look at it, neither was I. While disappointing, this is an opportunity to rethink what is really needed on the cover.

If you’re thinking, ‘Well, it’s a dragon book, it should have a dragon on the cover.” My answer to that is, not necessarily. Hear me out. My book definitely has a dragon in it. He’s one of the main characters, but does he need to be on the cover? I don’t think so.

Do I want to sell books? Of course. But I don’t think I need to put the dragon–his name is Zephyr btw–on the cover to do so. If I’ve done my job as a writer, the reader will get a mental picture of what Zephyr looks like as they read. Their mental image may not match up with mine, but guess what? That’s okay. Do I have a rock-solid picture of Zephyr in my head? You bet. That’s how I was able to write about him. But I want the reader to fill in a few details on their own and everyone will do it in their own way.

The same goes for my main character; Moira Noble may be on the cover or she may not. I know what she looks like, but she may not appear the same to everyone. I think readers should be able to project some of their own characteristics onto fictional characters so they see a bit of themselves in the protagonists they’re reading about.

When the time comes, I will be over-the-moon excited to share the cover with you all. Until then, have a great rest of February. Enjoy the extra 24 hours. I’ll touch base with you all in March after I get back into the country. That’s right! I’m out of here. For a week or so I’ll have the opportunity to take more pictures of my tired self on vacation. I can’t wait to share!