Sketcher Girl Studios - Grand Opening

GRAND OPENING!!!!

Today is the day that Sketcher Girl Studios, LLC officially opens for business!

In celebration of this momentous event, Vic Caswell (owner/operator) is hosting a give-a-way.

Using the "Contact Us" form on the site, send her the secret word from the end of this post and you'll be entered to win.

Sketcher Girl Studios is a freelance illustration company with a focus on book cover design.  Vic Caswell has produced the covers of Emily White's debut novel ELEMENTAL, as well as it's sequel FAE (release date not announced yet), and Kimberly Ann Miller's debut novel TRIANGLES (releasing June 2013).

SGStudios is passionate about books and getting them out there and into the hands of the readers who will love them.  Vic will read your book.  She will work with you to ensure that the design you end up with is something you love.  She doesn't use stock photography, so you are guaranteed an image that is original and she offers full legal usage of her cover images.  So, if you want to print it on swag, and sell that, the money goes straight to you.

Her prices are competitive - affordable for small press publishers as well as self-publishers.

She also provides other services - such as: tattoo design, logo design, header design, artistic prints, children's book illustration, and pretty much anything illustration that you can think up.

Stop by and drop the secret word: Mischief, for your chance to win one of these nifty prizes...

such as: postcard sized prints of  her work titled PERCHED CREATURE, one of two copies of ELEMENTAL by Emily White, a ten dollar Amazon gift card, an original painting, and  free labor on a book cover (costs may be incurred for props/models/wardrobe) and more!

Links:

Sketcher Girl Studios

SGS on Facebook

Testimonials:

Vic Caswell is brilliant! Not only is she super easy to work with, but the things she comes up with are so amazing. She was able to take the half-coherent ideas I was kind of able to articulate and come up with exactly what I was thinking of. I loved working with her on both my books' covers and I can't wait to work with her again!- Emily White (author of ELEMENTAL from Spencer Hill Press)

"I'm loving my new logo!!! Victoria Caswell did a MARVELOUS job and was such a joy to work with. She made the process effortless and I swear she could read my mind. So, if you need some work done, please send it her way! You won't be sorry!" ♥ Nancy  Fennell (owner of Scents of Adventure)

NOTE: If you want some of Matt, I'm being interviewed today, over at The Art of Infiltration. You can read it, here.

Elemental, by Emily White: Trailer Reveal

Do you all know Emily? She's been a friend and blogger buddy of mine for years now. It was so long ago I helped her with her query, and interviewed her, I can barely remember. She also has the distinction of having had her cover designed by another one of my best friends and blogger buds, Vic Caswell.

Anyway, Emily's debut Sci-Fi novel, Elemental, comes out May 1st, from Spencer Hill Press, but the trailer was released this morning, just after midnight, and is now here, for your viewing pleasure:

Emily White Interview

Whew. It's been a long week. No I'm not that upset by the Vikings loss last night, just a little worried about some major holes in the offense. We don't appear to have a single viable number one receiver. TE Visanthe Shiancoe is awesome, but a TE getting double covered is pretty much gonna get shut down. At least the Defense looked pretty good, even with several backups starting in the secondary.

Anyway enough about football. I would like to thank Emily very much for letting me feature her here all week. It takes a lot of courage to put your writing out there for others to judge. She deserves all our respect.

Now, let's get to know her a little better, the interview:

When did you first decide you wanted to be a writer?

I think I was born wanting to be a writer. In fact, my mother gave me and my sisters pretty names she could imagine gracing the cover of a book. Writing is just one of those things I can’t honestly remember NOT wanting to do.

How long have you been writing seriously?

I dabbled with writing (and considered myself serious) when I was about thirteen, but I didn’t really get into doing it consistently until a boyfriend in college ticked me off and I decided he’d make a good villain. I actually finished that book, but it’s been permanently shelved.

What is your favorite thing about writing?

Falling in love with my characters. I feel like each new book is the start of a relationship. The moment I earn my characters’ trust and they start sharing all their little secrets I feel like I’m staring into my child’s eyes for the first time. It’s amazing.

What is the most difficult part?

Accepting the fact that the first draft is going to be horrible. I keep wanting to go back and edit while writing. It slows me down considerably and I end up having a hard time finishing.

Did you ever play Dungeons and Dragons, the real pen and paper tabletop game?

Haha! Um…no. I honestly had never even heard of D&D until college and I must admit my friends didn’t look upon it very favorably. I probably would have loved it because I love all that role playing stuff, but alas, I never did get to experience it.

What about computer or video games based on Dungeons and Dragons?

I’m obsessed with Civilization. Does that count? How about CIV III Gold Edition? There are magical lands on that one! No?

My husband and I thought about getting into WoW, but I’m so intimidated by it. It seems like such a close-knit community of people who know exactly what they’re doing. I would feel like a dumb butt.

If you had to meet one of your characters in a dark alley who would you last want to meet, and why?

Ooh! This is a hard one! I’d probably have to go with the Kofra (leader of the evil people) because he’s not necessarily evil even though his society is. He honestly believes in what he’s doing and he’s really convincing. He’s one of those guys you’d hate to have to debate unless you didn’t mind questioning every last thing about yourself.

And which character would you want there with you for protection?

Without question, Malik. He’s probably the only person in the book who wouldn’t fall for the Kofra’s brainwashing. He’s one of those guys who just doesn’t care. He knows who he is, what he wants out of life, and doesn’t let anyone or anything else define him.

Can you tell us a little more about ELEMENTAL than what is revealed in your query? For example, a little about your characters, where the idea of them came from, what sparked your initial idea, and how you decided what genre it would be?

You are probably going to learn more about me than you wanted to if I answer this question, but okay.

ELEMENTAL lived as a pretty little fantasy for about 12 years in my head. I always loved fairies and imagined what it would be like if I actually was one. Even in my imaginings, fairies came from some far off planet, so I think it always wanted to be a sci-fi. I loved everything having to do with science, so I tried to think of how fairies COULD exist without all the magic and what they would be like. Even the ability to control the elements is explained scientifically. Actually, when I came up with that concept, it created a whole slew of problems that I think added a few nice plot twists. And yes, I’m being secretive.

When I decided to turn it into a book, the MC was still a lot like me. Now, though, the only thing we have in common is the blonde hair and blue eyes. Ella is a lot cooler than I could ever be. She’s also a little crazier than I would prefer to admit I am.

In fact, the whole idea around ELEMENTAL is completely different compared to how it started out in my head. The only things that stayed the same are the races of Auri (alien fairy race). They had always been split up into the Windbringers, Watergatherers, and Firestarters. Now, though, the story has been influenced by my time in the military and been morphed essentially into a military sci-fi with elements of magical realism.

Wow. That was a long answer. :o Sorry.

Are you working on any other projects right now? If so, could you tell us a little about them? If not, have you got any ideas marinating?

I’m working on two projects right now:

Hansel and Gretel is about a company (Gretel) that creates a community in Hansel Valley, Utah for its workers and their families. When the children start going missing, Sebastian is the only one who remembers they existed at all. There are zombies, dinosaurs, self-aware computer programs, and even some mention of Roswell.

Army Strong is a book I’m toying around with about my career in the Army. At this point I’m writing it as an autobiographical novel, but I’ve heard those aren’t entirely popular, so I may just write it for my family.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I just wanted to thank everyone again for all their help with my query. There’s no way I could have gotten it as good as I did without such great feedback.

Fun Random Questions for The End (I stole this interview idea from Jen at Unedited, though I made my own questions up). Which would you rather be?

Wielding a Lightsaber or a Katana? Lightsaber! I’d take that mind control gift, too. ;)

On a Freighter running from a Fallen Angel or stuck in a prison ship? On the Freighter, definitely. There are horrors in that prison ship I would never want to come across.

In the middle of a desert or the middle of the ocean? Desert. The whole vastness of the ocean has always terrified me.

Reading The Hunger Games trilogy or Writing The Lord of the Rings trilogy? Oh boy, can’t I have both? Actually, if I had written LOTR, I would have butchered it and that’s just not a nice thing to do. So I will happily take reading The Hunger Games.

An Elf or a Dragon? Hmm…a dragon. I’ve always wanted to be able to fly!

A Dwarf or a Hobbit? Hobbit! I used to have a crush on Frodo Baggins. :D Me too ... well, more of a brush (that's a bro crush)!

Thanks so much Emily, this has been great fun. Any other questions readers? Thoughts? Don't forget to visit Emily's blog and become a follower!

Emily White's New Query

Here is Emily's new query, which she has updated based on our advice, yay!

Dear Super Agent:

Personal stuff.

Emily has a great point about this. She wanted to make sure to let me know that she puts this here because her dream agent prefers it there. The best advice for this is to find out what each agent wants, but if they don't say I would still advise jumping right into the story.

Seventeen year old Ella thinks it just sucks that life gets worse after escaping an interstellar prison ship. For one, in prison no one expected her to do anything except sit around all day in a dark, dank, dirty, depressing…well, you get it. But now, everyone she meets—though as nice as they may be—seems to think she’s supposed to save the galaxy from a war-happy fallen angel with a god complex—or die trying.

I mean, have they seen her? Years of solitary confinement haven’t exactly prepared her for fighting, or walking—or any semblance of balance on two feet for that matter.

But after being nearly ripped to pieces by some all-too-hungry giant bugs, Ella discovers a latent ability she never knew she had. Anybody order crispy critters? With fire now at her tenuous disposal, Ella’s forced to admit she might be different and come to terms with the monster raging inside her—the monster that would like nothing more than to watch the universe burn. Unfortunately, the god she’s supposed to fight’s not sitting around waiting for her to figure everything out. He knows the prophecy claiming she’s the one meant to kill him. But he also knows he’s got a better chance of winning and plunging the galaxy into a veritable hell if he takes her before she learns the scope of her power. If Ella doesn’t embrace the monster and stand up to this god, she won’t be the only one to end up dead.

ELEMENTAL, a 66,000 word YA Science Fiction set in a galaxy in desperate need of change, is rife with teleporting fairies, interstellar battleships, and things that go boom.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Emily White

This is so much better Emily! Great work. Just remember a query is never really done and if it's not getting the request rate you'd hoped for you can always come ask the community for more help. It's what we're here for.

So that's it for today. Thanks for visiting!

Emily White's Query Critique

Today is Emily's query again, but I will add my thoughts and ask you all to do the same. Let's get right into it.

Dear Super Agent:

(Personal stuff)

You all probably know my feelings about this by now. Personalization is good, especially if you can show that you have really researched an agent, but my OPINION is that you should jump right into your story, and cover that other stuff after.

Ella didn’t think her problems were going to get worse after escaping an interstellar prison ship, and she certainly didn’t think she’d be expected to save the galaxy.

This sets up setting and stakes/conflict pretty well, but for your opening hook to really zing I think you need more idea of character. Even adding an occupation and age before Ella's name might be enough. Especially if this is YA or NA. If Ella is older it's not as important.

For example I call my MC a reluctant juvenile delinquent in my query. True, that's not actually an occupation but it tells us loads about his character in three quick words: he gets in trouble a lot, but he doesn't mean to. You obviously don't have to do that, but I do think it's important to give some idea of why a reader should care about your character, even before you get to plot and setting, even if you have to call her a kick ass wheel chair wielding elemementomancer.

Her feet barely touch solid ground before the prison ship guards notice Ella’s missing and chase her all the way into the middle of a giant bug infested desert—giant bugs who just happen to have a taste for meat. Watch your tense. With sharp-edged pincers ripping away at her flesh, an ability Ella never knew she had is awakened. Anybody order crispy critters? With fire now at her tenuous disposal, Ella hops aboard a freighter on its way to a planet well outside her captors’ territory.

This paragraph is mostly good. You have several phrases that are dripping with awesome voice - which is great, but I'm also confused by your opening and when she discovers her powers. The opening I don't get because although I know from previous versions Ella is somewhat crippled at first (right?), this comes at us out of nowhere in this version, and leaves the reader wondering what you mean about her feet touching the ground. The part about gaining her powers isn't so bad, but I would like to hear how they were awakened a little more.

Making friends is something she hoped she’d do, but these friends have some bad news: she’s part of some alien race everyone thought was a myth. And more specifically, she’s destined to fight a fallen angel with a god complex, or die trying.

This paragraph is similar, it ends quite strong, with great voice, wit, and sense of stakes regarding the main conflict in your plot, but I'm left wondering which friends you mean. Are you talking about the people on the freighter she escapes in? If so just a teeny bit more about them might help. We don't need names, just what kind of people are they?

Problem is, years of solitary confinement didn’t really prepare Ella for fighting—or walking—or any semblance of balance on two feet for that matter. Honestly, she doesn’t even know if she wants to fight him. In a perfect world, Ella would be left alone. But here’s the thing: this god’s not exactly sitting around waiting for her to make up her mind. If Ella doesn’t hurry up and decide what’s really important—a life with her friends or a galaxy where living is actually possible—she won’t be the only one to end up dead.

This is great, it conveys an excellent sense of character, but ... that stuff needs to come first. There are no hard fast rules when it comes to queries, but giving the reader a reason to care about your character ASAP is pretty important. This part about her legs, and about her reluctance to fight is awesome, well written, concise, and very informative, but you need to work it in much earlier.

ELEMENTAL, a 65,000 word YA Science Fiction set in a galaxy in desperate need of change, is rife with teleporting fairies, interstellar battleships, and things that go boom.

This is pure gold, assuming your novel is as funny as most of this query. That is all.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Emily White

I realize this is general, somewhat vague advice, and it often helps to have more specific examples of how to change things, but I'm hoping to get to that through people's comments and perhaps via email between us later today or this week.

So, that being said, does anyone have any specific examples they could give Emily of how to re-write a particular part of her query? I think a new hook with more characterization tossed in would be especially helpful.

Otherwise feel free to leave your thoughts or questions in the comments, and as always, thanks for visiting!

Emily White

This morning I would like to introduce you all to my buddy Emily White, from Stepping into Fantasy. Emily didn't win any contests but she did ask very nicely if I would help her with her query. So I am going to. This week.

Before we get to that I would like to make a couple quick announcements:

Thanks to Karen G from Coming Down the Mountain for hosting the simple but fun BBQ blogfest. I met tons of new bloggers and even gained at least ten new followers. Thanks Karen, welcome BBQers!

My friend Sheri Larsen from Writer's Alley is hosting an I Got U blogfest. Check it out!

My friend and writing mentor Bryan Russell needs your help. Please visit his blog The Alchemy of Writing for details but essentially he needs sponsors for the Terry Fox Run he will be partaking of on September 19th. It's a 10k run for a good cause so please visit his blog for more info.

Now on to Emily's query. Emily would like to thank everyone who lent a hand during WriteOnCon, especially all the awesome hosts. She knows her query needs some work, but she's got an awesome idea for a tale so I think it will be worth our while to lend a hand.

Today is just for introductions and to get an idea of her query. Please don't give any feedback until tomorrow, after I've shared my own, so that I can seem cool and wise.

Now! To the query:

Dear Super Agent:

(Personal stuff)

Ella didn’t think her problems were going to get worse after escaping an interstellar prison ship, and she certainly didn’t think she’d be expected to save the galaxy.

Her feet barely touch solid ground before the prison ship guards notice Ella’s missing and chase her all the way into the middle of a giant bug infested desert—giant bugs who just happen to have a taste for meat. With sharp-edged pincers ripping away at her flesh, an ability Ella never knew she had is awakened. Anybody order crispy critters? With fire now at her tenuous disposal, Ella hops aboard a freighter on its way to a planet well outside her captors’ territory.

Making friends is something she hoped she’d do, but these friends have some bad news: she’s part of some alien race everyone thought was a myth. And more specifically, she’s destined to fight a fallen angel with a god complex, or die trying.

Problem is, years of solitary confinement didn’t really prepare Ella for fighting—or walking—or any semblance of balance on two feet for that matter. Honestly, she doesn’t even know if she wants to fight him. In a perfect world, Ella would be left alone. But here’s the thing: this god’s not exactly sitting around waiting for her to make up her mind. If Ella doesn’t hurry up and decide what’s really important—a life with her friends or a galaxy where living is actually possible—she won’t be the only one to end up dead.

ELEMENTAL, a 65,000 word YA Science Fiction set in a galaxy in desperate need of change, is rife with teleporting fairies, interstellar battleships, and things that go boom.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Emily White

Questions? Comments? Meeting Emily for the first time? Go ahead say hello! Just remember to save your feedback for tomorrow and don't forget to visit her blog and become a follower.