IWSG Day & #Wattys2016

It’s the third day of the month and you know what that means. It’s IWSG day! And what do we do on IWSG day? We share our woes and triumphs as well as encourage our fellow writers on this crazy writing journey. And as always, thanks to creating this community goes to ninja extraordinaire, Alex Cavanaugh!

To find out more about the group and/or maybe even sign-up, click on the badge above.  And don’t forget to check out the co-hosts for August: Tamara Narayan, Tonja Drecker, Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor, Lauren @ Pensuasion, Stephen Tremp, and Julie Flanders!

Our Twitter hashtag is #IWSG.

So, what’s going on with me in the final month of my blogging break?

Well the Watty’s 2016 is what’s going on. I went and entered my first adult romance, Dreaming of You, into this year’s Wattys. I even asked for help for votes, hearts and nominations on Twitter for the People’s Choice Awards this past Monday. Thanks to everyone who answered my call! 😀

I won’t know the results for the People’s Choice awards until Fall. But I’m still eligible for other awards. So I have until August 31st to gain as many likes and votes for Dreaming of you on Wattpad.

I also made book quote arts from the main couple and shared it on my social media:

Dr. Sharon Cooper

Justin Boyd

Dr. Sharon Cooper

Justin Boyd

I ’d love to hear your thoughts about the characters, what you like or don’t like, etc. So don’t be shy and comment away. It’s a draft and so it’s not perfect. And I can take the constructive criticism to make it better. Plus, I’ve been developing a thick skin.
I also finally received a response to the cover request for Dreaming of You. The cover of the loving couple below was the cover designed last month by @Tommorrowland. But not before designing a cover of my own on Canva.com. I had trouble deciding on which cover to use and even did a poll on both Facebook and Twitter.

But the results of the poll was on the divide. People did seem to like the blue cover a bit more as it’s more colorful. Although the other cover clearly tells the type of genre it is. Thus making it easier for romance readers to realize ‘yup, this a romance.’ Personally, I can go with either one. But the cover, as I said before, can hint to the genre of the story inside. Grab a reader’s attention, further stoking their curiosity to reading it. (FYI, as revealed Monday, I went with the second cover).

Oh well. Now I’ll be spending August and the foreseeable month(s) trying to get as many votes as possible. Until then, wish me luck and see you on my regular blog schedule starting September 5th!

 

Ever created a quote art from your book? What kind of covers intrigue you the most? Illustrations of places and or things? Silhouettes or covers with images of the character(s)? Have a or seen a cover that you thought was awesome? Or captured the essence/theme/mood of the novel? Please share.

PS While researching covers on Google I found an interesting post on YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) about protagonists of color and book covers. Ever read a book where the character on the cover didn’t look remotely like the character as described by the author? ex. Ged from the Earth Sea series by Ursula K. Le Guin. What were your thoughts and feelings about it? Do you know if the author was successful in getting a cover change?

PSS And check out the design to my cover request for my epic fantasy Harbingers of El Tinor created by @TTBMBFF! @TTBMBFF tried their best to fit the descriptions from my cover ideas. And though it was very hard to find pictures that suited them, they still were able to create this nice cover for me. Thanks again @TTBMBFF!

AUGUST 3RD QUESTION: What was your very first piece of writing as an aspiring writer? Where is it now? Collecting dust or has it been published?

My first piece of writing as an aspiring writer was a princess fantasy tale. I wrote it sometime during 3rd or 4th grade and even drew the illustrations. I folded and tore the paper and stapled it together to make the book. It even spanned into a series. As to where it is now, I don’t know. It got lost or maybe was thrown away during a move. The latter I hate to think happened. I still never forgotten or forgiven my aunt/mom when they threw out my books because of a move once. They could’ve least asked if I wanted to keep them before they started throwing things away all willy-nilly.  I’d much rather believe that my friend and first fan kept it and it is collecting dust somewhere in her home for the past 20+ years.