Second Skin Booktrailer

So thrilled to announce the trailer for Second Skin, sequel to Under My Skin, is now available for viewing. Madison at M2 Productions is a media marvel. She's been doing trailers for authors since she the age of 17 and is now in film school. Go figure. If you're an author looking for someone to whip up a stellar trailer for your work, look no further.

Here's the blurb:

With FIENDS Like Eryn…
Eryn struggles to resist the beast clawing at her soul as darkness settles over her like a second skin. She’s made a deal, and she can’t let a dead man down. Not unless she wants her friends and family to relocate – six feet under.

When Eryn and her crew each face their own demons, loyalties are tested and temptations abound. Can she share a future with the brooding, noble, human Alec – the hunter after her heart? Or will she succumb to her enemy’s son, Wade, a seductive predator as bloodthirsty as she is?

What happens when you’re both the beauty and the beast?

And the trailer:

Fiction to DIE for

I’m developing a series of writer workshop presentations, under my pen name, Judith Graves. Judith is a paranormal sort of writer chick – so there’s definitely a gothic tone happening in these initial planning sessions. I thought I’d post a few of my ramblings – yes, I will be taking my own advice adding details, examples and then slicing these babies down to size. ;) ‘Cause, hell, I’m still learning how to write killer fiction…aren’t we all.

Anyway, here are a few tips on writing fiction to DIE for:

Dreadful Details

Readers desire to escape, to be immersed in another world – another life. To achieve this, the author must vomit out all the strange, dramatic, stark, perplexing, dreadful details that make their characters, settings, plot – the only world the reader cares about. This can not be done with vague impressions, throw away descriptions, and clichéd personalities.

Infectious Incidents

Each incident of action, or inaction, your main character faces must further infect his/her world, spreading like a puss-filled rash into every aspect of their lives, cranking the conflict to toxic levels. At their last gasp, your character’s prognosis must be clear – either they do X, or they die (or some part of them does).

Evil Edits

Edits and revisions are the necessary evil of all writers. No good writing comes without the swipe of an author’s reaper-ish scythe – hacking and slashing through the filler, or the maniacal re-working of plot lines and scenes. Edits may be writing’s dark side, but every author must face their own work and see its flaws in order to dig deep and bring their tale into the light.

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Yeah, so that's kind of the intro. Next post - how to get under your character's skin (see what I did there?!) and summon those dreadful details to the surface.

Bringing UMS to Life

One of the most amazing experiences on my crazy road to publication has been the opportunity to work closely with Val Cox, the graphic artist Leap Books commissioned to create several illustrations for Freaksville by Kitty Keswick, as well as my book (a la my pen name, Judith Graves) Under My Skin.

From the moment I saw Val’s work, I knew she would get my characters and the paranormally infested town of Redgrave. Her illustrations celebrate the magical, the supernatural and are a blend of contrasting colours and gothic sensibilities. Plus, she appreciates the quirky and offbeat.

We started the process with a phone call / brainstorming session. From there I went through the UMS manuscript and found key scenes which would translate well into visuals and those that held the most drama. We had the go ahead to create ten images in total, so I had to be selective.

Then came the fun part. Providing Val with enough physical and personality descriptions for her to bring the UMS cast to life. There were several incarnations of Eryn McCain, the main character. Ultimately we funked up her hair and gave her such a stellar look, that I had to go back and tweak the manuscript to reflect her new image. Here's a very cool illo, Val calls, The Three. Eryn with her two love interests (Wade on the left, Alec on the right). I'm thrilled with the devil/angel over her shoulder concept as these guys appeal to very different facets of Eryn's half human/half paranorm nature.




I'm crazy about the final images and can’t wait to work with Val again on book two, Second Skin. Hopefully we’ll be able to add a few more illos. ;) You can find out more about Val from this Leap Books interview, and on her website.

Class of 2k10 and the Latest Crusade: An update on our progress

Things are really coming along in our group of around 24 debut authors gearing up to launch our books with the Class of 2k10. Under my pen name, Judith Graves, I have a debut YA novel coming out on March 27, 2010 and was able to join this incredible author collective. We have our theme: Book Your Getaway. Our website is under construction We have a blog committee, a conference committee, one for swag and marketing.

What an exciting, hectic, crazy, emotional time this is for each author balancing the needs of 2k10 with their own writing/author promotions…oh yeah, and the rest of their lives. Their families. Their day jobs.

It’s getting to the point that I almost need a committee to help me decide what to wear in the morning. Okay, it’s not that bad, but I am appreciating the beauty of multiple opinions and fresh perspectives. Kinda how I imagine the alien in Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull felt when he reunited with his 12 other selves. Oddly enough, Indiana had some influence over us when we created our theme. His love of the written word, his adventures and imagination.

While I can’t blather on and give away all our surprises. I can reveal our logo. If you look back at the class program, ever present is the little “stick dude” serving as a mascot. We knew we had to rework the little guy to fit our theme and thankfully a talented artist stepped in to save the day. Here he is all his Indiana Jones inspired glory…




Whatcha think? I’ll post more details as our 2k10 adventure continues.

Under My Skin: The Cover

Wow - the day has arrived when I have a cover for Under My Skin. Nifty.

The Wild Rose Press has a roster of cover artists to choose from and I am glad I requested Nicola Martinez - she's got a way with black.

And I wanted a dark cover for UMS.

The contrasting colours are rich and vibrant. The wolves and crosses crank up the gloom. I love the title font. I wasn't sure about the rose at first - I was hoping for something more Nightmare Before Christmas/gothic/graphic novely - but it has grown on me (lame pun - I agree).

So, my friends, watcha think?