Last Day - Keir & Keir's Fall #timetravel #scifi #romance #sale

Today's your last chance to pick up both books of my Redemption series for just 99 cents/pence/Euros each: time travel romance Keir and space opera Keir's Fall. Stock up for your summer reading while you still can!

And for authors, it's the last day of my cover artist's pre-mades sale too. All the covers featured HERE are $50, and there's a bigger discount if you schedule a book for edits too ($30). AND a couple of random lucky customers could even get their chosen cover for FREE! Seriously, you need to grab these quick.

But don't despair! Tomorrow the Let's Eat! Blog Hop begins with books, recipes and giveaways, including Keir.

And today is release day for Portals: Volume Two!

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Pre-made #Cover Sale! #scifi #fantasy #romance #art #bookcover

My uber-talented, fabulous editor and cover designer Danielle Fine is having a sale on her pre-made covers. All the covers featured HERE are $50, and there's a bigger discount if you schedule a book for edits too ($30). AND a couple of random lucky customers could even get their chosen cover for FREE! Seriously, you need to grab these quick. Here are a few of my own favourites to show you:

The covers she's created from me have placed in contests and books she's edited for me have won awards.

If you need more convincing than that and the handful of covers I've shared above, go read the testimonials on her site HERE.
The sale is on until the end of May. Well, go on!

Animated Covers - Yay or Nay?

My cover and artwork designer Danielle Fine is always trying to come up with something new. I've seen posts on adding music to ebooks, and a device to be worn that would let readers feel things from the book - I guess a rumble or shake for earthquakes or something.
Gifs aren't a new thing. But I've seen plenty of complaints about them and/or their overuse. They can be very distracting, or in some cases almost blinding!
But Dani had a go at animating one of my book covers as an experiment. I really like it. The effect is subtle and plays on the elements of the cover, and even the story itself, unlike the flashy/full on gifs I'm more familiar with on Tumblr and often used in Goodreads reviews. As yet, I don't think ereaders can deal with animated covers, but it wouldn't surprise me if this becomes a thing.
So what do you think? Do you like the animation in my cover? If you're an author, would you consider having one done, whether as the actual cover to use, or as part of your marketing? And as a reader, would you like to see this or is it just another thing to distract you from reading?
Personally I plan to use this wonderfully subtle gif version of my cover in my side bar and on my website - I think there's just enough animation to catch the eye without being annoying. And I do like shiny things. ^_^

Cover Love - Misa Buckley

For this week's cover love post, please welcome speculative romance author and Cliff Simon minion, Misa Buckley, sharing her favourite spec fic covers.

GRAVITY, Melissa West

Despite an aversion to YA, I'm drawn to GRAVITY because of its simplicity. There are no naked torsos or angst-ridden teens, just the Earth from space. The fonts used are beautiful and elegant, and fit the overall theme without dominating. All in, its a very eye-catching cover that makes me want the book, and that's kind of the point.

GHOST PLANET, Sharon Lynn Fisher

What I love about GHOST PLANET is how the main characters are shown in reflection. With one male and one female, it's obvious that the book is sci fi romance but again there's no naked torsos or the traditional cuddle that usually says SFR. This cover is much more subtle, and I think the conjunction also hints at an unbalance within the story. 

A STAR SHALL FALL, Marie Brennan

London in flames and a dragon in the sky. What more do I need to say?!

THE KINGDOM OF GODS, N.K. Jemisin

I have to admit to liking this cover for its likeness to Stargate's Atlantis. The swirling sea hints at danger, while a scattering of stars suggests magic. But what grabs me is the almost-invisible antagonist (I presume) - the eye in the sky. The overall impression is one of beauty with an undertone of freaking creepy.

BLACKBIRDS, Chuck Wendig

I absolutely love this stark black-and-white image by Joey Hi-fi and so have a lot of cover competitions. Miriam (the protagonist, if you've not read this book yet) is shown in relief, her picture made up of birds. This is a strong theme through BLACKBIRDS and sequel MOCKINGBIRD, which has a similar cover. A creepy, grimy (but great!) cover for a creepy, grimy (but fabulous!) book.



Bio
Born and raised in Manchester, UK, Misa Buckley grew up watching Doctor Who and Star Trek. She was fascinated by stars and space travel and avidly followed every Shuttle launch. But while TV fed her love of the future, books tapped into a fondness of fantasy, devouring books by Anne McCaffrey and David Eddings.
The extraordinary fascinated her, but growing up she’d rather be out horse-riding or practising her artwork than writing. It wasn’t until she’d married college sweetheart and had their first child that she discovered fanfiction, which offered her the chance to play in the universes she loved to watch.

Find her at
Website
Goodreads
Twitter

Upcoming release

TIN CAT

A year after the accident that put her in a wheelchair, Amber Gerald has more or less gotten used to living with her impairment. It doesn’t make a difference to running a comic book store anyway, and the customers have been the best support group she could have wished for.
When she rescues an abandoned cat, Amber has no idea that she’s interfering in the mad scheme of a time travelling bank robber. Or that the man that walks into her store dressed like Blade is about to become her bodyguard.
Between being an unwitting owner of an android cat and falling for a cybernetic bounty hunter, Amber finds her life a whole new level of weird as science fiction becomes a very real factual threat.

Released 4th March 2013 from Champagne Books


So what do you think of Misa's choices? Have any caught your eye? 
 

Cover Love - Chantal Halpin

For this week's cover love guest post, please welcome Chantal Halpin - Urban Fantasy writer and reader, with a love for anything fanged, fae, witchy and shifty.

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll:

This particular copy was given to me by Mrs Meehan (who was my best friend’s grandmother and a fierce old bird) at Christmas when I was six years old. I treasured it and re-read it often throughout my childhood. I especially loved the illustrations and the gold script of the (sadly faux) leather cover.  

The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett:

This caught my eye on a bookshelf in my school library when I was eleven years old. It literally jumped out at me and I was delighted to stumble upon a brilliant writer.

 Ecstasy by Irvine Welsh:

I can remember reading this collection of shorts while lying in a park when I was about twenty and thinking I was so cool! This was definitely something to be seen with. All Irvine Welsh’s covers tend to be controversial, which matches what is inside too.

Curran Vol 1 by Ilona Andrews:

This is a self-published collection of scenes written from the point of view of the male character from the best-selling Kate Daniels ‘Magic’ series. I can remember thinking that the cover was pretty ballsy! I imagine they could do something flashier with the text now, but I like its simplicity and originality. 

Fair Game by Patricia Briggs: 


This hits all the buttons as far as urban fantasy covers go. I just want to look at it. I have a Kindle copy, but I might get the paperback just so it will look pretty on my shelves. The girl looks sassy and kick-ass (although, Anna the MC is neither) and the moon is gorgeous, I love the colour. Perfect.

The also rans just in case you are interested:

Archangels Consort by Nalini Singh

Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

Fallen by Lauren Kate

The Brinded Cat

Insurance claims worker, Sam, doesn’t want to do any more jobs for the Community. She just wants to fill in her nice, harmless forms. But when she is coaxed into rescuing a witch’s familiar from a tree, she finds her charge is more than an average kitty.

Faced with the option of handing him over to the authorities, she instead risks her liberty and flees across London with the witch hunters in hot pursuit. But for a change it seems the Latino pyromaniacs are not the most dangerous players in this game of cat and mouse.
This is a short story of approx 10,000 words with British spellings set in London.

Author Bio:

Chantal Halpin lives in the South West of England with her husband, two kids and their smelly rescue dog. She mostly writes urban fantasy and loves anything fanged, fae witchy or shifty. She is currently working on The Witch Hunter Series which includes both urban fantasy and young adult stories.

Book Links:

Smashwords

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Kobo

Barnes & Noble

Author Links:

Blog: We Are Going On A Witch Hunt

Twitter: @ChantalHalpin

GoodReads: Author Page

Thanks, Chantal! The Pratchett covers have always been eyecatching. So what do you think of Chantal's choices? Anything there you've picked up because of the cover? 

 

Cover Love - Jessica E Subject

For this week's cover love guest post, please welcome Jessica E Subject, author of Science Fiction Romance & Contemporary Romance, who's sharing her favourite sfr covers.

Hello everyone! When Pippa asked me to choose a few science fiction romance covers that I absolutely love, I thought it would be easy. I would go through all of the SFR titles I have on my e-reader, and in print, and choose those that caught my eye first. Well, when I actually started going through them, I was a bit surprised by the covers I chose. Some of the stories I’ve read, and others I haven’t yet. But here they are, and I’ll tell you my reasons for each one.

Evolution by Kelly Carrero

The one thing I noticed is that blue and white covers catch my attention. The title, Evolution, as well as the DNA strand, stir my curiosity. And the girl’s face isn’t distracting, but makes me want to read her story, find out who she is, and find out what happens or happened to her.

The Starlight Rite by Cherise Sinclair

Another blue cover. This time it’s the bright white lights against the blue background. Plus, sometimes I do like some man candy on the covers. Though this is the only cover I chose with a man with a bare chest.

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

I don’t know if I can fully explain why this cover draws my attention. I think it’s the eye. The face looks human, and yet… It definitely made me read the blurb, which then made me read the blurb, buy the book, and then read it.

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

This is the original hardcover cover for Across the Universe, and I don’t think you can buy a new copy with this cover anymore. The couple look like they are about to kiss, and I want to know if they really do. The stars, title, and tagline also make me want to read more. Or, in my case, read it again.

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Another blue cover with a splash of other colors. But, it’s not the color in this cover that attracts me. It’s the title, and the girl. She seems to be walking out of something, some kind of challenge. And it made me want to read her story.

Jessica E. Subject Bio:

Jessica Subject is the author of contemporary and science fiction romance, ranging from sweet to erotica. In her stories, you could meet clones, or a sexy alien or two. You may even be transported to another planet for a romantic rendezvous. 

When Jessica isn't reading, writing, or doing dreaded housework, she likes to get out and walk. Fast. But she just may slow down if there is a waterfall nearby.

Jessica lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband and two energetic children. And she loves to hear from her readers. You can find her at jessicasubject.com and on twitter @jsubject.

Website/Blog | Newsletter | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon | Authorgraph

Latest release

MADE FOR HER

After terrorists murder the love of her life, Colonel Mikayla Jones trains squadron after squadron of the clones he brought to life, to take to the skies. When she discovers a young clone of her husband in her newest class, her world spins out of control. How can she command the look-a-like when she can’t help but yearn for him to fill an ache in her heart?

Dare was created to be the best. As the first Daniel clone to leave Onatria labs, he needs to prove he is more than just a DNA copy. To do that, he must rely on the wife of the man who donated his genes. But when she refuses to train him, Dare faces discharge and returning to the labs. Can he convince Colonel Jones to finish his training and find a way into her bed? Or will long kept secrets unhinge the entire clone project?

Buy Link: http://amzn.com/B00B0P2ECG 


Do any of Jessica's choices catch your eye? Would you at least pick them up to read the blurb?