Blondie and the #BookCover #Podcast

KJ Waters and Jody Smyers — Episode 78 — Blondie and the Book Cover Suzanne's original book cover designed by Blondie's Custom Book Covers featuring photo's we orchestrated for Suzanne. I'm excited to bring you this podcast featuring Suzanne Kelman, Jody Smyers, and I where we discuss the elements that make a great book cover. My expertise comes from our book cover business, Blondie's Custom Book Covers where Jody is my book cover designer and professional photographer, and Blondie's secret weapon for our amazing cover designs. In this episode we discuss Suzanne's first book cover that we designed, as an example of what elements to consider when hiring someone to create a book cover for you. As the very first thing your readers will see, your cover is a crucial part of packaging your book.   For Suzanne's cover, we went above and beyond your typical design strategy by providing a custom photo shoot with six models and numerous props all orchestrated by Suzanne's cover vision.  You can see the new cover designed by the publisher that picked her up after her book was released, Lake Union Press, an arm of Amazon publishing here.  Since being picked up my Lake Union, the world has embraced her novel and she has become an international best selling novelist. If you haven't already, you should check out The Rejected Writer's Book Club.

Jody Smyers and KJ Waters -- Episode 18 -- Blondie and the Book Cover

My book cover business partner, Jody Smyers, and I spent a little time chatting with Suzanne Kelman on our very first podcast recording. It wasn't our first podcast aired but it was the first one we recorded when we were just setting up the podcast last summer. We've improved a lot, but it is still an interesting look at how Jody and I work together in my book cover business, Blondie's Custom Book Covers.

Jody Smyers and KJ Waters -- Episode 18 -- Blondie and the Book Cover:

Jody Smyers and KJ Waters — Episode 18 — Blondie and the Book Cover

January 16, 2016

Ever wonder what it takes to create the perfect book cover? In this week's podcast Suzanne Kelman (the Brit) interviews photographer Jody Smyers and our very own KJ Waters (Blondie) about their company Blondie's Customs Book Covers. In this special podcast we explore all the elements that make up the perfect cover and how important first impressions are. If you are an Indie published author or considering going Indie with your book, you don't want to miss this episode

Connect with me:

Website: http://www.kjwaters.com http://www.blondieandbrit.com/ http://www.blondiebooks.com/ 
Twitter: kamajowa 
Facebook: Facebook profile 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=217401576&trk
Blog: http://kjwatersauthor.blogspot.com

Instagram: @kamajowa

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/kamajowa/

iTunes:

Other Twitter: @BlondieandBrit @Blondiebookcov

BLOW -- A SHORT STORY

Linker link: myBook.to/BlowbyKjWaters

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Blow----Short-Story-Waters-ebook/dp/B01DYDFO6Y/

Barnes and Noble:BN

iTunes: iTunes

BLURB:

Caught between a hurricane and a deadly secret, Rick Harris struggles against a ticking clock when the wrong people show up at his door looking for shelter. As the storm closes in wreaking havoc on Pensacola, Florida, he has to make a choice between saving their lives and exposing a secret that could cost him everything.

  

STEALING TIME

Book Linker: myBook.to/StealingTimebyKJWaters

Barnes and Noble: BN

iTunes: iTunes

Blurb:

Stealing Time is a "Breathtakingly original" time travel adventure that will keep you on the edge of your seat. As Hurricane Charley churns a path of destruction towards Orlando, Florida, Ronnie Andrews and her best friend, Stephanie McKay, scramble to prepare for the storm. Ronnie seeks shelter at her boyfriend’s weather lab while Steph heads back to her house.

During the peak of the storm Ronnie is hurtled back in time to eighteenth-century London where she is caught in a web of superstition, deception, and lies in a life and death struggle to return to her own time.

Steph is thrust into the middle of the hurricane, but it quickly turns into a living nightmare as she is faced with losing everything. Stealing Time: Book 1 in the Stealing Time Trilogy. 

Fitness Calendar -- Men of Steel Voting on the Cover

Men of Steel Calendar 
Featuring the Models from 
Blondie's Custom Book Covers.

We are in the final stages of designing the fitness calendar and I would love your input on the front cover.  Please use the voting tool to choose the design you like the best.

The calendar features a few of the models from my company, Blondie's Custom Book Covers. The front cover features Zach, a physique show competitor who was in the Marine Corps. 

All photography and design work was done by my business partner, Jody Smyers. You can see more of his work here. All art direction, model wrangling, marketing and business development was done by me.

For more info on our book cover business check out our website here.Blondie's Custom Book Covers.

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Cover 3

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Cover 6

Blondies' Book Cover Artwork -- Stealing Time

Blondie's Book Cover
Artwork for Stealing Time

listen to ‘Stealing Time Novel Cover Voting’ on Audioboo

I've been working across the Internet with a professional photographer, Jody Smyers*, to create the cover for my first novel -- Stealing Time. I've narrowed it down to seven choices and would love for you to take a minute to vote for your favorite. I'll reveal the final version in a future blog. I'm new to this whole thing so any advice or constructive comments are welcome! Please let me know what you think. 

Synopsis of Stealing Time: 

Ronnie Andrews, a 28 year old blonde, finds herself inexplicably thrown back in time during Charley, the first hurricane to hit Central Florida in over forty years. 

She finds herself hopelessly entangled in the life of Jack Ingram, a Londoner, whose world is crumbling at the hands of an unprecedented shift in time. Join Ronnie on her adventures in my debut novel -- Stealing Time -- out this summer. Be sure to watch for the release of book two and three.

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Thank you for stopping by "Blondie in the Water." I hope you took a minute to vote and comment. Voting is in the upper right corner of the blog. Comments are below. Would love to hear what you think of the cover designs! Did you like the choices? Which one did you choose?

Connect With Me

When I'm not working on Stealing Time you can find me on my social media at the links below. I hope to have my novel completed by spring 2013 with book two close behind.

• Check out my website: www.kjwaters.com
• Follow me on twitter at @kamajowa
• I'm on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/KJ-Waters/206720056103502 for my author site, or my 'jury-rigged work around so I can like you back' facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/kj.waters.39
• I have some photographs up on Fine Arts America at: http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/kj-waters.html for sale, check it out!
• Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/kamajowa/
• Audioboo voice messages:  http://audioboo.fm/KJWaters 
• All About Me page: http://about.me/kjwaters
• Brand Yourself Profile: http://kjwaters.brandyourself.com/

*If you like the artwork drop Jody Smyers a line at @JoJo_Photo on twitter or check out his website at http://www.JodySmyersPhotography.com. Amazing photographer!