Cover Art From Start to Finish for Queen of the Loch

We are pleased to welcome Elizabeth Delana Rosa to Rebekah Lyn Books. She is a member of a fantastic authors group on Facebook, Clean Indie Reads so rest assured this is “flinch free fiction”

About the Book:

COMING JUNE 13, 2014

Title: Queen of the Loch

Series: Children of the Loch Saga

Author: Elizabeth Delana Rosa

Published: Expected publishing June 13th, 2014

Word Count: Approximately 42,000

Genre: YA Paranormal

Synopsis:

Nineteen year old, Jaelyn Adena McDonnell, known as J.J. to all, just found out she is not who she thought she was. On her twentieth birthday, a handsome man shows up on her porch with a marriage edict and news that the grandfather she has never met, has died. Her world is about to change forever. J.J. must make the perilous journey to the Loch and take her place on its throne. With no idea, what is expected of her and dark forces closing in at every turn, will J.J. be able to accept her destiny or will she be stopped her before she can? Come join this first person account of a young woman’s journey to finding herself and those she meets along the way. Previously released as a free novella named Child of the Loch, this is a completely new novel based on the same premise with new characters, renamed characters and completely revamped story-line. The novella has stayed in the top 20 of Christian Fantasy and Science fiction Free Kindle since its publishing date in November of 2013. The expected publishing date is June 13, 2014. While it maintains a great level of clean reading and it references a faith, it is in no way preachy.

Cover Art from Start to Finish…

When doing a cover, you first must identify the character. My character of choice was Jaelyn, I spent time searching through a variety of pictures from www.canstockphoto.com and found the perfect one, but she needed work.

I trolled the internet’s vast collection flames, scars and plugged them into Photoshop. It’s important that all the elements come together.

Flame_STOCK_by_stuff_stock — ©2010-2014 stuff-stock flame

Finally, I touched up the Color and added the lighting and Font. I won’t go into all I did but I will share the evolution of the cover with you.

These covers are for the Novella. I released it twice but re-covered it 3 times.

Bio:

Elizabeth Delana Rosa has always been a writer. When she first learned to write in Kindergarten, she wrote about pigs who “groo” wings and became “butterfys.” Elizabeth knew way back then that she would have a love affair with writing. It overtook her life and has been a constant companion. Now over 20 years later, that love flows over into writing blogs, reviews, poetry and fantasy novels. Lastly Elizabeth is a big nerd. She loves Fantasy, YA, Paranormal Romance, and Sci-Fi books. Her dream is to promote Authors and help them reach the highest level of Success, while writing her own YA and NA Fantasy Novels. She often says,

I hope that my stories connect with people of all ages, genders and races. All it takes is a good story to unite people who wouldn’t normally be on the same side.

Follow Elizabeth on Social Media:

Biographies and Contest

Biographies are obviously popular, we see a new celebrity promoting their book nearly every month. It’s human nature to want to get inside another person’s head, to understand what makes them tick.

The first biography I remember reading was Nicholas and Alexandra: An Intimate Account of the Last Romanovs and the Fall of Imperial Russia, a little light summer reading for a high school kid. I was fascinated with Russian society and drank in every detail of this doomed couple. Since then, I’ve read a number of other biographies, but as I write this, I am realizing that almost all of them were on political figures. I guess that makes sense, though, considering my love of history and desire to learn from the past to make better choices in the future.

Recently, though, I read The Soul of it All, the memoir of singer/songwriter Michael Bolton. I’ve been a fan for many years and knew a bit about his struggle to achieve the success he has, but this book gave me a new appreciation for his dedication to his passion. It is admirable Mr. Bolton was so candid about his struggles.

I love writing, and when I’m in the zone on a book I feel freer than anywhere else. Even when I’m not actually writing the zone can continue as the world I am creating takes over my brain. I love that feeling, but I don’t know if I could give up all the security I have achieved through my day job to focus solely on my writing. Mr. Bolton faced eviction and hunger more than once pursuing his passion. How often do we encounter someone with that kind of drive and confidence in their abilities? Too often I hear stories on the news or even in the office of people complaining about life not being fair, that they deserve more than they have. I’ve even been guilty of this myself, but this book was a good reminder that hard work is truly the key to success. I plan to keep the book near my writing area to help me remember good things do come to those who persevere and, of course, to make me smile at the sight of one of my favorite artists.

Just for fun, is there someone you would like to read a biography on that doesn’t have one out yet? Share their name and why in comments and you could be the winner of a pre-order of my upcoming release Jessie

The four Cole boys suffer abuse at the hands of an alcoholic father, while largely being left to their own devices by a heartbroken and overworked mother. Their adventures on their island home have become a welcome escape, and one of the only things in life the boys can truly rely on. Jessie, the youngest and a dreamer, becomes enamored with US plans for manned space flight and its race to the moon, stirring his own dreams of one day becoming an astronaut. In a strange twist of fate, it is the space program and the momentum it gains that abruptly brings their beloved island life to an end. The family is forced to move to the city and start anew. — Releasing July 20.2014

Checking Mail and Playing Catch-Up

Cactching up

Playing Catch-up

Long time neighbors, out to get the mail,

Stand under shade of Chinese Tallow-tree

Haven’t seen you for a while, how are the kids?

A Dugout in the Desert

By the time I depart for heaven, the journals I in my closet will have multiplied to over a hundred. It may hold that many now.

So what will happen to the many books I’ve written over time? Will anyone ever want to read them?

The dear ones in my family have listened to me for all, or most, of their lives. They pretty well know what I think, and what I’m going to say. I feel deeply loved by them, but I’m not sure they’re going to want to read my journals. That doesn’t hurt my feeling at all.

I write the journals as if they were letters to God, even though He already knows everything that’s going on in, and around, me. I also have in mind a reader who might like reading people’s journals for the fun of it.

If no one wants to read them, they can be used in several different ways. They can be as landfill, or as bricks for a handy-dandy little dugout in the Arizona desert. Surely so much thick paper, cardboard, cloth, and even ink (that will run in a rainstorm) would come in handy for use as construction materials.

They might be scary to read. I’m not always the nicest kid on the block. They won’t be indecent, or vicious, though. That’s just not me.

Writing helps me work through things, but if I write from hurt or in an angry fit, I shred the pages and throw the scraps away.

My son has a good idea. He says they could be disassembled and scanned. Apparently, new machines do miraculous things. It is a good idea, but I don’t want to take the time, nor do I have the equipment.

I honestly never meant to create a problem with my passion for journaling. Bill says it saved my sanity and I heartily agree. It aided my healing tremendously. But maybe the need for them will be over when I’m gone.

If I could, I would leave them for my future self, if I were my child, grandchild, or great grandchild.

If I could, I’d warehouse them for a hundred years so they couldn’t possibly hurt anyone. They’d be read for whatever someone could get out of them—if anything. They warehouse people’s bodies, so why can’t somebody warehouse my journals?

I don’t think I’ll leave them to anybody in particular. God can sort it all out when the time comes. That little dugout in the desert is sounding better and better. Or how about a nice campfire? Even that many journals wouldn’t make a bonfire…people could roast marshmallows…or…or…I don’t know. What do you think?

“Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.” Ecclesiastes 12:12