What a Great Feeling!

I can’t even remember the last time I watched the Olympics. Sure, I’ve caught some events here and there, but this year, I’ve had the television on all day. Living in Germany, it helps that I get to watch them live. As much as I don’t like Putin, I was impressed by the opening ceremonies.

I cheer for the Americans, and when they’re not competing, I cheer for the Germans. Watching all this talent from different countries just takes my breath away. It also makes me wonder how we can compete and be fair about it, yet still fight and stab each other in the back.

Anyways, back to the Olympics. It’s so inspiring to watch these athletes compete. When someone falls, no matter where they’re from, I feel so bad for them. These people have sacrificed years of hard work to accidentally fall or lose focus. It’s sad and I feel for them, but when they do great, I can’t help but think that it’s gotta be an awesome feeling. To be able to say you competed in the Olympics, represented your country, and left as a winner has got to be one of the best feelings in the world.

Here’s a video of Sage Kotsenburg who won 1^st gold medal for snowboarding. I know nothing about snowboarding, but watching these guys was amazing. This isn’t the run that got him the gold.

And we have Jamie Anderson, who also won gold for snowboarding. I didn’t even know women did this kind of sport. It blows my mind. And my husband couldn’t believe how cute the competitors are.   

If you haven’t had a chance, try and catch a little bit of the Olympics. It will lift your spirits, and all the talent will amaze you.

Olympics and Pride,

Bea

It's All About Presentation

When I first started working on the book cover for Fogged Up Fairy Tale, I knew it needed to fit the overall theme of the book, and also interest readers. After several polls regarding my book title and cover, I went with my gut feeling and chose the picture and title I felt captured the story.

Title

I started off with a list of titles that I looked up to make sure there weren’t any other books with the same name. Finally a title captured me—I was going to name my book Untangle Me. Perfect! It’s a women’s fiction / chick- lit, and the main character has amnesia, and she struggles to remember the past. While she’s filled in about her life from others, she begins to realize that she wasn’t a good person—she didn’t have the fairy tale marriage.

As I was about to create my book cover, I Googled Untangle Me once more, and to my surprise, someone had published a book on October 1, 2013 with that same title. A romance. I wanted to scream, but instead, my wonderful husband and I went through a list of titles, and when I said Fogged Up Fairy Tale, he pointed and said, "That’s the title. Perfect." So that is how I came up with Fogged Up Fairy Tale.

Book Cover

Instead of going on-line for a picture, I decided to use one of the many photos I had from my travels. I picked several pictures that I felt I could do something with to go with the title and the overall theme. Once I collected some, I experimented in Photoshop with fonts and effects. Here are the original pictures I picked and then manipulated.

This first one was a crooked tree that was up by Castle Doria on the island of Portovenere in Italy.

I manipulated the colors to make them dark and brooding. As much as I loved the picture, I didn’t think it had much to do with the story itself. It didn’t capture the essence of the title or tale.

This next one was a picture from the Rhein Valley. There was fog over a castle, so I thought how fitting for my fairy tale. 

 

I manipulated the picture a few times, but again, it didn’t feel right. It seemed too amateurish to me.

The last picture was the one I picked. It was also taken in the Rhein Valley with the early morning fog.

 

Photoshop really does help, because I feel I truly captured the title and the story in this picture. I probably could have left it in its original state, but I feel that the cracks and haze symbolize someone dealing with amnesia, and the loop font adds a bit of craziness, which reflects the story. 

What do you think?

What is your process in coming up with a title, and book cover?

Titles and Book Covers,

Bea