What I Use for My Covers on Wattpad

*This is not a sponsored post*

First off, I’d like to share my Wattpad, something I recently decided to resurrect. I only ever had one story on there for a few years, until yesterday when I decided to put more short stories on there. “I Am the Bell Jar” and “Dead Poet’s Pendulum” were published at one point, but all rights are mine again, so I’m sharing them for free on Wattpad. To me, “Dead Poet’s Pendulum” reads a bit more amateurish, but I was 18 at the time of it being published. Despite that, I only did some proofreading before publishing on Wattpad because I want to preserve my voice as it was at the time.

I think I had “Sister Evelyn” published on a weebly website I used to have, but it’s part of my Stars universe, as well as another story that isn’t included in the covers above simply because that is a cover I purchased from a designer, not one I made myself.

I plan to add more Stars shorts and then may bundle them in an anthology on Wattpad.

Since I am considering myself absolutely broke for the time being, purchasing pre-made covers has not been feasible. There are people offering services on Wattpad, but most charge in some form or another, and, again, I’m not spending more than a dollar in these uncertain times.

So what is a writer to do? Well, I decided to turn to Canva, this brilliant, amazing website I have been using for my blog posts’ cover photos as of late. It is a database of thousands of photographs along with a myriad of elements and what not you can use to customize whatever it is you want to work on.

Doing book covers on here is the easiest thing imaginable. You don’t need any editing or photo shopping skills. All you need to do is go to ‘create a design’ in the upper left hand corner.

Then you choose the option for a book cover, and it will bring up a template that is the perfect size. While I’m unwilling to spend several dollars on having others create book covers for me, I don’t mind spending just one single dollar for the perfect photograph to use as my book cover. And that’s what I do. I browse for a photograph I think will fit my short story, drag it into the template, purchase it, and start working on the text.

Creating book covers on your own really makes you realize that the text is what makes a cover truly bookish. Now I don’t know what the Pro option is like for Canva, so you can’t create brilliantly fancy text–multi-colored, for example–but there are plenty of options for the type of text you can choose from. If you look at my cover for ‘A Treacherous Flame’ on Wattpad, you’ll know what I’m talking about when I mean fancy text. You just can’t do that on Canva, probably not without upgrading to the Pro option. But like I said, I don’t know.

The other amazing thing about Canva is that it will let you know if your text or image is centered or not, or even if it’s extending beyond the borders. Basically, as you move the text or image around, it’ll bring up a grid that serves as a guide to tell you where it makes sense to place whatever it is you’re working on.

But that’s what I use and it’s what you can use if you’re strapped for cash. You can make some pretty amazing covers for self-publishing on Canva.

Manic Monday: When Stars Die Release and Other Things

When Stars Die released on Saturday, and I literally did not have any time to announce this between work and catching up on schoolwork. For now it is only on Lulu.com, but guess what? You can get the paperback for $7.41! You can also get it in e-book format and hardback.

I will update you when it is on Amazon, as I know some of you will probably wait until then. But for now, I encourage you to get the paperback off Lulu because I don’t know if Amazon is going to offer the same discount that Lulu currently is.

In any case, here’s what it’s about:

The City of Malva is rife with puritanical hatred for witches. It is said they embody the Seven Deadly sins of mankind. Amelia’s only chance of saving her brother Nathaniel, a born witch, is to become a professed nun at Cathedral Reims. Enduring a series of trials including starvation, isolation, physical abuse and blood-sucking leeches, she will sacrifice all that she is to save him. Complicating all of this is the fact that Amelia can see what is lurking in the shadows. Shadowmen, seeking witches like Nathaniel to join their ranks. This group of Shadowmen begin planning. The results could be devastating. Oliver Cromwell, a dashing priest at Cathedral Reims, is the only one who can protect Amelia, her brother and save Malva. Yet, he may prove to be more dangerous than the shadows themselves.

In other news, I passed my ACE exam with flying colors! So now I am a certified personal trainer. I’m going to wait until after Christmas to seek out a job in this field since I will be flying to Texas with my fiance next month. In the meantime, I plan to get a specialty certification in functional training, which is just a fancy way of saying I’ll be extra qualified to conduct postural assessments, correct form, and improve flexibility.

I don’t think I’ll be able to blog while I’m in Texas, but I’ll certainly blog when I get home!

In the meantime, I’m going to be beefing up my fitness platform.

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A Treacherous Flame

Free for Kindle Unlimited Users, 0.99 for all others

 

 

 

 

 

Edits I’d Love to Make for When Stars Die

When a book is published, every author feels like he or she could have made that book better. Yet, by the time that book hits the shelves, it’s too late. Well, my book has a second chance, so I thought it’d be interesting to write a post on changes I’d like to make to When Stars Die, even though I know–or am hoping–my publisher, or whatever path I choose, will have edits for me. (Of course, I’d still like to make these edits regardless.)

1. I would like to edit some of the dialogue to make it richer and give the characters more unique voices than they already have.
2. I want to make Nathaniel’s–Amelia’s younger brother–character much stronger, primarily through dialogue, emotion, and action.
3. I want to sweeten the romance between Oliver and Amelia more. Though this is not something I originally wanted to do because I didn’t want the romance to be the focus, I don’t think it’d kill the book to add some nice sugar to it.
4. More back story for Amelia. I’d like to reveal bits and pieces of her life before Cathedral Reims. It won’t be too much, as she’ll have plenty of this in the third book, but it can serve to make her a richer character than she already is.
5. Darkness. The book is already dark enough, but perhaps adding a smidge more will add more literary depth to it. I’m a combo commercial-literary writer, so it makes sense to me. I already have a few ideas in mind, such as focusing more on Amelia’s psychological state. I want to show her instability more, because she isn’t stable when the book begins, which is obvious, of course.
6. My own experiences. I’ve gone through so many things this year, one of those things being a suicide watch at a mental hospital. I understand Amelia more now, and I feel like I can make her much richer by being able to use these experiences and feelings I’ve gained to add more to the situations she finds herself in. After all, I understand those situations now because I have been in them, when, before, I hadn’t been.
7. Beauty in darkness. There is a lot of darkness, but I’d like to show that beauty can exist in it, even if there are no lights.
8. More relevance on a certain character. Yeah, I want to shine a spotlight on a certain character a tad bit more. After all, she will be the protagonist for The Stars Are Infinite.
9. The trials at the beginning of the book Amelia goes through. I want to make these more symbolic, possibly a way of beating the Seven Deadly Sins out of the girls going through trials to become professed nuns.

Well, these are pretty much all of the changes I’d like to make. Hopefully you guys find this interesting. And hopefully if you’ve already bought the book and enjoyed it, you’ll snag a copy of the second edition!

When Stars Die Quotes

Although my novel is still in publishing purgatory, this doesn’t mean I can’t entice you with a few quotes. I hope you’ll add it to Goodreads and follow my newsletter. You’ll find the link to that on the home page of my website. This newsletter will keep you updated on my publishing journey, offer writing advice, recommend books, and have a main article helpful to both readers and writers

Amelia: “Marriage won’t make me happy, but I feel like I need it.”

Colette to Amelia: ‘”You have to clear your mind of everything, every bad feeling, every good feeling, every doubt.”‘

Oliver to Amelia: ‘”This is why I love you Amelia, your ardent passion, your willingness to do something. So you should understand why I will not turn back.”‘

Nathaniel to Amelia: ‘”Why did you take us away from Mother and Father three years ago?”‘

Amelia: “My life should fly out on a film reel. It stays locked in the prison of my mind.”

Mother Aurelia to Amelia: ‘”If I didn’t care, I would have kept you here [Cathedral Reims], making you endure trials with the knowledge that you weren’t ready for them. I don’t put my girls through the trials knowing they can’t handle them.”

Amelia: “The nuns are allowed to beat us. Most don’t, but some do.”

Keep in mind that no matter what path my book goes through, there will be some editorial changes.

Guest Blogger Victoria Perkins

Hello everyone! Victoria Perkins will be guest blogging for me today, doing a piece about her book, The Dragon Three.

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Hero stories are full of people with extraordinary gifts who are generally thought to be abnormal and are often outcasts. Then we have the people who believe themselves to be ordinary, but who actually have great powers that just need to be activated. These people rise to the occasion to use their gifts to save the day. While I love these stories, I had an idea for something different.

The Dragon Three started off as a simple concept. At least, it was simple in my head. There’s this world where everyone has magic except one girl. She’s been born different, a freak who can’t do even the simplest spells. Her parents hide this from everyone, including their other children, and teach her at home, keeping her isolated to protect her. Then, when she turns fifteen, she’s sent off to an institute of higher learning, somewhere her parents can’t protect her. And that’s where the story of Brina Fine begins.

Naturally, the next question became, what if she goes to school prepared to be found out and sent home in disgrace, but through a fluke, is able to stay, undetected, long enough to make friends? I gave Brina these friends and realized that her story wasn’t supposed to be about someone who’s different keeping her secret and living a ‘normal’ life. She had been born that way for a reason. Enter the dragon.

I’d originally envisioned Brina’s story to only be the first section, Dragon Eyes, and then thought about making two sequels, Dragon Blood and Dragon Heart, focusing on her two friends respectively. The more I wrote, however, the more I realized that I wanted to put all three together. In doing that, the idea of a ‘normal’ person in a fantastical world was no longer the entire book and I had to delve deeper into the characters to find what made them into this trio I was calling The Dragon Three.

Finally, I discovered that it wasn’t magic or the lack thereof that made them heroes. Each of these three were charged with a task that only they could accomplish, and it was the acceptance of their tasks, without knowing for certain if they would come out alive, that made them heroes. The journey of the hero isn’t about the feats or the obstacles overcome, but the willingness to do what is right, no matter the cost.

You can buy her book on Amazon.

Trends in YA Book Covers

Recently I stumbled across this article on Jillian Audrey’s blog on recent trends in YA covers and decided I wanted to share all of these with you.

I would post all the pictures of the current trends right here, but I want you guys to click on the links and look at the covers yourself just so I can spend this blog post explaining each one and either giving my approval or disapproval to several of these trends.

• The Beheaded: I hate covers with beheaded characters. Why are they all beheaded? Is there some types of social commentary these covers are trying to make? They’re all beheaded women, too. Are these covers just trying to reduce women to just their parts, instead of showing the whole person behind the cover? This one bothers me because it reduces women to just their parts. I don’t know what the marketing department/cover designer is thinking of when they choose to behead the characters on the covers. What say you, Stars?
• The Big Head: Yes, I know that When Stars Die falls into this trend. But, in my defense, my publisher and I originally wanted Amelia holding her little brother as the original cover, but that didn’t seem like it was able to be done, so we went the big head trend anyway. And you know what? I love my cover to bits, and many of the ‘big head’ covers in the trend’s list are beautiful anyway, such as Incarnate by Jodi Meadows. At least they’re showing the faces of these characters, too, and especially their eyes, which can convey a lot. I like my cover because it really puts Amelia out there, and you can see her innocence, which points to the fact that she isn’t a very worldly person.
• Baby’s Got Back: This trend doesn’t bother me too much, but, again, it makes no sense. Sure, some of the covers are beautiful, but, admittedly, if you see enough of these, you begin to wonder why the marketing department/cover designers are choosing to take their models and show their backsides. Maybe these covers are trying to portray that these characters are going somewhere super important. I don’t really know.
• The Mope: This trend doesn’t bother me at all because at least it’s showing the entire model and not just her parts, and at least ‘the mope’ is conveying the darkness of the book. Plus, some of these gorgeous covers just suck me in and make me want to read these books.
• The Dead Girl: This one doesn’t bother me so much either because at least the characters are varied in how the cover designers chose to portray the deadness of the models. Plus, I read one of those books among the ‘dead girl’ trend, and I can tell you these types of books point to the overall theme of death, and that these ‘dead models’ point to the fact that death is going to be an enormous part of the book, that the main character is just going to be surrounded by it.
• What Big Eyes You Have: This is another trend that I don’t like. While the eyes are pretty, they don’t really tell much about the story. I especially hate the big eye trend on opaque faces. It’s very tacky. There was this one middle grade book at the school where I do my observation that is called Escaping the Giant Wave, and this cover has a beautiful tidal wave, but there are freaking opaque eyes above it, and I think it’s stupid and cheesy and ruins the whole cover of the book. The eyes also look like they belong to a girl, and the main character is a boy. The cover would have been beautiful without the eyes, and those eyes serve absolutely serve no purpose at all–unless it’s trying to explain that the kid is going to have to escape this tsunami himself, with no adults present to help him. Otherwise, it’s a crap cover.
• What Big Lips You Have: This is a trend I really hate, especially in YA covers. It’s oversexualizing the model, who is supposed to represent a teenager. Are there erotica books in the YA genre now, because those big lips definitely signify something pornographic going inside of the book.
• What Big Hands You Have: This one doesn’t really bother me at all, especially the cover of Anna and the French Kiss. I mean, I suppose it’s arguably bothersome because it makes the book seem like it’s all about the hands, but, otherwise, I have no problem with this trend.
• Kissy Face: Yeah…I don’t like this trend at all, but I’m probably being biased because I don’t like pure romance novels. Plus, some of these covers show the characters about to kiss, or they show the characters barely kissing. Too Nicholas Sparks for me.

So what are some other trends you’ve noticed in YA books lately?

When Stars Die Available for Pre-Order on Amazon

It’s available for pre-order now, so pick yourself up a copy! It’ll be released on October 22nd.

Synopsis: Amelia Gareth’s brother is a witch and the only way to save her family from the taint in his blood is to become a professed nun at Cathedral Reims. However, in order to become professed, she must endure trials that all nuns must face.

Surviving these trials is not easy, especially for Amelia, who is being stalked by shadowy beings only she can see. They’re searching for people they can physically touch, because only those they can touch can see them. Amelia soon learns why she is being stalked when she accidentally harms her best friend with fire during the third trial. Fire is a witch’s signature. The shadows are after witches.

Now Amelia must decide what to do: should she continue on her path to profession knowing there is no redemption, or should she give up on her dream and turn away from Cathedral Reims in order to stop the shadows who plan to destroy everything she loves?

Kristy Centeno: Secrets of the Moon

Title: Secrets of the Moon

Genre: Young Adult/Paranormal Romance

Length: 487 pages

Author: Kristy Centeno

Book Blurb:

Teenager Marjorie Emery eluded death. As she struggles to get her life back on track, she believes her efforts are paying off. Yet, when a black dressing, unfriendly, and incredibly handsome hottie walks into her classroom, she’s forced into a tailspin. Marjorie has no idea how much his presence is going to shatter what little tranquility she’s achieved.

Kyran Rousseau’s gloomy nature has a name, one that is potentially fatal under the right circumstances. His family harbors secrets and does everything to protect Kyran. While, he doesn’t want to ruin Marjorie’s normal life, love has a way of changing his plans.

Falling for Kyran is the least of Marjorie’s worries. With a faceless threat hunting her and a boyfriend who’s as dangerous as he is good looking—how can Marjorie and Kyran keep all hell from breaking loose before it’s too late?

Buy Links:

Barnes and Nobles | Inkspell Publishing | Amazon

Excerpt:

After several numbers, Kyran led me back to our table and offered to bring me a bottle of water. As he walked away, I couldn’t help but stare at his tall form. Kyran was stunning. I never got tired of complimenting him, even if I never actually said it aloud. As he made his way toward the counter, women turned to ogle him. Women with dates still stopped to stare at him, much to the disapproval of the men standing beside them. For a fleeting moment, I couldn’t help but feel pleased having him as my date. He was quite possibly the most handsome guy in the entire café.

As I continued to wait for Kyran to return, I fanned my face with one hand, trying to cool myself down. It was incredibly hot inside the crowded room and I was beginning to sweat. I’d danced so much I had become tired and my feet started hurting. Oddly enough, Kyran hadn’t so much as broken a sweat.

The band began to play their last song for the night when I felt Kyran lightly touch my arm. I looked up to see him offering me an ice-cold bottle of water. Relieved, I took the bottle and opened it. The water felt good as it traveled down my throat, and I nearly swallowed half the bottle in one gulp. Embarrassed, I glanced over at Kyran. He didn’t appear to notice, since he was watching the band. He sat so close I could feel the warmth emanating from his body.

Wasn’t he hot? He was wearing a jacket and I wasn’t. I was hot and sweaty, but he wasn’t. Not only were Kyran’s mood swings completely unpredictable but so, apparently, were the sudden changes in his body temperature. It all seemed so strange to me, but I kept all comments and questions to myself.

Kyran’s gaze turned from the band back to me and I smiled as he glanced my way. My heart leapt inside my chest when he removed a stray lock of hair from my face and tucked it behind my ear. His hand caressed my cheek, leaving an imprint wherever it touched. I leaned against his hand as it moved up and down my face, drowning in the feel of it. The music was still going, the room was still dark, but none of that mattered as Kyran and I felt like the only two people in the otherwise filled café. When Kyran leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine, I felt a sudden bolt of energy run right through me. It was the most unbelievably pleasant experience I’d ever had by far. His lips sought mine and I returned the caress. My ears became deaf to anything but the loud pounding of my heart.

Kyran’s hand shifted from my cheek to the back of my head, bringing my face closer to his, and therefore having a better angle to kiss me. I didn’t resist; if anything I returned his kiss with as much hunger as he was kissing me. I found myself bunching my fists in his shirt and bringing him down toward me. It was a sweet and passionate kiss, far better than I had imagined. My body buzzed all over and my hands itched to touch and explore him. The kiss ended abruptly when we heard the music die down and many people started to cheer for the amazing band. Embarrassingly, up to that point I hadn’t even bothered to ask what the band’s name was. Self-consciously, we glanced around to see if anyone had noticed our brief lapse, but apparently no one had. Not a single person was paying any attention to us.

About the author:

As a child, she used to lose herself in an imaginary world by the means of a good book. Now that she’s all grown up, Kristy gets to create her own fictional realms and make them come to life in ways that most readers might not expect.

She’s always had a passion for writing but never had the opportunity do so until now. After trying out numerous options, she realized that writing was what she loved the most so when she found herself with some free time on her hands, she decided to pursue her passion. As it turned out, her very active imagination helped her achieve her goals of creating believable plots with some ordinary, and some not so ordinary characters that helped the stories move along in one way or another.

As she keeps moving along in achieving her dreams of becoming a published author, she divides her time in between her four children and her very understanding husband.

Author Links:

http://www.kristycenteno.net

http://booksbycenteno.com

http://www.facebook.com/KristyCenteno

http://www.twitter.com/KrissyGirl122

http://www.goodreads.com/KristyCenteno

http://therightbook4u.blogspot.com

http://www.amazon.com/author/kristycenteno

***The Inspiration Behind Secrets of the Moon***

By reading Secrets of the Moon most would automatically assume that werewolves were the inspiration behind the story. However, although they play a big part of it, they’re not the only reason. You see, when I first began to analyze in what direction I wanted the plot to take, I knew it had to be something a bit drastic. Your ordinary werewolf story just wasn’t going to cut it for me. I wanted the readers to not only identify with the characters, but to be surprised by the many twists and turns.

Needless to say, I wanted to take readers into a rollercoaster ride. However, from the very beginning I knew this wasn’t going to be easy. Knowing I had a mission to do, I set out on countless hours of research. Much like Marjorie does in the story; I sat down in front of the computer and researched everything I could on werewolves and of course, on actual wolves. I did find numerous sites, books, and even reports about the subject, which helped greatly in the development of the actual story.

It was a documentary on a different species however, what really spiked my imagination. As it turns out the animal kingdom is a world of wonders and I applied this newly learned knowledge to the story itself. Dividing the werewolf world into two categories within the same species was just the start. Understanding evolution was another huge step. Science isn’t exactly my thing, but I knew I had to cover the basics if I wanted the plot to work.

I understand the huge risk I took by creating this complex world, but the beauty about writing fiction is that you can create your own rules and run with it. To be quite frankly I was afraid things wouldn’t work out, but once the book was finished I realized everything worked out for the better.

I could go on and on about what documentary I saw and exactly what species of mammals really gave me the inspiration to write such a multifaceted story, but I’m afraid it would give out too much information, which will be featured in the sequel. As the other books come out though, all the pieces of this huge puzzle will settle into place.

I have heard authors say you can never do too much research and I completely agree with this. I must have spent months reading, gathering information, and writing down tips that would help me along the road, but it was well worth the effort.

The inspiration behind the story was an accumulation of things. Not only were werewolves and wolves my main focus, but the amazing world we live in. I figured if humans and animals have evolved for millions of years, then why not werewolves as well.

When Stars Die Book Trailer

Et voila! Here is the When Stars Die book trailer that is probably a complete surprise to all of you because I haven’t really been talking about it too much. But I’d like to thank my fiance, Jeff Ferreira, for putting this together for me because it wouldn’t have been possible without him. Enjoy! The book comes out on October 22nd. Also, it would be great if you shared this on your blogs.

Paranormal Issue, Giveaway, and Misc. Info

So I’m still feeling on the blah side of things, but I’m still getting stuff done, which is good news, but it might be some time before I get back into topical blog posts. So here are just a few updates. For one, The Corner Club Press is having a paranormal themed issue and wants paranormal stories in celebration of When Stars Die’s release. I also want to remind you about the YA paranormal romance book giveaway going on.

I am doing a YA Paranormal Romance book giveaway as a thanks for all the Stars out there who have supported me in the cover reveal of When Stars Die, which you can find here if you have not yet seen it.

The above books are the books you have to choose from in the giveaway. Should you win, you can choose three of them. Yes. Three books. I will be giving away three of the above ten books: Clockwork Angel, Evermore, A Great and Terrible Beauty, Paranormalcy, City of Bones, Beautiful Creatures, Minutes Before Sunset, Fallen, Wake, and Hex Hall.

So what do you have to do to get entered for this giveaway? Simple, really. All you have to do is add When Stars Die to your to-be-read list on Goodreads–that is assuming you are interested in YA paranormal romance; I simply don’t want you to add it if you are not interested. That will be your entry. You can find When Stars Die’s Goodreads page here. ONCE I HAVE 100 ADDS, I WILL DRAW FOR THE WINNER.

Note: I do buy these books myself. They are not books that I own already. They will be brand new books. You can choose to either have a physical copy or an e-book copy should you win this giveaway. I will follow up with more information for the winner.

Last, I am having a short story appearing in an anthology AEC Stellar Publishing is putting together. This short story will be my first time writing anything that is literary. It is also the direction I want to take my writing in after all my genre stories are done.