Showing posts with label Delilah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Delilah. Show all posts

Monday, July 10, 2017

Delilah is a Winner!

The book cover art I did for the novel. Delilah by Kaye Lynne Booth did not make it into the Final Round of the Summer Loving Book Cover Event, however...


...that does not mean, the book cover art I created was a bust. Delilah still walked away with the most votes in the Western category. 

What a feat! 

I am very proud of this cover. It's art. It encompasses the theme of the novel. The cover art does not rely on cheap marketing tricks to be a winner. 

THANK YOU to the person who nominated my cover for this event, the author Kaye Lynne Booth for the support, and ALL the Voters! 

You made the book cover art a success!

If you would like to peruse my other digital creations, please stop by the Art, Cover, & Prints page on Sonoran Dawn Studios for examples. 

Thank you! I cannot wait for more opportunities like this one in the future.

Have a great and wonderful summer!


Saturday, July 8, 2017

Transferable Skills

You may have heard this terminology while working on your resume. Skills that you have learned in one job or position are transferable into the next stage of your career. So learning in any capacity is helpful in the climb upward.

In the last few weeks, I have been assisting fellow author, Kaye Lynn Booth with the Book Cover Art Event being held on Facebook. Sunday we will find out if we have made it to the 3rd Round. So be sure to vote for Delilah in the coming days! 

As I was looking around the internet and on Facebook writer's groups for some advice and help, I was confronted by the question: why is it YOUR responsibility to do this Book Cover Event? 

I was struck by the negative tone. My responsibility? I hadn't thought of it exactly in those terms. I had been having fun with the project. 

That seemed to be the crux of what I have been discussing here on my site about the corporatization of the writing craft. For decades writers have clamored to get their books published through the big publishing houses. The stepping on each other for a chance at publication has damaged the community as well as our camaraderie.   
 
How can the phrase: "transferable skills" bring sanity back into the writing community? The Independent Writers of the world can remember that self-publishing loosens the chains once tugged on by corporate entities. Corporations are only in our community for profits, not to move culture forward. 

I see this corporate philosophy in writers' groups. I have had to recently excuse myself from one because the political climate became offensive to me. I said my peace and moved on. There was backlash of people unfriending and unliking my pages because writers have been embolden by the politics of ego.  For people who write about the human condition, some writers are oblivious to it.

No, it is not all right to make fun of other people, push your political ideology, or sexual/gender issues onto other writers because the administrator deemed it a "Safe Space." Safe for whom? If I had run an experiment to see how the same group would have responded to political statements and bullying from the opposite side of the spectrum. . . yeah, the reaction would have be epic. 

The corporate philosophy of fight amongst yourselves for this one spot on our list is over. Writers need to reevaluate what the writing craft means to them. Is it push come to shove, or learning what being in a community actually means? 

Back to the question: why is it my responsibility? Isn't it everyone's? We have allowed ourselves to believe we have no responsibility to the bigger, wider world because corporations want to keep our thoughts, dreams, and aspirations small: a publishing contract. When in reality, the writing craft is about transferable skills. 

My book cover art for: Delilah, written by Kaye Lynne Booth is a stepping stone into that wider world. I have gained as much as I have put into the project. I may not get anything of monetary value through this exploit, but I have received other rewards of learning new skills, obtaining a nomination, and understanding the fundamentals of online book events. 

I could not have gotten any new and viable experiences hiding behind my keyboard and screen.

Now I have transferable skills to assist me in my own solitary endeavors on Undawnted, and the expansion on Sonoran Dawn Studios

When will the writing community at large step out of the shadows and back into the light? 

I don't know about you. . . but I sure do like to win. 

Have a great and wonderful day.



Monday, July 3, 2017

Interview with Writer, Poet, and Cover Designer, Dawn Leslie Mullan is a Big Hit!

Ever wondered about what makes DL Mullan tick? Here's your chance to see the artist and author behind the blog in this revealing interview:


And take a few minutes to vote for her cover art piece that was Nominated for a Book Cover Event at Summer Loving Book Cover EVENT 2017 on Facebook.

The Author, Kaye Lynne Booth, who is also the interviewer above could use your VOTE. 

This amazing opportunity would help promote Delilah if the author receives enough votes to make it to the 3rd Round. 

  • So click the link: Summer Loving Book Cover EVENT 2017
  • Follow the Rules
  • Become a Fan of 2 authors at once! 
   
What a deal!  

We would both really appreciate your support.

Thank you.
 

_____

Undawnted's A Novelist Idea Newsletter gives our members popup/release parties, contests/prizes, early access, projects, certificate programs, plus Subscribers receive discounts at our Special Editions Store. Be sure you are a Subscriber for these Member's Only benefits!





Our writing program has monthly projects with a certificate for participants at year's end. Projects like: the Hint of the Divine, in which participants learn the archetypes found in human culture, and storytelling. 
 
Bring depth to your writing.  

Learn. Grow. Master... with Undawnted.


Sunday, July 2, 2017

Corporate Philosophy has Tainted the Writing Community

Nominated for a 2017 Book Cover Award
I write here on Undawnted as well as manage, create, and direct over at Sonoran Dawn Studios, my design slash publishing house. Well, the book cover art I created for another author's book was nominated for a Book Event held by another promotional company.

The winning author gets one of three prizes. The book cover artist just gets the street cred. Hey, I could live with that. 

So I went on my Facebook writer's groups only to be turned away. No self promotion. No this rule. No that rule. How can anyone get anything done? 

I found one group that appeared to be okay with me asking some questions like: what do I do to help out my author? where do I begin? what is this event thing anyway?

I never got a response. Actually, I believe the desperate plea was deleted by the Admin. Nice.

So my thought was: has the corporate philosophy of me, Me, ME! gotten in the way of doing the right thing for another person? 

You do realize that this Western Category cover is not in competition with your vampire, romance, religious, or whatever book you have written, right? 

In today's world, piety and grace are left for preacher politicians to tell us how to live according to their interpretation of a dusty tome, but anyone else of that sect or another have forgotten their empathy.

Is this the legacy independent writers would like to leave about themselves and their craft? 

Has the corporate dog-eat-dog world been so pervasive in our culture that we as human beings cannot interact with each other except to step all over everyone else?

That is a sad state of affairs indeed. 

I choose not to be so callous or antipathic. I will do what I must, learn what I need, and help where I can. Although I am disappointed with the lack of basic human decency, the corporate dystopic behavior has bled over into our crafts, creativity, and camaraderie. 

What does that say about us? 

Have a great and wonderful day! 

...if it's in your bylaws!


Subscribe to Undawntable Today!

Subscribe and receive news from Undawnted on a regular basis. Updates include: book release dates publication updates discounts contests/giveaways Join Undawnted's Creative Tribe.