However, in June after finishing An Unforeseen Adventure, I shared in a facebook message with the students that they were the ones in the story. I added the parents I had contact with, and to my surprise all the parents accepted the idea of having their child do a photo session for the stock photos! That began our planning. The week of the 4th of July, we met together on a very windy afternoon on the Southern Oregon Coast at Battle Rock in Port Orford. The boys, one mom, my husband (the photographer) and I wandered down the bluff to the beach. I shared my idea with my husband, Eric Wyatt Photography, and he took various photos from various angles. Within fifteen minutes we were finished.

When we returned home, Eric uploaded the photos to a dropbox, and I shared it with Amalia Chitulescu from Romania. She then worked her magic and created this wonderful cover. What do you think? Do you like it?

Blurb:

Protect their community or protect their discovery?

For eighth graders Chace, Harley, Will, and Cherise, that’s a life-changing question after they find a dragon’s egg while hunting for thundereggs on the beach. Toss in summer jobs, family struggles, and a National Security Agent, and their summer vacation just became complicated.

Can they find a solution that won’t leave their hearts broken or their community in flames?

Pre-order:

An Unexpected Adventure is now available for pre-order on most sales channels. You can pick yours up today. Keep an eye out for an upcoming giveaway as well.

Meet the characters:

Arianna:

My idea of Arianna at the beginning of the story is in some ways an Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables. With that in mind, here’s the opening scene.

“Arianna Roris, that’s not fair!” Pasha called to her friend. “You can’t hide in a tree!”

“And why not?” Arianna’s laugh rang through the courtyard.

Placing her slender hands on her hips, Pasha planted her feet and glared up at the cypress, her dark eyes hiding among her ebony tresses, in a stance unbefitting a young lady. Blue eyes met chocolate ones and held. Finally, Arianna relented.

“Fine, I’ll come down.”

Disentangling her blond hair from a tree branch, Arianna looked below her and jumped down as smoothly as a cat.

Pasha shook her dark head. “How will I ever explain the state of your dress to Mother this time?”

“Don’t worry, Pasha.” Arianna laid a gentle hand on her friend’s shoulder. “I’ve learned not only how to climb the tree, but how to clean my dresses afterward, so that even Lady Hemma won’t know.”

Pasha chuckled. “That’s what I’ve always liked about you, Arianna. You’ve learned how to take care of yourself.”

Arianna’s Uncle Marcos raised her until she turned ten. At that time, the Rector family took her in as a foster daughter to help train her in the ways of nobility and womanhood. The two families had been friends since Arianna and Pasha were little, because Uncle Marcos and Lord Praus, the head of the Rector family, work together in the duke’s castle.

Duke Callon:

Arianna first meets Duke Callon on Pasha’s wedding day. Here are her impressions.

Arianna noticed Lord Praus with a man who carried himself with confidence and authority. His dark hair and golden skin told Arianna that he was a Canalvian. The man’s deep baritone resonated with the quartet playing in the background. Arianna didn’t know what to say. His brown eyes, flecked with lighter brown that seemed to shift like the shadows cast by the last leaves of autumn, met hers and seemed to sparkle.

Kenden:

Kenden is Pasha’s older brother. He loves nothing better than to be locked away in his laboratory in the duke’s castle working on his various projects. He also enjoys sticking up for the underdog. He’s a champion for those he loves, besides being a genius inventor.

Lord Kakalian:

I always had a love/hate relationship with the original character that became Lord Kakalian. His arrogance irked me to no end, but his comeupance that he received always thrilled me. So, I tried to write those emotions into Lord Kakalian. The reader will discover more about Lord Kakalian from his sons really than from the lord himself. His first appearance in the story is in a council meeting.

Micyjah raised a hand. “Your grace, Lord Kakalian has many tenant buildings. I suggest we place him over housing needs in the city.”

“Very well spoken, Lord Micyjah.” Norval turned to Kakalian. “Are you willing to add those responsibilities to your mining business?”

Kakalian sat back in his chair and fingered his beard. “I suppose I could place several of my middle sons over the mining projects currently. That would free up my time to devote to the housing situation. Does anyone know if we have a shortage or not?”

Nine heads shook, and Callon leaned forward. “I would say that would be your first order of business. Then you can report directly to me on what you find.”

Slender fingers worked their way through Kakalian’s red beard, and a lamp flickered. Someone coughed. “I would be honored to hold the position of city housing director, Your Grace.”

As I said, the reader learns more about him through his sons who are introduced on the first page, but these quotes pretty much sum it up.

In reality none of Lord Kakalian’s brood were pleasant. The lord had ten sons, every one of whom had either inherited or learned their father’s racial hatred and cruelty.

***

“So far, Lord Kakalian hasn’t committed any crimes. Everything with his fingerprint on it is legal, but that doesn’t mean it’s ethical.”

Blurb:

When Duke Callon divorces his wife and decides on an uncanny way of choosing his next duchess, Arianna’s left with little choice. Faced with the intricacies of politics, Arianna struggles to find her place. Just as she thinks she has her footing, a decree, issued with the blessing of her husband, calls for the extermination of her entire race.

A young innocent girl, a capricious duke, and a decree that will change everything. What will it take to save a race?

Follow along in this one of a kind Steampunk Biblical retelling of an Old Testament classic by Kandi J Wyatt.

Cover and links:

Matt Konar did an amazing job on this cover. He took the ideas I’d gleaned from a young friend and created the castle garden with Arianna, Duke Callon, and Lord Kakalian plotting behind them. I love his watercolor pencil work that he did here.

You can find To Save a Race on the major outlets on pre-order for $.99. The price will go up three days after it releases on March 6th.

Get Your Copy Now

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can follow the blog swap with this schedule:

 ** Blog Swap Schedule **

July 28 (Tues.): https://kandijwyatt.wordpress.com/ (Terry on my site)

July 29 (Wed.): http://www.terrypersun.com/#!blog/c23fy (Me on Terry’s site about Fantasy Creatures Big and Small)

July 30 (Thurs.): http://www.jonathangouldwriter.com/blog/

August 1 (Sat.): http://www.terrypersun.com/#!blog/c23fy

August 2 (Sun.): http://michaelgmunz.com/blog/

August 3 (Mon.): http://www.terrypersun.com/#!blog/c23fy

August 4 (Tue.): http://www.elisestephens.com/

August 5 (Wed.): http://www.terrypersun.com/#!blog/c23fy

August 6 (Thur.): http://davidmcovenant.com/?cat=1

August 7 (Fri.): http://www.terrypersun.com/#!blog/c23fy

August 9 (Sun.): (E.S. Tilton) http://sexyfantasyfiction.com/

August 10 (Mon.): http://www.terrypersun.com/#!blog/c23fy

Welcome Terry Persun as he talks about the window to a book’s soul, the cover.

Book Covers

I have wanted to talk about book covers for a long time now. I see so many of them on indie author books (even my own) that just don’t cut it. A good cover is expensive. Yes, you can go with a “cover house” for $100 or so, but even they start to look the same after a while. Check out the romance genre and you’ll see the same cover over and over again until it’s difficult to tell if the books are really different or not.

I’ve worked with small publishers, indie cover artists, friends who have better artistic senses than I have, and still find it difficult to get the right cover for a particular book. But, and I mean this, I find that Booktrope cover artist Greg Simanson (http://www.simansondesign.com/#!) is one of the best. He has everything a great cover artist needs: creativity, a willingness to try something different, and an open mind. He’s produced covers for me that were conceptionalized by another artist. He’s taken a theme and grown it from book to book. And he’s created abstract covers that say as much about the novel as the words I’ve written.

This is how I feel about his covers for my Doublesight novel series. Through open-mindedness and creativity, I believe he’s found a way to show the progression of the story lines simply and effectively through a single image for each cover. Here are the covers for the series.

Notice how the main character, a crow shape shifter, appears in each cover (yes, even the last one—with crow wings on the dragon). Notice how the circular element indicates movement and growth at the same time. And notice how the colors go from warm to hot, intensifying from book to book. Cover art is as important as the book itself, and I’m very happy with Greg’s work. When I saw the cover of my latest novel in the series, Gargoyle, I could feel the tension of the story all over again. Here’s a quick synopsis:

Not in control of his own abilities, and unsure about shape-shifting into his beast image, Korlan must learn about his skills, limitations, and power while struggling to save his mother from certain death.

Nashtin, King Belford’s cousin, took over the throne of Weilk Alshore, and is out to find Zimp, who he believes is the last of the doublesight to have infiltrated Castle Weilk and started a bloody battle that took many soldier’s lives. Zimp, along with other doublesight, now live in a hidden village where they hope to raise their children in peace.

When Nashtin finds Zimp and her friends’ village, he captures Zimp to take back to the castle. Barely able to control his own beast image, Zimp’s son, Korlan, pulls together a band of the most unusual doublesight shape-shifters in the village, and goes on a mission to save his mother.

—GREAT NEWS—

Starting on September 1st Doublesight will be one of Amazon’s Kindle Worlds (https://kindleworlds.amazon.com). Join me, by writing a short story (5,000 to 10,000 words), novella (10,000 to 50,000 words), or novel (over 50,000 words) and get it published. I need to have a handful of stories ready by the September 1st, 2015 launch date, so if you’re interested, please contact me for more information. Any characters you create are yours to keep. Let’s have fun together. TerryPersun@gmail.com

My Best in Fantasy Review:

http://bestinfantasy.blogspot.com/2014/08/doublesight-terry-persun.html

BIO:

Terry Persun has been writing and publishing short stories and novels since the early 1970s. He has been the recipient of seven novel and poetry awards over the years, including the Star of Washington Award, a Silver IPPY for historical fiction, two Book of the Year finalist awards in the science fiction category, two finalist awards from the USABookNews International Book Awards (one in science fiction and one in historical fiction), two poetry chapbook awards, and a Jeanne Voge Poetry Award. Terry writes in a variety of genres including science fiction, thriller, mystery, and mainstream fiction. He is a respected keynoter and speaker at libraries, writers’ groups, writers’ conferences, and universities across the country. Terry has an MA in creative writing from SUNY Stony Brook.