Design Your Own Book Cover: Guest Post by author Diane Rapp

If you can imagine a book cover, you can design one. I start with professional photos purchased from Shutterstock. When you purchase a photo you also purchase publishing rights (read the agreement before you buy). I buy background scenery and images of characters that match my novel. I currently use the Adobe PhotoShop Elements 10 program. (I tried the program free for 30 days, a good way to test the features.) The one feature that sold me on this particular program was the Magic Extractor (see how I used it later). 

Let me walk you through the step-by-step process I used to design the cover for my newest mystery/science fiction novel THE ALPHAS. Here are the three photos I bought:

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3

I suggest you practice using three pictures of your own while you follow these instructions. Open the Adobe PhotoShop program, choosing Edit. Start a new file by clicking File/New/Blank File. Change the boxes from pixels to inches and fill in the size of the picture you want to design (I chose 5.75” by 8.75”). Be sure to click 300 DPI so you get the highest quality.

Next open each picture in the program. Click File/Open and choose each photo from their saved location. Work on each photo separately before you combine them. When you edit a picture be sure to save it under a NEW file name so you don’t lose the original! 

After you’ve opened all the images, select the image you want to edit from the thumbnails at the bottom of the screen. I needed to turn the dog around so it faced towards the right. I clicked on Image/Rotate and selected Flip Horizontal. Click SAVE and choose a new file name. The next step is to eliminate the background around the animal by using the Photoshop “Magic Extractor” feature. Click Image and select Magic Extractor at the bottom of the pull down list. A new page opens with buttons that look like magic markers along the top left side. (Instructions are listed across the top of the page.) Using the first magic marker, click around the edges of the image you want to keep, then switch to the next marker and click the background areas you want to eliminate. Don’t worry about doing it wrong. When finished, click preview and wait for your results. If you don’t like what you see, cancel and start again until satisfied. 
When you click preview, the new image displays the foreground and small grey boxes indicate the deleted background (these boxes disappear in the final picture). If the picture looks right, click okay and your new image will appear in the main editing area. Zoom in to identify stray spots that can be erased using the eraser tool along the left side. If too much got erased, close the photo without saving and reopen the original photo to try again. If you’re happy with everything, SAVE this photo as a Photoshop file using its NEW name. You can also save the photo as a JPEG file. The Photoshop files stay on your screen as these are the files you combine for the final cover. The JPEG images gets saved in your pictures file. See how my two images appear (in JPEG format) after I removed the existing backgrounds:

Image 1

Image 2

Now we will combine all three photos into one file. Open the background scenery file. Click Select/All and then click Edit/Copy. Double click to open the White background file waiting at the bottom of the editing screen and click Edit/Paste. The scenery is pasted across the white layer. 

Stretch the scene until it covers all the white showing. Move the scene to show the specific view of background you want and then click the green checkmark. SAVE this file as a Photoshop file under a NEW name designated for the cover design. (Note: You will now see Layers open on the bottom right of the editing screen. To work on any specific layer, click on that layer and it will be available to edit on the screen. You can change the size, position, or move the layer forward or backward.)
Next step, open one of the foreground images by double clicking an image displayed in the boxes at the bottom of the editing screen. Click Select/All and then Edit/Copy. Double-click to open the main Cover File again and click Edit/Paste. You should see the first foreground image appear on top of the background scenery. If you don’t see the new image, drag the picture box to shrink it and see all the edges are in the editing area, and then click the green checkmark. You may need to bring the picture forward to see it on top of the scenery. Click on Layer/Arrange/Bring to the Front. This should do the trick.
Once you see the foreground image in front of the background scenery, resize the image by dragging the edges and move the image until it is in the right position. When satisfied click the green checkmark. See #1 below (note that I left enough room at the top to add a title):

#1

#2

#3

Repeat the same steps for the next foreground image. When I added the wolf image (see #2), her lower body ended in an abrupt angle across the front of the dog. I decided to push her image behind the dog image to hide this angle. I clicked Layer/Arrange/Send Backward to make this happen. Do not click “Send to Back” or the image disappears behind the background scenery. Image #3 shows the corrected placement of the wolf.The images are arranged to your satisfaction, so add titles. Click the Capital T tool along the left side and place the cursor over the part of the picture where you want to add the titles. Draw a box and you’ll see the outline. Font choices, size, color and alignment boxes are available for your personal choice across the header. You can mix font sizes in one box. Type the titles, change them until you have the look you prefer and then click the green arrow to set them. 

After you click the green arrow, a Style box will appear in the header. (You are still using the Title tool.) Click the pull down arrow to find different style choices. Play with these choice by clicking them to create shadows, outlining, depth, etc. See how you like the results. Click the green arrow to set your choices. 
Zoom in and examine your cover up close. If you see something that needs to be fixed, click on the layer you wish to edit and make the changes. You may need to click on the arrow tool (top choice on left side) since you were last using the Titles tool. Zoom in for a close look at any element. (I found stray white spots around the dog’s face.) Use the eraser tool to delete stray background around the edges of the new foreground images. It will only erase things in the layer you are working on, the background scenery layer remains intact. 

Final Cover Design

Save the final cover in a Photoshop file and again in a JPEG file. Use the JPEG version to insert a copy into a word processing file and shrink it to view a thumbnail to see how it looks. This shows how the cover reads as on the Amazon page or Kindle. When satisfied, upload the full-sized JPEG cover to Amazon KDP or use it for the front cover in Createspace. You need to be sure the titles are positioned far enough away from the edges to create a print cover in Createspace. Adjust the title placement or shrink the font until it works.

Buy the book

I hope this helped you learn to design a cover using Adobe PhotoShop Elements 10.  I enjoy making new friends and would be willing to answer questions after you try to design your own cover. 

About the Author

Diane Rapp became an entrepreneur when she started her own dog grooming salon in Santa Barbara, California. She spent the next thirty years as a small business owner; she sold real estate, started an office supply/copy center, and performed free-lance advertising design. During all those years Diane wrote stories as a cure for insomnia. the idea of writing a mystery set on cruise ships in the Caribbean.
Visit her website to learn more about all of Diane's books and contact her by e-mail.

Connect with Diane online:

Website: www.quicksilvernovels.com 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quicksilvernovels
Twitter: @DianeRappGoodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/208001.Diane_Rapp

Featured Book: Fallen Angel by Lynne Lexow

Synopsis

Set in South Africa, with all its current problems, Mo Quinn is born into a family with an indifferent mother and alcoholic father. Although very intelligent, far above average, he has little hope of becoming someone of significance, yet when life deals him another bad hand he embarks on a journey which teaches him the tremendous highs and terrible lows of life.

Throughout the story the reader becomes aware that Mo is no ordinary man and that he has another quest to complete, a quest not of this world.

We meet the people who become Mo’s friends and family and we also live through their pain and happiness, how it affects him and how it ultimately brings him to the final conclusion of his quest.

Buy links   Hardback    Amazon    B & N

About the Author

I have always been writing, often preferring to write than to speak. I tried many creative genre's, even a little modeling in my youth as well as dabbling in tv dramas, yet life intervened, husband, children and along with it the need for survival. For many years I acted as facilities manager, managing shopping centers. After some family trauma I decided that all that was left to me was to finally be true to myself and do what I have always dreamed of doing..writing and painting. It was a long, hard road to getting my first book published, but one I am grateful I finally took. My second, third and fourth novel already patiently waiting on my computer to be re-worked and hopefully also to be turned into the 'real thing', writing has now become a way of life.

Connect with Lynne online

LinkedIn http://za.linkedin.com/pub/lynne-lexow/90/13a/a29/

Twitter @LynneLexow

Featured Book: Core of Confliction by Rachel E.B. Robinson

Synopsis

Charles is just a low level runner with his own small crew and one hot sunny day during their lunch break they witness a bizarre event in a strip mall. Curiosity leads to Charles being drawn to an alien planet by a vortex where he learns not only that he himself is the leader of a nearly destroyed race but that his boss on Earth is a ruthless alien ruler named Halfar who caused the destruction of his beloved planet, Lassa.

As Charles regains his core and his memories, he discovers more secrets connected to the planet’s demise and his relationship with Halfar. How can he deliver the vengeance on every Lassian’s mind but still keep his secrets hidden.

Halfar, the supreme ruler of a planet far beyond our solar system, is passing the time on Earth by taking over crime syndicates in the U.S. His ultimate secret lies with Charles and his crew. He would do anything to keep Charles…and has. When everything starts to be unveiled, Halfar must decide if completing his conquest of an unprepared Earth is worth his time.

Their secrets lie with each other and they must choose whether to reconcile their differences or remain enemies.

Buy Links     Amazon    Barnes & Noble

Excerpt

Yakuza bosses were very stylish, Charles thought as the owner of the restaurant came out from behind a beaded curtain. His hair slicked back, secured in a tight ponytail, showed off his porcelain skin and distinct Asian features. The suit was an Armani, something Charles had a thing for and could identify on the spot. He felt a twinge of jealously.

“How much did that outfit set you back? I’m thinking of getting one next pay.”

Two of the young boys hit him from each side in the ribs. It took the air out of him and he slumped over, his forehead touching the filthy carpet. Addressing the boss directly was stupid but he never did have a filter when it came to authority. He found it amusing, their sense of superiority.

“What did you come here for, trash?” The owner was just as tall as his errand boys, towering over Charles and looking down on him with disgust.

“I just need to get a report to the Undersecretary but, you know…” Charles sat up and shrugged in defeat.

“No,” the owner cracked his knuckles, “I don’t.”

Charles realized his plan of gaining an audience with the owner of the restaurant in order to locate his source was more complicated than anticipated. Too many questions were not looked upon nicely. He prepared to receive his information with a bloody nose and a couple of bruised ribs. It was an expected outcome so he brushed it off and braced himself just as the owner plowed a fist into the side of his face. The owner asked him again and Charles gave a revised recount of the incident in the strip mall, leaving out transforming dogs and vortexes.

After giving Charles a brief reprieve from getting beaten, the owner nodded to his right hand man standing near the curtain. He disappeared for about two minutes which made Charles a little nervous about his chances of escaping. When the thug came back, he whispered into the owner’s ear.

“It seems you DO need to make a report, quickly.” He nodded to the man who scribbled something on a piece of paper and threw it down by Charles’ feet. “Get him out of here.” He turned and went back through the curtain, his thug in tow. Charles left by air as two of the younger boys stood at the entrance and tossed him out onto the sidewalk.

Author Bio

Rachel E.B. Robinson has had a passion for the written word since the age of seven, reading everything she could get her hands on which included encyclopedias and the thesaurus. At twelve, she had her first encounter with a Stephen King novel and was hooked. Rachel became inspired to write her own brand of fiction. Combining multiple genres is her way of keeping things interesting.

Always ready to learn new things, her search for knowledge never ceases. You will find her enrolled in someone’s college earning yet another degree. Rachel has an Accounting degree, went to Cosmetology school and studied Digital Film and Video. Her current stint is working towards an AAS in Business Entrepreneurship.

 She is a huge Anime fan, loves a great bottle of wine and rocks out to heavy metal music. Green and lush Oregon is where she currently resides spinning imaginary worlds in her head and daydreaming.

Connect with Rachel online:

Amazon Author Profile https://www.amazon.com/author/robinsonracheleb

Blog http://www.ebrobinson.wordpress.com

Guest Feature: The Demon Stone by Christopher Datta

Today I'm excited to bring you a Guest Post and Kind Fire Giveaway from Chris Datta. His first Novel Touched with Fire was a number one best-seller in the Historical Fiction category, and this supernatural thriller lives up to the high expectations readers have for this talented author.

The Demon Stone by Christoper Datta

The Demon Stone is a powerful supernatural thriller that leads you from the killing fields of Africa to the quiet Boundary Waters of Northern Minnesota. In braided narratives, Datta spins a terrifying story about the spiritual forces—both real and supernatural—that incite the basest, bloodiest and most frightening of human behaviors.
"Reading Chris Datta is like riding a rollercoaster. It’s a fast ride filled with twists and turns. His Demon Stone is scary fun. Stephen King, watch your back!"
-Richard Rashke, author of The Killing of Karen Silkwood

Guest Post by Chris Datta

We’re coming up on Halloween and this is the book you need to read to get ready for the scare! But don’t take my word for it.
“Don’t read this one before you go to bed. And if you do, leave the lights on.”
—Hill Rag Magazine, Washington DC
The Demon Stone is a powerful supernatural thriller that leads you from the killing fields of Africa to the quiet Boundary Waters of Northern Minnesota. In braided narratives, I spin a terrifying story about the spiritual forces—both real and supernatural—that incite the basest, bloodiest and most frightening of human behaviors.
When Kevin volunteered to travel to a war-ravaged country in Africa to help out his childhood buddy, Bill, now a physician with Doctors Without Borders, he knew he might face danger. But he could not have envisioned the brief, nightmare encounter that would rob him of his friend, his principles, and quite possibly his sanity. When he returns to his family in the United States, he carries with him not only survivors’ guilt, but, according to a grizzled old juju man in the service of a warlord, a powerful demon.
Liz cannot understand why, precisely, she agreed to go camping with her old college friend Kevin and his sullen teenage daughter, but it was clear that in the wake of his sudden divorce and a horrific family tragedy, Kevin needed someone to lean on. The canoeing trip in the Boundary Waters was supposed to be an escape, an opportunity to bring back the old Kevin. But once in the forests, Kevin’s behavior grows increasingly off-kilter, and Liz feels a growing sense of unease, one that ripens into fear. As the trio glide further into the wilderness, it becomes clear that someone, or something, is stalking them.
I have been a civil conflict specialist with the U.S. State Department, last serving in the newly established embassy in South Sudan. In the course of a long and distinguished career, I have gone into places best known for genocide and bloody conflagration. This novel, which grows out of my experience in the field, is a provocative meditation on the nature of evil.

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

Debut author CHRISTOPHER DATTA is no stranger to civil conflict or the still-extant scourge of slavery. Most recently the acting ambassador to the Republic of South Sudan where he helped end a war in April of 2012, he has spent a distinguished career moving from one strife-torn country to another, including Lebanon, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. A lifelong student of the American Civil War, his research for Touched with Fire is exacting and based in part on a true story.

Featured Book: Snowbound by Sarah Winter

Quarter-Finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest

Synopsis

Do you stick to what’s comfortable and familiar? Are you willing to take risks in the pursuit of your happiness? These are the questions that River Tennison and Liam Freeman must face, along with the dangers of a terrific blizzard that strikes western Wyoming.
River, a resourceful and smart housekeeper, has suffered a great deal of grief and loss in her life. She moved away from the city of Cody to the isolated Sleepy W Ranch, where she has flourished in her solitude. She’s even dating a man she’d be crazy not to settle down with, but still feels as if there’s something missing. Her life is simple, familiar and constant, but not what she had once dreamed.
Liam is a busy English actor who never takes a break to enjoy his own success. He takes a long-awaited trip into the harsh and historic land of Wyoming. A freak spring blizzard blows in just as he crosses the border from Montana and he’s forced to park his car on the highway in the middle of nowhere.
The storm drives Liam to make a choice between the safety of the car and the possibility of finding the Sleepy W, a choice that could cost him his life. Liam’s choice, and its consequences, will shake up River’s comfortable life and force her to make a difficult choice of her own.

Buy Links    Amazon

Excerpt
Liam Freeman and River Tennison have been cooped up in a cabin in rural Wyoming during a blizzard after his brush with death, and decide to try a game of 20 Questions to help pass the time. They've gotten through a few harmless questions when things start to get more serious.
---

"Can I get really personal?" he asked as she ran a basin full of water to clean up dishes. He got into position to dry.
"Sure," she said, "what's the fun in playing this game if you don't ask the horrible questions?"
"Alright, how many men have you had sex with?"
"Calm down, Satan! Wasn't expecting you to go for the jugular! Five."
She waited for a moment, scrubbing congealed cheese off his breakfast plate. "Screw it, you asked me, how many women have you been with?"
"Seven," he answered.
She nodded, the corners of her mouth pulling down briefly in consideration. "Respectable number, experienced but not slutty."
He smiled at her frank assessment. "Do you want me to kiss you again?"
The words flew out of his mouth before he could stop them. He turned, about to apologize for his stupidity, when she answered.
"Yes." She was still staring straight ahead and she tossed off her answer, trying to make it sound like no big deal. Like it was just another answer in the game. Her question came in the same tone, but her hands stilled beneath the water. "Do you want to kiss me again?"
Liam's throat constricted and he felt a rush of anticipation flowing in his veins like a shot of hard alcohol. His voice was husky when he answered, "Yes."
River was stock still as she processed this. He could feel tension rolling off her like a current. If he were to touch her now, he felt she would shatter. "Liam, I don't think that's a good idea. I don't want to play anymore. I'll finish these, you go on and get some rest."
Her voice shook and when she started at the plates again, he saw the tremor in her hands. He nodded and walked away, taking himself into the bedroom to try and tackle that book again. He closed the door behind him this time.

Author Bio

I'm Sarah Winter, contemporary romance author from Wyoming. I'm 30, married with two sons and the only pets to my name are salamanders that are as lazy as they are fascinating. I'm an easily-distracted boy-crazy introvert with chronic insomnia and a foul mouth. I think that sums me up pretty well, actually. Very succinct.

Connect with Sarah Online

Official blog: http://www.sarahjwinter.com/

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/sistersadieg

Twitter: http://twitter.com/sistersadieg

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sarahwinterauthor

Featured Book: Miller's View by MW Potts

In the parish of Tangipahoa sits the small, quiet town of Hammond, Louisiana. Hammond isn’t a hot spot for crime—which is why Detective Jonathan Miller is shocked by his most recent case. Miller is young and well respected among his peers, but he also recognizes cold-blooded killing when he sees it. There are no clues, and the crime scene doesn’t make sense. He soon identifies the victim as twenty-seven-year-old Daniel Edwards. Once at Edwards’s apartment, Miller finds a perfectly ordinary item with extraordinary capabilities that might help him solve his case. As the investigation continues, Miller meets Callie St. Claire, the last person to see the victim alive. To his dismay, however, she is nowhere to be found and Miller is worried she might be victim number two. As the detective tries to make sense of his case, he uncovers secrets about Hammond he never could have seen coming, making this the most astonishing case of his career.

Buy Links  Signed Paperback    Abbott 

Author Bio

Born and raised in D.C., M.W. Potts is a wife and mother of three. She worked in both public and private schools and with the federal government. She spent 11 years homeschooling her daughters and other children. She is now a full time caregiver and author in Palm Bay, Florida. She has previously published “As I See It: A Young Woman’s Strange Obsession Confession”.

Follow Marlene online

Website: www.mswpotts99.wix.com/millersview/books

Amazon Author Page

Managing the Online Distractions: A guest post by author Kevin Morris

Linzé: It has been a while since we had a guest post about Time Management on the Broomstick, so it is my pleasure to welcome my online friend, Kevin Morris to the Broomstick today. His post is about that one thing that seem to drive us all to distraction, the internet. Thank you, Kevin!

I have happy childhood memories of browsing through books in the school library. On finding something of interest I would take a seat and read, undisturbed for hours. In those bygone days the only interruption likely to disturb my reading was the entry of a fellow pupil or teacher.

Kevin and his guide dog Trigger, being kept company
by their friend Brian

Today, as a writer I am faced by a myriad distractions. The beeping of texts arriving, the sound of another email landing in my inbox, all of these serve to distract me from my work. It is extremely tempting to respond to that text or check the email sitting unopened in my inbox.
To avoid wasting time by giving in to such distractions my mobile is turned off and email programs closed, all of which helps me to concentrate on the matter in hand, writing!
It is frequently remarked that the successful author needs to engage via social media with potential readers. This entails utilising blogs, Twitter and other forms of communication. I agree that blogging and other types of social media are a wonderful way of building up and cementing a following. However your blog or other communication tools can, if not kept in check become an end in themselves, rather than a means to an end. It is incredibly easy to spend hours blogging or reading other people’s blogs and before you know it half the day is gone with not a single word of that novel or short story having been written.
I confine blogging to specific times and my writing of fiction to a designated slot so as to avoid the above difficulties. I have seen it argued that writers should not use the internet while writing so as to avoid the distractions of the online world. I, personally do use Google while writing but only to ascertain the correct spelling of words, word definitions or other details of direct relevance to my writing. I don’t own a dictionary, consequently online works of reference are essential to me.
I work full time and write during the evenings or at weekends. On returning from work I am frequently tired, consequently the time spent writing is limited (balancing a full time occupation with being a writer is by no means easy)!

As I said at the beginning of this piece, the world of my boyhood offered far fewer distractions than today’s technologically advanced society. In some ways the past was, I feel sure an easier time to be a writer, free as it was of the distractions of mobiles, emails and other interruptions. However technology should be a servant rather
than a master. We can turn it off and in so doing greatly enhance our productivity both as writers and in other fields.

Author Bio
Kevin Morris was born and brought up in the city of Liverpool. Having obtained a BA in history and politics he went on to gain an MA in political theory.
Kevin has lived and worked in London since 1994. He has a full time job and writes during his spare time.  Kevin has produced 4 collections of short stories together with 1 longer work, Samantha.
Kevin shares his home in Crystal palace with Trigger, a lab/retriever guide dog. Being blind Kevin uses Jaws (software which converts text into speech and Braille) to write using a standard Windows 7 computer.

Connect with Kevin online
Kevin’s blog - http://newauthoronline.com/
Kevin’s Amazon US author page 
Kevin’s Amazon UK author page
Twitter - https://twitter.com/drewdog2060_