Choose Your Weapon - The Unarmed

 

One Puch Man by Yusuke Murata, ONE - Seinen Manga

The Unarmed

Perhaps the original fighting technique in Fantasy Fiction, and human history, is the unarmed. Used for offence and defence, this is a melee style that sports the punch, kick, head-butt, or similar forceful blow. Not as elegant as the sword, ranged weapon or magic, it can be quite effective, in the right hands. :)

History 

image - Sam Steiner (CC BY-NC-SA)

Hand-to-hand combat was common in gladiator matches in ancient Rome and in medieval sports including jousting after one was unhorsed. 

As early as 1022 BCE, Chinese soldiers of the Zhou Dynasty were trained in close-quarter unarmed combat.

Contemporary martial arts also have unarmed attacks at their core. For example, Karate, originating in Okinawa, teaches students to use their hands and feet to deliver blocks and strikes against an attacker. 

But what about the pure power of a punch or kick? Is it enough? 

Quotes 

Bruce Lee himself said Muhammad Ali would kill him in a fight. Bruce also said, Take any professional boxer against a black belt of any traditional martial art and the boxer would win.

But in Fantasy Fiction, that might be a different story.

Brandon Sanderson's Steeheart is a great example of Fantasy fiction that packs a punch. And check out this quote:

“Never throw the first punch. If you have to throw the second, try to make sure they don't get up for a third.”― Brandon Sanderson, Steelheart

This reminds me of Lee Child's Jack Reacher character who makes up for the lack of Fantasy with an extra scoop of BRAWL power! His basic philosophy is to "Hit them fast. Hit them hard, and hit them often." 

But does one have to be a giant man to win a fistfight?

No, not at all.

Denice Zamboanga: Filipina bantamweight Champion

Take Ava Sykes in The Blood in the Beginning. 

Who is Ava Sykes?

Undergraduate by day, bouncer by night, Ava Sykes works hard to build her life in New LA, a city experiencing the Aftermath of a seismic disaster. Her prospects improve until she stumbles upon an evil no sane person would want to confront. 

Suddenly, her life, her city and everyone she cares about is in danger. Pushed to the edge, Ava taps a power she never knew she had . . . and uses it. 

...I clocked him in the head with a roundhouse kick, my steel-toed boots hitting home. He staggered, weaving from side to side before he toppled over backward, crashing onto the ground. I wiped sweat from my forehead as, incredibly, he stood back up and came at me like a wrecking ball. What’s this guy made of? I dropped to a crouch and swept my right leg around to trip him up. He leapt over it and landed, fists swinging, pounding me into the ground. As my head found the pavement, I rolled onto my back and caught him with a kick to the crotch. He fell forward. I followed with a punch to the throat. It choked him back for a second, long enough for me to squirm away, find my feet and run...  - Falconer, Kim. The Blood In The Beginning. Mira. Kindle Edition. 

* * * 

Do you have a favourite fantasy fiction, fist-fighting character or series? I'd love to hear about it in the comments. 

Choose Your Weapon Series 2024

Poison

The Perfect Storm

The Sword

Firearms

Ranged

Spells

Unarmed

Curses

Time Travel

Invisibility

* * *

About Kim Falconer

Kim Falconer, currently writing as AK Wilder, has released Crown of Bones, a YA Epic Fantasy with Curse of Shadows as book 2 in the series. Currently, she is working on the third book, out in 2024.

Kim can be found on  AKWilder Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. 

Throw the bones, read your horoscopes or Raise Your Phantom on the AKWilder.com site

People of the Sea

Salila, a Mar of uncanny beauty and brutality - image: pen and collage by Anna Campbel

When Helen Lowe blogged this month on Supernatural Beings in Fantasy: The Fey, I thought, what a wonderful idea. Inspired by her exploration of the Fey, this post focuses on another class of supernatural beings - The Merpeople, or people of the sea.

Elisabeth Jerichau Baumann's havfruen has much in common with the likes of Salila, the race of sea people appearing in my current novels.

Known through history as mermaids or mermen, melusines, sirens, Ved-Ava, water nymphs, nereids, these creatures are half human-half fish or dolphin/whale and live in the oceans, rivers, lakes and waterways. The symbolism is rich and fantastic, the subject of art, film and literature.

One of the earliest images of the merpeople is Ea, the Babylonian god of the sea. From him came the Greek god Posiden and later the Roman god Neptune, all male, powerful and half man-half fish or sea serpent. The first female image is the Syrian goddess Atargatis whose temple had large pools full of sacred fish. These ancient deities are linked to fertility, upheaval, the wealth of the Sea.


But Hans Christian Andersen brought the merpeople to the modern world with his tragic book about the young mermaid who falls for the human lad. It doesn't end well for either of them, though the Disney interpretation would have us think so.

Contemporary books featuring people of the sea, mermaid or otherwise, weigh in strong with hundreds of reads to choose from. Here are a few that I've enjoyed.

The 2017 film adapted from the novel by the same name - provocative, violent, horrific and alluring, a fitting interpretation of this being of land and water.

This book is a YA fantasy, powerfully written with provocative themes.

DS Murphy's enchanting story is the beginning of a series and probably could have been a longer more comprehensive read, but it's wonderful YA paranormal romance/urban fantasy none the less.

Urban Fantasy terrain both above and below the surface of the sea, my Ava Sykes series features Mar and human relationships, including the vivacious and hungry Salila and her unsuspecting love interests. The first book follows Ava's journey to discover the secrets of her past and the nature of the mysterious men in her life.

In my upcoming series, The Bone Throwers, the Mar play a vital role in the survival of the planet, on the brink of the next Great Dying. 

Here is a brief conversation between Ash, a young wordsmith and Kaylin, the sailor taking her to the Isle of Aku:

“What of your people, Ash? What stories do they tell in Baiseen?” 

I take a breath. “There is the idea that the Mar catch the sacrificed babies and free them from their chains. There have been sightings.”

“I’ve heard that too.” His fingers lift to play across my hand. 

I follow the movement, trying unsuccessfully to swallow a lump in my throat. 

“And what would a Mar do with the child?” Kaylin asks. “Once freed?”

“Some stories say they eat them.”

Do you have a favorite 'merpeople' story? I'd love to hear it in the comments!

***

Kim Falconer's latest release comes out in 2019 - The Bone Throwers, book one in the Amassia series, writing as A K Wilder. Find her new page on Facebook - AKWilder Author and on Twitter as AKWilder.

Her latest novel is out now - The Blood in the Beginning - and Ava Sykes Novel.

Learn more about Kim on Facebook and chat with her on Twitter. Check out her pen name, @a.k.wilder on Instagram, or visitAKWilder on FB and website.

Kim also runs GoodVibeAstrology.com where she teaches the law of attraction and astrology. 

Kim posts here at the Supernatural Underground on the 16th of every month, hosts Save the Day Writer's Community on FB and posts a daily astrology weather report on Facebook. 

Mood Board Magic

New Moon by Pat Erickson

Hi everyone,

Today I wanted to turn on all you writers - aspiring or fully accomplished -  to the notion of Mood Boards.

If you have a visual sense, and most of us who can see do, creating mood boards can be one of the most inspiring practices you can do, that isn't actual reading or writing. Fabulous for tackling the 'blank page', starting a story 'in medias res' and giving your characters, animals, conflicts and geology the personality needed to come to life.

Want to create a mood board for your current project or seed of an idea?

Let's get started.

What is a Mood Board?

noun

noun: mood board; plural noun: mood boards; noun: moodboard; plural noun: moodboards

1. an arrangement of images, materials, pieces of text, etc. intended to evoke or project a particular style or concept.

   
   

   "We put together a mood board with key images and words that best convey the essence of the story, book cover, event our brand."

The Mood Board can be digital or physical. I used mostly digital mood boards for writing projects, and keep them, or just images on Pinterest, but more of that in a moment. Let's explore the uses next.

Uses for a Mood Board

• To design a process, either abstract. as in writing, or tangible as in building in the physical world (books to covers to new kitchen designs).
• The mood board is all about the vision. What you can't say in words.
• Mood boards are essential when communicating visual ideas to others, as in commissioning a book cover, collaborating artistically or pitching ideas, including book to film projects.
• A mood board is a springboard. Instead of facing a blank page, you can collect images as ideas for character, climate, topography, conflict and stakes in storytelling, or inspiration for a brand, or a brand new bathroom or garden.

How to Create a Mood Board

It's simple:

1. collect images

2. arrange the images in meaningful ways

This is all up to you and your individual style. The idea is to explore. Play around, and discover what lights you up the most.

Example Mood Boards

As I mentioned, mosts my book mood boards are on Pinterest for the world to see. It's a fun way to share images, get inspired and get to know your story world. Here is an example from a new series - just sold -  and soon to be announced. Working title - Amassia books 1-3.

If you are on Pinterest, I'd love to connect. And, shout out if you have an example of your mood board on line, or are just starting one. I'd love to see it. 

xxxk

Kim

Kim Falconer's latest release is out now - The Blood in the Beginning - and Ava Sykes Novel. Find this novel in a store near you.

You can also learn more about Kim at AvaSykes.com, the 11th House Blog, and on FaceBook and Twitter.  

She posts here at the Supernatural Underground on the 16th of every month and runs Save the Day Writer's Community on Facebook. Check out her daily Astro-LOA Flash horoscopes on Facebook. 

Writer's Agony and Ecstasy

Hi Everyone!

I shared a version of this earlier on AvaSykes.com and wanted to bring it here too.

The good news is, I've finished another novel!

The other news is, finishing it dropped me into a well of grief.

It's happened so regularly, this emotional plummet after achievement, a kind of post-completion depression, I decided to do a little research.

Turns out, it's a thing.

The ecstasy

It started out on Cloud 9. The first draft of a new work, a YA Paranormal, was complete, working title: The Cloud Forest. Here's the guff.

Fifteen-year-old Bri Arias survives a car accident but isn’t regaining consciousness. While her body lays comatose, her spirit roams the shaded world between waking and dreaming, life and death. In a parallel version, one where the accident never happened, Bri has the worst summer possible. Her archaeologist mother recruits Bri, and her year 10 Earth Science class, for a dig in the Andes Mountains. Touched by a shamanic spell, Bri becomes a ‘carrier’, a host to souls in transition, and most of them are not human. In one world, Bri is hospitalized and treated for schizophrenia; in another, she discovers a threat to the fabric of life-after-death. The only question is, can she wake up in time to save them both.

Christian Schloe

Then came the agony

They say the Hero's Journey is a metaphor for life. The stages, twelve or so  depending on who you read, correspond to the psychological steps taken every time we step out the door, start a project, job, relationship, degree, oil change, you name it. The process looks awesome on paper. A guide.

Encouragement.

Full Circle.

But it's not always that neat, especially at the end if the circle breaks and you spiral into the depths the 13th lost underworld.

Here's how it's supposed to go:

Step 12 - Return With The Elixir

"This is the final stage of the Hero's journey in which [the hero] returns home to the Ordinary World .... [They] will have grown as a person, learned many things, faced many terrible dangers and even death but now look forward to the start of a new life. - Dan Bronzite

Yeah, sure. Good, on paper.

But no.

Before any looking forward to new wonders of life, there is the part where you hit the pavement, face first.

The agony after the ecstasy of creative accomplishment.

You write the book, paint the picture, score the film, edit the video, choreograph the dance ... It took you a week, or a month, or two years. You give it your last tweak, mission accomplished and on comes the fanfare! Triumphant Muses! 

Ticker-tape parade!

So good on paper.

And maybe it happens like that, for some, but for me it's grief, utter and complete.

Back in the "real world," elixir in hand, and I want to curl up in some dark hollow and die.

Not so uncommon to feel that way

Sure enough, it happens to other writers.

The strangest thing about finishing a book is the incredible sense of loss -- and yes, a bit of depression - when it's over. - Jungle Red Writers on Post Book Depression

Evolutionary advantages

The Cloud Forest

Apparently there's an evolutionary advantage to depression, and a plethora of scientific studies on the relationship between it and creative expression.

 ... the creative person, who spends his or her time ruminating on thoughts is likely to suffer from major depression. From an evolutionary standpoint, depression, while seemingly a hindrance to a healthy and happy life, is really a balancing act that helps us focus on the areas where we need to improve most. - Creative Something

If you look deeper at the hero's journey, it is actually there, in the "refusal to return."

Step 12b Refusal to Return

The full round, the norm of the mono-myth, requires that the hero shall now begin the labor of bringing the runes of wisdom, the Golden Fleece, or his sleeping princess, back into the kingdom of humanity, where the boon may redound to the renewing of the community, the nation, the planet or the ten thousand worlds. But the responsibility has been frequently refused. Even Gautama Buddha, after his triumph, doubted whether the message of realization could be communicated, and saints are reported to have died while in the supernal ecstasy. Numerous indeed are the heroes fabled to have taken up residence forever in the blessed isle of the un-aging Goddess of Immortal Being. -The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell

For me, it's not so much a fall into darkness but divine homesickness, leaving the table of the gods behind. Leaving the world behind. It lasts a day or two, then slowly wears off, like a bad dream fading away.

Only then can I begin to think of the next step, the next work, and the process begins all over again.

How about you?

Has anyone else felt this way after a creative project is completed? A goal reached? I'd love to hear about it.

***

Kim Falconer's latest release is out now - The Blood in the Beginning - and Ava Sykes Novel. Find this novel in a store near you.

You can also learn more about Kim at AvaSykes.com, the 11th House Blog, and on FaceBook and Twitter and the new GoodVibeAstrology.com.

She posts here at the Supernatural Underground on the 16th of every month and runs Save the Day Writer's Community on Facebook. Check out her daily Astro-LOA Flash horoscopes on Facebook. 

Dressed to Kill

Hi Everyone!
To celebrate the release of The Blood in the Beginning, I'm giving away two SYKED Tees. Just pop in the comments your favorite character's (film, TV or book) get up to be in the draw!  

The two winners have been drawn! They are 1) Suzanne and 2) Sarvah! Congratulations, and please email me: enchantmentATkimfalconerDOTCOM. I'll need you postal addy, and size. 

When it comes to revealing character attributes, an often overlooked technique is attire. What heroes and villains wear, as well as how they wear it, speaks volumes. A writer can also hint at complex states of mind in how characters go about the act of getting dressed, their approach to wardrobe, laundry etc. It delivers to readers information about who the character is.

For example: Are they rich and flaunting it? Ripped and want the world to see? Not giving a flip what others think? Too depressed to care? OCD?

From profession to personality, culture and period, the character's relationship to her clothing reveals much without having to spell anything out.

In my latest release, The Blood in the Beginning, Ava Sykes's clothing is part of who she is.  From her layered tees, black jeans and steel-toed Tims to her Jujitsu gi, MMA gloves and UCLA pre-med lab coat, her get up reveals deeper levels of personality - even strata of soul!

"We automatically categorise people based on their clothing whether we realise it or not. In fact, it takes no more than a description of their clothing to build a variety of pictures of a person in our heads." -- Bridget McNutly

Attire also serves to set the scene. From page 134 of The Blood in the Beginning:

Krysten Ritter is Jessica Jones

     I emerged from the elevator at street level in my black jeans, Poseidon tee and boots. Headset switched on and ready for work.
     ‘Ava!’ Billy punched my shoulder as I took over for him at the door. ‘I liked you better in the dress.’
     ‘Skirt, but settle down. Nothing to see here.’
***
And page 180, at the martial arts academy:

‘Rourke didn’t show,’ was all Dom said. Then he eyed my uniform. ‘This is a no gi class. In the cage today.’
     ‘I only brought my gi.’
     ‘You can wear your pants and sports top. Let’s go.’
     Yeah, summary dismissal. I took off my belt, gi top and tank, and folded them on the bench, then got back in line.
***
The brand of shoes our heroes pick for the day can reveal in a single word or two, more about a character than pages of narrative. It's a handy tool, one definitely worthy of remembering.
***
Again, to celebrate the release of The Blood in the Beginning, I'm giving away two SYKED Tees. Just pop in the comments a favorite character's get up to be in the draw! From film, tv or book!
Kim Falconer is a Supernatural Underground author with her latest release out now - The Blood in the Beginning - an Ava Sykes Novel.

Kim posts here at the Supernatural Underground on the 16th of every month and runs Save the Day Writer's Community on Facebook and GoodVibeAstrology.com. 
#thebloodinthebeginning 

These Supernatural Underground Gals Are Gonna Have Fun!

.
Yep, that's right -- next week on Tuesday 5 July at 7 pm (EST) I'm gonna be on Twitter and having some interview fun with Kim Falconer, checking out all the angles on her new paranormal urban fantasy, THE BLOOD IN THE BEGINNING.

Well, maybe only some of the angles, but I can already tell you that Kim has created a "take-no-prisoners" yet sympathetic heroine, an atmospheric, post-catastrophe world with a fresh take on the paranormal elements, and some fast-paced action.

Plenty of material for some fun Helen'n'Kim Q&A!

Here are all the details so you don't miss out on this event of awesome. ;-)

Date(s):

Tuesday 5, USA/Canada/UK et al;

Note: That will be Wednesday 6 July for those in Southern Hemisphere parts like NZ and Australia. 

Time(s):

US EST: 7 pm 

Australia EST: 9 am (Wednesday 6)
NZ: 11.00 am 

Where:

On Twitter! 

How To Find Us: 

I will be asking questions from @helenl0we
.
Kim will be answering on @KimFalconer

The https://twitter.com/superntrlUnderg may also be part of the fun. :)

BUT you don’t have to be on Twitter yourself to find us because we will be using a hashtag:

#thebloodinthebeginning

So just search on #thebloodinthebeginning, click on “Live” and you will be up with the play. 

How To Participate:

However, you will have to be on Twitter to chip in with your own question for Kim, or contribute a comment.

We’d love it if you do — but are equally happy if you prefer to just follow the hashtag.
.

#thebloodinthebeginning

See you on the 6th!

---

The Interviewee:

Kim Falconer is  a Supernatural Underground author writing urban fantasy, paranormal romance, YA and epic science fantasy novels.
You can find out more about Kim at AvaSykes.com, the 11th House Blog, and on FaceBook and Twitter.
She posts here at the Supernatural Underground on the 16th of every month and runs Save the Day Writer's Community on Facebook and GoodVibeAstrology.com.

.

The Interviewer:

Helen Lowe is a novelist, poet, interviewer and blogger whose first novel, Thornspell (Knopf), was published to critical praise in 2008. Her second, The Heir of Night (The Wall Of Night Series, Book One) won the Gemmell Morningstar Award 2012. The sequel, The Gathering Of The Lost, was shortlisted for the Gemmell Legend Award in 2013. Daughter Of Blood, (The Wall Of Night, Book Three) was published on January 26, 2016. 


Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blogand is also on Twitter: @helenl0we

Thoughts on Book Trailers

The Blood in the beginning - An Ava Sykes Novel #booktrailer

 Hi Everyone,

What's your take on book trailers?

I'm still unsure ...

Book trailers have been around since 2006, and present an interesting paradox: They use audio/visual media to promote the textual. The question is, can it work.

Book trailers evolve for multiple reasons, not the least because information is now transmitted in speedy, cinematic and downloadable bites. It's almost like going back to the picture book mentality, that stage of reading where we relied on the visual to trigger understanding of the textual. Only this is so much more controversial.

Shirin Najafi puts it like this:

A trailer, in a way, violates a book’s very construction.

But does it?

For readers who don't have time to "spend leisurely afternoons in bookstores or reading extensive book reviews,' as Najafi puts it, a two minute book trailer can give them a feel for the author and their newest release. Maybe. Running on low budgets and using cheap stock footage and sound tracks can create a result that could do the novel a disservice. Going first class and spending thousands on the clip can result in a trailer that gives away too much story or worse, amps the reader for something the book is not going to deliver. Cathy Yardley's crit on book trailers include:

• They don't get a lot of views
• Low return on investment
• They can't up your SEO

Hmmm. Not too inspiring, but there are some trailers that really rock it. I don't know if they sell books, but as a medium on their own, they are rich in value. And it's value that will encourage people to view and share. Catherine Ryan Howard says:

People aren’t using social media because they love being sold stuff. They’re using it ... to find entertainment, information and connection.

If you want your book trailer to promo your book, or bring attention to a new series/author, it might pay to keep this in mind. Is it entertaining? Informative? Creating connections?

Book trailers that work for me:

The Blood in the Beginning - An Ava Sykes Novel

I am fortunate to have Shawn Wilder at MonkeyMe Films as my beautiful Pisces sister AND a fan of Ava Sykes. She's read multiple early copies and knows the story inside out. When it came time to play with trailer ideas, she had them, buy the truck load.

The Miriam Black Novels by Chuck Wendig

 The combination of voice and text in the Miriam Black trailer is utterly engaging, and dark, but more like an audio book than a trailer, perhaps?

Harry Potter Book Trailer

With Harry Potter trailers, Scholatic's budget probably wouldn't have been an issue. And there were the films to pull from. It has a Disney feel. Probably why my inner child likes it so much.

There are many great book trailers out there, but in an article that pulls no punches: Aliza Weinberger explains why book trailers often make readers cringe:

Because most are terrible.

Ouch!

I'm not going to show any examples of trailers in that category, mainly because I have so much respect for authors who are out there writing books and promoting them in every way they can. And, trailers, for better or worse, are art forms. What sparks me might get the brush from another, and vise versa. So . . . do no harm. :)

I won't encourage a rotten tomato contest here, but if you think we can LEARN something from one that doesn't work (for you) please feel free to link to it in the comments. I also want to see what you do love, and of course, what you think of Ava Sykes.

So what's it to be? Book trailer or non?

Share your thoughts. There are emerging writers and published authors out there that want to hear them!

xxxKimmy

Kim Falconer is a Supernatural Underground author writing urban fantasy, paranormal romance, YA and epic science fantasy novels.

You can find out more about Kim at AvaSykes.com, the 11th House Blog, and on FaceBook and Twitter.

She posts here at the Supernatural Underground on the 16th of every month and runs Save the Day Writer's Community on Facebook and GoodVibeAstrology.com.

The Blood in the Beginning

Pre-order

Hi Everyone! I have two big reveals today. 

Over at AvaSykes.com the cover and pre-order is up for the first in the Ava Sykes novels, The Blood in the Beginning. Coming out through Harlequin Books Australia, the launch is scheduled for July 1, 2016, but you can pre-order now to make sure you don't miss out.

Knock down, kickass nightclub bouncer Ava Sykes takes us deep into a dystopian world and out the other side in this dark and gritty, high-action urban fantasy.

Undergraduate by day, bouncer by night, Ava Sykes is just trying to make her way in New LA, a city recovering in the ‘Aftermath’ the time after an earthquake tore the country apart. Ava studies hard, trains at the local dojo, and teaches kids self-defence. Sure, she has a rare blood disorder and a stolen identity, but who doesn’t keep a few secrets these days?

Life is tough, but when Ava takes a job at the trendy new club, Poseidon, her financial worries seem to be over.Then the evil wakes up.After stumbling into the VIP area of the club, where humans are on the menu, Ava is attacked in the street, and finds herself in the hospital, trying to put the pieces together. The bizarre hallucinations aren’t helping, and neither is Dr. Miguel Rossi, the man who claims to know more about her origins than she does.

Shocked to the core at the discovery, Ava begins a search for her birth mother — and the truth —  but with a copycat killer on her tail, the attractive and powerful Daniel Bane offering to protect her and a doctor bent on unravelling her mysterious ‘condition’, the facts are hard to pin down. Meanwhile, the ‘otherness’ in her blood makes her increasingly irresistible to all the wrong people.

Ava used to dream of knowing where she came from but faced with the truth, she’d give anything to forget.


Here's what best selling fantasy author Traci Harding has to say:

"Rich in atmosphere, intrigue and action, and a heroine who just will not quit. Long live Ava Sykes!"

 And reveal number two?

Ra and Kim

I want you to meet my newest muse, a demon cat from a feline dimension far beyond our familiar world. His name is Ra, and he means it!

If you want to know more about the new series, or the new Bengal, tweet, email or FB. I am about most mornings. Or pop over to AvaSykes.com for the inside scoop.

Kim Falconer is a Supernatural Underground author writing urban fantasy, paranormal romance, YA and epic science fantasy novels.

You can find out more about Kim at AvaSykes.com, the 11th House Blog, and on FaceBook and Twitter.

She posts here at the Supernatural Underground on the 16th of every month and runs Save the Day Writer's Community on Facebook and GoodVibeAstrology.com.

Judging Books by the Cover

Her Silent Silhouette by Arcipello

Hi Everyone,

It's exciting times as I talk cover art, blurbs and quotes with my publisher and editor at Harlequin Australia. The Ava Sykes series starts with The Blood in the Beginning, steamrolling towards a July release.

Meanwhile, I'm putting a lot of consideration into the cover design talks. As Jeff Goins says:
 

Books don’t just speak with words. They also speak with the way they are designed.  

When my agent asked me to create a mood-board of favorite cover art and why it sparked me, I didn't hesitate. Here are some favs, but note: I purposely didn't choose any today that are linked to Sup or other authors I know and love. This is a pure, outside source, fact finding mission.

I'm looking forward to sharing with you what the Harlequin Design Team came up with for Ava Sykes!

For the de-saturated colors

For the cool cape morph

For the contrast!

For the Elements

To go deeper, you might want to watch this fabulous TED talk about designing book covers. Very quirky-smart entertaining!

How about you? Have an all time favorite cover? Feel free to share in the comments. xxKimmy

Kim Falconer is a Supernatural Underground author writing paranormal romance, urban fantasy, YA and epic science fantasy novels.

You can find out more about Kim at the 11th House Blog, and on FaceBook and Twitter.

She posts here at the Supernatural Underground on the 16th of every month and runs Save the Day Writer's Community on Facebook.