I'm having a contest!

Just to get the word out- I have decided to self-publish. There are a lot of reasons for this, but the main ones go something like this: I hate querying. I don't think it is one of my stronger talents. (Querying is where you write a short blurp about your story and send it to agents. Think of the paragraph or two you read on the back that gives you the jest of the story) Second, I don't like the idea of losing control. I like input, but I hate, hate, hate being told what I can or can't do. It is a paralyzing feeling, like getting laughing gas at the dentist or being tickled. Don't like either one of those, either.

So three years and nearly five stories later, I have to ask myself, "Self, what are you writing for?" I write to entertain. One of the main reasons I read. I like to learn something too, but mostly I want to escape to a more interesting world for a few days. Call it giving back, but this time I want to do the entertaining. Here I go, jumping off into a pool of liquid that may be warm or may be very, very cold and murky. It is so scary.

Now here's the fun part. I'm having a contest for a book cover. My first book,"The Sand Bar" is based out of my hometown. I'm thinking, sand, river, a man,a woman, and maybe even a small child's feet, but no face. Or, a photo of a very fancy (expensive) shoe, with a broken heel stuck in a crack or something. Or a mysterious woman far off in the distance with a colorful Fuschia scarf wrapped around her neck, or waist, or whatever. She must have short bleached blonde hair. And the tinier the better. There is time travel, lost love and mysterious deaths in the book. The cover should capture that. But remember, successful covers have one shot. One image. Keep it simple.

Now my second book, "Escaping
Bubble Land" is all about hay fields, summer time, tractors, and love...oh yeah, and the girl is overcoming an alcohol addiction and dealing with the guilt she feels for her little brother's death, so it can be a little more on the serious side too. I will give fifty dollars for any photo I end up using for the book cover. If you're game, so am I!