They say you should never judge a book by its cover, but let's face it--you only get one first impression. A good cover needs to be eye-catching, signal your genre, give clues to your story, have an engaging and readable title treatment, and make readers want to know more.

Easy, right?

If only! The trouble is, authors aren't always the best at breaking their stories down into one or two compelling visuals. Where words fail us, enter Jake Clark and J Caleb Design. The artistic mind behind countless covers, J Caleb focuses on badass covers for badass stories. He lent us his expertise for this episode! Join us in discussing what exactly goes into making a book cover great, from concept and brief to final product.

In Part One, We Discuss:

• Minimalistic choices and simplifying cover briefs to get the best options

• Differences in processes

• Lucky Charms

Resources and Guest Links:

• J Caleb Design: https://www.jcalebdesign.com/

Help us thank Jake! Covers are tricky, and we’ve been so excited to share this episode and give people insights from such a talented artist and creator.

Host Links:

• H.Y. Gregor: https://hygregor.com/

• David Shadoin: https://www.davidshadoin.com/

Credits: (all assets licensed through the sites listed)

• Intro: Music- Cinematic Epic Trailer by PaulYudin on Pixabay

• Animation and Image- From Vecteezy user- kazim hussian; from pixabay users-davidfoxx, DavidGallie, olenchic, stefaniejockschat, AiVreaSaStii, RuneSnow, duyen-nguyen, EnchantedStudios,

• Outro: Music- Good Night by FASSounds on Pixabay

• Animation and Image- From Vecteezy user-onlydesignz; from pixabay users-olenchic, Placidplace, Evgeniy_Z, Dantegrafico, Shayea_Kim

We all love a widespread, far-reaching fantasy universe that we as readers can get completely absorbed in. The only thing better than a great fantasy series is a whole collection of them that deep-dive into an immersive world. But how do you keep track of a timeline that spans over a thousand years? Where do you start when your cast of characters stretches into the hundreds?

We’re so pleased to release this interview with Katie Cross, author of more than 50 novels in her award-winning Alkarra universe. Katie drives down to the bedrock and gives us an inside look at her own spreadsheets and world bible. Join us and get practical tips and tools to keep your worlds organized. Bonus author mental health checks included ;)

In Part Two, We Discuss:

• Avoiding the urge for perfection and focusing on moving forward

• Drafting processes and tips to make your writing more efficient

• Learning from our failures

• Maps and their purposes and utility in fantasy

• Katie’s recommended series for worldbuilding

• Addressing and conquering mental roadblocks

Resources and Guest Links:

https://katiecrossbooks.com/

Katie’s Book Recommendations for Great Worldbuilding!

• Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House on the Prairie: https://littlehousebooks.com/

• Lydia Sherrer, Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus: https://www.lydiasherrer.com/books/love-lies-and-hocus-pocus/

Thanks again to Katie! Getting such a detailed look behind the curtain of this kind of world tracking and story management is a rare opportunity. We’re honored she agreed to hang out with us.

Host Links:

H.Y. Gregor: https://hygregor.com/

David Shadoin: https://www.davidshadoin.com/

Credits: (all assets licensed through the sites listed)

For Intro: Music- Cinematic Epic Trailer by PaulYudin on Pixabay

• Animation and Image- From Vecteezy user- kazim hussian; from pixabay users-davidfoxx, DavidGallie, olenchic, stefaniejockschat, AiVreaSaStii, RuneSnow, duyen-nguyen, EnchantedStudios,

• For Outro: Music- Good Night by FASSounds on Pixabay

• Animation and Image- From Vecteezy user-onlydesignz; from pixabay users-olenchic, Placidplace, Evgeniy_Z, Dantegrafico, Shayea_Kim,

Shady’s Notes: I’ve typically been editing these a bit since we’ve gone rogue…I mean stood up our own channel, but unfortunately I’ve been on deadline and unable to put any time into this. Which is also why this week’s is not a new episode, but another one from the archives. Enjoy!

We all love a widespread, far-reaching fantasy universe that we as readers can get completely absorbed in. The only thing better than a great fantasy series is a whole collection of them that deep-dive into an immersive world. But how do you keep track of a timeline that spans over a thousand years? Where do you start when your cast of characters stretches into the hundreds?

We’re so pleased to release this interview with Katie Cross, author of more than 50 novels in her award-winning Alkarra universe. Katie drives down to the bedrock and gives us an inside look at her own spreadsheets and world bible. Join us and get practical tips and tools to keep your worlds organized. Bonus author mental health checks included ;)

In Part One, We Discuss:

• Pepsi (please sponsor us! Its the only pop Shady drinks)

• Building and maintaining a detailed world bible

• Multi-generational timelines and maintaining continuity

• Author mindsets and how to approach your work

• Choosing which details to track, and how

• Writing what you love and how it helps improve your fiction

• An exclusive, detailed look at Katie’s world bible for Alkarra (the power of spreadsheets!)

Resources and Guest Links:

https://katiecrossbooks.com/

Thanks again to Katie! Getting such a detailed look behind the curtain of this kind of world tracking and story management is a rare opportunity. We’re honored she agreed to hang out with us.

Host Links:

H.Y. Gregor: https://hygregor.com/

David Shadoin: https://www.davidshadoin.com/

Credits: (all assets licensed through the sites listed)

For Intro: Music- Cinematic Epic Trailer by PaulYudin on Pixabay

• Animation and Image- From Vecteezy user- kazim hussian; from pixabay users-davidfoxx, DavidGallie, olenchic, stefaniejockschat, AiVreaSaStii, RuneSnow, duyen-nguyen, EnchantedStudios,

• For Outro: Music- Good Night by FASSounds on Pixabay

• Animation and Image- From Vecteezy user-onlydesignz; from pixabay users-olenchic, Placidplace, Evgeniy_Z, Dantegrafico, Shayea_Kim,