Booksigning in Post

Meet me in Post, TX on Saturday for my booksigning and enter to win a KMD Novels gift basket. I will have two of my newest releases there. Remember to check out my website for all my book information or click HERE to buy any of my books through Amazon Kindle. (They are very affordable!)

Fresh From the Kiln

One of the latest hobbies I've picked up is pottery. I discovered a clay studio last summer and have been creating ever since. These pieces are from the kiln just this week. They are all hand built from stoneware clay that is dishwasher safe, oven safe, and microwaveable. The platter has purple textured rims and is eighteen inches in diameter. Both pitchers stand eleven inches tall. I have decided to sell them(along with mugs, glasses, large bowls, and an assortment of other pottery items) at Slaton's "Fifth Friday" in October. (I'm skipping this month). And, of course, I will have all of my books for sale as well! In addition, my newest release will be available in paperback.......

Are You Ready for This!?!

I am soooooo excited to bring to you Country Mailman. Next week, this blog will contain the beginning of the series, Country Mailman, and will continue with a new episode every WEEK for the next fifty weeks. So, you can read the book, one series at a time on the blog over a year's time without paying one cent, or you can buy the book in October for your father's Christmas present! (ebook as well). Country Mailman is not a romance (like most of my others), it is an everyday account of a mailman's adventures and interaction with his customers. I can't wait for your reaction. 

From Cocoon to Butterfly

...the kids were home for Christmas holidays. The house was bustling. The nights were full of laughter and good humor and the mornings were late and lazy. As I got up to make coffee and start the bacon sizzling on the stove, I realized the night had created an unusual event in West Texas. Snow covered the ground. When I opened the front door, I saw the picture as clear in my mind as if I had just clicked the camera - the perfect book cover for Mist in the Valley. The book is about a pregnant woman. (I had a six-month pregnant woman in my house). The book is about a winter storm. (Snow covered the ground just outside my front door). The book is about mist lying heavily in the trees. (In Photoshop, I can create both mist and trees).

"Crockett, I need you," I called.

I waited for my daughter to dress and then took a succession of pictures with my Ipad because it creates high-resolution images that can be used for printing book covers. For paperback books, 300 dpi (dots per inch) resolution is required. For an online image, 72 dpi is used. It makes sense to start with a high-resolution image to create a paperback cover and reduce it for the ebook cover image. Traveling the other direction does not work where pixels are concerned.

Creating the cover took several steps. I removed the background but left the porch section. I added trees and then created a cloudy effect that settled over the image like mist. Voila! Mist in the Valley cover was born. And three months later, Everett Ruth joined us. Writing a book is substantial. Creating a cover is icing. Having willing participating family members is the chocolate part of the chocolate-covered strawberry that tops the entire process.

 

Book Signing In Post, Texas

Thanks a bunch to Rosa Latimer at Ruby Lane Books for having Kim Harris and me at her trendy, quaint shop on Main Street. We had a fun time visiting with all kinds of folks. A lady in Lovington was the winner of the gift basket and I hope she enjoyed reading A Hint of Satin as she was drinking McPherson Cellars Patio Sangria. (A Hint of Satin is a sangria kind of book)

The Blog is Up!

Exciting things are coming this fall to KMD novels and I thought that starting a blog would be the perfect way to get the word out! Stay tuned for a new book and a giveaway!