How We Came up with The Laura Cardinal Series Covers by J. Carson Black

Please welcome author and guest blogger, J. Carson Black of the popular Laura Cardinal crime fiction series. For one week only, you can purchase The Laura Cardinal Novels at $4.97.

J. Carson Black is the critically-acclaimed author of the Laura Cardinal series: Darkness on the Edge of Town, Dark Side of the Moon, and The Devil’s Hour. Her phenomenally successful Kindle Edition of her crime thriller, The Shop, has sold more than 60,000 copies since its publication date in March 2011.

Born and raised in Tucson, Arizona, she was inspired by Stephen King’s The Shining, to write her own horror novel, a ghost story titled Darkscope, set in the historic mining town of Bisbee, Arizona. Darkscope was published by Kensington Publishing Corp. and she never looked back.

Now the award-winning author of eight novels published by NAL, Kensington Publishing Corp. and Dorchester Publishing–and in France, Germany, and Norway, Black has partnered with digital publisher Breakaway Media to publish her novels in the digital space. She lives in Tucson, Arizona. More information about her work can be found on her site.


How We Came up with The Laura Cardinal Series Covers 
by J. Carson Black

When my publisher (and husband) Glenn McCreedy at Breakaway Media and I decided to put up my three Laura Cardinal crime fiction thrillers, the first thing we thought about was cover art.

Readers of crime fiction and thrillers would be our primary audience. So we asked ourselves these questions.

What should a thriller look like?

Should the books be unified in some way?

Should they have the traditional look of a big publishing house? And if we chose to go that route, what kind of product did we envision?

We knew right away that we wanted to emulate the look of a big publishing house. But what kind of book? Hardcover? Trade paper? Or mass market paperback? We decided to go for the premiere option—hardcover. Hardcover is big, weighty, and looks important. We wanted to add that kind of “weight” to our books, to signal that my thrillers were worthy of such treatment, and so we studied the hardcovers that were nominated for Edgars last year. The Edgar Awards are for crime fiction, mystery, and thriller, so our books fit right in.

We noticed right away that the fonts were simple and big. The background art was good, but it was the backdrop for the title and the name of the author.

Looking at the Edgar Award covers and the covers of some of my favorite thriller/crime fiction writers: Michael Connelly, Robert Crais, Joe Finder, etc., we got a general idea of the subject matter, and learned that the cover art itself was secondary to the name and title. But the books had a certain “thriller look,” which I can’t really define except to say, after looking at hundreds of them, we know it when we see it.

We unified the book covers by using the same, simple print font, and made that font as big as we could.

Then we went looking for images. DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN starts with the discovery of a body in spooky band shell in Bisbee, Arizona. It’s a concrete inner-city park. I found an image that looked exactly like the entrance to that park. The building in the photo was built in the same era, just after the turn of the last century. And I loved the dramatic red color and the neon sign, which really seated the book in crime fiction. There was a car that looked like the car my bad guy drove. My husband was fooling around with the image and turned on the headlights of the car, and that bit of luck really made the cover. It’s the perfect focal point—to the right and slightly above the horizon, which is good composition. The last thing we did was ad bits and pieces of words the Internet predator used when communicating with the girl he killed.

DARK SIDE OF THE MOON: Part of the book takes place on the freeway through the Mojave Desert. We found a stunning photo of a road through the desert. We incorporated the same large, tall, simple font we used for DARKNESS. The colors were different enough that you wouldn’t mistake one book in the series for the other. We put the cover up, but as beautiful as it was, it lacked…something. Glenn wanted to put in a small nuclear symbol (which figures into the story). It looked like a stupid little kite-shaped sticker---awful! Then it occurred to us: Don’t go small – go big! A nuclear symbol is a scary thing. So we made it larger, and that symbol really made the cover.

THE DEVIL’S HOUR was the first cover we ever did. Three young girls are kidnapped years earlier and are believe to have been killed, but one returns home to her family nine years after the kidnapping. Where are the other two? At the heart of this story is Evil with a capital “E,” and we wanted to personify that malice with an evil man. I went through IStock Photo looking for “scary men,” and found a wonderful shot. His eyes are crazy mean. We cropped his face just above the mouth. We knew we’d have to have something for the lower part of the book, and it was difficult. We found a blue sky (a sunset) with black silhouetted trees, which looked like the sky and trees right outside my window in Tucson, Arizona. It worked. But we didn’t like the black line that divided the blue part of the cover from the top part. A mistake on Glenn’s part put a thin blue line above the black line we’d used---and it worked! A happy accident.

You won’t mistake one book for the other two because they are all different colors, but they are unified enough by the fonts to brand the books as J. Carson Black books---thrillers and crime fiction.

Recently, we decided to bundle all three Laura Cardinal mystery/thrillers into one book. Now what?

We came up with dozens of ideas, but at last hit on something simple. A Ouija Board plays a part in THE DEVIL’S HOUR. I went looking for a Ouija Board and found a beautiful one ---spooky and old, which gave the cover a feeling of ancient evil. We wanted the background to be simple, but planned to use strong contrasting colors for the cover and the lettering. The reddish brown of the Ouija Board was great. We fooled around but I knew in my heart that I wanted a lime-colored green for my name. Since we were selling THE LAURA CARDINAL NOVELS, we decided to go big with my name, J. CARSON BLACK.

It’s important to brand your books. Are they romance? If so, what kind? It’s important, too, to link them in some way, so people can think, “That’s a so-and-so book.” And it’s important to differentiate them so the reader won’t by the same book twice.

Reading Author's Pet Mysteries and Inspiration Struck!

Past the witching hour and I hadn't gone to sleep because I needed to finish Creature Cozies edited by Jill M. Morgan. This delightful short story collection featured mystery authors and their sleuthing pets. It hooked me in with the first story and inspired me to write about my own zoo. I particularly liked the author/pet duo photos featured on the back cover and will be blogging a book review later. Check back for details.

Possibilities abound with my menagerie of animals. It's hard to choose which one to write about first. If I write about all of them, there'll be eight tales -- tails of glory!

Let me introduce you to my furry/scaly family.

This is Derrick. He's five and a half years of trouble with a penchant to eat anything he can put in his mouth. He's nicknamed "The Garbage Can". He's sampled oatmeal cream pies, potato chips, and lots of other things not on his preferred diet -- a regular connoisseur of junk food! I got Derrick from a member on a bearded dragon forum when I lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She gave him up free to a good home. Last month Derrick almost passed. We're not sure what happened, but he had horrible seizures and wouldn't eat. He's better now, but his illness remains a mystery.

This is Mike. My stepson named him after the movie, Monsters Inc. Mike is the reason I met my husband. We met on a bearded dragon forum six years ago and have been together ever since. Mike is seven years old and has the appetite of a Hoover vacuum cleaner. Yesterday he discovered he likes blackberries. He's an experience traveler, having gone many places, including Petroglyph National Monument and Roswell, New Mexico. He is a rescue from a clutch - purchased at a pet store in Albuquerque.

This is Tiggyr (pronounced Tigger). She turned thirteen this year. She is the first cat I adopted as an adult. Tiggyr came from The Humane Society in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I went looking for a black cat, but came home with a polydactyl tabby. Tiggyr wouldn't let me leave without her, meowing at the top of her lungs and grabbing me through the bars of her cage with her paw. I'm a sucker! She was dumped by her family. She wasn't even six weeks old and should have still been with her mother. I'm literally her mother; she imprinted on me. Tiggyr will sell me out for a piece of cheese in a heartbeat, but she's also very loyal and loving.

This is Toshio. He's a British Bombay (a mix of Burmese and black cat). Toshio is about two now. I adopted him from Texas Cares, a no-kill cat shelter located in Dallas. I'd had my eye on a black cat for a while, but my husband told me no more cats. Then one day we were at PetSmart and there he was on a leash visiting the birds. I asked if I could pet him and as soon as I did, I knew I wanted to take him home. My husband didn't want to tell me no; instead, he told me I could get him with the apartment's approval. Of course, they approved adding a third cat to my lease, so Toshio came home. He already had his name and for the past eight months had answered to it, so we kept it. It means "leader" in Japanese. And that he is. He bullied his way into being the head cat in the house. He will sell me out for a piece of sashimi. He's quite vocal, mouthy really, likes to play fetch, and is very affectionate.

This is Houdini, our five-year-old tabby. Houdini came to us by a case of mistaken identity. I'd just moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico to be with my husband and the majority of my boxes were still under a tarp on the back porch. Suddenly, a cat appeared in the patio door. My husband thought it was Tiggyr. He opened the door and a strange cat came charging into the living room. We tried everything to get him to leave, knocking on doors, shooing him out of our house, but each time we put him outside, he beat my husband back in the door. Finally, we gave up and kept him while we tried to locate his owners because he obviously wouldn't go back home on his own. He was so sweet and had to belong to someone. No one claimed him after a week and we took him to the vet. He had a microchip, but the contact numbers were disconnected. We figured someone had dumped him after they moved. Of course, my husband wanted to keep him, but didn't tell me. I had to tell him I wanted to keep him! Will named him "Houdini" after one of his favorite magicians; my husband plans on using Houdini is his magic act someday. Houdini loves to watch Will practice magic and is not afraid of fire. He's a sneaky cat. He can escape from most locked rooms and open doors and to this day, we have no idea how he ended up on the enclosed porch in New Mexico, but we're glad he did.

This is Ludwig van Beethoven, one of my favorite composers, aptly named because his stomach looks like a piano. He's a Western Hognose snake native to Texas and not even a year old. We've had him for a few months. We nicknamed him "Snakelet" because he is so tiny. He cannot even eat on his own, yet. Some day he will be a big snake, all of two feet, if even that. He is gentle and will not turn aggressive as he ages. He's really my husband's pet -- a birthday present for Will this year.

This is Fizzlebub. Fizzy is named after my children's short story character, a lovable demon. She's a Cuban Anole, the largest anole in the world. We don't know how old she is. She's been with us for about three years now and before that, she had two previous owners. She ended up back at the pet shop. One owner didn't have the time for her anymore and the other couldn't handle her. The staff was afraid of her, since she was quite aggressive, but with love and patience, she's now tame. I'm guessing she's around at least five or six years old.

And last but not least -- little Bradbury the Three-toed Box Turtle native to Texas. He is not even a year old and will live at least twenty-five years, if not more. I got him after I lost my beloved Tatsu, my bearded dragon I'd raised from a baby. Bradbury inherited Tatsu's tank. He is named after one of my favorite authors, Ray Bradbury. He's quite a grouchy, persnickety little fellow who likes to be fed on time and hates taking baths, even though he needs them to be healthy.

 Whew! That's my zoo! Hope you enjoyed meeting all of them. Perhaps, you'll see their mugs in print some day. I have some writing to do now...

As always, happy writing and happy reading to all!

Interview with Historical Mystery and Horror Writer, Charley Appenzellar

Charley Appenzellar is passionate about historical mysteries and thought provoking horror. She has written two novels, two screenplays, a whole batch of short stories, and has a blog entitled 365 Things That I Love About France. Charley has recently finished translating a French historical manuscript that will be published in the spring and is putting the finishing touches on a haunted guide to France. When Charley is not pounding away at the keyboard, she adores exploring France with her two children.

Which came first for you, your love of history or your love of storytelling?

Oh, that's a tough one. I would have to say my love of storytelling, as I was a voracious reader before I even knew what history was.

In your story, The Modern Cathar, you discuss this form of Christianity. The Cathar community was quite large in France. Did you develop a fascination with this religion after you moved to France or before?

After I moved here. There are a series of Cathar castles in the Languedoc region of France, haunting ruins perched on rocky precipices, which utterly fascinated me when I saw them. The more I learned about Cathar culture and beliefs, the more I was convinced I had to write about them.

Their religion is fascinating; there are many similarities between Catharism and Buddhism—amazing for the Dark Ages. But what is thoroughly intriguing to me is their story: how they were utterly wiped out by an early form of the Inquisition, and how it is said that they were the keepers of a great treasure. Mystery ….

Do you think that your blog, 356 Things I Love about France, helped prepare you for your recent work, A Sumptuous Guide to Haunted France?

My blog helps me prepare for everything! It is an excellent disciplinary tool, being obliged to sit down and do a certain amount of research and text each and every day. Along the way of researching interesting persons, places, food, and events in France, I have stumbled across more haunted venues than I anticipated.

I am planning to stick with the theme, and will have a new 365-day blog coming out in the late spring.

You’ve lived and traveled in a lot of places around the world. How do foreign libraries compare to the U.S. library system for writing research materials, etc.?

As I am primarily a fiction author, I don't visit a whole lot of libraries, what I need I find on the Internet, or the Internet leads me to specific books. My spoken French is completely fluent and I am lucky to be very immersed in the French culture; people recounting oral traditions tell many tales to me.

I am translating a French non-fiction historical manuscript at the moment, and the French author spends hours and hours in the municipal library here in Lyon. I know he has dug up some fascinating stuff in medieval texts. When my medieval French is better, I look forward to joining him.

What do you see as future challenges for authors with the increased popularity in electronic media? Do you think paper books will go the way of the dinosaurs?

The future challenge in electronic media is not to get lost in the massive shuffle. To have a voice will become more and more difficult.

I certainly hope that paper books don't go the way of the dinosaur. There is nothing like the sweet smell of a book or a bookstore. I can't wrap my brain around cozying up with a cold, electronic gadget to read. I need to open my book and have that smell waft up to greet me.

Since you designed your own author site, what advice do you have for other authors looking to do the same?

Be professional. Take your time. Do it right. Your website represents you, is the image you present to agents and editors. Make sure it is honest and symbiotic with your work and your essence.

You’re currently looking for an agent. What are some of the challenges you’ve faced in this process?

Oh, boy! Do you have a couple of hours, days? laughs Have faith in yourself and don't give up. Listen to your inner voice, not the voices of others.

Do you have any other future works in progress?

Bien sur! laughs There is always something brewing on the back burner. I have been writing a lot of short horror stories lately, and am wondering if I might turn a few into full-length manuscripts. I am also working with another author on a fiction story filled with many historical facts on the Knights Templar.

If you could only write one more story, what would it be?

The history of the world. I believe that all the answers to so many of our questions are right in front of our noses.