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Monthly Archives: February 2009
- by Tara Maya
Revised Opening
I revised my opening based on feedback from the Secret Agent contest. Several reviewers felt the 250 word version felt rushed, so here I’ve re-inserted some lines I had cut to meet the word count cut-off. 😉 Hopefully, the additions also explain a few of the questions people had about why Kavio was out in the woods himself, why he wasn’t immediately suspicious of Dindi, and why the taboo is so important.
On the other hand, I hope it doesn’t *over-explain* or drag on too much.
Kavio glimpsed a solitary dancer, graceful and pale as new maize. She danced in honeyed light filtered though sequoias soaring up from languorous, bear-sized roots. Who was she, and why did she dance secluded and all alone, far from the kiva and tor?
He wove through the wood to spy on her, though he told himself he should not. Perhaps she had come to the woods to practice alone, as he had. The possibility intrigued him – who else besides he had no need of the guidance of the troop? Who else besides he would dare?
Never had he seen a style quite like hers. She must have had magic, for she was human and not fae. Humans without magic danced only to hex, and would be killed in turn, if caught. She wore no ritual costume – neither wooden mask, nor cornhusk cape – only white doeskin hemmed with a maze of rainbow beads. Her hair flew about her, unbraided and wild. Though her aura showed no light, he had the odd sense she sparkled, shimmered, with some power deep, some power bright, which warmed the cool December wood with hint of hidden Mays.
She circled the stump of a fir tree, as if it were her partner in a fertility dance. He knew the dance of course – it was meant for two, not one.
Kavio debated himself briefly. His mischief won.
He crept up behind her. Stealth he had honed in hunting and battle served him well, and the broad trunks of sequoias and pines provided ample cover. The dance soon called for her partner to lift her, and she leaned toward the tree stump, in the best approximation she could. He made his move.
In rhythm with her sways, he placed his hands about her waist and lifted her into the spin, above his head and down again. She responded as if she had expected him, and followed his lead into the next exultant sequence, toss and twirl, shimmy and turn. Fancy foot work followed on, sweetly easy. In this sequence of the fertility dance, both partners faced forward, so he could not see her face. The top of her head just reached his chin. Her hair smelled of flowers.
They flowed together like partners who had practiced days in each other’s arms. She amazed him.
He dipped her back, and only then met her gaze.
“Dindi!” He choked on his dismay.
Dindi had been tested during Initiation, he knew, and proven without magic. For her to dance was taboo – so decreed the ancient ways. The law left him no choice.
He must kill her.
- by Tara Maya
Stream Pirate Cover Art
Okay, Sara, this one’s for you. I can email you the jpg file if you like.
I tried to blend Alluvial Fan into the background and she came out with more glow than I intended. I hope she doesn’t look like a ghost. I’m afraid my pirate isn’t quite as cute as the one on your site, but you should have seen the other choices.
If you have requests for changes or had other ideas about what you wanted your cover to look like, that’s fine too. Don’t be shy, let me know. 🙂
If anyone else would like a cover for non-commercial use, feel free to let me know. (And, hey, if you want one for commercial purposes, that’s cool too, email me.)
- by Tara Maya
Cover Art – Version 2
Here’s another title and another take on the cover.
The main color theme is yellow, for reasons which would be obvious upon reading the book.
The previous cover used images of actual tribal societies. This one features a much more glamorous heroine, which, I must confess, I prefer. 🙂
I’m not completely happy with it — the bear is a bit too obscured by the title. The corn cob doll peeking out here is actually a corn husk doll, and not quite right, but the only thing I could find available in royalty free stock images.
This cover incorporates a lot of the themes: she is dancing (although I’m not sure you can tell); there’s a bear; a corn doll; and corn. Only things missing are the fae and the hunky hero. But I couldn’t fit everything.
- by Tara Maya
Cover Art – Version 1
One idea for a title was to name the series, “The Secret Society of Warrior Dancers” and each book a different term in the heroine’s rise through the ranks, so to speak. First she would be “the Initiate” then “the Serving Maiden” then “the Traveller” and so on. I think I had seven, though I’m not sure what I did with the list.
Anyhoo.
I told this title to a couple of agents, one of whom specialized in fantasy and the other who handled only literary fiction and memoirs. The fantasy agent wrinkled her nose.
“Secret societies? Warriors? Dancers?” She shook her head. “It’s all pretty trite.”
The literary agent, however, said, “Oh really? I thought it sounded unusual and intriguing!”
Clearly, the thing to do is market my book as a memoir. *grin*
So, here you go. This is a cover which would make the book look like a respectable addition to the literary section of the bookstore.
- by Tara Maya
Mock Cover Art
There’s nothing so inspiring as wasting long hours designing cover art for your work-in-progress.
In that spirit, I’ve mocked up a few different possible covers for Dindi — the titles, incidentally, differ as well, but it’s the same book.
Yes, this is what I’ve spent my weekend doing instead of working on Book 2. It’s okay. I’ll get back to real work tomorrow.