New horror story for Halloween! WHAT THE CAT BROUGHT BACK

Art, News from Pixelvania Publishing, Writing

What the Cat Brought Back (Cover). A terrified cat looks on at something we can't see; grungy text appears over him. A red rip in the image contains the title.

“Magnum dropped something else off. Feels bad in your hands.”

Leaves. Dish sponges. Shoelaces.

Katheryn Crenshaw is used to her cat bringing her odd gifts.

Then he brings home an object that terrifies her.

It won’t be the last.

Novelette: 10,900 words. PG-13.


A disquieting tale starring two women. More disturbing than gory, with many of the scares happening in broad daylight…

And in a complete mood swing from the last release, we have What the Cat Brought Back. It’s a novelette (think: longer short story) perfect for Halloween reading.

Writing this, I was surprised by the tender friendship between the two women, Katheryn and Mallory. I mean, it’s still a horror story, but there’s some light in the bleakness.

You can…

And please remember, reviews are always welcome!

Cover Teaser: WHAT THE CAT BROUGHT BACK

Art, News from Pixelvania Publishing, Writing

Hunh! Despite sitting down without a plan, I appear to be finished with my horror story ebook cover! Prayer works! Guess I’ll make the announcement, then!

WHAT THE CAT BROUGHT BACK's teaser cover: a crop of a cat's mouth and some scary looking text

This doesn’t look good…

Coming this week: WHAT THE CAT BROUGHT BACK, a new PG-13 horror novelette.

Sign up for the Pixelvania Publishing newsletter to find out the SECOND it’s released!

Fashion Frenchies Cover Mockup

Art, Writing

Cover mockup for Fashion Frenchies 1, featuring purple smoke, a bulldog, and a cauldron

90% of my Frenchies edits are done so I’ve really got to get a cover going. I’ve made a few batches of covers but am still not sure if I’m in the right direction for a “Fantasy Family Romance Comedy” story (it reminded my reader of Hallmark movies, which was exactly what I was going for).

Today, instead of starting with a thumbnail, I decided to start with type, then pasted an old mockup under it. Love the author name in this font, but maybe I shouldn’t use it if I’m going to use it in the title. Or vice versa. And I think branding could be stronger, you know?

I don’t even know if I want this to be photobashed. I was considering aping the BEWITCHED animation style. And doing a patterned frame around it. But I don’t know if I can pull it off.

(In my secret heart I want all my covers to be illustrated, or have some illustrated aspect to them. I mean, I have the skillz, why limit myself with stock photos? But the business-savvy writer boards seem to say that it’s not right to illustrate everything, so I’m torn. It’s hard to go against the crowd, you know?)

Frenchie Illustration Test

Art

 

frenchiestexturetest.jpgMy tablet pressure sensitivity died and I didn’t want to restart, hence big ugly lines. Test for my upcoming novella cover, just to see how layering colors and textures work in Krita.
Reference image: workout instructor Jessica Smith’s famous Frenchie, Peanut!
#frenchbulldog #krita #madewithopensource #practice #mastoart #dogart #art #frenchie #madewithreference #krita #jessicasmith #peanut