Saturday, September 27, 2014
Dissolving TheMerryBird Designs
After 8 + years of running an online/offline graphic design business I've decided to close my online freelance doors. The business times in the past two years have been erratic and slow, so officially, March 2015 TheMerryBird Designs will no longer offer graphic services.
The following shops, online links and Merry Bird places will be pulled down or altered to fit a new phase of business at a later time.
www.TheMerryBird.com
www.the-merry-bird.blogspot.com
TheMerryBird etsy "Your Stationery in Flight"
http://www.twitter.com/TheMerryBird
http://www.facebook.com/TheMerryBird.Designs
TheMerryBird Ryze
TheMerryBird Thumbtack
Thursday, April 03, 2014
5 Tips for Creating an Ingenious Presentation
Wheeewww! it's been a while! And I thought while my mind was helping my children with childhood projects and presentations I would fly in to blog about tips to keep your presentation top notch!
Years ago, as a graphic book cover artist I would never forget to "present" my work in its best form, clean, concise boards on easels and a flawless speech about my ideas. Here are some tips I remind myself of each time a presentation is needed at work or for a freelance client. These tips hold true for a professional as well as a student presentation:
1: THINK BIG
Can everyone read the presentation board you created from 4-5 ft away? or from a seat in the back row? TEXT must be BIG enough to read from afar.
2: SHOW SIMPLICITY
Being simple is best. Don't use too many words or have too much to read. When presentation boards are simple, those reading them or viewing them can easily remember points about the presentation or see images in their mind when they walk away.
3: HAVE CLARITY
Color, Font Size and Font style all come into play so think before you choose a "script font" in "red" printed on a blue background... the audience will get a headache!
4: SET A GOAL
Have a goal in mind for your presentation. Do you want to engage? educate? make a joke? or be serious? or inform your audience?
5: PRACTICE YOUR SPEECH
The more you practice the less you have to read from your info/prompt cards!
If you use these five tips your presentation will be off to a great start! You will have confidence and will prove you know your stuff! So fill in the blanks and practice, practice, practice!
Thursday, December 05, 2013
Think before you turn the other cheek!
So, I'm conversing with my 10 year old son and he's told me to "kiss this!" ( as he points to his butt). I said "I beg your pardon? who taught you that one?" he replied "oh mom!.... The Grinch..." He evidently was joking.
I took a moment and thought how bizarre my mind was working at that moment. The thought I had in my head wasn't a pleasant one but when I realized his statement came from the movie The Grinch, I bowed my head and released my breath. What is society really thinking out there? If scenes of a movie have so much control over our minds do we have to accept it? ignore it? don't watch it? forget about it?
It's amazing how words conjure up emotions that in turn conjure up reactions. I guess The Grinch won in that conversation I had with my son and now I'd like to take a lesson. Images come from statements that stick. In today's online world of flashing images, colors, sounds and god knows what else, a serious business needs to take notes on how to reach an audience with a statement that sticks in their mind for more than a nano second. The Grinch's green coat isn't as scary as the thoughts he planted in my child's head - I like to come up with a positive "statement" for any business I work with that would capture it's respective audience without insulting anyone and yes stick.....or maybe, I should insult....people seem to be immune to this way of thinking and like it.Our immunity to insulting behavior is due to all of the slang utilized in posts, articles, blogs, talks and movies. Society has become immune to hearing truth in words and images. The reflection is evident in our way of thinking that it's ok to accept insults and laugh about it. Complacency is our worst enemy but as I learned I can't turn the other cheek when asked to "kiss this"!
- Kristine Sheehan
Friday, November 22, 2013
Happy Thanksgiving!
After dealing with some serious health issues I'm back to say hello and Happy Thanksgiving! This time of year always rolls around so quickly that I have to remind myself there are only 33 days left to shop for Christmas... Holy cow! (or should I say Bull to my local readers?? poor thing!)
I have been tracking many authors hoping to catch them thinking about book cover design or to interview them about a latest novel they've written - It's so exciting to watch budding authors or master author works show up on the Amazon best seller list or find out a movie is in the making. Thinking about movies, how many of you can't wait to see Catching Fire, Hunger Games? or better yet The Book Thief? I'm looking forward to both!
As the end of the year approaches I reflect on the awful status of our economy, the mickey mouse government and the nuclear option...well before I get blown to bits let me make you aware I am thankful for health, family, and friends and of course my readers! I'm researching other avenues to write about here and hope to post helpful, informative or friendly graphic, publishing or artistic idea's this coming year..... it can only get better! See you soon!
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Today's Meet The Author - Tina Gerow
Glad to
speak with you today Tina Gerow (aka Cassie Ryan)!
Tell us
about all about you…as the non- author first then about you as author.
I have a
varied background. I’ve done many
different things – band director, Dominos pizza manager, House manager of a
30-plex movie theatre, Business Systems Analyst, Technologies Project and
Program Manager and Starbucks barista, but I’ve always wanted to be an
author. I live in Arizona with my hubby,
my 19-year-old son, two feisty cats, one king snake, and several fish…
I'm a
multi published author under two pen names. I write sensual paranormal romance
as Tina Gerow and erotic paranormal romance as Cassie Ryan.
I'm also an experienced line editor and a public speaker on many topics both motivational and writing related and teach online writing classes several times throughout the year.
So basically I'm a slacker ex band director with an outgoing personality and an overactive imagination that I've put to work for the safety of myself and others :)
I'm also an experienced line editor and a public speaker on many topics both motivational and writing related and teach online writing classes several times throughout the year.
So basically I'm a slacker ex band director with an outgoing personality and an overactive imagination that I've put to work for the safety of myself and others :)
How long
have you been writing?
I’ve written
something or other all of my life and always dreamed of a day when I’d see one
of my books on the shelf, but I didn’t start writing seriously until 2003 when
my husband encouraged me to stop talking about it and DO it J
I joined RWA and hit the ground running.
What
inspires you to write in the style that you do? (what genre do you write in?
does it vary?)
I grew up
loving anything paranormal in both books and movies. And when I hit my teen years I started
stealing books off of my brother’s bookshelf – Piers Anthony, Anne McCaffrey,
Terry Brooks and a whole host of others.
I actually HATED romance for a long time. I had read a few of my mom’s Harlequins when I was ten or eleven (she probably still
doesn’t know about that!) The heroines
at that time were wimpy and whiney – or at least to me. I wanted them to stand up for themselves,
wield their own swords and kick some ass!
But then when I went on a vacation with a friend in my late 20’s and I
ran out of books on the beach so she loaned me Nora Robert’s Born in Fire. It wasn’t paranormal, but I fell in love with
the characters, the vivid descriptions, and yes, the romance of it all. From there, I read the rest of that series
and began to branch out to other romance authors and found some paranormal
romance authors like Cheyenne McCray and Sherrilyn Kenyon who became
favorites. Then I began to think I might
actually be able to write in that genre, so when I joined RWA that’s where I
started. My first book Into a Dangerous
Mind, was about a psychic serial killer and has gone on to win several awards
and be published in Spanish, Portuguese and Turkish. It will be available on audio book soon! I only have one book out that doesn’t have
any paranormal in it – it’s Take It Off and is a fun little contemporary
romance with lots of snark – and snark is in ALL of my books. I tried my hand at erotic paranormal romance
several years ago and Kensington picked me up for a three book deal. That’s how Cassie Ryan was born. Those are all paranormal and all smokin’ hot J
I don’t see myself foregoing either the paranormal or the romance any
time soon. I love both writing and
reading them, so I think they are here to stay, at least for me!
How many
words per day do you like to write? Is that a daily goal or weekly goal?
I like to
TRY for at least three thousand words a day, but since my brain blowout a few
years ago, that goal has been a tough one to keep up with. Since then on a good day I can get in a few
thousand, but that involves at least a few naps. Sometimes instead I’ll give myself a time goal
– things like “I’m going to write for two hours today” and then depending on
how I’m feeling when that two hours is done, I can always extend it.
What is the
name of your first book? How long ago was
It printed?
Where did you market it and did you have a good sale number?
Into a
Dangerous Mind was my first book. I
published it originally with a small press publisher who has since gone out of
business. Its first release was in
2005. For marketing I took out ads at
several review sites like Romance Junkies, Fallen Angel Reviews and took
promotional items to Romantic Times convention and RWA Nationals. That’s back when My Space was the big social
media outlet, so I did promo on there as well.
It didn’t hit the market with a huge bang, but over time it is still my
best selling Tina Gerow book to date. In
the last few years my agent has sold the foreign language rights so that now
it’s available not only in English, but in Spanish, Portuguese and
Turkish. And I’m finally putting my
audio book rights into play and should have that available before Christmas of
this year.
I understand
you have a book series. How many books are in the series (or will be in the
series when completed)? How did you come to write a series?
I have a few
series under both pen names. As Tina I
have the Maiden series. There will be
four in that series when it’s done. The
only reason there are four is that there are four sisters in it and each one of
them will get their own story. I wrote
the first two and then that publisher went under so I never got to publish the
last two in that series. I still want to
go back and finish those and publish them on my own. People ask me all the time when I’m going to
do that so I need to make it happen in the next few years.
As Cassie
Ryan I have two series. The first one is
the Seduction series – Ceremony, Vision and Trio. I sent in a partial of Ceremony and when
Audrey LaFehr called to offer me the contract she asked me if I could make it
into a three book series. To be honest I
had no idea how I was going to do it when I assured her that of course I
could! But I did it and Ceremony of
Seduction is my best selling Cassie Ryan book to date and is in its second
printing. My second series for Cassie is
the Sisters of Darkness series. There
were supposed to be two more books after Seducing the Succubus and The Demon
and the Succubus, but Berkley didn’t pick up the last two books in the
series. So I need to go back and write
those two as well. Fans are already
asking for those so it’s definitely on my To Do list. When I pitched the overall idea for the book
they asked me if I could write it in such a way so it would be a series, so
that’s how that one ended up as a four book series.
How do you
feel about online book reading? Do you have a book that you’ve written for a
digital shelf like ibooks or kindle?
I love
reading both online and in paperback.
Ebooks are really convenient and I have a kindle reader on my iPhone
that I use quite often. And sometimes
the e versions are cheaper than the print, which is nice when it happens. All of my books are available in e-formats –
pretty much any e-format you can imagine, in fact. If you go out to your favorite ebook site and
search by Tina Gerow or Cassie Ryan you should find them all.
Do you think
it’s worth to ask buyers to purchase a digital novel for the same amount of $
as a print novel?
I,
personally, think that’s ridiculous. An
electronic book should definitely be less expensive than a print book. I know there is labor involved in both
versions, but electronic doesn’t have printing and storage and postage and all
of that involved. Authors normally get
less royalties on those versions as well, which I also don’t agree with. But unless we self publish them, we don’t get
a say in how much the books are offered for.
How do you
think the change in the publishing industry affects authors today?
I know more
and more authors are self publishing. I
even know several New York Times best selling authors who have said they will
never publish another book through New York or small press. It’s going to be self pubbing all the way for
them. They have more control and they
make more money that way. Since they
already have a solid reader following, they can make quite a good living at it,
as they are already proving.
Authors have
more choices but with those choices comes more work on the author’s side. If we choose to self publish, not only are we
now writing the books, but we are finding ways to get them edited on our own,
finding and working with cover artists, figuring out marketing, copyright
filing, distribution and a whole host of other things that a traditional
publisher usually deals with. There are
definite plusses to both traditional publishing and self publishing and I think
authors owe it to themselves to stay educated on both and choose the best path
for them, which sometimes involves BOTH paths.
If you could
give a budding author advice what would it be?
Talk to
successful writers and make good connections.
A LOT of this business is about networking, so take the time to make
good connections, not only with other authors, but librarians, book cover
artists, editors, agents, readers and everyone else you can. Not only is it a great way to keep yourself
sane by surrounding yourself with other people who “get” the fact that you
constantly hear other people “talking” inside your head, but when you need it,
your network is a great place for information and support.
Beyond that
– ALWAYS read and follow ALL submissions guidelines. It will save you a LOT of pain AND rejections
J
And
write. Write lots and write even
more. And don’t forget to read!
And last –
don’t ever give up on your dream. Don’t
let anyone steal it or talk you out of it.
Grab it with both hands, invest in it and go after it! I fulfilled my dream of being a published
author, then my dream of being multi published and even award winning. My next one is to be a #1 Best Selling Author
on the New York Times list. Hey – go big
or go home, right? And I’m not giving up
until I get there!
Can you
recommend our readers a publisher that you like to work with?
There are several
great publishers out there but I’ve only worked with a few. Both small presses that I worked with are no
longer around, but I’m also published with Kensington (their Aphrodisia line as
Cassie Ryan) and Berkley (which is part of Penguin – also as Cassie Ryan) My best advice is to get plugged into a
writing network like RWA or even friend lots of writers on Facebook and pay
attention to what’s said, and what’s NOT said.
Ask around and form your own opinions.
Also, read books from those publishers and pay attention to the quality
of their products.
If you could
be a famous author, who would it be and why?
While I
don’t want to be long dead J I think I would choose Jane Austen. I love her books, but I also love her
spirit. Think about the spirit she had
to have to be a female writer during the time she lived in. I think she and I would’ve been good friends
since neither of us are wilting flowers.
I love that all of her stories delved so deeply into characters and
themes that they are still beloved today.
I would love to leave that kind of legacy behind when I go.
Tell us
where we can find your book(s) and provide a link!
Thank you!
Tina Gerow
books:
Into a
Dangerous Mind –
Stone
Maiden:
Fire Maiden:
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Fire-Maiden-ebook/dp/B0087HC5OM/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1378234668&sr=8-1&keywords=Fire+Maiden%2C+Tina+Gerow
Take It Off:
Vortex
Blues:
Hansel &
Gretel’s Real Estate Ventures:
Fantasy
Quest:
Books written as Cassie Ryan
Ceremony of
Seduction
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ceremony-of-seduction-cassie-ryan/1100308573?ean=9780758226488
Vision of Seduction:
Nook &
Print: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/vision-of-seduction-cassie-ryan/1009150431?ean=9780758220660
Trio of
Seduction:
Nook &
Print: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/trio-of-seduction-cassie-ryan/1100306553?ean=9780758220677
Seducing the
Succubus:
Nook &
Print: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/seducing-the-succubus-cassie-ryan/1100256599?ean=9780425236840
The Demon
and the Succubus:
Nook &
Print: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/demon-and-the-succubus-cassie-ryan/1100253298?ean=9780425239063
The Pleasure Project (an Anthology with other
authors)
Tuesday, August 06, 2013
The Changing Times: Children's Books and Cover Art
All summer long I encouraged my children to read, “Yes,
please read this, please read that, whatever is of interest to you Sam I am”. Of course
that excitement lasted all of about the first week of summer and then it was onto video games, swimming,
volleyball, playing with pals, vacation or just hanging out became their
norm. This drove me nuts since I really
enjoyed my down time as a kid with a good summer book, why shouldn’t they? Isn’t that what summer is for? I mean the
sunshine on my back while laying in the grass, the whispering wind through an open window, a rainy day on the patio,
in my room or a tree house hideaway….. ahh nostalgia. What made reading those books so appealing? (I’m not even that old!)
This got me thinking about children’s books and cover art… isn’t the old
adage don’t judge a book by its cover? After all, content is important! With the shift in the past decade from
manual illustrations to computer graphic design, books and the covers surely reflect the
NEW times we now live in. No wonder my children didn’t want to read a “book” as
I know it, they were reading them on the computer. Here are a few differences I
found intriguing.
Comparisons: Now and then
Drawing vs. computer graphics – cover art now is just different than it used to be. Shapes are bolder,
images are morphed, touched up, digitally sketched, pigmented, blurred etc. FONTS
are amazing… no graphic tape needed here, neither sharpies or pencils make a difference… nah! Instant graphic design!
Color then vs. colors now
Color back in the hay day of printing wasn’t as thrilling or it took allot of work to mix to make the color you wanted your images to have, not to mention the price tag of production.
A Page turner indeed: No more paper cuts, no more folding
corners or book markers to save pages. Digital book pages turn with a gentle
glide, a page is marked with touch of a corner, closing a book with the touch of a button and putting it
back on a shelf, tucked away on a digital page. The cover can later be found twinkling on a surreal bookshelf... waiting for one click. It seems that tangible ownership of a book collection isn’t as
important to kids as the visual “collection” of them now. BUT, the main thing
my kids enjoy is book Interaction. One could “Click here” and hear the
character speak, or “click there” to see an animation. FUN!
The scent of a good book is lost – I never realized the scent of
ink made me as happy as it did until I couldn’t smell it anymore. The kids will
miss out on this point! For sure!
Check these links out for an interesting view of then and now
children’s cover art for books – some of it is downright hilarious while others
are quite offensive!
Tuesday, July 02, 2013
Today's Meet The Author: C.M. Fields
Glad to
speak with C.M. Fields today!
Tell us
about all about you…as the non- author first then about you as author.
I
am 42, an engineer and working for the high tech industry. I have more than 15
years of experience in this career and for a while I was sort of burned out,
gained weight and had lost my mojo. As I don’t have a family yet and wanted to
be prepared to have one, I took it upon myself to get in shape, live a healthy
life and I educated myself on nutrition and exercise. With a mix of nutrition,
regular workouts and yoga, I went from 220 pounds down to 165. Although I still
want to improve and stay fit for the rest of my life, I am comfortable with the
goals I have reached so far.
As
an author, one of the things that drive me is a passion for traveling and
experiencing new cultures. This passion has taken me to many different places
and has helped me expand my views of the world. Working in the high tech
industry with virtual teams gives you an access and a view to the world that
opens your mind and gives you a bigger picture. My first novel is a project
that I kicked around in my head for about two or three years. I would start
writing something and then would stop. Then I would start something else and
stop again. Eventually I realized that I simply had to plan my story and write
it, so I did. I put together a rough idea of what I wanted to have in each
chapter. Once I had this, things just flowed. I would come back from work, play
some music and things would just happen. As a self-published author, I realized
soon the road is long and there’s no easy way to make your message known. Just
like everything, you have to be persistent and believe in your message, stay at
it and keep going. So, this is where I’m at. I believe in the overall message of
my story and will continue trying to spread it.
How long
have you been writing?
I
have been writing since my early twenties. First I started with essays and
short stories. Over time, I realized friends and classmates liked what I wrote.
So, it eventually evolved into a desire to write a book. Off and on, it has
been all this long… approximately twenty years. Looking back, I gotta say, it’s
a long time! I guess I have to start
upping the gears and be more prolific.
What
inspires you to write in the style that you do? (what genre do you write in?
does it vary?)
This
is my first novel. What inspired me to write in this style is that I wanted to
give an overall message. There is a story in the book and I try to share my
view of where things might be heading to; I felt I had to make it more generic,
hence I chose this style.
In
my next book, I will most probably choose a story in the first person, it will
be a way more personal story and so will have to be in this style.
How many
words per day do you like to write? Is that a daily goal or weekly goal?
I
approach writing as a way to open your mind and your heart, as a way to pour
your heart out with what’s bouncing around in your mind. It’s a sort of
therapy, if you will. So, being that it’s something somewhat emotional and
whimsical, there are days when I was close to writing an entire chapter, and
there were other days where nothing came and I simply spent my time correcting
things in the story, adding and removing little things here and there.
What is the
name of your first book? How long ago was
It printed?
Where did you market it and did you have a good sale number?
The
name of my first book is “A Life as a Stock”. It was first printed in September
2011. I published it and marketed it through iUniverse and it’s available in
amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, Sony books, and other major online retailers.
My
sales have not been what I expected and I think it’s one of the things about self-publishing.
You have to try different formulas and find out what works and what doesn’t. Right
now, I had read different posts from successful authors that a low price for
the electronic version of a book is something that has worked for them. So, I’m
right now working on finding out how to lower the price of the electronic
version with the major online retailers. I have gotten overall good reviews
(you can find one at The Urban Times online: http://bit.ly/XJJ501) though.
Will your
novel become a series?
Right
now, I don’t have a series in mind. And it’s funny, I have been asked about
this before. Maybe I should consider it.
How do you
feel about online book reading? Do you have a book that you’ve written for a
digital shelf like ibooks or kindle?
Even
though I did not write my book specifically for the electronic version, I think
it’s a great new platform. Everything I have read tells that it’s a growing
market and platform. I’m all up for it!
Do you think
it’s worth to ask buyers to purchase a digital novel for the same amount of $
as a print novel?
I
don’t. When I first went into this I went with the same price thinking that
that was the way things were done. As I have learned more about it, it’s clear
that you can’t. And it makes all the sense in the world. With an electronic
version you’re not using paper or ink to produce a physical product. You’re
simply selling your story, that’s all.
How do you
think the change in the publishing industry affects authors today?
My
perspective is that with every major change, you have to focus on the big
picture. It’s great because now everyone who has a story has access to publish
it and have a shot at doing so. It’s not so great because anyone who self
publishes has to go through a learning curve, has to try different formulas and
find what works and what doesn’t. That assumes that your story is good and has
potential; if it’s not, then that’s a different story.
If you could
give a budding author advice what would it be?
Make
it look professional. Proof read a lot, polish your message and don’t give up.
Nobody’s going to do the work for you, you have to knock doors, try different
formulas and, most importantly, you have to realize that most successful
authors became successful until their second, third or later novel.
Don’t
spend your money unnecessarily with publishing packages that promise you the
stars. There’s a lot of cost effective alternatives. Look for those. Reach out
to the book clubs and introduce yourself to them, give books away. At the end
of day, it’s about making connections.
Can you
recommend our readers a publisher that you like to work with?
The
only one I have worked with is iUniverse.
If you could
be a famous author, who would it be and why?
Gary
Jennings. He had a way to transport you to the world he was describing. You
could see and smell the world in the story, you could feel the dust in your
feet.
Tell us
where we can find your book(s) and provide a link!
Thank you C.M.!
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