April 2018

So this month finds me starting a new course in Advanced Photoshop. I hope it will enable me to make my book covers more interesting and engaging. I realise that although the ideas I may have had for them have been okay, the work I've done to them to prepare for use on a glossy printed cover could have been better.

I know from my ACL Course at Maldon that I'm not the best photographer and never can be. I have some small skill and talent but I think because of my specific motivation - to create good images for use on page or website - I do not have the time nor artistry to put everything I can into the photographic side of things. 

This is at odds with my natural need to do the best I can - yet I have to spend most of my time around the written word and want to use the images I take to enhance the reader experience. I remember getting a new book or vinyl long player and spending time just looking at the covers, the gatefold sleeve and artwork used on either or both formats.

I want (and need) my book covers to have something about them that draws you in but thus far the only ones I've been anywhere close to being happy with have been 'Dances of Friendship' and 'Moments in Time' in print; plus 'Reflections - Memories of a Woman' in the Kindle Store. 'empty Boats' had a lot of promise and will be updated if ever it gets to a second print run, but it failed to have the impact I wanted it to.

So, I have a lot of hopes for this next course and will check back with you all soon about how its going.

​Until then, stay safe and keep reading...