My guest blogger
today is Sheri McGathy, author and cover artist. Welcome, Sheri! Tell us a
little about yourself and how you got started in writing.
Sheri:
Hi Elizabeth, thank you for having me as a guest on your
blog!
I’ve
always been a storyteller. I loved to daydream and pretend when I was a child,
loved to believe that there really were elves and magic and faeries. Fantasy is
my love. I would sit for hours and tell my dog, Babe, stories. He was a great
listener :) I didn't actually try to write a novel until my late twenties or
early thirties. Before that, I wrote mainly fantasy poems--very long, story poems.
And I am not sure I would have attempted to write a novel if a friend who had
read the 48-page poem of Elfen Gold hadn’t
encouraged me to turn the poem into a novel. At the time I thought, what the
heck, I’ll give it a go. I’ve
been givin’ it a go
ever since.
As I mentioned, I loved to daydream and pretend when I
was a child, and in a way, when I plot a novel now, I still do this. I daydream
the scenes, imagine the characters, their personalities, how they interact with
the others in the story, and how they will deal with the challenges I give
them. By the time I sit down to write the story, I know my characters fairly
well.
Tell us about your
books.
Sheri:
I mainly write fantasy, but I have done a few ghost
stories too.
My first novel was Elfen
Gold - A Storyteller Tale. This was the novel that was birthed from a poem!
And this story gave birth to another favorite of mine, The Storyteller. I use
his narrative voice in several stories.
Blurb from Elfen
Gold:
“Gather
round. Aye, gather near, and I will spin you a tale of magic from a time long
since lost to lore. Come and I will tell of elves and the kingdom of Ra-Jee, a
kingdom now forgotten in the mists of enchantment.
“This
tale is one of sacrifice and sorrow, yet one of hope offered to a future not
yet written.” The
Storyteller curled his gnarled fingers over the worn top of his cane and
smiled. “And it is a
tale of a young elfen maiden named Ra-May and the human male, Michall, she is
destined to meet.
“Come,
join me as I tell of these two very different and unique individuals, brought
together by fate, and guided by ancient magic as they venture forward to save
Ra-Jee--or die
trying.
“And
so,” whispered the
old Storyteller, “the
tale begins...”
Next came Within
the Shadow of Stone, a journey through legend and myth to the time of the
standing stones. . .
Then a string of short stories and novellas followed:
Omnibus
With four shorts
~ THE BIRTH OF SPRING~
~ THIEF OF DREAMS~
~THE ANCIENT ONE~
~WHERE LIES BEAUTY~
Ghostly Tales
(These stories originally appeared in the Anthology Trespassing Time)
~The Graveyard Dance
~Maxie
~What’s a Ghost to Do?
~Forgotten, But Not Gone
A duet with fellow author and friend Shannah Biondine:
Winds of
Forevermore
My story Summersong
is one of my personal favorites, as well as Where
Lies Beauty from Omnibus Collection.
Promises and The
Gift
I also was a contributor in The Complete Guide to Writing
Paranormal Novels: Volume 1
Why did you decide
to start a cover art business, and when did you start it?
Sheri:
I won’t
lie, I needed a second source of income since I hadn’t really written much for some time. As to
why cover art? Well, aside from the fact I enjoy creating them, I wanted, or
needed, to be creative, I wanted to tell a story with the art, and I wanted to
create affordable covers that wouldn’t break the bank. As to when did I start
doing cover art? It’s
been a few years now, I am horrible about time, but I started probably in 2011.
Do you have a
special technique for coming up with cover art? Do you work with authors?
Sheri:
I work with authors the best I can. There’s lots of ways I work.
Sometimes the author supplies all the art, and I ask them questions about the
book, what they think they might want. If they don’t supply the art, I ask even more questions.
I want to get a feel for the story before I go hunting for stock art. That’s the writer in me
searching for the story with the art, what art can I use to help convey the
story, etc. And most importantly, what art can I actually work with. Sometimes
I love the art but it just doesn’t fit with everything else. Sometimes I can hit
it on the first attempt if I get a really good feel from the author about the
story; sometimes it takes me a while :)
How many covers
have you done for specific books, and how many have you done as examples?
Sheri:
Truth? I have no idea! I create a lot of pre-mades, I
love crafting those. But I have done a fair share of custom covers. While not
all the customs are up on my site, you can see some by going here:
Just click on the text below each album cover to see all
the covers posted for each author.
Pre-made link
Do you feel that
as a writer you have an advantage in creating cover art authors will love?
Sheri:
Maybe or not. I don’t know. I just know that once I get
started, sometimes, just like my characters, the cover design speaks to me.
What’s
your favorite cover of all you’ve created?
Sheri:
They are all my favorite. :-) For various reasons.
Where can people
see your covers?
Sheri:
This is the home page of my personal cover design
website:
There is an email subscription signup that will email the
subscribers any time I post a new pre-made.
And this is my Facebook page:
Sheri, thanks so much for posting today.
Thanks so much for inviting me to be your guest!
Check out Sheri McGathy's books and cover art. You'll love them!
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