Wow, I can’t believe the day has finally arrived! I’m another step closer to releasing my first indie-pubbed title, SOLSTICE ISLAND. Today, I’d like to share the cover with you.
I designed this myself, and was really pleased to have found two models who matched my characters in appearance so closely. As a result, I’m pretty jazzed about how it turned out. What do you think?
SOLSTICE ISLAND is a sweet (PG-13) romantic adventure novella pairing an intrepid woman with a withdrawn man during the search for a mythical sea creature. I’d like to extend a “thank you” to everyone who shared their input when I was waffling on several title possibilities a few months ago. SOLSTICE ISLAND was the runaway winner.
As a refresher, here’s the blurb:
Can an ancient leviathan work magic between a practical man and an idealistic woman?
Rylie Carswell is an amateur cryptozoologist in search of a mythical creature, the Sea Goliath. In order to reach Solstice Island, a location the ancient leviathan is rumored to haunt, she’s forced to hire charter boat captain, Daniel Decatur.
Initially, Daniel wants nothing to do with the trip or the fool woman waving double payment in his face. Convinced she’s yet another loony treasure hunter looking for gold on the remote island, he reluctantly agrees. An embittered neighbor wants to have his charter license yanked, so the extra cash will help him stay afloat.
It doesn’t take long for Daniel to realize Rylie is after the same beast his parents were tracking when they mysteriously vanished ten years earlier. He’s avoided all links to cryptozoology ever since, but the smart and sexy cryptid hunter has him second-guessing his oath and wondering what he’s signed on for.
Warning: A family legacy, glowing plankton and rough waters.
~ooOOoo~
I’ve got my fingers crossed I will have this released before the month is out and hope you’ll consider adding it to your TBR list. Thanks for sharing in my cover reveal today. I’m pumped! 😀
From the Pen of Mae Clair 
Hi Mae,
I’m later than usual, so I get to comment first. I love the cover. The models are great. Sometimes people pick models who I don’t really find that attractive. Not only attractive, these two look like fun. I will definitely put this on my TBR list. It’s after midnight, gotta get to bed. Great job!
Mary E. Merrell
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Wow, you were up late,Mary. I did a midnight night on Tuesday and was toast all day Wednesday as a result, LOL. Thanks for checking out my cover reveal. I thought those models were gorgeous and they fit Rylie and Daniel so well. Happy to know Solstice Island is on your TBR!
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It’s a beautiful cover. Congratulations. Yes, I’ll add it to my TBR pile. Well done!
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Hi, Annette. It’s lovely to see you here! Thanks so much for the well wishes. I’m delighted to be on your TBR list!
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Beautiful cover, Mae! Love it!
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Thanks so much, Jennifer. It’s always wonderful to have you drop by. Thanks for sharing in my cover reveal!
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Cover looks awesome & it sounds great! Congrats, Mae!
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Hi, L.J. Thanks for dropping by to check it out. I’m thrilled you like it. I had such fun designing the cover!
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You are crazy talented! I love this cover — and I’ve been so excited to read this. Can’t wait!
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LOL! Thanks, Donna. That makes my day! 🙂
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Mae – I love your cover! The colors and the feel of it are great! I can’t wait to read this! 🙂 Congrats!
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Aww, thanks, Lorraine. I love anything with a coastal feel to it and was hoping to capture that for Solstice Island. Thanks so much for sharing in my reveal! 🙂
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Beautiful Cover Mae! You are one talented woman and I am just so excited to read it! Can’t wait….and congratulations!
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Hi, Debbie! You’re so sweet. Thank you so much for dropping by. I always love when you visit and it’s wonderful to know you’re excited about the read. YAY!
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It’s a beautiful cover, Mae. Can I ask how you design covers? It’s something I’d like to be able to do myself one day. You did a great job. Looking forward to reading Solstice Island. PS:I love the warning.
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Hi, Emma! You are always so wonderful in keeping up with my posts 🙂 Thanks for sharing in this one. I was really excited about it. As for the cover, I used Photoshop to design it. I purchased three separate pieces of stock photography from BigstockPhoto.com (the two images and the beige center piece) then sized them accordingly in Photoshop using layers, and added the text in two separate layers.
And thanks for letting me know you liked the warning. I was partial to that too 🙂
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Thanks. I tried learning photoshop last year after taking a free 30 day trial, but couldn’t get my head around it. I’ll have to work on the old technical skills. Well done.
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I’ve picked up bits and pieces over years of using it. Definitely a hard program to grasp….there’s just so much to it, I would love to find some formal classes for it. In the meantime I plod ahead and pick up what I can when I can. There are probably other programs out there for creating covers but Photoshop is the one I’m most familiar with.
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Ooops! The green background for the title is a separate layer tool. Photoshop is a wonderful too. I wished I were more versed in it than I am!
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Love the cover, Mae! Best of luck with the release.
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Thanks so much, Stanalei. I’m excited to have another release right around the corner!
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Well Emma asked the question I was going to. I just don’t have the patience to learn photoshop. But I did do the banner on my blog. The cover is very professional looking and I know how fussy you are for the models. That’s the hardest part I think
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I’ve been years learning photoshop and I still know so little (it’s such a powerful program). I do a good deal of graphic design work on my day job, so I was fortunate to have some experience. And yeah, the cover models are such an element. I lucked out finding such a good match. Thanks for dropping by, Sue!
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Love it. Congrats, Mae. You did a great job with the cover. It’s amazing how many skills an author must have. Photoshop as well? Yes, tick. We are some of the most technically-savvy people on the planet. LOL.
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Thanks, Joanne. And you are so right….it isn’t isn’t just about writing anymore when you’re an author. Thanks for dropping by to share in my cover reveal!
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It is SO on my TBR list! I am very impressed Miss Mae that you did the cover, yourself. I barely can color in the lines. I am quite artistically challenged I think. It must feel great, though, to accomplish so much for your own book, and I am very chuffed (happy as dry nappie) for you!
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Beautiful cover! I can’t wait for the release. It’s going on my TBR list.
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Hi, Alicia. It’s wonderful to have you drop in and share my cover reveal. Thanks so much! Happy to make your TBR! 🙂
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I’m dropping in late, but it was worth the wait. Mae, it is lovely. I really like the beach walk photo and it all works together. I went to Goodreads to see about adding it to my list but didn’t find it. I’ll keep checking.
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Hi, Gemma. Thanks for checking Goodreads. I Don’t have it there yet, but I plan to correct that as soon as I get it up on Amazon. Thanks for your lovely words and sharing in my special moment. Late is fine, LOL!
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A very exciting project, all the best for it, Mae. The cover is lovely and the story sound great.
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Thanks, Daisy. It was fun ( and a wee bit challenging) to write a novella, and I loved the creative challenge of designing the cover!
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Oh my gosh, I love the cover, title, and concept. Can’t wait for the book! I would like to hear more about the technical process you went through to create the book cover. Congratulations on the sun breaking through.
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Hi Flossie. Thanks so much for such a lovely comment! For the book cover I just used stock photography shots then worked with layers in a Photoshop. As authors, I think we always have an image of what we’d like to see on book covers, but finding something workable with stock photography can be challenging. Thanks so much for dropping by and sharing in cover reveal. It’s lovely to have so many friends here!
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You’re a hit, Mae. Can’t wait to read this. Cool cover!
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Aww, you rock. Thanks so much, Diane. I ‘m jazzed about it 😀
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Mae – What can I say but Wow. I knew you before your first novel was published and you’ve been on an unbelievable quest ever since. I love your cover and isn’t it nice to have control over aspects of your work. You’ve lived with your characters running around in your head for a time (possibly a long time) and now they come alive with publication. Did I catch a hint of a sequel here? Could this be a prequel of a series? You mentioned the indi-publication, does that equate to a print on paper plus available on line? Excuse my lack of knowledge here but I still get confused over the ‘indi’ classification. However we read Solstice Island, we’re guaranteed exquisite prose traveling from the first word to the end.
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Sheri, you always know exactly what to say to make me feel like I’m on cloud nine. You were right there with me when I was just starting out and it’s been wonderful having you cheer me on through this journey. And I did consider making this a series, although with so many stories kicking around in my these days, I’m not sure that will happen. I don’t think I will do print on this one since it’s a short novella, but I hope to do print on Eclipse Lake (coming out in June) which will. E my first indie (self-pubbed) novel. Thanks so much for stopping by to share in my cover reveal! 🙂
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Mae that is such a lovely cover and I love that you did it yourself. Ubertalented to not only have created it but also to have done the Photoshop yourself – doubly impressive cause those programs intimidate me like crazy.
Once you get this out there it will be on my kindle just like your others. 🙂
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Aww, thanks, Heather. You’re so sweet 🙂 Thanks so much for you’re lovely comments. I’m hoping over time I’ll get even better with Photoshop. There are several elements I’m still trying to master!
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