Wednesday, September 23, 2015











Are you ready to get your spook on with some zombie post apocalypse in your romance?
Two and a Half Humans on sale now EXCLUSIVELY at New Concepts Publishing.

It'€™s the end of the world as we know it!  And Babe, you're just Fine.

Marilyn Jayne and her partner Derrick Lassiter aren'€™t running anymore, unless it's leading refugees out of the city. They'€™ve found a primo spot right in the middle of zombie country and simply surviving. But surviving isn't living. When passions arise and a new guy in the neighborhood interests them both, sparks and bullets begin to fly.

Beau Delacarthy, is more than a little confused. He's been on his own since the end of the world trying to control his inhuman instincts while avoiding the real monsters. His sweet ex-fiance` is holed up with an ex-cop. He may not be sure exactly what he is, but he sure likes the dynamics between Marilyn and Derrick -- maybe a little too much. Even more frightening, the duo like him just fine.


Published: August 2015
Length: Novella/Category
Word Count: 39,099
Genre: Futuristic Romance
Rating: Spicy
Available formats: PDF, RTF, Epub, HTML, Mobipocket (.prc)

BSG/MMD2252014

http://www.newconceptspublishing.com/products/two-and-a-half-humans

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Why do you need to update your Resume / CV?




Why do you need to update your 
Resume / CV?

If you are like a lot of workers, you probably do not have an updated resume or CV. I'ts possible that you think, "I've been at the same job for 10 years. I don't plan on any changes, so I don't need one." Or you just may jot down what you need and move along. That's good enough, right?

Wrong.

Oh, that is so very wrong. Even a very basic laborer should have their resume updated once a year.

1) You should have a good idea of your own value.
 -   So many people have no idea of how valuable the everyday skills they have learned are when either looking at wage increases, bonuses, or just simply understanding your job requirements and how those skills could be used elsewhere.

2) It is always good to be prepared.
-   We've come a long way from the mass layoffs in the past and many companies are beginning to see the value of keeping already trained workers at a higher wage rather than training a new batch of noobs every 6 months to a year. If you do wind up with a bit of bad luck, you will not be frantically trying to figure out what to do. Preplanning with a resume often lends itself to discussions of unemployment backup plans.

3) Know what educational gaps need to be filled.
- By knowing what you CAN do, you find out ways to make yourself more valuable my learning new skills. You don't have to go back to college.There are plenty of free and low budget training courses online. Check your job to see if they have training programs. Find out what opportunities your local library has.

4) Opportunities for promotion or advancement.
-   Even if you are not scoping Indeed.com or Monster.com for a new job, many companies hire from within. Having your resume filled out allows you to make sure you have all the requirements ready and apply early.

Buffi BeCraft
buffibecraft.net

Releas 4/15/15 for Bride of the Wolf Man.... and other ideas




Coming Soon: 4/15/2015Jack Talbot committed the unthinkable crime of touching the Pack Alpha's daughter, Allyson Diaz. Not only did he make love to the precious human living amongst the pack of werewolves, but he mated her. He paid a very big price for doing so, too.

Allyson Diaz lives a sheltered life as a perfect princess, but inside her is a rebellious spirit she calls the Huntress. Not even the alter-ego can save her from heartbreak when her father discovers she's mated the lesser wolf, Jack Talbot. Lies swirl around the Broken Paw Pack and in the middle is a love so deep it is like no other.


*****

I'm so very excited that Bride of the Wolf Man is finally finished and almost out. Bella and I worked hard hammering out this story. Since I did the main plotting and she did a lot of the keeping characters in line and questioning where it was actually going, we had to collaborate a lot. And I had to rewrite a lot especially after she got a hold of it to make her changes, lol.

I'd never actually written a story with such an  innocent character the beginning, and I can't really say I won't again, but it was an experience that pushed me out of my own comfort zone.

The story itself is dear to me because I had so much trouble that I called my mother a lot while rewriting he beginning for the 5th time. She was always a steady cheerleader for me, knowing that I'd get it right soon and listening to me bitch, moan, and complain about how it 'wasn't right' before I came to the conclusion that it had to start at the very beginning while the hero and heroine were innocents. 

So the hard part is done and all that's left is the wait for publication. What do you guys think next for this theme? Bride of the Monster (Frankenstin themed?) The Mummy and Me? How about The Creature at the Black Lagoon? Something along those lines with a twist sound fun!

Hmmm... I'll have to ask Belladonna Bordeaux and see if she either rolls her eyes at my weirdness or jumps completely on the crazy wagon!

Friday, March 27, 2015

Dogwood Book Festival

Tomorrow is the day!
It's been awhile since I've had an actual author signing type event. I've got giveaways and such! Hope to see you there!

I'll be at the Palestine Public Library 10 AM to 2 PM!


Saturday, June 21, 2014

Do It Yourself Cover Art - The Basics for an Extremely Competitive Market


Do It Yourself Cover Art

The Basics for an Extremely Competitive Market

 

Okay.  Face it. Creating cover art is psychological warfare. Your book you are designing a cover for is competing against approximately some 17 thousand releases total in a day. You heard me right. 17 THOUSAND releases. I heard this news on a Thursday in the middle of the month— not a traditional publisher release day. So think about how many releases there are coming out on the popular beginning of the month or end of month days.  

 

Now this number includes all genres and authors of varying talent. But still, 17 THOUSAND. And your book has to stand out enough from the pack with your marketing and social networking to garner sales.  Face it, your book WILL be judged by it's cover first, it's tag and blurb second, and it's content last.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Reviewers these days will take your cover and take into account if they bother to leave a review at all. And yes, while no 'real' author considers Kindle, Goodreads, or BN reviews to have merit. Those reader reviews do have enough weight to make us trip completely out on a social networking site when some reader turns into a nasty troll just to bring you down. (All Amazon, Kindle, Goodreads, and Barnes and Noble trademarks and copyrights are acknowledged in this article.)

 

Here some of the tips.

 

Here are the first 3 things that I start out with in mind when beginning a cover.

 

1) THEME- This has to do with the 'feel' of my author's book. If the overall tone of the book is light and funny, I will try to use brighter colors and some sunshine to convey that feeling. If the tone of the book is dark, then I try to use dark colors. Unless you are Janet Evanovitch or Nora Roberts, (All Trademarks and Copyrights pertaining to Janet Evanovitch or Nora Roberts are acknowledged) or some other wildly famous author who can sell a book by the name only and forget what the cover looks like.

 

2) What is TRENDING and selling ONLINE- Funny. While what is selling for a particular NY Times author in the store may not be sellable as an online book. For a time cartoon style covers were very popular in the physical bookstores for certain funny popular authors. I thought that this style would fit perfectly with a couple of particular authors. My authors were wildly funny with a great story that moved at a fast pace. Sadly, I was wrong and had to reissue covers because the reviewers hated non-photo cartoon style covers that I'd put in close to 40 or more collective hours carefully putting together.

 

So now, unless I ever get my hands on a Manga artist, I will not do cartoon style covers, no matter how fun they are to work with. Photos seem to sell best for adult books. “Clinch or Bodice Ripper” covers or books with the couple for the sexual interest of the reader for adult romance. (Example. For F/M- either a hot couple or a hot guy as the centerpiece. For M/M- always a hot guy or a hot guy couple. For F/F- always a hot female. For ménage or more, target the audience of the main POV. For YA books it’s a little more iffy there. YA covers so much more than the 13-18 year old group that most seriously think that it does. What I've found is that YA usually incorporates 15-25ish age group and then jumps again to a more open minded (but wanting something a bit sweeter) 40-70ish age group.

 

A lot of those 40ish+ people seem to be looking for their vibrancy and youth again. The teenish+ age group is deceptive too because, what teenager has a debit card to buy your book online unless their guardians have given them full access on a tablet? I don't know that many. Most 15, 16, and non-employed 17 year olds buy their books in a store with actual money or beg said guardians to get it for them.  So, then you are looking at 17 to 25 year olds with jobs and bank accounts and an internet connection that play Hi-Def video games, go to 3D movies, and pretty much want the best that the entertainment market can offer. (See what I mean? Tough crowd.)

 

3) As for Who or What to put on the cover? Think movies and video games again. What single element, theme, or idea permeates the story? Let's use the Hunger Games for example. Go to Amazon and look it up. Every cover pretty much has the stylized Hunger Games Icon as the central motif. For the kindle covers, they get away with the super simple but with some futuristic flair on the artwork that personally reminds my inner geek of Sci-Fi emblems.  (All copyrights and trademarks pertaining to The Hunger Games franchise are acknowledged) 

 

The 2 photo scenic covers in original Hunger Games books are still simple, with the first bearing the main character (remember it's not a love story, it's about 'man vs man' or 'girl vs everyone else'.) with a very simple background so as not to detract from the character's awesomeness. It's also the oldest print version I saw, from 2010. It's also a bit deceptive and fails at placing the character in the correct time period. If I'd never heard of this series, I would have assumed it was a historical.

 

The second one features the three main characters in a group headshot with what is obviously a post-apocalyptic background. What do they have in common? They all tell us very quickly what the story is about with the most impact.

 

Now the vast majority of DIY cover artists are not classically trained artists, nor does everyone have a degree in graphic art behind them. For some, it’s a “learn because you have to survive”, kind of thing. The Hunger Games of Publishing, I suppose. Me, I’m firmly in that group, having taught myself graphic art and am continually on the lookout for new programs and techniques. I am blessed enough that I was an art geek throughout middle and high school and had some very good teachers that liked to teach things like Perception, Shadowing, Classic art, Modern Art, etc. I also tend to research…a lot.

 

So how does art class play into this? For this topic, Photo Manipulation Cover Art, I’m going to fall back to old style hand drawing technique because well, cover art is ART after all and all art first began in drawing.

 

Helen South gives some very good tips that you can extrapolate from in her article: http://drawsketch.about.com/cs/tipsandideas/a/drawingmistakes.htm  I suggest reading the article in its entirety and taking a stroll around the website. (All copyrights and trademarks for drawsketch.about.com and Helen South are acknowledged.) She knows her stuff.

 

For cover art- I’d like to make my own suggestions. Please note that this is about photo manipulation cover art, but I’m sure the same principles can be applied to other styles/formats.:

 

1)      Use a good quality program that has enough options that does not limit you. On the reverse side, if you have the best and latest and don’t bother to research how to use it, then you are essentially crippling yourself. You might as well be using a PowerPoint slide and a decent photo from a reputable licensed site if you cannot use the basic filters and options in PhotoShop. (Don’t get me wrong, this is a finger point at myself as well. PhotoShop is not the easiest thing to learn for a beginner. But it CAN be done if you are determined. (All PhotoShop an Adobe Trademarks and Copyrights are acknowledged)

 

2)      Flash Photography- Be choosy with your photos. Beware of using your own cell phone or old, low quality photos. There are a lot of great royalty rights managed sites out there. Some have good plans that are very affordable, but those tend to have a lot of low quality pics mixed in with the higher quality. That means sometimes sifting through hundreds of photos for THE ONE. Be patient and give yourself both a time limit that includes both the hunting down and the photo manipulation.

 

Nuances and color is vitally important. Especially in cover art. If you are using your own or someone else’s camera pic, be careful. The lighting is not controlled and will have to be adjusted. The ORIGINAL artwork needs to be at least 300 DPI so that you can manipulate details. And yes, even though you have a beloved relative or favorite model you want to use, they need to be posed good and fit in with the overall subject matter of the your cover.

 

And as much as I hate to say it, cover art is cliché. It also uses basic stereotypes to quickly get you at the desired destination. So if your model fits the wrong stereotype, you may want to reconsider. And YES, I did cringe as I wrote that. I personally HATE stereotypes and often try hard to break them in my own writing. When making covers….not so much. The goal is to get the potential reader to identify with the work within a fraction of a second.

 

 

3)      Proportion- Remember that essentially, you have a thumbnail size area to grab a reader on a smartphone or tablet. If your main element is too small or too busy, then all anyone sees is a blob. Unless your author has a large dedicated fan base, a blob is not going to pull in readers. The same goes for your font. Make them bold and simple. When you add a new element to your cover, shrink it down to about an inch tall and see what it looks like. Get someone else who isn’t invested to give you an honest opinion.

 

4)      Misalignment issues- when you combine different elements or people onto a background, make sure they are in proportion to one another and are appropriately facing a logical direction for the cover. If there is lighting coming from somewhere in the photo, then you need to apply lighting filters to your elements so that they do not look like a cut and paste project, but rather a part of the whole.

 

 

5)      Perspective- I don’t have much to add because most cover art is usually a straight line of sight type of art. Truly great cover art makes you think (Like art is supposed to.) It POPS and doesn’t feel 2 dimensional.  That’s why we add different elements and make them glow or use shadow or whatever. Don’t be afraid to try something new. Just make sure that it fits in with all the other elements you use so that the effect isn’t skewed. Also don’t feel so committed to a project that you can’t scrap it and start over if it isn’t going well.

 

6)      Don’t be afraid of shadows. Often black and shadows can be used to make another part of the cover really stand out. I’ve seen some nice black and white style art, but it’s not done often and I haven’t found any on the top 100+ listings at Amazon. Personally, I like to use black space backdrops for Science Fiction- especially dark Sci-Fi. Dark Paranormal stories deserve shadows and mist in my opinion, but that’s the kind of artist that I am. I like to use shadows to suggest a story element that is equally dark or shady. Bright and shining stories deserve all the bright and light they can get. Gruesome bloody stories frequently have red tones in my work. AND- opposite of shadows, if you are going to suggest blood- it does need to be a really bright fake splash that offends the senses. Regular brown dried blood doesn’t show up well or make the same statement. Different shades of a color can mean different things too. Like bright red lipstick automatically means sex. Anyway, shadows and shades of color are important. Use them to evoke emotion.

 

 

7)      Hard outlines and Fading give different impressions on the whole as to what is most important. Make sure you know when to give your elements a hard edge or when to soften the edges so that it fades into the rest of the picture. Personally, I like to fade and blend my elements into a backdrop. Sometimes I’ll fade the whole picture so that you can through the overlay. But, not always is that best, especially if you want a face to be the main focus of your cover. Whatever is the main focus should be solid with the other elements blending into THAT.

 

8)      Wrong Format- Make sure when you START that your pictures are of the same quality that you will need in the end. If you start with a lower DPI picture and save it as a higher one, that doesn’t increase the DPI of the original. Not really. It’s the law of physics. If you have less mass, you can’t make more. But if you have MORE MASS, you can downsize and make it less. Start with quality and you end up with quality.

 

 

9)      Use complementary images if you have to add elements. Photographers are artists who have their own style. As cover artists compiling more than one style, it’s best to make sure that parts complement each other. If you have a bare landscape and want to add a tree, make sure that the tree you are pulling from is either from the same photographer or at least from a complementary one. Unless you are intending to jangle the senses on purpose with an Alice in Wonderland effect. Again, make sure that you have obtained proper royalty managed rights on all work that you use.

 

10)    Filling in the gaps- Don’t be afraid to blend and blur to fill in gaps of color. Not every single space needs a line or a detail. Often less is more when doing cover art. Even a blank solid backdrop is at times better than a busy background.

 

Useful websites that may assist in understanding Graphic Design; how cover art, ad market art, sketch art, and painting can assist in creating cover art. Don’t forget to research, research, research. Whether you have a degree or not, all knowledge is power.

 


Pen and ink drawing styles- http://www.artistdaily.com/ink-drawing/





Logo Design (also how pictures and color evoke emotion): http://mashable.com/2014/04/30/logo-design-tips/

A good all-around Graphic Design Tutorial Resource: http://www.youthedesigner.com/

 

 

Buffi BeCraft- General Manager

Eirelander Publishing Group

 






@EirelanderBooks

 

Buffi BeCraft- Author

Paranormal Romance Across the Spectrum!





@BuffiBeCraft

 

 

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Tips on dealing with difficult people: Customers #1-10

We've all been there. Author dealing with a disappointed reader, customer service operator at any given company, or even a checker at the local store. You are just trying to get your business done and some person decides to make your life miserable. Besides choking back the desire to give them a piece of your mind, I've decided to do a small series on dealing with difficult people.

This particular section I'm going to share some techniques for dealing with customers. You can usually use the same methods with the other difficult people in your life. You can find the related article on Fox Small Business here.

1) Listen- People want to be heard. It's hard to zip it and let them rail at you, but truthfully, once your angry customer/person has had the chance to air their grievance, they are usually a lot more willing to calm down and listen to reason. Use this moment to build the bridge of empathy and rapport with them.

2) Build a rapport with empathy- People want to know that they are not in this alone, that they are not going to be left hanging with their situation. Even if you cannot help them, let them know that you understand and are willing to 'be there' for them.

3) Use a low, non threatening voice - People feel threatened with sharp abrupt wording and loud voices. Remember how you talk to a grieving person? Well the emotions are just about he same. Give them your sympathy, your compassion, and do it in your most understanding tone.

4) Assume you are being watched- That's right. Even if you don't think you are being monitored, assume that you are. That will keep you on your best behavior.

5)Know when to give in or give up - If you can negotiate and go above and beyond, know when it's time to do so. If you really truly can't help them, make sure you break the news to them compassionately and if possible make suggestions that will help. Customers know a line of BS when they hear one, so don't just throw out anything to get your difficult customer off the line or away.

6)Keep your cool- Even if your customer/person is being verbally abusive, keep it together. Don't swear or threaten. Keep calm. Let them have their say and calmly stand your position while trying to guide the conversation back to the real issue. If you can't calm them down, it may be necessary to throw your supervisor 'under the bus' and offer to introduce them to someone who has more authority than you.

7)It's not you- Don't take it personally and don't take it home with you. Remember this is just a job and the drama is not worth ruining your day over.

8)We're all human- Take a moment to remember that the person venting at you is just as human as you. They have bad days, medical conditions, and yeah...some people are just jerks. So try to give them the benefit of the doubt that they might have had a very trying day before dealing with the issue that they've brought to you.

9)If you make a promise- follow through- Don't make promises that you cannot keep. If you do make a promise, like a call back, then make sure you make a note of it and do it. Take relevant notes so that the customer knows that you remember them as a person, not a chore.

10) Summarize- Be sure to go back over all the relevant points of the issue and make sure that they have all been addressed. Make sure that both you and the customer understand what the expectations are and what the reality is. Don't be harsh about it, but be truthful. Don't give false expectations that will lead to another angry encounter or a bad review online.

Remember, even an unhappy customer can give a great review if they feel that you have done you best and truly empathized and helped them. Also remember that you can't save everyone. Keep a positive outlook and dealing with customers doesn't have to be a nightmare.

-- Good luck and stay sane!

Buffi BeCraft
www.buffibecraft.net

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Happy Mother's Day 2014









A Look at the 'Attack on Women' by View of a Mirror.

A look at the 'Attack on Women' by view of a mirror.

I started this as a reply to a post on this topic on LinkedIn, then found myself with a blog post of my own that could be misinterpreted as a case of one-up-womanship. Since I shudder at the idea of trying to upstage someone else's excellent topic, I've decided to post it on my own blog and send you a link to Kharis Macey's topic post. Don't stop there. Her continuing topics are wonderful as well.

I haven't personally seen the medical politics of the sort experienced by you (read the relevent on LinkedIn), but have heard of it from others. I'm in the tech field, which is still thought of as very male-oriented/preferred.

Overall, it seems that women prefer men to work on their computer equipment and are quick to base perceived skill assessments on that measure, not past history. Men, in general, are often quicker to accept assistance from a woman without stating the, "I don't know if you can help." qualifier first.

In my personal experience, I also physically see very few women actively working in the electronics field in service, repair, or installation. The women that I do meet, are often online or over the phone in a support capacity.

Of course, I live in a very southern mindset entrenched area where over the years, I have actually been called "little lady", been looked at funny and been refused to be called by a hyphenated name, and have had my abilities to operate a cordless drill questioned. All of that being a type of everyday sexism that I imagine will likely not go away for a few more generations.

But overall the men I work with are gentlemen who are willing to step back and let me "take a go at it". This is Texas after all, and few of average men are willing to tell a woman what she can't do. As I mentioned before, women often view other women with suspicion in relation to thier own status, and are far quicker to throw each other 'under the bus'. Not just to get ahead, but simply to save face with nothing at stake. Which is funny because nearly 20 yrs ago, I got out of anything construction-related for much the same reason. .

The very best thing as we can do as women, mothers, aunts, and mentors in general, is to teach the younger generation of females that we are not in competition with one another. That competitive assassination of one another is a weakness that reflects badly on all of us as a whole, no matter our race, religion, or orientation. It's another tick mark that reflects negatively on women in a business environment.

When we take away the physical differences, we ARE the same inside, with the same emotions, and the same desires to succeed in life, whatever our goals. When we, as women, lift one other up, both in business and beyond, the things that we can teach one another as a 'Sisterhood' (I truly liked your analogy) are endless.

By the way, the Ban Bossy website: banbossy.com offers some wonderful material and further links on the subject of teaching the younger generation of females that is okay to self-advocate and stamping out the stigmatism that is often attributed to women who do stand up for themselves.

Buffi BeCraft
buffibecraft.net
@BuffiBeCraft

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Vegas Tip # 6 - Shoes and Attire

If you are going to do pretty much anything in Vegas, remember that the right kind of shoes are important to the activity you are about to undertake.

Sure if clubbing in club that requires a fancy dress outfit is on the agenda, then those swanky expensive shoes and/or stilettos are a must. Now, mind you, we didn't go into any of the upscale clubs. That's not our thing-- Standing in a long line of people dressed to the nines, while waiting for some guy in a suit to check that your name is on the list, approve your clothing choices, and then decide if you can enter. Our best outfits included comfortable and inexpensive dress shoes, slacks and a favorite button up shirt for my man (not exactly trendy, but I thought he was hot) and a back baring sundress, blue curly locks, and glittery flip flops for me (from my sweetie's attentiveness, I'd say that he felt the same about me). So, on the dress up and go out portions of our Vegas adventure, we were happy and that's all that counted. The actual idea of wearing heels makes me shudder, so I guess there will be no special clubs for us in the future. Trust me, I'm not exactly sad about that.

Now if you decide that you are going to go on the adventure of a lifetime and head to the Grand Canyon or go to the Hiking Park, or one of those other nature related outings- Please do yourself a favor and DRESS COMFORTABLY for the event. Do not wear flip flops or cheap tennis shoes. (We did that last year and it sucked the big one.) Take a pack with snacks and beverages that are suited to your metabolism for the entire trip. Otherwise you are going to either be stuck out or pay through the nose when you finally find civilization again.

In the event that you are going to stroll down the strip, remember that heels are cute but your feet will hate you after just of the freaking huge blocks. Each hotel is massive and the blocks are like 3 or 4 regular ones anywhere else. Remember my posts about transportation? Trams and the Monorail are your friend. The bus is a good friend to have too. Even taking a day to shop in the many malls can be a long walk, so be aware of what your body can take and wear clothing and footgear that will carry you through.

Happy Vacationing and Have Fun!
Buffi BeCraft www.buffibecraft.net