Giveaway cover 7 Forgotten Girl TAKEN

THIS COVER HAS BEEN TAKEN BY A WRITER FOR A PROJECT.











Oh this is an old one from when I first got started doing covers. Not my best cover but it's okay. I like the yellow tones.

I like that its a girl walking way.

Types of Novels: Break-up novels, tragedy, coming of age, woman/daughter leaving, family drama.

I think any woman drama for a younger audience would be okay. The girl is late teens to 20ish so it'd have to involve someone that age. But hey if you want to use it for a book on pink dolphins I won't say no. I'll look at you strangely but I won't say anything.

What do you think? Should this one just be deleted or could someone use this one?

It's a little DIY. LOL.

The author decided they wanted something a bit sexier. So it ended up being cleavage and boy/girl kiss. :)

Sex does sell, now doesn't it?

Tirz

Same rules apply.

Must be used within six months.
Click rejects to see other giveaway covers.
Must email me to let me know.

I add only your author/title to it.

Tirz

Visit me at....

Two different blogs this week. I'm running around like a fruit flying in mating season this month but that's no reason not visit some of my favorite blogs and find out more about what I do.

I should have posted these yesterday but the whole fruit fly thing again. :)

On the Character Depot, you can read an interview of me by J.L. Campbell and check out Joy's new short story collections. Both are killer, especially if you love Jamician stories. Well they are killer even if you don't like Jamacian stories. And if I spelled Jamacian wrong for the 115th time, please forgive me.

http://thecharacterdepot.blogspot.com/2011/09/take-five-withtirzah-goodwin.html
___________
To get how-to links and info on her new book, visit Michelle Fayard on her blog, Bird's Eye View.

On Michelle's blog, you can hear about her new book and get links for my create your e-book cover design, tips for communicating with your designer and my personal favorite---talk to Michelle.

http://michellefayard.blogspot.com/2011/09/book-covers-that-do-double-duty.html

Stop in and visit!

Hugs and Chocolate Kisses....

Tirz

for APRYL

Giveaway Cover 6 Many Faces Woman

Ah the Woman of Ice and Snow. It just never quite gelled but I do like her eyes if nothing else.

I also have this girl as a animal shapeshifter with animal marks and yellow/gold eyes...that one I think I like a bit better.


What kind of novel? Fantasy, odd memoir, novel involving a girl in snow/ice.




Yellow Girl Version

















You can have either. The second one might work for a Women's Fiction, Chick Lit or even a fantasy novel.



Blue Avatar Version















And I have a couple other versions of the same girl.


Same rules apply.

No major changes.

Email me to get it
Project must be going on in the next six months.
Click Rejects to see other covers for giveaway.

Tirz

Jano Color Variations

To show you what you can do with editing, here is the same picture with just some editing and color changes.
























A winter tree with one lone bird

Flash Fiction--A Father Knows

Today I thought I'd post one of my short fiction pieces. It's not perfect but so few things are. I hope you enjoy.

This story is a bit disturbing so if you are easily upset, stop here. It's not gory or graphic but emotionally upsetting.

Tirz

____________

A FATHER KNOWS by Tirzah L. Goodwin

The evenings in Morganstown are loud. Cars drift by, music blaring, a mix of Mexicana and rap that swells into a headache behind my right eye. I feel the beat there now, pounding. Or maybe it's my heart that pounds out, "No, no, no" but I feel the answer, a cold bubble of truth that lodges like a knife in my gut.

I know but I don't want to know.

He's standing on the steps of his mother's apartment building, his teeth flash as he laughs with a skinny boy with FT shaved into the back of his head. But I don't see that other boy; I see him, my son.

"Darius."

Just his name and he freezes, his dark eyes wide, the dimple disappearing from his cheek.

I grab his arm, digging my calloused fingers into the plump flesh underneath.

"Dad?...Dad?"someone calls but I'm already dragging him across the street, ignoring the screaming horns and swear words. His skin is slippery with sweat but I yank him after me, not stopping when he stumbles. The music beats in the background like an accusation, ringing in my ears.

"Dad?Dad?"

In the park where I took him to play as a kid, I stop. He trips and falls to his knees, blubbering. The swings sit empty and silent behind him as big sloppy tears pour down his cheeks, leaving wet circles on his blue t-shirt.

That bubble of cold breaks in my belly and spreads through my bones. I'm trembling. He's trembling.

"Darius, don't lie to me, son. Did you do it?"

"Dad..."

He's on his knees, his eyes rolling wildly, looking at anything, anyone but me. To me, we are the only two people in the world. The vein behind my eye throbs. I yank the gun from the waist band of my jeans and I press it against his forehead. He moans. The cold wraps around my heart until each beat of it rips a bigger hole in my chest.

"Darius, I will know if you lie. I'll know."

"Daddy..."

He won't took at me because I can see him, really see him. I see him squealing as he races up an escalator as a kid, I see him with my brother's darkness in him. He's my son, mine.


"I'll know," I whisper but I don't know, not for sure. I want him to tell me I'm wrong. I want him to convince me.

"I didn't mean it, Daddy. I didn't. She's just kept huggin' me and followin' me..."

Pain leaves me in a howl. No.

My right hand moves before I even think. The butt of the gun smacks him backwards, warm blood flooding down his chin from his busted lip. My nose burns as the air spikes with the smell of urine and a dark stain spread across the crotch of Darius's jeans.

"She's four. Four, Darius! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."

Darius is curled up at my feet, trembling, blood smeared across his chin, and I don't know what to do. My skin flashes hot, then cold. My stomach rolls with each convulsive swallow of bile. Then calm settles inside me like God laid his hand on my shoulder. I suck in a deep breath, hold it, then let it out slowly, the sound whistling between my teeth.

I love him. I do. Even now, I love him.

Falling to my knees in the worn grass, my tears drip down on his bare head like a baptism.

"Darius, son, I forgive you."

I reach out and pull him close with my left arm. The warm air of his breath flutters against my chest. My right arm aches from the awkward angle. I squeeze the trigger softly.

He stiffens then sighs, his body going limp against mine.

I kiss his forehead and follow him into sleep.


The End.

Giveaway cover 5 Woman in Turmoil/fantasy

I have always loved this one. It's dark and you can feel the pain of the woman on the cover. I wish I had written something it would have worked for but alas I have not.

The writer went with a more colorful cover...blood/fire and all that.

But still this cover does have energy, don't you think?

What type of novel?

Always thought it'd work well on urban fantasy or maybe even a disturbed chick lit. Not romance though...even I can't stretch my disbelief that far. A book with a woman in turmoil or a woman perhaps being overpowered by magic or circumstance?

So are you feeling moody?

If so, this cover might work.

The rules and restrictions: First of all, your book must be publishing in the next six months. You must email me with a request. I will only add title/author name...nothing else.

If you want to see other free covers, click REJECTS on the left side of my blog under label.

Want a custom cover? Then ask me for pricing. :)


Tirz

Creating Audio Files for your Writing

Before I tell you how to make MP3 text files from your writing, I should warn you about selling audio.

Overall, I've found in both fiction and textbooks that audio books don't sell as well as print books. But there is a market for some poetry and certain types of novels in audio so here is my technical help.

If you want to check out some well done self-published audio books, check out Greg Crites site. His books are so funny and his audio is top notch.

CLICK here to go to GREG CRITES

But how do you create your own MP3 files for your book or poem without spending a lot of money?

Easy-Peasy.

First you need to download a recorder that can convert to MP3 files.

To download a recorder for your computer free, go to MyPodcast.

Go to this www.mypodcast.com
Click on Create Podcast
Upper Right corner then click on Download Recorder

This recorder will allow you to record your words and create them in MP3 files. These files can be used in your book trailers, as playable files on your blog or do anything you can do with music files.

If you are creating a book trailer on Media Player or Movie Maker, this file will load up there too.

Now to be honest, I don't suggest using MyPodcast to store your podcasts or MP3 files. That site is glitchy and loses files.

www.podbean.com is slightly more reliable and it has an embeddable player you can embed into your blog.

Both sites are free.


What technical materials do you need?

You will need a working computer with working volume. Ninty-eight percent of computers created in the last ten years have a microphone built in and audio. So that shouldn't cost you anything.

However, you'll need a headset with a better microphone. Walmart, Circuit City and a hundred other places sell these for under 20 bucks.

You can buy a used set for under five bucks on Amazon.com.

Amazon link

To be honest, expect to record a poem three or more times to get it right. A hiccup, a stutter, a doorbell---and you start over. The good news is that the recorder will let you back up by the minutes.

Huh? What does that mean?

That means that 45 seconds in, you burp, you can start the recorder just before that point rather than recording the whole piece again.

Drawbacks: The recorder does let you do volume control. It also lets you block out a lot of the background noise in your house. But unlike a true audio program with specialized equipment, you'll not be able to adjust the audio by fine tuning it. It's as is. You also can't add a music overlay.

Tricks: If you are quick, you can play music outloud and hold the recorder up to the music to get an intro. It'll be quiet and not as good as your voice recording. Then you stop the recorder and put your headset back on and start talking.

It's not perfect but it's doable.

For a spoken novel or poetry, this works really well.

Some Covers for Michelle F.

The following are leftover, rejected and partially done covers that might fit a novel on slavery or an African American themed novel.

I'll load 8 total.

These are for Michelle F.

Tirz

Giveaway Cover 4 Letter Girl-(No Longer Available)

TAKEN!!--This giveaway cover has been accepted by a writer and is no longer available.





This cover has a letter/envelope torn open in the background with a pretty but sad African American girl/woman on the front.

It's subtle but I think it works almost as well as some of the bolder covers.

What type of Novel could it be used for?

Chick Lit, women's fiction, tragic romance or one of those sad, lost my man, hope to find myself novels. Is that also women's fiction? Sometimes I suppose.


Giveaway Rules: Must use the cover within six months. Must email me and let me know if you want the cover. The cover will be provided in 300DPI 6x9 JPEG. If you want to see all the other rejected covers, click the world 'rejects' under labels on the left of my blog.


The cover is offered as-is. The ONLY changes I will make are to add your title/author name.

Every two weeks or so a new rejected cover will be loaded up here. So check back for other covers for free.

Want your own custom cover? Just email me. E-book covers start at $25 bucks.


Tirz

Giveaway Cover 3---Girl in Flames

To be honest, I have about 15 versions of this cover, some with clear red/yellow flames. Some with multiple girls.

But I like this one with the box imprint. If you'd prefer the flames only with no box imprint, that's available.

It was rejected because the girl was too young looking for the cover.

For what type of book: I'm thinking any type of YA book with a fire them set in modern age. What do you think?


If you want to see other giveaway covers, click the rejects link under the labels on the left side of the screen.

EMAIL me to get the 300 DPI JPEG for use.

BUT the project must be one being produced in the next six months.


So do you want flame girl for your very own?

Iconic Publishing ---Published!

Hey Bunnies,

SAID AND UNSAID--the poetry collection I'm in from TNBW will be published by a real print pubilsher. YEAH!

As you know (probably), I have a self-published poetry book called Love and Lighter Fluid: poems of a Wild Tirzah. What you might not know is that besides my published magazine poems and that book, I also have ten poems in an anthology.

The Anthology is called SAID AND UNSAID.

Originally members from my writer's group (The Next Big Writer)did a self-published book. Luckily or happly...okay hapuckily---Iconic Publishing has picked up our Anthology to traditionally publish under their new poetry imprint.

I'm happy!

Can you tell?

I don't have the date yet---don't worry you'll hear all about it.

Plus I'll also talk about my fellow poets from the anthology as the book gets closer to publication. Maybe I'll interview them on here.

New poets are hard to find. At least ones that don't make your eyes bleed.

These guys are not eye bleeders.

As for those looking to publish, you should check out this up and coming publisher. Iconic is wonderful to work with and is going to be publishing some books that you'll drool over in the next year.

Yours,

Tirz

Giveaway Cover # 2 Dead Leprechaun

Another lovely rejected cover.

Did you ever want to kill a gnome? How about a Leprechaun? This cover is a dead Leprechaun bleeding out underwater.

What kind of novel could you use it for? A cozy mystery with a sense of humor, a modern urban fantasy novel and perhaps even a humor novel that doesn't mind a dead garden gnome.

How do you get this cover for your book? You email me at my email address listed on the right under my description. Your book must be publishing either in electronic or print format within the six months.

So do you need a dead gnome?

To find all of the rejected covers being given away this year, click the word 'rejects' under the labels lists on the left. New covers will be loaded about every two weeks until all of the rejects have been shown.

Tirz

Lisa Fee Cover

Younger Version













More romantic version.



















What about that? Too dark?

Campaign Challenge Number 1

The challenge is to write a 200 word or less flash story starting with the 'door swung open'.

I did my best in a hurry and with a head cold. :) Next week I'll read it and wince. I'm pretty sure I screwed up the verb tenses but Nyquil is not my friend.

Link to Rach Writes



Tirz

Door Swung Open

The door swung open and I gaped at my ex in all his naked glory bending my mother over the back of my floral couch.

"Mom! That's my new couch."

I'll never get the stench of their humping off of it. Microfiber can only do so much. I couldn't stop a groan of pain. Brand fuckin' new.

Mom's tits bounce as Larry plows into her from behind again, she's grunting, rubbing her sweaty nudity on my couch.

Oh no she didn't. Before I knew it, I was pounding Larry's head, shoulders and bare ass with my purse.

"My. Fucking. New. COUCH! Asshole!"

He jerks back, popping free of mom's cellulite dimpled ass, & falling to the floor. I smack mom once for good measure.

"Ouch," Mom yips as she looks over her shoulder with an 'oh crap' look on her face.

Larry was crawling to his knees, I kick him in the balls.

He screams and scrambles for the open doorway. Mom's wailing.

Larry stumbles naked onto my walkway. I grab Mom by her perm and shove her after him.

"My fucking couch!"

Then I kick the door. It swung shut behind them.

Funny pictures because I have too much free time in the winter

Here are some funny pictures, sketches or just crap I created and thought would make you laugh.

Did you laugh?

Huh?

Tirz



















Okay who doesn't need a shot of zombie lovers? I was screwing around with loving the undead and came up with this awhile ago. Should I not admit that?























This one as character art for a website but the author didn't like it. They wanted a magpie with people legs. I did a magpie with people legs. What can you do?





















I had kitten pictures. Enough said.





















One of my sketches I did forever ago. Let's just say that art school won't be calling me any time soon and begging me to attend but I liked it.






















Same Kitty, Different approach. I was playing with my art features in my design program. I may have gotten a little carried away. Maybe.























I wanted to do a tiger. For some reason that says to me--dead body and a threat. I don't think I liked Frosted Flakes much as a kid because Tony the Tiger always seemed like a mob enforcer trying too hard to be nice.





















My friends have a Chinese Pug named Reggie. Reggie likes chasing kitties but only kisses them if the catches them. So this Halloween, I made Vamp Reggie. I have lots of free time. :)






















Like I said--Don't Touch My Kindle!























Well do they? Your pits? Do they smell?

















No reason on this one.











Deer--Be a deer--please, step out in front of the car and stare at the headlights. Okay really bad, dark humor but I claim PMS and you can't prove anything different.




















More free time with my zombie maker.


















I sometimes use this one as my icon. Because if you haven't written or called or hung out with me---you must have been eaten by bears. Right?






















Heather's cat, IVY, in a pissy mood.