Hi all!

WINDSTORM, Book Four in The Elemental Clan Series, releases today! Click here for order links!

This one is set in Napa & San Francisco. It took longer than expected to finish the book but I’m happy with the end result and I hope you are too.

So sit back, have a glass of Riesling or Chardonnay (or Merlot or Pinot) and enjoy the book!

Hope everyone is having a happy holiday season :)

Besides baking green bean casseroles and preparing the turkey, I’ve been on a quest. Oh, how I wish it were a quest in some random land filled with adventure. But some days it feels like that.

It’s the quest for stock photos for the cover of my next book (Southern Ghosts Series Book 2). For those who don’t know what goes into a cover, here are some pointers:

1. Never download any image off the Internet for your own use without asking permission and/or obtaining copyright. Just because an image is on Pinterest or online does NOT mean it is free and you can use to your heart’s content. Far from it. Respect copyright and don’t steal.

How do you get images, then? Simple. Stock photo sites. A few of these are istockphoto.com, dreamstime.com, shutterstock.com, and more. Google “royalty free photos” and you’ll get a listing. Most photos run between $7 and $25 each – very worth it to not get sued for copyright infringement.

A few tips:

• Narrow your search by photos, illustrations, and by subject matter
• If you find an image you like, most sites have a link that says “find similar” – this will help you find more images along the lines of what you’re seeking
• I typically save the photo link in a Word document so I have a master list of the possible photos I want for the cover. Then I narrow my choices down to 2 or 3 and work with a graphic designer to create the cover using those images. I purchase any final images that are used.
• Give yourself plenty of time to search. I’ve often paged through 3000 stupid-looking photos to get to 3-4 that might really work.

Good luck!

Thanks to Gin who read and wrote the lovely review!

I’m busy plotting Book #2 (untitled, but I have a few ideas) and it should release around April or May 2015.

http://ginsbooknotes.com/book-review-and-giveaway-no-grits-no-glory-by-elaine-calloway/

Hi all,

Talk Supe is doing a spotlight on NO GRITS NO GLORY today with a Q&A with the characters of NO GRITS NO GLORY. Stop by and check it out!

http://www.talksupeblog.com/2014/12/suped-feature-no-grits-no-glory-by.html

Hi everyone!

Hope all folks in the USA had a great Thanksgiving holiday. For those across the pond and oceans, hope you enjoyed the weekend too!

I’m sharing a podcast link below that I did for Paper Crane Books — it’s the 1st chapter of NO GRITS NO GLORY narrated by yes, yours truly. It is so strange hearing one’s own voice, but I figured I could do the book/characters more justice than a generic source, so anyway…take a free listen if you get a sec!

Listen to the 1st chapter free here.