Jodie Leigh Murray

 

Believe it or not, this is a tough question for an author. There are a lot of things that can be an inspiration for writing. Do you ever watch a television show or movie and think to yourself: why didn't I think of that? Well, someone did. I'm a daydreamer at heart. I always have been. And I will always be.

 

Movies

There are always going to be scenes where you are on the edge of your seat and BAM! a twist happens that you never thought coming. Those get my mind ticking. I get inspirations from movies, sometimes. As a writer, as most writers do, I'm always asking 'what if?'. What if a gangster only has one child, and it's a girl? What if she doesn't want to have anything to do with his business, wants to do her own thing in life, but he's got tight control of her? What if his lifestyle makes her a target? I don't want to give anything away for people who might not have read my books, but it's questions like these that helped me build The Gangster's Daughter. It started with that first question and kept building.

 

Music

I've said it before, and I will probably repeat it over and over until people are sick of it. I cannot live without music. That might be my biggest inspiration of all. Listening to music gives me vibes. Slow song, slow scene. Fast song, highly dramatic scene. I always get comments from people who tell me they feel like they are in my books. THIS IS WHY! Music.

 

Dreams

Sometimes I have dreams. Dreams that I'm in a scene, watching something unfold. Usually a character in a situation. It might go through transformations once I've got the finished book, but the premise is the same. When I have a dream and wake up, I have to write it down or it's gone forever. It might be in the middle of the night, or when I just wake up. I use my phone to note the gist of the dream, but transfer it to my notebook of ideas later on.

 

People are inspirations, too. Have you ever met someone who has the strangest quirk? My character in The Gangster's Mistake always forgets to put on her socks. Quirky yes, but it's just unimportant to her. Even when she finds herself in a situation where socks would have been good to put on. To me, that makes an excellent character. Real people are the same. What makes you quirky? Myself, I have lots of quirks. Maybe borderline OCD.

 

Another thing that writers do is eavesdrop. Yes, I admittedly do that. You can pick up on conversations that people have and get the greatest ideas. It sounds crazy, and rude to do, but these are people I will never see again in my life. Even if I did, I wouldn't remember them. What harm is a little eavesdropping?

 

While camping, I noticed a tree. A gnarly old tree with a gigantic trunk and a hole in the middle. I stared at that tree for a while, wondering what the story was about that tree. You might think I'm nuts. That's fine though. It can be the silliest things the inspirations come from. 

 

The best inspirations are all around, you just have to pay attention. They are everywhere.

 

Happy Reading!

Jodie

 

We've all heard the phrase 'Don't judge a book by a cover' meaning don't judge someone by the way they look. But you should judge a book by its cover. And here's why . . .

 

The book cover is the first thing a person sees when browsing for their next read. Whether online or in a store, the cover is going to draw that potential reader in or the opposite and they walk away. I can't stress how important it is that you get the book cover right. If you're traditionally published, or planning on going that way, you'll have experts to design it for you. Independent, you'll need to figure it out yourself. But the main thing is to realize that the reader is going to pick up your book or not based on that cover. It has to be perfect, all the way down to the fonts.

 

I've seen a rise in romance book covers with cartoonish characters lately, of books that have a high level of explicit sex. Misleading, yes, but a marketing genius idea? They're selling, so yes! Personally, I'm not sure what draws readers to those books. I only know from fellow readers that those books have a lot of spice. I have a preference for my own book covers not to show faces (except for The Gangster's Mistake, which fit my character perfectly). I want my readers to picture the characters in their own mind, not have a sneak peek, and possibly a wrong perception.

 

Regardless of whether landscape, cartoons, designs or people, that cover is a representation of the essence of your book and it should reach out and grab readers as much as the back blurb. A discussion for another day. I'm not an expert on book covers, but I am a reader and I will not pick up a book if the cover sucks.

 

How to Design a Book Cover

If you're an independent author, like I am, this is extremely important. I'm a writer, not an artist. There are many authors who are blessed to be able to do both. Not me. I can't draw to save my life unless we're playing a game of hangman and I'm drawing a stick figure. Not a big deal, there are plenty of options for getting a book cover. The most effective would be to hire an artist. Present them with the background on your book and they'll draw it up. You work with the artist to get it just right. Some are expensive, some are modestly sourced. You need to do your research there. There are pre-made covers, which I have done with mine. Covers where the background is available for purchase and I make the additions and changes to color and size, as well as the positioning of where I want things located. As I've said in previous blogs, you need to be careful with pre-made covers and do your research there, too. I go through Book Cover Zone, and as soon as I purchase the cover–it's marked as sold. It's mine. I'm able to name the artist in my copyright because I ask them for it after I purchase. And of course, if you're artistically able, you can design your own. I do not recommend that unless you have a background in art. I've seen many book covers that the author has done themselves without having a background in art, and um . . . no. Spend the money to get a cover elsewhere. Your job is to get your book into the hands of readers. If you aren't doing it, it might be the cover.

 

And don't forget about the inside! That's important, too!

 

Happy Reading!
Jodie

 

I'll prelude this blog by saying that I'm usually reading more than one book at a time. One fiction and a couple non-fiction. Reading non-fiction is difficult at best. It's dry reading for me, even if the subject is interesting. I need to alternate between reading non-fiction and fiction. I can only read one fiction book at a time, and I only want to read one at a time to give that author's story my undivided attention.

 

Fiction

So . . . what am I currently reading in fiction? When I knew this blog was coming up, I didn't know what I would be reading. It was toss up between five or six books that I'm eagerly awaiting reading. I'm reading A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas, the third book in her A Court of Thorns and Roses series. Originally, I didn't want to read this series. There was so much hype about it, I wasn't sure if it was a series I would like. I do not pay attention whatsoever to reviews posted on Goodreads and FOR GOOD REASON. While there are some people that write an honest review, most of the reviews are based on an opinion. And opinions on books will vary just like they do for music and movies. What someone else may thoroughly hate, I might really enjoy. Therefore, I will read the back blurb and judge a book by its cover before I ever put any stock into someone's bad review.

 

The first book in this series was actually fantastic and had me hooked. The story itself was good. So good that I had to read the next book, which wasn't until a few books later, but I did pick it up and finished it last week. The second book, A Court of Mist and Fury, was SUPER good and hooked me every further. There are two other books in this series, A Court of Frost and Starlight and A Court of Silver Flames. I'm looking forward to reading them, too.

 

I've been reading a lot of romantasy lately, but I've mixed it up, some having read The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern and The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst recently. Though I'm not sure I would recommend The Starless Sea unless you want to be thoroughly confused, I would recommend The Spellshop. It was a delight.

 

I've not decided which fictional book I'll be picking up next. There are so so many to choose from right now. So many that I want to read. I might have to flip a coin to decide.

 

Non-Fiction

For my non-fiction selections, I'm reading Writing into The Dark by Dean Wesley Smith, which is about writing without an outline. For those of you who know me, or have read my blogs, you know that I heavily outline each book before I start the book. Well, my fifth book–the third in the Gangster series–has NO outline. You heard me right. I've done very little as far as outlining. Instead, I'm writing into the dark on it. I've had to pause to ensure The Aristocrat's Wife is published in time, but this book is helping me through unknown territory while I navigate without an outline. The other non-fiction book that I'm reading is How to Write a Successful Series by Helen Scheurer. Again, those who know me or who've talked to me at events know that I never intended for The Gangster's Daughter to turn into a series. It was by pure chance that I wrote the characters into The Gangster's Mistake as supporting characters, which turned it into a series. And if you don't know already, I have at least five more Gangster books coming. Those who have not purchased those books yet, I'll be adding a page to the inside of those books that will state: This series is best enjoyed in this order  . . . I'm not planning on changing the book covers to have Book One, Book Two, etc.

 

That's what I'm reading right now! If you need any recommendations, let me know!!

 

Happy reading!

Jodie

 

Whether you're a published author, a writer thinking about publishing, or a small business (even the smallest of businesses), a business card is a way to tell people they can get in touch with you. Yes, probably 9 out of 10 times mine get tossed in the garbage, but I like to think that they're at least looked at for a bit before they're tossed. I got the idea of a 'bookmark' business card from author friend Jennifer DeVries, who writes under the pseudonym Brenda Lyne.

 

The Benefits of a Business Card

When you're doing a craft show or even a pop-up market, you want people to leave with your product in their hands along with a way to get in touch with you if they want more. You want me to leave you with a way to get in touch with you, especially if they don't leave with your product in hand. You don't have to have a website, which can be costly for a small business, but you should at least have a Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, or any combination of these social media presences for people to follow or subscribe to besides an email address. A google email address is free, as are social media pages. The last thing you want is for people to forget you exist. Leave a lasting impression!

 

How to Design a Business Card

You can leave a lasting impression by having a decent business card. Get a logo, free to design through Adobe Express or Canva. Both will constantly bug you for a free trial and they have locked designs, requiring a subscription, but I've designed three decent logos (one for myself, and two for others) without having to do either. True enough, I could do a lot more paying for a subscription. I wouldn't do both, and I'm not to where I feel the need for a subscription. With either of them, I could design flyers, invitations, business cards, even my book covers (if I want to design my own, which I don't). Another perk to Adobe Express, free QR codes. You can get a QR code linked to anything URL you want. Make sure you put that on your business card when you design it. When you design your business card, you will want to create your 'brand', which means color and font will matter. Consistency will matter, and I preach even though none of the fonts and colors match on my three book colors and that is because my book covers are pre-made. If I hired an artist, I'd have more consistency. Also, not ready for that yet. I'm doing find as is, but will probably want to consider a redesign in the future. Make sure your business card contains your logo, business name, contact information (unnecessary to include a phone number, although you can link a FREE google phone number to your actual phone number, as well), and I would strongly recommend at least one QR code for people to capture a picture to lead them to something whether it be your website or a social media page. Whatever else you have on it, especially if you've paid for back and front, MAKE AN IMPACT. I have covers of my books, hoping that it sparks memory for someone who purchased, or maybe didn't purchase, one of my books. Maybe a quote might be good, if I could come up with a good one.

 

Where To Get Business Cards

There are many places to get business cards for a decent price from. I started with Vistaprint, who had a good price for a bulk order of business cards. But after several reorders in which they changed how they looked without me changing the design, I switched to Texas-based Print Place. My husband still gets his business cards through Vistaprint and has had no issues. No matter who you could go through, do a price comparison. While I go through Print Place for my business cards, or bookmarks, they are more costly for other things I would otherwise get from Vistaprint. And that could likely be because they are of better quality, but I've since cut down my marketing costs considerably.

 

My bookmarks will be a marketing cost that follows me for a while, regardless if people throw them away. If they don't, I have a better chance of them remembering that they should look me up to see if I have a new book or maybe someone swiping a card from my table and remembered when they got home to follow me on Instagram or Facebook, or subscribe to my newsletter. Business cards give you a better chance of someone remembering that they met you and what your product was. Easy marketing, I like to think.

 

Jodie

 

If I got lucky enough to get a free plane ticket to go anywhere, where would I go? Hands down, without a doubt or even a second to think about it . . . England. I've never been there, but I've dreamed about going there since I was a kid. I'd live there, if I could. That might sound ridiculous for someone who has never been there before, but this is a place I've done extensive research about. The country and everything about it fascinates me. It isn't perfect, but I'm convinced there isn't a country that is.

 

This is a fitting time to write this as I'm leaving for Las Vegas this week. There are so many places to go if there was a free place ticket with no strings attached. Fiji, Jamaica, Scotland, Italy, Disney World, hell . . . Alaska. But I would go to England, and I would soak up every detail I could.

 

My second choice would be some place like the Bahamas or Fiji, some place tropical with warmth, sandy beaches, palm trees, and drinks by the pool. In fact, at one point, my husband wanted to move to Belize. I'm not sure how serious he was, but I could move anywhere. Just not into a colder climate. I wouldn't mind visiting there.

 

Where would you go if you have a free plane ticket anywhere? And why?