Linda of the Night, genesis of a cover for a short story

February 14, 2013 Monica La Portacollaboration between cover artist and writer, cover reveal for short story, from picture to book cover, genesis of a cover, how to use painter paint.net photoshop to create a coverLeave a comment

Blessed be Skype and the abundance of technology that makes possible for people living thousands of miles apart to work on a project as if they were in the same room. Three days ago, I didn’t have a finished cover for Linda of the Night, my short that went live only a few hours ago. Linda was a long time in the making project, but only recently I decided to send it to Amy Eye, my editor, to have it polished for publishing. Last Friday, I contacted my cover artist, Alessandro Fiorini. I had already sent him some material to work on, but working by email can be frustrating. Especially when the person you are corresponding with is nine hours ahead of you. Three days ago, we connected through Skype and Alessandro shared his desktop with me so I could watch as he worked on the final version of the cover. I was able to give immediate input and cut considerably the waste of time between steps. In less than one hour, we finished the cover.

From picture to final product:

Everything started as my weekly exercise in practicing patience: aka working with Painter. I received the software as a gift for Christmas and I still struggle with it. Monday, I decided to play with one of my daughter’s pictures.

First, I gave the picture a dreamier look with Paint.Net by altering the balance of the luminosity. I probably tinkered with it some more, but I can’t remember all the steps I took.

Then, I used the altered image as a canvas and painted on it with Painter. I used a mix of oil colors and airbrushes.

I went back to Paint.Net, applied the ink sketch filter, and then tinted the whole background in a flesh tone I picked from the image.

Having a sudden inspiration, I cropped the eyes to make them stand out.

Knowing that Alessandro is quite busy, instead of sending him several emails explaining what I had in mind for the cover, I worked on my idea with Paint.Net and sent him examples instead.

Finally, on Tuesday, early afternoon in Redmond and late at night in Marsciano, Alessandro and I started working on the final stages of the cover. The following images were all created by Alessandro in one fruitful Skype session. The whole process lasted the whole of one hour. Not bad, ah?

First try

Second try

Third try

You already know my final pick

Linda of the Night: a sweet short story

February 14, 2013September 8, 2013 Monica La Porta99 cents short story, beauty is relative, fairytale style short story, feel good short story, love is blind, ugly duckling gets the prince short story, valentine's day sweet short storyLeave a comment

Happy Valentine’s Day, everybody.

My first short story is out. Linda of the Night, is a sweet, fairytale-style love story. It’s a piece I wrote—in a shorter and more children’s book prose version—during my first Nanowrimo and it was part of a longer novel. Originally, Linda’s tale was narrated by a father to his daughter as a bedtime story. The whole 56k words project was soon forgotten, but there was something about this character, at the time nameless, that made me think of resurrecting her story more than once. Eventually, I did.

Friday Snippet #31

February 1, 2013 Monica La Porta#FridaySnippets, small excerpt from a YA dystopian novel, writing for fun, writing once a week4 Comments

The sun is shining upon this small stretch of Northwest. I’ve been dieting and exercising the whole week and I didn’t have a single headache. I haven’t checked my weight on the scale—according to the app I’m using, I’ll be three pound less in two years anyway—but I do feel lighter. Since the day promises to get better, after lunch, I’ll go out for a walk with Nero.

From X:

Allegra was already out of breath and looked at the steep climb with dread.

“To the right!” Julius pulled her out of the path and they fell on the ground and were swallowed by the tall grass. “Stay low.”

Heart pummeling against her ribcage, she kept her eyes on the brown dirt. “What is it?” Then she cleared her nose and the scent of the looters reached her nostrils. They were coming from the Royal Palace, but still on top of the hill. She was scared, but didn’t want her aura to show it. She forced her lungs to work and breathed in and out a few times before saying, “Did I tell you lately how thankful I am I got paired with an unseer?”

He squeezed her hand. “Of course you are.” If he had said out loud, “Good try,” it wouldn’t have been clearer.

The looters were descending, running toward them, but apart from the noise their shoes stomping on the ground made, no words were spoken. It was unsettling.

Julius pulled her closer to him. “They won’t find us.”

She smiled against his shirt at his attempt of calming her. A small pebble pocked her right tight and she focused on the discomfort rapidly morphing into pain. The ache grounded her in the moment and didn’t let her think of what would happen if the looters saw them.

“The grass is tall enough to cover us,” he whispered in her ear.

The sound of approaching steps made her heart skip several beats.

Friday Snippet #30

January 25, 2013January 25, 2013 Monica La Porta#FridaySnippets, friday snippet, small excerpt from a YA dystopian novel, writing for fun, writing once a week6 Comments

Here we are again. The fog is finally gone. It rained. In the attempt of keeping the headaches under control, I started a new exercise regime and I’m checking the daily calories intake. Still alive. My productivity isn’t back to normal, but I’m working on that.

From X:

Her nose caught a scent she didn’t like. “We can’t stay here.”

“Where to?”

“Out.” She pulled him out of the bed and a moment later they were already downstairs, having mindlessly run through the bedroom where they had slept, Clarissa’s bedroom, the hallway, and the stairs.

They were at the main door, when Julius stopped her. He brought one finger to his mouth and then pointed it at the shadows dancing behind the opaque glass composing the door panels.

At the same time, the smell she had barely perceived a few minutes earlier became too strong to ignore and Allegra gagged. She stepped back, her lungs burning and her heart racing. She looked right and left, but when he shook his head, she turned toward the large window overlooking the gardens.

“Yes.” Julius squeezed her hand and they ran to the back of the room.

Allegra was lowering the handle of the back door, when she heard the sound of the main door being forced.

“There must be a treasure inside.” A muffled voice. A crack.

Julius propelled her outside and then tore through the garden, only to stop a few minutes later behind a tall bush. “Looters.”

She had already reached that conclusion. Julius’s house was going to be violated as hers had been. She couldn’t help two tears to escape her control, but was fast in drying her eyes. The sound of broken glasses reached them and Julius startled. She resisted the urge of looking back at the house to see what was happening and looked straight ahead instead. The Royal Palace dominated the view on top of the hill. “Not sure where else to go.” So many questions unanswered and no time to think about anything.

He nodded and she moved forward.

First Unofficial Reviews for The Prince’s Day Out!

January 14, 2013January 14, 2013 Monica La Portaa story about a blind prince, children's book with whimsical illustrations, illustrated kids' short, indie illustrated children's book, traveling with your imagination2 Comments

My illustrated fairytale has already gathered several endorsement by important people in the children’s book world. Two wonderful gentlekids, O. and R., were recently looking at one of my painted pumpkins and exclaimed, “It’s from The Prince’s Day Out!” It felt good to have my art recognized by two young readers.

Also recently, my niece Marisa, who is studying psychology, was asked to write an essay on a children’s book and she chose The Prince’s Day Out. I was touched by what she had to say about it.

Here is a translated excerpt from Marisa’s essay:

Monica dedicates her fairytale to her children asking them, “Don’t ever stop dreaming”.

Thanks to this short story we can learn and understand fundamental values like hope, love between family members , and the determination to overcome obstacles…

Life is not always beautiful and easy as it looks. Unfortunately, bad things can happen and we have to react, to find the strength within ourselves to go forward, because if we really want to achieve something we must fight and never lose hope. Because life is a continuous challenge…

Thanks to this fairy tale we can understand how important it is to stimulate and develop our imagination, to be mentally more flexible, and imagine better worlds. We are reminded of the importance of a loving and supportive family, but also of the importance of never lose hope!

It is said … “Dreams are wishes …” But we have to fight for our dreams, for what we believe, and do not let our dreams dry like tears on our pillows. We must try to make them a reality so that we earn our happiness…

Isn’t this the most amazing review, or what? And she’s barely 14!

Friday Snippet #28

January 11, 2013January 11, 2013 Monica La Porta#FridaySnippets, friday snippet, small excerpt of a YA dystopian novel, writing for fun, writing once a week5 Comments

Days fly by. Lots accomplished, but nothing to show apart from a variegated production of didls. In other and exciting—for me—news, I have a brand new workstation! Also, outside it’s frigid but sunny.

From X. Allegra interacts some more with Julius and his family:

“Why didn’t you leave?” Allegra asked Julius’s father.

“I can’t leave the King alone, and Caterina and the kids didn’t want to listen to reason. I gave the staff permission to leave, but Chef insisted she wouldn’t abandon us. So, here we are.” Carolus’s eyes went back to the mansion.

Only then, Allegra noticed how far into the gardens they had walked. The lights spilling out from the majestic windows illuminated the immediate surroundings, but ahead of her it was barely possible to make out the silhouettes of the topiary. She shivered.

“Let’s go back inside.” Carolus took off his jacket and draped it on her shoulders.

She accepted with a thanks without explaining she wasn’t cold. The darkness swallowing the night had frightened her. Not for the first time, the thought that Julius could only see a black canvas if left alone made her feel hollow.

They walked back to the house in silence. Not a sound interrupting their thoughts.

“Is it cold outside?” Clarissa was at her side as soon as they entered, one hand on hers to steer her away from the glass door and her father. “Come to the fireplace.”

Julius, who was still talking to his mother, excused himself and without faltering reached for Clarissa still looking at her. “You look pale.”

His sister immediately lowered her eyes and Allegra repressed a gasp. Julius had breached one of the unspoken rules among unseers. The act of looking at someone to talk to someone else was considered one of the worst faux passes. He had never done that. He wasn’t the type to forget about social dictates.

And he didn’t seem to realize what he had done. “You look distressed.”

“It was cold outside,” Allegra lied.

Julius left Clarissa and took Allegra’s hand in his. She couldn’t help to glance at the girl and see she was trying to disappear into the background.

His fingers circled her wrist in response to her pulling away.

Friday Snippet #27

January 4, 2013January 4, 2013 Monica La Porta#FridaySnippets, friday snippet, small excerpt from a YA dystopian novel, writing for fun, writing once a week6 Comments

After Nanowrimo, the trip to Italy, publishing my fairytale, and the Christmas holidays, I’m slowly getting my routine back. Journey to the City of Men is under revision and I should be done with it shortly. Then it will be placed in the capable hands of my trusted beta readers. Then, re-writing, editing, proofreading, formatting, copyrighting, publishing, marketing… head spinning, hiding under a rock, etc. Rinse and repeat.

Anyway, Allegra and Julius are still at his parents’ and she has a tête-à-tête with his father. From X:

“Care for a stroll outside?” Carolus took her arm under his in a paternal gesture. “In all of this… we’ve forgotten to enjoy the little things, haven’t we?”

Allegra didn’t answer since she didn’t know what ‘all of this’ meant and looked back at Julius who was several steps behind and engaged in conversation with his mother.

“Shall we?” Carolus gently tugged her and she followed his lead.

Nobody else did and she found herself with the Right Hand of the king all alone, without knowing what was the protocol with a person of his station.

“Allegra, may I call you Allegra?” He looked at her from his considerable height.

She nodded, taken by surprise.

“Good. Allegra, I heard you didn’t find your family…”

She nodded again.

“I wish I could tell you what happened to them, but the truth is I know little.”

There was only one thing Allegra wanted to know. “Are they alive?”

Carolus didn’t answer right away. “If they escaped soon enough, they might be.”

“What do you know, sir?” Little knowledge was preferable to not knowing at all.

“The Malady is something that affects our brains—” Carolus caressed his chin with his free hand. “It makes people see things.”

“What kind of things?” The image of the terrorized boy they had met outside her house came back to her.

“Haunting things. Worse than nightmares.” Carolus’s voice wavered. “People commit suicides to stop seeing those things.”

“What is it?” The boy’s eyes were vacant, but Julius had seen through him and she had felt the horror he had experienced. “How are people infected?”

“We don’t know. That’s why cities are walled and exed. We’re trying everything in our power to stop the Malady from spreading.”

“Why wasn’t Cartaghena walled?”

Must Post Something Today!

December 21, 2012 Monica La Porta#FridaySnippets, small excerpt from a YA dystopian novel, writing a novel once a week, writing every fridays, writing just for fun, writing on December 21 20124 Comments

How apropos, it is a Friday. Last week, after writing a lengthy snippet, I didn’t publish it. Not sure why. X is now 11k and I’m still having fun with it. Maybe it will be my first serial? Stay tuned.

From X. Allegra has just met Julius’s family and they’re now having a moment of playful respite with his two brothers and sister:

“Can I change the scenery?” Clarissa had her hands on a remote control and was already pushing buttons before one of the brothers could reply. The luminosity in the room changed and the placid sound of waves washing over pebbles came seemingly out of nowhere. “Much better.”

Allegra looked at the ceiling where lazy clouds were floating over a cerulean sky. She could have sworn a marine breeze had carried to her nostrils a tangy flavor. As if to answer her question, a seagull’s cry echoed in the distance.

“I prefer the sound of rain and a moodier setting.” Julius was looking at her.

Allegra knew because Andres who still held his brother was staring at her. She felt a strange satisfaction in the knowledge Julius was truly looking at her. It was new. And then she realized what he had just said and wished they were alone. The memory of a picnic came back to her. It had happened only a few days before the whole madness of the Malady started. The world was a different place then. Boring, always the same, never exciting. It was the end of the quarter, all the finals done, and the weather was terrible. The sun had shone through the whole time they were confined inside to study, and now was freezing and incessantly raining. Allegra felt caged and her mood was affecting both of them. After a few days of listening to her complaints, Julius had enough and organized an outing of sort. He said he wanted to go for a walk and led her to the Winter Garden. If Allegra closed her eyes, she could still hear the sound of the rain hitting the glass walls of the conservatory enclosing the Winter Garden. They had spent the whole afternoon lying on the floor on a plush carpet, their eyes to the ceiling, talking of the silliest things. To this day, the aroma of tangerines was connected to that afternoon. “Me too.”

The Prince’s Day Out

December 12, 2012 Monica La Portabedtime stories, children's book, illustrated fairytale, whimsical illustrationsLeave a comment

After several months of having fun with my Wacom tablet, my first illustrated fairytale has been released into the Amazon wild today. Funny anecdote, although my husband and I coordinated the whole publishing endeavor—on either sides of the ocean and nine hours apart—and submitted the story on 12/12/12 at 12:12 am, the fairytale results published on 12/11/12. Well, we tried.

One Busy Month

December 11, 2012 Monica La Porta12/12/12 illustrated fairytale announcement, artrage drawing, artrage fantasy world, Christmas anthology and NCADV, nanowrimo project, whimsical landscape2 Comments

I just realized it has been a whole month since my last post. To summarize more or less thirty busy days, I’ll start by saying I finished Nanowrimo. TCOM is now 90K and nowhere near its completion. There are good chances I’ll have to change the title. For a book named The City of Men, the main characters reach said city at the very end of the story and nothing really happens there. Roberto suggested to call it Journey to The City of Men and I like it. I’m still working with my editor on Prince of War. A combination of real life and fictional angst is slowing down the editing of my beloved Prince. But, we are getting there. At the end of November, the anthology Christmas Lites II was published and I’m truly proud my little fairytale is among so many great shorts. Meanwhile, I flew back to Italy to celebrate my dad’s 70th birthday and I am staying in Umbria for another week. Finally, tomorrow, my first illustrated tale, The Prince’s Day Out, should be released. Crossing fingers!

Monica La Porta

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