Create Your Debut YA Cover

I wanted to fade the top edge of the black bar at the bottom of mine, but forgot until after I'd saved it as one image and since I didn't save a project version, I am NOT making it all over again! So this is how it is.

What will yours look like?

CREATE YOUR DEBUT YA COVER

1 – Go to "Fake Name Generator" or click http://www.fakenamegenerator.com/

The name that appears is your author name.

2 – Go to "Random Word Generator" or click http://www.websitestyle.com/parser/randomword.shtml

The word listed under "Random Verb" is your title.

3 – Go to "FlickrCC" or click http://flickrcc.bluemountains.net/index.php

Type your title into the search box. The first photo that contains a person is your cover.

4 – Use Photoshop, Picnik, or similar to put it all together. Be sure to crop and/or zoom in.

5 – Post it to your site along with this text.

Let 100 Scope Notes know that you made one by commenting here, and it'll be added to the gallery!

Waiting on Wednesday: Voices of Dragons by Carrie Vaughn

"Waiting on" Wednesday was created by Jill of Breaking the Spine, and is a way for bloggers to share the upcoming books that they're longing for. This week I'm waiting on...

Voices of Dragons
by Carrie Vaughn
Released March 1st, 2010

On one side of the border lies the modern world: the internet, homecoming dances, cell phones. On the other side dwell the ancient monsters who spark humanity’s deepest fears: dragons.

Seventeen-year-old Kay Wyatt knows she’s breaking the law by rock climbing near the border, but she’d rather have an adventure than follow the rules. When the dragon Artegal unexpectedly saves her life, a secret friendship grows between them—even though the fragile truce that has maintained peace between their two species is unraveling around them. As tensions mount and battles begin, Kay and Artegal are caught in the middle. Can their friendship change the course of a war?

In her young adult debut, New York Times bestselling author Carrie Vaughn presents a modern tale of myths and machines and an alliance that crosses a seemingly unbridgeable divide.

Why I'm waiting:
I love dragons, and this looks like it will be a well-done modern-day book on them.

Waiting on Wednesday: Dragonfly by Julia Golding

"Waiting on" Wednesday was created by Jill of Breaking the Spine, and is a way for bloggers to share the upcoming books that they're longing for. I missed it last week because I'm running out of especially exciting books to post about. :-( This week I'm waiting on...

Dragonfly
by Julia Golding
Released October 20th, 2009 (previously released in the UK)

Princess Taoshira of the Blue Crescent Islands is appalled when she is ordered to marry Prince Ramil of Gerfal in order to unite their lands. And he's not too pleased, either. They hate each other on sight. So, when Tashi and Ramil are kidnapped, they fear there's no escape - from their kidnappers or from each other. Can they put aside their differences long enough to survive ambush, unarmed combat, brainwashing, and imprisonment? And will the people they meet on their adventure help them or betray them to the enemy?

Why I'm waiting:
I'm currently in the middle of Julia Golding's Cat Royal Adventures (as many as have been published in the US, anyway) and find them very entertaining. While I'm thinking this will be rather different from Cat's, I'm hoping it will still be good. It sounds rather fairytale-like.

I LOVE My Library!

Because the library system orders so many books! Thanks to Wowbrary, a program that alerts you to your library's newest acquisitions, just this morning I placed a hold on:

Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev

Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Fire by Kristin Cashore

and

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Natalie's Good Fortune

A Tale of Piracy and Adventure
by Anthony R. Fanning

At sixteen, Natalie Scatterfield is the soft daughter of a wealthy man, destined to be married off for her father's gain.
However, off the coast of the Caribbean islands in 1722, her destiny is changed forever when the ship she's aboard is attacked by pirates.
Natalie summons her courage and escapes, only to find herself alone on an island and more in need of strength and backbone than ever before if she's going to survive.
But Natalie has fiery Irish blood in her veins and she might find she has a temper and stubborn desire to persevere to match!

Natalie's Good Fortune is a darn good classic adventure story with nothing dull about it. Although unlike them in plot and characters, fans of Pirates of the Caribbean, Pirates!, Bloody Jack Adventures, or Stevenson's Treasure Island will thoroughly enjoy Natalie's Good Fortune. The characters are easy to see in your mind's eye and the scenes and sequences that unfold keep your eyes wide with excitement.
Mr. Fanning's debut novel is utterly readable and highly entertaining--and you won't want to miss the sequel, Isle of Lost Souls. Also look for the upcoming third volume of Natalie's adventures in The Devil's Footprint (tentative title).

Note:
This is definitely recommended for ages 14+ due to suggestive content (pirates being lewd and teenaged boys being their usual selves). Nothing explicit, but there is quite a bit--enough that it makes the Bloody Jack Adventures look clean. It didn't bother me, but I like to let people know.

Waiting on Wednesday: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

"Waiting on" Wednesday was created by Jill of Breaking the Spine, and is a way for bloggers to share the upcoming books that they're longing for. This week I'm waiting on...

Shiver
by Maggie Stiefvater

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human...until the cold makes him shift back again. Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

Why I'm waiting:
This won't be just another werewolf book.