Working under cover
I was reading a post from Jo the other day when I saw a really cool picture she had created using Lunapic.
I’m trying to come up with a cover for my latest novel The Devil Seam (the final edit is taking me far longer than expected because I’ve been too lazy busy lately).
So I thought (to stop my procrastination) I would play around with the picture I’m thinking of using for the book cover. I used Lunapic to add this very cool water theme. Naturally, this won’t come up when I publish the book – but how cool would it be if we could publish books with gif covers!
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SO – then I decided to try it on my other books. Good grief – what FUN!
There’s a storm coming down that road!
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Nothing is clear in this life and EVERYTHING we’ve been taught may just be a lie.
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My psychic detective can see ghosts in those trees!
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There’s a little bit of magic in those questions 😀
Okay – I’ve got to stop mucking around now.
Have you ever used a picture editing site like this?
Must … get … back … to … editing!
Dianne Gray author 
I’m impressed. I can barely find my way around facebook.
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LOL – me too! I’m new at all this web stuff, Carol 😀
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I kinda like those.
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I thought they were pretty cool, Ruth 😉
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That is so cool. I bookmarked the link so that I can play around…er, I mean…research possibilities for my covers, too. What fun!
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LOL – try not to get hooked like I did (oh dear) 😉 I was nearly going to put them permanently down the the side of my page, but thought that may be a little too much 😀
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Maybe you can do that at Christmas when a little more glitz and glam is expected. 🙂
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Oh yeah! What a great idea. I could have snowflakes falling all over them (although I do like the ‘glitter’ one as well) 😀
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There is no reason you can’t use gifs online. I say go for it! Moving images capture attention.
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They certainly do, Theo! I’ll try it on Amazon and see if they flick me off! I’m loving this site – so much fun 😀
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You’re having way too much fun. I’m jealous. Oh well, back to working on my foundation.
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I hope it’s all going well, Alta 🙂
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Glad you’re having fun, Dianne. 😀
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Thanks, Nancy. I think we make our own kind of fun in the country! 🙂
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I haven’t tried this type of editing but it does add a lot of fun and sparkle to the book covers, doesn’t it?
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It certainly does! I think the water effect is my fave 😀
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They look amazing!
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Thanks. Raphaela! 😀
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Sadly no, as I only have the one book and have never tried this. It would be wonderful if we could do this though, adds another dimension literally. Hope you have stopped mucking around now and back to your ‘serious’ work lovely. xxx
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As if it’s not bad enough trying to edit this novel and work on two others, last night I came up with another idea that I just HAVE to write about! Good grief – my muse has bought in her army! lol
I hope you’re feeling okay my dear and things are working out – I think of you a lot xxxx
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I want one! We can post these covers though…
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We can try! I’m going to see if I can get them to ‘stick’ at the right side of my page 😀
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love Lunapic and yes it would be super cool to have gif covers which of course wouldn’t work out so well for me or my bank account as I am attracted to bright, shiny, sparkly, watery things 😀
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Hahaha – I love your comment, Yolanda. You’re so much like me 😉
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These are amazing effects, Dianne. Maybe one day, it will be possible. My favourite is the lightning effect on “Let Sleeping Gods Lie.” Brilliant title, by the way. 🙂
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I’m so glad you like that one, Sylvia – I really think it matches the underlying emotional family ‘storm’ of the story. I’m sure (one day) in the future we’ll be able to buy books with covers like this online 😉
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What fun, Dianne! You went to town! 🙂 I haven’t even tried the others yet but I had a sneaky peek last night. ‘Let Sleeping Gods’ works brilliantly. I’d like a copy of that, please 🙂
Thank you so much for the ping. I never know where I’m going to turn up next! Have a happy week 🙂
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I really like the lightning strike on Let Sleeping Gods Lie because it works in so well with the story (stormy family relationships). Thank you so much for introducing me to Lunapic, I just love it and I’m been wondering for a long time (being someone who doesn’t really understand technology) how and where people get these ‘moving pictures’.
Do you want me to send you the gif pic of Let Sleeping Gods Lie?
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Ooh, yes please 🙂 Then you can sleep 🙂
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I’ve just sent it to you 😉
Let me know if it works or not. I’m not very good at this ‘technology business’ 🙂
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Will do 🙂
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Fantastic! 🙂 🙂
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Cool way to procrastinate! (Not that I need any more reasons to do that.) I, too, like the lightning effect. And I figure, if we have to have digital books, why not add some fanfare!
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Absolutely, Alarna! How cool would it be to have these pics on books (although I’d probably empty my bank account buying them out of pure intruige!) 😀
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You seem to have procrastination down to a fine art Dianne. Those covers are very cool. Now get back to work. I’m looking forward to reading the new book.
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LOL! If there’s one area of expertise I have, it’s procrastination! Sometimes I wish I wasn’t so good at it 😉
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How cool is that! I’ve always paid a little man to do my covers but that looks way more fun 🙂
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Imagine if we could put these covers on Amazon, Roy – actually, maybe not because I’d probably buy every book I see 🙂
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Wow technology keeps amazing me Dianne. I love the animated covers, maybe the Harry Potter animated posters and books is not that far off in reality…too cool.
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I’m sure all these things are just around the corner, Kath! 🙂
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That Jo, she knows all of the cool stuff! All of the covers look great Dianne…you went crazy! 🙂
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LOL – I did go crazy, Jill. Now I just have to calm down and write otherwise it will be 2016 by the time this next book comes out 😉
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I think it will be sooner, as long as the critter stay out of your writing nook. I’m dying to see some photos of your visitors. 🙂
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I looked at the same site and played with a few of my photos… it was great fun…. I think a gif cover is probably not far off…. I know you said it in jest but maybe with the way things are going at the moment it could be possible…. I stood gob smacked the other day and watched a 3D printer…. to much for my aging brain…
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Oh yes, Rob! Those 3D printers are out of this world! I’ve seen one and it’s a bit like trying to figure out a Rubik’s Cube 😉
I’m really glad you had a play with Lunapic, it’s a load of fun 😀
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Loved all of them. What a fun day of creating you had!!
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I love finding things like this. I don’t have a great understanding of technology, so finding a site that can do it all for me is very cool indeed! 😀
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So cool. I really liked the lightning on Let Sleeping Gods Lie
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The lightning is a very popular one, Char and I can understand why because I love it too! It really matches the story line. I think I could play with photos on this site for days 😀
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Fun! I’ve never really played around with picture sites but one site I like a lot is Wordle (for making cool word clouds).
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I’ve been looking for a site like that, Janna. I’m going to head over there and take a look. Thank you! 😉
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What fun! It would work great for book covers posted on our blogs. I may have to try that.
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I think so too. I’m going to try it with my novels that I have listed down the right side of my page. Very eye catching!
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That is amazing, Dianne. I’m off to try it myself. The day will come–soon–when your gorgeous gif will appear as a cover.
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I’m hoping that day will be soon, Jacqui. As someone said on one these comment – I’ve turned procrastination into a fine art (lol) 😀
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No, I haven’t used an editing site like that! What fun. Can you use this on your Kindle covers or online books? That would be cool. Good luck on your editing.
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Amy, I checked out the feasibility of the Kindle cover but Amazon do not accept a gif file 😦 So I guess it’s just a matter of having these on webpages and blogs. But I think they’re very cool indeed!
Thank you for the good luck on my editing – I need to put my head down and start as soon as possible 😉
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I really liked the first two 😛
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Thank you, Rachel! 😀
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Maybe someday!
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It would be great to see 😉
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Well, you clearly had fun! I’ve never tried photo editing like that, but I have to say, a gif cover would be awesome! The water one was my favorite one you did 🙂
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I like the water one and the lightning one – it was a load of fun (and a great distraction from editing!) 😉
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Distractions are good, they refuel the tank for dedicated effort 🙂 The covers are great – maybe one day for e-books they will happen.
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It must have worked because I spent hours yesterday going through the book! YAY – getting there 😀
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Wow, I loved those. Especially the water one. Now I’m going to have to play and I don’t even have a book finished yet! 🙂
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LOL – go and play, Jackie!
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Never seen anything like that before -it’s a little dizzying! 😉
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Some of those gifs can be really annoying. I made sure I used the ‘not so annoying’ ones, Denise. lol 😉
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You are GOOD at procrastination, and you even create something cool while you’re doing it! For me procrastination means I just look at the bed that needs to be made and walk away without even making it and start petting the dog. I stare at the computer screen and then get up and tweeze a particularly annoying chin hair that is 1/32 of an inch long, or I walk into the living room and turn off the TV that no one has watched for three hours, and get distracted by what I should eat in two hours and stare into the open refrigerator door for three minutes trying to find one thing that sounds inviting. THAT’s procrastination! Your activities are called creativity! 🙂
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This is hilarious, Marsha! I have followed your footsteps EXACTLY many, many times (but I think my chin hairs may be longer than yours) LOL 😀
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I obsess, so they are not allowed to grow longer than my hair!
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Dianne, so cool. Your books look amazing. Are any available in paperback? I don’t do Kindle. Thank you so much for reminding me about that site. When I saw it on Jo’s blog, I wanted to try it and got busy and forgot about it. But I love this!!! Going there now!
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All my books are available on Paperback through LULU, Luanne 😀
As soon as I saw this on Jo’s site I went there and got hooked! You’ll really enjoy it, I’m sure 😀
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Haha! Get back in that editing chair, Miss Dianne! That is pretty neat. I could make my Everything’s Not Bigger jewels sparkle like mad on that cover! : )
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You could do that, Britt! lol 😀
I did a heap of editing yesterday so I’m pretty happy about that. Lunch with the girls today and then back into the editing chair tomorrow (I’m hoping) 😉
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Because I really needed another little computer ‘gadget’ to fall back on during my own procrastination days. Thanks. I think. 😀 (BTW – I finally headed out on vacation and finished Let Sleeping Gods Lie on my Kindle App (first time I’ve ever travelled without paperback books). It was excellent – and loved your cover treatment above – very fitting to the darkness of that tale!)
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I’m so glad you liked the story, Suzan! The Kindle App is a lot lighter than a pile of books 😀
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Just means no cleaning lady is getting a stack to take home. 😉
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I’ve never heard of that but I gotta say I want to try it out! I have so many blog posts waiting to be written but I might need to do a Lunapic post!
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I’d love to see that 😀
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Those look so cool, but I’m afraid I wouldn’t get any writing done if I tried my hand at them! As others have said, I bet the day comes when we can have covers like these—and probably moving images in the books, too. But for now, I think they would make a striking widget on the side bar of a blog!
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I’m thinking exactly the same thing! 😀
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Gosh, you’re so techy. I’d love to be able to do this kind of stuff, but more importantly, I’d LOVE to have written all of those books!!! :))
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I just need to get back onto the swing of writing, Hazy. I think I’ve taken procrastination to a whole new level (or made it some kind of art form)! 😉
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Very cool, Dianne!
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Thanks, Anna! 😀
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Those covers come a little closer to representing all the action, intrigue, and subtlety of your novels, Dianne. {{{hugs}}} from blogging break, Kozo
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I hope you’re having a wonderful blogging break, Kozo. Thanks so much for dropping in to say hello 😀
{{{hugs}}}
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Thanks for posting the link to LunaPic. It looks like an immensely fun site.
I like your book covers. They remind me of the magical portraits and photos in the Harry Potter stories. People in them can move about.
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Hey, these look really fun! And I’m very glad/excited/thrilled etc ad infinitum that your new book is in the final stages:-) Hugs, H xxx
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Thanks, Harula! I’m also glad/excited/thrilled ad infinitum – YAY! 😀
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I’m sure there will be animation in book covers before long. You’re a trend-setter!
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Yes, beautiful (and what fun). I’ve tried Waterlogued. Turns your photos into water colors.
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Okay – I’ll certainly be trying that one! 🙂
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Oh, the places we go on the web. I am supposed to be finalizing my poetry collection for publication today, but have allowed myself to get totally distracted by blogs and links and FB videos, etc, etc. And my husband’s just phoned to say that he’s on his way home, so there goes the writing time 🙂
Love the “Let Sleeping Gods Lie” cover.
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Simple is best. Playing with animations only slows things down and really don’t add any value.
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