People often ask me about my covers. They wonder if I work with a graphic artist or if I do them myself.  The answer is both. When I first started writing I did all my own covers using a program called GIMP. It’s an awesome program but I was only minimally skilled at using it, so while my covers were acceptable they weren’t really awesome.  Here are a few of my original efforts.

When I was writing Zoe Donovan #9, Haunted Hamlet, I wanted to combine two graphics, one on the top and one on the bottom, but was having a hard time getting them to blend. I posted my work in progress on Facebook and asked if anyone had any suggestions. An angel named Jessica Fisher commented to my post and offered to work with the images and see what she could do.  Here are the two graphics along with the finished product.

Once I got a glimpse of how really talented Jessica was I asked her if she was willing to take on an even more challenging task. She was. I wanted to use a Christmas interior I found for a Thanksgiving book. The image below is the original graphic followed by the finished product. Can you believe it is even the same graphic? She not only changed the view though the window from winter to fall, but she eliminated the tree and stockings, extended the floor, and added a new rug. She also added the grate in front of the fireplace as well as all the fall decor. Once I saw how really talented Jessica was I asked her if she would like to work with me on a permanent basis. Luckily she did and the rest is history.

Jessica and I have settled into a routine of sorts. I come up with the idea and the base graphic, I then give her my wish list. She manipulates the graphic to meet my needs and after a series for emails we have a finished product. Jessica really is very talented and I really do test the limits of that talent at times. I usually send her a graphic followed by the words, “I really like this but I want to move this, eliminate that, make this bigger and that smaller, etc. Somehow she manages to make it work.

Comment below with your favorite Kathi Daley Books cover to be entered to win a Hopscotch Homicide tote.

I couldn’t decide for the longest time was whether I loved the concept of turning books into movies and television series. My first ventures into watching movies based on much loved books had been disappointing at best. After I watched several book adaptions I began to notice a pattern of emotional highs and lows that seemed to accompany the experience.

Stage 1: Excitement – When you first see that a much loved book is going to be made into a movie or television series you feel a sort of euphoria that the characters you know so well will become a more intimate part of your life. You imagine which actor will play which role, and in most cases, you discuss the topic with fellow readers. Your mood at this point can best be described as optimistic.

Stage 2: Anger and Disbelief  – when you first view a movie adapted from a much loved book you will inevitably find that the producers have decided in their infinite wisdom to change a few facts. At times they change so many facts that you can barely recognize the similarity to the book you have read and loved. You find yourself saying things such as, “That character isn’t even in the book” or “In the book that character looked and acted totally different.”  At this point your mood can best be described as irate.

Stage 3: Mourning – If you are able to continue with the series or movie after the stage of anger and disbelief, you will experience a sort of mourning. During this stage you will no longer fight every decision the director has taken, but you will feel a sense of loss that the movie that you hoped for is nothing more than a pipe dream and the big orange cat you have come to know and love isn’t big or orange at all. (Really, with all the cats in the world they couldn’t find an orange one?)

Stage 4: Acceptance – If you’ve made it this far you will find that you have accepted the choices that the directors have made, and while you still not be thrilled with them, you can begin to accept them. You no longer feel the need to curse at the television. You find that you are beginning to watch the program for what it is, a loose and watered down version of the book for sure, but a movie or series that you know you would have enjoyed had you not first read the book.

Stage 5: Enjoyment – If you make it this far you will find that you can actually begin to enjoy the movie or series free of expectation. At this point it becomes its own entity. You no longer compare it to the book because you know it is not the book. It can not nor ever will be the same as the book but it is still pretty awesome on its own merit.

So there you have it, the 5 stages of media transition. Comment below about a book adaption that you either loved or hated and be entered to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card.

People often ask me if my characters are based either on myself or someone I know. Most of the time the answer is no. Many of the dogs in my books however, are very much based on dogs that I have known and loved. My childhood dog was a terrier looking mix named Charlie much like Zoe’s Charlie in the Zoe Donovan series, and the adorable canine that graces the cover of every Paradise Lake Book is the spitting image of my real dog Echo. Let me clarify. Echo the real dog is not quite as perfect as Echo the book dog. My Echo is a totally awesome dog, but he is just a pet. He does not possess any special powers (other than to make me happy) and he has not been trained in search and rescue. Today’s blog will be dedicated to this huge bundle of joy.

Meet Echo as a puppy. Isn’t he cute! He has had the most kick back personality ever since we brought him home. He loves to cuddle and so do I.

Echo loves to go boating. We started him out young and he loves it to this day.

He also love swimming. The dog thinks he is a duck. If there is water he is in it. His first experience swimming was when he was just 8 weeks old. I had just gotten him and I decided to take a walk with him down to the river. There is this one spot where there is a high ledge about five feet above the top of the water. He saw the water, jumped off the ledge, and sank below the surface of the water. Yes I totally freaked out. He looked surprised when he came up for air but he seemed to love the experience and I haven’t been able to keep him out of the water since.

Echo also likes the snow. He is a dog of all seasons.

Echo is also a dog who loves the holidays. Actually I think it is the cookies that he really likes but he tends to be a good sport and accommodate my need to dress him up in all sorts of hats and whatnot.

Echo is a huge goof who loves the kids and they love him.

So there you have it. My dog Echo. Isn’t he awesome!

Echo is my third Bernese Mountain dog here are photos of the other two.

   This is BJ. He was my first.

And then I got EZ. 

I am giving away a Kindle or Paperback copy (Non US Kindle only) of any Paradise Lake book currently being published. To be entered to win comment below.

If you want to be sure not to miss any of my random thoughts please “follow” this blog. The next issue will be out on July 17.

I find that at times that I have a difficult time maintaining balance in my life. I think part of my problem is that it is important to me to conquer all the aspects of my life with a reasonable degree of success. I’m not sure that I’ve ever been as successful at finding balance as I’d like. When I was in college I took a bunch of extra classes that I really didn’t need “for fun” so that I was on overload much of the time. As a young mother I tried to do it all: soccer mom, PTA president, gym junkie, volunteer coordinator. If you ever wonder why my protagonists are always running around in a million different directions, I think the probable answer is that the uber busy lifestyle is all I can really identify with.

When I decided to try my hand at writing I threw myself into it with the same gusto I have thrown at everything else. By the end of 2016 I will have published 36 books in 28 months. Am I crazy? Apparently. I keep telling myself I will cut back but then I’ll have a few extra minutes and decide in a moment of insanity that adding one more book really is a good idea.  In 2016 I AM going to cut back a bit, I just need to figure out where. Should I delete a series? Cut back to just a couple of books in each of the 4 series? I’m not really certain at this point but be assured that these are questions I will be pondering.

I live a very busy life outside of my life as a writer. Sometimes I forget that. Leave it to a kid related activity to really bring home the importance of living a life with flexibility built in. After I decided to add Much Ado About Felines and Hopscotch Homicide to my publication schedule I knew it would be tight but I also felt it would be doable as long as there were no life interruptions. As you might have guessed life interrupted in the form of my 12 year old grandson making it to the South Lake Tahoe All Star Team for Little League. I am so proud of him and I have loved watching him excel and have a wonderful time, but in the past two weeks I have been out of town every day attending one game or another and I have gotten exactly zero writing done. I still think I can catch up but I will need to adjust a bit.

During my life interruption I was supposed to be working on Halloween in Paradise. I haven’t opened the file once. As a result I am going to push it back two weeks. It will publish on September 1 rather than August 15 and I am not going to do a presale. I still think I can get back on track for The Legend of Tabby Hollow, Ghostly Graveyard, The Cat of Christmas Past, and Santa Sleuth. I will keep you updated.  I also want to enjoy some of what Tahoe has to offer in terms of summertime fun and relaxation. I love to go to the beach and watch the sunset. I love to paddleboard, kayak, bike, hike, and spend lazy days with my grandkids. The winters are long and the summers are short so I know I need to embrace all that there is to embrace while I can. As a result of my late start to summer I will be cutting back on my social media obligations just a bit. I will still be around but maybe not quite as often so please be patient if I don’t comment to your post right away. I care about you all very much and want to stay in contact with all of you so don’t worry I’m not going to disappear. I hope you all have a wonderful and eventful summer.

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Comment below to be entered to win a Kindle or Paperback Copy of any Kathi Daley book – Non US Kindle only

If you want to be sure not to miss any of my random thoughts please “follow” this blog. The next issue will be out on July 10.

My giveaway for today is going to be a paperback or Kindle copy of any Kathi Daley book (non US Kindle only.) To be entered comment below and let me know what your must do summer plans include.