Showing posts with label Honey Queen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Honey Queen. Show all posts

Monday, March 16, 2015

Interior Design for Book Nerds

I bet you thought this was going to be a post on how to make more bookshelves fit into your home decor, didn't you? No, this post is aimed at those who enjoy the details that go into the design of the interior of the book.

They can range from little artsy accents on the page numbers, all the way up to full-blown illustrations. I personally love all incarnations of art in written works, and believe they can enhance the experience for the reader. Here are a few examples from Honey Queen, by Christina Mercer:




You'll see there's a bee hovering at the page number in the bottom right corner, and here's a closeup of the chapter headings:


Christina includes titles for each of her chapters, and I think this sort of artwork is a great way to draw the reader's attention to each one, while also tying it in with previous chapters.

For Crow's Rest, I had already bought a bunch of vector artwork of crow silhouettes and wanted to sprinkle them throughout--fortunately, Errick A. Nunnally, who designed the interior layout, went along with it and I love how it turned out:

The title page

The top of each page corner features a tiny crow, and what else do you use for section breaks but a line of crow tracks?!?

These are the chapter numberings
I know of several other books that incorporate art this way, and I love how it becomes a unique part of each story. If you have a favorite book that uses interior art, please share in the comments below!

Monday, June 9, 2014

Honey Queen At Large!

New Release! YA Fantasy/Romance HONEY QUEEN

 

HQ coverLove is honey sweet, but it comes with a fatal sting . . .

Melaina Maris needs wings to fly the gap between loving Sam and her family's ancient curse that forces carnal love and then kills the male lovers. She won't let the same fate that killed her father befall another. She refuses to allow her goddess-created bloodline to continue. But there's no easy way out, especially after the curse turns her into the Honey Queen--savior to honey bees--intensifying her charms. To help her fulfill the curse's demands in the least harmful way, her grandmother takes her to mate with terminally ill Boyd. But Boyd's gay. And an expert in mythology. Instead of having sex, Melaina learns how she might summon the goddess who created the ancestor bee-charmer and cursed her bloodline. Melaina's magic--tears to save honey bees from endangerment--could be enough to persuade the goddess to end the curse. But an unexpected discovery soon changes that hope, spinning Melaina into a swarm of love, friendship and death.

A Regional SCBWI "Best in Show"

Easy Click Purchase:

Author Bio:

head+shot+2Christina Mercer is an award-winning author of fiction for children and young adults. Honored titles include Tween/Teen Fantasy ARROW OF THE MIST and its sequel ARMS OF ANU, and YA Fantasy/Romance HONEY QUEEN. In addition to writing, Christina holds a degree in Accounting from California State University at Sacramento and a Certificate in Herbal Studies from Clayton College of Natural Health. She resides in Northern California enjoying life with her husband, two sons, four dogs, and about 100,000 honeybees. To learn more about her and her writing, visit: WebSite | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads