Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Norse God Blogfest, Escalation Inspiration, and Days of the Week

Escalation Inspiration: I wanted to show the inspiration for the cover art for Escalation. After weeks of frustration I came across this Dr. Who picture on Google Images and knew immediately this was my template. And I wanted something to show a parallel dimension and people trying to cross over.
 
So I went to Shutterstock.com and found the blonde woman with her hands touching what appeared to be an invisible barrier (see the ripples). And she looks like Susan, Chase’s soul mate. And the guy is about the closest to Chase I could find. Then there is the nuclear blast. And finally the background which is the globe with major cities being connected by arched trails of light.
 
All in all there are four images purchased from Shutterstock that are cut and pasted together, along with an image of the buildings inside the wormhole I took (it also appears in the Opening cover art) Total: five images to make one.

Thanks: to everyone who helped and participated and commented on my Cover Reveal! You're all awesome!!!
 
The Norse Gods Blogfest: Brought to you by Siv Ottem and Alex J. Cavanaugh in celebration of Siv’s new book ‘Secrets of the Ash Tree’ Together they have decided to throw a big book release beginning October 9th, which just happens to be Siv’s birthday. Happy Birthday Siv!
 
Instead of naming my favorite Norse God (Thor of course. Hey, I like to swing my mighty hammer!) I thought I would do something different and list the moons in our solar system (all belonging to Saturn) named after Norse gods. Snarky comments are my own:
 
Ymir: Norse progenitor of giants and humans. The gods killed him for producing evil giants and used his body to create heaven and earth. In death, his body created dwarves (so that’s where dwarves came from)

Thrym: King of the frost giants in Norse mythology, his name means "uproar." He rules Jotunheim (except for his mother-in-law).
 
Skadi: Another frost Giantess, she was the Norse personification of winter. To appease her for her father's murder, the gods allowed her to choose one of them for a husband, but only by looking at their feet (so she grabbed the one with the biggest feet … rim shot please boom boom cchhh...)
 
Mundilfari: A Norse Giant who angered the gods by naming his beautiful children Mani (moon) and Sol (sun); the children were then forced to guide the chariots of their namesakes (who refused and were later found playing video games)
 
Suttung: A Norse Giant who stole the mead of poetry from the dwarves (what up with Norse Gods and dwarves???) that made it from Kvasir's blood, and hid it in a mountain. Odin heard his boasting and managed to get it all for himself (Ugh! Good wine mixed with dwarves and bad poetry. No wonder Odin’s demeanor was terrifying and grim). Reference
 
Did You Know: Not all the moons in our solar system are named after Greek and Roman deities. Some were named after for Gallic (Gaul, or ancient France), Norse, and Inuit (Eskimo) giants as well as characters in Shakesperean plays.
 
Fun Fact: The days of the week actually have a Norse god origin:
Sunday: Sun's Day. The Sun gave people light and warmth every day. They decided to name the first (or last) day of the week after the Sun.
Monday: Moon's Day. The Moon was thought to be very important in the lives of people and their crops.
Tuesday: Tiw's Day. Tiw, or Tyr, was a Norse god known for his sense of justice.
Wednesday: Woden's Day. Woden, or Odin, was a Norse god who was one of the most powerful of them all.
Thursday: Thor's Day. Thor was a Norse god who wielded a giant hammer.
Friday: Frigg's Day. Frigg was a Norse god equal in power to Odin.
Seater's Day or Saturn's Day. Saturn was a Roman god.
 
What? No day named after dwarves? I want my money back. Reference
 
Question: How did you come up with your cover art? Who’s your favorite Norse god? Do you like dwarves?
 
 

35 comments:

  1. I had to go with Thor as well. Although apparently I need to celebrate on Thursday.
    My publisher's illustrator asked me numerous questions about the story and came up with the cover for CassaStorm. I was very happy with it.
    Cool idea how you got your own - your nephew did an awesome job with the concept.
    And your blog's background makes me feel like I'm in the movie Gravity...

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    1. Alex, in your case the publisher often decides the cover design. They may value your input. Or not. Good advice: better listen to the Ninja!

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  2. Great cover, didn't know you could design your own like that. What about Norse goddesses, I can't remember my Norse mythology, but there must have been some surely. Open bottles of wine? Something we never have. No, don't drink and blog although I have done it. I like tossing dwarves, and I am married to the current dwarf tossing champion who beat the Dragon Knight to gain his title.

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    1. Jo, you have such an unexpected sense of humor. Have to love that! In the U.S., we toss dwarves against a wall of Velcro. Its not the distance that counts. It's height. Its just funny.

      The dwarves like it too. They get free beers!

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  3. All that was awesome Steve. The cover story was impressive, and I loved all the Norse Gods you displayed. I thought all the days of the week were named for Greek or Egyptian gods. Learn something fascinating here every time I arrive. Thanks.

    ........dhole

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    1. Donna, I thought the same regarding the Days of the Week. But a simple Google search revealed otherwise,

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  4. Great job on the cover. Nice to know how it came to be. Good luck!

    And good luck to Siv with her Secrets of the Ash Tree! Perhaps the Norse gods liked the dwarves to do the 'grunt work', those jobs which they considered too lowly for the gods.

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  5. I picked 'Thor too, and then found out he was married to Sif, a woman with gold for hair, and also has a mistress! No longer my favorite! LOL

    Fun blog hop! Happy Birthday to Siv!

    Truly amazing how you designed you own cover - I'm not that talented!

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  6. Like your take on the Norse theme, particularly the days of the week. Drinking and blogging, not sure there is a law about it but perhaps wise to limit the intake!

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  7. Was that Dr. Who cover a film? as I remember the first tv episode of Dr. Who way back.......to many years I care to remember,
    I don't know much about NORSE Gods, but when I have some spare time will take a look on the net,

    Have a good day.
    Yvonne.

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  8. Loved hearing how your cover was created. And thanks for the info on Norse gods. So interesting.

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  9. Definately a fun post to read! I really like your take and the comments. (Friday is also known as Freya's day, and the god with the big feet was Njord, her father) Thanks for participating in this blogfest and I really like your cover!

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  10. Hi, Stephen,

    Very clever post... Really enjoyed it! Make sure you drop by my blog on Friday.... I'm featuring a special intro for your cover....

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  11. Good luck to you Siv. This is a fun Blogfest. And Happy Birthday!

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  12. What a fascinating post delving into the deeper mythology of Norse gods Stephen!

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  13. Very nice. Norse moons. I definitely didn't think of that one. Awesome post Stephen and Happy Norse God blogging!

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  14. Stephen, thanks for sharing your inspiration for your cover (which is great). Interesting to learn how authors come up with their covers and all the very best to you on your sales. By the way, like the blog header-- very cool.

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  15. Awesome! I love reading about how you came up with your cover art! I'm married to a graphic artist, so despite my many suggestions, he went to work and threw his concepts back at me. He way outdid me.

    Yay for your book!

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  16. People do judge a book by its cover. I know I do. Its the first thing that grabs one's attention, and you need to be competitive and spend a little $$$.

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  17. I'm always so interested in learning how authors pick their book covers. :) Thanks for this post!
    Nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com

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  18. That's a lot of pictures combined for your cover! Good job. As always, I learn lots when I visit your blog. Didn't know about the connection with the solar system.

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  19. I first looked for someone who epitomised my heroine and added the obligatory moon and a seaside background. BishBosh! There was more to it, but that's it in brief. :) Loved you angle on this blogfest... very interesting. Cheers! What is it with everyone choosing Thor (although, I admit, I almost did too!) ? And ahem, hobbit kick dwarf bootie, but they are fun. :)

    http://shahwharton.com/

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  20. I love your collection of facts!!! And your cover. Very cool. I knew about the weekday names, but the planets never occured to me. Fascinating! And you know there is in fact a space phenomenon for dwarves... a red dwarf, that is.. see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_dwarf because I'm not capable of explaining what it is. ; )

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  21. I didn't realize there were so many Norse-named moons! That's awesome! Thank you for sharing that! (And Thor is my favorite too -- as anyone who has been reading my blog knows well!)

    also, I love your cover!

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  22. I see some new people as well as some who I haven't seen in a while. Maybe its because many people don't know I have a fairly new Website. Welcome and I hope to see you again!

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  23. the cover looks great! :)

    I'm afraid all I know about Norse Gods I've learned from the Almighty Johnsons :)

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  24. Thanks for the fun facts about Norse Gods and the naming of things. Great cover art.

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  25. Hi Stephen .. interesting to read how you found your way to your cover ... loved hearing about the process: at least you had an idea about what you wanted the salient part ..

    Good luck to Siv with her book ... and then the way things get called .. I didn't know about the Gallic connection, or for that matter the Norse, Innuit and even Shakespeare naming aspects ...

    Have fun along this last piece of the jig-saw .. excellent for you - Hilary

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  26. I loved this post. Cover design always sounds so easy, but in reality it's very difficult and exacting. I sometimes have ideas, but they never work. My designer, however, is totally amazing. He gets all the credit for mine.

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  27. Loved the humor and facts in this post! I hope I never have to design my own cover. It's hard work. I'd rather give input and allow someone else to do it. Great cover btw!

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  28. Wait a minute. Who was Skadi's father and why was he murdered?

    My younger son is 6' 3" and his son (age 14) is 6' 4" and still growing. A few dwarfs around here might be a nice change of pace.

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  29. I see a lot of people have someone they know or have their publisher do the actual work, although you do have input. Seems like this is how most cover art is developed.

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  30. Great snarky comments. Of course I'm partial to Norse gods over Roman or Greek, being the Fierce Viking Chick (thanks Hilary!) myself. I did know about the days of the week being named like that - we learned it in school in Sweden in 2nd grade!
    I loved your cover, and now I know why! I'm a total Dr. Who nut and something in me must have recognized the image ;-) Great job putting that all together! Very clever. I do love learning about the symbolism that goes into cover making. All I know is that Jeremy has promised to make mine when the time comes so I'm all set!
    Tina @ Life is Good

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  31. How exciting to see your cover put together!

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  32. Hey Stephen!

    Inspiration and Dr. Who. A very good friend of mine has met most of the guys who have starred as Dr. Who. His house is like a Dr. Who shrine.

    Yes, I'm awesome and thanks for your interaction on my blog. Wishing you loads of success, my friend. My cover reveal involved fitted sheets. And don't you hate how fitted sheets hardly ever fit?

    Oh, before I go...Argggghhhhh!!! Blogfests! Blog Hops! Make them STOP! Sorry about that. Phew, feel better now.

    Gary :)

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