Back To Business

I'm sorry it's been so long, but the weather really has been stifling and my brain a little puddle on the floor. So apologies over, lets get back to business.

Thought I'd share with you the quasi final image for my book, Reflections. I say quasi, cos if you all comment saying you hate it, I shall change it!
I've been using two pieces of (free) software. The first is FastStone Image Viewer. This piece of kit allows you to do lots of things which images. The particular thing I wanted to do was to change shape (the original was wider) and apply an effect, this time it was a kind of watercolour effect. My main aim was to make it look less like a photo.
The second programme was Scribus, which is like a kind of desktop publishing software which allows you to produce an image which you can you can customise and add text to and be of sufficient quality to reproduce, online or hard copy. I'm not the most creative sort when it comes to 'arty' kind of stuff, so it has taken me some time. But, I have learnt some new skills, which hopefully will come in handy in these days of self publishing.

So I've used a substitute for PhotoShop or Quark Express but I needed the two bits of free kit to get the effects I wanted. I have priced these more 'professional' programmes and unless I get picked up for a three book, multi moolah deal, with a chunky advance, I don't think my coffers could stand the strain...

I'm planning to finish the editing of the collection today, so report back next week on publication dates... nothing like a deadline to get one moving!

Until Later...