Michele Poague's Blog

Trep scarcely had time to slip into the house before he heard the light rap of Isontra’s walking stick at the door. He quickly tossed some of Naturi’s drawings on the table, composed himself, and went to let her in. With her silver head held high, Isontra walked purposefully to the center of the room,... Read More

The Nor monument was a spire of dark gray stone with arms of layered rock creating a circle around a squat stone altar. On the face of the spire was a brass plague welcoming the Survinees to this mountain. From here, the Survinees could see heavily forested land to the horizon in all directions. Across... Read More

The four most powerful persons in the small village of Survin sat in the great room of the Chancery. The fire burned brightly in the hearth, sending tiny sparks flying into the room. A pot of terrid sat steaming on the rock trivet in the center of the long dining table. Kairma sat with her... Read More

Once Tamron had joined Isontra, the crowd of observers followed Tamron’s cue and began to melt away, leaving a bewildered Trep standing with Collin, Zedic, and his three sentries. Trep sat down on a large log and mumbled, “That went about as smooth as a square wheel.” Hamond, Loren, and Joel turned to watch the... Read More

The canyon was alive with activity the following morning as people prepared for the first celebration of spring. Jettena and Kairma met with a small group of men who had just returned from the hunt. Once Kairma described the location of the wolf sighting, the men hurried away, hoping to return in time for the... Read More

Naturi watched them walk away, thinking he’d love to give Collin a lesson in manners. He hated when Collin called Kairma Boo. It was undignified, and far too intimate. Collin was seventeen now, old enough to take a mate, and Naturi thought he should be more respectful. He bristled at the thought of Collin taking... Read More

Kairma was feeling a little uneasy about probing around the Godstones as she climbed up the stairs on the left side of the fourth head and walked through the narrow crevice that led to the opening of the newly discovered shrine. Seeing Collin and Zedic just finishing their lunch, she smiled brightly. “Hey, Boo, glad... Read More

The Trilogy didn’t take off like we had hoped and it’s hard to say if the cover was holding it back or not. After walking through stores and studying other covers I realized most books have a person on the cover. So my next book cover would incorporate a character. The rest of the imagery... Read More

A moment later Jettena called them for lunch. Kairma was famished and Isontra agreed to continue the lesson later. Laying down the ancient records, the two women joined Jettena at the long dining table. Her little brothers were at the table already playing with their food, but Zedic was nowhere to be seen. Kairma was... Read More

There are hundreds of blogs and books on cover design; many of which I have read. Some of these educational blogs and books stress the use of symbolism, while others counsel using people on the cover because the story is all about the characters. Others advise to avoid images of characters, claiming readers like to... Read More