Elbow Grease and Determination

Good day everyone!

Last time I updated you it was January, so plenty has happened between then and now. Check it out:

1. Steve Alten's The LOCH 2 contest finished up April 1st. It was another great contest for an Alten thriller collecting tens of thousands of hits for his newest trailer. Congrats to the top 20 contestants who will be immortalized in the amazing follow-up to a New York Times bestselling title.

2. Two covers were created for Andrew Price, both being legal/crime thrillers. WITHOUT A HITCH and WRONGFUL DEATH came out snappy!

 

3. A handful of e-book layouts for Mindstir Media including BANISHED MEDIEVAL QUEEN, and children's picture books FAITH-A-LEAPIN' and EDISON THE FIREFLY. 


4. E-book and print layout for SONS OF GOD AND DAUGHTERS OF MEN by Nicholas Tanguma for Seven Realms.

5. Book trailer creation for Jeffrey Stephens for his newest release, TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY. While the final rendition just passed his inspection, it's not yet up on YouTube - but don't worry I'll be sure to get that bad Larry up here when it is available to be seen! It is by far my best book trailer creation and can't wait for you all to check it out.

6. E-book and print layout for Jeremy Robinson's novella CALLSIGN: KING III - BLACKOUT, the final new Chesspocalypse title in the series, co-written with Sean Ellis.

Thanks to my new clients who took the plunge and trusted me to provide them with a quality product, as well as the return customers who believed in my work to come back for another round. And thanks to you for your comments and time checking out my work.

--SJT

--UPDATE--

The book trailer created for Jeffrey Stephens is now live! Please check it out and let me know what you think.

Thanks again.

One Can Dream...

So, things have been going great for me as of late. I feel very honored to have met the people I've met and done work for. Thanks to you all! I have actually uploaded a bunch of my newer stuff to the Find The Axis Facebook page if you would like to see what I've been up to. While there are some of my older designs on there, oldies but goodies at that (just sayin'), you can see the handful of new covers I've been lucky to design.

Any who, let's get back on track. While I am honored at what I've been given the opportunity to do, one can dream - something I enjoy doing often - and reach for the stars. I would love to do covers for a few of the authors out there I've come in contact with. People like Jonathan Maberry, Joe Moore, Jon F. Merz, and Joseph Nassise - all who would take the shirt off their back and give it to you if you were in need. My list doesn't end there, like adding James Rollins and Steve Berry, or Douglas Preston and David Morrell, and so many more... like before, more of the same 'amazing human being' folk you could ever meet. You never know where time may lead you and hopefully one day I get to make a dream come true.

Now, it is time for you to dream! Who would you love to see grace the cover of your next book? Come on now, spill the beans.

2012 Excites!

With only a few days into 2012, things are already hopping! Two projects have been completed, with a long-term one just kicking off.

Project One - Rally 'Round The Corpse by Hy Conrad (Seven Realms Publishing)

Writer of TV's MONK and WHITE COLLAR, this title was one of my highest profile pieces and it was an honor to work on Hy's newest mystery! Thanks to Kent Holloway and 7R for another great opportunity. Both the e-book and the print book will be available in a few months to all you who dun-nit fans!

Project Two - Act Of God by Paul Byers

Author of CATALYST and ARCTIC FIRE, this collection of short stories was an absolute joy to work on. Paul is a great guy and his writing is engaging. Keep your eyes open for it in e-book in the near future and print later this year.

Project Three - The LOCH 2 Contest by Steve Alten

That's right, a sequel to the long-awaited title The LOCH, by a science thriller favorite. As in his last lot of contests (MEG: Hell's Aquarium, The SHELL GAME, The GRIM REAPER [round 1 and 2], and PHOBOS), I will be receiving emails from contestants and the 30 contestants with the highest views of the viral trailer will be immortalized as LOCH 2 characters! Head over to SteveAlten.com for full details on the contest, along with the rules and any other swag.

Also, on an aside, I'm finishing up questions for a guest interview appearance at the Kane Gilmour blog (author of RESURRECT, and co-author of not only the CALLSIGN: DEEP BLUE Chessteam/Jack Sigler novella, out now, but also book 4 of the series, RAGNAROK), so when that goes live I'll be sure to give out the link... So far this year has started off at a breakneck pace.

Last thought for today, thanks to you all who made 2011 so special, and to the bunch of you so far that have already made 2012 look so promising and energizing! I'm looking forward to a great year filled with partnerships, new and old.

WebbWeaver Interview and Contest Discount

Good evening all,

DJ Weaver was nice enough to give me a spot on her blog, please take a moment to stop by and read the interview! It was a great time and really appreciate the opportunity they gave me. Topics covered include a day in the life, the future of publishing, and who I read and why.

Also, if you are thinking about our services, head over to author Paul Byers website where he is conducting a contest where I joined up and offered 25% off any one service. Good luck!

--Stan

Workin' On It

Hey all,

I've been working on a new design for the site over the past week or so, and while it's not active yet, it's getting close. Here are a few sneak peeks though of our new logo and banner/header. I hope you like them!


As you can see, the logo is made up of arrows all pointing to one thing - a convergence - a point where great writing and quality design come together to create something set apart from everything else around it.

We've also been lucky enough to get some great testimonials! Here are a few I'd like to share:

"The guys at FindtheAxis just get it. They understand the value of design and brand quality. The proof's in the pudding, they were behind the design of Silver and the redesign of my other ebooks to fit an identifiable brand. Silver hit #2 in the UK charts in no small part because of the work these guys did, and that spilled over into every other aspect of my online presence. We're talking about fifty thousand electronic sales over 2011 across the brand. That's a hell of a lot of recognition. That's what I mean about the proof being in the pudding. They do it, it works. As a writer looking to cement brand recognition in the current white noise of the publishing industry you can't ask for more from a team."
-- Steven Savile, #1 International bestselling author of SILVER and PRIMEVAL: SHADOW OF THE JAGUAR

"When I first decided to self-publish novels, I was inundated with opinions and advice about formatting, marketing, promotion, editing, you name it. But I knew one of the most crucial components of a good book is a quality cover. That’s where Stan came in. When I reached out to him he couldn’t have been more helpful. He took the time to educate me not just about book covers, but about the publishing industry in general. He cut through the BS, laid all my options out on the table, and answered all my questions with patience and professionalism. In the end, I got more than just an awesome book cover that gets lots of compliments—I gained a friend and someone in the industry I can trust."
-- Katie McVay, author of THE CITY OF LOST SECRETS

Thanks to everyone who has chosen Find The Axis to create a cover, a print/ebook layout, or a web site. Your trust in our services means the world!

Updates - Jan 2011 to Today

Hey friends,

It's been way too long since I've been here on the blog. I had visions of greatness for it... and then life got busy. This not being my full-time day job, it kind of got neglected - many apologies. I do want to post some updates though about what has been going on in 2011.

I've acquired many clients this year, many of which have been repeat offenders (what's wrong with you people... haha). Here are a bunch of them, along with a widespread thanks to all of you who have come and commissioned work through me and FindTheAxis.com.

Rick Chesler - Cover creation of kiDNApped



Charles Colley - Cover creation and ebook layout for Skull County, USA



Denise Gass - Cover creation of Ghosts of Arlington



Rick Jones - RickJonz.com

Mindstir Media - Ebook formatting which included: Contingency, Indemnity, Precedent (Paula Wiseman), Purpose of the Powerful (Chinelo Umunnakwe), Sands of Sanibel (Donna Raye)

Paul Byers - Ebook formatting of Arctic Fire, as well as cover completion

Katie McVay - Cover creation of The City of Lost Secrets, as well as ebook and print book layout



Seven Realms Publishing - Ebook and print book layout for David Lynn Golemon's The Supernaturals; Cover creation for David Sakmyster's Blindspots



Cinder Path - Movie poster for Nightwatchers, a screenplay by David Sakmyster



Steven Savile - Ebook covers, US and International including international bestseller Silver (int'l), and The Sally Reardon Series



Tom Monteleone - Ebook formatting for Night of Broken Souls, also coming soon include The Blood of the Lamb, The Reckoning, and Mafia

Exlineal - Logo creation



Steve Alten - Running his contest for his releases of Phobos (Tor) and Grim Reaper: End of Days (Tor)

2011 so far has been a wild ride and I love it. I've made many great new friends along the way and hope you join in and take advantage of our author services and logo creation. Feel free to join us on Facebook, or come say hi on my personal Facebook page where you can also see what I accomplish at my day job. We also have a Twitter account, so if you want to say hello I encourage it.

Take care, everyone. Enjoy what is left to autumn.

Newest Cover Design - 33 AD

Good day readers, writers, and the rest,

What do you get when you cross vampires with Jesus of Nazareth? You get David L. McAfee's 33 AD, a very unique look into the world of vampires and a speculative twist on the death of Jesus.

Congrats on the book, Dave! This creepy cover should definitely grab the attention of the public.

Are you in need of an eye-catching cover or interior design? Look no further. The industry raves about what we can do, join in and be a part of what people are talking about.