Krymzyn by BC Powell

Krymzyn by BC Powell
Publication date: October 4th 2014
Genres: Fantasy, New Adult, Science Fiction
Chase was twelve the first time he arrived in a strange land where dark, ominous clouds never move, ancient trees violently spring to life during Darkness, and people seem to live without emotion. Doctors tell him they’re hallucinations, but he knows his visits are real. She’s there-Sash-and she’s more real than anyone he’s ever known.
His visits stop but, as years pass, the memories haunt Chase. Without warning, the young man suddenly finds himself again in a world called Krymzyn. Arriving during Darkness, he’s rescued from death by the extraordinary, beautiful but terrifying young woman he first met when he was twelve.
When Chase is thrust into the war of balance against vile creatures who threaten all who live there, Sash helps him understand his purpose in Krymzyn. A dark secret from the beginning of time reveals he might be able to stay there forever. To prove he belongs in Krymzyn and be with the only woman he can ever love, Chase will have to risk his own life in the ultimate battle.
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Does Anyone Have a Case of “Cover-Love”?

Based on comments I receive about the “Krymzyn” cover, many do.
As a first-time indie author, I wanted a cover that would capture people’s attention instantly. A cover that would stand out from the plethora of self-pubs in the genre, combining a fantasy feel with enough realism to say “adult.” I enlisted the talents of an amazing UK designer named Ravven for the Krymzyn cover, and she’ll be creating the covers for the entire series.
The great internal debate I had before sending notes to Ravven was: “Do I want Sash on the cover?” Sash is the extrarodinary, mysterious, and powerful female protagonist in the novel. The reason for my debate was that I want the reader to have their own image of Sash based on the male protagonist’s descriptions of her, not necessarily a mental imprint from the cover. This was a dilemma.
I sent Ravven a descritpion of Sash from the book and a few paragraphs about the world. In my notes to her, I made it clear that, if we went with Sash on the cover, she needed to be mysterious in appearance. We couldn’t know what she’s thinking—is she angry, happy, sad?—but she had to seem ferocious. The focal point needed to be her fiery, amber eyes.
We also discussed using a tree as the primary subject of the cover since the trees that come to life are important characters in Krymzyn. The background is fairly simple: ominous storm clouds over crimson hills, all in rich, vibrant reds. That is the world of Krymzyn, after all.
I stepped away to let Ravven do her thing for a few weeks. She looked through hundreds of potential model photos and stock photos of trees—until one day, a number of cover comps showed up in my email.
I instantly found something I didn’t like in every comp . . . except one. I was actually surprised to be so enamored by a version with Sash on the cover. But the look on the model’s face, with a little Photoshop help from Ravven, is exactly what I see in my mind when I think of Sash. She’s compelling because I don’t know what she’s thinking. Her face expresses an underlying fury but also a deep sense of knowledge. I look at her and think, “She knows something I don’t.”
But more than anything, her eyes captured me. They’re intriguing and make me want to know more about her, about who she really is and what secrets she might be hiding. More importantly, from a design standpoint, the eyes create a central point of focus to draw you into the cover.
As Ravven said to me, something I never considered, the cover has to look good as a thumbnail. That’s how most people will see it for the first time, and that may be the only chance to grab their attention. So we went back and forth a few times, fine-tuning her eyes, her gorgeous scarlet-streaked hair (Ravven is such a master at painting hair), and perfecting the world of Krymzyn in the background. In the end, my only reaction was to say, “Stunning!” I hope others agree.
More of Ravven’s cover art can be found at http://www.ravven.com/

BC Powell is a fantasy author from Los Angeles, CA. "Krymzyn" is his debut science fiction fantasy novel, the first book in a series titled "The Journals of Krymzyn."
Powell has a diverse background, having held several creative positions in the entertainment industry, including executive roles at ABC-TV and Technicolor. In recent years, he's authored several non-fiction works, primarily educational books and training programs for trading the financial markets. He dual majored in journalism and philosophy at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.
Writing fiction has been his lifelong passion and goal. "Krymzyn" is his first published novel and represents, in his words, "finally finding the story I want to tell with characters that are able to bring that story to life." He's an avid reader and lists Ernest Hemingway, Frank L. Herbert, Stephen King, Jane Austen, and Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. as his favorite authors.
Brad, as he prefers to go by in personal communication, lives with his longtime girlfriend, three sons from a previous marriage, and their rescue dog and cat. He enjoys hiking, ocean kayaking, spending time at Southern California beaches, movies, and reading.
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