Today we're excited to bring you the release week promo and cover reveal of the middle grade novel, Deadly Delicious by K.L. Kincy. K.L. Kincy is a pen name for author Karen Kincy, author of young adult and adult novels. To make things exciting we have the cover artist, Kirbi Fagan, here to tell us about the creation of the cover of Deadly Delicious! Deadly Delicious is out now!
Creating the Cover by Kirbi Fagan
Painting the cover for for the novel started with an email. When I heard the story was set in the 1950's, I knew it would be fun project for me. I'm always eager to paint strong young girls on an adventure. The magical twist of the story was icing on the cake --- pun intended!
Starting an illustration is the most exciting part for me, it is when I feel the most creative. When you have a great story like "Deadly Delicious," feeling inspired isn't hard, the ideas flow. Below is the first scribble of Josephine, drawn while reading the manuscript.
After a many sketches, I worked with Karen to find a sketch that was just right. Flash, the dog in the story, was my favorite character and I knew I had to find a place for him on the cover.
Next, I grabbed my camera and started shooting the reference material for the painting. I photographed it all. Another illustrator even helped me out and photographed her dog at the angle I needed. Below are few shots of the zombie hands, frosting covered and all.
A screen shot of a drawing in progress, figuring out Josephine's "look."
On to the painting. I used both traditional and digital media to create the final artwork. Working digitally allows me to experiment with things I might not have the freedom to do with real paint. The traditional element allows me to create rich colors and real texture.
Now about that type... what a mess! I won't be making a career change to a cake decorator anytime soon...
At last... the cover!
For more information about myself and my work visit www.kirbiillustrations.com or tweet me @kirbifagan
About Deadly Delicious:
Twelve-year-old Josephine DeLune can’t take the heat this sweltering summer of 1955, and she was out of the kitchen long ago.
An awful cook, she ruins recipes left and right, and she certainly can’t compete with her family’s reputation for extraordinary food. Her daddy’s parents ran one of the best restaurants in all of Paris, but Josephine lives in Paris, Missouri. On her mama’s side, she’s up against a long tradition of sinfully delicious soul food. Rumor has it, her Creole ancestors cooked up some voodoo to make tasty even tastier. Josephine knows the secret ingredient: she comes from a long line of conjure witches with spellbinding culinary skills.
Disenchanted, Josephine works as a carhop at Carl and Earl’s Drive-In. Just plain old hamburgers, hot dogs, and curly fries, nothing magical about them. She’s got bigger fish to fry, though, when a grease fire erupts into a devilish creature who hisses her name with desire. Turns out he’s the Ravenous One, the granddaddy of all voodoo spirits, and he’s hungry for her soul. Josephine thinks he’s got the wrong girl—she’s no witch—but a gorgeous, dangerous night-skinned lady named Shaula sets her straight. Josephine is one of the most powerful witches alive, so overflowing with conjure that her out-of-control cooking simply catches fire.
Josephine would love to laugh this off, but Shaula warns her that she must learn to master her magic before the Ravenous One devours her soul. Spurred into action, Josephine breaks out her grandma’s old conjure cookbook and starts cooking. Nothing grand, just the usual recipes for undying friendship and revenge. But soon Josephine can’t escape the consequences of her conjure. When the people of Paris start turning into zombies with a strange fondness for cake, Josephine looks pretty responsible for their undead reawakening…
About the Author:
K. L. Kincy (Kirkland, Washington) loves zombies, though she hopes to meet only the cake-eating kind. Deadly Delicious is her first book for children. She has a BA in Linguistics and Literature from The Evergreen State College.
K. L. Kincy also writes for teens and adults as Karen Kincy.
Find her online at:
Giveaway:
One paperback of Deadly Delicious by K.L. Kincy
Open to US only.
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