To be honest, it’s been a turbulent last couple of years for this Hivian. There was a time, not too long ago, when I believed my publishing days were behind me. But, alas, here I am giving it another go.
One thing I’ve always really enjoyed doing on Hive is giving you all a glimpse of how the sausage is made in terms of my book designs. I will even sometimes attempt to incorporate your suggestions throughout the process. I used to absolutely dread the book design process but after over thirty years of self-publishing I’ve come to view the cover design as just another step in the creative process.
As it’s been for my last three book titles, Hive has been the incubator for this book project. I’m going to call this book, Poems from the Edge of the Apocalypse (many thanks to @bozz for the title idea) and will contain poems that all have a common thread of things like—unity, peace, and walking ourselves back from the edges of extremism.
The book cover idea came to me this morning in the shower, as many ideas for my writing often do. The entire concept for this cover design popped into my mind’s eye like a lightning bolt—a child, holding a colorful red poppy blossom against the apocalyptic background of a demolished cityscape.
I’ve used Grok to create the following image as a rough concept for the cover image.
I plan on having the book designer incorporate my head from the photo below of me as a child onto the AI-generated figure on the cover. For some reason I couldn’t get AI to do this.
In the coming weeks the arduous process of consolidating the poems, finalizing book cover design, and writing the front-matter will begin. With any luck I hope to have this new book on the market before the end of June.
It feels so good to be publishing again and I’ll keep you all updated as the project progresses! Here we go again, say a little prayer. : )
Be well, make the most of this day. Thank you for reading!
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Ah this is so exciting!!! What an arresting image you (and Grok) have chosen! I can't wait to see the final product. And I'm really happy you decided your publishing days weren't behind you, because what a loss that would be. Good luck and patience and cookies and everything else you might require to assist you in this journey!
Thank you my friend! I was shocked by how close the Grok image was to my original idea. The picture I shared was only the third attempt. The book designer is already hard at work. 😊 I feel so much better now that I’ve decided to do this. It gives me something larger to focus on and look forward to. I thought blogging and freelancing might be enough for me from this point forward but it really wasn’t.
I admire the ability of writers who make poetry because this artistic manifestation has the ability to tell us in a rhythmic way any feeling we feel towards a person, a pet or anything else.
I have tried to publish a book of poems with all the ones I have written to my wife for 28 years, but, reading poems by people like you, I prefer that they stay where they are and be enjoyed by their addressee.
Thank you for sharing.
Congratulations on the new book.
Cheers and best regards.
Thank you! I encourage you to publish your poems if you’d like to. It’s a great journey to publish, it allows you to see your work in a whole different way. Cheers my friend!
How wonderful, Eric! The cover and the title are a very clear sign of what we are going to find in the pages of your book. I think if you ask how to put your face to the image to an A. I., I'm sure you'll find out how. Did you really think about stopping publishing? It would have been a loss for us, your readers! I think you are going through a very productive and inspiring time right now and you should take advantage of it! I send you a big hug of congratulations.
Thank you Nancy! I have SO many poems to choose from since I published Ephemera. It’s going to be challenging to pick the right ones for the book. AI was struggling with adding my face to the image. I couldn’t get that to work at all. The designer is on it though. I hope to have a rough of the cover by the weekend. It’s moving quickly! I hope your week is going well…we’re almost halfway through the week already. 😊
Congratulations on the new book. That image is striking, the child's gaze seemed to me to be questioning us as to how we had arrived at what was in the background. The red flower in the middle of the black and white was hopeful to me. It is an excellent image to accompany a book of poems. May you have much success with that new publication dear @ericvancewalton . A big hug from Maracay.
Thank you @irvinc! From your description, the image conveyed exactly what I had hoped it would. It has sort of a dual-meaning—how each of us can free ourselves from the pitfalls of extremism and how I'm emerging from turbulent times and entering a new era of my personal and professional life. I appreciate it and hope you have a wonderful week!
I can almost hear the joy through your words to be happy writing again. Keep it up and I love the cover photo and name of the book.
I feel so much better now that I made the decision so I know it was the right one. Thank you! I’ll be posting updates as the project progresses. Hope you’re having a good week. It’s probably warming up down there!
We are still having cold to us mornings but it warms up throughout the day.
Congratulations, Eric! Love the title. Great cover idea esp. the red poppy as a symbolism for "hope". Btw. no need to say a prayer, you'll launch the book 😊
Thank you! I love the symbolism with the poppy. That must’ve been stored in my subconscious somewhere because that’s the flower I originally saw in my mind’s eye.
Congrats! I'm glad that I could have a small part in it. That's very cool!
That actually might not be a bad thing when you think of it and consider the potential avenues something like that could be used for. I think it's possible, but they have tried to limit it because they realize it could be abused. That doesn't seem to stop the "make this person naked" AI programs though...
Thank you! That suggestion you made a few weeks ago has stayed lodged in my brain since then and the concept just all kind of came together. It feels timely.
Good point about the AI. There's still a need for human graphic designers too so that's a very good thing. Grok was super helpful in creating this first step though. It saved a lot of the initial back and forth.
I haven't used Grok yet, but I have heard a lot about it. Many of the image creation things I have found out there require you to pay for them or start a subscription and at least right now I don't think I would use them enough to justify the cost.
To have access to Grok 3 you have to pay the basic annual fee on X for a “verified account” but the $50 is worth it for the access to Grok alone. It’s growing more capable every day and was very impressive for image generation. It does a great job at making diagnosis from medical/lab notes as well.
Ah, okay, that doesn't seem too bad. I don't have a verified account, but like you said, it might be worth it for Grok alone.
I’d try downloading the Grok app first. That might give you Grok 3 without paying the fee. I forgot they have the standalone app now.
Also good to know! Thank you!
Congratulations on your new book. Your poems are usually inspirational. I can't wait to have a look at this
Thank you Christy!
The image and the title are really shocking... success in this new literary creation, greetings @ericvancewalton
I appreciate it!
I really appreciate your hard work when you were started to write poem work. You have ability to make new stories while you're writing. Keep it up brother .
Thanks for the encouragement!
Cover image is also important for a post on HIVE 🙂
Indeed. I need to do better with the Hive post thumbnails.
That title is intense, I just love it. And the cover idea is just perfectly beautiful. Cool to see you embracing the whole process and involving Hive in it. Can’t wait to see the final result though 💪💪💪
I appreciate it! A friend of mine on Hive suggested the title. It definitely seems timely with everything going on in the world today. I love the process of creating the entire book. It feels a little like releasing one of your children into the world.
hahaha yes and that's one fine kid you released to the world
A great work of art
#hive #posh
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