Oh yes. I'm a big Ephesus fan. I should make a T-shirt...

*chuckles * I've thought of making a shirt for myself and my brothers that basically advertises my books like movie shirts do. Do you know how many people stop and ask me about some of the more... unusual shirts I have created? My Cavers rescue Spelunkers shirt being one of them.

All part of my marketing strategy, eventually.

You promised me fanart, Aussie, but t-shirt goes beyond fanart into... I don't know what.

I don't have the guts to do anything like that with my novel, but it is a very intriguing (and potentially effective) idea. If you do that, will you show us the designs, Airianna?

Of course I will. I shall share all sorts of stuff with you guys when I start my marketing strategies.

Yay!

* finally got her hands on the Philli book like she should have months ago *

I picked it up because I didn't sleep, and it didn't really help.

I love it, I love it, I love it! And I want a tee shirt too. * nod nod *

The deleted scenes are awesome.

*is so happy Shawn read her book*

I apologize for worsening your lack of sleep.

Thanks SO much for posting your comments, lovely!

I'm so happy I read the book!

I accept your apologies.

That will be neat.

Ooooh! I want a t-shirt too! *Can imagine an epic Red Rain short*

Uhhhhh Bushy, I think you're stuck making tee shirts.

I'm the author and I'm having trouble envisioning a t-shirt.

Seriously?

Seriously. Although, I don't wear t-shirts with graphics or text as a general rule, so I just don't think about it, I guess.

*chuckles * I design T-shirts for people, so I am geared towards such things, I guess.

* quickly stashes copy of Airi's comment in the secret drawer in the cabinet in the back of her mind *

Oh, I can see awesome tee shirts.

Perhaps one with the cover on it?

That's what I keep seeing.

Elanor didn't know this!

I love wearing T-shirts with graphics and writing on. I can be a walking advertisement for Aubrey in England.

*laughs * Glad you guys don't know everything about me still.

Aubrey, in my spare time *coughcough* would you like me to do up a mock design and show you how a Red Rain T-shirt could look?

I knew.

*wonders what Aubrey will say*

You've probably even seen pictures of some of the shirts, Jonathan.

I want to see some pictures!

I remember seeing a glimpse of one in a picture. I'm not sure if I've ever seen pictures that were taken to show off the shirts themselves. I'd like to, though.

*is not sure if she has pictures anymore... * I have the mock ups somewhere.... *will have to go investigate *

*waits for Philli *

*takes a moment to process*

Umm... Lemme just say that y'all are wonderful, and far surpass any fans the big authors get.

That being said, I personally won't wear a t-shirt for my own book. I do not wear shirts with text on the front at all for modesty reasons. I ain't gonna stop y'all from wearin' one if you really want to - in fact, I'd be honored if your devotion goes that far. But I'm personally not going to commission or sell a t-shirt I won't wear myself. So if someone wants to make and order one for their own purposes, by all means! But I don't feel right commissioning Airianna's time for something I won't really use. So, thank you very much, but I don't think it's a good use of your time, at least not on my account.

*chuckles and shakes head * Oh my dear Philli, do you know me so little? I make shirts for men with writing on the front, and shirts for women with writing on the back. Modesty in regards to text need not be an issue. Besides, I think it is easier to read text on the back of a shirt anyways.

I wear texted shirts when I cave, play sports with the guys, or go to the range with Daddy. You’d be surprised how often people stop you, even in those settings, and ask about your shirts.

However, if you are not comfortable with the idea then that is fine. That is your choice, as the writer.

Oh, come now, don't you know how wonderful it is to keep learning new things about people and realize they're even more awesome than you first thought?

*laughs* That's wonderful to know. Yes, I'd wear a shirt with text on the back, although I wonder how much good it would do since I usually wear my hair down. But that's a style issue. And I do think it's fine for guys either way.

I'll leave it up to you. I don't know if I'd get them ordered... I guess I would feel a little bit weird having shirts made for my book... I mean... my book's not that special, y'know? But if you would have fun with it, and have time, you're totally welcome to swipe any of my book art and play with it. I am very much cool with people borrowing my graphics to make things related to the book.

*chuckles * I think it's humorous that you find shirt design for your books weird, since apparel often accompanies books and movies. Your hair could certainly be a hindrance for you, though. When I wear t-shirts my hair is always up (due to the activity), so that isn’t an issue for me.

Brothers can be excellent t-shirt wearers, though.

I shall play around with it a bit. I haven't done any recent shirt designs and the idea is appealing to me. Perhaps while watching Tin Tin today *is excited we rented the movie to watch * I shall play around. You need feel no obligation to use anything, by the way.

I will see what I can do with the graphics you have... I may not be able to use the planets… *shrugs * We shall see, won’t we?

Uhhh... Philly dearest, if you + book weren't that special, we wouldn't be jumping up and down for T-shirts, now would we?

Agreed!

So, shirt designs. The most important thing to decide when creating a shirt is, quite literally, color. Shirt color, actually. Once you have a color decided for your shirt, you are ready to work with your design. Shirt color should be your background color, 90% of the time. So, I decided upon a black T-shirt deign. This would complement the colors that come to mind from the Red Rain essence.

T-shirts can be quite complicated, if you choose, or quite simple. I decided to start simple, especially since I know Philli like things simple and non cluttery.

I have some other ideas too, that I might try later. If anyone has a book quote they think would be fun to incorporate, feel free to voice it. I can make much larger designs, if needed.







Now, this last one is one that I split in two parts. The letters could be done in the Mars theme, or I could do the letters in the rain and umbrella theme. I just combined the two for everyone to be able to see what it would look like.



Anyways, those are what I played around with today.

*does not post her abstract piece *

I love them!!! *happy spazzy dance* I like the last one best. I reckon some bluey/purple ones like that would be equally epic... *has a penchant for blue/purple*

I could try that. Do you like the rain side of it then, I take it?

I like them, especially the latter two. The only thing I wonder is if they should say "a novella" or something about them being a story, so that people have an idea of what they're going to Aubrey's website for other than the cool graphics.

Makes sense. I can add that.

Wait and see what Aubrey wants, though, since I'm more thinking about what I would want.

*has been knocked speechless both by Aussie's reproof and the designs* Ohh I have a lot of work to do in learning to humbly & professionally accepting the praise of adoring fans! Seriously, there's an art to it, but some days I am left totally in awe of y'all's support for me, both as a person and as an author. I can't even describe what it means to me. Thank you.

So now that I've all but broken down in joyful tears... Airianna! You're amazing. I'm amazed that you whipped those up so fast, and still in awe that you did it for my book.

The last one definitely steals the show. The simplicity of the black background against the stark words is amazing. It's simple, but bold. I think the Mars "filler" fits the essence of the book best, although the rain is pretty. (I don't think the umbrella is quite right. Too cheery. But it's a really neat idea.)

Your other designs gave me an idea... You could do a full image of Mars. The entire planet (the circle) placed on the black background with the text in the middle. It would probably look really nice, as opposed to a cropped square image. I think it'd be pretty effective, too, since it'd be obvious it would be Mars. I have no idea if that's feasible, though, but I figured you'd want to hear my ideas.

One thing I am questioning is if it should have "A Novella" (or "A Novel") on it, to make it more effective. I know the primary purpose is to get people to ask, but I think the tagline would make it more effective. A quote or something would probably do the same purpose. I don't know - I've never done this before. Thoughts?

The old cover was purple/blue (the new one has an emphasis on teal), so that would be themey. But it's totally up to Airianna and her artistic genius.

Y'all are slowly selling me on this... It occurred to me that having some kind of "uniform" for when I do fairs and such that designates me as the author would be really good. Also, my hair's not excessively long right now, so depending on where the image was on the back it might be fine. But sometimes I pull my hair over my shoulders, too, so that would also work. I don't know how I'd put up my hair if I wanted to...

*notes Jonathan's post that he made while she was typing* What he said. Although, seriously, y'all are driving this more than I am, so what y'all want is extremely important. You're the people that want to wear them.

Well, I meant what I would want if I had a shirt made for my book.

Okay, well since no one has told me to zip it yet, I shall dive in again.

Firstly, permission to headdesk. I didn't even notice the umbrella.

Secondly, what if you had the cover's planet scene as the background behind the "Red Rain" text outline? I reckon that would also be epic, as it would include the cover...

I think including "A Novella" is a good plan. Because then people know what it is. (And you don't get questions like, "Is that a brand of computer firewall?" etc.) You'd be more liable to get - more desirable - questions along the lines of "What is it about?" But that's just my humble opinion.


Aww, we didn't do anything. We just can't help but be awed by awesomeness.

*Stares at Airi's awesome designs* Wow, they're fantastic!

I like the third one most of all. But they're all amazing.

*is glad we are winning Philli over *

As I said before, I love doing this type of work, and I haven't done it in... well, it's been too long, that's for sure. So I am not bothered by tinkering and, if you remember, I sorta forced the designs on you, so obviously I wanted to do it. Besides, how often have you sent me goodies in the mail?

So, my designs achieved their desired effect. They were different enough that I could see what you (and everyone else) would be leaning towards. This will help me come up with more concrete designs, now that I know what you are interested in.

So, blues, reds, and oranges are good colors to work with. You like my picture text, so I will work a bit more in that. I can do planetary additions to my text, so that is no problem. Also, I can mix up the design, if you are okay with bigger pieces.

Putting “A Novella” Is an excellent idea, I think, because it helps focus your audience and let them know what you are advertising. Like Aussie said, you don’t want them asking about firewall insurance.

*thinks and takes down notes *

So, I think we are good here. I shall be back at some point with more ideas. Although I have to get some writing done today, or Jonathan will eat me alive (figuratively, of course).

Oh, and here is something else to think about. I have done several shoulder designs on shirts before, also. If you have a long sleeves or 3/4 length sleeves, you can do writing down them. If you have short sleeves you can do a symbol. I've had lots of people choose this, but obviously it is not a necessity. Just an extra.

Feel free to make some suggestions everyone. Although… Philli dear, would you like to start another thread so I stop hijacking one?

Aussie! Stop it!

The firewall comment had me laughing!

Um... I suppose this is a good time to remind you that the extra goodies I mailed were kind of payment for the crochet project I never finished for you, Airianna... So if we're keeping tabs I'm probably still in your debt... Although I could think of other randomness to send you!

3/4 sleeves! I love 3/4 sleeves! I'm going to have to think about that... as well as find a printing site and play with the numbers. Text on the sleeve would solve the whole hair thing, though.

I shall await the further progress of your brilliant endeavors, Airianna. As far as the size of the design I have no thoughts, so run with your ideas because you know what you're doing. One thing I will toss out here that I thought of last night was that, since the entire novella is currently available for free online as an audiobook, a phrase like "Listen for FREE at" might be suitable. Depends on space and such of course. I'm going to be working on my bookmarks today and trying to decide if I want Dieki to add that phrase - been thinking through my marketing strategy for fairs and such this year.

This thread is a general gathering place for all things Red Rain and its fandom, so unless another thread would be easier for you, this is fine.

Really. I learned something today. *goes to fix her main page*

The second edition of Red Rain has been released! The updated paperback features the new cover and fancied-up interior formatting. It's now available on Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Red-Rain-Aubrey-H ... 470161214/

As a reminder, the text of the story itself has not changed at all. Simply the appearance has been updated.

Comments welcome!

I want a copy of the second edition.

Okay. I'm still trying to feel out what you like the best, Aubrey, before I try working with background images. So, tell me which of these you like.

Here is the blue theme:



Here are the red rain words without the umbrella.

@Jonathan - So I've heard.

@Airianna - Ohh... choices! Y'know, sometimes I have the hardest time deciding when working with Dieki on covers. Too much awesomeness! I definitely think #2 is the best. Blue is pretty, but it's not as distinct against the black. #3 is a neat effect, but at a distance it looks kinda "fuzzy." Was that conclusive enough?

Thank you again!

Yep. Twas.