This is KAMWylant and you are listening to the 161st episode of the word play podcast. I got my first

peek at the cover art for Dreamlander this week. The photo shoot is over and the

artist, the marvelous Dominic Finel, is just starting in on the actual design.

I don't yet have any images I can share on my site, but I can tell you that it is looking good.

It's always interesting to see how someone else

visualizes your story. It's never quite the way you see it in your head, but it's

still a breathless moment both because it's just flat out exciting and because the images on the book cover

will influence the perception of everyone else who reads or thinks about reading your book.

I can't wait until I can share the finished product with you all.

Improve your character instantly. Just add a ghost. The latest post in the video series

on my blog talks about how giving your character a haunting backstory

can instantly up the stakes and make him a more interesting personality.

To watch it, visit my blog at wordplay-K-M-Y-L-A-N-D dot blog spot.com.

New videos are posted every Wednesday. And now I hope you enjoyed this week's

podcast. Six ways to pull off dual timelines in your novel. Some stories are so

complicated they require not just one but two timelines to tell everything.

Often this is the result of an intricate and integral back story such as we might find in Margaret Atwood, The Year of the Flood, or Anne Bouchares,

My name is memory.

The pitfalls of this are obvious, since you're risking reader confusion and frustration by straying

from the beaten path of a single chronological storyline.

But the benefits are also manifold. They can include a deeper plot, more resonant theme, and greater character development.

As a reader, I am a big fan of this technique.

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