Novel Excerpt for Day 1

First, a word count update! Alicia and I are at over 6,000 words just for today alone. Take that, you doubters and naysayers! Now, for an excerpt:

"We regret to inform you that, while your application was flawless, we must deny it." A heavy sigh slipped out of Sarina's lips at the 45th rejection letter she'd received in two months. She ran a hand through her hair and leaned back in her chair. She had no idea what she was doing wrong to warrant such heavy rejection. Her grades in high school had been above average, if not outstanding. She had applied to her first-choice college, hoping it would come through. When that had failed, she'd started down the list.

Cover for "Tales of SFU"

Fabulous cover drawn and colored by me!

So, this is the cover of my novel Tales of SFU that I am co-authoring with Alicia. The school is called Singularis Facultas University, which roughly translates to "unique powers." It's Latin, by the way, in case you wanted to know. Underneath is the motto which is "Cum magna potentia venit tanti." According to Google Translator, it means "with great power comes great responsibility," which is what I wanted it to say. According to one of the four young women in the cabin with Alicia and I, it actually translates to "with great power comes much." Oh, well! It's close enough.

Not-so-awesome starter sketch

This cover was drawn by hand by me, and then I scanned it into my computer and colored it using my Wacom tablet and Corel Painter Essentials 4 after a very helpful Aland tech helped me correct a bizarre crashing issue. Here's the original sketch for those interested.