How To Make Fake Blood

So, my cover is making me incandescently happy. It's not even close to being done, and it looks way cooler than I ever dreamed I'd be able to pull off.

Careful, Melody, don't overhype it.

Nevermind, it's terrible and amateur. Don't expect much when I do the big reveal.


After all, there is fake blood on the cover.

And what other skills do you have, Melody? Well, I can make fake blood off the top of my head, no recipe needed.

I don't really know where this skill comes from. I read it, at some point in my life. I remember inviting my little brother to join me in turning information into sticky reality. Mom was not impressed; the mess didn't bother her, but the shock of seeing her two children look like they'd just emerged from a Zombie apocalypse was not her thing.

• Corn syrup
• Red food coloring

Yep, it's edible.

All this, because I don't want anything on my cover to be copyrighted by someone else. That would be...bad. So I took my own pictures. Kindle covers only have to be 1600x1000, and my iPhone takes 2592x1936, so the resolution is grand.

But if you don't want to be sued, flickr has a way to search for images with Creative Commons licenses. {Do your own research on what that means and how much freedom it gives you. I was a little bit intimidated by all the big words, which is why I ended up taking my own pictures. That, and looking at all the search results for 'blood' was actually making me a little sick.} Also, Shutterstock and iStockphoto are great places to go find legit, royalty-free images {though they cost money}.

Also in link-world, I found this helpful, tip-filled article on designing one's own cover.

What about you? What crazy hands-on adventures has this writing process inspired?