Monday Poetry

Poetry




Sunday Reviews

Sunday Reviews

Only Alexander knows why the barn is haunted—-and by what
 
When Alexander notices an eerie light coming out of the barn,. He thinks his friend Blossom Culp is trying to spook him. But strange things really are happening there. Slimy footprints appear out of nowhere, and whimpering sounds float down from the hayloft. And when he ventures into the barn in the dark of night, his breath catches in his throat. Suddenly Blossom’s words come back to him: “You can make contact with the Unseen….” Now there’s a girl ghost standing right in front of him, telling him of great danger ahead. But is there time for Alexander to act on her warning? 

Yeah I just copied the blurb. I looked through my blog at the reviews I have done…and realized last week was a duplicate. I need to do a standard to make this easier. There is too many books I can put here. So I guess I should start with books that I end up reading over and over again for the comfort. This is one of those. I have to have this as an e-book because I have worn out several copies of the paperback. The writing is good, but that is not what draws me in. I honestly saw myself in Blossom. The bumbling, not quite socially proper young girl who seems to make the story worth reading. There is more to her story. You can find other volumes if you look.

I have a eclectic taste in books as well as music. The reviews are likely to be for everything from Spicy romance to scary Horror. Young adult and so much more. So, the warning is here – I will be reviewing books that you might want to use caution in reading, and those appropriate for all. Use discretion when reading what I do. 😉

Creativity options

Book Discussion

So The first thing I will talk about is Covers.

Obviously I use Canva. I also use the feature that Barnes and Nobles has. I upload the front and rear cover and get the spine from them. The cover option in Canva is slightly too small. The dimensions of the cover need to be 1600×2268 and the base size is 1400x…

The temptation to use the templates should be avoided. Everyone sees those. I made the mistake of using the template with no modification once. There were at least 50 other books with the same cover. If you see a cover in the templates that you love…modify it and make it suit your book more. The rear cover should not be busy. You want your blurb to be visible.

Amazon has templates that give you a pdf cover. You merely add your image. The easiest way is to use Libre Draw and remove the text and lines. These will flag as unembedded fonts if you don’t. Then save it directly as a PDF. This is what you want for the feature at Barnes and nobles. They ask you for the title, the author name, and the text color and spine color. They have a limited font selection but it is a good one.

If you are good with art programs(such as adobe or gimp) you can do the spine yourself. I just don’t know how to get the text to lay right on my own, so I use the tool.

The idea seems to be floating around that you have to match your cover to the genre. There is some cases where I would argue that you should personalize the cover to match the book. If you do, then it should fit the genre.

Now I am of the belief that doing the creation process does not have to be expensive. That being said, I do have the pro version of Canva. It costs me $13 a month to have my pick of the photos. Could I do it on the free version? Yes but I enjoy the options. Otherwise I will be recommending freeware or software that is not costly.

Friday Share

Friday Share

So you found a new book?

Or maybe you just published one?

Did you find a new webcomic that you like?

Or a song you think everyone should hear?

No need for explanation…Just Share it.

You find a good deal that you think we should all see? Just share!

Or hey even a joke you think too fun not to share, Just share it.

Post links in the comments.

Occasionally I will too.

Artsy Fartsy Thursday

Artsy Fartsy Thursday
Arsty Fartsy Thursday

Titled: Wind in Flight
Artist: Serenity Rose
medium: Digital Landscape
Programs Used: Krita

So I decided that I needed some new brushes in Krita to play with. This was my test art. I like how it turned out.

Wednesday Whispers

Serena Mossgraves
Serena Mossgraves

Tuesday Tunes


Lyrics –


Who’s sorry now?
Who’s sorry now?
Whose heart is achin’ for breakin’ each vow?
Who’s sad and blue? Who’s cryin’ too?
Just like I cried over you

Right to the end
Just like a friend
I tried to warn you somehow
You had your way
Now you must pay
I’m glad that you’re sorry now

Right to the end
Just like a friend
I tried to warn you somehow
You had your way
Now you must pay
I’m glad that you’re sorry now


My 2 cents –


I notice the celebrity deaths…I can’t help it. I remember listening to Connie Francis as a teen. (One of my Aunts really liked the 50’s rock.) I come by my eclectic music tastes naturally. She wasn’t one of the ones that I listened to relentlessly but I did like a few of the songs. I cannot help but pay tribute to that. May she rest well and her memory be a blessing.

Monday Poetry

Poetry




Sunday Reviews

Sunday Reviews

This one was recommended to me, and I am so happy to have listened. It’s a fantastic read. The world has progressed to see powers develop… But just like now the powerful don’t always have the right world views. And for a dude going into high school this is a fairly difficult amount of pressure. I love the complex characters and the way the story unfolds.

The lead male character is able to control undead. He developed a dangerous ability and is now scared of what the government will do with him. His family and friends circle around him as he learns to control his abilities.

This is the first of eight, I am at around five in the series. The books have a lot of good characters and a lot of work in the world building. it is not hard to see the world we are currently living in going this direction.

I recommend you pick up the first book and see if you get as pulled in as I did .

Creativity options

Book Discussion

so I have been trying to consider the Saturday thing and I came across multiple people this week asking for ideas for cheap covers or ways to do things cheaper when Self Publishing.

I am firm on my beliefs that you should hire an editor for your work. That being said, you can do everything else for yourself to save money. I am not saying you will be able to do it as well…but it is possible. I am going to start talking about self Publishing and some of the snarls.

I will talk about each step of the process. I will give advice on how I have been doing this.  I don’t know how long this series will take but I think it may be fun.