Announcing the 2021 May M.L.S. Weech Book Cover of the Month and Other Book Cover News

Greetings all,

Today marks the official end of May’s Book Cover competition. June is still ongoing, but the voting for May’s winner-take-all poll ended Friday, and that means I get to announce a new winner! The 2021 M.L.S. Weech Book Cover of May is …

Betrayed by me! This is the first time one of my covers has ever actually won Book Cover of the Month! I really think this is one of my stronger covers. Carlos really outdid himself. The stats still aren’t flattering at all, but I won fair and square (100 percent of three votes). I still need your help to get this contest going the way it was before I took that break. The more votes the competition gets, the more legitimized it is. I’ve always been a fan of book covers, and I truly want this award to become meaningful, but I need your help to do that. Please take moment to vote when you see the new poll come up. Please share it with readers you know. Just taking the time to do that will go a long way.

That means Betrayed has found its place in the 2021 Book Cover of the Year poll, which will begin in another 10 months.

That’s not the only other winner to announce! The 2021 June Book Cover of the Week polls have been going on for two weeks now, and I have have the pleasure of announcing the winner for week two.

That winner is …

A Clash of Fates by Philip C. Quaintrell!

The Week 3 poll is available right over here, so please take a second to let your vote be counted.

I’d be grateful if you would be so kind as to watch my channel, where I talk about all seven of the covers and why I think they were so cool.

Remember to vote for your favorite through the link I provided above! This means that A Clash of Fates is the second book to make it in the finals for the 2021 June Book Cover of the Month! You guys can choose who wins the title and then support your favorite in the yearly competition (obviously next year)! I hope you’ll participate.

Thanks for reading and watching,

Matt

There’s Still Time to Vote For the 2021 April Book Cover of the Month! Presenting May’s Week 2 Cover!

Greetings All,

Before I announce the winner for Week 1 of the 2021 May Book Cover of the Month, I want to take a quick moment to ask you to vote for the overall 2021 April Book Cover of the Month. We have four great covers to choose from, and I’d like all those covers to get the support they deserve.

Now we can move on to May! I still need your help to get this back to the level of support it had a few years ago before I went on hiatus regarding book covers.

So first, let’s announce the winner for week 1.

The cover for The Sunfire King by Sylvia Mercedes is an interesting choice from the viewers. On one hand, it was beautiful color and detail. On the other, it was so busy. I can’t deny that detail though.

But, as one week passes, another begins. So you can vote for your favorite Week 2 2021 May Book Cover of the Month right here!

I’d be grateful if you would be so kind as to watch my channel, where I talk about all seven of the covers and why I think they were so cool. My middle son joined me for this episode, so that was nice of him.

Remember to vote for your favorite through the link I provided above! This means that Sunfire King is the first book to make it in the finals for the 2021 May Book Cover of the Month! You guys can choose who wins the title and then support your favorite in the yearly competition (obviously next year)! I hope you’ll participate.

Thanks for reading and watching,

Matt

Announcing the Week 3 2021 April Book Cover of the Month! Vote for Week 4’s Cover

Greetings all,

My Book Cover of the Month contest is back in the swing of things. Things have picked up a bit more, but we still aren’t getting a ton of votes. I’d be much obliged if you took a few moments to let your voice be heard. The good news is I didn’t have to break a tie. I had ten votes, so we are growing. I still need your help to get this back to the level of support it had a few years ago before I went on hiatus regarding book covers.

So first, let’s announce the winner for week 3.

The cover for City of Time and Magic by Paula Brackston is just beautiful. The font might leave a little to be desired, but the detail in the dress and the perfection of the composition more than make up for it.

But, as one week passes, another begins. So you can vote for your favorite Week 4 2021 April Book Cover of the Month right here!

I’d be grateful if you would be so kind as to watch my channel, where I talk about all seven of the covers and why I think they were so cool. My middle son joined me for this episode, so that was nice of him.

Remember to vote for your favorite through the link I provided above! This means that City of Time and Magic join The Lost Apothecary and Spellmaker in the finals for the 2021 April Book Cover of the Month! You guys can choose who wins the title and then support your favorite in the yearly competition (obviously next year)! I hope you’ll participate.

Thanks for reading and watching,

Matt

Announcing the Week 1 2021 April Book Cover of the Month! Vote for Week 2’s Cover

Greetings all,

My Book Cover of the Month contest is back in the swing of things. It’s not entirely unexpected, but we’re off to a slow start. This weeks’ winner was actually a tie I had to break. I had six votes, and, sure enough, each vote was for a different cover. I’d love to get this back to the level of support it had a few years ago before I went on hiatus regarding book covers.

So first, let’s announce the winner for week 1.

I was just a big fan of this cover overall. It’s probably not the genre I’d like most, but I can’t deny how well Spellmaker by Charlie N. Holmberg sings.

But, as one week passes, another begins. So you can vote for your favorite Week 2 2021 April Book Cover of the Month right here!

I’d be grateful if you would be so kind as to watch my channel, where I talk about all seven of the covers and why I think they were so cool. My middle son joined me for this episode, so that was nice of him.

Remember to vote for your favorite through the link I provided above! This means that Spellmaker is in the finals for the 2021 April Book Cover of the Month! You guys can choose who wins the title and then support your favorite in the yearly competition (obviously next year)! I hope you’ll participate.

Thanks for reading and watching,

Matt

Finalizing the Plan for My Zoom Cover Reveal for Caught! (and learning some unfortunate lessons)

Greetings All,

So last week I tried my first online cover conversation. My dream was to have this cool chance to talk with people about book covers. To a degree, it was a success. I found seven cool covers, and you can vote on your favorite here. (You’ll have to sign in on Google to vote.)

But to a much more unfortunate degree, I learned that where there are people trying to do cool things, there are people who are horrid.

I had to switch to Zoom to allow for recording. I shared the link. I was very happy to see people stopping in. That is until one person appeared on camera without clothes. I told him I wouldn’t stand for that sort of thing and immediately removed him. But that doesn’t mean that myself and those who were on with me weren’t subjected to completely inappropriate and unsolicited material. If there’s a way to preview who is allowed into a call, I’m not aware of it.

I reported the incident to the police, who (I am told) are investigating. This means I have to be more careful.

To that end, I am still hosting Zoom meetings where I talk about covers. I will happily share the links to any who send a request via email. That request must include your email and your Zoom profile name so that when I see your request, I know it’s you and not some pervert.

I’m honestly disgusted I need to take such measures, but I can’t risk that sort of thing happening again. I still dream of being able to sit and chat with people about several things. I just have to be sure that the people I allow into those meetings are joining to talk about books and things like books rather than just shock people.

I’ll still share the links with some of my author groups and the like, but I’ll be more careful who I actually allow to join.

That said, the plan is still to do a Q & A followed by the long anticipated cover reveal for Betrayed. The date and time are still set for 2 p.m. (EST) April 10.

I have contact Carlos to see if he’ll be able to make it, but the hope is he will be. But I do hope you will post questions (below) for me to answer and join me on Zoom to celebrate the new cover. I do intend to do weekly talks as well. So again, if you want to be a part of them, shoot me an email providing your name, email and Zoom profile name so I have a record of who’s coming. Remember, I will be posting these reviews on my YouTube channel, so don’t join and don’t turn your camera on if you don’t want to be on YouTube.

I’m actually typing this April 2. I have quite a lot to do leading up to the tenth, but I still hope to do Week 2 of my Book Covers talk (or whatever I’ll end up calling the segment). I hope to add to the talks too, but for now, we’re starting small. I hope you’ll join me whenever you can, and I truly hope you’ll at least stop by for the reveal to Betrayed.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Trying New Things! Come Watch My Online Cover Reveal For Betrayed!

Greetings all,

As is usually the case with me, I’m constantly trying new things. One thing I want to try is to get my YouTube channel off the ground. This means I’m using a lot of different tools, so I had an idea.

I’m revealing the cover for Betrayed via a Google Meet video conference that will be posted on Facebook and Youtube (at the same time if I can pull it off).

I’m hoping you’ll all decide to attend.

What will I be doing?

Well naturally I’ll be doing the reveal, but here are some other thoughts:

Conversation with Carlos, the artist. My first hope is that Carlos will be available to talk about the work and his process. I’ll reveal the cover after the conversation, and anyone interested can talk to us about our work or the cover.

If you haven’t read Caught, Book One of the Oneiros Log, now is a good time to pick up a copy so you’re ready for Betrayed!

I also want to do a Q & A. In order to do that though, I need Q’s to A, if you follow the joke. If you’d like to help an independent author out, please post any question you’d like to ask of me in the comments below or email them to me. You can ask whatever you want, but I reserve the right to choose which questions I answer.

I plan on the event lasting 20 minutes. It will be Saturday, April 10 starting at 2 p.m. I hope you all can make it! Please comment below if you plan to be there.

Right now, this is all in the idea phase. My intention is to do between 2 and 3 videos per week. One will be general “Writing Advice;” one will be general “book talk;” and the last is bringing back a favorite. My plan is to bring back my book cover of the month. This time, I’ll be looking at covers and talking about why I think they work. I’ll create polls for people to vote in and announce the winners. This is going to demand some time, and I’ll have to see how well I manage it. But it’s something I’ve been mulling over, and I want to give it a shot. It should take less time than the original format because I’ll be highlighting seven covers each week and using those to do the polls. So the time it took me to find covers is the only time I’ll need because I’ll be doing it live.

You can get a head start by heading over to my (very puny and unproductive) YouTube channel now and subscribe (don’t forget the notification button). I actually plan to release my first set of videos starting next week. I’m probably biting off more than I can chew, but you’d all help me be motivated to keep at it by viewing, liking, and sharing the videos as they come out.

Once I finalize the general plan for the cover reveal on April 10, I’ll share the Google Meet link for you to join.

I’m hoping I’ll see you all there!

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Book Review: Night Stalker by R.L. Weeks

Cover of this book was taken from Amazon for review purposes under Fair Use Doctrine. 

Spoiler Free Summary: Night Stalker by TR.L. Weeks was my 2017 September Book Cover of the Month. Casey is a young woman who’s husband died. She’s haunted by reoccurring nightmares in which a stranger inflicts great pain upon her. One day, she rediscovers that not only is the man of her nightmares real, but he’s working against her supernaturally resurrected dead husband, who now only seeks pleasure in the suffering of mortals.

Character:  Casey is actually pretty proactive, but that’s what bothers me. She’s too quick to swoon and too quick to accept things for my taste. She also seems incredibly naive, and while that would be okay if that was her character arch in which she grew more discerning, but that’s not the plot. Rather than let the conflict of her clashing worlds drive the story in interesting directions, the character is forced along, which makes her feel hard to believe.

Exposition: I was probably affected by the first person narrative here, but it felt like every conversation in the story was just another info-dump session on the history and world building of this world. This results in getting told a lot, and not much quality seeing.

World building:  I got the feeling this is where the author put the bulk of her energy.  The world is as thought out as I’d ask any world to be. The lore seems deep. The society of the creatures was a bit cliche, but it was well-developed.

Title image for R.L. Weeks taken from her Amazon Page for review puroposes under Fair Use Doctrine.

Dialogue: I touched on this above. I’m of the opinion that every conversation in this story (ok, most of them) consisted of convincing Casey to more or less come to the dark side or explain to Casey this world the author spent ages fleshing out. When the conversation wasn’t about those things, it was the less that subtle Twilightesque love story.

Description: This was well done. I got the imagery I needed without bogging the story down. It had a decent mix of detail and room for imagination.

Overall: First, I have to note that I listened to this book on Audible, and it simply wasn’t well produced. There were lines read multiple times. Some lines were cut off. You could hear the narrator taking breaths. I swear I even once heard a dog barking in the background. The narrator read at this tone that seemed at a constant near-tears whine that got old fast. If I’m being honest, the lack of quality audio engineering probably ruined what fairness I could offer the actual story. I was giving the story a try until I felt like I was reading something that felt too much like Twilight, which I’ve never read, but I hated the movie and don’t particularly want to read a story that feels too much like, “let me love this monster to life.”  When it works, it’s amazing, but this story leaves without much resolved, and the main character’s unrealistic reactions just didn’t work for me. That said, if you like melodramatic love stories (and a great many people do) this story is right up your alley, only I strongly recommend you avoid the Audible version.

I don’t typically give reviews like this. Most stories always have something that I can cling to and study. I don’t ever want to bash, and I hope I stopped before I got to “bashing status.”  This last section is simply me explaining that even this story deserves a chance if you’re in the writers’ audience. Please don’t let my own biases affect your willingness to give a story a try. No, I didn’t enjoy this story much, but yo might, and I’d like to hear why.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

An October Book Cover of the Month Update

Greetings all,

With just seven days left in this month’s bracket, it’s time to update you all on how things have been progressing.

As I type this, we have 3,988 votes so far. The fact is one author brought the full support of his following, and it shows. It’s staggering to see, and, frankly, intimidating.

Until Nothing Remains by C.A. Rudolph has a strangle hold on the lead

Most Voted on so far: Rudolph has a staggering 752 votes, mostly because 84 people have voted him all the way to the winner’s circle.  It would take the rest of the top five combined to catch him.

Least Voted for:  Dawn of War by Aaron Hodges has 26 votes each. Maybe it isn’t the best cover this month, but dragons alone should be worth 30 votes, shouldn’t they?

Honestly, Rudolph looks untouchable, but that’s what would make a great come-from-behind victory so amazing!

There’s still a week left, and we can at least see if the runners up can get interesting. After all, the first two runners up get another crack in November’s bracket, which is the next to last chance to get into the Book Cover of the Year bracket.

This is currently the first runner up. If voters keep supporting this cover, it’ll get another shot in November’s bracket!

A quick reminder of how the tournament works. The easiest way to win is to have the most people vote for you in every round. The trick is you have to have the most people vote you through in each round, all the way to the final.  As an example, 100 people could vote someone through to the finals, but that doesn’t do a cover any good if he doesn’t win the first round. It’s not total votes. It’s not simple championship votes. The winning cover has to have the most votes in each round of the competition.

This will be the only update for this type of bracket. I hope the record does get broken and that I see voters lining up to support their authors by voting, liking, and sharing the bracket with as many people as possible.  You can vote at this address!

I’ll announce the winner is just seven days!

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Announcing the September Book Cover of the Month!

Hello everyone,

We’ve just wrapped up another month. It was great to see a new cover bracket happen!

We had 2,520 votes this month. It was another slower month, but part of that is because I didn’t have the time I normally have to get word out. For that, I’m sorry. Still, it was decent month, and the winning cover stood out before I ran out of time.

The September Book Cover of the Month is…

 

Of Fire and Storm by D.G. Swank! If you’re curious about how I felt about the book, check out the Facebook post that I posted when this book first landed on the bracket, here.

Let’s look at the stats!

Swank  received 181 total votes.

As runner up, Sorcerers’ Web by Lucia Ashta gets a second chance to claim the title in October’s bracket.

But for now, let’s look at this month’s winner!

Amazon:

(START BLURB)

Book two in the Piper Lancaster series in the Curse Keepers world.

Just when Piper begins to accept her new role as demon slayer, a fresh threat rises.

People are disappearing, and Piper is sure a sinister, otherworldly force is at play.

Add to that ghosts who show up out of thin air, warning her of a danger she won’t be able to outrun, and a freaking bevy of supernatural creatures hiding in the background, and Piper suddenly has her hands full. Especially when the new creatures aren’t demons, or ghosts and she has no idea how to deal with them.

Or whether or not they be good little monsters, or bad.

There is one man who has the knowledge she needs to survive but she can’t even count on him. Why? The bastard left town.

One thing is certain: a big bad demon’s come to town and Piper has to stop him—but she needs help to do it.

If only she could figure out whom to trust…

(END BLURB)

I’ve added Of Fire and Storm to my TBR. (For those who are new to the deal, I buy the Book Cover of the Month to read and review in the future. I buy all the winning covers. I’ve already bought August, July, June, May, April, March, February, January, and December’s book.

Here’s Swank’s Facebook page. Give it a like if you’re curious about her and her work.

The October Book Cover of the Month is coming along, and that contest will launch Nov. 1.

I will continue to identify and select covers for each day from Amazon’s New Release section for fantasy and science fiction. If you follow and like my Facebook page, you can see what covers will make the bracket.

Thanks for reading

Matt

The September Book Cover of the Month Starts Now!

But first, an announcement. The Power of Words is officially live! I’m thrilled at it’s early success.  I sold out of physical editions during the Baltimore ComicCon (I’ll talk more about that on Saturday), and I had more preorders for that book than any other I’ve ever had. It’s live, but it’s still only 99 cents! It will be until Oct. 14, when it goes to its regular price of $3.99. All four of us (TW Iain, Richard T. Drake, Heidi Angell, and myself) are so proud of this. I hope you’ll preorder a copy.

Now, it’s time to start a new book cover of the month competition.

Born to the Blade by Michael Underwood, Marie Brennan, and Cassandra Khaw, and White Mind by Emma Stallings join 30 brand new covers this month.

You can vote all the way through the tournament, supporting the covers you like best through each round. I like to make sure people get the credit they deserve, so please show your support. Please vote and share as much as possible to get people a chance to pick their favorite.

As always, I’d appreciate it if you tag the authors and artists if you know them. I try to tag or friend every author I can, but sometimes it’s hard to track someone down. Max participation is a huge deal to me. The more people who vote, the more recognition these authors and artists receive, and I want this to be as legitimate as possible.

Image taken from Pixabay.

If you are the author, let’s remember to be good sports! 1) Please feel free to message or contact me at any time. 2) Please feel free to like, share, text, ask for support, and call everyone you know. I absolutely want max participation. However, if you’re going to offer giveaways or prizes, please offer them for voting, not just voting for you.

Also, while your summoning your army of voting soldiers, please make sure you ask them to vote in every match. Part of the idea of this is to get exposure to as many artists and authors as possible. By all means, if you can get 1,000 people to vote for your book, do it. Just please also send some eyeballs to the other matches.

A final note to authors and artists: I currently have links to the books’ Amazon pages. If you’d prefer I switch that link to sign up for your newsletter or like your social media page or whatever, just send me the link and let me know. I want this to help you. I want this to be as helpful as possible, so whatever you need me to do to facilitate that, just let me know.

I hope you keep having fun. Please, vote, share, and discuss as much as possible.

All you have to do now is head over here to vote!

Thanks for reading,

Matt