An August 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 1,903 votes so far. I admittedly have to acknowledge that the bulk of my disappointment stems from how much support the bracket had last month. The truth is, we’re on pace for what’s normally a solid month in the bracket, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to see these authors and artists get more support. I’d appreciate anyone spreading the word.

A Pipe of Wings by Sarah K. L. Wilson is in the lead at the moment.

Most Voted on so far: Wings has the most total votes so far with 134. She’s had 15 voters send her all the way through to the winner’s circle, which gives her a lead.

Least Voted for:  Bellweather by Susanna Kearsley and Bitter by V. Moody. These cover have 16 votes each. I’m honestly shocked Bellweather is that low and has so few votes.  Bitter is a solid cover, and I don’t think it deserves that little love either.

Wings looks pretty comfortable with 15 finals votes.  Born to the Blade by Michael R. Underwood (and a few others) is currently in second place (only 9 voters away). But things get interesting when one looks at the whole bracket.

Wings has a less secure lead in the Sweet 16. Wings is only five votes ahead of The Last Great Reaper by Billi Bell.  Fallout by Jacqueline Druga is actually only eight votes away from spoiling the whole thing (if you’re rooting for Wings). If Druga can get eight or so voters to push her all the way to the top, she’d take the title.

One benefit of a smaller turnout is how close things are.  It’s not unreasonable to think one of these authors can call up about ten fans. So I’m excited to see if the tables turn at any point during the last week of the 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

The August Book Cover of the Month Has Begun!

Happy first everyone!  This is the bracket launch, but first, we interrupt this bracket for two very important announcements.

First: I’m engaged! She said yes.  Well, I knew she was going to, but I finally got around to giving her the ring that’s been taunting me for at least a few months.

 

 

 

 
Second: The Power of Words is officially available for preorder! You can lock in your ebook for just 99 cents. It goes live Oct. 1, and will be 99 cents from today until Oct. 14.  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.

Age of War by Michael J. Sullivan joins 31 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

Announcing the July Book Cover of the Month!

Hello everyone,

We’ve just wrapped up another month. It was simply a historically amazing month. It did so well, I’m pinching myself trying to make sure I’m not dreaming. My goal for this is exposure for authors. Yes, I get some exposure as well, but I’d rather get exposure through helping others get visibility than any other way. This month made me hope we’re reaching a new level.

We had 9,787 votes this month. That’s far and away a new record! Thank you so much! For a moment, I thought we were actually going to crack 10,000.

One cover pulled away early; another surged late (big time), but it wasn’t enough to catch this month’s winner.

The July Book Cover of the Month is…

 

Asunder by L. Steinworth! 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!

Steinworth received 784 total votes. I’d put her as the early favorite to win the Book Cover of the Year Bracket in December.

Age of War by Michael J. Sullivan came in second, so Sullivan gets a shot at next month’s title. Hopefully he gets the same support. Usually, 30 Finals votes will get a win.  Sullivan had 64, so he’d be the very early favorite. Also, Sullivan has been in several of these brackets. He’s come in second a few times. I think he’d like to get a win.

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

Amazon:

(START BLURB)

Alden knew life in the Shadowen Thieves Guild would cost him greatly, but when their next mission means abducting Princess Mayli Drake of Ammos, the price is too high. Defying the guild, Alden sets out to return Mayli safely home in hopes of restoring peace with the kingdom of Brimley. Mayli feels as though her life has torn asunder after being taken captive. However, if she is to survive, she must come to trust the renegade thief loyal to her mother’s killer. As Alden pleads for Brimley’s innocence, Mayli begins to question what she thought she knew about her kingdom’s enemies.

(END BLURB)

I’ve added Asunder 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 June, May, April, March, February, January, December’s book.

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

Steinworth actually designed this very cover herself.  There’s a video of some of it somewhere, and I’ll try to link it.

The August Book Cover of the Month is coming along, and that contest will launch Sept. 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

Your July 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 5,575 votes so far. This is on pace for a historic month.  At this moment (about 8:45 p.m.), this month’s bracket is only 546 votes away from breaking the all-time record for most votes in a single month. It’s simply an amazing show of support for some nice book covers.  Thank you all. Here’s hoping that record gets shattered.

Asunder by L. Steinworth is in the lead at the moment.

Most Voted on so far: Asunder has the most total votes so far with 480. She’s had 57 voters send her all the way through to the winner’s circle, which gives her a respectfully commanding lead by the halfway point.

Least Voted for:  Mercy Point by Anna Snoekstra. This cover has 67 votes.  I typically hope to see each book getting at least 100 votes. I think it’s a nice cover with good use of color and contrast.

Asunder has a pretty commanding lead in every round, but there area few books that could steal things with enough support.  The first is Dream of the Navigator by Stephen Zimmer, which needs 34 voters to push it all the way through to the finals to pass Steinworth.  The other cover that’s in striking distance is the current runner up, Spell Smoke by SM Reine, which only needs 38 voters to push it all the way through to the finals to take the lead. Given that 337 unique individuals have voted so far, it’s not too far fetched to think another 40 could support one of those covers and completely change this 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

The July Book Cover of the Month Begins!

Happy first everyone! As is now officially tradition here on my blog, it’s time to start a new book cover of the month competition.

A Guiding Light by Susan Copperfield returns for her third try and joins 31 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

Announcing the June Book Cover of the Month!

Hello everyone,

We’ve just wrapped up another month. This month was comparatively slow, but things got a bit better late in the game.

We had 2,560 votes this month.

It was close for a few days, but then the winner had a ten-voter surge and never looked back.

The June Book Cover of the Month is…

 

Alphas and Airships by Melanie Karsak! 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!

Karsak received 145 total votes.

A Guiding Light by Susan Copperfield came in second, so Copperfield becomes the first author this year to get two second chances. We only saw that happen twice all of last year.

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

Amazon:

(START BLURB)

With Lionheart as the new alpha, the streets of London are quiet.

But above the realm, mischief is brewing.

While airship pirates are a common plague upon the kingdom, the airship Fenrir proves particularly troublesome–especially on a full moon.

Clemeny must take to the skies before these shape-shifting Vikings kick off a new Ragnarok. Easier said than done now that she’s down one good eye, a partner, and not to mention the fact that she gets motion sick.

On top of that, the new scar across her face makes Clemeny feel like she’ll have better luck intimidating her foes than finding a beau. But Agent Edwin Hunter, recently assigned as head of Clemeny’s division, is proving to be an interesting prospect. Despite her apprehensions, it’s up to Agent Louvel to chase Fenrir across the heavens.

Alphas and Airships is a retelling of the Red Riding Hood fairy tale set in Melanie Karsak’s bestselling steampunk universe. Alphas and Airships is Book 2 in the Steampunk Red Riding Hood series.

(END BLURB)

I’ve added Alphas and Airships 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 May, April, March, February, January, December’s book.

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

I’ll try to find out who did that cover. Truth is interviews are a bit hard to arrange on my end these days.  I’ll try to get back on track, but things are looking a bit busy lately (in a less good way at the moment).

The July Book Cover of the Month is coming along, and that contest will launch Aug. 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 May Book Cover of the Month Begins!

 

Happy first everyone! As is now officially tradition here on my blog, it’s time to start a new book cover of the month competition.

Siren’s Lure by Frost Kay joins 31 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

An April 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 3,015 votes so far. This is a pretty solid spot to be in, and the matches are all pretty close.

Hemlock by Jesse Teller is in the lead at the moment.

Most Voted on so far: Primordial by Mario Loomis, which is in second at the moment, is just four voters behind Teller, but Loomis does have the most total votes so far with 179.

Least Voted for:  If it Takes a Lifetime  by Bruce Whitehead. This cover has 51 votes. Perhaps you all aren’t fans of classic sci-fi. I think the cover’s pretty cool, but this is to see what you all like.  Still, if you lie this cover, give him a few votes.

Loomis isn’t the only one close to unseating Teller.  These Unnatural Men by E.J. Babb is only six votes away from overtaking Teller in the Final Four.

Loomis isn’t untouchable either. Unafraid by Megan Lynch is within 11 votes of Loomis in the Final Four. Tuning In by Richard Roberts is only five votes away from Loomis in the Elite Eight.

This basically means that if any of the named authors get at least 11 people to vote for their cover, the top four changes, and we have new leaders. I should probably mention that Personal Warriors by Rachel A. Collett is also within 11 voters.

So a lot of these matches are pretty tightly contested, especially in the Elite Eight. Heck, I see a few covers in the Sweet 16 that are only about 13 voters away from the championship. That means it’s pretty much neck and neck for about half the books in the bracket. I like seeing the brackets where any cover could win.  Who will you vote for?

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. It’s been slow so far, so I hope readers start 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 March Book Cover of the Month!

Hello everyone,

We’ve just wrapped up another month. This one was pretty historic.  This month is the second-most voted on month to date. That’s a pretty awesome stat to hand out. I’m thrilled and honored at everyone involved.

We had 6,019 votes this month.

It was a pretty stiff competition between about five books. No one really pulled away, and that made for some exciting matches.

The March Book Cover of the Month is…

 

 

Heshayol by Joshua Robertson and J.C. Boyd! 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!

Heshayol received 335 total votes. If this cover and art looks  familiar, it’s because his first book Anaerfell was in the Book Cover of the Year Wild Card Round. I also read and reviewed it.

Since April only has 30 days, Metal and Stone by K. Potter and The Past is Never by Tiffany Quay Tyson. will be in next month’s cover bracket because they finished second and third respectively.

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

Amazon:

(START BLURB)

Over a millennium ago, at their father’s command, Tyran and Drast sent the Horned God to the Netherworld in hopes of gaining everlasting life. Instead, they sparked a chain of events that led to the near destruction of the Ash Tree and the liberation of the old gods. Now, with the world waning, the two brothers are freed from Anaerfell to travel to the frozen realm of the dead and resurrect their enemy with hopes of restoring balance. Tyran and Drast journey between time and space with limitless magic at their fingertips to face demon legions, forsaken immortals, and the realization that the malevolence of their father is not yet done.

While the first ennead of books in Thrice Nine Legends can be read separate of one another, the following is the chronological reading order for full enjoyment.

Anaerfell, The Blood of Dragons, Book 1

Warden of the Ash Tree

The Highborn Longwalker

Melkorka, The Kaelandur Series, Book 1

When Blood Falls

Dyndaer, The Kaelandur Series, Book 2

The Name of Death

Maharia, The Kaelandur Series, Book 3

Heshayol, The Blood of Dragons, Book 2

(END BLURB)

I’ve added Heshayol 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 February, January and December’s book.

Here’re Josh’s and JC’s Facebook page. Give it a like if you’re curious about him and his work.

I’ll try to find out who did that cover. I’m still  behind my interviews, and I’m just not sure how or when I’m going to get back on that. I will try though.

The April Book Cover of the Month is almost set, and that contest will launch May 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

A March 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 2,862 votes so far. This had a much better start than last month, but this month’s is still one of the closest in recent memory.

Fractals by Larry Buena is in the lead at the moment, but only because of a tie breaker.

Most Voted on so far: Fractals has the lead because of the tiebreaker in total votes. His 193 votes are enough to give him the edge in the finals.

Least Voted for:  The Battle of Tangine  by Will Crudge. This cover has 42 votes. I think Cridge’s book deserves more credit.

What’s really interesting here is how close a lot of the other rounds are.  The Divide by Jeremy Robinson (currently second) is pretty much fighting every step of the way. He has a 28-26 vote lead on Flash Magic by Jamie K. Schmidt.

Robinson’s fight spills into the Elite Eight.  He’s actually only winning a 20-18 against Tangled Lands by Paolo Bacigalupi and Tobias S. Buckell.

Fractals isn’t untouchable either. He’s winning a 20-20 tiebreaker against The Past is Never by Tiffany Quay Tyson.

That’s a lot of uncertainty in a tightly contested 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. It’s been slow so far, so I hope readers start 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