The April Book Cover of the Month Begins! (Following a quick announcement)

We interrupt this blog for a brief announcement. Bob’s Greatest Mistake is live! It’ll be 99 cents from today until the 15th. I’d be honored if you would be kind enough to pick up a copy!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog.

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.

Metal and Stone by Kevin Potter and The Past is Never by Tiffany Quay Tyson 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

Book Review: An Ogre’s Tale by Lilian Oake

This cover image was taken from Amazon.com for review purposes under fair use doctrine.

Spoiler Free Summary: An Ogre’s Tale by Lilian Oake  is the story of Lyla, who’s mother gains a strange obsession with consuming food and then leaves. When an elf, searching for something, encounters Lyla, they join forces, and Lyla learns a terrible secret.

NOTE: This is a children’s story, and I feel that the audience matters in this case. While some (sometimes unfairly) demand a stories transcend audiences, most authors actually stick to their audience.

Character: Lyla is a sympathetic character. I think young readers will truly connect to her and her challenges. Her story is tragic, and books of this sort usually deliver powerful messages through tragedy, and this story is no different.

Exposition: Oake delivers perfectly here. Young readers demand movement and progression. This short, fast-paced story is perfect for story time (if, perhaps, not right for bed time). Oake wisely backs away from expository setting and scope to move the plot forward.

Worldbuilding:  This is perhaps the biggest area of weakness for me. It felt as though the author minimized this aspect for the same reasons she minimized the exposition. I don’t honestly know as I never sat down to ask her about it. This is just the sense that I got. However, I think a bit more worldbuilding here would have made the book more captivating for children.

Dialogue: There isn’t a ton of interaction here, but it’s effective and helps move the plot forward. The relationship between Lyla and the elf is a good one and adds a nice counterbalance to the cautionary tale that comprises the main plot. The dialogue is the main device to develop that relationship.

Author’s bio image taken from her bio page on her website. Featured image also taken from her website. Please don’t sue me. I have no money.

Description:  I liked it, but I like stories that don’t get bogged down with description. What I’d REALLY love to see is this same story with complete illustrations. That would take a powerful plot and endearing character to the next level. The description of the text is just as it needs to be in my opinion, but I wouldn’t dispute fans of more visceral stories feeling there isn’t enough.

Overall: Ogre’s Tale delivers a powerful message for young readers in a fast-paced manner. While a darker story, it’s main character provides a compelling reason to learn how the story ends and, more importantly, leaves room for discussion afterward.  While perhaps not something adults would enjoy, I do think it’s something adults would enjoy reading to their children, but do so knowing, as I’ve mentioned, it’s a cautionary tale.

Thanks for reading,

Matt