What a lush cover! I love this new fad of iconographic artwork, but I feel this one is a bit too complex. The light element is nice, and it does keep the cover from being too flat, but there is…
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Cover Art Critiques
Tagged with: amreading, art, author, authorlife, book cover, books, bookstagram, booktok, cover art, critique, dark fantasy, fantasy, illustration, loathsome voyages, mustread
Posted in Art, Writing
Posted in Art, Writing
Misfortune of Song is LIVE!
Misfortune of Time, book #5 in The Druid’s Brooch Series, releases today! So, don’t delay! Pick up your copy now! And if you do get a copy, it would be lovely if you could leave a review to share the…
Tagged with: amreading, ancient, bard, bittersweet ending, celt, celtic, druids brooch, fairy, histfantasy, histfic, historical, historical fantasy, historical fiction, historical realism, ireland, irish, Irish History, magic, medieval, must read, new book, new release, northern ireland, preorder, prophecy, romance, series, song, tragedy, vikings, war
Posted in Writing
Posted in Writing
Cover Art Critiques
Gorgeous artwork, fantastic perspective. I love how the dragon fades away so the figure stands out. That’s a great way to keep from cluttering the cover art. And again, my favorite, a limited color palette. The metallic font with the…
Tagged with: amreading, art, author, authorlife, book cover, books, bookstagram, booktok, cover art, critique, dark fantasy, fantasy, illustration, loathsome voyages, mustread
Posted in Art, Writing
Posted in Art, Writing
Cover Art Critiques
Oh, how I adore this cover. Stylistic artwork that holds lots of hints about the story, the time period, the genre, still while sticking with blue, white, and gold. The font matches the time period as well, and the white…
Tagged with: amreading, art, author, authorlife, book cover, books, bookstagram, booktok, cover art, critique, dark fantasy, fantasy, illustration, loathsome voyages, mustread
Posted in Art, Writing
Posted in Art, Writing
Cover Art Critiques
This cover has strong iconography, limited color scheme, and definitely genre-specific. However, I think there’s too much going on. The center symbol (s) has the phoenix, star, and circle, as well as blue lightning. That’s fine. Add a strong title…
Tagged with: amreading, art, author, authorlife, book cover, books, bookstagram, booktok, cover art, critique, dark fantasy, fantasy, illustration, loathsome voyages, mustread
Posted in Art, Writing
Posted in Art, Writing
Misfortune of Song releases November 7, 2022!
That’s right – for the first time since March, Misfortune of Song, book five in The Druid’s Brooch Series, will be available. I will have it as ebook on Amazon, on Kindle Unlimited, and as print at lots of venues,…
Tagged with: amreading, ancient, celt, celtic, druids brooch, fairy, histfantasy, histfic, historical, historical fantasy, historical fiction, historical realism, ireland, irish, Irish History, magic, medieval, music, must read, new book, new release, northern ireland, preorder, prophecy, romance, song, warrior
Posted in Writing
Posted in Writing
Cover Art Critiques
Sometimes simple is indeed better. All this shows is a warrior (by the fact he’s literally bristling with weapons) and some mountains with clouds. Yet, the atmosphere promises a lot more. The strong, simple font might be a bit more…
Tagged with: amreading, art, author, authorlife, book cover, books, bookstagram, booktok, cover art, critique, dark fantasy, fantasy, illustration, loathsome voyages, mustread
Posted in Art, Writing
Posted in Art, Writing
Cover Art Critique
I’ve done several pale/light covers, so it’s time for some darker ones. This one is very dark, very chthulic, with a hint of the ridiculous. The black/green color scheme works fine, though the red scarf seems a bit amorphous, the…
Tagged with: amreading, art, author, authorlife, book cover, books, bookstagram, booktok, cover art, critique, dark fantasy, fantasy, illustration, loathsome voyages, mustread, skullgate
Posted in Art, Writing
Posted in Art, Writing
Cover Art Critique
This cover has an intriguing mix of figurative illustration, graphic effect, and a very strong iconography. The bar on the right reminds me of some of the classic novels from the 1960s, as does the font. The upward slant of…
Tagged with: amreading, art, author, authorlife, book cover, books, bookstagram, booktok, cover art, critique, dark fantasy, fantasy, hummingbird salamander, illustration, jeff vandermeer, mustread
Posted in Art, Writing
Posted in Art, Writing
Cover Art Critiques
Normally, this would be way too many colors for me. However, this totally works for this cover. The overall night theme and dark blue ties it together, and since this is a fairy tell retelling based on a Chinese story,…
Tagged with: amreading, art, author, authorlife, book cover, books, bookstagram, booktok, cover art, critique, dark fantasy, daughter of the moon goddess, fairy tale, fantasy, illustration, mustread, sue lynn tan
Posted in Art, Writing
Posted in Art, Writing
Cover Art Critique
A Rorschach test blob wouldn’t be my first choice for a cover. However, this one is rather intriguing, and I can see the possibilities. After all, why settle for just one, precise image, when you could effectively have dozens of…
Tagged with: a history of wild places, amreading, art, author, authorlife, book cover, books, bookstagram, booktok, cover art, critique, dark fantasy, fantasy, illustration, mustread, shea enrshaw
Posted in Art, Writing
Posted in Art, Writing
Cover Art Critique
This one has a lot going on but it does so without being obtrusive. The limited color scheme and the mix between illustrative and pictorial aspects works. The upside down blood building is a little confusing, but I think it…
Tagged with: amreading, art, author, book cover, books, bookstagram, booktok, cover art, critique, crossing acheron, fantasy, illustration, k r wolfe, mustread
Posted in Art, Writing
Posted in Art, Writing
Cover Art Critique
This is an unusual color scheme for a figured cover, but it works. The cool blue informs something creepy and mysterious, even though it’s bright and easy to see. The Victorian house in the background tells me it might be…
Tagged with: amreading, art, author, authorlife, book cover, books, bookstagram, booktok, cover art, critique, dark fantasy, fantasy, finding emmaline, illustration, j r byers, mustread
Posted in Art, Writing
Posted in Art, Writing
Cover Art Critique
This is an amazing cover. I adore the illustration, and the subtle puzzle pattern adds questions and intrigue. The color scheme is soft and pleasing, and the unique font, while still perfectly legible, is amazing. I’m a huge fan of…
Tagged with: amreading, art, author, authorlife, book cover, books, bookstagram, booktok, cover art, critique, dark fantasy, fantasy, illustration, mustread, red shoes, satyros phil brucato, urban fantasy
Posted in Art, Writing
Posted in Art, Writing
Book Cover Critique
Limited color scheme? Check. Strong imagery? Check. Atmosphere in the artwork? Check. The only thing I don’t really care for is the red spider symbol. I think it could be better integrated with the background cover art, or placed somewhere…
Tagged with: amreading, art, author, authorlife, book cover, books, bookstagram, booktok, cover art, critique, dark fantasy, fantasy, illustration, mary flint, mustread, red star
Posted in Art, Writing
Posted in Art, Writing
Misfortune of Vision is LIVE!
That’s right – for the first time since March, Misfortune of Vision, book four in The Druid’s Brooch Series, is now re-released! Ebook on Amazon, on Kindle Unlimited, and as print at lots of venues, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble. UNIVERSAL LINK HERE!…
Tagged with: amreading, ancient, celt, celtic, druids brooch, fairy, histfantasy, histfic, historical, historical fantasy, historical fiction, historical realism, ireland, irish, Irish History, magic, medieval, must read, new book, new release, norman invasion, northern ireland, preorder, prophecy, series, war
Posted in Writing
Posted in Writing
Book Cover Critique
With any fantasy cover, there’s always the urge to put too much on the cover. You’re trying to define an entire world, after all. However, with just a few iconic images, you can offer a hint of the world-building without…
Tagged with: amreading, art, author, authorlife, book cover, books, bookstagram, booktok, cover art, critique, dark fantasy, fantasy, illustration, mustread, richard swan, the justice of kings
Posted in Art, Writing
Posted in Art, Writing
Come vote for Taming of the Few!
The cover art for my urban fantasy novel, Taming of the Few, is in the Crème de la Cover Contest at InD’Tale Magazine! CLICK HERE TO VOTE TODAY!!! The contest runs all week until Saturday, July 30th at 5pm PST. You…
Cover art critique
Sometimes dragons, magical lights, and fantasy iconography aren’t the right choice. But visual drama always works. This book is simple, almost non-fiction in it’s feel. But it does spell out (literally) that it’s a novel. The simple white figurines with…
Tagged with: amreading, art, author, authorlife, book cover, books, bookstagram, booktok, cover art, critique, fantasy, illustration, john scalzi, lock in, mustread, thriller
Posted in Art, Writing
Posted in Art, Writing
Misfortune of Vision will return August 1!
That’s right – for the first time since March, Misfortune of Vision, book four in The Druid’s Brooch Series, will be available. I will have it as ebook on Amazon, on Kindle Unlimited, and as print at lots of venues,…
Tagged with: amreading, ancient, celt, celtic, druids brooch, fairy, histfantasy, histfic, historical, historical fantasy, historical fiction, historical realism, ireland, irish, Irish History, magic, medieval, must read, new book, new release, norman invasion, northern ireland, preorder, prophecy, war
Posted in Writing
Posted in Writing
Historical fantasy, time travel adventure, and urban fantasy 