Title: Dark Skies
Author: Cecily Magnon
Series: Order of the Anakim (Book 2) Though Amazon List it as Book 3 because of the Prequel to the Series.
Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy/Supernatural /with elements of Romance
Publisher: 12 Angels Publishing
Release Date: Nov 28 2014
Length: 316 Pages
Edition/Formats Available In: eBook & Print
Blurb/Synopsis:
Passions are erupting.
Cryptic alliances are forming.
Armies are gathering.
And the fabric between good and evil is slowly tearing open.
Time is running out on Elysa and The Order of the Anakim. A gathering gloom hangs heavy over their mystic realm as the demon hordes measure a final deathblow in their age-old struggle. Step by step, the demons murder, capture, and conjure their way to a realm unified by utter darkness. Their ruthless queen Ashtaroth, guided only by ambition and her voracious thirst for carnal pleasures, masterminds their rising tide of evil.
The Order must unify its splintering members to meet the defining challenge of their history… or pass forever into oblivion.
But in a world where magic, warfare, and sinister prophecies rule the day… in the night, vile enemies may seek the warmth in each other’s touch.
At this vital juncture, Elysa’s passion is lured by a wicked voice both arousing and terrifying. If the love between Elysa and Jarron is eternal, it will have to overcome pressures seen and unseen and withstand the crush of an all-out attack by demon forces.
Darkness is bleeding its treachery into our world and Elysa and The Order of the Anakim must find a way to combat the gathering doom.
Dark Skies will sweep legions of fantasy fiction fans into Elysa Amalfi’s thrilling and treacherous world of the supernatural.
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Chapter 4 Excerpt
The days were melting into each other and Ellie felt like she’d lived a lifetime in just these few weeks she’d been with the Anakim. She’d found out she was descended from angels, she’d met an amazing man, and her friend was going to join the ranks of the Wiccans to help in their fight.
She’d always thought stuff like this only happened in the movies. That nothing like this really existed except in the creative minds of storytellers. But here they were, she and Jarron, driving into the city to pick up Gina and permanently close down her apartment.
Gina had been house sitting for her for the last three weeks, but now that they were both going to be with the Anakim, there was no longer any reason to hold onto it. The apartment had been her place since her mom disappeared, and was where she’d put together a new life for herself. Letting it go was letting go of the past to allow room for a new beginning she was strongly forging with The Order of the Anakim.
It was bittersweet.
She looked at the driver’s side of the SUV and studied Jarron’s profile — the chiseled jaw, the pout of his lips, the perfect slope of his nose, and those eyes… He could stare down a demon during battle and, in their private moments, lock onto her gaze, making every fiber of her being melt into goo. He owned her and he didn’t even know it. Her heart beat wildly when he caught her staring and threw her one of his half-cocked smiles. That smile was her undoing.
He reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing it lightly before returning his eyes to the road. “We should be at Gina’s in a few minutes.” He slowed the car to a stop, waiting for the traffic light to change. “Are you okay?”
Ellie nodded, but she wasn’t sure how she was feeling. There was too much going through her mind… some good, some bad. “It’s been a lot to take in these last few weeks.”
He shifted his hand, twining his fingers with hers as he drove to Ellie’s apartment. Jarron pulled into a parking spot at the apartment’s lot and turned the engine off. He turned in his seat to face her and kissed the tips of her fingers. He didn’t say anything, just looked at her. His eyes were so bright, one green and one blue, drawing her in and ensnaring her within the safety of his heat and light.
“Thank you for coming with me to do this.” She had to look down for a moment to release the breath she’d been holding. He did that to her. He made her forget to do even the simplest thing like breathing.
He leaned towards her, his cocky smile returning as he angled for her lips. His heat drew her in, warming her cool energy and making her bubble with pleasure. She surrendered to him, giving back as much as he was taking, deepening their kiss.
Title: Prelude to a Storm
Series: Order of the Anakim (Prequel) Though Amazon List it as Book 1 of the Series.
Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy/Supernatural /with elements of Romance
Publisher: 12 Angels Publishing
Release Date: May 4 2014
Length: 44 Pages
Edition/Formats Available In: eBook & Print
Blurb/Synopsis:
Sarah Amalfi and her best friend Samantha are headed to Tijuana looking for some summer fun after their high school graduation… but there’s something far more sinister looming over this road trip than an innocent shopping trip at Tijuana’s famous market place… Warnings from strangers, a vicious attack by a shadowy assailant, a charismatic stranger named Will… What do they want with Sarah? Sarah is forced to consider that there was nothing chance about her meeting with Will, but how can she accept the fantastic possibilities that Will presents to her? A hidden realm within our own, governed by cryptic magic, ancient alliances, demons… and passion beyond her understanding The truth comes hard and fast in this riveting prequel to the romantic supernatural awakening of Gathering Storm!
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Amazon Free Read (Kindle)
Barnes and Noble Free Read (Nook)
Smashwords Free Read
Title: Gathering Storm
Series: Order of the Anakim (Book 1) Though Amazon List it as Book 2 of the Series because of the Prequel.
Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy/Supernatural /with elements of Romance
Publisher: 12 Angels Publishing
Release Date: May 9 2014
Length: 247 Pages
Edition/Formats Available In: eBook & Print
Blurb/Synopsis:
Sarah Amalfi and her best friend Samantha are headed to Tijuana looking for some summer fun after their high school graduation… but there’s something far more sinister looming over this road trip than an innocent shopping trip at Tijuana’s famous market place… Warnings from strangers, a vicious attack by a shadowy assailant, a charismatic stranger named Will… What do they want with Sarah? Sarah is forced to consider that there was nothing chance about her meeting with Will, but how can she accept the fantastic possibilities that Will presents to her? A hidden realm within our own, governed by cryptic magic, ancient alliances, demons… and passion beyond her understanding The truth comes hard and fast in this riveting prequel to the romantic supernatural awakening of Gathering Storm!
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Why Book Covers are So Important
A good book cover is as important to the success of a book as make-up is to a clown. Everyone has heard of the quote, “don’t judge a book by its cover,” but this quote is wrong. It’s wrong for self-published authors in particular.
In a market that continues to steadily grow by the month and by the year, being an indie is tough business and not for the faint of heart. What does this mean? It means, that the self-pub industry has grown exponentially in the last few years. The opportunities have been incredible and it has allowed more and more people to pursue their dreams of writing. I think this is great! With more authors producing books, there are more stories and more knowledge being produced in the world. This also means that readers will have an endless variety of reading materials to choose from, and for me that means books and e-books will continue to be in demand and we can create an “evergreen” community.
What am I getting at? What does this have to do with book covers? Authors are meeting the demands of the readers and that means authors are producing a lot of books.
More books equal more titles on the market.
More titles on the market mean more options.
More options means decreased attention span of a potential buyer.
Did you know that on the web, an average internet user has about a 3-second attention span? That’s not much at all. You only have 3-seconds to catch that potential buyer’s attention. How do you do that? With a great book cover! It is the very first thing a shopper will see. If the design is right and is eye-catching, that browser will click on your book, hopefully read the blurb, get intrigued by your awesome well written description, and finally buy your book.
The book cover is the shiny ball that you want to use to capture a browser’s attention, without it, no matter how great your story is and how well-crafted your prose are, it will get passed over–simply because the outside packaging didn’t pique an interest.
Think of the book cover as the first impression your book makes and as you know, first impressions are lasting.
Here are some tips to consider for a great book cover:
- Professional looking. I didn’t say professionally made. I know some people with a great eye for design and they can put together a great cover just as good as any graphic artist. However, if you’re like me and can’t design worth-a-lick, hire a designer. You’ll be glad you did.
- The design needs to be pertinent to your subject matter and your target audience. For example, if you’re writing a book about erectile dysfunction, more than likely you are targeting a male audience. For your book cover, you might want to consider “male colors” like dark blues, blacks, and dark greens. The font should probably be a block style font and have a very masculine feel to it. In other words, you probably wouldn’t want to use scrolly-girly fonts with pinks and yellows as it would be contradictory to your topic and audience.
- The design should fit your genre. If you look through any one of the big e-book stores like Amazon.com, you’ll notice a certain trend or pattern with covers. For example, books in the erotica and steamy romance genre have covers that are more risqué with lots of skin showing on the models, provocative positions, and a very sensual vibe.
- When you browse through the e-book stores, jot down the titles and covers that catch your eye. Make a list of why you stopped to look at that cover. Why did you like it? Was it the colors, the image, the font? What was it that drew you in? Write down whatever comes to mind–it’s your list J. When you get a list compiled, use the info you gathered and apply it for your own cover or better yet, give those ideas to a designer to work with.
- Your title, author name, and cover design should still look good and hopefully be clear and readable even in thumbnail size. So many people shop on their mobile devices and images are shrunk to fit. Your book should look great in any viewing size.
- If you are writing a series, make sure your covers are consistent from one book to the next. Your reader should know that a book belongs to a specific series, just by the design of the cover. (Make it easy. Plus this becomes part of your branding too J.)
- Lastly, don’t be afraid to experiment with different designs. Sometimes we don’t get it right the first time. Book covers are like little works of art and tastes are subjective. As authors we have to find the design that is most appealing to the majority. Admittedly, I’m in this spot. While I LOVE my covers and rather attached to them, I think that I will need to experiment and give my covers a facelift. I’ll start with one and see how it goes. If it works like a good facelift does for people and I get a good response, I’ll facelift the entire series.
I hope this was helpful. Keep on writing and reading.
Author Information
Cecily Magnon is from the fertile valleys of northern California, where she lives with her husband and kids, and gets inspired by the diversity, beauty, and bounty of the people and of the land around her.
A self-proclaimed nerd girl, Cecily has had a fascination with all topics outside of the norm since she was a little girl. Things of fantasy, magick, sci-fi, the supernatural, and day dreams are the juice that nourishes her imagination and infuse into her writing.
According to Cecily, there is no such thing as “ordinary” when you believe and you see that the everyday is filled with magick.
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Blog Cecily’s World
Good guest post – a good cover is definitely very important in terms of marketing a book but I really try to look at all covers objectively and read the book descriptions before I decide…..sometimes not great covers are on great books….