Do You Judge a Book by the Cover?

By Maureen Bonatch 

          Scruff considering working on his novel                                           

I admit it. I don’t like to think of my fiction books as a business. Like many authors, I often refer to my stories as my ‘book babies’. I talk about my characters like they’re real people in my life. I cherish my covers like a priceless painting. 

My most recent release, Till Death, a short psychological thriller, was my first attempt at self-publishing so I’ve been busy learning all the things, including getting to a gorgeous cover. Author and cover artist, Alison Hendrickson, made a wonderful cover. I thought it represented the story well, here’s the cover and blurb: 

      Click here to get your copy now for .99cents

 Honor, obey...or slay. To protect an innocent man, a dutiful wife challenges her vengeful husband…with disastrous results. 

 Gina believes that mirrors hold bits of the soul, a rabbit's foot brings good luck, and that marriage vows are until death. But most of all, she’s blindly followed her husband Rick’s philosophy. Nasty men get one chance to convert from their abusive ways —or suffer the consequences they bring upon themselves. 

 But when she meets George, Gina begins to question everything Rick has led her to believe about men. Now Rick has George lined up to be the next man to be redeemed. Will black widow Gina honor and obey and weave her web around George, or will she become the next victim? 

I felt that the heart on the cover was symbolic to my protagonist’s struggle with desiring a healthy loving relationship even though she didn't quite understanding what that means, as well as her role in luring the what she considers a nasty man. 

 But as I continued to learn all the things (between writing, and self-publishing, I think I will always be learning all the things) I started to play with creating Amazon Ads. I quickly learned that advertising through Amazon wasn’t going to happen with this cover. 

 It was felt that my beautiful cover had ‘excessive gore or violence’ and therefore I couldn’t create ads for Amazon with this cover. 

Keep in mind that this story is one of 13 other authors featuring murder, mystery and mayhem and revolving around Friday the 13th. A date considered ominous or unlucky by many, and also known for some frightful films. 

So despite adoring my first cover, my books had to be more than just what I loved, but also what readers expected and loved. That meant it was back to the drawing board for a new cover for Till Death that would still capture the ‘heart’ of the story but wouldn’t be tagged for appearing too violent. 

My cover artist came through once again, and here’s the updated cover for Till Death. 

           Click here to get your copy now for .99cents

 But like both my babies at home, it’s hard for me not to love both covers. 

 Do You Judge a Book By Its Cover?

Author Bio: Maureen Bonatch grew up in small town Pennsylvania and her love of the four seasons—hockey, biking, sweat pants and hibernation—keeps her there. While immersed in writing or reading paranormal romance and fantasy, she survives on caffeine, wine, music, and laughter. A feisty Shih Tzu keeps her in line. 

Find Maureen on her website, Facebook & Twitter Be the first to know about Maureen’s book sales and new releases by following her on BookBub, Amazon and/or signing up for her newsletter

A Different Type of Story for a Different Type of Year

 By Maureen Bonatch

Everything is a little different this year, including my latest release. Till Death is a psychological thriller without my usual paranormal or fantasy elements. That made it a little challenging to write until I embraced my love of the human mind, that's where the true magic and mystery lies in most people. As the old saying goes, reality is stranger than fiction, and this year has certainly supported that. 

Till Death gives us a glimpse into Gina's life when she realizes that the beliefs, and the person, she's supported for most of her life may not be what's best for her—but she's made a vow, and that's not to be taken lightly. 

But just like 2020 has us all thinking, Gina wonders just when is enough, enough?

Fun Facts About Till Death:

• My character was inspired by Annie Wilkes from Misery and Castle Rock
• Are you superstitious? I had fun researching and taking Gina's superstitions to the extreme

Till Death is available now- just click right here 

Honor, obey or slay...

Blurb:

     Gina believes that mirrors hold bits of the soul, a rabbit's foot brings good luck, and that marriage vows are until death. But most of all, she’s blindly followed her husband Rick’s philosophy. Nasty men get one chance to convert from their abusive ways —or suffer the consequences they bring upon themselves. 

      But when she meets George, Gina begins to question everything Rick has led her to believe about men. Now Rick has George lined up to be the next man to be redeemed. Will black widow Gina honor and obey and weave her web around George, or will she become the next victim?

Here's an Excerpt: 

      Honor and obey. This was the life I knew. The one I’d created as Rick’s wife. I had to see it through. I lowered my gaze to the ground. “I meant, don’t give the neighborhood more to talk about than it already has.” 

     “Neighborhood? Do you mean that old man who’s been sniffing around here?” Rick smoothed his face back into the mask he shared with the world and glanced toward George’s house. 

      “No.” I didn’t dare look to see if George was lingering. It was a mistake to remind Rick that I might’ve made a friend. A male friend who didn’t fit into the mold Rick insisted most men did. But Rick made a lot of ruckus that could’ve attracted other attention, so when two ladies walked down the street, not giving us a second glance, I inclined my head their way. 

     Rick’s gaze followed mine and then returned to me. “I thought you didn’t worry about those things? About what people might think? Most people don’t see what’s justified in the world, they don’t understand the road to redemption and how we are paving it with the blood of those who don’t appreciate a woman.”      “I don’t care what they think, but this time it’s different.” I was different. But I couldn’t tell Rick that I’d begun to question the truths of performing this justice with him. All it had taken was one old man who’d experienced a loving marriage. A man who saw me as more than a cook, cleaner, and punching bag. 

      “It’s not really different when the end result is the same.” Rick pushed past me. He entered my house as if he owned the place, and as my husband, technically he did.

A Friday the 13th Short Story: 13 authors ~ 13 suspenseful short stories. Murder and mayhem on Friday the 13th...Find each story in the series on Amazon.

Author Bio: Maureen Bonatch grew up in small town Pennsylvania and her love of the four seasons—hockey, biking, sweat pants and hibernation—keeps her there. While immersed in writing or reading paranormal romance and fantasy, she survives on caffeine, wine, music, and laughter. A feisty Shih Tzu keeps her in line. 

Find Maureen on her website, Facebook & Twitter Be the first to know about Maureen’s book sales and new releases by following her on BookBub, Amazon and/or signing up for her

HERE BE NEWS for August 24, 2020

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday, August 17 - 
"HERE BE NEWS" - All the latest from the fantasy romance authors at Here Be Magic, including something something something...  

Tuesday, August 18 -
"10 WAYS TO BECOME A WEREWOLF" ...and not one of them involve being bitten! Dani Harper, author of the Changeling Series, shares her most popular post.

Thursday, August 20 -
“CAN YOU TAKE THE PARANORMAL OUT OF A PARANORMAL WRITER?” – No ghosts, no monsters, no supernatural powers? Author Maureen L. Bonatch discovers that the scariest characters of all just might be human beings. The result, “Till Death”, releases November 13th.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~