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

What Can You Celebrate on October 15th?

By Maureen Bonatch 

I love working remotely and have done so since well before the pandemic began. Although sometimes it seems like every day is the same as the weeks fly by. Therefore, when I realized that today, October 15th, was my turn to post at Here Be Magic I struggled to think of what to write about. What makes this day different? 

 So I did what most everyone does when faced with a conundrum and looking for an answer— I googled it. It turns out that October 15th is a special day for many things. 

Most are a little unusual, but why not take the time to embrace the date and celebrate these more unusual special ‘holidays’. 

 Holidays On October 15th 

 Global Handwashing Day 

As a nurse, the importance of handwashing has always been apparent to me. Although this year the whole world is embracing handwashing this—and every—day. 

National Cheese Curd Day 

Well okay. I do enjoy some friend cheese now and again.

National Grouch Day 

I loved Sesame Street growing up and am a little glad that poor Oscar got recognized. I’d be grouchy too if I had to live in a garbage can. Heck, I’m grouchy some days now and I don’t!

National I Love Lucy Day 

Who wouldn’t love Lucy? As a chocolate lover, I loved the episode when they got behind on the chocolate conveyor belt and were trying to eat all the candy to hide their mistake. That’s the kind of mistakes I’d like to clean up. 

National Mushroom Day 

I don’t need a reason to eat mushrooms, but I guess today I’ll need to have some with my fried cheese curds…but first I’ll wash my hands. 

 

Maths Day 

Well. Sorry. No. Math? This is one holiday that doesn’t have me excited even if it is encouraging math-themed games instead of standard math. Pandemic home schooling parents? I feel your pain. 

So today you can be a little grouchy if you’re asked to participate in math games (or maybe you’re a math lover, then you’re good) while watching I Love Lucy and eating fried cheese curds and mushrooms—but just wash your hands first, please! 

Another special date is coming up next month —Friday the 13th. 

 I’ve joined 12 other authors to write a short mystery and suspense story of approximately 13,000 words to be released on Friday, November 13th.  Join the Facebook group here to see more about all the stories and get your spook on! 

 If you are a subscriber to my newsletter you’ll be the first to see my cover for Till Death today. If you aren’t a subscriber yet, sign up here to get my free paranormal short story, Witch You Were Here, and find out about my writing sales and news first as well as where to enter to win treats (aka contests). 

What's Your Favorite Little-Known Holiday?

P.S. It's that time of year so here are a few contests you can enter to win more 'treats'.

Discover new authors and enter right here.

Get all the details and enter right here.

Maureen Bonatch is a novelist, healthcare content writer, and nurse leader. Maureen’s first novella was a paranormal romance published when blogs were a newfangled thing. Her most recent release is the second in The Enchantings series which features magic, motorcycles, and dark undertones in a contemporary world.

While she’s not busy writing or doing nurse-things, she’s being a mom to her twin daughters, bicycling in the beautiful woods of PA with her hubby, doing the bidding of a feisty Shih Tzu, and dancing as much as possible. She believes music can be paired with every mood, laughter is contagious, and that caffeine and wine are essential for survival. 

 Yinz can find Maureen on her website, Facebook & Twitter and be the first to know about her book sales and new releases by following her on BookBub, Amazon and/or signing up for her newsletter

Are you afraid of Friday the 13th?

Are you a triskaidekaphobe? 

Blame it on the Vikings.

That ten-dollar word refers to someone who is afraid of the number 13. And the Vikings apparently regarded 13 as a sinister number because their trickster god, Loki, once crashed a party for 12 at Valhalla and caused the death of beloved Baldur, god of joy and light. (No doubt this is also the origin of the term “party-pooper”)

The number 13 is bad enough, but add it to a Friday and the bad luck just gets worse. For one thing, you’ll have more big words to deal with – if you’re afraid of Friday the 13th, then you have friggatriskaidekaphobia, also called paraskevidekatriaphobia.

Think about it. Even if you don’t believe in luck or bad karma or cosmic forces, do you still hesitate before buying a lottery ticket on Friday the 13th? Or starting an important project? Or traveling? You might brush it off and carry on with your plans, but the day is so ingrained in our culture that few of us are immune. 

A calendar year may have 1 to 3 “thirteenths” occurring on a Friday, like 2012 and 2015. Fortunately for the fearful, the triple threat years don’t happen very often. This year, 2018, has two – the first one was in April, and the second in July.

Image: Bigstock.com

Superstitions about the number 13 or Friday the 13th

• If you cut your hair on Friday the 13th, someone in your family will die. (Does it depend on how good the haircut is?)

• A clock striking 13 portends a death in the family. (Again with the family!) Or it may signal paranormal activity.

• If you’re born on Friday the 13th, you’ll be unlucky for life. Not to worry, apparently it’ll also be a short life!

• It’s bad luck to marry on this day. (In Middleton, New York, in 1913, a pastor offered to marry couples for free on Friday the 13th to counteract the superstition.)

• Some folklore claims that if you’re passed by a funeral procession on Friday the 13th, you’ll be the next to die. (So is everyone the procession passes doomed? You could wipe out most of a town in one fell swoop!)

Image: Bigstock.com

• Leaving on vacation? Bad karma to do it on the 13th. Historically, mariners have declined to set sail on that day.

• Thirteen stairs? Bad news. (My knees think so too.) In British history, tradition held that a gallows had 13 steps, and Friday was known as “the hangman’s day”. Literally.

• Never have 13 place settings at the dinner table; it’s said that one guest may die within a year. Since the 1700s, tradition has held that there were 13 people in attendance at The Last Supper. In France, you could once hire a professional quatorzieme, or 14th guest to balance your dinner party and avoid calamity.

• Many airports still don’t have a Gate 13. Ronald Reagan National in Washington is on that list. So is Chicago’s Midway. Tall buildings and even hospitals still sometimes skip having a 13th floor (in name at least – the floor is still there of course, just renamed). Hotels have known for years that customers dislike rooms with the number 13 in them.

Can you escape Friday the 13th?

No matter how enlightened we think we are, a lot of us exercise caution on this calendar day. In fact, it’s estimated that the US probably loses millions of dollars in business on Friday the 13th, because so many people postpone major purchases and reschedule trips. And that doesn’t count the number of workers who call in sick.

Image: Bigstock.com

The town fathers of French Lick, Indiana, tried to be proactive in October, 1939. They decreed that all black cats in town wear bells on Friday the 13th so that people could avoid them. This practice stayed on the books through 1941. After a particularly bad Friday the 13th (no mention of what happened), the law was reinstated for 1942. The person with the worst luck in all of this was probably the town marshal, whose job it was to bell all those cats!

Of course, you can always fight superstition with superstition. To counteract Friday the 13th, folklore says you can climb to a high place (mountain or skyscraper, whatever’s handiest) and burn all of your socks that have holes in them. Or you can walk around your house 13 times on Friday the 13th and hang your shoes out the window.

It goes without saying you should avoid anyone wearing a hockey mask.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

THE GRIM SERIES by Dani Harper

The fae are cunning, powerful and often cruel. The most beautiful among them are often the most deadly. Hidden far beneath the mortal world, the timeless faery realm plays by its own rules—and those rules can change on a whim. Now and again, the unpredictable residents of that mystical land cross the supernatural threshold…

In this enchanting romance series from Dani Harper, the ancient fae come face-to-face with modern-day humans and discover something far more potent than their strongest magic: love.

See ALL Dani's novels on her Amazon Author Page

Oh, fudge!

Ask my co-workers, customers, family members and even casual acquaintances about their general experiences over the last two weeks, and they'll likely all say something along the lines of, "Has everyone been sipping crazy juice? Did someone forget to mention that we're long past the full moon?"

Yeah, it's been a rough two weeks.

And now...it's Friday the Thirteenth.

I certainly could have gone on today about the many myriad ways Friday the Thirteenth grips us by the lapels and gives us a good, urban-myth and superstition-driven shake. But I think we deserve better.

We deserve fudge.

For your baking pleasure, I am resurrecting my mum's fudge recipe. Go forth, and have a great Friday the Thirteenth, all! (And if you have any sure-fire recipes to help beat the bad-week and scary day blues, I'd love to hear about them!)



Now, before I get started I do want to give a warning – please DO NOT leave children unattended around this, or any other cooking fudge. When fudge is in its bubbly, liquid phase it can cause dreadful burns, mostly because its thickness causes it to cling when it lands on skin.

Marlene’s Traditional Fudge

• 2 Cups of sugar
• 1/4 Cup of water
• 4 Tablespoons of margarine (or butter)
• 2 Tablespoons of syrup (I use golden syrup. Lyle’s golden, specifically)
• 1 Can of condensed milk (the recipe calls for a 397g can, but I've used a 300g can of Eagle’s Brand condensed milk with great results)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence

1) Dissolve sugar and water over medium heat.
2) Add margarine and syrup to sugar/water mix, stirring occasionally until dissolved.
3) Add the condensed milk. Stir often until it comes to a boil.
4) Continue to boil over low-medium heat for 20-25 minutes, stirring almost constantly. DO NOT leave to boil unattended!
5) Remove from heat.
6) Add vanilla essence after removing from heat. Stir until thickened.
7) Pour into greased pan. Cut into squares when cold.

This fudge can also be crumbled or shaved, and turned into toppings for other desserts!

(Recipe originally posted on my own blog on October 17th, 2012. Too damn good not to share again and again!)

***

Natasha is the author of the Lost Souls Series - available at Carina Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and Audible. Most days she can be found muttering about random topics over on Twitter.