Feedback, please: Cover Options-- Round 2

Good morning!

First, I'd like to thank everyone that responded to my blog post earlier this week (through any of my social media accounts) to provide feedback on the cover options for my new novel. I really appreciate all of you taking the time to look through the options and provide constructive feedback. Thank you!!

The following is the vote tally:

Option #1: 5

Option #2: 2

Option #3: 2

Option #4: 6

Option #5: 2

Option #6: 2

As you can see, #1 and #4 were the favorites. But, in both cases, I received suggestions for improving them. 

For example, one reader suggested trying different font colors for option #1. Originally, the title was yellow/gold. I sent her 3 more options: black, pale blue, and purple. We agreed that purple was the best choice. What do you think?

Option #1-- Font Color Choices:

 

 

With Option #4, several people suggested that I recreate the image using the broken mirror. I created this cover last year-- before I brave enough to sacrifice the mirror in the pursuit of art. (It's such a pretty mirror that I hesitated to break it!). Oh-- and before I could recreate the photograph, I had to reassemble the broken mirror. LOL

Since some time had passed, I wasn't able to position the objects in the photo exactly the same as before but I tried. I used 2 slightly different photos.

Oh! I also decided to play with different fonts. At the moment, these two are my favorites.

Cover Option #4-- With and Without Broken Mirror

            

What do you think?

And, me being me, I did some more playing around with both the cover options I shared earlier this week plus a few more. I also added "a novel by" to each of the cover options. So, in addition to #1 and #4 above, there are the following options:

 

Cover Option #2: I added "a novel by"

 

Cover Option #3: I adjusted the author name so it's at the same angle as the book title and added "a novel by"

New Options:

Cover Option #7: Just playing with different photograph and background choices. This one also has a wider feathering effect on the edge.

 

Cover Option #8: For this one, I went with a simpler approach. There's a plain white background and no feathering effect on the edge of the photograph.

 

And, last but not least--

Cover Option #9: This one uses the same photograph as #7, but a different filter. I also used different fonts and colors. The photograph is also smaller, so the emphasis is on the text.

 

 

So, what do you think?  I know it's a lot of options... but, it's good to have choices, right? 

Thanks again for all of your help. I really appreciate it. 

Now to get back to editing the manuscript that goes with these cover choices...

~ H. S. Contino

Feedback, please-- Cover Options

Good afternoon,

I apologize for not posting any new blog posts lately. I've been busy with projects-- including editing my latest novel, "The Other Mae." I'm making progress, and I plan to self-publish it later this year. But, I'm not feeling confident enough to set a release date yet.

I'm currently between drafts, so I thought I'd spend a few days working on the book cover design. I shared a few options last year, but I didn't love any of them. So I've been playing with additional designs, fonts, font colors, and background images.

The following are my current favorites. What do you think? I'd love some feedback!

 

Option #1: I love the swirling font on this one, but I'm worried that it might be too hard to read. 

 

Cover Option #2: I played with placing the title text on top of the mirror in this one. I might adjust the font size and spacing some more. 

 

Cover Option #3: For this one, I played with placing the title of the book on top of the journal (which plays a role in the story). I also zoomed in on the background image, so you can't see the other items as clearly. I was hoping that added some mystery. Each item is relevant to the story.

 

Cover Option #4: This one is from the batch of covers I made last year. I used a feathering effect on the photo edges to make it look a little bit like a watercolor. Overall, I think this cover looks elegant and fits well into the women's literature genre. 

 

Cover Option #5: This one is similar to some of the other options. I used a feathering effect on the image, but this time I didn't zoom in. Instead, I framed the text around the image. 

 

The last cover option (#6) is more experimental, and I'm not sure what I think of it. I was playing with the mirror and distorted images. What do you think?

 

As always, thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I really appreciate it!

~ H. S. Contino

Fan Mail Friday!

Good morning!

Can you believe that we're approaching the end of 2021? Time sure does fly by!

For this month's Fan Mail Friday, I'm sharing another older review. This one is for a collection of pet and animal stories that I published back in 2013. I self-published the book so I could easily donate a portion of the sales to a local animal shelter. I initially chose Pacific Cove Humane Society because they were fund raising to build a new local shelter. Eventually, the organization re-reviewed their priorities after realizing that there was no longer a need to build a second shelter. Since then, I've been making donations to the Coos County Animal Shelter.

"Paw Prints" was a lot of fun to write! It's a bit of a memoir since it includes numerous stories about myself, my childhood, and the pets that I've had over the years. I also invited a few friends to contribute stories to the collection-- including my mother and sister-in-law.

 

The best part? The photo on the cover is Loki, my black Labrador Retriever. She's a puppy in the photograph, but she'll be 10 in February 2022. Like I said earlier, time flies by!

 

 

I hope you all have a great weekend! 

~ H. S. Contino

Fan Mail Friday!

Good morning!

It's Friday, so you know what that means:

Have a great weekend!

~ H. S. Contino

www.Etsy.com/shop/ReprievesCorner

It's Fan Mail Friday!

 Good morning!

It's nearly Halloween. Have you chosen your costume(s)? Feel free to share in the comments section!

For this month's Fan Mail Friday, I'm sharing an older review of one of my books. "Shorts" is a collection of short fiction (short stories and poetry) that I published back in 2013. It's a diverse mix of stories and genres. Appropriately, the review mentions one of my Halloween themed stories.

 

Have a sugar filled weekend!

 

~ H. S. Contino

2021 Florence Festival of Books

 Good morning!

Mark your calendars! This Saturday is the Florence Festival of Books. I hesitated to write about this before because I was worried that the event would be cancelled due to the current coronavirus surge in Oregon. However, I received an email this morning from the event sponsor and we're still good to go.

As my regular followers are aware, I'm a big fan of the Florence Festival of Books. It's one of the largest annual book festivals on the Oregon coast. The first annual event just happened to be in 2011 which was the year I published my first full length book, Shipwrecks of Coos County (Arcadia Publishing). I had good timing! Because of this I can proudly say that I have had a booth at every Florence Festival of Books.

 

Last year (2020) would have been the 10th annual event but it was cancelled due to the coronavirus. As I mentioned earlier, I was worried that year's event would be cancelled as well-- especially since we're int he middle of a virus surge-- but they're going forward with the event. In order to keep everyone safe, there will be some additional rules and restrictions. For instance, everyone-- both attendees and authors/publishers-- will be required to wear masks. They're also encouraging us to have hand sanitizer available at our booths and the event hosts will be setting up hand sanitizer stations throughout the building.

The Florence Festival of Books is a great venue. Every year it gets a little bit bigger. The majority of the booths are for authors, but there are usually a few publishers as well. One of my favorite parts is the diversity. The event draws a mix of traditional and independent (self) published authors who represent a variety of genres and reading levels. 

My booth at the 2019 Florence Festival of Books.

 

Since I usually attend the events alone, I don't get a lot of time to wander through the booths. But the venue does provide volunteers that are available to watch your booth for short periods of time. I like to take advantage of this opportunity to walk around, say hello to the authors I know, and purchase a few new books for my personal collection. 

 

There's something for everyone! During past events, I've visited with fellow authors that write books for kids through adults, fiction and non-fiction, and a variety of genres. My personal favorites are local history, science-fiction, and I have a soft spot for children's books (I have a healthy inner child!). But, the event draws a variety of other genres as well includes graphic novels, romance, and mystery.

***

The Florence Festival of Books is held at the Florence Events Center which is located at 715 Quince Street in Florence, Oregon. It's a two day event.

On Friday night (September 17th, 2021) they will have a presentation featuring Melody Carlson as the keynote speaker. There will also be an educational panel featuring local authors Bob Welch and Bill Sulllivan.

The actual book fair will be held this Saturday, September 18th from 10 am until 4 pm. Attendance is free, but there will be numerous books available for sale. They also have a small cafe that sells food and drinks.

If you're in the area, please stop by my booth and say hello! If you mention this blog post, I'll give you a 25% discount toward the purchase of any of my autographed books.

I hope to see you there!

~ H. S. Contino

Online Writing

Good morning!

It occurred to me recently that I don’t think I’m shared my online articles on this blog. Over the past ten years, I’ve published numerous short articles online on the webpage, HubPages. Often these are practice articles or things that I wrote as “warm ups” before moving on to bigger writing projects (like my novels).

As my regular followers know, I’m a hodgepodge. I’m interested in a variety of topics and this is reflected in my writing. The articles that I’ve published on HubPages vary from recipes to book reviews to financial management to pets to fun outdoor activities. 

 

 

Most of the articles are short, so they won’t take up a lot of your time. Please, feel free to check them out. I’ve published articles under my usual pen name, H. S. Contino, but I’ve also published under the nickname “Reprieve26.”

My HubPages author profile:

https://hubpages.com/@reprieve26

 

Have a great weekend!

 

~ H. S. Contino 🤓

Introducing Fan Mail Fridays!

 Good morning!

You've heard of "Meatless Mondays" and "Throwback Thursdays." Today I'm introducing a new one: Fan Mail Fridays. Once a month or so, I'll share a positive review of my books or handmade crafts from either Etsy or Good Reads.

As my fellow writers, artists, and other creative types know, it's easy to get discouraged. Most people don't pursue artistic pursuits to get rich. We do it because we love it. Creating art-- whether it's writing books, painting, crafting, making music, etc-- is hard work. Most people only ever see the finished result, but those of us that create know how much hard work goes into creating our art. 

We also know about all of the failures. The projects that simply didn't work out. The ideas that were better in concept than reality. And we're familiar with the sad reality that sometimes we aren't at the skill level that we need to do a project justice. To be fair, we get a little better with every project and every time we practice... but, we're only human.

With all of this in mind, it can be really nice to receive positive feedback. And it's worth occasionally going back and re-reading our fan mail.

To get this new series started, I'll be sharing one of my most recent pieces of fan mail. It's a positive review that I received for my most recently published book, "Alternatives." The novel was a "labor of love" as the expression goes. Working on it helped get me through the 2020-- which, as we all know, was an incredibly challenging year! Overall, I spent 2 full years working on the novel. Since I was working with a shoestring budget, I did everything from coming up with the idea, writing the story, editing and formatting the manuscript, and designing the cover. It's not perfect, but I'm happy with how it turned out. I'm so relieved that my readers enjoyed the book too!

 

 

Thank you, Earnie and Ellie Efforts, for your positive feedback. I'm so glad that you enjoyed reading my book!

 

~ H. S. Contino

Let's Connect!

 Good afternoon!

I hope that everyone is enjoying their last few weeks of summer. The weather here on the Oregon coast has been gorgeous! Loki and I have been enjoying lots of long walks! We're so blessed to live in an area with an abundance of natural beauty to enjoy!

 

Just a quick post today. Someone recently mentioned that they had trouble finding one of my social media accounts. So, I thought I'd make it easy for everyone and list them all here. I use most of the popular social media platforms, but I spend the most time on Facebook and Twitter. Feel free to visit my social media pages, follow me, or send me a message. I love hearing from readers and befriending fellow authors/artists/creative types!

 

Facebook:

Author, H. S. Contino https://www.facebook.com/AuthorHSContino/

Reprieve's Corner https://www.facebook.com/ReprievesCorner

Twitter:

@HSContino  https://twitter.com/hscontino?lang=en

 

Pinterest:

User name: Reprieve's Corner

https://www.pinterest.com/ReprievesCorner/_saved/

 

LinkedIn:

H. S. Contino, Writer & Small Business Owner at Reprieve’s Corner

https://www.linkedin.com/in/h-s-contino-0ba72929/

 

Instagram:

User name:  hscontino  

https://www.instagram.com/hscontino/

 

Tumblr:

User name: hscontino

https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hscontino

 

Blogs:

Blogger https://hscontino.blogspot.com/

WordPress https://hscontino.wordpress.com/

 

HubPages:

User name: HS Contino (Reprieve26)

https://hubpages.com/@reprieve26

 

Amazon Author Central:

User name: H. S. Contino

 https://author.amazon.com/home

 

GoodReads Author Profile:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6916217.H_S_Contino

As you can see, I've signed up with numerous platforms over the years. I know that everyone has different preferences and favorites when it comes to social media, so my approach has been to create accounts where people can find me (and by extension, my work).

Have a great week everyone!

~ H. S. Contino

Book Title Announcement: "The Other Mae"

 Good afternoon!

Thank you all for your comments and feedback on my recent post, "A Rose by Any Other Name." After giving it a lot of thought and considering dozens of options, I settled on a new name for my most recent novel: "The Other Mae." (I'm still working on the cover art).

I like this title for several reasons. The story is about a woman finding herself after a traumatic attack that leaves her with amnesia. The main character's full name is Ellie-Mae, but she shortened it to Mae as an adult. I like how the new title plays on the word "me." The novel chronicles Mae's journey of self discovery as she slowly heals both physically and psychologically from the attack. It's the story of Mae finding herself. 

* Spoiler Alert *

At one point in the story, Ellie-Mae comes across some of her old journals. As she reads them, she gains insight into her life before the attack; but, she often compares herself to the person she was before the attack-- in other words, "The Other Mae."

Phew! I really like the new title, and I'm so relieved to have finally solved this problem. I wrote the initial rough draft of the novel back in the fall of 2019. I gave it the working title "This Forgotten Life," but I was never happy with it.

 

I'd also like to acknowledge my friend and fellow writer for her help. She uses the pen name "Tatiana Foxx," and she writes erotic romance. Thank you, Tatiana, for helping me brainstorm title ideas and providing feedback. I really appreciate your help!

Feel free to check out Tatiana Foxx's webpage and sign up for updates. She's currently working on her first novel, "Not My Alpha."

Tatiana Foxx Romance

 

Happy reading (and writing) everyone!

~ H. S. Contino

"A Rose by Any Other Name..."

 Good morning,

As Shakespeare famously said "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." For today's post, I would like to get our little community involved in my current writing project. In particular, I could use some help coming up with a better title for the novel.

The working title for this project is "This Forgotten Life." I wrote the initial draft immediately after I completed the rough draft of what eventually became "Alternatives." but the novels are very different. There are a few common themes including families and overcoming past hurts, but the novels are very different. "Alternatives" is a soft science-fiction story with a strong romantic story line."This Forgotten Life" is a little harder to classify. It's more mainstream fiction with a strong dramatic flare. It could also be described as "Women's Lit" since a big part of the story is about the main character trying to find herself after a traumatic event.

"This Forgotten Life" is an accurate title for the novel, and I have been experimenting with some cover options using this title. The following are a few of my favorites so far:

The current title could work for the book, but... it's kind-of a boring name. I'd like something with more oomph! For example, I'd love to work the word "shattered" into the title. The word accurately describes what happens to main the character in the 1st scene in the book. A single event destroys everything, and she's left to pick up the pieces. And the image of a broken mirror or shattered glass on the cover would be powerful and carries a lot of emotional weight.

 I also love the concept of Kintsugi, which, according to Wikipedia, "is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum..." It also involves accepting (and embracing) imperfections.

Kintsugi provides the perfect metaphor for what the main character experiences throughout the course of the book. In the beginning, she's shattered and broken, but with work she slowly puts the pieces back together again. She becomes a better person through her journey of self-discovery. Unfortunately, there is no English translation/equivalent. And I'm worried that if i tried to use the Japanese term then I'll be constantly having to explain it to people. It's a great concept, but as the title of a novel it may be too abstract.

The problem is that every time I come up with a more exciting title, I discover that it's already in use by another author (through a title search on Amazon or GoodReads). While technically, I could still use those titles, I would prefer to come up with something unique.

That's where all of you come in. Suggestions, please! Feel free to leave a comment on this blog post or send me an email.

 

I'm still working on the back cover text for the book, the following should give you a general idea about what the book is about:

In an instant, her life changed forever...

Thirty-seven year old, Ellie-Mae Rossi was happily married with three children and another on the way when, in an instant, her life was changed forever. Waking up in the hospital, the doctors realize that she's lost twenty years of memories.

Reverting to her 17-year-old self, Ellie-Mae is forced to confront the hopes for her future that never realized and past betrayals that had long been forgotten.

With her sense of self shattered, Ellie Mae struggles to put the pieces of her life back together.

 

 Possible titles:

This Forgotten Life (working title)

Finding Ellie-Mae

Finding Kintsugi (to abstract?)

Shattered Sense of Self (too much alliteration??)

Your suggestion here!

 

Themes: journey of self discovery, picking up the pieces, healing, overcoming challenging, betrayal, broken dreams, disillusionment, past hurts, overcoming amnesia/memory loss, rebuilding relationships, forgiveness

So, what do you think? All feedback welcome!

Okay, I better get back to work. I'm currently working on the 3rd draft of the novel. It's been slow going, but I'm slowly making progress. More updates soon!

Happy reading (and writing) everyone!

 

~ H. S. Contino 📚

Liquidation Sale (Save up to 50%!)

 Good afternoon,

I usually try to put a positive spin on my posts, but the truth is that the past year and a half have been incredibly difficult. In addition to my writing and running my home-based crafting business, I usually have a part time job. Book and crafts sales can vary a lot from month to month, so it's good to have a steady source of income. Unfortunately, I lost two jobs last year due to the pandemic.

Once again, I tried to remain optimistic. I used my additional free time to catch up on projects around my house, make new craft inventory, and work on editing the manuscripts of two novels.

Understandably, with everything that has been going on over the past year and a half, people have mostly been spending their money on essentials. And for most people this doesn't include books or handmade crafts. As a result, my sales have nose dived.

 

 

With all of this in mind, I've decided to have a liquidation sale in my Etsy shop, Reprieve's Corner. From now through August 1st, 2021, all of my crafts and craft supplies are 50% off and autographed copies of my books are 10% off. Free shipping on orders of $35 or more (US only).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's hoping that from now on things start looking up!

As always, thank you for reading and for supporting my creative efforts. I really appreciate it!

~ H. S. Contino

It’s Camp NaNoWriMo!

Good morning!

As my regular followers know, I’m a huge fan of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), and I’ve written about it in the past. For those that are unfamiliar, NaNoWriMo is basically a huge online writing community. They’re run by a non-profit organization and their basic mission is to encourage people to write.

November is the official National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Every year, tons of people from around the world sign up to participate. The goal is to write a full length novel with a minimum of 50,000 words within the month of November.

“30 days and 30 nights of literary abandon!”

The best part is the online community. There are forums, pep talks (often from well known and successful authors), and other online resources. You can also join writing groups and add writing buddies. All of the above comes together to create a supportive community for writers— where we all do our part to help and encourage each other.

Like I said earlier, I love NaNoWriMo!

The November big event was so popular that they eventually created Camp NaNoWriMo which is held in April and July.

The great part about the Camp NaNoWriMo events is that they’re much more laid back and the writing goals are flexible. You can also choose to work on any writing project and choose your word goal. I usually use the camps to work on editing existing rough drafts. Having the NaNoWriMo community support is incredibly motivating!

This month, I’ll (once again) be working on editing the rough draft of “This Forgotten Life.” You may recall that I worked on the same project during April’s Camp NaNoWriMo too. In fact, I’ve been working on the manuscript— off and on— for the past six months. I’ve been making progress— at a snail’s pace.  I’m hoping that Camp NaNoWriMo will help motivate me to get more work done.

 

 For my fellow writers (and those that dream of becoming a writer), feel free to look me up on the Camp NaNoWriMo webpage and add me as a writing buddy. My nickname is “Reprieve26” (the combination of my favorite word and number).

NaNoWriMo.org (http://nanowrimo.org)

Have a great week!

H. S. Contino

Win an Autographed Copy of "Alternatives" by H. S. Contino!

 Good morning!

I hope that everyone had a great weekend. On a personal note, I celebrated my birthday on Saturday. Being an introvert and a science nerd, I celebrated by first watching a webinar hosted by The Planetary Society (https://www.planetary.org) on near Earth objects (NEO's) then going geocaching with a friend. We ended the day by getting dinner and just sitting and chatting for a while. And, of course, there was dessert! These may not sound like exciting plans to my extroverted readers, but-- for me-- they were perfect. :)

 

Just a short post today. I've decided to have a book give away for my latest novel, Alternatives (available for sale through Amazon). In the past, I've hosted a few book giveaways through GoodReads. Unfortunately, they have since started charging authors. So, I'll be doing this the "old school" way. To enter to win, simply comment on this blog post or send me an email. I'll print out all of the names on slips of paper, put them in a bowl, then choose a random winner.

Pros and cons-- the book giveaway would receive more attention and participants through the GoodReads webpage. And, of course, the purpose of the giveaway is to draw attention to my new book. But, since my blog gets a lot less traffic, your odds of winning will be much higher. Silver linings!

 ***

Book Giveaway Details:

I'll be giving away 1 print copy of my novel, Alternatives. I will sign the book before shipping it. Both the book and shipping will be free. So, there is no cost to participate. 

Readers have from June 29th through July 31st, 2021 to enter the contest. To enter, either comment on this blog post or send me an email (H.S.Contino@hotmail.com).

Winner will be chosen randomly. I'll contact the winner the first week of August. I'll send them a link to a "custom order"/reserved listing on my Etsy shop, Reprieve's Corner, so they can provide their mailing address.

The book will be completely free, but I would appreciate a book review (through Amazon or GoodReads). However, this is not a requirement.

***

 

About the book:

Sci-fi meets romance in this quirky read!

Theoretically, there exists a parallel version of reality for every possible outcome of our life choices. What if you were given a glimpse into your alternative lives? What version of yourself would you see? How would it influence your future decisions?

Francis Marino's quiet life on the Oregon coast was interrupted when two military officers arrived on her doorstep with a bizarre story and urged her to come with them. Thus began an unexpected adventure that forced her to leave her comfort zone and confront many of her beliefs about the world we live in.

As the commander of a highly classified military facility, Colonel Dominic Davis was dedicated to his job. But, after being exposed to an alien device, he is given visions of alternative realities. Dom realizes that he needs to make changes-- both personal and professional.

Life on Earth hangs in the balance...

 

***

Have a great week everyone!

~ H. S. Contino

 

Today's "Fluff Piece"

Good morning!

Since all of my recent posts have been serious, I decided that it was time to write about something light-hearted. A "fluff piece" if you would...

 "The name is Fluff... Sir Fluff."

 

Sir Fluff is my four year old house cat-- although he would disagree with that description. While I'm typing this, he's outside exploring my yard-- after he snuck out this morning and refused to come back in (and he's faster than me!).

 

He earned his name because he's the first long haired cat that I've ever had. My niece and nephew picked him out for me from a litter of kittens that our local humane society was adopting. He's since grown into his fur, but as a kitten he looked like a grey fluff ball:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sir Fluff is a conundrum. On one hand, he's a sweet, affectionate cat. He loves snuggles, curling up in my lap when I'm reading, and he even gives hugs! On the other hand, he's incredibly mischievous! Sometimes it's cute-- like when he hops onto my back when I'm doing yoga or when he hops onto my shoulder to "help" me with manuscript edits:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other times, Sir Fluff makes me grr! For instance, when he decided that the wallpaper trim I installed in the attic made a great scratching post (despite the fact that there are actual scratching posts in nearly every room of our house!). I've also had to use rubber bands to the door handles of every cabinet in the kitchen in order to keep him out. There's nothing worse than retrieving a plate only to discover that your long hair cat has been using it as a bed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But, overall, Sir Fluff is a great cat and he certainly keeps us all entertained! For instance, he sleeps in the strangest positions-- often with a leg or two sticking out straight:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sir Fluff also hero-worships his big sister, Loki the Labrador. He loves following her around and copying her:

 

 

 

 I hope this fluff piece made you smile. Have a great week!

~ H. S. Contino