The author says:

Enter a world where fiction becomes reality… When struggling writer Lucas inherited a mysterious book from his grandfather, he never imagined his own literary creations would spring to life from the pages. But after his fictional protagonist Easton escapes the book and begins exploring our world, Lucas finds himself trapped within his own magical story. Now, he must navigate a perilous fantasy realm, facing dragons, trolls, and warring kingdoms as he searches for a way home. But the line between creator and creation blurs as Lucas discovers the consequences of his writing extend far beyond the page. With each twist and turn, this gripping portal fantasy explores the power of imagination, and the bond between an author and his fictional characters. Can Lucas escape the book, and reclaim control of his life? Or will he be forever be lost in a world of his own making…

Nathan says:

I like the concept here.  Let’s see if we can tweak it:

• As you can especially see in the thumbnail, the hand is a lot more immediately visible than the sword it’s holding; in fact, in the thumbnail, the sword is overlooked entirely. Reducing the contrast on the hand and making the metallic areas brighter could even this out; you’ll have to test it with various settings.
• The big problem here is that the title ends up being unreadable when you combine an ornate font, metallic effects, WordArt-style distortion… When I saw that there was also a reversed letter, I could imagine a reader saying, “Screw that,” and turning his attention to another book entirely. Remember that the primary point of type is to be READABLE. I would start with thicker letters (either a variation of this font, or another font altogether) and again, use the thumbnail as a guide.

Other comments?

The author says:

NURTURING YOUR INNER STRENGTH: “Your inner strength is the foundation of your greatness, nurture it and let it shine.” “Nurturing Your Inner Strength” is an all-encompassing handbook to personal growth and resilience, providing practical insights and realistic solutions for; developing inner strength resilience, and well-being. Through fascinating chapters, readers will learn about self-awareness, emotional intelligence, dealing with hardship, and making meaningful relationships.

This book offers a road map for managing life’s problems with grace and resilience, from comprehending the mind-body link to accepting change and discovering purpose. With a mix of research-based insights, real-world examples, and practical activities, “Nurturing Your Inner Strength” teaches readers how to maximize their intrinsic potential and succeed in all facets of life. Whether you want to overcome self-limiting beliefs, manage stress, prevent burnout, or make meaningful relationships, this book provides useful tools and information to help you on your personal development and transformation path.

“Nurturing Your Inner Strength” is a must-read for anybody looking to discover their inner resilience and live a life of purpose, passion, and energy. Whether you’re facing personal or professional struggles, this book will help you nurture the inner strength and resilience required to overcome hurdles and reach your full potential.

Nathan says:

The biggest thing I notice is that the title is smaller than it could be, which usually happens when the artwork itself is going to convey something… but this art doesn’t; it’s just competent filler.

My advice would be one of the following three options:

1. Enlarge the title so it really dominates the cover. (I’m not sure that having “Young Inner” in a smaller and weaker font works in your interest either.)
2. Change out the artwork so it’s at least subliminally related to inner strength or personal growth — even something abstract with a sunny color scheme would work.
3. Heck, do both!

Other comments?

The author says:

It is set in a mysterious town, guarded by a dragon. It is fantasy romance. The targeted audience is both male and female.

Nathan says:

The art’s great. However:

1. Unless this is an audiobook release, don’t make it square.
2. Your text is scrunching up against the woman’s face, and you’ve completely hidden the dragon.
3. Don’t capitalize “Of.”
4. Using an internet handle instead of a name makes this seem like a dashed-off messageboard posting, not a for-real novel.
5. Nobody cares who edited a novel, especially if it’s yourself.
6. No colon in the byline.

As good as the art is, unless there’s room in the original uncropped artwork to move text off of and away from the most important parts of the image, you need different artwork.

Other comments?

The author says:

An assassin is a kidnapped girl’s only hope…

Former CIA assassin Thomas Caine was burned, betrayed, and left for dead. Now he struggles to stay off the grid, and hides from his dark past in the seedy underworld of Pattaya, Thailand. But when human traffickers target a woman Caine swore to protect, the vengeful assassin wages a bloody one-man war to get her back. He soon finds himself taking on the Russian mafia, and an insane criminal warlord who claims to be the devil himself. For years Caine has kept his killer instincts locked inside. Now, they’re about to be unleashed. And his enemies have no idea what’s coming for them…

“Fast, hard-hitting, and deftly-plotted… a must-read for fans of Mark Greaney and Barry Eisler.” — The Real Book Spy

The bestselling Thomas Caine thriller series starts here, with this action-packed novella.

Nathan says:

It solidly hits all the bases for its genre.  Two comments, though:

• If it’s set in Thailand, why is all the signage in Chinese, and China Town-related?
• This is a peeve carried over from Lousy Book Covers: If you’re bestselling by a specific standard — NYT, USA Today, Amazon, etc. — say that. The vague “International Bestselling Author” seems too much like blowing smoke.

Other comments?

The author says:

An epic fantasy novel written like a historical novel with Catholic themes; the story follows a 20-year-old woman named Enid, who has the ability to make others tell the truth, but can’t tell any lies herseself, as she tries to stop a supernatural disaster. While it is fantasy and is set in a fictional world, it’s written with a hyper-realism in mind, and the prose is very similar to Tennyson. The target audience would likely be adult women or older adult women who enjoy historical fiction or want fantasy that feels immersive. The writing is chalked full of obscure medieval terminology and is pretty dense with Catholic theology, with lots of long flowery descriptions; my main concern is that the cover might seem too “YA,” because I don’t think teenagers would enjoy this book very much. It would likely be too dense and challenging for most YA readers, so this cover might send the wrong message. I’m not opposed to getting an updated cover in the future–thoughts?

Nathan says:

Well… You call it an “epic fantasy novel,” but the rest of your description works against that. I’m all for writers ignoring the confines of genre when it serves the story, but when you put on your publisher hat, you need to know which bookshelves (or Amazon categories) it belongs in to find its target audience. With as fractured as your description is, all I can really say is:

a) Yes, it looks YA.

b) The title (even the single main word of the title) is difficult to read.

I can suggest some other definitely-not-YA art styles for a new cover — something with an Alphonse Mucha influence, for instance — but without understanding exactly what marketing segment you intend to hit, I’m at a loss.  What other books would you expect to be in the shopping carts of your target readers?