(Part 2) Best paranormal romance books according to redditors

Link to the book's Amazon page
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Desires-Wolfman-Complete-Werewolf-Collection/dp/1624930409/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1498757164&sr=8-2

...know what it takes to go through the design process of creating your own 'professional' looking book covers.

Speaking as a cover designer, here's a number of elements where I see a lot of amateurs messing up:

Failing to research their genre niche to see what the covers of the top-selling books look like. Book buyers use the covers to guess at what the book will contain, to narrow down their choices. There are far too many books available to expect that readers will read the description of every single result of their search on whatever platform they're searching on, so you need to signal genre, sub-genre, and mood loudly enough that it jumps out as someone's eye is scanning over a batch of 1.5" tall covers that are all competing for attention.

What signals those things, and what things readers are looking for, changes subtly over time, so you need to keep an eye out. I designed the house look for the Zoe Chant shifter romance books (I don't do all the covers; many of the authors do their own) and while we've kept the same overall look, when Zoe Chant first published the idea was to play up the cozy qualities in the books. As action romance has gotten more popular in the past few years, the challenge now is to play up the dramatic tension without signalling "alphahole" because the Zoe Chant niche is focused on ultimately kind heroes. This mostly involves a lot of dramatic lighting, and in recent months a lot more glowy elements to pull focus. The books are the same sort that have been published all along, we're just focusing on different aspects now.

Yes, there are always books that break the mold of current design and sell a ton, and thus set new fashions that everyone else chases. Your book will not be the one that does that.

Leaving large flat areas of color in the design. This also fits in with researching covers in your niche: large flat areas of color are common in non-fiction, but not so much in fiction. At the very least, fill in that empty blackness with a texture or with words. If you have a background in graphic design and understand how to use negative space properly, go for it, but if you don't, then I wouldn't attempt it.

Failing to give the focal point of the design a 'pop'. 'Pop' means to stand out. You can do this with color, composition, negative space, light glows, etc., and you should use more than one thing. It should be immediately apparent what the focal point is, because you have less than one second to grab the reader's eye and make them interested. The more experienced you are, the more subtle you can go--I love the cover for Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House, where the broken-up letterforms cause you to look twice and realize it's a snake doing that.

Failing to take lighting on the stock photos into account. If you grab two stock photos and montage them into a picture, they need to have complementary lighting. You can't have one high-key (bright, few shadows) and one low-key (dark, dramatic), and if you have the lighting in each photo coming from a different direction, you need to account for it in the rest of the picture because the two pictures will never blend properly if you don't. Yup, even in photomontages that aren't supposed to look like one photo: we are used to consistent lighting schemes in real life, and inconsistency draws the attention in a bad way because the brain goes "Something is wrong here."

Slapping the text on as an afterthought. The best cover designs involve the text from the very beginning, and make sure the composition includes the text. Ninth House above is a very obvious (and also very trendy right now) example.

(Also note that while Ninth House technically has large flat areas of black in the artwork, the title covers it up.)

Being afraid to put text on top of the artwork. Too many amateurs either make or buy a nice picture, and then go "I can't hide this picture!" and scrunch the title waaaaay down at the bottom and put their name waaaay up at the top. Ideally, you should have researched what your genre's conventions are--note that most trad publishers often put the text smack on top of the artwork, even interacting with it--and worked with the artist to develop a composition that takes the text into account. Barring that, put the full artwork on your website where your fans can see it (and maybe buy prints from your artist, or you if you licensed the copyright), and just slap that title on top.

Joe Abercrombie can get away with breaking this rule because he's Joe Abercrombie (and because the positive shape of the helmet POINTS AT THE TITLE, and because his name is BRIGHT RED and focus-pulling, and because the lighting on the helment is dark at the bottom and light at the top--three things that drive the eye to Abercrombie's name, which is the focal point).

Using default Photoshop text effects. Do not use anything more than a subtle drop shadow if you're new to this. Most text effects just look muddy at Amazon search results size, and are terrible anyway. If you find yourself looking at your title on the cover in a flat color and thinking, "This looks boring. I should jazz it up," then it means you are using the wrong font. It's still going to look wrong once you put a pillow emboss and outer glow on it. Go look at creativemarket.com, filter by price range, and invest in a (READABLE) font that is more interesting than Arial or Times New Roman or whatever you were using that came default with your computer.

Not making their author name big enough. You shouldn't go as big as Robert Jordan's name if you're not as big as Robert Jordan, but when your name is tiny, it looks like you're apologizing for having dared write the book.

Speaking of Jordan, I love these current covers. This is what you do if you can't bear to cover the artwork: you frame it, and you pull colors for the frame and the text from the artwork, and you incorporate interesting shapes into the frame. As a not-well-known author, you'd put the title into text the size of Jordan's name and put your name into the smaller text, and in the case of these covers, the frame would draw attention to your name, so the text could be smaller. (Although for an unknown author who wanted a similar cover, I'd put the series name into the frame, make the title large, and put the author name across the top.)

Carbon Cowboy: A SciFi Harem Adventure Crash Tanner 2018/9/11 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H9HZFJ3

Initiate (Animus Book 1) Joshua Anderle and Michael Anderle 2018/9/11 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H997V1F

The FPS Deity: A Fantasy LitRPG Series- Book 1 Cobyboy 2018/9/12 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HB8KDX1

Half-Breed Hunter: Arrival David Aries 2018/9/12 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HB8HSY9

Infinite Exodus: A SciFi LitRPG (Infinite Exodus Book 1) Noah Whitaker and Remy Whitaker 2018/9/12 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H9J2NDZ

Live Like a God: big adventure in a tiny world Taylor Kole 2018/9/12 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HBKGRH3

XXX Fantasy Online Part One: A LitRPG Harem Fantasy Adventure John Harem and David Belwick 2018/9/13 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HCQSH6S

XXX Fantasy Online Part Two: A LitRPG Harem Fantasy Adventure John Harem and David Belwick 2018/9/13 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HCRV6FR

The Revived: A MMORPG and LitRPG Online Adventure (Second Age of Retha Book 3) A. M. Sohma 2018/9/14 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H78W9WR

First Song, Book One (Anthem of Infinity 1) Blaise Corvin and Outspan Foster 2018/9/14 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HD2VQ9W

XXX Fantasy Online Part Three: A LitRPG Harem Fantasy Adventure John Harem and David Belwick 2018/9/14 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HD3HP2J

XXX Fantasy Online 4: A LitRPG Harem Fantasy Adventure John Harem and David Belwick 2018/9/14 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HDG91KL

How To Tame Your Dragon I: A Litrpg Harem Adventure Kimiko Petaway 2018/9/14 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HD656JK

Conquer: An Epic Fantasy Harem (Conquering the Kingdom Book 1) Aron Stone and Caterina Kalymniou 2018/9/15 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HDM2VBQ

Eburnean Passage: A LitRPG Mystery Richter Solaire 2018/9/15 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GVQ7MM4

Kill Code: A Gamelit Adventure Jamie Hawke and Justin Sloan 2018/9/16 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HF9KFC9

XXX Fantasy Online 5: A LitRPG Harem Fantasy Adventure John Harem and David Belwick 2018/9/17 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HFMLW7N

Hero's Dungeon: A Superhero Dungeon Core Novel Nick Ryder 2018/9/17 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HFZ2F7F

The Wang is the Hardest Part (Caverns and Creatures) Robert Bevan and Joan Reginaldo 2018/9/17 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HGLWJ4L

Welcome to Gorgoth (How To Avoid Death On A Daily Basis Book 7) V. Moody 2018/9/17 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H2R2L3Q

Vampire Hunter (Superheroes Online Book 2) Dante Steel 2018/9/18 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HH3K64Q

Southern Kingdom: Evolution Online II D. L. Harrison 2018/9/18 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FZ7DPFT

The Great Game J. Conrad Matthews 2018/9/18 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HHM4MT6

The New Magic (The Outworlders Book 2) Joseph Malik 2018/9/18 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GCVHZGW

Bunker Core (Core Control Book 1) Andrew Seiple and Amelia Parris 2018/9/20 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HKV8BRN

Cavern of Spirits: A LitRPG and GameLit Adventure (Stonehaven League Book 3) Carrie Summers 2018/9/20 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HB6L6X9

Killdozer (Arbiter Core Book 1) Cory Gaffner 2018/9/20 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HK54JHL

Blademage Shadowstalker (Blademage Book 3) Deck Davis 2018/9/20 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HKT1PZ6

Enthralled: Book 4: System Ascension Prax Venter 2018/9/20 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HDQ796C

The Handsome Menace: A LitRPG Adventure (Scar Tours Book 1) S.R.R. Saint 2018/9/20 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HH511H6

You asked for examples:

Bella Forest (7 million copies sold of the first book in her "Shade of Vampire" series): https://www.amazon.com/Shade-Vampire-Bella-Forrest/dp/1481280767

Meredith Wild (1.4 million copies sold digitally and in print, she now runs her own publishing imprint). Here's an article about her in the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/31/business/media/meredith-wild-a-self-publisher-making-an-imprint.html?mcubz=1

Hugh Howey (Began in 2011, by summer 2012 was earning $150,000 a month, and is still going strong. He's also an advocate for self-publishing... you should check out his blog.): http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/how-hugh-howey-turned-his-self-published-story-wool-into-a-success-a-book-deal

Check out the Creative Penn podcast for information and inspiration on self-publishing. Here's an article from Joanna Penn on the advantages and disadvantages of indie versus traditional publishing: https://www.thecreativepenn.com/self-publishing-vs-traditional/

None of this means that it is easy or that success is guaranteed, of course. But there are opportunities in indie publishing, and some folks make the argument that there's never been a better time to do it.

I encourage you to research further! Have fun!

I love Neil Gaiman’s works...Stardust was a fun read, so was Good Omens (collab with Terry Prachett). He has a way with storytelling that is compelling and easy to follow.

The Harry Potter series always gets me out of the slump too (mostly I love re-reading the first 4 books).

Sometimes a quick romance or funny novel is good too. Christopher Moore has some really enjoyable funny reads: A Dirty Job is one I can recommend that I loved!

Just find something that catches your interest, whether it’s a particular storyline or maybe a character you really love!!

And last but not least, you could always try my debut novel too! It’s a paranormal romance (less romance and more action in this first book though) called Uncrowned. Check it out on Amazon if you are interested!

https://www.amazon.com/Uncrowned-Emily-Rozen-ebook/dp/B07RRG169V

So it seems that the original books are all split into two for the German translation. Die Herren Von Winterfell is the first and Das Erbe Von Winterfell is the second half of the first book. You can buy them on Amazon but the paperbacks are around $40. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/3442267749/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmr0_1?qid=1418970891&sr=8-1-fkmr0&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70 Or you can buy for Kindle around $9. Here's the wiki page of GoT translations and it shows all the titles of the German books. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translations_of_A_Song_of_Ice_and_Fire

I recently read Starcrossed and Moon Struck by Heather Guerre. They’re a little slower burn than Ruby Dixon’s stuff, but good god, the sex scenes are super steamy. The alien heroes respect and adore their human heroines—there’s nothing abusive or bully-ish. The author only has two books out so far, but it seems pretty clear that there’ll be more books in the series.

There's a book about that.

I’ll do my best not to forget ;) Hopefully you didn’t mean THIS Delta-V :))
Delta V: Intergalactic Dating Agency (Cyborg Cowboys of Carbon County Book 2) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07JHR1DJ8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_xqX1CbKVP9J83

Is it sad that I immediately saw the cover of a book that I could tell, "Hey, this looks like my kind of book" as something about it stood out to me immediately. Reading about it, yep, right again.

Adds Dante Valentine: The Complete Series to wishlist

I used to half-jokingly say how I should become a bounty hunter (mind you all, I did major in Criminal Justice/Social Justice and Criminology in college so...not really the same thing, but it relates. Sort of, a little...), but beyond that I like paranormal related stuff like this. Somewhat reminds me of another book I read once called Demon Knight or something where it dealt with a guy doing a somewhat similar line of work, but trying to prevent the end of the world if I recall correctly.

So, paperclip is it. It's not the annoying one from Microsoft, I assume.

This book would be awesome. I like supernatural books for light reading and just taking some time off and I like Lilith St.Crow too. Do you need a paper clip? If you let me know because I have a freaking ton of paper clips.

I've enjoyed all these books and hope they can help you out.

• Shrill Dusk by Helen Harper, Manchester magical apocalypse
  
  
• Tinker by Wen Spencer, "A near-future Pittsburgh which now exists mostly in the land of the elves"
  
  
• Black Wolves of Boston by Wen Spencer, Its a werewolf story but unlike anything else, good story, had me grinning and smiling. So good I read it a second time right after I finished it.
  
  
• Slouch Witch by Helen Harper, fun and upbeat story.
  
  
• The Book of Secrets by Melissa McShane, "Helena has a dead boss in the basement, an unexpected promotion, and the news that she is now a part of an endless war against creatures from another reality."
  
  
• Three Mages and a Margarita by Annette Marie, "Their customers were complete jerks, and I was an asshole right back. That's the definition of fitting in, right? I expected to get thrown out on my ass. Instead, they ... offered me the job?"
  
  
• God Save the Queen by Kate Locke, "Queen Victoria rules with an immortal fist. The undead matriarch presides over a Britain where the Aristocracy is made up of werewolves and vampires. The year is 2012 and Pax Britannia still reigns."

das ist doch noch gar nix. krassestes beispiel was ich kenne ist "Das Lied von Eis und Feuer":

Englisch 25€ für 5 Bücher (http://www.amazon.de/George-Martins-Thrones-5-Book-Boxed/dp/0345540565)

Deutsch jedes Buch halbiert für je 15€, also 150€ insgesammt (http://www.amazon.de/Das-Lied-von-Eis-Feuer/dp/3442267749)

> By case, I meant cover, of a book.

Then why didn't you say so?

Anyway, you can still judge a book by its cover. For example, you can tell that this novel is just porn simply by looking at the cover.

Edit: To address the rest of your comment:

> It's about the banking system, and how creating debt creates a new form of "slavery" where in everyone is getting money and paid so its not illegal

There is a SUPER simple solution this "problem". Don't get into debt. If a person willingly took on a loan, they must pay their debt. You can't expect to get free money from a bank.

> but if that person were to choose to not work, or choose to not go to college, he will be punished for it because of a document he signed...

Nobody is being "punished". This isn't middle school. When you get a loan you're asking for money and promising that you'll pay it back. If you don't pay it back you will be forced to do so. That's how contracts work.

If you don't want to pay off loans then don't take them.

> when he turned 18 and was NEVER taught anything about finances as most of us arent

It's your/your parent's responsibility to teach you about how loans work. If you live within walking distance of a library you have no excuse not to know something you should know.

> Not sure about other countries but the American school system spends one year - usually sophomore year - teaching students how "civics and economics" works unless that person decides to go to college.

So? The vast, overwhelming, majority of people have access to the internet. You can learn everything you need there.

> This means that in America, parents are in charge of teaching their children finances. The problem with this is 77% of Americans could not explain to you how the Federal Reserve works and how it relates to your every day life.

We were talking about loans. What does the federal reserve have to do with anything?

> They couldn't explain why the economy collapsed in 2008 and have absolutely no idea of the collapse that's coming ins 2018 due to inflated loan

TIL we have a collapse coming in at 2018. Have you got a source to back that up?

> . I didn't learn about this until I did my own research. I didn't understand that building credit was necessary, and that paying off your debt is silly, but paying the minimum or double the minimum is a smarter move.

Congrats. Are you a genius? If not then everyone else can educate themselves too.

> This is not about the right wing being Nazis.

I didn't think the documentary itself is about right winger being nazis, but if that's what the creators think then chances are what they created sucks.

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.com

amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

amazon.nl

amazon.co.jp

amazon.fr

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, amazon.co.jp, amazon.fr, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.

Hello, everyone! I've published by first romance, but it's not doing very well. Hopefully romance is ok for this thread. I've got great reviews so far from my ARC. I know my cover is a little sad and my blurb could probably be better. I didn't write it quite to market, which may also be holding me back. I have a newsletter set up, but no incentive to sign up ready yet. I know I have a lot to work on moving forward, but any feedback would be really helpful!

The book is here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZVWRZFD

​

Thanks for looking!

This is a bestseller in paranormal ROMANCE :)

Thank you for the contest!

Also on kindle
http://www.amazon.com/Haunted-Bourbon-Street-Calhoun-ebook/dp/B005EHRSUY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376767272&sr=8-1&keywords=Haunted+bourbon

This is my first time posting here and also my first time publishing. I've been afraid to take it all the way for years and I finally have. I'm learning so much, but I'm still not where I should be with marketing!

The Courtship of Mallory Richards by Regan Leigh

Book descriptor:

- Romance, paranormal ghost love story -

Mallory Richards should be out experiencing life like any other twenty-six-year-old, but there’s one little hitch in that plan.

She’s dead.

Just three days shy of her birthday, Mallory is killed, though she has no recollection of how the moment of her death transpired. Not one to drift quietly into the afterlife, Mallory finds herself following Evan Douglas, the last person who touched her before her death. Her spirit is inexplicably drawn to this man despite not being able to figure out why. But that’s just one of many things she doesn’t understand about this new existence. To start, she’d really like to know how she died in the first place.

One thing is certain. If Mallory can’t walk amongst the living again, she will make sure her spirit’s presence is known.

https://www.amazon.com/Courtship-Mallory-Richards-Regan-Leigh-ebook/dp/B07ZLNWZ6C/ref=sr_1_1?crid=E4TYLFWQYF4O&keywords=the+courtship+of+mallory&qid=1573359728&sprefix=the+courtship%2Caps%2C137&sr=8-1

Thanks for checking it out! (If you do. :D )

Price: Free on Amazon Kindle Unlimited, $2.99 without subscription or $12.99 for paperback edition.

Teaser: I have so many questions, but I’ve learned to be careful what I ask. Because the cards never lie…but they don’t always tell the truth. Featuring multiple love interests, a slow burn focusing on emotional connections with a steamy fade to black, the reincarnation of the oldest recorded reverse harem story in human history and lots of tarot cards.

Titles: The Tower Card Murder (Book One) / Justice Found and Lost (Book Two)

Genre: Paranormal Romance/Reverse Harem

Word Count: 267 Pages (Book One) / 339 Pages (Book Two)

Type of Feedback Desired: Would love an honest review on Amazon, also looking for future beta/ARC readers if you're interested please let me know and thank you in advance!

I'd like to get editor status. I have it on the Discord already but having it here would be cool too I guess.


I've edited Where the Lilacs Grow by Sally West. They are a part of the Moonquill community but the book isn't posted on Moonquill so I'm not sure if it counts :(
https://smile.amazon.com/Where-Lilacs-Grow-Trilogy-Book-ebook/dp/B07QXKT3YS/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Where+the+lilacs+grow&qid=1562865112&rnid=2941120011&s=digital-text&sr=1-1


I've edited Mortal by MrDojo, again, he's a part of the Moonquill community but the book isn't posted on MQ. This is the unedited version but I can update this when he puts up the edited version. It was just recently handed over to him yesterday.
https://smile.amazon.com/Mortal-Eastern-Fantasy-Seven-Realms-ebook/dp/B07L97WR76/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=mrdojo&qid=1563345671&s=digital-text&sr=1-1


Author will upload content soon but I can also provide their story but I edited:
https://www.moonquill.com/book/43


Edited the first two chapters of:
https://www.moonquill.com/book/18/15