Book review: "Amulet" by Nancy Lee Parish

"Amulet" by Nancy Lee Parish 

Description:
 A different kind of fantasy adventure.

When Tristan finds an amulet, he has no idea how much his life is about to change. When his amulet awakens the evil of another amulet, long thought lost, it is all of Ranaria that hangs on the brink. The black crystal has stirred.
There are those who seek its power and there are those who seek its destruction. There are also those who know its secrets.
Even with dragons on his side, is there enough time for Tristan and his companions to stop that which has been unleashed?

With many twists and turns, a story unfolds that will keep you guessing until the very end.
Expect the unexpected. 

You can get it at Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Amulet-DragonBlade-ebook/dp/B0066HCK9K

Review

First let me say that I got this book because I loved the cover.  It's simple but powerful and elegant.  The gold over blue catches the eye and the artwork of the dragon amulet is perfect. :)

Amulet is a fast-paced book.  This story captures interest from the very beginning.  From there, the story unfolds with interesting characters and settings.  It took me a little while to get used to the shifting viewpoints where one paragraph would be from inside one character's head  and the next from another's.  The chapters are very short based largely upon switching locations, but I enjoyed this aspect.

The story is based around a young man named Tristan, but every character in the book is a vital part.  I like that it's not a one person save the world story.  An unusual character named Bub is one of the highlights of the story.

The best part is the dragons.  They each have their own unique personalities and strengths. The first appearance is filled with mystery and then you get to know them well.  My favorite is the big dragon at the end that's afraid of flying.

The humor and wordplay is a strength in the book with well written dialogue.  I enjoyed the characters, even the bad guys who were much more complex than just good vs. evil.

I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys fantasy, especially with dragons.

About the Author

Nancy Lee Parish, former matriarch of a tenting community, was appointed "Supreme Ruler" of all Canada Geese. Fiercely protected by her loyal followers, she was often heard asking the perplexing question, "Are we out of bread again?"
Now her endeavors include granting life or death at whim to the likes of dragons, bossy dachshunds and the occasional annoying bad guy.
Although the geese play a lesser role these days, they remain in the wings, so to speak, ready to protect their Supreme Ruler if need be.




Disclaimer

I have decided to review books that I enjoy.  I am an avid reader of fantasy, so most of them will be in that genre.  I'm not taking any requests, just reading what catches my eyes.  You'll find that most of these are from Indie Authors.  The way I figure it, David Eddings, Anne McCaffrey, Alan Dean Foster and Piers Anthony (my favorite authors) already have enough reviews, but Indies could always use a few more.

It is important to note here that while I am a writer, I am doing these reviews as a reader.  I also know a number of the authors I will be reviewing.  This is not an exchange of reviews, nor have I been solicited by those authors to write the review.  At no time will I ever accept any form of payment for a review.  When I say that I'm am doing this as a reader, I mean it.  I get nothing in exchange.

Converting a book cover for Createspace from jpeg to pdf

Introduction

This is a step by step instruction of how to take a jpeg and convert it to a pdf file using Open Office.  I'm writing it for you, but I'm also writing it for me because I forgot how last time and there is a terrible lack of tutorials out there on how to do this.

First, I'd like to say that it's absolutely silly that Createspace won't just take jpegs *sigh*

I use GIMP to make my book covers.  The easiest way would be to use Adobe Photoshop, but that's assuming you can afford it. (I can't)  Adobe can save as pdf since they own the format or something like that.  GIMP can now save as pdf, but I like doing it this way better.  The image doesn't darken as much in print and i don't get an extra layer warning from Createspace. 

Createspace provided a template based on the size of my book.  I then made the cover, which was another insanely involved process that I'm not doing a walkthrough for.

The steps I'm taking are the best I was able to figure out by . . . guessing.  That's right.  I guessed.  However, the cover was accepted by Createspace, so it works.  I've done this multiple times by now and it's worked extremely well.

Note:  If you have a problem seeing the images, hold down 'crtl' and zoom in with your mouse wheel.  It'll make the page larger.  :)

Tutorial

So, this tutorial starts once the cover is completely done in GIMP.  You can get GIMP here:  http://www.gimp.org/

1.  Save it as a jpeg.
2.  If you don't have Open Office (freeware), download it.  I use Microsoft Office for all my normal files, so I was careful not to let Open Office take over all the files it wanted to.  Basically uncheck all the boxes that ask if you want to make it the default program for documents, worksheets, etc.
You can get Open Office here:  http://www.openoffice.org/download/

3.  Open Open Office. (No, I'm not stuttering. :p)
4.  Click on the folder image that says "open"

5.  Right click on the picture and select original size.

6.  Go to 'Format' at the top of Open Office.  It will bring down a box.  In that, choose 'Page'.

7.  Switch the orientation to 'Landscape'.  Then adjust all of the margins to 0. (Mine default to .39.  I don't know why) Open Office will complain about this being outside print range, but ignore it.  You don't want margins on your book cover.

8.  Next, you'll want to change your width and height.  At the bottom of the next picture, you can see the dimensions of your picture.  In this case, 12.83x9.27.  So change the width and height to those numbers.  When you're done with that, your cover should be exactly the right size.

9.  Right click on the picture again.  Choose 'Alignment'.  Choose 'Top'.  Then choose 'Left'.  That will put your image in the top left corner.




10.  Next, you're ready to export it to pdf.  This step is super simple.  Just click the pdf icon at the top.  Then make sure it's named as you like and click 'save'.

Finish
You're done!!!!  You now have a file that can be uploaded to Createspace. :)  Congratulations.  Hope it went well.

All my best,

John H. Carroll

Book review: The Book of Deacon Series

 Review of the Book of Deacon Series by Joseph Lallo

This series is available at all online stores, including Smashwords, Amazon, B&N, Kobo and Apple.  I highly recommend it.  There are three books in the series and I've reviewed them each individually.

The Book of Deacon

Description:  The tale of Myranda Celeste, a young woman orphaned by a century long war, and her chance discovery of a fallen soldier's priceless cargo. The find will change her life, sending her on an adventure of soldiers and rebels, wizards and warriors, and beasts both noble and monstrous. Each step will bring her closer to the truth of her potential, of the war, and of the fate of her world.

My Review:

As an avid reader of fantasy, sometimes it's hard to try someone new rather than re-reading books I love, but I'm so glad I opened this book.

It didn't take long to get involved in Myranda's fate. I found myself nerve-wracked by what could happen next and had a hard time putting the book down. The characters Myranda meets are fascinating and easy to like. I feel so bad for Deacon though and hope things work out for him.

My only two criticisms are the lack of chapters, which makes finding my place hard if I swipe up or down on my Kindle instead of sideways, and a few instances of head jumping between characters. These are not enough to truly detract from the story though. :)


The Great Convergence

Description: The second in the Book of Deacon series, The Great Convergence continues the tale of young Myranda Celeste. With fresh knowledge of magic and steadfast resolve to see the end of the war that plagues her land, Myranda sets out to find and unite the five fated heroes, the Chosen. Each new warrior brings her world a step closer to peace, but does she have the strength to survive the trials ahead?

An excellent sequel. Things begin to unfold and the rest of the chosen begin to appear.  The story behind the long war starts to unfold before our eyes. 

Like the first book, the head hopping is a bit disconcerting where the viewpoint switches from one character to the next between paragraphs, but I'm getting used to it. I don't like that the baddies seem invincible and hope that the good guys start to have some successes!


The Battle of Verril

Description: In this, the finale of the Book of Deacon Trilogy, Myranda and the Chosen face their greatest challenges yet. Time is running out, and the Generals are growing desperate. Through victory and defeat, reunion and betrayal, neither the heroes nor their foes will rest until they have seen their task through to the end. The only question is, will it be the end of a war, or the end of times?

The third book is the best and wraps the trilogy up nicely.  Myranda comes into her own and shines.  I like strong heroines.  Myranda holds true to her beliefs throughout all and inspires everyone else.  The build up to the ending is finely crafted.


It does get frustrating when the heroes keep walking into the exact same traps over and over.  I felt like smacking them in the back of the head.  But it's also nice to see villains that are every bit as nasty as they're supposed to be.  By the end, I wanted them all destroyed.


My favorite characters are Ivy, Myn and Deacon.  Lain is a bit too sullen for me and Ether is incredibly foolish for someone who's supposed to have been watching the world since it came into existence.  My absolute favorite is Myranda though.  She's lived a tough life and remains strong and resolute throughout all three stories.  Strong leading women are my favorite. :)


Overall, this is an excellent fantasy series.  The characters and plot are original.  I definitely recommend giving it a read.



About the Author:  Joseph Lallo is a Computer Engineer, as well as editor and chief contributor to Brainlazy.com.

You can find him at Smashwords and Amazon


Disclaimer


I have decided to review books that I enjoy.  I am an avid reader of fantasy, so most of them will be in that genre.  I'm not taking any requests, just reading what catches my eyes.  You'll find that most of these are from Indie Authors.  The way I figure it, David Eddings, Anne McCaffrey, Alan Dean Foster and Piers Anthony (my favorite authors) already have enough reviews, but Indies could always use a few more.


It is important to note here that while I am a writer, I am doing these reviews as a reader.  I also know a number of the authors I will be reviewing.  This is not an exchange of reviews, nor have I been solicited by those authors to write the review.  At no time will I ever accept any form of payment for a review.  When I say that I'm am doing this as a reader, I mean it.  I get nothing in exchange.