Showing posts with label book. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Novel Related Etsy Gifts - Part 2

Etsy is a brilliant place to get gifts. No matter what you're looking for, you'll usually find it there, in some form or another. Some of the best gifts are the book related ones. You can get everything from Sherlock Holmes, Harry Potter to Jane Austen and so much more.

Friday, March 18, 2016

Author Colouring Books - Part 2

Looking for a way to be more creative? Check out my second list of awesome Adult Colouring Books. All the rage now, it's easier to find something that appeals to you. From movie related - Harry Potter etc - to elaborate designs or animals, there's a little something for everyone.

Here are a few that I really like:

Doctor Who: The Colouring Book

The Book People Amazon UK Amazon US WHSmith Barnes & Noble

£7.99 £6.99 $9.29 £6.99 $9.36

The Time Garden Colouring Book

The Book People Amazon UK Amazon US WHSmith Barnes & Noble

£3.99 £5.00 $12.03 £6.49 $12.08

Art Therapy: An Anti-stress Colouring Book

The Book People Amazon UK Amazon US

£3.99 £6.49 $10.95

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: A Colouring Book

The Book People Amazon UK Amazon US WHSmith

£3.99 £7.00 $9.87 £7.00

Escape to Wonderland: A Colouring Book Adventure

The Book People Amazon UK Amazon US WHSmith

£5.59 £5.24 $6.82 £5.24

Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland

Amazon UK Amazon US WHSmith Barnes & Noble

Unknown $14.13 £6.99 $14.95

Prices correct as of writing: 6th February, 2016

Saturday, March 12, 2016

Gift Box Reviews

You might remember that a while ago I ordered a few Gift Box Subscriptions, as testers for Grand Prizes in author events. Now that they've arrived, I can better tell which are worth the money and what gifts are worth paying more for.

My Geek Box

For this one, you can buy back-dated boxes through PayPal, but not the subscription boxes. For that you'll need a credit card. Since I don't like paying for subscriptions through cards, I bought the back dated box, from Christmas 2015.

Inside the Secret Santa Box: Ghost Rider Keyring, Rubiks Cube Coasters, Sonic Stationery Set, Villains in a Can sound horn, Mobile Phone Joystick. There was also a Transformers mug, but I gave that to my dad.

Cost: £12.10 (includes postage)

Other cost options are:
£17.99 for an auto-renew monthly subscription
£12.99 Breaking Bad Box
£22.99 Star Wars Box
£8.99 Secret Santa Box
£12.99 Mystery Past Box
£12.99 Afterlife Box
£19.99 Welcome Box

Review:
This box would be great if you had kids. I mean, each box is relatively cheap, especially compared to Geek Fuel. And you can choose between 5-7 items in your box, which can alter the price. However, the things I received were all YA rated and aimed at kids - stationary etc.
I do like that you can choose extra one-off boxes, with a set theme. This suits me better than the mystery boxes.

★★★☆☆

Prudence and the Crow

Prudence and Crow is different. As a book-box website, you can get an awesome set of gifts: a vintage paperback, a book bag, bookplates, a bookmark and surprises. All in a handy box that will come through your letterbox. And they accept PayPal, which I love. You can buy a one off box or a subscription.

This was what came inside mine:

Cost: £12 for a one off purchase.

These are other cost options:
Untitled 5

Review:

★☆

~

I also ordered from : Geek Fuel : which wasn't included in my previous list.

Geek Fuel

Geek Fuel is a little like My Geek Box, but with a difference. All subscription boxes are available through PayPal. But, because it's dollars, it's trickier to explain, cost wise.

Here's what was inside my box (February's Surprise Box): Retro Magazine x2, Chimichangas T-Shirt, Firefly Winter Hat, Deadpool keyring, GeekFuel Magnet, Candies in a Tub, Free Phone Game, Geek Fuel magazine.

Cost: $29.90 / £21.32

Other Costs:

Review:
Although coming from the US, the box didn't take much more than one or two weeks more to arrive, which was great. I also think the box is more "adult" orientated than My Geek Box, which supplied quite childish items.
For me, the items in this box were more recent and well worth the money.

★★★★☆

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Novel Related Etsy Gifts

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Gift Box Subscriptions

Whether you're just a fan of books or looking for an unusual gift for a friend, there are some awesome sites available that will send a box of book/geek goodness to your door. Here are some of my favourite:

My Geek Box

For this one, you can buy back-dated boxes through PayPal, but not the subscription boxes. For that you'll need a credit card. Inside each box, you'll get a variety of geek related items. Here are a few already on offer:

(This was February's offer)

(Limited Edition 'Breaking Bad' Box)

Prudence and the Crow

Lit-Cube

This box of goodies is a surprise in a big box. You'll get a "theme" of books and book related swag in one shipment, but you'll never know what's inside until you open it. They don't do genre themes, only themes like shown below. You can buy a one month box or a subscription. At the moment, it's only available in the US and Canada, but I have it on good authority that they're going to roll out International shipping this year, hopefully by April.

(the March box, which you would order in February)

Friday, March 4, 2016

Author Resource: 15 Great Cover Designers

Reblogged from IndieReader.com

They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, but of course it’s something that we all do; your book’s cover makes the first impression for the reader, so an attractive cover essential. But finding the right designer for your book cover can be difficult for an indie author, since cover design is usually a responsibility that (traditional) publishers fulfill. We’ve featured some kick-ass covers over the years, but how can you get one for your own book?

There are a lot of artists, designers and services to employ for designing your dream cover. First, there are services that offer pre-made covers such as Covertopia or Cover My Book, which can be affordable options though more aesthetically generic. Meanwhile, services like 99Designs or Bibliocrunch play matchmaker to pair authors with the designers perfect for their book.

Another great approach is to reach out to a professional designer whose work you enjoy. Here are 15 great designers who are happy to work with authors to create amazing covers. If someone’s work seems to jive with yours, drop them a line!