Here it is! The new cover for A Darker Demise coming March 2026! If you signed up for my newsletter, you would have found the cover in your in-box. Not signed up? I highly suggest signing to find out the scoop before I announce it on social!
Here's the link: https://mcryderauthor.beehiiv.com/subscribe
Cheers to a New Year! Stay tuned for exciting, dark things to come!
Merry Christmas Eve!
Something dark is coming 2026! Here's a teaser!
Who's excited for the big cover reveal? I know I am! It's not what you think... It's even better than the original!
Coming soon!
I have to be honest, I've been feeling a bit green this year for Christmas, but I now have my sidekick to help me make out Christmas cards.
Stay tuned for a sneak peek...
Meanwhile, grab The Darkest Side of the Moon and A Dance Between Light and Darkness this holiday season
It's been a while since I posted a book I read for #bookreviewsunday. I just finished In Spotlight and Shadow by Ruud Jolie from Within Temptation and glad I did.
I've been battling impostor syndrome lately and it's reassuring to know others even from popular bands suffer from it too. Make mistakes and try to make it right. Grab the book to find out how Mother's Bistro & Bar (in Portland, OR) ties in.
Check out my review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8163669994
A cover is more than just a cover...
A lot of thought goes into my covers to capture the right feel of the story. The symbol associated with this story is the #spiral. I loved my original cover and looked through so many images until I found the right one, but the revamped cover captures so much more! The #fire element also goes hand-in-hand. There's more to the story than #vampires and #werewolves. Grab a copy now and dive into The Dark!
#sequel #bookstagram #booklovers #yareads #fantasybooks #yafantasybooks #books
E. Writer
This looks great! The cover is super important, and it's the first thing a reader will see. They DO judge a book by the cover. I love both, and you picked great artwork for the original one. I also really like how they captured a bit of the swirl from the first cover, in the new one. I love the Cinzel font used for the new cover (the word Light), that's a common one for fantasy and sci-fi.
Authors should have input on their covers but in the end, designers know what's best because they are trained to design, so they'll design gorgeous book covers, and bring out the absolute best in the work. And they've gotten even better lately because a lot of designers use canva templates. I can spot those templates anywhere.
A lot of authors I encounter, I can count so many times when an author has a bad idea or something I don't like but they really want to go that route. I used to show them lousybookcovers.com and say, I really don't want your book to end up on that website, or to look overly photoshopped. But ultimately, I respect their wishes when they are determined to do it a certain way because in the end, it's their vision and their book. But when they leave it to me from beginning to end, the outcome is great. Sometimes I'll even present two versions. The one they wanted, and then my own option just to show them what can be done without those restrictions. Most of the time they'll go with my alternative. So your focus on cover art, is important. Designers do great work, and did great work on your cover. I dislike my old covers from the early 2000s. Looking back, they look so dated. It's like looking at an old website, how yahoo geocities and angelfire looked normal back then, but in hindsight are so dated now. In ten years, we may not like our current book covers as design and what is fashionable changes over time. My advice for a second edition of a book, let your second edition shine. Give it the spotlight without the old versions as a reminder as readers may interpret it as something being wrong with the book. I had an old cover for sixth Iteration that was designed in 2015, but the book was not released until 2021. I lasted three months with that cover and decided to switch to something else. Then I buried that old cover... not that anything was wrong with it, it was just outdated and did not reflect romance, only the sci-fi aspect. I had that cover removed from every platform. I wanted my new version of the cover to have the spotlight.
M. C. Ryder Yeah, it exceeded my expectations. I gave them a few things I wanted, the spiral the top priority and being in a graveyard. I few minor tweaks and it was perfection! Just wait until you see A Darker Demise. I will be teasing it soon ;-)
E. Writer Nice, can't wait to see it.
Greetings readers!
This isn't #book related, but for the last week I've been trying to catch this stray who has been hanging out at my house for several months. Long story short, all the other strays have been caught by neighbors leaving him all by himself. He's super friendly and SMART! But I finally caught him. Now he's warm, safe, and transitioning as a new family member.
With that being said, I won't be as active on social as I boost his confidence in a new space.
Don't worry, new things are coming 2026! Stay tuned!
M. C. Ryder Yep, it all depends on the cat and their personality. Sometimes it takes them a bit longer to warm up to people; others warm up faster. I'm lucky Jelly is comfortable around me. It's because he's a lovebug that I opened my home because he deserves a good home. He's really smart too! Today he looked up at the bed in the room he's in, then to me. I sat on the bed and called him up. He hopped on up. So cute!
E. Writer Awww. Ramen is still skittish around me but Noodles is comfortable and sleeps on my bed. I bribe them with food from my plate. I know that's wrong but that's how I win cats over. Wait until I have chicken or turkey to share lol
M. C. Ryder Hey, just like men, food is the way to their hearts lol. You just got to teach them what's okay and what's not. My other cats I have to bribe them with treats from time to time to get them to go where I need them to go without making it any more stressful than it has to be.
E. Writer Too true! lol I am trying to limit it to chicken, beef, and turkey but they snacks too.
M. C. Ryder And they know how to poor on the cuteness to get more snacks lol
E. Writer This is the best one ❤