text:
Hundreds of thousands of premium domains
Questions? We're here to help! Call today:1-303-893-0552
SmartYes.com is for saleCall us: 1-303-893-0552
- or
30-Day Satisfaction Guarantee
Shop with confidence. Our domains are sold risk-free - return it within 30 days if you're not satisfied! More details
What makes a domain name potentially valuable?
Understanding valuations is important when buying a domain name. Premium .coms are one-of-a-kind Web addresses. They improve your brand, provide name recognition, improve SEO and grow in value over time. Read more...
Safe and secure transactions
HugeDomains values your privacy and provides a secure checkout process. WhoIs privacy protection is available upon checkout.
Thousands of satisfied customers More client testimonials.
- Very fast business, everthing with good support and checking up. - Victor Rådefjäll, PornCircus.com, 3/10/2015
- I needed a domain name and got it within minutes. Nothing has ever been easier, my sales rep stayed on the phone with me until the transaction was completed and I had control of the site. From needing it to directing traffic to growboss.com was about 15 minutes. Now that is service, not to mention the free one year hosting and private listing. Awesome service ... thanks! - Russ Cunnington, GrowBoss.com, 3/10/2015
- Great company, 2nd time I bought from them and the transaction process is very easy. Everything is straightforward, and all my questions have been answered in less than 24 hours. Great great great company! - Sam, 3/10/2015
You're in full control of your domains
Upon placing order, ownership of the domain name will immediately transfer. This domain name is currently registered at NameBright.com, but you are free to transfer the domain name to any registrar of your choice. Transfer instructions will be emailed to you upon purchase. More...
Visit our Help Center for answers to
Frequently Asked Questions
- SmartRemind.com$8,495
- SmartKeep.com$4,190
- PizzaYes.com$3,495
- GreenYes.com$3,495
- YesSet.com$3,495
- BladeSmart.com$3,495
- SmartChen.com$3,495
- SmartDred.com$3,495


text:
2. King's Man
King's Man
Over the land there lies a long shadow,
westward reaching wings of darkness.
The Tower trembles; to the tombs of kings
doom approaches. The Dead awaken;
for the hour is come for the oathbreakers;
at the Stone of Erech they shall stand again
and hear there a horn in the hills ringing.
Whose shall the horn be? Who shall call them
from the grey twilight, the forgotten people?
The heir of him to whom the oath they swore.
From the North shall he come, need shall drive him:
he shall pass the Door to the Paths of the Dead.
"Dúnedain of the North!"
As if to summon the very mountains. Aragorn, mounted on his great horse, swept his bright sword into the air, calling the thirty horsemen to attention. Weary as he was, he looked like the king he was soon to be. Proud and sure, Halbarad reined his horse beside his captain, holding the standard of Elendil yet furled.
"Here at the Hornburg of Rohan we few are gathered," Aragorn's voice rang out, "when once the knights of Arnor riding with Elendil and Gil-galad numbered in the thousands. Yet we have the hope of a victory far greater than that won by the Last Alliance. I speak of the hope that Elrond revealed to you before you rode South.
"My comrades, know this: a force of corsairs threatens Gondor. Minas Tirith will fall before ten days are gone. We alone can save the White City, but only by passing through great peril. I go now on a path appointed, the Paths of the Dead, to summon the oathbreakers, who must fight against Sauron at the bidding of the Heir of Isildur to win the peace of the grave.
"No dishonor will fall on you if you go with the forces of the Rohirrim. For I have revealed myself to Sauron as Elessar, Elendil's Heir, and shown him the sword reforged, Andúril, the Flame of the West. My purpose is to draw his Eye away from the peril that will destroy him. At the fields of the Pelennor I will raise the banner of Elendil before the gates of the White City. And if the West fails, the wrath of Sauron will fall hardest on me and on all who are with me. Therefore I command no man to follow me. Will you come, men of the North?"
Halbarad drew his sword and saluted his captain. "Aragorn!" he shouted, and around him the Grey Company raised the call, their spears glinting in the bright noon.
Aragorn bowed his head, acknowledging their allegiance, and raised yet again his sword that seemed alight with the very fires of heaven. The green stone shone out on his breast, and despite his pallor men could see his grim resolve. Halbarad raised a great horn, and its blast echoed against the rocky walls. Aragorn turned his proud bay stallion, Roheryn, and with a cry led the force out of the valley of Helm's Deep.
They rode hard that day, stopping only to water and rest their mounts. The night was old before at last they halted for a hot meal and a few hours' sleep.
After seeing to the men and the horses, Halbarad sought out his captain. Aragorn was alone for the moment, sitting at a smaller fire away from the cook pots. Silent, he stared into the blaze. Andúril in its jeweled sheath lay across his knees, his hands resting upon it.
Halbarad knelt at his side. "All are well, men and horses," he said.
Aragorn nodded. "I will speak to the men when I have eaten."
He searched Aragorn's face with a critical eye. "You look a little better."
The chieftain's brief smile did not reach his eyes. "The weariness is slow to pass."
Halbarad nodded. He knew what Aragorn did not say: The dread of his confrontation with the Dark Lord through the palantír yet haunted him. He would never forget it.
The lieutenant sat down beside his chieftain, leaning his arms and chin on one raised knee. "So here we are at last, in the war we always knew was coming. It's a long time since that young man who had just learned his name wandered into the Angle, isn't it, my friend?"
He was rewarded with a genuine smile. "Indeed," Aragorn said. "And where would that Elven princeling have been without you?"
They both chuckled, remembering the Dúnedain's harsh judgment of the young Estel as their chieftain.
"Well," Halbarad said. There was so much to say, but so little need to say it—all the years of fighting and friendship hovered between them. "Soon you will have all your hope."
"Or all hope's end," Aragorn murmured. "As Arwen put it. And if we succeed—why then, Halbarad, I'll need you all the more at my side—you, who I trust most to tell me when I'm wrong."
"Yes, I've always been good at that. The first of the duties of the king's man."
They fell then into the easy silence of intimacy, remembering the cold, rainy nights as Rangers in the wild; quarrels both personal and political; laughter; too few nights of too much ale and pipeweed at the inn in Bree; the many times one had saved the life of the other.
Above, the stars blazed bright and cold in a clear sky, and the glow of the fire lit their warrior's faces.
After, Aragorn thought of that night as his farewell to his best friend and chief lieutenant. When Halbarad died at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, the life was gone from his eyes before any man could say goodbye, even his own sons. Only then did the king's man lose hold of the banner of Elendil.
This is a work of fan fiction, written because the author has an abiding love for the works of J R R Tolkien. The characters, settings, places, and languages used in this work are the property of the Tolkien Estate, Tolkien Enterprises, and possibly New Line Cinema, except for certain original characters who belong to the author of the said work. The author will not receive any money or other remuneration for presenting the work on this archive site. The work is the intellectual property of the author, is available solely for the enjoyment of Henneth Annûn Story Archive readers, and may not be copied or redistributed by any means without the explicit written consent of the author.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Results 1 to 15 of 84
Thread: Bad Covers
August 14th, 2012, 08:59 AM #1
Bad Covers
I had to do a very hard thing this morning when one of my author friends on Facebook was showing off the cover of their new self-published novel just ahead of its release. Lots of favorable and encouraging comments leading up to mine. Which wasn't so favorable.
The cover sucked.
Three images were simply cut and pasted on a purple background - I doubt the artist (and it may have been the author, who knows) could even spell "Photoshop" let alone use it. Composition was horrid on top of that. I was polite, but stated flatly that the work looked amateurish and would do his story a disservice. I guess nobody else had the heart to state the obvious with the author being so excited and all about publishing, but folks need to understand that a bad cover will have a huge impact on a first impression.
There are a bunch of folks out there who are great Photoshop jockeys - hell, both my kids can render a far better cover than what I saw. I wish writers would think a bit more about such things before rushing to print. People DO judge a book by it's cover.
Okay, rant over, and I wouldn't be surprised to have a few less friends on FB after this.
Update: This was a small publisher doing the work (Wings E-Press) and not the author. I would avoid that small press like the plague until they can decide to put out professional covers.
Last edited by kmtolan; August 14th, 2012 at 09:08 AM.
August 14th, 2012, 09:53 AM #2
I've been watching the covers on Smashwords with some interest. Some are obviously professional. Some not so obvious. Then there are the ones which are self-made. Font size is important.
I agree, the cover is the "door mat" for your book. If you want to say "Welcome" then one should say it right. In some cases you might want the cover to say I did it myself. It's worth the extra effort to make sure the cover says what you want it to say. In some cases that means to find someone who can do a good job.
I hope this doesn't make me a cover snob.
August 14th, 2012, 10:15 AM #3
- Join Date
- Jun 2009
- Location
- Northern California
- Posts
- 6,079
- Blog Entries
- 18
I think we are all cover snobs. What might work for some, doesn't for others.
But there is a boundary. There is a point when a cover is done so badly, it does a disservice to the story (as Kerry pointed out).
I think you did the right thing, Kerry. It is your opinion and you gave it in a polite manner (I'm sure). It is up to the author to do what he/she will with it.
August 14th, 2012, 10:17 AM #4
August 14th, 2012, 11:05 AM #5
- Join Date
- Mar 2009
- Location
- Los Angeles
- Posts
- 1,313
Even covers which are artistically and technically well-done can be poor AS COVERS.
Covers have to serve several purposes. They must at the very least
- get attention
- interest readers (merely neutral impressions won't do)
- work both in the large and the small (from a distance AND as an online thumbnail)
- be memorable (readers may not be able or willing to instantly decide to buy)
August 14th, 2012, 11:43 AM #6
Changing a Tire (d) Cover
Several months ago, one of the Smashwords authors who had been selling steadily but poorly paid up for a new cover. Immediately thereafter she began hitting the best-seller lists for indies. My memory doesn't serve me well enough to name the book or even the genre (romance or erotica is my recollection), but her author interview supported all of the above remarks.
That said, no one should be too timid to try something a bit different. Our own Hugh Howey with his Wool series has proven that creativity does not end when we write finis. Hugh, if you read this post, let me once again offer a tip of the hat for a job well done--this time for your instinct in stepping outside the norm of look-alike sci-fi covers.
Last edited by Window Bar; August 14th, 2012 at 11:48 AM.
August 14th, 2012, 12:35 PM #7
... there's where it might be tricky. Something works, so everyone does it and it no longer works. You can say the same things about the cover you say about the title; it should give some indication about the story, and maybe leave whoever might look at it with a little "?"
But people get crazy. I've heard (through the grapevine) publishers don't like covers with the color green in them. It makes the book look boring. Artists are learning not to use green, and if they do to hide it sufficiently so the publishers don't see it. You can bend yourself into a pretzel and still get nowhere.
Don't try to follow all the rules, go with concepts.
August 14th, 2012, 03:13 PM #8
August 14th, 2012, 05:07 PM #9
BTW -- Am I the only one here who has noticed all of the gold-and-fire covers hitting the market lately? Don't tell me: These authors and/or artists might have heard of The Hunger Games trilogy? Nahhh... just a happy coincidence.
August 14th, 2012, 05:50 PM #10
August 14th, 2012, 06:51 PM #11
- Join Date
- Mar 2009
- Location
- Los Angeles
- Posts
- 1,313
Also, the comments people in that thread made to be sure any suggestions you make are clearly examples of what might be done, not dogmatic prescriptions.
August 14th, 2012, 08:48 PM #12
Given that the Hunger Games covers don't have any flames on them and only one is red with a bit of gold, and that YA covers are done by different publishers than the adult books, I think you are maybe inventing a connection. I think that it may be for the indie pubs that flames are relatively easy to do and look nice. There are trends in covers because art departments have lots of covers to do and if a look seems to be working, they'll copy it with some variation for a bit. We can set up a thread to talk about covers and what goes into them if folk want. I touched on that some when I brought up the YA novels.
But green is pretty much just fine, given the number of fantasy novels that involve forests. Here's some more:
Green's also very popular for horror covers.
Kerry -- maybe you could offer your kids' services to do a new cover. I'm sure the person is smarting if he/she paid for the art service. I'm telling you, my daughter makes these great greeting cards -- teenagers could clean up.
August 14th, 2012, 09:03 PM #13
Who, me?
August 14th, 2012, 10:10 PM #14
Don't like this one at all.
This one is all right, not a favorite though.
Don't really care for the 'photograph' look and the title covering so much of the cover so dominantly.
I really like this cover art, put's me in the middle of some kind of action with some cool visuals related to the armor? suits?
Also really liked the cover for Green but the story itself is taking some pretty rough hits on Amazon reviews.
August 14th, 2012, 10:27 PM #15
I suppose it's all in the eye of the beholder.
The biggest concern that I would have is if the cover looks a little too amateur, it might give potential readers the impression that someone (author, editor, publisher) hasn't been paying attention to details. And as a result readers might pass on it.
But at the same time, there's a difference between "sufficient" and "optimal." In some cases the author/editor/publisher may be faced with a decision. You have a piece of cover art that perhaps you've already payed for. You're not happy with it, but your alternative is to delay publishing and miss some key market timing, and thus miss potential sales. Less than optimal is usually better than zero.


text:
New James Taylor Collection To Feature Warner Bros'. & Columbia Classics
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Coming on October 29th is the double-disc collection, The Essential James Taylor. The compilation marks the first time James Taylor's work for both Warner Bros. and Columbia Records has been collected on one two-CD set. The career-spanning album features such Taylor standards as "Sweet Baby James," "Fire And Rain," "You've Got A Friend," "How Sweet It Is," "Mexico," "Shower The People," "Your Smiling Face," "Her Town Too," and "Copperline," among many others.
James Taylor told us that despite the pressures of the music business, he's never felt any competition with his peers, or himself, when writing or recording new music: "It's impossible not to sort of think about your position when you've finished an album and you're releasing it, and trying to promote it and announce it and stuff. It's hard not to think of it in the marketplace. But for me, it's not a competitive sport, y'know, and you just have to do your best and then let go of the result -- and just be thankful to be able to continue."
He told us that releasing his albums either independently or through smaller labels, such as Hear Music, is a breath of fresh air for someone who was always tied to a mega-album deal with a major: "I spent my entire career signed to one of the major record houses. I was a Warner Bros. act for the first half of my recording career, and then a Sony artist for the past 25 years. And now this is the third album I will have released past my Sony deal. It's a very interesting way to be working. You have to take much more responsibility for the whole process than was necessary when you were just... belonged to a record label. But ultimately, it's a better deal."
James Taylor will next perform on January 26th at the MusiCares Person Of The Year Gala saluting Carole King at L.A.'s Staples Center.
The tracklisting to The Essential James Taylor:
Disc One
"Sweet Baby James" - from Sweet Baby James
"Fire and Rain" - from Sweet Baby James
"Long Ago And Far Away" - from Mud Slide Slim And The Blue Horizon
"You've Got A Friend" - from Mud Slide Slim And The Blue Horizon
"Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" - from One Man Dog
"Walking Man" - from Walking Man
"How Sweet It Is" - from Gorilla
"Mexico" - from Gorilla
"Shower The People" - from In The Pocket
"Steamroller" - from James Taylor's Greatest Hits
"Something In The Way She Moves" - from James Taylor's Greatest Hits
"Carolina In My Mind" - from James Taylor's Greatest Hits
"Handy Man" - from JT
"Your Smiling Face" - from JT
"Honey Don't Leave L.A." - from JT
Disc Two
"Millworker" - from Flag
"Her Town Too" - with J.D. Souther - from Dad Loves His Work
"Everyday" - from That's Why I'm Here
"Only One" - from That's Why I'm Here
"Never Die Young" - from Never Die Young
"Copperline" - from New Moon Shine
"The Water Is Wide" - from New Moon Shine
"Country Road (Live)" - from James Taylor (Live)
"Secret O' Life (Live)" - from James Taylor (Live)
"Little More Time With You" - from Hourglass
"Another Day" - from Hourglass
"Hard Times Come Again No More" - with Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, and Mark O'Connor from Yo-Yo Ma's Appalachian Journey
"Caroline I See You" - from October Road
"My Traveling Star" (Live) - with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus - from One Man Band
"You Can Close Your Eyes" (Live) - from One Man Band
Photo Courtesy of PRPhotos.com
Your browser does not support script
Internet Explorer Users Click Here To See What's On-Air
Contest Rules
Contact Us
Copyright 2014. Eves Broadcasting Inc.
Site Designed and Maintained by MME
Music News
Search our Music Database
'Like' Us On Facebook
Local News
On-Air Now
Listen Live With Our App


text:
I am really looking forward to using Wayland on, my favorite, Ubuntu ASAP. I hope Canonical won't postpone it for after the next LTS. I want 12.04 with Unity + Wayland!
Phoronix: Wayland Is Now Playing Well With NVIDIA, ATI Drivers
For those of you interested in running the Wayland Display Server on your NVIDIA and ATI graphics cards, without running it nestled inside an X Server, it should work if you use the newest Linux kernel code...
I am really looking forward to using Wayland on, my favorite, Ubuntu ASAP. I hope Canonical won't postpone it for after the next LTS. I want 12.04 with Unity + Wayland!
This is a bit off-topic but given Wayland and PulseAudio, does anybody else see Linux video/audio moving in opposite directions? Wayland is dropping network transparency for a lean n' mean graphics framework while PulseAudio stacks a network server on top of ALSA.
aw, you had me going... from the article title i thought you meant that the binary drivers were playing well with wayland :P
Its just that the functionality hasn't been added yet. Sadly only Kristian is working actively on it.
As for Pulseaudio the only thing that should be done is to be integrated in a single project with Jack in order to have only ONE server handling desktop and pro audio.
If someone can piece together all the required pieces, it would be cool if they could produce a live CD for would-be testers...
If you want to try it i thing there are a few scripts/instructions floating around for various distros.
PulseAudio on the other side is designed as a server architecture much like X does. No?
So what advantages does Wayland provide for the end user?
Is it really faster than X?
Or the only advantages come in the form of easier development (due to less code bloat)?


text:
In my lightboxes:
Painted Morning
Re: Winter MissionPosted on Monday 30 March, 2015 by David Bodine.
I like the realism of your image. So many now are not realistic. The composition is great and just the right amount of post processing. Beautiful.
Re: Vayang Rolling HillsPosted on Monday 30 March, 2015 by David Bodine.
Beautiful image. I really like the leading lines to the peak.
Re: 3 In 1Posted on Friday 27 March, 2015 by Alena Nicholas.
Beautiful rich colors Carla! Always love seascape images! Very nice blend of the sand/rocks/water!
Re: Mellow YellowPosted on Friday 27 March, 2015 by Alena Nicholas.
Thank you kindly Laura! I'm sorry for not responding sooner, as it's hard to get to a computer right now. I always enjoy the Spring with wonderful colors. I look forward to sharing some new Spring...
Re: Calm MorningPosted on Wednesday 25 March, 2015 by David Bodine.
Holly Molly that is just beautiful. That needs to be on the cover of OP magazine. Probably the most awesome image I have seen on here to date.
Get 11 Issues of Outdoor Photographer for only $14.97!
That's 77% off the cover price!
That's 77% off the cover price!