Joy to the World

He rules the world with truth and grace...

L'Innocence

William Adolphe Bouguereau, 1893

 

Joy to the world, the Lord is come

Let earth receive her King.

Happy St. Valentine's Day

A day filled with blessings of love for all.

More Original Art Book Cover Samples

Due to the Christmas holiday and other life events, I haven't yet finished work on a planned book cover art website.  I have continued to work on sample covers, however, and anyone looking for reasonably priced, original art and design for a book cover can contact me, Krisi Keley, at jcsgs11@aol.com with requests, to discuss ideas or for more information.   All cover art and design, such as that in the samples below, will be priced at $100 US or below.

 

(The authors and titles in the above cover examples were created expressly for the sample covers and any resemblance to real authors or titles is coincidental and unintentional.  The images in the samples are original artwork, subject to copyright law, and may not be used without the permission of the artist.)

 

Book Review: Saint Sebastian's Head by LeAnn Neal Reilly

Saint Sebastian’s Head is an incredibly moving novel about one woman’s journey from a childhood of dark tragedy to the light of healing that can come from love.

When Weeble, an engineer training for a triathlon, meets artist Tom Paul as she runs by him one night while he’s dumpster-diving, the pretend okay world she’s constructed for herself begins to crumble, forcing her to face the traumatic past that still haunts her subconscious, ruling her life and relationships despite how hard she’s tried to bury it.  Revealing the inner demons that torment Weeble through flashes to her childhood, author LeAnn Neal Reilly slowly introduces readers to a harrowing tale of neglect, abuse and, ultimately, horror, while the present-day relationship between Weeble and Tom Paul and the intricate interplay of mysticism and harsh reality, faith and doubt, light and darkness, underlies her journey to healing.

Beautiful prose, wonderful character development and a fairy tale-like symbolism make what could have otherwise been only a painfully dark story into a poetic and spiritual read about the human strength we don’t always realize we possess, even when crippled by tragedy, as well as a touching, light-filled love story.  Because there was quite a bit of emphasis on Tom Paul’s Orthodox spirituality and the mystic nature he brought out in his art, I would have been interested in a bit more understanding of his past relationships, as these do play a part in the story but sometimes left me wondering about his desire for a deeper relationship with Weeble before a physical one, while it seemed he might not have required or found this with past romantic relationships.  However, this could be simply due to my own interest in theology and how one’s worldview impacts every part of one’s life, and the sense that maybe I didn’t have as much insight into his character as I might have liked, in this particular regard, didn’t in any way take from the story.  In the end, I found it extremely well-written and a fascinating and meaningful novel with much to reflect on long after reading.  Highly recommended for outstanding writing and its emotional and spiritual complexity, I look forward to reading more by this talented author.