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• The dragon’s tears, the Kirkus review, and the shelf where parents are actually looking

  Dear Eve,

  I came to Eli And The Mystery Of The Hallowshine Dragon through the Kirkus review, and the sentence that stayed with me was not about the unicorns or the fairy’s home. It was this: “When Eli cries, her tears cause the crystals to vanish.” That is the emotional hinge of the whole book, and it is a genuinely beautiful idea. The terrifying dragon is not defeated by a sword or a spell. He is understood. Eli says, “I…am the only moon elf I know. But the animals of the enchanted forest have been kind to me, and I know they would be kind to you, too.” That is not a lesson pasted onto an adventure. It is the adventure. The dragon’s tears are what caused the curse, and Eli’s tears are what break it. The book understands something that many picture books miss: courage is not the absence of fear, and healing is not a solo act.

  I also noticed something a colleague would flag, and I want to be precise about it rather than flattering. A book with a Kirkus review, 24 ratings, and an illustrator whose work reviewers call “spectacular” should not be filed under “Sword & Sorcery.” That category is for epic quest fantasy with warriors and battles. Eli is a 44-page picture book about a moon elf, a bunny, and a lonely dragon who cries healing tears. The parents, teachers, and librarians who are searching for “picture books about friendship,” “books about courage for kids,” “social-emotional learning picture books,” or “fantasy picture books for girls” are not browsing the sword-and-sorcery shelf. They are browsing the friendship shelf, the feelings shelf, the magical picture book shelf. The Kirkus reviewer saw the book’s real subject—“determination, bravery, and magic”—and the Readers’ Favorite reviewer saw it too: “the power of love and friendship.” The marketplace metadata is the only thing that has not caught up.

  There is a second, quieter gap worth naming. The book’s reception is polarized in a way that is costing it credibility. A 4.1-star average with a 7% one-star rate is not a quality problem—it is a review-velocity problem. The one-star reviews are carrying disproportionate weight because the total number of ratings is still low. A book with a Kirkus review and illustrations that multiple reviewers have called “stunning” should have far more than 24 ratings by now. The readers who would leave the twenty-fifth, twenty-sixth, and twenty-seventh five-star reviews are not being routed to the Amazon page. The Kirkus review and the Readers’ Favorite review are not visible in the same way a customer review is, and the book’s listing does not currently use the Kirkus quote as a headline signal in the metadata or A+ content.

  The third gap is the one that matters most for the long term. Your personal story—the French grandmother who made up stories, the niece’s drawing of Eli, the dream about a moon elf, the childhood spent in treehouses among wild animals—is exactly the kind of narrative that travels in parenting communities, children’s book blogs, and school visits. That story is not currently connected to the book’s retail footprint. The readers who would respond to a book about a moon elf who befriends a lonely dragon are the readers who would also respond to the story of how that book came to be. The platform and the marketplace are living in separate rooms.

  My name is Rebecca Shine, and I work with children’s authors and independent publishers on the unglamorous side of publishing: category refinement, review-velocity strategy, and connecting books that already exist to the specific communities already searching for them. I have put together a short preliminary summary of three or four concrete opportunities I see for Eli And The Mystery Of The Hallowshine Dragon—things like broader category signals for friendship, courage, and social-emotional learning; a review-velocity plan that would let the Kirkus and Readers’ Favorite signals do the work of lifting the book in search; and a small outreach effort to the children’s book bloggers and parenting communities where your own story and Eli’s story belong. It is not a pitch; it is a courtesy from one reader to a writer whose book is already doing the work.

  If that seems worth a look, just reply with “interested” and I will send the full summary through.

  Thank you for writing this book, and thank you to Ekaterina Ilchenko for illustrations that reviewers have called “almost magical.” The dragon’s tears are real. The readers who need this story deserve a clearer path to finding it.

  Warmly,
  Rebecca Shine

• hi ..
  im hayaat from indonesia..in long time i want to buy your book beauty....would you like inform me how to buy e book of yours?

  i have tried many times buy from amazon but unfortunitly does not works

  waiting you reply..

  thank u

• Hi Eve,

  Your first recipe with only 2 ingredients in your book, you use safflower oil. I would like to know if I can replace it with Brazil Nut Oil. I use to buy Tree Hut Shea Body Butter called Brazilian Nut. They no longer make this one.
  The Shea butter was pretty thick. Is there anything else you would recommend or change to make this recipe similar to Tree Hut?

• Hi Eve,

  Love your had lotion recipe. I make it for myself and sister all the time. I wondering if I could use rose water when I’m unable to get my hands on rose hydrosol?

  • Great to learn a lot about how you all started your journey am quite impressed with how far you have come and also to be able to learn from you as well is amazing. Thanks so much and keep doing the good work

• I can’t buy your book as an e book on Amazon, when will this be available?

• I can’t seem to find Grape Seed Extract on any website including Amazons. I can find Grape seed oil but not extract and I can find grape seed in pill form. I can also find grapefruit seed extract. I am a little confused. In your book you list grapefruit seed extract as one of your top preservatives but in the recipes for both tooth paste and rose face cream you say to use grape seed extract.

  Would really like a clarification and where to buy.

  • Hello, i have the same question but no answer from Eve ???

• Hello ....I wanted to know what can I substitute Grapeefruit seed extract with and more recipes with camelia seed oil
  Thank you
  Neerja

• I was curious if your DIY makeup remover would work on waterproof mascara? I currently use miceller water for waterproof mascara. I'm not sure if miceller water is a safe/good option.

  • How do I wash off beeswax face cream?

    I tried your beeswax face cream recipe and it came out beautifully. I read that it is hard to wash off wax from skin. I usually use honey to wash my face and would prefer not to use an oil to wash my face.

    Is honey good enough to wash the beeswax cream off my face?

• Hi Eve - I came across organic-beauty-recipes.com and I must say I'm impressed by the work you've done...
  you have almost 6k followers on Pinterest alone that's amazing! Your success is clearly growing and the content is influential to your followers. I read your recipe post on, "DIY Face Serum Recipe Anti Wrinkles" and found it super helpful!

  My name is Hayley and I work for Ezoic, a Google Certified Publishing Partner, here in San Diego, California.

  At Ezoic, we developed a technology platform that uses artificial intelligence to optimize your site's ad placements. This approach to ads will not only increase your ad earnings by 50% or more, but also enhance user experience metrics like bounce rate, page views per visit, and time on site.

  We've helped thousands of publishers just like you to accomplish their goals of increasing revenue, enhancing user engagement, improving site speed, streamlining growth, and more! We're not a large US corporation; we're a small San Diego-based business with huge potential and steady growth that values the relationships we make with publishers first and foremost.

  Would it be alright if I sent you some more info on how Ezoic could work for organic-beauty-recipes.com? I've tried to email you a few times but could not get through to you... I’d love for you to join the Ezoic family!

  Cheers,
  Hayley

• Hi Eve!
  This recipe:

  Ingredients
  1 cup of organic 100% Aloe vera gel
  1 capsule of vitamin e or 1 ml or roughly 1/4 tsp
  5 drops of lavender essential oil or Chamomile essential oil optional

  is this sufficient for a facial cleanser? I wear makeup every day, so I was curious your thoughts on facial cleansers for makeup wearers.

  I love your recipes!

  Thank you!

  Angela