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

In the lipstick recipe what does the percentage mean? Rice wax 10%
Carnauba wax 10%? Etc

Thank you for this recipe! I found it about two years ago and love it. For over ten years my ash blond hair has been turning gray and only this recipe saves me- as I look awful in red/brown/ black henna dyes. ( My scalp is allergic to commercial hair dyes.)

If the Henna Guys could connect their web page with your recipe, you will save many ash blond women. (it took me ten years to stumble upon your recipe. ). I am emailing them to see if they could reach out to you. It would be a win win… more exposure for your book and website and more sales for them. ( I am not getting paid for this ;)… just want to help more wanna-be-blonds ;P.he he )
Thank you so much!

What color was your hair originally? My hair was dark blonde to light brown naturally. My uncle called it honey blonde. Also, I’ve heard that people use this product with foil just on the white. My white hair is mostly in the front and at the crown. With fine hair I’m tired of damaging my hair, especially the white hair, which is more fragile as well. My highlights have all grown out of my shoulder length hair and I don’t think I have anymore colored hair at this point. I have been trying glazes and they just don’t hold in the white hair and even the lightest blonde I can find is darker than I want. I’m searching for baby blonde like when I was a child. I have used a chelating treatment on my hair and my hairdresser told me to stop using glaze which I did.
She was going to do some highlights so I could go “grayge” but I just don’t want to damage my hair again when I have it healthy. TIA,

Tracy

I use almond oil in place of Safflower oil and it is fine.