Aaron's Quest at Wonderland Books!

That's right, Aaron's Quest is available for purchase at Wonderland Books and Toys, Rockford's only independent bookstore. It's located in Edgebrook

Market on North Alpine Road, Rockford, Illinois. I love it, personally, and not just because they're carrying Aaron's Quest. It's a small little shop with ivy covering the front exterior, and inside it's filled with books for kids from tots to teens.

The recent explosion of Speculative Fiction into the mainstream story world is quite exciting to me. Walking through Wonderland Books and Toys, I found a shelf where my book, The Land Between Time, would fit in perfectly. Between the books about paranormal romance and post-apocalyptic depravity, the shelf practically called out for good wholesome stories like what I and many of my friends write. (Apologies to those who like post-apocalyptic; I do, as well, but I haven't run across many that appear to be well done.)

Looking at all those books, I have realized something. The old saying about not judging a book by it's cover; well, it doesn't seem to be completely true. There were so many amazing, eye catching, and intriguing covers for the books in that store. People do judge books by their covers, and often rightly, When it comes to cover art, the goal is to accurately convey the message and feel of that specific story to a buyer in one glance. That saying that pictures are worth a thousand word, that one is accurate. I can often tell whether or not I will appreciate the style of story being told simply by looking over the cover, or at the very least I'll get a general idea as to what the chances are of me liking it. It's very fascinating. Where 'not judging a book by it's cover' becomes more applicable is when one remembers that you cannot get the entire story simply by studying the cover.

Anyway, if you're in Rockford and love books, I recommend checking out Wonderland. I take Rosie there with me now and then, and I can barely manage to drag her out again!