Wednesday, October 15, 2008

The joy of covers

Nothing makes a book feel real to me like a good cover. Well, feeling it in print in your hands is the ultimate, but when it comes to ebooks, the cover is the inch-thick frosting on top of the cake. (Yes, around here, if I make a cake, I'm making the frosting as thick as possible.)
These two recent covers have stories behind that make them very near and dear to my heart. Not only are they for the 'first' book in that particular genre for me, but they have direct ties to my family. DEAD BY DAWN, for example, is my first release in the horror genre and has my gorgeous (but horribly mouthy) thirteen old-year daughter, Kat gracing it's cover. (Thank you to Renee for letting me use her!!)

For me the cover really does depict the stories. These two tales are spooky, atmospheric, like the ones you here gathered around a campfire, or legends passed down. They are about young, tragic heroines, hence Kat in her chemise, and the trees behind her represent the wild untamed beauty of Michigan, where the two stories take place. The title?? Well... Sunrise doesn't always promise salvation.

The second cover is for my first straight contemporary romance (with HEAVY western underpinings). No paranormal and no fantasy in this one, folks. (Don't gasp) The only magick is in the growth of the characters, and in new love depsite all odds. But there is a magickal bit on the cover now, that will forever elicit a happy smile from me.


The bottom half, the peaceful winter scene is a great representation of where Slade finds Kally suffering from injuries in car crash and hypothermia. BUT, the uniquely special part is that my hubby actually took that picture last fall, the week I started writing the book! How cool is that?? The photo my husband took, to bring some of the beauty of the West, is now gracing the cover of my contemporary (western) romance! And, in October, to be immortalized in print!
So, yeah, these covers are forever among my favorites, because they are little bits of my family shared with the world. :)
Love you, Kat! Love you, Kevin!

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