GUEST – Marilee Brothers

BOOK COVERS & GRAND GIRLS

When Deb Dixon emailed me the proposed book cover for Moon Spun, I thought, “Hmm, that girl looks familiar,” and immediately filed it away in a dusty part of my brain labeled, “Things to think about when I have more time.” Now you know why it’s dusty.

We recently had a visit from our daughter-in-law and two granddaughters, Madelyn and Arianna. Since Maddie and Ari make their debut as hedge row pixies in Moon Spun, they were anxious to see the cover. I led them to the computer and opened the file. My daughter-in-law exclaimed, “I don’t believe it! She looks like Madelyn!” The aforementioned thought woke up and shook off the dust. Bingo! We had our very own cover girl.

I’m sure you can guess what happened next. We simply had no choice. We had to re-create the Moon Spun cover with eight-year-old Madelyn as our model. I grabbed my digital camera which I despise. It’s teensy, weensy buttons have caused me moments of utter frustration, immediately followed by colorful cursing. I silently promised to control myself. After all, I was in the presence of children.

We chose an outdoor setting next to our flowering plum tree. Daughter-in-law, Trini, arranged Madelyn’s hair and positioned her in the correct pose. It was then we discovered it was practically impossible for the child to not smile. She’s a naturally happy little girl and comes from a long line of beautiful, photogenic Latino women with sparkling smiles, shiny dark hair and expressive brown eyes. Madelyn was born to smile. It’s in her DNA. Little sister? Not so much. She may have inherited a recessive gene from Grandma Marilee. The one that goes, “Give me three good reasons I should do what you say.”

The photo shoot was complicated by Arianna demanding we take a picture of her hanging from a tree limb and Mauli, our Labrador retriever, who kept wandering into the scene. Finally, Trini snapped, “Madelyn, close your mouth and look sad,” and we got the shot we wanted. I fumbled around trying to press the right button to review the pictures and the display went black. Trini said, “Oops, I think Grandma deleted the picture.” Well, damn! Who has fingers that tiny?

More fumbling ensued as my evil camera chuckled to itself, thwarting every effort to locate the picture I just knew had to be perfect. Muttering to myself, I persevered and finally found it lurking in a dark alley along with a dozen other photos I’d given up hope of ever recovering. Yes! Grandma didn’t delete the picture after all.

I have the book cover and the picture of Madelyn pinned up on the wall next to my computer where I can see them every day. They bring me great joy. Do you believe in magic? I do. How else can one explain the serendipity of the girl on my book cover and granddaughter looking so much alike? As for that danged camera . . . its days are numbered!

Votes Tallied in 2009 "Cover Cafe" Contest

Have you seen the choices for best and worst covers for 2009 at Cover Cafe? Riders have winners in the Best Series category!

While Helen, Michele and I can't take credit for the actual artwork, we series authors do have a little something to say about what goes into our covers when we fill out the "Art Fact Sheet." We describe characters, mood, theme, setting and suggest a couple of scenes we think might make good covers. A commercial artist does the work, but I've found the more detail you offer, the better the result.

I started sending photographs for input into cover art years ago, but I don't think I've ever sent a picture of a character. My contribution is generally to details of clothing and setting, maybe even pose. I will describe the characters the way they're described in the book. I figure the artist--like the reader--can take it from there. But photographs help enormously with other details--a certain kind of horse or hat or beadwork, a particular mountain range or terrain.

IN CARE OF SAM BEAUDRY is set in Montana. Big Sky country. We have a nephew from Montana whose nickname is Big Sky. I've lived in lots of places, and I know the colors in a Western sky take your breath away at dawn and sunset. I wanted those colors in Sam's cover, and I got them.

My next 3 covers--ONE COWBOY, ONE CHRISTMAS; COOL HAND HANK; ONCE A FATHER (see sidebar) are hero only. I like COOL HAND HANK best. A couple of clothing details are wrong for ONE COWBOY, and Logan in ONCE A FATHER is full-blood Lakota. But they're all good-looking cowboys, and that's what counts. I'm glad Silhouette uses paintings instead of photographs for cover art. Much more romantic, I think.

Last March Harlequin published one of my earlier books in a special release. I loved the original cover art for BAD MOON RISING (first published in 1991). They used the scene I asked for with the heroine dressed in a traditional Lakota dance costume. I went to the ND Historical Society, where I was permitted to look through their stored collection of 19th and early 20th century clothing, choose a gorgeous beaded dress and have my daughter photographed holding it. They wouldn't let her puti on, but it's a wonderful picture, and the artist duplicated the designs perfectly. They used the same cover art for the UK cover (left). The US edition is around here somewhere).








BAD MOON RISING was reprinted in March of this year as part of a "Men In Uniform" program. The new cover art (featuring big moon, wouldn't call it bad) fits the program, and while the landscape looks great, the guy on the cover doesn't look like Trey Latimer.

Let's talk covers. Check out Cover Cafe and let us know what you think makes a good cover.

Writers, what do you ask your publisher for when you consult on covers? What do you send in to help with the cover process? Do you have a favorite? A cover that worked really well commercially? Have you had any particular disappointments?

Debra - “Covering” All the Bases

As readers and authors, what do you think about giving a book a fresh coat of paint? Do you like to see new covers come out on books? Do you wish we’d just leave the darned things alone? Is there a time limit? Like, no new covers for 3 years at least? Do you like all the books in a mystery series to have covers that relate? Do you care?

Because of the recent Amazon Kindle promotion, we’ve blown through print units of CROSSROADS CAFE by Deborah Smith like there’s no tomorrow. That meant yet another reprint. ::sigh:: <g> Because Deborah is also an author (in addition to being Editorial Director for BelleBooks/Bell Bridge), she did what every author does. She came whining around the art department door and hinted that such a lovely book really needed to be shown some love. She really thought it would be nice if we took the opportunity to give her a better cover.

“What? Royalties are due?” she said. “Please. Those old things don’t have to go in the mail until the end of the month. Pffftt! But if we’re going to reward Crossroads for all its hard work, we have to do that NOW! Right now. Really. You know how long offset runs take. Please. Come on. You know you want to. It’ll be pretty and you can buy shiny new things.”

I was very strong until she flashed “shiny new things” at me.

So, above you see the new cover and to the right is the old cover for comparison. The new cover is one I designed.

I like the new coat of paint. (Such hubris, I know.)

Anne Bishop’s Jewels series got an overhaul a while back and I just love the new covers. And, I admit. I did go buy the new covers. See? Isn’t this style gorgeous? And if you don’t read Anne Bishop, you need to run to the store or the computer. Seriously. Yes, it’s true fantasy, but romance readers will love them. Anne knows her way around an alpha male. Great, great series. And I’ve just shown you the book to buy to get started!

Have you ever loved a book so much you bought it in every edition? Or when you replace an old book you’ve just “worn the heck out,” are you sad that the new one has a different cover?

Debra Dixon - Big prizes ! But you have to vote.

Yep. I'm using you as a focus group today. We're working on the cover for our first YA contemporary fantasy novel coming out from Bell Bridge Books (08/08), and we have not one, but two covers we like.

What to do? Which to use? I have a favorite and I'm hoping you folks will support my cover.

Marilee Brothers, author of Moonstone, has a fabulous YA voice. Wry, compelling, heart-warming and just plain fun. Allie Emerson is living in a twenty-four foot trailer with a mother who has decided to Retire From Life. Not exactly the sort of environment you'd think would produce a girl destined to save the world. Allie's barely managing to survive high school. She hasn't got time to believe in prophecies and evil. Until evil makes it personal.

(Please do not blame our marketing department for this blurb. They'll do a much better job when the time comes for the real blurb. And now you know why I don't write the blurbs. I leave that to others except in blogging emergencies.)

Which cover floats your boat? Which one do you reach for?

Regardless of how you vote one "reader" and one "writer" will get some goodies.

Our writer will be offered a 25 page critique from me. Seems oxymoronic to consider the "picking apart of a manuscript" as a prize, but we writers are an odd determined lot. And nope. You don't have to have a synopsis. I don't care what genre.

Our reader will receive any four (4) titles from either the BelleBooks or Bell Bridge Books catalogues. (http://www.bellebooks.com/) The Bell Bridge site is still building but the offer of 4 books is good through the fall as the rest of the Bell Bridge Books hit their pub dates. The Southern titles from Bell Bridge will be cross-listed for sale at both BB and BBB websites.

We have some great Southern fiction lined up for July and the fall:

Booth's Sister is a beautifully written novel of Asia Booth, who endured the wrath of a nation when her brother killed Lincoln. Jane Singer, noted Civil War scholar, has masterfully imagined the family dynamic and intimate dilemmas that led to one of America's most fateful crimes and left a sister's life in shambles. (Did I mention beautifully written?)

Egret Cove by travel writer Margaret Nava is a fun romp with a mature woman as she makes a new life in Florida just when she thought life was through handing out exciting surprises.

We also have Jacquelyn Cook coming out this fall with The Gates of Trevelyan, another of her richly detailed Southern historicals.

Fear not. Eventually, we will get the next MOSSY CREEK novel out the door. I've been a little busy, and the editor insists I have to finish a story for the book. And the corporation insists that I negotiate the foreign, domestic and audio distribution contracts and all that other boring business stuff.
(Yes, our titles will be coming out in audio as well.)

And as a final plug we have a dark, scrumptious, "Anne Rice meets Laurell K. Hamilton" epic vampire series that will launch in September. Rich. Textured. Epic. We first meet the clan centuries ago. We posted on every blog in the world that Bell Bridge wanted contemporary urban fantasy, but when this came in the door, we all decided there was room for a voice and a story this big. A great lush read. With more to come.

There you have it! Lots of yummy goodness for readers who aren't afraid to step up and vote for their favorite Moonstone cover. Tell me why you like it. And let me know what you think about any of the upcoming titles. TELL ME IF YOU'RE AFTER the WRITER prize OR READER prize.

Hotties - courtesy of Cindy :o)

Today’s giveaway: Hot off the presses, an ARC (advanced reader copy), of SHOW NO MERCY, the first book in my upcoming Black Ops, Inc series, AND – YOUR NAME as a secondary character in book 3 of the series, WHISPER NO LIES, which will be released in January, 2009.

Okay – now to business. Sort of. Some would say I’m beyond the stage in my life where Hotties should get me hot. To that I say: Bull pucky. I’m mature (notice I didn’t say old) but I’m not dead. And let me tell you, when I got the cover art for SHOW NO MERCY, TAKE NO PRISONERS, and WHISPER NO LIES, I was in Hottie Heaven.

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to let me know which of these three bad boys you think is the hunkiest of the hunk, the buffest of the buff, the baddest of the bad, the … well, you get the picture. And if you don’t want to judge, then just enjoy the cover boys :o) and indulge me (thank you) in a little blatant self-promotion. Hey. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

Meet my boys: Gabe Jones (Show No Mercy), Sam Lang (Take No Prisoners), and Johnny Reed (Whisper No Lies.

While you’re pondering the boys, even though we’ve had a similar discussion before, what, with all the books there are to chose from, makes you decide to buy a certain book. Is it the cover? Is it the back cover blurb? Is it the author? Is it a cover quote from a favorite author? How about that infamous first line, first paragraph, first page? Do you select based on RT reviews? On Amazon.com reviews? Do you brows other on line book review sites to see what others are saying? Does an author's web page help you decide to buy his/her book? What about e-news letters? Love ‘em? Hate ‘em? Delete ‘em?

Whew. Lots of questions. Help me out here, okay? I need lots of answers – and don’t forget, there's a prize!!