Confessions of a Cover Queen: Tapping into Your Creativity to Create a Memorable Cover

with guest Belle Calhoune.

I must confess something.  I am an unapologetic cover snob.  Please don’t judge me.  I really can’t help myself.  It all started when I was six-years-old and I came across a book cover that absolutely mesmerized me. 

 It was a book called “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak.  The wildly imaginative cover drew me in, which led me to read the book.  Not once.  Not twice.  But dozens of times until it became not only a keeper, but one of my favorite books of all time.   

As an avid reader, I find myself gravitating toward vivid, compelling covers.  After all, it’s the first thing we notice about a book, and almost one hundred percent of the time, the book blurb comes afterward.  So as readers we really are first attracted to a book by its cover.  And forgive me for being blunt, but a terrible cover isn’t going to attract many buyers.  As an author, one of the most important steps in the book publication process is the cover art.  A cover really can make or break a book launch.  There is no escaping the reality that a stellar cover helps sell books.

As a hybrid author I write for Harlequin Love Inspired (a traditional book publisher), as well as Indie/Self- publishing.  The process involved in both of these endeavors is very different.  With Love Inspired, I am very fortunate to have input in the cover process.  Love Inspired authors fill out AFS forms (Art Fact Sheets) which is our opportunity to have input in the covers of our story.  We are able to convey to the art department what our hero and heroine look like, the setting of our book, time of year, weather and any unique details we might wish to include. 

It’s always very exciting to receive an email alerting us to the final cover reveal.  My current release from Harlequin Love Inspired is “A Match Made in Alaska.”  Last December I was out Christmas shopping at the mall with my daughters when I happened to see a message on my phone from Love Inspired.  When I clicked on the attachment I found myself getting teary-eyed the moment the picture came into focus.  My cover was spectacular.  And although I have been in love with many covers before, this one was different.  The artist had tapped in to the very world I created in Love, Alaska.  It felt as if the artist had read the book and based the cover off those details.  In reality, my input led the artist in the right direction. 

Although the credit goes to the artist for creating such a masterpiece, those details I provided on the AFS sheets were invaluable.   

Although doing the AFS sheets can be tedious, I would advise every author to take their time and go through the sheets in meticulous fashion.  Rushing through the forms can lead to a cover that you’re not really crazy about. There’s no better feeling in the world than seeing a fantastic cover that you actually were a part of creating.  For this particular series (Alaskan Grooms series) I wanted to tap in to the romanticism of brides and grooms, as well as the remote aspects of Alaska.  

I promise you, I’m not the only writer who feels that covers are extremely important.  Piper Huguley, an award winning author of Christian romance says, “It’s well worth the time and effort to obtain a good cover.  I suspect that readers might not have been willing to try my stories if it had not been for the covers on book one in both of my series.  Both covers have won Best Cover at the Emma awards two years in a row.”  Piper makes an excellent point.  Discoverability.  Exposure.  Award winners!  An outstanding cover allows a book to shine.  And it attracts readers like moths to a flame.  

Speaking of cover contests, I had a great experience this year with the Judge a Book By Its Cover Contest sponsored by the Houston Bay Area RWA.  My cover for “An Alaskan Wedding” (created by Robert Papp) received second place in the Inspirational Category.  This is a great contest and I know that the Chapter is hoping to widen the pool of entries.  So enter your book covers in this cool contest and spread the word about it.   

Tips for creating an appealing Indie cover:

1. Study the market.  Make sure you look around at what covers-books are selling.  And be familiar with the top-selling books and their covers.  If I’ve seen it once I’ve seen it a hundred times (or something like that).  Numerous authors launch the Indie books at the same time with an identical cover.    Don’t pick the most obvious couple for your book.  Look for something a little different or with unique details.  Add a landscape or special fonts or pops of color.  

2. Branding.  Establish a brand via your covers that readers will know is uniquely associated with your books.  And try to stick to it.  That doesn’t mean you can’t get creative and experiment a little, but never stray too far away from your own brand so that your readers need a road map to find you.

3. Don’t chase trends so much that your cover is blah.  Find yourself in your own cover creations.  Brainstorm and use visualization to bring your story to life.  Tap into the most important elements of your story and then capture them on the cover of your book.  

4. Find a great cover artist! Unless you’re extremely talented and can do it yourself a great cover artist can really help you nail the cover of your dreams.  I always have a great vision for my covers but I do not possess the skills to do it by myself.  I am a firm believer in doing the thing I do best, which is write.  I work with my cover artist to fine tune the details, but I leave everything else in her capable hands.

5. If you’re doing a series, find something to tie the covers together visually.  Add some little detail that connects the books together so that if you line them up they all appear as if they’re from the same tribe.  

6. Don’t be afraid to tool around with a cover until it fits your version of perfect.  A good cover artist will work with you to ensure that you are one hundred percent satisfied with the end result.

7. Sometimes you have to spend a little money to be successful in the cover game.  A cheap cover may save you a few dollars, but in the end, you’re not doing yourself any favors by putting out a blah cover.  I’m not saying break the bank, but spending a decent amount will pay off in the long run.

8. Sweet rules the day when writing for the Inspirational market.  That means no heroine with cleavage for days or a hero with too tight jeans or a shirt unbuttoned down to his belly button.  Romantic, but never raunchy.

Best-Selling Christian romance author Leah Atwood says, "A good cover should tell a story in line with the book. A poor cover or one with a misaligned story to the books theme will distract the reader and do an injustice to the book.”  

Leah’s latest cover for “Calling Love” showcases beautiful wedding bands that lets the reader know this book might be about the bonds of holy matrimony.  The vivid pop of color really catches the eye and nicely complements the font.   

As a romance author I love romantic covers.  I want a cover to make me feel something.  I want to know more about the people gracing the cover of the book.  Were they high school sweethearts who were just reunited?  Or a divorced couple yearning for a second chance?  Or perhaps the heroine has a secret baby by the amnesiac hero who just inherited a ranch in Wyoming that used to belong to the heroine’s father?  An Inspirational romance cover should convey love, romance, hope and the belief that the couple featured in the novel will be able to surmount all obstacles to be together.  That’s no small feat, but if you tap into your creative abilities, it lies just within reach.  

The cover for “If Only in My Dreams” (Book 5 in my Seven Brides, Seven Brothers series) is one of my absolute favorites.  It conveys all the hopes and dreams and romanticism of my couple—Rose and Brandon.  Every time I look at it I grin like crazy because it brings to mind all of the reasons why I write romance.  And why I always will.   

What kind of covers make you smile?  Or compel you to take out your wallet and buy the book?  Does a favorite cover come to mind?

Belle Calhoune was born and raised in Massachusetts, one of five children. The daughter of a Physician and a Biologist, Belle found herself entranced by the literary world. Growing up across the street from a public library fed her hunger for books, particularly romance novels and mysteries. After graduating from Syracuse University, Belle worked as a Federal Investigator in Boston. After the birth of her youngest child, she and her college sweetheart husband moved to Connecticut, where they now reside with their two daughters, a lovable chocolate lab and a very spoiled poodle. Being an author is her dream job.


Belle is generously giving away five print copies of A Match Made in Alaska. Leave a comment and your name will be entered in the drawing. Winners announced in the Weekend Edition.

A Match Made in Alaska

A Small-Town Rescue

Librarian Annie Murray hoped participating in Love, Alaska's "Operation Love" would lead to finding a rugged bachelor to call her own.  But as her flight crash lands before reaching her destination, she finds herself alone with her pilot, Declan O'Rourke.Annie's met charmers like Declan before--now she wants a man of substance.  Forced to survive with him in the snowy wilderness, Annie discovers Declan's depth--and he begins to see the shy librarian's heart of gold.  But once back in town, outside sources threaten their bond. It'll take all the bravery they had in the wild for Annie and Declan to find love in small-town Alaska.

The Art of Photography

Sandra here with a table of hot coffee, (Chocolate Velvet of course), hot chocolate and Teavana Teas.  Help yourself to a cup and let’s talk about the art of photography.

Now that indie publishing is becoming so popular and easy to do, we as writers are always on the lookout for lovely photos to put on the covers of our books, on our web pages and in our blogs.

Saguaro National Park by Linda Needham

Not only do we need lovely photos, but we are always on the look out for graphic artist to put those lovely photos into a format for covers.

By Linda Needham

As most of you know, I’m wintering in an RV resort in Tucson and while here, met a lovely artist. Linda Needham is a photographer and is gifted with a talent for capturing nature’s beauty.

By Linda Needham

Linda has some spectacular photography, some of which I will share with you today and others can be seen on her webpage.

Blue and black swallowtail By Linda Needham

I hired Linda last year to take photos for my webpage and personal photos for my bio pages and profile pictures for social media.   You might remember the blog I posted where I asked you to help me choose which photos to use.

Arizona Sunrise By Linda Needham

Here is what her bio says on her webpage.

Linda Needham is a freelance photographer living in Tucson, Arizona. Her career began in 2001 when she lived and worked at Glacier National Park. This experience awakened her dream of becoming a nature and wildlife photographer, making it a reality. Linda has traveled the country, exploring new vistas and capturing the beauty of America. In 2007, she worked with Arizona Highways Photographer Henry Holdsworth at his photo workshop “Yellowstone In Winter” and it changed her life.

By Linda Needham

Linda continues to refine her craft as she dives deeper into her artistry while discovering new paths for her creativity. The transformative nature of her work truly sets her apart from others in her field.

By Linda Needham

Linda has photographed majestic wolves returning from a hunt, hummingbirds in flight and at play, night-blooming flowers, scenic panoramas, the quiet beauty of everyday living and gorgeous desert sunsets.  Her extensive portfolio is available here on her website.

By Linda Needham

Don’t you love to read about other artists?  Do you notice a similarity between her art of photography and ours of writing?
• She continues to refine her craft.
• She brings to her viewers images of wildlife, nature and breathtaking settings.
• She portrays everyday life.

Don’t we do the same thing with our words?  Art is art. I love it.


As an indie author, I have used photography from other sources as well. There are many reputable sources such as Bigstock, Shutterstock, and others. Be sure when you use any photos, you either have permission to use them and/or have purchased them for use.

Many photos can be used on a webpage or blog post if given credit. For example Linda gave me permission to use these photos in our blog. But if I wanted to use one on a book cover or for an item that is for sale, I would need to purchase the rights to use it.  Linda does sell the rights for use of her photos and you can find that on her webpage called lindasgardensanctuary.com

Migrating Cranes By Linda Needham

I have also purchased some of her lovely photos to hang on my wall in the motorhome. She does a fantastic job of framing them and sold them at the craft fair in the resort. They are really beautiful desert scenes that remind me of home when I’m traveling. smile

Most publishers, including Amazon, want assurances that you have the rights to the photos they are going to publish in your name.  So be sure and do your homework and obtain the rights to use the photos in whatever venue you choose.

If you have graphic art skills, you can use the photos to create your own cover. Yankee Belle chef Mary Jane Hathaway makes her own covers. She told us how she learned photoshop in her Yankee Belle post last Saturday.

Mary Jane's fifth book in the Cane River Romance series is up for preorder and at a special .99 until release day!  Book One is FREE.

I do not, so I hire a graphic artist to do that for me. (I am not jealous. I am not jealous. I am not jealous)

However, in the past, I’ve been fortunate to hire wonderful graphic artists.

Lena Goldfinch designed the covers for Love’s Miracles, Love’s Refuge and Love’s Promises. Lena doesn’t do graphic art any more because she is writing her own novels. I really loved her work.

I met Debra Lewis of Arenapublishing at the Society for Southwestern Authors meeting and she designed Love’s Dream Song. Because I thought it was so well done, I entered this in the cover art contest Judge A Book By Its Cover of the Houston Bay Area RWA chapter. It didn’t place. Sigh.  But it’s a winner in my eyes. smile

Speaking of that contest, Kim Killion designed the cover art for the Seeker anthologies and two of her covers won in that contest. Here is the link of the winners. JABBIC   Just be warned that covers for all genres are showing in the winner announcement. Kim’s covers are in the short contemporary category.

Here are some of the covers Kim Killion designed for us.

If any of you have sources for photography and/or cover graphic artists, please share their links with us. It is always wise to have a list on hand in case you need photographs or covers.

Thanks for joining us today. All who comment will be eligible for a drawing for a beautiful set of note cards printed by Linda Needham with her photography of birds.  Winner will also be able to choose an autographed copy of one of my novels.

Sandra Leesmith writes sweet romances to warm the heart. Sandra loves to play pickleball, hike, read, bicycle and write. She is based in Arizona, but she and her husband travel throughout the United States in their motorhome and enjoy the outdoors. You can find Sandra's books here on Amazon. Three of Sandra's most popular books are also audio books at Audible. You can read more of Sandra's posts here.






Sandra will be signing books at the famous Tucson Festival of Books held on the University of Arizona campus, March 12-13th. If you are in the area, be sure and stop by.

Don't forget that next month is SPEEDBO.  Be sure and sign up and get that next book written. Find details here.

Book Cover Design Principles with Guest Hallee Bridgeman

One of the most interesting things I have been involved with is the creation of book covers for my novels for both eBook editions and print editions. Many indie authors and small press authors choose to create their own book covers, particularly if they only intend to market their books electronically and not in print. I decided early on that I wanted my books printed and available in libraries, church libraries, and distant places abroad where service members or missionaries might not have ready access to an e-reader. I am very grateful to have been led to that decision

So far, I have been blessed to be able to work exclusively with book cover artist extraordinaire, Debi Warford of Debi Warford Design. I have learned a lot along the way. Each series of books must have elements of a unifying theme and the general layout should draw the reader into a visual “blurb” of the story.

To create this, book cover artists rely upon branding, unifying thematic elements, the “Z” principle, the Thumbnail principle, and the author’s vision for the story.

Branding

For an author, the book is the brand. I made some conscious decisions about fonts and placements consistent with branding all my book covers. The branding principle is one that is best explained visually.

When readers see an original Nicholas Sparks book cover (not the movie poster that follows), readers can expect that there are usually no human beings on the cover, usually there is some elemental scene involving sunlight, moonlight, sand, or water, and most significantly, that in a rectangular box about 2/3 of the way up the cover with about a 1 inch margin left-right-and-top they will find the very large author’s name in a very specific serif font above a flourish followed by that book’s two to three word title.
 

Once these novels are made into major motion pictures, the book covers transform into a couple staring soulfully into each others’ eyes. These actors sign away all rights to their appearance (photographed image) so now we can get away with legally putting people on the cover and there is that all important film tie-in. But the author name is still nearly always depicted in that particular serif font (on the paperbacks, anyway).

Here are some other obvious branding done by authors:

 Coble’s covers are nearly textbook examples of good design from elemental scenes to the Z principle (more on that later) extending even to her titles.



 

So, I made some conscious decisions about my covers. When readers see that slightly taller than usual “Hallee Bridgeman” name at the bottom and the florencsans tagline where the lowercase letter “T” looks like a cross, and the “Precious” script font somewhere in the title, with the careful placement of all of these elements in a consistent manner, my aim is to
 Sparks spark a mental brand name recognition that this is a “Bridgeman” Book.

Unifying thematic elements
 
Think of Sue Grafton with her A is for B is for and so on novels. Nora Roberts with her (fill in the blank) Death books (Naked in Death, Calculated in Death, etc.) penned under her J.D. Robb pseudonym. The “Prey” novels. The bottom line is, for the books in a series, there is typically a unifying theme that extends throughout the entire storyline. Important unifying thematic elements should somehow be depicted graphically on the cover.

In The Jewel Series, I wanted each cover to contain specific unifying thematic elements. I wanted each jewel depicted in the upper third of the cover like a dream cloud. I wanted some famous scene or cityscape of Boston in the background since that is the primary setting for the story. I wanted each male protagonist depicted in typical black and white silhouette with each of my heroine’s silhouette colored to mimic the “jewel” for which she was named.
These are all unifying thematic elements for that series.

 The “Z” Principle

People who read in English read from left to right then swoop down left and read left to right again in a visual path that resembles a big letter “Z.”

  Well executed book printed covers follow this principle as well.

 

 The THUMBNAIL View

With so many book covers compressed to thumbnail size in online and printed catalogs, a good book cover will “size” well and typically is going to have a 1:6 ratio being 1 wide and 6 tall. Too many fine elements will get lost. Low resolution imagery will always pixelate losing visual appeal. An image that is too light (white book cover) will get lost on a white page.
The book cover should not only look great for print, it should also “size down” to a thumbnail and still look fantastic with all major branded elements, unifying thematic elements, Z principle intact, and stand out against a white page.

  An example:

By the time I got around to A Melody for James, we were an old pros at drafting what I envisioned and executing that vision. You are about to have insight into the development of that book cover. This was the original draft created in power point.

 Starting a new series, I decided to keep a lot of the same branding elements while changing the style of the series:

 
You can see what elements stayed the same as The Jewel Series.
This is a good example of the look and feel for all of my future works of fiction.

Alternate Brands

In addition to writing fiction, I have a pretty wide following as Hallee the Homemaker. My cookbooks are more closely associated with that following so they follow a slightly different design principle.

Since the cookbooks are always a parody of some popular cultural phenomenon, I have some latitude when it comes to license and copyright. Parody has a different status under the law which is a good thing in a country that allegedly admires freedom of expression.
I decided that the title and a catchy zinger of a tagline will always appear as the top of the “Z” and my name and “other brand” (Hallee the Homemaker) will always make up the foot of the “Z.” The look and feel of the title will be consistent with whatever pop cultural phenomenon happens to be the subject of the parody but the remainder will more closely reflect my personal tastes.
You can see the brand marks, unifying thematic elements, and other design principles depicted here:

What kind of covers do you find lure you in?  Do you recognize any of these elements in the covers you like?  How do you design your cover?  What kind of cover do you just avoid at all costs?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on book covers!  One commenter will receive the Jewel Anthology, which is a collection of all four Jewel Series books in e-book format.  Another commenter will receive A Melody for James, Book 1 of the Song of Suspense Series, my most recent release, in paperback.


In Christ,
Hallee
————
About my brilliant cover artist:

Debi Warford graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Graphic Design and a Bachelors of Business Administration in Marketing. Debi is quite adept with employing the most modern technology to the most fundamental artisan methods to create her visual messages. In addition to publishing industry specific designs, Debi also works with commercial arts, graphics, and signage work. She is also a disciplined calligrapher and her illuminated Scripture manuscripts hang in many homes. Her hobbies include designing jewelry and firing timeless pottery.

You can view her portfolio of book design and other graphic design work at http://www.debiwarford.com/. Browse even more book covers designed by Debi at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=debi+warford.

You can contact Debi on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/DebiWarfordDesign or Twitter @debiwarford.


Hallee Bridgeman lives with her husband and their three children in small town Kentucky. When she's not writing Christian romance novels, she blogs about all things cooking and homemaking at Hallee the Homemaker (http://www.halleethehomemaker.com).

Hallee started writing when her oldest child and only daughter was a baby, but a busy professional career and being the wife of a deployed soldier had her shelve her books for another time. Two more children, a cross country move, and God's perfect timing brought the books off of the shelf to be dusted off and presented to you now.

Hallee loves coffee, campy action movies, and regular date nights with her husband. Above all else, she loves God with all of her heart, soul, mind, and strength; has been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ; and relies on the presence of the Holy Spirit. She prays her books are a blessing to you and would love to hear back from you. You can reach Hallee at hallee@bridgemanfamily.com




Remember..leave a comment today as Hallee is giving away two great book gifts. One commenter will receive the Jewel Anthology, which is a collection of all four Jewel Series books in e-book format.  Another commenter will receive A Melody for James, Book 1 of the Song of Suspense Series, her most recent release, in paperback.

One commenter will receive the Jewel Anthology, which is a collection of all four Jewel Series books in e-book format.  Another commenter will receive A Melody for James, Book 1 of the Song of Suspense Series, her most recent release, in paperback. - See more at: http://www.seekerville.blogspot.com/#sthash.7NNGvPPO.dpuf

Winners announced in the Weekend Edition.

The Exciting Process of Developing a Book Cover

Hello, Sandra here with some information I found really interesting and fun. How many of you have developed a book cover?  It is a different process today than it was when I first started writing in the eighties. In those days the publisher's had artists that they contracted to paint a cover and then they used the painting.  Today most publishers use graphic art. 

Book covers are one of the most important elements of your book.  It is what the person sees first and it must be so appealing that it makes the reader want to open that book. Therefore it is critical to have a 
professional and appealing cover.  

I needed a cover for Love's Miracles and I wanted one that appealed and looked professional.  So I hired a book designer who specializes in cover design.  It is my pleasure to introduce LENA GOLDFINCH of STONE LILY Publishing and Design Services.  She was kind enough to answer questions about the process of developing a book cover and she will be available today to answer any questions you might have.  

Lena also helped me put Love's Miracles in the print version on Createspace so if you have any questions about that process, feel free to ask away.  

Welcome Lena.


1.  How do you come up with an idea for the cover?  Do you read the whole book? Or do you ask for suggestions from the author/editor?

I read the description of the book first. I typically don't have time to read every book I design for -- I wish I did! :) -- so the book blurb is especially important, as well as any descriptions of the characters & story from the author/editor. Sometimes, other images that tie in to a theme in the book will emerge, like the daisy in Love's Miracles. The daisy I used for the ebook cover was also incorporated on the back cover and spine of the print edition.

Often the setting plays an important part in the design process as a landscape backdrop for the design.

background for Love's Miracles

Not always though. For example, my novel SONGSTONE is set in a fictionalized Pacific-island world, but the cover I designed has a tight closeup of the heroine.

2. Do you sketch out a design first and then look for the elements? 

I usually scout for images first. Sometimes the author/editor will come to me with sample images and that's always a big help. Samples of covers they like in their genre are also helpful as a jumping off point as I can get a feel for their vision for the book. Looking for images on stock photo sites is a lot like cutting pictures for magazins for a collage! I just start pinning or favoriting images and adding them to my Lightbox (a personal folder of images on a stock photo site). This is kind of a visual brainstorming session. I'm looking for key things: characters, setting, tone, colors,...

In the case of Love's Miracles, your editor presented me with several character images and these two seemed perfect. It wasn't until the actual design phase when I was trying different shots of them in Photoshop that I was drawn to this particular pose. Once I decided on it the rest of the design followed.

For Amber Stokes Bleeding Heart, we searched a long time for just the right model, with just the right expression/tone, and all the other elements. Once we did, it was like we both heard a little "ding-ding-ding!" :)

3. If you can't find a photo that entails all the elements you want, how do you proceed?  

Many times a background photo of the setting isn't quite perfect. For instance, in the search for images for Love's Miracles, I found this image of a remote cabin that I loved. The setting was also California, so I thought, "perfect!" but there were things about it that weren't perfect to the story. The original background for my comp cover (a quick low-resolution, just-to-show-the-composition design) had a shot of the mountains in the backgrounds. The remoteness of the setting was perfect but the mountains weren't. As you let me know, Sandra, the story is set near Fort Bragg, on the coast, and redwoods and a meadow play important parts in the story. Yet you thought the "lonely cabin" I'd found was nice. So I went on another image search and, using a little Photoshop magic, mixed in some other image elements to make the setting a little more like the story.

Trees were added next to the cabin

 For the cover of Bleeding Heart, the model in the photo we found was holding a bouquet of carnations. As part of the design process, we purchased a stock photo of bleeding hearts, and I added in a couple of springs of that to tie in with the title.

Bleeding hearts added to Amber's cover

4. What program or software do you use to make up your cover designs?

I use Adobe Photoshop. It's amazing!

5. Can you give us a little about your background?  

I majored in Math & Computer Science and was a software engineer for about 10 years. Which explains my love for all things gadget-oriented, including computer intensive tasks like photo-manipulation & interior book formatting. I've always been interested in art though and considered it as a major when I was a teen. Now as an adult, with teens of my own (how did that happen btw?? LOL), I've been able to return to my early passion for art and design. (It's never to late to follow your dreams!) I've been trained in cover design by working one-on-one with a fabulous mentor, Lisa Amowitz, a professional cover designer and graphic design college professor.

You can see her covers on Pinterest. Click here for romance book covers and here for young adult book covers.

LENA GOLDFINCH is a freelance book designer who specializes in books for young adults, fantasy, and sweet romance. Lena is also a Kindle-Bestselling author of young adult fantasy with a healthy dose of "sigh-worthy" romance. She lives in a scenic small town in Massachusetts with her husband, two kids, and a very spoiled Black Lab. In her creative heart, she travels far and wide to all sorts of exciting places, past and present -- which is a perk of making things up for a living! Her new release, SONGSTONE, comes out July 22, 2013.

And here is some exciting news. Lena is giving us a sneak preview of her cover for the print edition of SONGSTONE.  Fresh off the press.  Isn't it wonderful?

If you have a question for Lena, ask away and be put in for a drawing for a copy of your choice of one of my books. Another lucky winner will have their choice of one of Lena's ebooks.  Aire,  The Language of Souls or Songstone (when it comes out in July)

Lena brought along chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with walnuts --still hot out of the oven.   Walnuts are optional in case you're allergic.    Yum, thank you Lena.  

Hooray,  This arrived today.  The proof of the print version of Love's Miracles.  So exciting.