~ Winding Up With a Good Book Cover Can Be Like Getting THE INHERITANCE of Our Dreams! ~

Well Hello Again!

The last couple of times we visited, I shared with you the evolution of my Tempered series covers as well as the creation of those for The Visionary. I also provided a link to Pelican Book Group where you could see the beautiful covers they’ve created for my novel and short stories that are published through them.

As I’ve mentioned, I’ve always envisioned something different than what’s typical for a romance cover for my novels. That’s also true for The Inheritance. When first contracted for the White Rose line at The Wild Rose Press, I sent in my idea…a large Victorian style home (since the heroine inherits one in the wine country of New York.)

URL for Cover: http://bit.ly/Ro5XXB

As you can see, I was not disappointed. The Inheritance made the transition from White Rose line to White Rose Publishing to White Rose imprint of Pelican Book Group without a hitch.

But imagine my surprised delight when my editor informed me the novel is being edited for rerelease, complete with a new cover!

Having a better understanding of what makes a great romantic cover, I can tell you my heart nearly burst with excitement to see this new one Nicola Martinez created for the revised version of The Inheritance…..

Hopefully the minor edits will make the story stronger and the new cover will have more appeal to readers who weren’t impressed with the original one.

I know I am certainly thrilled with it.

The revised, rereleased version will be published next year, but if you can’t wait for it, The Inheritance is still available at Amazon for Kindle, and in Ebook & Print from Pelican Book Group.

Blurb ~

The Inheritance is about the chance we all long for…the chance to start over. Widowed at age thirty-nine and suffering from empty nest syndrome, Rebecca Sinclair is overshadowed by grief and loneliness. Her husband has been deceased for a year, her oldest child has moved to New York in pursuit of an acting career and her youngest child is attending college in France. Having spent over half of her life as a wife and mother, she has no idea what God has in store for her now. Will an unexpected inheritance in the wine country of New York bring meaning and purpose to her life and give her the courage to love again?



US Postal worker Raymond Jacobey has been in love with the little widow since he first set eyes on her. A wanderer searching for the ever-illusive soul mate, Ray has never stayed in one place too long. Raised by self-centered, high-power executives, he’s longed for the idyllic life of residing in a cozy house in a small town with the love of his life. Will he gain the heart of the lovely widow or will he lose her to the wine country of New York?

Excerpt ~

Rebecca’s heart fluttered at the charming, boyish grin he bestowed on her. She knew he’d spoken more than mere words; he’d spoken his heart. Tears filled her eyes and clogged her throat when she thought about what the future might hold. Standing on the threshold of that great unknown, she had never been more acutely aware of anything than she was of this moment, this man. 

He was looking at her intently. His thumbs caressed the back of her hands, chasing the chill from her blood. Lethargic warmth stole over her. As though in a fog she watched him lift her hands to his mouth and press his lips to her palm in a caress so tender it sent shivers down her spine.



She lowered her gaze, and he lifted her chin with his finger and waited until she looked at him again. “I want to kiss you, Becca, here in the midst of Paradise,” he whispered, his lips covering hers with devastating tenderness.



Rebecca heard his primitive grunt of satisfaction when he let go of her hands and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer. An answering purr escaped her as tiny pinpoints of pleasure bathed her senses with light and color. Never in her life had she felt so alive, so consumed with sensations.



Whether a moment or an eternity, she had no idea how long they stood there, his mouth in sweet possession of hers. All she knew was that when the kiss was over she was plastered against his hard body, her breathing was sharp almost painful and her fists were clenched in his thick, sandy-colored hair. Appalled at her wanton response and the needy way in which she clung, Rebecca flung away with a startled cry of distress, and began to run.

Author Bio ~

Award-winning author, Pamela S. Thibodeaux

is the Co-Founder and a lifetime member of Bayou Writers Group in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Multi-published in romantic fiction as well as creative non-fiction, her writing has been tagged as, “Inspirational with an Edge!” ™ and reviewed as “steamier and grittier than the typical Christian novel without decreasing the message.”



Links:

Website address: http://www.pamelathibodeaux.com

Blog: http://pamswildroseblog.blogspot.com

Face Book: http://facebook.com/pamelasthibodeaux

Twitter: http://twitter.com/psthib @psthib

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/pamelasthibodea/

~ Sometimes You Have To Call On THE VISIONARY To Get A Beautiful Book Cover ~

I welcome back author Pamela Thibodeaux who is sharing with us the evolution of her novel THE VISIONARY!




In my previous post, I showed/talked about the evolution of covers for my Tempered series and spin-off story, Lori’s Redemption. In 2010 my novel, The Visionary was contracted by Five Star Expressions. Prior to this, I’d had absolutely wonderful results in dealing with covers for my Pelican Book Group titles (you can see those HERE.)

When The Visionary was contracted, I sent my idea for a cover to the editor who, in turn, sent it to the cover department. Here’s what I described…. The eyes of a woman looking back, an old house and if possible a plantation house inset somewhere. After numerous attempts to no avail, I sent them this graphic….

As I mentioned before, I’m an author not artist but this was as close to what I envisioned that I could come up with. You have no idea how many options we went through! But the absolute worst was this… 

Now I ask you, how on earth does anyone even think this is appropriate? About the only thing I liked on this one was the old dilapidated floor and walls.

They also sent me this one…. 

... which had the same floor but the wallpaper looked too modern and pretty. The home on this property was over 100 yrs. old so that just wouldn’t work, but I loved the woman looking back over her shoulder.

So I asked them to put this woman in place of the head popping out of the floor. This is what we came up with….and The Visionary debuted November 2011 in hardcover.

When I decided to self publish the ebook and soft cover edition, I once again called upon my friend, Delia Latham (Heaven’s Touch Designs) and here’s what she came up with…

Delia managed to have the elements I wanted in cover that’s softer and more colorful.

As you can tell, getting a cover can sometimes be time consuming and frustrating, but when someone catches your vision, the end result can be stunning!



Author Bio ~

Award-winning author, Pamela S. Thibodeaux is the Co-Founder and a lifetime member of Bayou Writers Group in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Multi-published in romantic fiction as well as creative non-fiction, her writing has been tagged as, “Inspirational with an Edge!” ™ and reviewed as “steamier and grittier than the typical Christian novel without decreasing the message.” 



Links:

Website address: http://www.pamelathibodeaux.com

Blog: http://pamswildroseblog.blogspot.com

Face Book: http://facebook.com/pamelasthibodeaux

Twitter: http://twitter.com/psthib @psthib

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/pamelasthibodea/

Blurb ~

A visionary is someone who sees into the future Taylor Forrestier sees into the past but only as it pertains to her work. Hailed by her peers as “a visionary with an instinct for beauty and an eye for the unique” Taylor is undoubtedly a brilliant architect and gifted designer. But she and twin brother Trevor, share more than a successful business. The two share a childhood wrought with lies and deceit and the kind of abuse that’s disturbingly prevalent in today’s society. Can the love of God and the awesome healing power of His grace and mercy free the twins from their past and open their hearts to the good plan and the future He has for their lives?

Excerpt ~

Taylor thrashed about and fought the fear clamoring in her throat. Panic stole her breath. The monster held her while Trevor grappled with a gun. She struggled and kicked, but the monster held her fast. She had to get away. She had to stop him! She begged and pleaded, but the monster just laughed. His gnarled, horrid sound sent shivers of terror through her soul. A blast of gunshot, a flash of lightning, and the scream tore free from her throat and echoed through the room. The door burst open and strong arms encircled her. Gentle hands stroked and soothed, a soft voice caressed, tender words flowed over her. Taylor buried her face in Alex’s shoulder while he cradled her against his chest and rocked.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you,” she murmured. A pulse hammered against her skin, a tremble shimmered down her spine. She pushed herself closer, found safety and comfort in his embrace. Alex tightened his arms around her, smoothed her hair.

“It’s okay. That’s why I’m here and exactly why I didn’t want to leave you alone tonight.”

Purchase Links:

Amazon Hardcover http://amzn.to/n8as1b

Paperback: http://amzn.to/1uROE2o

Kindle http://amzn.to/1s23QYv

Print @Create Space: http://bit.ly/1lNvyWD

B&N Print: http://bit.ly/1h9Yhlw

Nook http://bit.ly/1CyPt1c

Smashwords http://bit.ly/167J9So

Deeper Shopping http://bit.ly/19lw1Kc

Cowboys? We Got Ya Covered!

From the moment I penned Tempered Hearts in a 5 subject notebook, I envisioned the cover…. entwined hearts and the title and my name in rope font. When the novel was contracted by Writer’s Exchange E-publishing Co. I asked the editor what the criteria was for cover art, told her my idea, and she said I could provide my own.

Other than the old fashioned bodice rippers or sweet covers with cardboard characters, I really had no idea what romance covers should look like. All I knew was I wanted something different and unique. So, I talked with my aunt who owns a marketing firm and she created the cover for Tempered Hearts. For Tempered Dreams, book 2 in the series, still having no clue, I thought of a dreamy sky. 

    

   

In 2004 the entire Tempered series which included these two, along with Tempered Fire & Joy (books 3 & 4) was contracted by another small press, ComStar Media.

Wanting a little more consistency with the covers, they came up with a double heart graphic that would be used with all 4 covers while tweaking each to fit the title.

Years later, and after a million suggestions to change the covers to better resemble romance novels, I self-published the entire series under my indy imprint once the contract with ComStar expired.

Then the work really began.

I am a writer, not an artist and in most instances, I have some idea of how I’d like the cover to look, but for the life of me, can’t put one together! I still loved the idea of entwined rope hearts and rope font, and wanted a color scheme that would enhance the title & photos to reflect the characters, so I called upon a dear friend and excellent cover artist, Delia Latham (Heaven’s Touch Designs).

Although I did want couples on the books, I didn’t necessarily want them embracing. These are contemporary western romances so cowboys, horses and ranches, were a big plus. Tamera, the heroine in Tempered Hearts is a veterinarian, so a sexy female character wouldn’t work. Katrina (Tempered Dreams) is a battered wife when Scott, a doctor first meets her. Tempered Fire & Tempered Joy involves high school/collage age H/H so again, typical romance covers with couples embracing wasn’t what I was looking for. Not to mention I write Inspirational!

This is what Delia came up with and how the covers look today……

When I wrote Lori’s Redemption, a short story spinoff of Tempered Fire, once again I called on Delia…and then more recently, when I put together an E-bundle containing all 4 novels + the short story…..

                      

As you can see these covers have gone through major transformation over the years. I don’t know about you, but I love the current ones!

All books available through Amazon, B&N and Smashwords

Author bio: Award-winning author, Pamela S. Thibodeaux is the Co-Founder and a lifetime member of Bayou Writers Group in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Multi-published in romantic fiction as well as creative non-fiction, her writing has been tagged as, “Inspirational with an Edge!” ™ and reviewed as “steamier and grittier than the typical Christian novel without decreasing the message.”



Links:

Website address: http://www.pamelathibodeaux.com

Blog: http://pamswildroseblog.blogspot.com

Face Book: http://facebook.com/pamelasthibodeaux

Twitter: http://twitter.com/psthib @psthib



Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/pamelasthibodea/