Covers: A picture is worth 1000 words

I have to tell you, I have been THRILLED about the process of working with Heartsong Presents on the cover for Canteen Dreams. Often as a writer, you will hear horror stories of authors who hated their covers, but there was nothing they could do about it. One agent told me that was a place this particular person could be helpful. And I'm sure this agent was right. It can help to have someone run interference.

But Heartsong has been wonderful!

My editor JoAnne sent me the first cover several weeks ago. I liked the picture and LOVED the backcover copy. But the image was missing something. It had a rancher looking guy and a train. The kind of image that could be from anytime after oh about 1870.

My books set during the opening days of World War Two. Pearl Harbor is the inciting incident in some ways.

I didn't want someone to pick up the book based on the cover and think they were getting a typical western. That's so NOT what I write. But the moment you read the backcover copy, you knew exactly what kind of story it was.

So I emailed my editor with everything that I loved, and an idea about how to match the cover with the time period. I'm not overly creative when it comes to visual things, so wouldn't have been surprised with whatever they came back with. My editor very graciously agreed that it needed something to hint at the time period.

Yesterday morning I got THREE options. Not one, not two, but three! I am thrilled. There are elements I love about all of them. They really capture the time period and let you know from the first glance when this book took place.

And I am humbled all over again about how God took this little dream of mine and placed me in the perfect place, working with the right people. He is so amazingly good to me.