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I told you about my new project. The graphic artist I hired has sent me the final copy of the cover for my newest book, a memoir/anthology about Romania that will be available later this year. Here she is:  Cover art is by Maple Cat Press. That photograph shows my favorite place in Romania: Sighisoara, Romania, in beautiful Transylvania. I've walked that exact street, stood looking up at that exact clock tower at least a hundred times. Here's the back cover book description: He who has not seen Bucharest, nor ridden upon a white horse, knows not what is beautiful in this world. -Romanian proverb *** An elderly, illiterate woman hears the story of creation for the first time. A Christmas shoebox finds its way to a street boy in a snowy parking lot. The secret police trail a Bible smuggler through the streets of communist Romania. An old woman in a dreary hospital ward demonstrates the meaning of true love. One of Romania’s many orphans finds his roots in a poignant homecoming. When their church sent them out as humanitarian workers, Lee and Vila Gingerich expected a positive experience, but they never guessed how much Romania would teach them. Through this collection of over seventy short stories, let Romania steal your heart like it did theirs. Growing Toward the Sun has not only landed in the hands of beta readers across North America, it also has a cover. A quite gorgeous one. (I can say that, because I had nothing to do with it.) Cover design terrified me, actually, and I had no clue what I wanted. However, I had nothing to fear. The very talented Louis at Indigo Forest Designs read a short description of Growing Toward the Sun, looked over my list of favorite covers, read my mind, and handed over the exact cover I didn't even know I wanted. Here it is:  Isn't it lovely? (Yeah, that's what I said, too.) Lovelier yet, he also designed a companion cover for Full Moon, Half a Heart, and they look fabulous together. (I'll share the second cover soon.) Now, all I have to do is make the insides as pretty as the outsides. *sighs, bites nails, and goes back to editing*  The closer I get to finishing my middle-grade novel, the more I think about publishing it someday. (Possibly!) The more I think about publishing, the more I think about book covers. A writing friend designed her own cover for inspiration after the temporary cover she paid for didn’t fit the bill. Her cover is so creative and fun. I thought about trying something like that, but lately I haven’t been feeling very crafty. (No, not the fox or squirrel kind! You know what I mean!) Then I remembered some photos I’d come across on Katie Troyer’s blog about Amish and Mennonites in Sarasota, Florida. I went back and scrolled through pages of photos until I found one that fit each of my works-in-progress. Three little girls with bare feet below their bright dresses became Celeste, Farrah and Karolyn in Growing toward the Sun. A lonely looking girl sitting on a fence became Celeste in Full Moon, Half a Heart, after she left Kansas and her friends. Katie was gracious enough to let me use her photos, and also allowed me to edit them to fit my characters. (In other words, chopping all the heads off!) The photos fit my stories, give me a visual writing prompt, and add color to my page. Thanks, Katie! For a colorful glimpse of Amish and Mennonite life in Sarasota—-volleyball and bike riding in dresses, happy children in bonnets and hats, and old gentlemen shootin' the breeze-—hop over to Katie’s blog.  |