Cover Story

 Well the big news today, apart from the fact that I have finished the second edits, bar the shouting, is last Thursday's cover reveal. 

Here it is, and isn't it lovely. 

Authors tend to get quite excited about cover reveals - with justification. That, and the blurb for the back of the book, or the e-book introduction, is its shop window display. Getting it right is important. It is a bit ironical that unless you are an indie author that part is done by other people. The potential reader doesn't see anything produced by the author until they open the book itself. The process varies from publisher to publisher but of course it is governed by professional acumen - what the publisher thinks will best portray the title in accordance with the market, the genre and the publisher' s view of where the book sits in its list. The cover also has to be eye-catching and understandable as the small 'thumbnail' that appears on internet sites. All that is a tall order.

My calling card for the 'Riviera' series is glamourous escapism - and my covers reflect that. My publisher is very good about making sure the authors are involved in the process, (I have heard that some are not) although of course they have the deciding voice. We are also lucky that the house designer is very good at interpreting the books. She's done my covers for over ten years now, and they are all brilliant. In the case of this book I had the usual three possibilities - they were gorgeous - literally - very bright colours and all featuring enigmatic masks. I would have been delighted with any of them and said so. Then this one turned up - very different, but much more in line with the others in the series. I could see what the publisher had in mind. The masks, while very striking, were just that little bit outside the arc of the series. I had to agree that although I loved the others, this was the one to chose. The only problem was that the girl on the cover had short dark hair. I mailed back that heroine Maisie has curly auburn hair and it was quickly changed. The result was perfect. When I opened the e-mail it was if Maisie was walking off the page towards me. 

I hope readers will love it as much as I do,