Today I get to share the unveiling of my first book cover with you. Secrets of the Heart: The Ravensmoore Chronicles, Book One, is becoming a reality for me. I'm so excited!
Bill Johnson and his team at Strang Communications created this cover. I've never met him, but he's obvioulsy excellent at his job. That's a historical romance cover that I'm proud to say hugs the words of my story. The cover perfectly reflects the elements of mystery and suspense in this novel, a wonderful creation for what awaits you on the page.
When I first started writing, more than twenty years ago, I didn't expect the journey to publication to take so long and be so hard. I really didn't. :) But something inside me refused to give up as I realized I was in for the long haul.
I know now, looking back over the last twenty years that I wasn't ready for publication when I thought I was, and I can say now that I'm glad I wasn't published earlier. I think that's true for many of us. I had so much to learn, and now I feel like I've even more to learn; it never stops. We never stop learning and growing in this business of writing. If you do, you're doomed. There's no time to sit back and say, I've made it. But there is time to sit back and study a long imagined book cover and know that in the next few months it will hold the words to the story I created and am anxious to share with you. Secrets of the Heart
I hope I'm still writing and still getting published twenty years from now. Can you imagine what the publishing industry will look like twenty years from now? I wonder what will replace the Kindel and Nook?
I'm hoping in this New Year that you will pursue your dreams with all the passion and enthusiasm that you can muster. If you're writing a book, WRITE IT! If you're building a business, BUILD IT! If you're afraid, DO IT ANYWAY! Do what you have to do to accomplish what you feel called to do.
So tell me: How do you like the cover?
What step are you going to take this year to build your own dream?
What is the publishing business going to look like twenty years from now?
If you love historical romance with a bit of mystery/suspense, stop by once in awhile and catch up on the latest: Jillian Kent Blog I'd love to have you follow me through my Google gadget so I can check out your blogs as well.
Congratulations on the elegant cover, Jill! I can certainly see why you're delighted with it.
ReplyDeleteThank you Keli. I think the artists that design these covers are amazing. I'd love to see them at work.
ReplyDeleteYay! Yay! Love the cover.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE YOUR COVER! Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteI hope the publishing industry doesn't change too much unless it's for the better.
The nook and kindle will be replaced by glasses that will have a screen in the lens and you can read while you're driving your autopilot car! yeah baby!
Have a great Weekend, Jillian!
Thanks Dina! And Bonnie, your glimpse into the future is a wild one! Glasses with a screen in the lens so we can read and autopilot cars. Yep. It will probably happen. No wonder you're a writer!
ReplyDeleteGREAT cover! So intriguing! And it's a little different, so it will stand out. Thanks for sharing it with us...I'm excited for your release.
ReplyDeleteI love the colors! I think you have a great cover that looks interesting. I for sure would pick this one up!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! It's an exciting moment for a writer and sounds well deserved.
ReplyDeleteLove the cover! Even if I wasn't already going to read it that would make me pick it up!
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited for you!
Thanks Rossyln, Olivia, T. Anne and Anne,
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you love you this cover. I think great covers do make a difference when you are surfing the web or in a bookstore. I'm so pleased with the way they integrated aspects of the story into the cover and I love the colors too. If you get a chance to read it when it releases I think you'll enjoy the cover even more.
The cover is perfect. I love it.
ReplyDeleteI am writing and reading and pursuing and praying.
Thanks Transparent Mama! You're doing all the right stuff.
ReplyDeleteLovely cover, Jillian! I love the subtle colours. It would make me take a second look if I hadn't already picked it up because of your name. ;) I remember seeing a brief video about the making of book covers some time ago... hunted up the site for you in case you'd like to have a peek: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoDCiTsS7dU
ReplyDeleteThanks Carol!
ReplyDeleteI checked out the video. Way too fast for my vision, but I got the idea. Thanks for taking the time to hunt that up. I wonder where they get the models from? If it's from a site like istock.com and similar sites.
Jill, I'm so excited for you! The cover is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThanks Niki! When I get discouraged it will be a good motivator.
ReplyDeleteJill, I recall Jody Hedlund doing a blog post about visiting Bethany House and meeting the staff that worked on her cover. I *think* she said real models in costume were photographed, but that might well differ from one publishing house to another.
ReplyDeleteP.S. You might like to read the blog that included that video... it's on the Orbit site... a different URL: http://bit.ly/cmDIcB
ReplyDeleteThanks Carol. I'll check it out. Have an awesome Sunday.
ReplyDeleteOh, Jillian, I LOVE IT!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful cover. Really depicts what it's about. Love the mansion in the small detail.
ReplyDeleteThanks Patti and Ruth!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm so glad you liked it Ruth. Bless you for all your help.
Hugs,
Jill
I'm all for asylums on the cover (I like to think it's an asylum not a mansion.) But you know how my mind thinks...
ReplyDeleteHi Deb,
ReplyDeleteI think I missed this post. It's a manor house on the cover, but the fence. Ah, the fence.:)