The Story Behind the Cover - Echoes of Sunrise

You know there's always a story behind the story, and sometimes there's a story behind the cover. That was the case with the cover for Echoes of Sunrise. The saga started last fall when I sent talented designer L.A. Sartor my suggestions.

The first was the model I wanted her to use. (I'll tell you the story behind the model later.)

After L.A. agreed that the model would work, I suggested a potential background.

Although I liked the picture, L.A. knew that it wouldn't be a good background for a book cover, so she took the key elements that I wanted -- live oak trees and Texas wildflowers -- and created the following background.

As you can see, her idea was MUCH better than mine. Not only are the tree and the bluebonnets more prominent, but the stone path hints at the theme of the story - Sophia finding the direction for her life.

The next step was to add the model, titling, and my name.

This was exciting for me, because it was the first time it looked like a cover. 

I liked the overall design but wanted a few changes. First, I wanted the positioning of the title and my name switched, and secondly, the twin was too hard to see standing next to the tree.

On to Cover Number Two.

As you can see, there were quite a few changes between the previous cover and this one. Not only was the twin repositioned and the title moved to the bottom, but L.A. added the series name. 

I had only two major concerns: the twin was potentially confusing to readers, since it was exactly the same image, and I wanted my name in block letters, not script. 

Fortunately, I found an outtake from the model's photo shoot and waited eagerly for the next version.

We were almost finished. The different pose and the elimination of the bench next to the twin made it clear that these were two different women, and my name was in block letters.

All that was left were a few changes to the fonts, and then the cover was finished.

I was thrilled with the way it turned out and am deeply grateful to L.A. Sartor for both her creativity and her patience as we worked through the design process. From my perspective, this is the perfect cover for Sophia and Gideon's story.

And now, as promised, I'll tell you about the model. She's one of my sisters, and the beautiful dress she's wearing is her wedding gown. She continued the tradition I'd started of making her own gown but went beyond what I did. I simply bought fabric and turned it into a dress, but she wasn't satisfied with the colors she found in the stores, so she dyed the fabric, making her gown truly one-of-a-kind. 

What could be more appropriate than having my sister on the cover of my book about sisters?