Reader, this is what my publisher calls the book cover reveal for Where Your Treasure Is, and you’re the first to see it. Thanks to all who have helped so far!
Part of the excitement of working with a small press such as Bellastoria is contributing to the cover and book design. A process I’ve always dreamed of (though I’m not visually astute), it’s unavailable to many writers. Even when they are involved, it can be painful.
Look up Margaret Mitchell’s experience with Gone with the Wind or reviews for the illustrations in the first edition of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. Even when a writer thinks he or she is in control, the process can be fraught. Read what happened to Charles Dickens when he printed A Christmas Carol. If you think Ebenezer Scrooge had nightmares!
My collaboration with Bellastoria was much more enjoyable. I was able to confer with them about the artwork and even the book’s font. I am grateful to the designer for their first rendering, which is amazing (note the eyes and the London rooftops), and for their patience when I asked them to start all over again, based on a painting by Giovanni Boldini. Because of them, you’re looking over the shoulder of Winifred de la Coeur, the heroine of our story.
It looks as though she’s almost finished with the piece she’s been playing. Perhaps she’ll tell us what it is since the composer is one of her favorites—and whenever she’s enthusiastic, she can’t help but share her passion. The composer also has a special significance for her friend George. You’ll find out more about Winifred in an upcoming blog and on my Pinterest page, Chapter 1: A Spinster Reflects.
Hint: the composer was born at the end of the 18th century and was dead by 1828; he was also a favorite of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
Where Your Treasure Is now available for preorder to libraries and bookstores. Launch date, April 23, 2021.