Hi, everyone! I hope you’re having a great week! Mine is kind of nuts, but that’s okay :D. Kids are getting ready for spring break and we’re going on a For Real family vacation! Yay!
But I also have a recent book release! Glimpsing Hope came out late last month, and I do love the story!
Show Me Yarn Display
Even more, though, I love the cover ;).
At least the people on it.
So today, I thought I’d share a little bit about how it came about.
The bottom half is easy… The heroines in this series are all in the yarn industry, so the bottom of the first two have yarn (the third has fiber ready to be spun into yarn).
Original picture of little girl
The yarn was provided by Show Me Yarn – a name you’re familiar with if you’ve read the books! The company is owned by a very dear friend of mine – and two of her friends. Since we first brainstormed these heroines, she introduced me to the other two. Every time I go out to hang out with them while they work, I find something new to love about her partners ;). Whether it’s dinosaurs and Doctor Who or food we love, it’s been fantastic getting to know them. I’ve also learned they don’t like my idea to name all of the yarn “preeeeettty” or some variation thereof ;). But I did take all of the yarn pictures myself.
But what about the people?
The little girl… Her name in the story is Bailey. One of my oldest friends had a little girl named Bailey. The real Bailey’s time on Earth wasn’t long, but she’s safe in the arms of Jesus. She touched so many while she was here – and her family continues to. I chose the name to honor my friends and their little girl. That’s also why the ladybug – because ladybugs and Bailey go together.
Cousins
Bailey wasn’t in the original photo because I didn’t know Bailey existed (in the fictional sense) until a couple weeks before I started writing! I turned around (in my head) and there was this little girl standing there going, “Hello?! What about me?!” (Yes, I know that makes me sound crazy ;). Writers and crazy go together :D.) I dug around in my favorite stock photo site until I found a little girl who looked enough like what I wanted and downloaded the pictures. But… My friend and her husband are redheads – as are all of their children! So of course this Bailey had to be a red head too! I don’t know much about Photoshop, but I can usually change hair color (and in this case, shirt and headband, too to closer match the others).
Original main picture
As for the hero and heroine and little boy… They are also very near and dear to my heart – because I’m related to them! The photo shoot was done by my friend Keli of Captivating by Keli a couple years ago (when I didn’t know how long it was going to take to get to this book :p). The heroine is really my niece and the hero is her husband! Amber and Ryan are totally adorable together, and they were perfect for this! But the heroine had a little boy. Where better to find a “matching” one than Amber’s cousin – who also happens to be my son :D. He had so much fun on this shoot! He adores Amber and getting to hang out with Ryan for a couple hours was his little boy dream come true!
For the layout… I’d already done the cover for Discovering Home, so I knew what the general formula for the layout would be. Pop in the appropriate pictures (and be grateful I’d taken some of yarn that went with the top picture), and voila! Cover!
And the final product!
Glimpsing Hope is available on Amazon now!
So there you have it! Behind the scenes of cover creation! What’s your favorite kind of cover? With faces? Without? People or no? What if the cover doesn’t look like the description of the character*?
I do all of my own covers and (usually!) enjoy doing them! I did one this week that I can’t wait to share (yeah – gotta write the book first ;))! This week is crazy busy for me, but I’ll be in and out starting this afternoon! I can’t wait to hear your thoughts!
(*Indie authors like me have a lot of control there, but traditionally published authors don’t always get much of a say – so it’s not always the author’s fault…)
When she's not writing about her imaginary friends, Carol Moncado is hanging out with her husband and four kids in the big yard of their southwest Missouri home, teaching American Government at a community college, reading, or watching NCIS. She's a member of ACFW and RWA, President and founding member for the MozArks ACFW group, and a category coordinator for ACFW's First Impressions.
This was fun- and I just finished reading Glimpsing Hope and thoroughly enjoyed it! How special that your family could be your models:)
I really do not like covers where the models do not match the description of the characters…what’s the point?!
How is the dictation working for you?
Blessings:)
Love yarn love books love to win something good way to celebrate St Patricks Day uou guessed it I’m from N Ireland.
What an adorable cover, Carol. I love the little boy hanging upside down…too cute! I always like to see faces on the cover. Have a great trip…be safe!
Delightful looking cover – whimsical with the boy hanging upside down and the stance of the little red head. Thanks for sharing the process of producing your own cover. When kids or students used to ask me, WHY do we have to learn THAT?? My response was that most jobs / careers entail more than meets the eye. Your blog today proves the point. Best wishes as you look forward to vacation. Enjoy and happy writing, Carol!
Hi Carol, Lovely cover and lovely tribute to Bailey. Thanks for sharing. :)
Congrats on your book release. Great cover and I enjoyed your glimpse into how it came about. :)
Love hearing how your cover came to be! Do you make covers before you write your books? I like covers that show people and some elements from what’s in the story.
I feel for trad authors who often get a lot of flak for their covers when they don’t usually have a lot of control over it – or the ability to edit the book to match the cover :/.
As for dictation… I’ve had some technical issues and need to get them sorted then will be back at it :)
Fun!!! I have learned SO MUCH about yarn doing this series! Plus spending time with my friends (and making new ones) is always nice!
Hi Jill!!! I got that from a Becky Wade/Katie Ganshert Pinterest war challenge. It was the last pics we took just for fun with them. So glad we did!!
Oh yes! I use so much more than what I learned in English to be an indie author! And I’m always learning more!!!
My son LOVED these pics. He had so much fun!!
Thanks Narelle!!!
Hi Margaret! Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Sally! It really depends. A lot of times I make it before I write so I have the models in my head as I do. Of course not all covers have full people on them. The book I’m writing next (book 3 in this series is being edited; the one after that) has hands and I LOVE IT!!!! It fits the story so well. But sometimes it’s not possible. Like my lifeguard books because I CAN’T take those pics until it’s almost summer but the book has to be written before then. So it depends, but I like to – or at least before edits so I can double check characteristics.
It was an honor to be part of such a special project! Thanks for showing behind the scenes love it! ❤
I like the book cover!! Somehow I missed the book release. I’ll have to find it.
Seems like a lot of work went into making the cover but it’s worth it. Love the story line. I can’t wait to get back into it. It’s so addictive. Actually your books are addictive and I just don’t understand how your come up with some of these ideas. I need the mind of an author … very imaginative and creative?
I also like the book covers with faces on them. When I am reading, I flip back and look at them often.
Cute cover.
Thanks for taking us on a tour behind the curtain! So fun.
I loved having you do it!!! Love you, friend!!! Miss seeing you!!!
I’m glad you like it!!! Hope you like the book!!
Ah! So glad you’re enjoying it!!!
I don’t know. The mind of a writer can be a pretty scary place. All the imaginary friends clamoring to have their story told NOW. Then one muscles their way to the front and decks the guy you thought was next so he’ll be quite and the new guy can have his turn…
Or little girls who randomly show up and you’re like uh where did you come from?!
Good to know!!!! Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks Merrillee!!!
/waves at Val!/
I love the backstory to the cover, and the cover is great! I like any cover as long as it relates to the story. People from the story are always nice, but I’m not picky about whether I can see their faces or not, or if it’s a shoulders down shot. I have not read this one yet, though own it. I need to reread some series of yours to be up to date on minor characters that come up in the newer ones I think.
It is fun to hear how a cover came to be, and I do like having faces so I can refer to them while reading! I’m not real good at imagining what people look like from their written descriptions. I loved “Glimpsing Hope,” and was glad for an excuse to re-read a couple of your other books to remind myself of what all happened before :-)
Interesting post, Carol! Gotta look for your books…..love to read! Have a nice vacation.
How fun to see these behind the scenes glimpses of your cover making process! Thanks for sharing, Carol!
I’m glad you picked the final cover for this book – it is fantatic! I like covers that show the main characters in a scene from the book.
Covers are very interesting. A pretty cover doesn’t mean a great story. But, I do admit the cover of a book is what draws me in and then, I decide if I want to read the story.
It’s an adorable cover. I love the colors and hearing about the creation process. Thanks for sharing!
Very interesting read. I love behind the scenes looks at things. It sounds like there were a lot of pieces to put together, but your cover turned out beautifully. And yes, it does bug me when the cover of a book doesn’t match the story.
Miss you too! Glad you are doing well!!!
Beautiful cover! It makes me want to do an indie book just so I get to play with the cover!
This cover looks great & what a great honor to your friend & beautiful little girl!
Lol, love it
Love the cover and I’m always interested in the story behind the cover and what goes into the shoot. If I’m holding a real book I find myself looking back at the cover many times while I’m reading.
Happy birthday! ? ?
Carol! What an absolutely stunning cover! Well done author and cover artist!!!