Welcome to the Urban Farm Fresh Romance series! Secrets of Sunbeams is the first book and, as such, sets the tone for the new series in a variety of ways.
• A new setting — urban instead of rural
• A new set of foodie issues — urban instead of rural
• A new cast of characters — while encouraging cameos from the previous series
• A new length — 55,000 words instead of 75,000
• A new look — clearly a new series while reminiscent of the previous
Most of those decisions were clearly up to me. The Farm Fresh Romance series had started life as a three-book series that expanded to six, but this time I knew I needed the foundation for at least six books from the outset. That meant any “best friends” I might give the first book’s main characters had the potential to star in their own story later. This required the creation of a loose plan and cast of characters from the get-go, plus a solid foundational community setting.
The new look, however, was up to my cover designer and illustrator, aka my daughter. The first question was, “How well has the illustrated look been working for romance covers?” The answer is, short of a complete rebranding or an A/B split test, it’s impossible to know. There have been a very few would-be readers who told me they looked like children’s books. I’ve also had dozens of compliments. Most of the many thousands who’ve read my books haven’t commented either way. Would different — more traditional — covers appeal to more people? Maybe. But the illustrated covers don’t seem to have hurt sales, and they do stand out from the crowd. So we decided to stay with illustrations.
My daughter set up a photo shoot at her pastor’s home with a couple from her church. Why that location? Because her pastor’s wife keeps the same breed of goats that are featured in Secrets of Sunbeams! Thankfully the models were happy to pose with a goat. My daughter, Hanna, and I chose the image from her shoot that we preferred for the cover, and she ran up the preliminary sketch.
To this point we were in familiar territory (except for the goat). Now, how to make it clear that this was not a Farm Fresh Romance story? What could we do to set the tone for a new series?
• Different background
• Different fonts
• Different layout
My new setting is in a semi-fictional neighborhood of Spokane, Washington, that I called Bridgeview. My daughter created a stylized backdrop for Secrets of Sunbeams with a city skyline and a bridge. This background will be used across the series for instant recognition.
Hanna spent hours narrowing down new font choices then presented me with a dozen of her favorites. I plugged the six Urban Farm Fresh Romance titles I’m already committed to into each of the possibilities. Some didn’t play well with a capital F (Flavors of Forever) or even a capital S, and were easily eliminated. We finally agreed on the font choices you see in the completed cover.
We agreed that the book number should appear on the front of the cover, not just the spine, and I didn’t argue when she preferred to write it out rather than use the numeral. ;)
The last stylistic decision was how and where to place my author name. We decided on a stacked name to one side in a fun font. Here’s a quick video about the cover design.
The Farm Fresh Romance paperbacks each have a solid colored spine, which seemed fun in theory but hasn’t worked out so well in reality, as the printing job is not always accurate. So the other thing we analyzed in advance this time was where and how the front cover elements would carry across the spine and onto the back without a full separation. I don’t have a full wrap to show off yet, but I really like the preliminary sketches of how the full effect will be.
Just as writing the next few books in this series will be easier — and hopefully quicker — now that the groundwork has been laid, having the cover style created will speed the process for all the other covers in this series as well. We’re already playing with ideas for Book 2, Butterflies on Breezes!
Secrets of Sunbeams is only available in Whispers of Love, a box set with 12 brand new books from bestselling Christian romance authors. Whispers of Love releases June 28 at 99 cents. You do not want to miss this fabulous deal, available for Kindle, Kobo, Nook, and iBooks.
Secrets of Sunbeams will release solo in late July, with Butterflies on Breezes hot on its heels about one month later.
Valerie Comer is a USA Today bestselling author and a two-time Word Award winner who writes where food meets faith and fiction. She injects experience laced with humor into her green clean romances. Her life on a small farm in western Canada provides the seed for stories of contemporary inspirational romance. Like many of her characters, Valerie and her family grow much of their own food and are active in the local foods movement as well as their church. She only hopes her creations enjoy their happily-ever-afters as much as she does hers, shared with her husband, adult kids, and adorable granddaughters.
You and your daughter did a fabulous job, Val. The cover is beautiful! I look forward to reading the series.
Love your unique eye catching cheery cover. Congrats to your models, the goat, your daughter and you. Can’t wait to begin reading the new series in the boxed set Whispers of Love, which is preordered and marked on my calendar. As a retired journalism and English teacher, I am especially impressed with your attention to the details and rules of design. Having your one character facing toward the right, invites the reader to open the book and dive in; while the girl faces to the front, which reflects honesty in facing life head on. Unfortunately, I am a person that is first drawn to a book by its cover and your cover hooked me to read the entire 6 book set. Too many covers today are so dark, risqué, or both. Definitely looking forward to the new series.
Also while your romances at the previous length of 75,000 words were well composed and an enjoyable read, I find now that it is summer and I am outdoors a lot, I prefer to read shorter books. Not reading as much as I did from October to March. So the shorter length of 55,000 words may be an advantage. Had another author tell me that younger viewers prefer shorter reads. Reminds me of the days of a young mom, when magazines like Good Housekeeping included two short stories and that was all I could read with little kids (boys – not goats) under foot.
Thanks again. Enjoy your summer.
I’m looking forward to reading this new series. I like the word count to! I enjoy books that are a little shorter.
Thanks for sharing your fascinating trip from initial idea to a lovely cover. What a treat, to work creatively with your daughter! This new series sounds great, and I look forward to reading it.
Thanks so much, Jill! I’m loving this series :)
Thank you Renate! I’m thrilled to hear you love the cover and appreciate the design. Secrets of Sunbeams is coming soon :)
Thanks for the fun background information on your new series. I don’t normally think about all the steps to the finished product. Very interesting post!
Thanks Kim! As a reader, I’m enjoying a shorter length, too. I’m glad I’m not the only one!
You’re so right, Kathleen. The best part is working with my daughter! Thankfully, I like her art and she likes my stories. :)
Thanks, Winnie! There are a lot of steps, for sure. Authors who choose photo covers have a bit different journey, but equally fascinating. I’m happy to share!
I love your covers. I think they really stand out because they are different. This one is really bright and fun!
I think the covers look fun and fresh. Who wants the same old covers anyway? ?
Seriously though, this one, especially makes me pause.
Thanks, Katy! I hope “bright and fun” matches the story, too. :)
Haha! Apparently I don’t want the same old! But I’ve seen some terrific photo covers, too.
I love the illustrated covers. They’re so unique and graphic.
Thanks Jessica! Me, too. :)
I really love the cover! It is eye catching and colorful, and makes me itch to read it!! Good job, Valerie!! I really love reading your books, so a little shorter is okay with me!!
Thanks Lori! I’ve come to appreciate slightly shorter novels myself, and I’m glad I’m not the only one. It’s still way longer than a novella!
Thanks for sharing your cover process. Lovely covers!
Thank you for sharing such a detailed process with us readers. It makes me appreciate even more the book knowing all the effort that was put into. I also do like the mother-daughther team. It seems like you have a great supporter with a unique gift for creativity and art.
The cover looks beautiful and I’m looking forward to start reading it next month… (I’ve preordered it a while back, and it was good to have a reminder it might become available soon.)
Thank you!
Thanks, Priscila! I do love working with my daughter. It’s handy I love her art style and she loves my writing style! Thank you for the pre-order, and I hope you enjoy Secrets of Sunbeams. :)
Oh Valerie, I love the cover! A worthy sibling to the Farm Fresh books. Reading about the design process is fascinating. The illustrated-style covers certainly drew me in to your books but your writing kept me there :)
Thanks, Narelle! It sounds like both are doing their job then :D
Part of who I am is a lover of art and I wholeheartedly agree that you and your daughter are such an admirably, impressive team, Valerie, and I am happy to a fan of both of you!
Thanks, Ehlysa! We are happy to have you as our fan. :)
Thanks Valerie, I found this interesting, learning what goes into making a cover- I have to admit to being one of those people who judge books by their covers!! However, I have read many books where the cover did not immediately grab me, only to be intrigued by the story. The cover of your new book looks great, fresh- just like the series says, and the story sounds fun.
Thanks Wemble! A fresh new look is exactly what we were going for, so I’m glad we succeeded!
I really like learning the cover process each author does! And I’m loving that your daughter is the designer :-) Cute and whimsical to draw any reader in.
Valerie, I’ve read someone named you the goat whisperer on FB because of this new series and I had to laugh!
It makes me laugh, too, Trixi, but I could be known for worse things!