Inspy Romance

Inspy Romance—Fall in Love With a Good Book

The Evolution of a Cover

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Berry on Top is my next release. I’ve been sitting on the cover for this over a month now, eager to share it! I set the novel to pre-order last week, so I can finally share the cover far and wide.

You may have noticed that my Farm Fresh Romance covers are unique. I love that about them! I love the fact that they’re illustrated rather than stock photos any other author might also choose.

What you may not know is how covers such as these come to be. My cover designer and illustrator also happens to be my daughter, which is special and fun. We work together on the concepts, then she does a photo shoot for reference, and then she digitally draws, colors, and shades the cover.

While it’s helpful if the models have a similar appearance to the characters, it’s not necessary. Hanna is more concerned about clothing style and poses.

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In this case, she asked friends of hers if she could come over and do a model shoot. It turns out the woman is a fan of my Farm Fresh Romance books, so she was thrilled to do it! She and her husband got a fun photo shoot out of the deal.

Berry on Top features a single dad with custody of his not-quite-six-year-old twins. The modeling couple has a son about that age, and my oldest granddaughter stood in for the female twin. The two kids had a great time hamming it up for the camera as my daughter tried different poses to see which would work best on the cover.

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Hanna sent me her favorite photos via Dropbox and we quickly narrowed down the ones we preferred. Then she sketched the characters and gave them a basic color scheme before showing it to me again. From there we went back and forth on the amount of scruff on the hero’s face and fine-tuned a few other aspects. With the characters well set, she finalized the backdrop and snow.

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What do you think? For me, this cover bumps Wild Mint Tea over and takes its place as my favorite of the series.

Berry on Top

BOT-200x300God forgave him — but can she?

Liz Nemesek’s first visit home in forever is tough enough before Mason Waterman shows up. Despite her best efforts, she’s never forgotten — or forgiven — him for the hurt he once caused.

Former bad boy Mason Waterman has returned to northern Idaho to raise his five-year-old twins. The kids are determined to find a new mommy, but Liz is the last person they should latch onto… and the last person he should find himself falling for. Again.

If Mason has really changed, can Liz re-open her heart to him… and to the God who could have prevented her decade of heartache?

Click here to pre-order Berry on Top on Kindle, Nook, iBooks, or Kobo.

Check out my daughter’s site, Book Cover Bakery.

Valerie Comer (341 Posts)

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.


Comments

  3. Interesting and informative blog about the many details authors are involved in to sell successful books. I know that I have chosen books by their cover. I enjoy light and cheery covers. Enjoy your Farm Fresh Romances. I looked at all your covers and like the Riverbend Romance covers, especially the Secretly Yours cover where the mitten hands almost look like a heart.. So fitting for a Valentine story. Did not notice that before. Relax and rest. Happy weekend.

  4. I’m with you in thinking Berry on Top might just be my favorite of your book’s covers…and yet, they’re all so beautiful that it’s hard to choose. Still, the kids are hard to beat (and really, your grand was a model? How fun is that?) :) Can’t wait til I get the email notification that my copy has been delivered!

  5. Your covers are so bright and fun with a bit of whimsy. Thanks for sharing the story of its creation and your collaboration with your daughter.

  6. I love your cover process! My daughter is on one of my book covers but she wasn’t very happy about it. :) I think creating our own cover art is one of the best things about being indie.

  13. I’m excited to get the book. It was really interesting to see how the cover came to be and to know a little bit about the people behind it.

  14. Renate, I love all my covers, and I love how my daughter branded my two series so differently. She took all the hand-holding photos for the Riverbend novellas, too. I think Pinky Promise might be my favorite of those.!

  17. I had to laugh at your comment about your daughter! It’s fun doing covers, all right, but it’s always hard to know if we’re going to nail it or not.

  19. It is confusing, but so often it can’t be helped. Custom photo shoots can be extremely expensive if the author can’t do it herself. I do know that there are people who think my covers are too cartoonish, and maybe kids’ books. It’s hard to nail it covers!

  21. Thanks, Merrillee! It really was, even if most of it on my end was catching my daughter’s messages on Facebook that she’d uploaded a new version. Did I want to see it? Oh yeah!

  23. I think your Farm Fresh Romance covers attracted me to them even before I read the synopsis. I’ve really enjoyed reading them, and have Berry on Top already pre-ordered! It was fun to read how you do the covers. I like them!!

  25. Pinky Promise cover is whimsical because of the title’s alliteration and the couple linking pinkies. Purple is my favorite color. How great to have such a talented daughter and cute granddaughter. Keep up the good work. Your readers appreciate it.

  41. I love when I get to see the cover design process! Always fun to know what inspired the author & what they envisioned. I love that your daughter does the covers for you Valerie….she’s super talented! I bet this couple and kids had a blast being photographed :-) How fun, thanks for sharing!

  45. I loved reading how your covers came to be. I’ve loved them since Raspberries and Vinegar. The fact that it involves family makes it even sweeter.

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