Renée Rosen's Blog, page 2

The Anatomy Of A Book Cover

As we know, people do tend to judge books by their covers, which is why publishers scrutinize every detail. I get lots of questions about my covers and who and how they’re created so I thought I’d take you through the process of how a cover comes to be.

First things first, while the author definitely has input, the cover is designed by the art department. And as for that input, the process begins with my editor asking if I have any images in mind that will get the designers started. So I’ll do a long Getty Images search and send everything that I think would make an intriguing cover. I’ll also reference other book jackets that I especially like. And then I wait. I wait and I wait some more. Before they’ll show an author a cover you can bet that the artwork, fonts, colors and copy have been through many, many rounds and revisions.

Once the team, i.e., editor, publisher, marketing, publicity, sales are satisfied, they send it to the author and their agent. This is always a big, big moment when that email comes through and you get to see how your publishing house is envisioning your book. Chances are, it’s something very different than what you’ve been picturing for months inside your head.

For example, when they showed me DOLLFACE, I had prepared myself for a black and white or sepia cover so the burst of color really threw me and it took me a couple days to fall in love, but fall I did! With WHAT THE LADY WANTS both my agent and I didn’t feel that the first cover they showed us captured the essence of the story and my wonderful team at Penguin Random House agreed to go back to the drawing board. When they showed me the new cover, I was thrilled. It had the elegance and sophistication that we’d been hoping for. When they showed us the cover for WHITE COLLAR GIRL I wasn’t initially sold on the strong graphic approach and I can remember being on the phone with my editor and agent trying to sort it out. My editor felt strongly that it was right cover and after looking at a second cover, I agreed and am so glad I did. I got such positive feedback from readers, fellow authors and even other editors saying it was one of their favorite covers of all time.

So this brings me to my newest cover WINDY CITY BLUES. The art department picked up that strong graphic element that was so successful in my last book, which we all felt was very smart. But when we revealed the cover on social media we got some comments about it being too busy. I’m fortunate enough to have the support of my team and when I shared the feedback with my agent and editor, they agreed to go back to the drawing board even after we’d revealed the cover and posted it on retailer sites. So now I’m thrilled to share the new and improved cover for WINDY CITY BLUES. Hope you love it as much as we do!  Available for Pre-order.

P.S. And don’t forget if you’re on GoodReads, add it to your shelf so you’ll know when we start running giveaways!

The Rolling Stones–Greatest Blues Band Ever?!

The Rolling Stones have long been regarded as the world’s greatest rock ’n’ roll band, but did you know that their original goal was to introduce people to blues music, especially the blues music coming out Chess Records in Chicago. They were enamored of the music by Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter and other blues artists. In fact, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger’s original name for their bands (before all the members were in place) was The Blue Boys. That was soon changed when the band decided to rename themselves after a Muddy Waters song entitle “Rollin’ Stone”.

While Muddy, Willie and the Wolf remained their idols, they were equally taken by the emerging rock ‘n’ roll music of Little Richard and Chuck Berry, also a Chess artist. In fact, the Rolling Stone’s first single was a cover of Chuck Berry’s “Come On”. That was released in 1963.

One year later, the band, then virtually unknown in the U.S. packed their bags and crossed the pond in order to record at the legendary Chess Record studios at 2120 South Michigan Avenue, also known as Record Row*.

Some of you true Stones fans may recognize that address, 2120 South Michigan as the title of an instrumental song the Rolling Stones recorded in order to commemorate their time at the famous studio. It was during the Rolling Stones two days sessions at Chess that they finally met their idol, Muddy Waters, which was the start of a lifelong friendship between the band and the great bluesman. While at 2120 the Rolling Stones also recorded what would become their first number one hit in their homeland, a little ditty called, “It’s All Over Now.”

By the way, the Chess studio still stands at 2120 South Michigan right at Michigan Avenue at 21st Street and is now the home of the Willie Dixon Blues Heaven Foundation. They offer daily tours of the studio that launched the careers of so many greats and changed the sound of music forever. It is not to be missed. And in the summer months they offer free outdoor concerts every Thursday night.

So while the Rolling Stones may be known as the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band, they very well could be the world’s greatest blues band too.

 

* Stay tuned for an upcoming blog post about the magic of Record Row. You won’t believe the mega hits that came out of this stretch of Michigan Avenue. I could have done a book just on that alone!

What’s Your Blues Name

As I was doing research for WINDY CITY BLUES I discovered that almost all the blues artists had blues names. For example McKinley Morganfield was Muddy Waters. Chester Arthur Burnett was Howlin’ Wolf, Marion Walter Jacobs became Little Walter, Ellas McDaniel was Bo Diddley. I know that Muddy got his name from his grandmother because as a child he was prone to playing in the mud. Howlin’ Wolf also got his name as a child after his grandfather told him scary stories about wolves howling at the moon.

 

While we were down South doing research for my book, we drove the Blues Highway and came across a Blues Name Generator. The blues greats didn’t need a chart to create their stage names, but we did. So from that point on my partner in crime was Boney Bones Dupree and I was Skinny Bad Boy Jefferson.

I’m in the middle of my final edits so I’m going to keep this post brief and get back in the Book Bunker. But in the meantime, have some fun with this Blues Name Generator and see what you come up with!

What’s Your Blues Name?

Cover Reveal for WINDY CITY BLUES

Greetings from the Book Bunker. I’m just taking a break from editing to share the cover for my new novel, WINDY CITY BLUES, based on the true story of Chess Records and the birth of the Chicago Blues.

Heading back into the Book Bunker but would love to know what you think. If I hear from you, I may even start blogging about all the behind-the-scenes stories that went into researching this book! Thanks!!!

About Windy City Blues

The bestselling author of White Collar Girl and What the Lady Wants explores one woman’s journey of self-discovery set against the backdrop of a musical and social revolution.

In the middle of the twentieth century, the music of the Mississippi Delta arrived in Chicago, drawing the attention of entrepreneurs like the Chess brothers. Their label, Chess Records, helped shape that music into the Chicago Blues, the soundtrack for a transformative era in American History.

But, for Leeba Groski, Chess Records was just where she worked…

Leeba doesn’t exactly fit in, but her passion for music and her talented piano playing captures the attention of her neighbor, Leonard Chess, who offers her a job at his new record company. What begins as answering phones and filing becomes much more as Leeba comes into her own as a songwriter and befriends performers like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Chuck Berry, and Etta James. But she also finds love with a black blues guitarist named Red Dupree.

With their relationship unwelcome in segregated Chicago and shunned by Leeba’s Orthodox Jewish family, Leeba and Red soon find themselves in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement and they discover that, in times of struggle, music can bring people together.

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What The Lady Wants

<!--<strong>A Novel of the Roaring Twenties</strong><br />
<em>Coming from Penguin/NAL November 5, 2013</em><br />
<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-76" src="http://www.reneerosen.com/wp-content/..." alt="line" width="29" height="3" /> –><br />
“In late 19th century Chicago, visionary retail tycoon Marshall Field made his fortune wooing women customers with his famous motto: “Give the lady what she wants.” His legendary charm also won the heart of socialite Delia Spencer, and led to an infamous love affair.”<br />
<!--<strong>-Sara Gruen</strong><br />
New York Times bestselling author of<br />
<em>Water For Elephants</em> –></p>

How to Dress Like a Flapper

With Halloween right around the corner and the release of DOLLFACE, they’ll be plenty of usage occasions to dress to the nines and kick up your heels.

If you want to be a flapper, you need the basics.  A pair of Mary Jane’s with nothing higher than a three inch heel. and am slowly but surely piecing it all together. I have my Mary Janes. I have this gorgeous vintage handbag, courtesy of a dear friend. I found the dress which is in need of some minor alterations and I have a head piece, a strand of pearls but nothing quite tops the vintage fox stole comprised of three fox pelts with their heads and tails attached, poor little arms and legs, too.

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DOLLFACE Industry Launch Oct. 24th

Chicago area booksellers & reviewers after the Untouchables Tour

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A Hole in Holy Name Cathedral

If you happen to find yourself in downtown Chicago, in the 700 block of North State Street (Superior and State), you can’t miss the majestic Holy Name Cathedral but what you might just overlook is that nickle size hole in the limestone on the far south corner. The hole is a bullet hole.

 

 

It started on a peaceful fall day in October of 1926.  Hymie Weiss was in charge of the North Side Gang and he was a gangster’s gangster. He was tough man despite his slight frame and he was the only man that Capone admitted being afraid of.  He was so afraid, in fact, that he made it his business to whack Hymie.

So one afternoon, Hymie was on his way to a meeting a Schofield’s Flower Shop, located directly across the street from Holy Name. The flower shop also served as the North Sider’s headquarters  and of course Capone knew this. He had his boys ready to aim and fire. Hymie was just starting across the street when the tommy guns began blasting away. Those Thompson sub-machine guns fire off close to a thousand rounds a minute, so is it any wonder that the cornerstone of the magnificent cathedral would be forever scarred.

Next time you find yourself on State Street near Holy Name, go take a look for yourself. You’ll be touching a piece of Chicago History that few know exist.