When Cover Dreams Come True

A book’s cover is such a critical piece. It sets the tone of the book. It must grab a reader’s attention and invite them in. I’ve been very blessed to have some really wonderful covers. But they don’t just magically appear. There is a lot of hard work that go into them, and OK . . . a little magic.

When my first Hanger’s Horseman book came out, I fell in love with having a rugged cowboy on the cover. He was fabulous! But he wasn’t perfect. Readers pointed out that his vest was not the cavalry style or color that I described, nor was his horse the right color. As much as we wish the designers would just make everything perfect, there are limitations when it comes to budget and available costumes and models. No model, however handsome, is going to fit my exact mental image.

When it was time for Book 2 to have its cover designed, I dreamed big but kept my expectations realistic. The Heart’s Charge is a double love story – featuring two of the four famed Horsemen and the women who claim their hearts. With both heroes having equal POV time, it was important to me to have both heroes featured in equal prominence on the cover.

Here are some of the inspiration photos I sent to my publisher. Jonah is a sharpshooter and Mark is a trumpeter from their cavalry days. My dream was to have the two men on horseback charging across the cover like the top right photo, but realizing that might be unrealistic, I also would have been happy with something rugged like the Costner and Duvall shot.

Well, this new cover is living proof that dreams do come true . . .

I can’t tell you with how pleased I am with how it came out. Jonah has his rifle. Mark is ready with his revolver. The horses are perfect. The expressions on the faces are intense and heroic.

And here’s where the magic comes in – the cover models/actors were never on horseback! I didn’t believe it until I saw pictures from the photo shoot.

I’m amazed at what they can do and how realistic it looks. Digital artists are amazing!

I’d love to hear what you think of the cover.

As a reader, does it bother you if some of the smaller cover details don’t match the story? Or is the cover more of a symbolic representation for you?