Mary’s Interview, Part 4
Dear Readers, Thank you so much for your wonderful response to Mary Keane’s interview and Ray of Light ! I’m so happy that you enjoyed Mary’s interview as much as I have. This is the fourth installment and the last part of her interview. Here, she talks about Amish book covers in general and her goals for the Daybreak and Ray of Light covers. I’ve also included the last ‘rejected’ book cover. : )
Ray of Light goes on sale in two weeks, May 14. Already the reviews have started coming in and I’m so pleased that the book has been so well received. If you’re the type who likes to preorder books, I hope you will preorder Ray of Light.
I also wanted to remind everyone that the e-book version of Daybreak is still on sale for $1.99.
If you’ve already won a copy of Ray of Light, Congratulations! If your name hasn’t been drawn yet, please leave a comment, either for Mary or me. I’ll draw a name on Friday.
Thank you, as always, for stopping by! Shelley
MARY’S INTERVIEW, CONTINUED:
7. After you come up with your design, what happens next? Why might a cover change?
Once a cover is approved and on its way, it doesn’t often change. But, one time this did happen was for Shelley Shepard Gray’s book The Search. We had a beautiful cover with an image of an Amish man walking through a rich green field of alfalfa under a hazy pale blue sky. It was dramatic and everyone found it very striking. It was ready to go to the printer when data came in suggesting that readers would prefer an Amish woman in a bonnet on the cover. We quickly switched out the Amish man for an Amish woman!
8. What is your favorite part about designing covers? Are there particular genres that you prefer to work on?
I fell head over heels when I read The Brownie Scouts At Snow Valley as a child. I still love everything about a well-told story including the trip to the bookstore, checking out all the covers, feeling a book call to me, and the best part: settling down, opening the cover and entering a new place and time.
I don’t have the talent to create a whole world by writing a novel (I have tried), but I feel honored to be a part of the process of bringing a work to life. My biggest thrill is when the author loves the cover. It is very fulfilling to know that I understood and was able to convey, visually, what the author worked so hard to create.
9. Can you speak a bit generally about the design for Daybreak and Ray of Light? Why did you choose the images, colors, etc. that you did?
The kernel of the idea came from the author. She mentioned a series of covers that she liked the look of which was soft focus and pretty.
It was really the most fun I have ever had working on covers. When I was working in the soft focus, I could concentrate on emotions and ideas that I wanted the reader to be pulled in by. For Daybreak I found an image of a wonderful glowing yellow sunrise over a pasture. I wanted the women of the family walking over their farm, their land, in the glow of a new day. The three are clearly connected and involved and springtime is indicated by the buttercups and the green of the field.
For Ray of Light, the strong midday sun in Florida is indicated by the deep blue sky and the sea to the right of the couple. They walk together, but not closely, to indicate the tentative nature of their relationship. She pauses to think. All of this in soft focus, as if it might be a dream. Will it come true?
They brought out the romantic in me.
10. Do you feel that these covers are different from others within the genre? What do you try to do differently?
There are a great many books in this genre, and many approaches have been used. Usually the overriding goal is to indicate that this is a book about the Amish–either by using a buggy or a bonnet. My favorites are images that evoke an emotion or a curiosity about what is going on. I think The Days of Redemption series covers accomplish this goal in a pretty way. My goal was to set the scene and welcome the reader to the world of romance and human struggle that Miss Gray has created.
