Cover Art: The Theme and Mood of Appalachia

The truth is, people often do judge a book by its cover. Psychologists have studied consumer behavior for decades, and one of the things they've learned is that we're more likely to gravitate towards objects that not only catch our attention, but make us feel something.

When the opportunity arose to have new covers created for my books, I was fortunate enough to come across a graphic artist who posed some very specific questions. Aside from the questions one would expect, such as plot/synopsis, etc., she asked:

What's the geographical setting of your book?
What's the mood of your book?
Is there a specific place in your book that has meaning? If so, what is it?
Is there a specific object in your book that has meaning? If so, what is it?

I answered her questions and awaited her first drafts, and immediately loved them. They capture not only the setting, but also the mood. In addition, the cabin featured on
Appalachian Justice is exactly what I pictured. I can easily see Billy May Platte hunkered down by the hunting cabin's old wood stove on a cold winter night.






And anyone familiar with the lush green mountains of Appalachia will see it in the new cover for Return to Crutcher Mountain.






But my favorite cover might be the one for Entangled Thorns. The bridge over Rugged Creek is central to the story, and the one chosen is absolutely perfect, with it's wooden rails and close proximity to the rushing water below.






When I first began to write a story set in the mountains of West Virginia, I didn't have thoughts of a sequel, and certainly not a trilogy. But as I came to know the residents of the tiny coal mining town of Cedar Hollow, I saw they had more stories to tell.

I appreciate the way the graphic artist carried the design/theme over into each cover. I don't know that there will be a fourth Cedar Hollow book, but if there is, I hope she's still around to continue it forward once again.