New Covers

The Retreat and The Spanking Days of Summer each got a new look today. Not that a book should be judged by its cover, but we all know it happens every day. The better the cover looks the more tempted we are to see what hangs on the pages inside. Hence, cover making is a stressful process for an author like myself. How do I convey the essence of what is inside my book with an arrangement of images?

I dabble with artwork a little and it can be a lot of fun. Still, this kind of work is more hobby than trade to me. I have had a little bit of success and I have to say, I am happy with the two new covers. Moving photos around, cropping images, fading them all together and adding titling around really is not that hard. Making it look good is a bit harder. You will have to tell me what you think because I am obviously too jaded to judge my own work fairly. Of course, for me it represents something I have imagined with the stories I am telling and those little bits are still mostly a secret to all of you.

Writing is definitely more my cup of java and on that note,  The Spanking Days of Summer is progressing nicely. I am not firm on a release date quite yet, but I am shooting hard for the first weekend in July. Just to get you in the mood, here are few tidbits:

• Summer Pratt is the central figure of the story.
• Summer has gotten herself into some trouble in her hometown and her parents have pushed her off on her Aunt Lillian and Uncle Howard.
• Summer's Aunt and Uncle live in a small town called Oakville.
• Summer takes a liking to a bad boy, Jimmy Smythe and the first thing he does when they meet is smack her bottom.
• Jimmy's father owns the local hardware store and he makes oak paddles. Somehow I doubt they are for canoes.