...makes a very welcome return to my blog this week. Thanks for taking time out to come and visit today...
January 2020 was a big turning point for the Kindred Spirits series, which
transferred publisher from Crooked Cat Books to Darkstroke at the start of the
year. Being re-released under a new
imprint meant we could take another look at the cover-art, and all four books
got their new covers in February.
The old adage might well be to “never judge a book
by its cover” but although we know that applies to most things, ironically, in
the world of Amazon and social media, books are definitely not on that
list. Cover-art matters, whether we
like it or not (the fact, that is, not the artwork!).
Looking again at the covers was a really strange
process then, especially as it was something I wasn’t expecting, and so hadn’t
put a lot of thought into before Darkstroke raised it as a possibility. But then Laurence sent me the stunning new
cover for Kindred
Spirits: Tower of London. Oh, that claw…
I still remember the day I was sent the first draft
cover for Tower, and being absolutely overwhelmed at how much I adored it. I spent ages looking and looking, desperate
to find ‘something’ to suggest changing, as I didn’t want it to look like I
hadn’t given it proper thought. In the
end, my contribution was to suggest removing a colon from the title, as it
didn’t look quite as perfect as it could.
Crooked Cat accepted my comment, and that was it. So easy, and yet such a wonderful cover.
Each time another book came out, there was the joy
of finding the most appropriate image for each place I was writing about, and
then as with Tower, the stunning font and logo would be applied. I’ve been so happy with every single one.
It was bittersweet then, when the topic of new
covers came up during discussion. Even though it was Laurence himself
suggesting it, it felt to me like being told that your baby isn’t pretty
enough, and “how about we give them a makeover?” I’ll be honest, a little bit
of me pushed back, mentally at least.
But then another writer friend phrased it another way: See the first
covers as “first day of school”, and any new ones as “Graduation photo.”
That was when it clicked for me, and I realised she
was completely right. Things have moved
on in the five years since Tower was originally published, and tastes
change. As wonderful as the original
covers were (and are), maybe a makeover would be a good idea.
Laurence had selected some wonderful images, with
the idea being to look afresh at these well-known landmarks, and find a quirky
angle or image, to represent the book’s location, and the fact that these
stories are just a little bit different…
So now we have the stunning claw to represent the
Tower of London, my favourite view of Edinburgh to show off the Royal Mile (as
the book isn’t limited to that particular stretch of road!), a
“vertigo-inducing but brilliant” (according to a colleague) view of Westminster
Abbey, and a gorgeous image of York that my mum helped choose. And just to top it all, I adore the new font
for the titles and my name.
All-in-all, I’m rather happy with my graduation
photos, and I hope you agree!
about the author… Jennifer C. Wilson is a marine biologist by training, who developed an
equal passion for history and historical fiction whilst stalking Mary, Queen of
Scots on childhood holidays (she has since moved on to Richard III). Enrolling
on an adult education workshop on her return to the north-east of England for
work reignited her pastime of creative writing, and she has been filling
notebooks ever since.
In 2014, Jennifer won the Story Tyne short story
competition, and has been working on a number of projects since, including
co-hosting the North Tyneside Writers’ Circle.
Her Kindred Spirits novels are published by Darkstroke, and her
historical romances by Ocelot Press.
She lives in North Tyneside, and is very proud of
her approximately 2-inch view of the North Sea.
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