Cover Love

I admit, I judge books by their covers all the time, and there’s a reason. Publishers hire many talented and thoughtful people who know exactly what they’re doing. They know all the visual cues readers respond to and look for when buying books. Fantasy novels usually have a strapping man or woman heavily armed, historical romances feature sumptuously dressed damsels and rogues with ample exposed skin, and literary novels lean toward the graphic and metaphorical. These savvy folks know how to tease out the elements that will attract eyes and dollars. I knew they would have ideas that had never occurred to my non-artistic mind.

But as long as I’ve been writing, I’ve been dreaming about my cover (and who I would cast in the movie version, but that’s another post). So when it came to cover design, I had thoughts and some very strong opinions. I was adamant that I have veto power (or at least everyone involved pretended that I have veto power). I wanted something simple, elegant, maybe a little graphic. I pointed to Rainbow Rowell’s covers as examples of covers I loved.

When I finally saw my cover, I was in love. The luscious coconut cake, cleverly set atop newspapers to recall the chef/critic relationship in the book made me swoon. The warm butcher block table against the blackboard background was reminiscent of a restaurant’s Daily Special board. And can we talk about that gorgeous font. I flailed in glee. In a million years I could never have created this straightforward, yet perfect encapsulation of my book. Somehow it reflects the tone and plot of the book in a few simple images.

My favorite part, it isn’t like every other women’s fiction cover. If you lined up my book next to ten similar books, the black would stand out against the pastel colors – without being grim.

So, dear reader, as you can tell, I’m gaga over my fabulous cover.