Hi everyone!
First I want to say thanks for letting me hijack your blog today!
I’m talking about covers today. Yep, book covers! One of my favorite parts of the finalization of a book is the cover. And with me, I try to come up with a cover that has a huge, integral part of the story somehow. The cover is supposed to signify something, right? Don’t get me wrong, I love the good looking half naked male models, but I think it’s starting to get a little cliché. I want a cover to tell me/give me an impression about the story I’m looking at. I’ve been graced with five amazing colors for my published books.
The Secret Santa Wishing Well, my debut book. I love the cover for this one! It’s got holiday colors, a touch of magic, and it really gives me the impression that something magic is going to happen. Love. Love is magic!
Then came Baby Stetson, my second novel. It’s the kick off book to my Love and Music in Texas Series. The cover AND the book title play an important role with the story. It’s bright, different, unique, and I love the way the cover came out. It’s simple, but it tells so much about the story.
Same thing with The Melody In My Head, Book 2 of the series. There’s a guitar there because the hero is a guitarist for the band. I love the couple, too. My husband actually picked out their picture and when I saw it, I knew they were my perfect Jameson and Melody.
The fun thing when I was searching for cover ideas on Melody, I came across a couple that I felt fit for my next book, the ‘follow up’ to Secret Santa. On the 12th Date of Christmas’s cover came out AMAZING! Putting that side by side with Secret Santa gets me all holiday festive like. The blue…I just love it, and the couple on the front really fit Robin and Jonas. Playful, in love, young.
Then comes my latest, my new release A Masterpiece Of Our Love. I actually came across the picture and used it to create a scene in the book. But then not only is it a scene from the book, it play an important role because of the way we altered the picture a bit. My heroine, Becca, is an artist. It’s her way of expressing herself. I’m in love with it!
A cover goes a long way. I think if you have the power to make your cover, REALLY try to fit your story somehow. It’s one of my favorite processes, and I hope to always make my covers all about the story inside.
What kind of covers do you like? I’d love to know!
To follow me and my ramblings, find me on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/NikkiLynnBarrettauthor
I also have a reader/author group…Nikki’s Book Nook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/713425282019067/
Check out the blurb to my latest release!: Two Lives Torn by tragedy.
Eight-year-old Becca and twelve-year-old Hunter cling to each other and life after surviving a plane crash which stole their families.
Two Souls Seeking Love.
Each year, from the time she was old enough to travel on her own, Becca met up with Hunter on the island that altered their lives forever.
Until he stopped showing.
Her constant. Her link to the past. Gone in the blink of an eye.
Two Lives Bound by Secret.
Suffering more heartbreak, Hunter returns to the one place he’s always sought comfort, the island where he and Becca met. It was the place that stole from him, and in the same instance gave to him. He hasn’t been back or spoken to Becca in four years.
Though he’s sure she must hate him for disappearing, Hunter discovers the girl gone, now a woman in her place. Hunter is determined to prove to Becca he isn’t the same twelve-year-old boy of yesteryear.
But someone isn’t happy about their reunion…
Strange things begin happening. Letters start showing up in their hotel rooms and at home with cryptic messages.
Two Broken Hearts Heal as One.
With the mystery unsolved, Hunter convinces Becca to spend the remainder of the summer back home with him, both for safety and to give them a chance to discover the adults they’ve now become.
Will love get a chance to blossom, or will the past come back and tear the masterpiece of their love apart once and for all?
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Masterpiece-Our-Love-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00J2QO8Y2
Bitches Be Writin' 
Thanks for letting me hang out today!
hey trouble! you know we always like you coming back and raising a little ruckus! 🙂 -alisa
Love all the covers.
Good luck with your releases and I wish you many sales.
Janice~
Excellent post! I love reading about the insight a writer has during the process! 🙂
Thanks Kimmie! So do I, which is why I love sharing my own, too! 🙂
You know how to pick them. Your covers are always fantastic – and so are your books.
Tweeted.
Aww, thanks Daryl! I do my best! 🙂
Awesome covers, Nikki. Yes, love is the best sort of magic!
Thanks Gemma!
You are so right that covers should have something to do with the story. I’ve read quite a few book where the models on the cover don’t even have the same hair colour as the characters in the book. I’m not too picky about covers–the title draws me in more–but I do get a hmmmm moment when the people on the cover don’t match at all the description of the characters.
That’s why I search for cover models as I’m writing the story….it helps so i can use that as my guide 🙂
I loved the cover for your first book and the sequel. They both showcase the magic of the season! I agree about love being magic. 🙂 Best of luck with all your sales!
Oooh yes, I adore my holiday covers! They really do! I want ornaments with those covers or something, lol. Thanks for coming by!!
You have such great covers, Nikki. I’ve hated two of my covers and loved three. The bad thing is that the book I like the best, has the worst cover.
Oh Ella that would totally make me cry! I love having a handpicking in my covers!
You have beautiful covers! I like most of mine, love a few!
Thanks D’Ann! I love your covers! 🙂
Love the Baby Stetson cover. I’m tired of headless males (only torsos with rippling abs) on covers…show me the face with sparkling eyes/enticing smile. Nothing sexier than a man in a tux with a look that “speaks” to you!
I am learning that creating covers that tell about the story is harder than it sounds. Great article.