The cover art process: like giving birth?

I have to admit, seeing my new book covers for the first time has got to be one of the most thrilling aspects of being published. And yet, with my eighth book coming in August, it remains a bit of a mystery to me as well.

I’ll share a bit of the process with you. With my publisher Liquid Silver Books, the authors are sent a cover art request form after a book has been contracted. In this form, we detail what the main characters look like (tall, blonde, brown eyes, muscles, tattoes, etc.) The publisher takes this information away and the graphic artist proceeds to develop a cover that best represents the feel of the book and the characters.

And while we wait for the results, we authors can often feel as if we are on pins and needles. I’ve never been disappointed with any of my covers, and rarely have I had to go back and request tiny changes. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not nerve-wracking waiting for that cover to take shape.

It’s a little like giving birth to a child. Even though you may be able to imagine what your progeny will look like, it’s hard to picture how the miracles of genetics will arrange all those attributes. And it’s exciting to receive the email in which you get the first glimpse…kind of like that first ultrasound photo. You spy arms and legs (and often a bare, male chest in the case of romance books) and absorb the beauty of this new creation. I am always astounded and tickled and don’t think I’ll ever stop looking forward to new cover art.

Well…imagine my surprise and delight this past week when I got to meet not only the photographer of my newest cover, but also the models! Online, at least. 🙂 We get to converse with the graphic artist in our line of work- always a pleasure- but I’ve never met any of my photographers and models before. This week, I did, thanks to wonderful graphic artist Lyn Taylor, the creator of my upcoming cover for Predator’s Serenade (release Aug. 12).

Through Lyn, I met photographer Taria Reed and my lovely models Louis Bottone (my dashing hero) and Alisa Sharoikina (my gorgeous heroine). We have since all chatted on Facebook and I am so excited that we all had the chance to work together. Being able to meet these partners added another element of excitement to an already-exciting process for me, and I am thankful to all of them.

I don’t think I will ever take a book cover for granted, knowing the work that goes on behind the scenes to make one.  And I am particularly proud of this new child of mine and all the partners who were involved in conceiving it with me.

Gosh, that did sound dirty… 😉

Predator’s Serenade will be available August 12 from http://www.lsbooks.com