What happened to my book cover?

I went on a journey to create the cover for my upcoming book.  There were some frustrating stops along the way because it should have been a short, simple trip.  The first three books in the series gave me a good view of the destination.  Simon’s Mother, though not exactly a Christmas book, primarily takes place in December.  Red and green flowers seemed appropriate.  Simon is a musician and composer.  I thought the black and white keys of a keyboard would have great contrast with those flowers on a red background.  All I needed to do was put it together.  This was my first attempt.

What happened to the black and white keys?

It turns out I was picturing a piano.  A keyboard doesn’t have a clean look.  The one I have has lots of symbols and words and even some scribbling and a prominent brand name I’d have to edit out.  While trying to find a good angle to focus on the keys, it occurred to me that sheet music is also black and white.  Meanwhile, the flowers I used are fading into the background.  Time for another batch of pictures.

What happened to the red flowers? 

I tried to get more green by using flowers with larger leaves.  I guess I forgot I wanted red though.  I ended up with this picture that has not enough red and way too much bland.  And I don’t know why I didn’t flatten that weird curling leaf.  I pulled out the camera again.

What happened to the red background?

I don’t know.  I just changed the one thing that was working because I needed to change something.  At least I finally found some red and green flowers.  Sort of.  Anything green blends in with this new background.  (Why does this sound familiar?)  The red “flowers” are actually plastic beads.  And I got a weird angle on the sheet music so that it doesn’t say music.  It says lines.

By now we all know what happened to my covers.  Me.  I might have been having too much fun creating options.  After a few more attempts I’m not showing anyone, I finally landed on a cover I like.  Does it have piano keys?  Does it have red or green flowers?  Did I have a more brilliant idea?  Find the answers and preorder the kindle version at the same time. 

My Next Book

My next book, which anyone paying attention knows will be the fourth and final book in the More Love in Andauk series, has a complete draft.  It still needs work before it’s ready for release.  Between editing and formatting and all those other necessities, I need to give more serious thought to what I’ll write next.  Who wants to know some of the wonderful and maybe not-so-wonderful ideas I’ve floated so far?

1) Sabbatical.  That’s not a title, it’s the absence of titles.  Since I haven’t felt pulled towards a specific project, I wondered if I should give myself a break to refresh.  But my lack of direction has more to do with too many ideas.  I should work on something.

2) Fairy Tales.  Lots of people have done modern versions of classic tales.  It’s difficult to get a good balance between changing enough to make it unique and changing so much that it’s unrecognizable.  I can’t imagine getting this right for everyone.  And yet… I still like the idea of something that isn’t a full retelling (a possibly futile attempt to sidestep that difficulty) but is instead a modern story with nods to fairy tale elements like Prince Charming, especially Prince Charming.  Some version of him would need to show up in each story.

3) Aging Wisherton.  No, I wouldn’t give it that horrendous name.  I have, however, given a bit of thought to a sequel series with my current characters old enough to have some love stories.  Just because they’re children doesn’t mean I haven’t already picked some characters who could be well-matched in the future.  What kind of romance author would I be if I didn’t look for romance?  I still have a few ideas for that series though, and I have to finish it before I start a sequel.  Maybe another Wisherton book should be my next project.

4) More of the same.  I could invent another small town with a small cast of characters and come up with amusing stories about how some of them fall in love.  I have some experience in this area.  And at least I know it’s something I’d want to read. 

5) Bible stories.  Along the same line as fairy tales, I wouldn’t retell stories I couldn’t possibly improve.  I do like the idea of a Bible theme to a series, that anyone who knows to look might spot shades of Goliath or Esther in the characters or maybe a burning bush.  I see potential for laughs about unexplained fire or weirdly multiplying food. 

6) Something completely different that’s actually more of the same only combined.  I also had an idea about starting a series of fantasy romance.  It wouldn’t be anything paranormal, just a fictional world where I could create customs and freeze technology.  The books could stay evergreen without the bother of researching some historical period.  No, that’s not being lazy.  Inventing a setting takes as much brain power as learning about one.  If I’m honest, I’m not sure world-building is my forte.  I think I’d like the opportunity to grow that skill. 

What will be my next book?  Simon’s Mother.  Remember, I already said I’m finishing More Love in Andauk.  But what will be the next next book?  I don’t know.  I probably need more ideas.