Your hostess for this clash is Lisa Lickel
Today and Wednesday we'll meet our authors of the HISTORIC COVER CLASH.
The polls are still open! Vote, comment, and discuss, here and on our Facebook page.
Erica's question for you: What has priority when you buy a book? The author, the genre, the story idea, the cover art? Or is it something else?
About the book:
A Bride's Portrait of Dodge
City, Kansas
Quench your craving for good fiction with this
wonderfully written Old West adventure. Hoping to leave the shadows of her
shady yesteryears behind, Adeline Reid is focusing on her photography career.
But when her ex-boyfriend’s compatriot in crime shows up in Dodge City her
entire past is threatened by exposure. Can Addie keep her secrets while helping
to catch a killer? Deputy Miles Carr’s investigation into a shopkeeper’s murder
leads him to Addie’s door. Will his attraction to this female photographer keep
him from catching the true culprit? Or will Addie lead him off course in more
ways than one?
Also available in Kindle.
1. What is your favorite part of the whole book publishing experience? On which part do you spend the most time?
2. Why write historical and where did the idea come from for this book?
4. If you’re browsing in a bookstore and plan to buy a book you’ve never heard of for something different to read, what influences your purchase?
Filling the shoes of her late husband as town marshal hasn't been easy for Danna Carpenter. She's not only fighting criminals, she's also fighting to earn the respect of the townspeople. So crossing paths with tenderfoot detective Chas O'Grady is the last thing she needs. He's hunting a band of cattle rustlers and isn't used to the rugged Wyoming landscape. Teaming up is their only option, but when circumstances place them in a compromising situation, the town forces a more permanent partnership—marriage. If they can let down their guards with each other they might find that love is the greatest catch of all.
Today and Wednesday we'll meet our authors of the HISTORIC COVER CLASH.
The polls are still open! Vote, comment, and discuss, here and on our Facebook page.
About the author:
Erica Vetsch is a transplanted Kansan now residing in
Minnesota. She loves history and reading, and is blessed to be able to combine
the two by writing historical fiction set in the American West. Whenever she’s
not following flights of fancy in her fictional world, she’s the company
bookkeeper for the family lumber business, mother of two terrific teens, wife
to a man who is her total opposite and soul-mate, and avid museum patron.
1. What is your favorite part of the
whole book publishing experience? On which part do you spend the most time?
It's
so difficult to pick out a favorite part, since I love some of every part of
the process, from original idea to holding the finished product in my hand.
Though writing is a mostly solitary pursuit, I've met some amazing people
through writing fiction. I spend the bulk of my writing time actually writing the
first draft. Editing is accomplished more quickly for me than the initial
writing.
2. Why write historical and where did
the idea come from for this book?
I
have always loved history, studied to be a history teacher, and haven't yet
found a historical museum that didn't have something in it that fascinated me.
Historical fiction was a natural fit. The initial idea for this book came from
perusing a book about cowboys and seeing a photograph of a cowboy and his horse
in full regalia inside a photographer's studio. My mind kicked into high gear
about who would take such a picture.
3. How much influence did you have on
the cover design? If you could change anything about the experience of getting
the perfect cover, what would it be?
Barbour
allowed me quite a bit of input on the cover, which pleased and surprised me.
They sent a picture of the cover model, whom I loved, as well as photographs of
several possible costumes from which I could choose. Then they sent pictures of
cameras, asking which would fit the era the best. In addition, I filled out a
lengthy cover art sheet answering questions about the characters, setting, and
story line. I can't think of anything I would change about the process. The
design team at Barbour is fabulous to work with.
4. If you’re browsing in a bookstore
and plan to buy a book you’ve never heard of for something different to read,
what influences your purchase?
Probably
genre first. If I'm looking for something new, I often go first to the mystery
section. I browse the titles, and when I land on one that intrigues, I pull it
out to look at the cover art, read the back cover and author bio, (check to see
if it is part of a series, because I hate jumping into the middle of a series)
and check out the first page of the book. If all those things click, I'll most
likely buy the book.
Erica's question for you: What has priority when you buy a book? The author, the genre, the story idea, the cover art? Or is it something else?
About the book:
A Bride's Portrait of Dodge
City, Kansas
Deputy Miles Carr has his hands full trying to keep the
peace in Dodge City and find a local shopkeeper’s killer. When his inquiries
lead him to the door of Addie Reid’s photography studio, he finds himself more
than a little distracted. Does this beauty hold the clue to the killer’s
identity?
Also available in Kindle.
About the author:
Lacy Williams
recently welcomed child #2 into her family—a baby boy. With a toddler girl, a
husband, and three dogs underfoot, writing takes up what’s left of her free
time. Lacy is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance
Writers of America (RWA). She also teaches fiction writing classes part-time
for a local technical school and speaks at local writers’ groups.
Lacy’s debut novel
(featured here!) is a 2011 RT Reviewers’ Choice finalist. Lacy will release two
books in 2012, THE HOMESTEADER’S SWEETHEART (May) and COUNTERFEIT COWBOY
(December).
1. What is your favorite part of the whole book publishing experience? On which part do you spend the most time?
Writing the actual
manuscript definitely takes me the longest. I also spend quite a bit of time
before I start writing doing research and getting to know my characters. My
books are character-driven , so I really have to know who they are before I can
start writing (or else I write a lot of nonsense in the beginning!). My
favorite part of the experience is seeing the cover art for the first time. I
have loved the covers of my first two books and I am always waiting to see what
the next one will look like. Will it be what I imagined and did they get the
hero’s looks right and oh yeah, my name is on there! I also really enjoy making
bookmarks and incorporating the cover art into my webpage.
2. Why write historical and where did the idea come from for this book?
I started out
thinking I would be a contemporary writer, but I love to read historical. As I
worked through my writing journey, I figured out that my voice is a good fit
for historical and that romance is definitely my genre because I love happy
endings.
The initial idea for
MARRYING MISS MARSHAL came from a trip my husband and I took to Grand Lake (in
northeastern Oklahoma). We were driving along and I got inspired and started
thinking about a woman sheriff in this small town and what would her obstacles
be? The story started out as a romantic suspense (contemporary) but that was
about when I started figuring things out with my genre and lo and behold—the
story morphed into a historical woman town marshal.
3. How much influence did you have on the cover design? If
you could change anything about the experience of getting the perfect cover,
what would it be?
I just finished
inputting cover art info for my December 2012 book, so this is fresh in my
mind. :) At Love Inspired, they ask a ton of questions to get ideas for the
cover art—four pages of questions, in fact. They ask about the overall setting
of the book, the characters and what they look like, a short synopsis of the
book, plus the author’s top three scenes that we’d like to see made into cover
art. That doesn’t mean they’ll actually USE those ideas, but the gist of all
the work is to give the art department something to go off of.
If I could change one
thing in the experience, I would love to go along at the photo shoot and watch.
I trust the art department—they have a lot of experience and usually are great
about getting what the reader wants to see, but I’d love to see the cover
taking shape as it happens.
4. If you’re browsing in a bookstore and plan to buy a book you’ve never heard of for something different to read, what influences your purchase?
If it isn’t an author
I’m familiar with, I definitely look at covers first. Bethany House books
usually have fabulous covers (especially my crit partner Regina Jenning’s
February book SIXTY ACRES AND A BRIDE). I love cowboys, so if they are on a
cover then I’ll usually pick it up.
But… before I buy the
book I usually peek at the ending. I’m one of those people that has to have a
happy ending in my reading so I read the end first. I also read movie spoilers
before I spend money to go see a movie!
Lacy's question for you: I have always been a dog lover (we have three right now!) and love to read books with animals in them. Childhood favorites included “A DOG CALLED KITTY” (Bill Wallace) and “BIG RED” and “STORMY” by JIM KJELGAARD. I try to include animals/pets in my books when I can. In fact, the dog Wrong Tree in MARRYING MISS MARSHAL is loosely based off of a childhood dog that belonged to my sister-in-law.
Lacy's question for you: I have always been a dog lover (we have three right now!) and love to read books with animals in them. Childhood favorites included “A DOG CALLED KITTY” (Bill Wallace) and “BIG RED” and “STORMY” by JIM KJELGAARD. I try to include animals/pets in my books when I can. In fact, the dog Wrong Tree in MARRYING MISS MARSHAL is loosely based off of a childhood dog that belonged to my sister-in-law.
My question is: do
you like animals as secondary characters in books? Do you have a favorite
fictional animal?
About the book:
Filling the shoes of her late husband as town marshal hasn't been easy for Danna Carpenter. She's not only fighting criminals, she's also fighting to earn the respect of the townspeople. So crossing paths with tenderfoot detective Chas O'Grady is the last thing she needs. He's hunting a band of cattle rustlers and isn't used to the rugged Wyoming landscape. Teaming up is their only option, but when circumstances place them in a compromising situation, the town forces a more permanent partnership—marriage. If they can let down their guards with each other they might find that love is the greatest catch of all.
Also available in Kindle.
