"Fleeing Beauty" Coming Soon!

One of the challenges for me is when I try to get the artwork right for a story. Being able to convey the image I have in my head to the artist who will actually put the cover together is never easy.  Sometimes the image I have in mind sounds great, but in reality it just won't click.  Fleeing Beauty, the third book in the Jamie Richmond series, is a perfect example.

I filled out the questionnaire for the artist with as much detail as possible. Since so much of this story centers around the discovery of art work, I thought it would be a piece of cake. Take a picture of a sculpture, stick a crate here or there, show my favorite redhead in some form of distress. It's just that easy!  Shows what I know.

It turns out that using any existing sculpture would add expenses since we'd need the author's approval.  Dawne Dominique, who created the covers for both "Devious" and "Vanishing Act"  even went so far as to try and make her own sculpture. (Obviously she has far more patience and talent than I.)  That didn't work.  So she sent me a cover that was definitely eye-catching but in a direction that I never expected.  My good buddy Joanna, who read the earlier draft of the story, checked it out. She flinched. Not a good sign.  So I rejected it, which is the first time I've ever done that. Dawne went back to it and sent me a different version. Close, but a few tweaks were needed. One last try, since the publisher only allows three attempts.  The finished product hit the mark.  Thanks Dawne for your diligence and understanding.

Hope you like it.