Secrets to the Wind cover

I’m excited to pull back the veil on the cover to my upcoming novel Secrets to the Wind. It’s coming out October 25, just eleven weeks from now. Oh, mercy me!

Secrets to the Wind is the 1863 courtship story of Susan B. Anthony’s brother Daniel and his Annie. Like Susan, they find that their antislavery stance seriously complicates their personal lives—and their blossoming relationship. It’s set in Martha’s Vineyard and Bleeding Kansas during the Civil War and is Book One in my Dauntless Series.

Today, I’d like to tell you a little about the adventures of making the cover itself.

What was left out

This cover went through many versions. Originally I wanted footprints going into the water, and spent a delightful hour in Florida in January running in and out of the ocean to get photos. Alas, none worked. And as it turned out, I didn’t really need them after all. So we left them out.

The perfect image

Finding an image of a Victorian woman was very challenging, and I just love this lady in the red dress! But guess what…as I was researching another author, I discovered that her book used the same image. I couldn’t believe it and quickly apologized. The author was most gracious. We agreed that it would be fun to do a short story together someday featuring the red dress. Next month I’ll give you a review of her book.

The title

The hardest part about the cover was coming up with the title. That took weeks and weeks of trial and error, trying to make sure no one else had that title, struggling to distill 90,000 words into four–argh! It’s easier and more satisfying to research and write forty chapters, trust me.

Secrets to the Wind replaces my earlier book in this series, The Truth About Daniel. If you’re curious why I totally redid the first book in my Dauntless Series, read about it here.

Two more things as I gear up for releasing Secrets to the Wind:

• I’m looking for a few good people to be on my launch team. You would work closely with me for a few months to get the word out there. I’ll supply you with images and mini-articles to share with your friends who like novels that are historical, women’s fiction, and Victorian. Read more about it here.
• Now that Secrets is approaching its debut, I’m ready to give presentations again. I love giving talks, so please invite me to meet your community and writing groups and recommend me to others.

Click Here to Get These Free Historical Stories