The first thing a person notices about a book is its cover. So, it’s my hope the ones created for the books I write fit the story and get readers’ attention.
I so enjoyed the lively and bright covers created by my publisher Bloodhound Books for the first three books in my Isabel Long Mystery Series. They inspired me to be a bit more daring while developing the one for Finding the Source, the eighth book.
As a hybrid author, I self-published Finding the Source. And luckily for me, I have an artist son, Ezra Livingston, who has the skills to create great covers. Perhaps you saw what he created for my books, The Swanson Shuffle and The Twin Jinn and the Alchemy Machine.
When it came to the cover for Finding the Source, I was inspired by an important clue in this latest mystery — a signed, first edition of The Great Gatsby.
Let me back up a little and tell you about Finding the Source. Isabel Long’s next cold case begins when she is randomly approached on a city street by a homeless man, Tom McKenzie, who tells her about the unsolved murder of his mother. It was 43 years ago when he found his mother’s lifeless body. He was only 12 at the time.
Abby McKenzie owned a secondhand bookstore, Parker’s Book Emporium, in the hilltown of Dillard. She also sold the most valuable books to collectors, including one who was a suspect in her murder.
Here’s what Abby’s sister, Lucinda Greenwood, tells Isabel during an interview.
“Books were her thing. She was a big reader as a kid and always asked for books as gifts. When she had her store, she searched for books where people didn’t see their true value. I went with her a few times.” Lucinda smiles while she reminisces. “Abby would hunt yard sales for books. People would sell her books they found in their attics or when they were cleaning out a house after somebody died. Abby knew their value. She so enjoyed finding rare first editions. My sister was clever at keeping her excitement in check though. She didn’t want to tip off the sellers. My sister would have been a great poker player. She tried to be fair, but it was strictly business for her.”
One of Abby’s prized finds is that signed, first edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Why did I choose this novel? This was another case an idea that popped inside my head. Yes, I read Fitzgerald’s novel oh so many years ago. And then it turns out this is the book’s 100th anniversary.
I suggested to Ezra that I wanted the cover to hint at the Art Deco-styled one for The Great Gatsby and pay homage to it. Called “Celestial Eyes,” the original cover by Francis Cugat has a female face with distinctive features suspended on a deep blue background. At the bottom is a neon-lit city scene. There it is above.
So, we went with a similar blue background but didn’t use the same font or layout for the wording. There wouldn’t be a woman’s face. For the cover’s bottom, I walked to the downtown of the village where I live and used my phone to shoot two blocks of stores. Those scenes would make sense since Abby’s store was located in a small town’s downtown.
Then Ezra worked his magic on the cover, adding small stars to the blue.
I feel the cover he created is eye-catching and tells its own story. Thanks, Ez.
Interested in reading Finding the Source? Here’s the link to buy it in paperback and Kindle. Thank you if you do.