I can’t believe it’s cover reveal and pre-order today for A Shadow on the Snow, the sequel to my short story “A Rose from the Ashes.”! I’m so excited to show all of you the wonderful cover to my debut mystery novel. Please let me know what you think!
To give you a little background on this design: Mt. Zion Ridge Press had me fill out a form, asking me all sorts of things about my novel, like my social media platform and blurbs. They also asked to give them ideas for my cover. They wanted general descriptions for main characters and antagonists, what my dream cover would look like, and what I knew I didn’t want on the cover.
So I answered:
- Protagonist: Rae Riley—nineteen years old. 5’11’’ with dark gold hair growing below her shoulders. Always carries a camera.
- Antagonist: A shadowy figure appearing in a wintery rural scene. (Anything more would ruin the mystery)
- Dream cover: A winter night scene with a shadowy figure and snow falling. A fleeing female figure in the middle ground or background. Or a backpack dropped in the snow with a shadow falling over it.
- Don’t wanna: Mystery and YA readers expect dark covers. It qualifies as a cozy because I have an amateur detective but it shouldn’t have the bright or cutesy covers a lot of cozies have.
- Special note: The cover should convey the darkness of the mystery as well as the winter and rural setting.
Well, Tamera Lynn Kraft, author/publisher/cover designer, knocked it out of the park. At the beginning of June, she sent me images. My family and I were visiting my father-in-law on the coast of North Carolina at the time, so while we were enjoying sand and sun, I was trying to get into a wintery mood to work on the cover. As soon as I saw the image of the silhouette against the snow, I knew that was it. Tamera and I worked together to add elements and select the lettering, but that image truly captures the mood of my novel.
Here’s the back cover blurb:
Nineteen-year-old Rae Riley can barely believe her gamble paid off. After spending seven months investigating the identity of her father and whether he tried to murder her mother, Rae has been accepted by her dad, Sheriff Walter “Mal” Malinowski IV, and his immediate family with open hearts. And for the first time in her life, Rae is making friends, jamming with three cute cops who play outlaw country music.
But someone is leaving Rae threatening notes, reminding her of her late mother’s notorious past when Bella Rydell wrecked homes and lives during the few years she lived in rural Marlin County, Ohio. Fearing the threats will make Mal and his family reject her, Rae investigates the mystery on her own. But her amateur sleuthing may cost her the father she’s always wanted when the stalker changes targets and takes dead aim at Mal.