Cover Story

When I got the news that I'd waited so long to hear -- my book was going to be published -- it was one of the all-time highs of my life. I'd rank it just below the day I was married and the day my son was born, and just above the day my Mom handed me a baseball autographed by Henry Aaron.

Most people probably think that once a book has been accepted for publication, the author's work is done. Those people -- and I am one of them -- would be wrong.

I guess I assumed that the seven years of blood, sweat and tears that had gone into writing my book and finding a publisher for it would be washed away the day when I finally got the news that my book was indeed going to be published. That assumption, however, is what was washed away over the last month.

Instead of rinsing myself clean of Lost in the Ivy, I found myself entangled all over again in those stringy vines. Not only did I end up editing it for the umpteenth time, I also wrote a synopsis and bio for the back cover, and a dedication, acknowledgements and foreword for inside the book.

Writing is something I obviously enjoy, or I wouldn't have written a book in the first place. Writing takes me to places I have never seen before. When I put my fingers to a keypad, I never know where they will take me. For me, writing is the ultimate adventure.

So even though I'd spent one-sixth of my life writing Lost in the Ivy, I didn't mind going back there again. I saw things I'd never seen before and lived things I'd never done before.

The difficult part of the last month then, for me, has not been the writing. The real challenge has been two tasks that I really did not have to put a great deal of my own effort into.

The first challenge was one I noted in my previous journal entry, and that was the back cover photo. Fortunately I found Evanston photographer Chad Husar who made this a much less painful process than I thought it would be.

The second challenge was the book cover. Now I could have taken the easy route and just let my publisher design a cover for me. But of course when there is a clear, smooth path or uncut, rugged terrain to choose from, I always seem to opt for the uncut, rugged terrain.

Most publishers do not even offer the author a chance to design his or her own book cover, and it seemed to me that it was an opportunity that I couldn't afford to pass on. After all, everything inside the book was my blood, sweat and tears. Why, I thought, should my blood, sweat and tears be wrapped like a last-minute Christmas gift?

So I took a leap of faith, and asked a good friend, Cindy Anderson, if she would be willing to design a cover for me. Cindy, a graphic designer and ex-Chicagoan transplanted to Portland, had never before designed a book cover but agreed to give it a shot.

Over the course of the last month I have reviewed about a dozen cover designs that came out of Cindy's creative mind. The last one of these is the one that seemed to combine the best elements of all of those designs.

Since Cindy is the artist, I'll let her words, which came via an email a few short days ago, describe the final design:

I think I've got it!
The first cover has the same space above, but I filled it
in with a close-up of the ivy, so maybe the blankness of the space won't
be so bothersome above. This would be a little more in focus and
"prettier" than the ivy beneath -- which turns dark and scary. Like
muurrrrddeerr.... The bottom image would be darker and grainier -- more
like a newspaper too.

I think she got it, too. So many thanks to her for all of the creative energy she put into this project. She certainly made that leap of faith one worth taking. Hopefully my publisher will think so, too.  For an actual size glimpse of the front cover click here, and for the back cover click here.

I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge one other person who helped to make Cindy's cover art shine -- and that is Akiko Ikenoue, my sister-in-law, whose photo of the ivy that grows in her mother's backyard now adorns the cover design that today I submitted to my publisher, along with Chad Husar's author photos and my final manuscript for Lost in the Ivy. 

Woohoo! Now the fun part begins.  Lost in the Ivy finally enters the production phase.

Comments

[Mary Beth]

Excellent choice of cover - definitely gives a dark mysterious feeling. I can't believe the finished product is almost here!!

[Randy Richardson]

Yeah, it is pretty cool. I'm crossing my fingers for a late summer/early fall release that will coincide with the Cubs returning to the World Series for the first time since 1945.

[Shahna]

Awesome cover choice - I would definitely pick this one up, even without the dashing photo of you on the back flap. AND, for the record, the shirt....not gay!