The Evolution of a Book Cover

You might wonder how a book cover comes about...what revisions it goes through...

how it reaches the version you see on the bookshelves.

For my books, it always begins with a trip to the lake and me standing in the freezing water.

 (Why we never seem to plan this for 
the warmer months is a mystery...) 

Sometimes things go awry.

 Eventually, we get a strong image that evokes

things like:

Great Lakes, Adventure, Long Journey, 
Why is that Woman Standing in the Lake...

 And then we begin the process of working with that image to make the best cover:

An early version had me standing on the right side of the cover.

Then we switched me to the left side and got rid of the pier pylon in the foreground:

That seemed to work, and we arrived at the cover as you see here in the last image.

My editor will tweak the colors a bit before sending it to the printer, but that's pretty much the cover you'll see on the bookshelves.

This book will have a pre-release to select indie bookstores in April, and will be available wherever books are sold in June.

Sign up for updates at the top of the sidebar to find out where the book will be available!

Handfuls of Lake Superior

Rough sand along Agate Beach in Grand Marais

The geology of Lake Superior fascinates me. This lake was formed by forces beginning long before the ice sheets scraped away at the Great Lakes Basin.  

Mix of colorful stones on Agate Beach

Hundreds of millions of years ago, a continental rift opened where the middle of Lake Superior is today. Lava (lava!) spewed from this rift for eons, and the weight of that lava depressed the crust of the earth into a deep bowl that existed before the last ice age. 

It is due to this ancient lava flow that you will find (if you are observant and lucky) agates along the shoreline of Lake Superior. 

Powder-fine sand along river in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Mix of stones in river in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

I enjoyed researching the geology of the Great Lakes for my upcoming book, A 1000-MILE GREAT LAKES WALK. I learned so much about these vast inland seas and I put the best, most interesting things into the book.

Clay mixed with sand at the Log Slide in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

{*That's the trick about writing: put in the good stuff and leave the boring stuff out.*}

Rust-colored stones near Copper Harbor

The same stones as above after Lake Superior tosses them around for a few decades.

My new book, A 1000-MILE GREAT LAKES WALK, will have an early Pre-Release to select indie bookstores in April. This is my way of thanking them for what they give to their communities and for being so supportive of my first book.

The book will have wide release and will be available wherever books are sold in June.

Keep an eye out for the new book, or "LIKE" my Facebook Fan Page for updates.