My New Cover....again

Some of you who have followed me for a while know that I've seriously promoted Sparta Rose in the past...and all for naught. I'm excited to announce that this time I think it's really going to be released. Coming in February 2009, I hope, is my historical western set in Sparta, TN. I'm sure you'll love my heroine and hero...at least I hope you do. IF the book actually makes a debut. *lol* Here's a little blurb:

Ellie Fountain has a dilemma--Tyler Bishop, the handsome ranch foreman who's won favor with her Pa. Ellie's determined to prove to them she can do anything a man can, even if it means buying a gun and learning to shoot.

Her father's ranch, Fountainhead, is her legacy and she aims to protect it from the Bryants, the trio next door who are using bullying tactics to purchase all the land in the area. When she accepts Ty's 'forced' invitation to a local dance, she never expects to find herself kidnapped and held hostage in an old drafty shack hidden somewhere in the snowy Tennessee Mountains. She shouldn't have left the dance in such a huff without telling someone.


This book has had more 'covers' than my bed in the dead of winter. I really liked each of them, and you wouldn't believe the problems I went through with people making threats if I dared try to use the same I-stock photo as used in the original. You'd think it was a Van Gogh for heaven sakes.

A second publisher offered a contract, and before the ink was dry, she had received a 'nice' email from the first publisher warning her away from using the same photo to design my new cover. Even though I really wanted to use the model as the basis, I played nice and agreed to something else. I liked the second outcome, but unfortunately, after much promotion, that publisher fell ill and put everything on hold. Rather than play a wait and see game, I moved on again, but not without a warning about using the second cover. I have sad news for these people who think the $3.00 they paid to purchase a license to use a photo grants them sole use. Look around...you'll find out you're wrong. :) I believe in my blog archives somewhere, I showed examples of the same basic photo used more than one time for different books. You'll probably find my old covers promoted somewhere back in the dusty pages, too.

Anyhow...A third publisher, Eternal Press, contracted Sparta Rose and once again, I have a great cover. This one I really, really like. Cover Artist, Shirley Burnett has captured the essence of my story in her design. Love it, love it, love it!

So you know if three different houses have contracted this story, it has to have some merit. I can't wait to get my hot little hands on an actual copy, but in the meantime let's just forget how long it took me to get to this point and celebrate Shirley's talent and my upcoming release. Some memories are best forgotten. :)